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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
- 25
- 26
- 27
Angel in the Attic
Chapter 26

Fusedtwilight: Thanks to Lisa for betaing and thanks to my readers.
So what has Michael been up to since the school closed? Lets find out. Also their is a cameo by another major marvel super-hero. Bonus points if you can figure out who, though it will be very obvious.

Michael sat in class listening to their teacher speak.
It had been two months since the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters closed down after the attack by Bastion and the Purifiers.
Michael now lived in New York City. Warren was his legal guardian and lived with him in a penthouse. Michael now attended a private Catholic school.
Michael had to wear a private uniform that he did not like; it was too tight on his wings. And his fellow classmates gave him a wide berth knowing who and what he was.
The school had been very reluctant to allow him in. But Warren had made a generous donation.
Michael's new classmates may leave him alone but that didn't stop them from staring or whispering about him. Michael didn't care. They meant nothing to him.
Today was September twenty-ninth. A day that made Michael feel especially in a dark mood.
Today was his birthday, he was seventeen. But it was the first time he would not celebrate with his family; they were dead now. There were no more birthdays or holidays to celebrate anymore.
The bell rang, signifying the school day was over.
The kids were quick to gather their things and head out the door.
As Michael carried his bag out the room, a trio of boys were not watching where they were going and bumped into Michael.
"Watch where you are going, freak," the leader spat.
Michael glared at him. In the old days he would have apologized and looked at his feet in embarrassment.
But after recent events Michael had developed a mean streak.
"Mind your tongue. Or else I will burn it out of your mouth," Michael said.
The kid's face paled and he held up his hand "Hey man, chill out."
The three of them backed away from Michael and left the room.
Michael continued on his way with no more incidents. Michael walked home, he was still trying to get used to living in the city. All the people and the cars and noise.
How he missed the quieter life at the school or in Cambridge.
As he passed a newsstand he saw that the front page was talking about the X-Men dissembling. He stopped to read it. It talked about how the world was still reeling from the loss of the X-Men, how some were glad they were gone, how some feared what would happen when Magneto or the Brotherhood or some other evil mutant group showed up and the X-Men were not there.
It even had an interview from several other super-heroes about their feelings about the X-Men disbanding.
"Hard to believe, huh?" the guy running the newsstand said. "I remember the day I sold the papers about them X-Men, when they first appeared fighting that Magneto guy. It was that laser eye guy, that girl who could move things with her eye, the ape, the angel fella and that frosty one. Nothing but a bunch of kids I thought. Never thought they would become so big and bad. I feel bad to see them go."
"Yeah, me too," Michael said.
He continued on his way home. The last day the X-Men had been together was for the funeral; all those who died were honored and remembered. Many of the super-hero community came to pay respects as well.
Even Magneto and his followers arrived to peacefully pay their respects. Magneto and Xavier may have been enemies, but they had once been best friends and although their methods were different, they both wanted to help their people. A fight almost happened but Scott and Magneto agreed to a truce.
Even Magneto had respect for the dead.
Michael had spoken to Jay's mother Lucinda. He had asked for her forgiveness for not saving her son's life. She just smiled and hugged Michael, telling him that Jay considered Michael to be like a little brother. She told him as far as she was concerned Michael was part of the Guthrie family and would always be welcome under her roof.
As for his team, they had returned to their homes. Franziska returned to Germany to live at the church again. Rickard was back in Sweden. Devin was living with his family, Jacob returned to his reservation, and Angie and Wayne were back with their families as well.
Michael kept in contact with them all. Having finally mastered the great mystery of Facebook and Skype, Michael could keep in contact with his friends.
Lots of the students kept in contact with one another. Megan was back in Wales, and Noriko and Josh were living with Dani. Josh was still having problems with his power; parts of his body had returned to their metallic gold but his skin was still mostly black. Touching his black parts proved to be...hazardous to say the least.
Julian was back to living with his family, no one heard much from him. He had been very angry and bitter about the loss of his arms.
X-23 and Blut had vanished without a trace, though Michael was sure Logan kept an eye on the two of them.
Sofia was working as a waitress at a small diner; she didn't want to move back in with her jerk of a father back in Venezuela. Michael visited her occasionally to eat, leaving her a generous tip when he left.
Like confetti in the wind, the X-Men scattered. Every day Michael wondered what this meant for the future. In the future he had visited, the X-Men were still around.
But what kind of future would there be without them?
"Help! Thief! He stole my purse!"
An elderly lady yelled this as some thug ran off with her purse. There were several other people walking down the street but none of them tried to help, either not caring or too afraid to get involved.
Michael felt a surge of anger run through him as he saw the people do nothing. A poor old woman had her purse stolen and they just watch?
Just as the thief was about to run past Michael, he extended his arm, causing the villain to run into it and fall on his back.
Michael reached down and plucked the purse from his hands.
"Shame on you," Michael said.
The old woman had run up them. "Oh my word, thank you so much, young man."
"My pleasure ma'am."
The thug went to get back up but Michael placed his foot on the guy's chest and pushed him back down.
"You should be ashamed! Stealing a woman's purse. The disrespect!" the old woman chastised him.
"Are you alright, miss?" Michael asked.
"Yes, just taken by surprise. I was waiting for my nephew to arrive. I needed to go to the bank and he wanted to come with me. But he was so late and I couldn't wait anymore, so I decided to walk by myself. Don't blame him he is so busy. He is a reporter for 'The Daily Bugle'."
"Aunt May!"
A young man who was a little older then Michael was running to them. He had brown hair and a pair of glasses that were framing his brown eyes. He also had a camera strung along his neck.
"Aunt May, are you alright? I am so sorry I was late!" he said quickly.
"Oh it is fine, Peter. I can walk myself, you know," May said.
"You almost lost your purse! What if you had been hurt?" he said.
"Peter please, I may be old but I am not helpless. This fine young man helped me," May said pointing to Michael.
"Thank you so much. I hate it when my aunt walks around the city by herself so I was going to take her to the bank but there was this incident involving Mysterio and Spiderman," Peter said shaking his hand.
"Peter takes photos of that awful Spiderman for 'The Daily Bugle'. He is their expert on him; he always manages to get the best photos of him. Worries me sick," May said.
"Oh yeah, I have seen some of your photos in the paper. How do you manage to get such good shots?" Michael asked.
"Oh you know, luck," Peter said. His gaze on Michael became a little sharper. "Hey, aren't you that kid from the Xavier Institute? The one from YouTube?"
"Yeah, that's me," Michael said with a nervous smile.
Will I ever escape from YouTube? he thought to myself.
"No wonder you are such a brave young man. You were trained by heroes," May said. "It is just awful what happened. I never thought the X-Men would ever disband. Why, I remember watching the news when they first fought that nasty Magneto."
"Here, let me get a picture of you two. I can talk to my boss and see if we can get this in tomorrow's paper," Peter said getting his camera ready.
"Oh, that is a lovely idea. Hold on." May adjusted her purse and then placed her foot on top of the thug's chest.
Peter held up his camera and Michael put his arm around May's waist, feeling a little shy. Peter took a few photos just as a police car pulled up to take the mugger away.
"Thanks again," Peter said shaking his hand one more time.
"No problem."
"Thank you, Michael. Here, I don't have any money on me but I do have a honey-flavored sucker."
She handed him the sucker and he unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth. "Thank you Mrs. Parker," he said.
They parted ways and Michael continued to walk home. He turned the corner and a car pulled up next to him.
The window rolled down and Adonai smiled at him. "How sweet, helping little old ladies getting mugged."
"And to think I was in such a good mood," Michael said with a sigh.
"Damn, someone has some bite today. Hop in kid, I will drive you home."
Michael got in and buckled up. Adonai began to drive.
"So, happy birthday. Seventeen, huh? I never had a birthday. Never knew when I was born, not that it mattered. The closest we got to a birthday party from Rashid was a trip to the brothels. Let me tell you, no one was more flexible then the Persian prostitutes. They did this thing where they made themselves into a knot while-"
"Really don't need to know about sex in the ancient days," Michael said.
"Hmph, still a prude and a virgin. You should do something about that. When I was you age I had much experience with the opposite sex."
"In your day dinosaurs ruled the earth."
"Hey, I am not that old!" Adonai said. "Keep it up and I won't give you your birthday present."
"You got me a gift?" Michael asked. Adonai didn't do much in the way of gifts, unless it served him in some way.
"Of course. A mentor had a right to give his pupil a gift on their birthday. It's not ready yet, still adding a few touches."
They pulled up to the apartment complex where Michael was staying with Warren.
"Look kid, I am not the most emotional guy. But I know today is hard for I just want you to know...if you ever want to...talk...I am here for you."
Adonai said the word talk like it caused him great pain. But Michael appreciated his effort. Adonai was more of an apathetic verity.
"Thanks, Adonai. But I am fine. Besides, talking to you is like talking to a brick wall."
"Hey! I can be a good listener, I just stop caring after a while."
Michael just chuckled and shut the door. The doorman opened the door for him and Michael made his way to the elevator. Michael thought that Warren should be back from work. Betsy might be here as well, she lived with Warren and Michael more or less despite having her own apartment. Betsy got back into the modeling business after the X-Men disbanded and visited a lot.
Warren was going out with Betsy, so she was around a lot.
Michael was considering having her try and take down the blocks Xavier had placed in his head to block his telepathy. Having finally embraced his power in all its forms, Michael was ready to tap into his full potential.
Though he was considering waiting until he graduated. He couldn't imagine hearing the thoughts of his classmates all day. Betsy was one of the most talented psychics on the planet; he knew if he could trust anyone to train him in telepathy, it was her.
Adonai could train him too, but Michael did not want him in his head at all. The physical training was brutal enough, he couldn't imagine what the mental would be like.
The bell dinged and Michael walked out of the elevator, stepping into the penthouse. "Warren? Betsy?" he called.
No one responded. Michael made his way to the living room. He hoped he wasn't about to interrupt another private moment between the two of them. He still hadn't recovered from walking in on them when they were...let's just say he never wished to see his former teachers naked ever again.
He turned the corner and found a big surprise waiting for him. Thankfully it was a welcome one this time.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
In the living room, beside a table with a large cake surrounded by gifts underneath a banner that read Happy Birthday, were Warren, Betsy, Anna, the Champions, the Guthrie family, and several family members of the Champions. Angie's parents, Wayne's mother and sister, Jacob's mother and sister, and Devin's brothers were all there also.
Michael was surprised. Delighted actually.
"Oh my God!" he cried happily.
He dropped his bag and walked over to his friends. He was soon receiving hugs and handshakes from everyone.
"How did you all get here?" he asked.
"Warren paid for our tickets and motel rooms," Devin said.
Devin stood next to his brothers Austin and Harley. Both towered over Devin. Harley was six-foot-two but Austin was an astounding seven-foot-eight, the tallest in the room. Austin had long hair and a thick beard and a scar over his left eye. Harley did not have a scar or a beard, but he had long messy hair as well.
This was in contrast to Devin who kept his hair short and trimmed. He always jokingly called his brothers cavemen. Devin was also louder and more rebellious, where his brothers were quieter and less energetic.
"Thanks Warren, this is great!" Michael exclaimed.
"Dude, how could we miss your birthday?" Jacob stated.
"Yeah, we're going to get fucked up tonight!" Wayne said.
"Wayne Tonda, you watch your mouth!" Wayne's mom said, her eyes narrowing on him reproachfully.
"Whoops, sorry," Wayne said sheepishly.
"Alright everyone, let's get started!" Betsy said.
They lit the candles and sang the song. As they sang Michael felt like crying. He knew Warren and Betsy were going to throw him a party, but he didn't think they would do all this for him.
He may not have his family with him, but Michael was still surrounded by people who loved him. And that made the pain of not having his parents and siblings here sting a little less.
"Happy Birthday," Anna said handing him a small box.

It was an hour after the party had begun, Michael had already opened up the presents he got from the others. But Anna had taken him aside and handed him a special gift.
Michael unwrapped the box and found a golden locket.
He opened it up and found a picture of him and Anna together.
"I know lockets aren't really a boy thing but-"
"It's perfect, thanks Anna." He put the locket on and kissed her on the lips.
"Aw, Michael got a locket. That's so cute."
They both looked up and saw Wayne hanging from the ceiling, giving them a toothy grin.
An empty card bored box flew through the air and hit Wayne on the head.
"Wayne, get off the damn ceiling, you great big rodent!" his sister Tiffany yelled.
"Pain in the ass," he muttered and flew off.
"So how did you get your parents to come over here?" he asked.
"Oh, some of my friends are covering for me. My parents think that I am at a sleepover. I will be going over there at the end of the night."
Anna's parents were still doing everything in their power to keep the two of them apart. Even after everything that happened with the school they felt no sympathy whatsoever; they were happy because it meant Michael had to move further away which did make having a relationship difficult.
"Thanks for coming," Michael said.
"How could I not come to my boyfriend's birthday party?"
"I know it is tiring trying to hide our relationship from your parents."
"Tell me about it. Mom tried to hook me up with her hairdresser's nephew," she said.
"After the newspaper boy you'd think she would know when to stop," Michael chuckled.
"Where do you think I get my stubbornness from?" she asked.
A few hours later the guests were leaving. The Champions were going to spend the night and meet up with their family in the morning.
Warren and Betsy left to go see a movie and give the team time to themselves. Michael was seeing the Guthrie family out.
"Thank you so much for coming," he said.
"It's the most fun we have had in a while." Paige smiled at Michael.
"How have you guys been since the school closed?" Michael asked.
"Back working on the farm, real nice and peaceful," Sam replied.
"Boring as hell," Paige said.
"Thank you all for coming, I really appreciate it." Michael smiled at them.
"We have one last gift for you, Michael."
"Oh Lucinda, please, you're going to spoil me at this rate." Michael stated.
"I insist. Sam."
Sam handed him a guitar that was all too familiar.
"Is that…Jay's guitar?" Michael asked.
"It's for you, Michael. You were his best friend. He told me he was going to get you your own. But I think he would want you to have his."
Lucinda wiped the tears from her eyes and her children gathered around her, lending their support to her.
Michael held the guitar reverently, like he was holding the family Bible. "I will take good care of it. Thank you so much."
The Guthrie family left. Michael's fingers slowly slid along the strings. How many hours did Jay spend playing this thing? How many songs did he create using this guitar as his medium?
Michael didn't know how to play, but he was going to learn how.
For Jay.

"So Rickard, how have you and Victor been?" Angie asked.
The Champions were alone in the penthouse. Michael had put Jay's guitar on his bed and rejoined his old teammates.
"We are still dating. We keep in touch," Rickard said.
"Man, how do you stand the long-distance relationship?" Devin asked.
"I am planning on visiting him while I am in America."
"Does his parent's know about you?"
"No. We were going to wait until he turns eighteen," Rickard said nervously.
"Victor is so lucky; you're a fine catch Rickard," Franziska said.
"What do you call a gay guy who dates younger gay guys? I mean an older woman would be called a cougar, so what would that make Rickard?" Devin asked.
"How about a bat?" Wayne answered with a grin.
"Can we just drop it?" Rickard asked looking uncomfortable.
Rickard cared about Victor, but he was never comfortable with the age difference. He loved being with him and spending time with him. Victor had tried to seduce Rickard into doing more than just kissing, but Rickard refused to have sex with him until he was eighteen.
"So, who here hates their new normal life?" Jacob asked.
"I do," Angie replied.
"I do," Devin chimed in.
"Me too," Franziska stated.
"I hate normal!" Wayne said.
"I miss the old days," Rickard lamented.
"What I wouldn't give for a Danger Room session," Michael said.
"Oh yes, the adrenalin rush!" Angie said.
"I use my power to make some extra cash," Jacob said.
"What do you mean?" Michael asked.
"After I got home I got a job working in a grocery store. Wasn't making enough, so me and some of my friends came up with a plan where I would pretend to be Bigfoot. Brings in all kinds of tourists and nutjobs. Business has been booming. The whole tribe has been selling Bigfoot merchandise and we even do these tours where we lead the morons through the woods and I follow, letting out these inhuman growls and get close enough where they can take these blurry pictures."
"And they have no clue?" Wayne asked.
"Hell no, the money has been flowing pretty good on people wasting their money on the shit we sell. It's great!"
They all laughed.
"So how is your birthday going, Michael?" Franziska asked.
"Great, thank you all so much for this. I have been in a bit of a black mood the last couple weeks," Michael said.
"That's what Warren said. How have you been? Really?" Angie asked.
"How have you all been?" Michael asked.
No one spoke, no one had to. They were all survivors who had lost a lot.
"Every night before I got to bed I think about what happened, about everyone who died, about how things could have gone differently. I think to myself when will they strike again? The mutant haters, the mutants who hate humans. If I close my eyes will I awake to the sounds of gunfire and death? Will I turn on the TV and hear about how more people, human or mutants were killed? Will they pass a bill that outlaws mutants? Was it really smart to end the X-Men?"
"Xavier died. What are the X-Men without him?" Devin asked.
Michael stood up with a look of fierce determination on his face.
"Today as I walked home I saw an old lady get her purse stolen. She called for help but despite the fact there were several people on the street no one did anything. Until I stopped the guy myself. And you know what? It felt real good. It felt good to help that poor old woman. It felt good to knock that punk on his backside. It felt good to show all those people who just watched, that doing a good thing isn't so damn hard."
Michael headed for his room.
"Where are you going?" Wayne asked.
Michael turned to look at them.
"I am going to go out. I want to do something special for my birthday."

Later that night down by the docks, a group of men were busy smuggling crates from a warehouse.
The crates were filled with expensive clothes that the men were going to sell for a bigger price.
But they did not count on some unexpected company.
One of the men had just finished moving a crate to their truck and returned for the other one. But it was gone.
"Hey Frank, you take my crate?" he asked one of his friends.
"No man," Frank said.
"Huh? Odd."
The man turned and as he passed he noticed his crate was on the truck already.
"What the?"
He heard a noise and turned around. He didn't see anything and when he turned back around he saw all the crates in the truck were now unloaded.
"Alright, what is going on?" he asked angrily.
Someone was screwing with him and he did not like it.
"What's the problem?" one of his friends asked.
"Hey, what happened to the crates?" another asked.
"Someone is messing with us," the man said.
"Wow, you're very bright. What was your first clue?"
They turned and saw a young man wearing a hoodie. They couldn't see his face but they could see his mouth which was turned in a mocking grin.
The men all pulled out their guns and pointed them at the boy.
"Oh snap!" he said.
They fired but the boy had vanished, leaving nothing but a gust of wind.
"What the hell?"
"He's a freak!"
"Actually, the politically correct term is mutant," a voice said.
A sphere of light shot up in the middle of the building and went off like a flash grenade. It blinded the men.
"Get them!"
The Champions struck, with the men being blinded by Michael it was easy for them to take them down. Rickard used his power to mute the room so the men could not hear them approach nor could they hear the sounds of one another calling for help.
In ten minutes all the men were disarmed and tied up.
"Hell yeah, we are so cool!" Devin said.
"Let's see, that is two robberies foiled, seven muggings prevented, and one rape averted," Angie said.
"We should go, the alarm has been tripped and the police should be here soon; I can already sense them coming," Franziska said.
"Alright people let's move out," Rickard said.
They left the building quietly and unseen. Franziska used her power to lift herself and Rickard, Angie, Jacob, and Devin to a nearby building.
"Man this is so cool! I forgot how awesome it is to be a hero!" Wayne said.
"This was a good idea, Michael. I haven't felt like this in ages," Angie said.
"Can we foil one more robbery? Please?" Devin begged.
"Actually, if you all don't mind, I need to borrow him for a moment."
They all turned and saw Adonai standing behind them.
"Adonai? What are you doing here?" Michael asked.
"To give you your birthday present. It's all ready."
"Where is it?"
Adonai walked up to Michael and put his hand on his shoulder. Recognizing what he was doing Michael was about to protest before they vanished.

Michael and Adonai appeared in a forest.
Michael looked around. "Where are we?"
"Montana. Little bit of private land I own. Follow me."
Michael followed him to a small hill. There was a concrete door, like the opening to a bomb shelter.
"What is this?" Michael asked.
"Your gift." Adonai reached into his pocket and pulled out a golden key. "Do the honors, will you?"
Michael took the key from him and walked up to the door and unlocked it. He did not know how he was going to open it but the door opened on its own.
The two of them walked down the stairs until they reached the bottom. There was another door that required a handprint verification. Adonai had Michael use his hand to open the door.
When he was granted passage they walked into an elevator which took them down.
"Took me years to build this place, if I wasn't so worried about keeping it a secret I would have finished sooner. Literally spent billions on it."
"What is it?"
"The Ark. And it is yours."
The doors opened and they were now in a large room. There was a large flat table in the center with dozens of computer screens scattered about. They walked into the room and all the computers turned on. Michael saw there was a balcony above them which allowed access to several other doors.
"Made using the latest in human technology and alien technology from the Skrulls, Kree, Shi'ar, and Badoon. Wasn't too hard to get the tech. All the times they tried to invade the planet and left remnants of their tech around. This place is thousands of years ahead of its time. Reed Richards would give his left nut to get his hands on it."
"Welcome back, Adonai," a voice said.
A woman appeared in front of them, she was obviously holographic. Michael could see through her like a ghost. She wore a white dress and had tan colored skin, long black hair, and blue eyes with flecks of yellow.
"I am happy to report the Ark is at one hundred percent. All systems are greenlit for use."
"Michael, this is the Ark's AI. Her name is Eve," Adonai said.
"Greetings, Michael. I am speaking to you through a holographic avatar. As Adonai said, I am the Ark's artificial intelligence. I was made to help serve you and help you efficiently operate the Ark."
She pointed to one of the large computer screens on the wall and it showed a blueprint of the Ark.
"The Ark was created using state of the art technology as well as tech belonging to several alien races. This makes the Ark the most advanced base in human history. It is powered by a sphere of angel fire donated by Adonai and will last for billions of years. The Ark has also been enchanted to help keep it hidden and safe from outside forces. The Ark is untraceable. All phone and video communications are untraceable. The Ark is capable of hacking into every known computer and has lots of rooms; there is a kitchen, a gym, a garden, and many more facilities you will find interesting. Including a device similar to the Cerebro unit the X-Men had."
"Cerebro? How did you get your hands on the blueprints for that?" Michael asked.
"With the Ark's computers it was not difficult hacking into the X-Men's database," Adonai said.
"So let me get this straight. You are giving me a base that is made from dangerous alien technology that if misused could prove dangerous for the whole world?" Michael asked.
"Best gift ever? Right?" Adonai asked.
"But why?"
"Because I know what you want. You want to be the good guy again. You want to fill the hole the X-Men filled. I have been watching you, Michael. I know thirst for justice burns in your blood like angel fire. Because you are Cheyarafim, it is in your blood to seek evil and smite it down. You know without the X-Men it is only a matter of time before things start going to shit. I am giving you the power to be there to stop those who would hurt the innocent."
"You never do anything without a reason, Adonai. What is this? Another test?"
"Of course. I want to see if you have what it takes to be the guardian of this world. Just as the Cheyarafim guarded the world, so too will you know how to guard it."
"I can't do this, not alone, this is too much power for one man to have," Michael said.
"Then share it. It is yours now."
Adonai disappeared, leaving Michael alone.
"Great. Now how am I going to get home?" Michael asked.
"The Ark has a teleportation system that can transport you anywhere on the planet, Michael. Once I give you a signal booster then I can lock onto you and teleport you back and forth from the Ark as you desire."
Michael thought for a moment.
"How many boosters do you have?"

"This is so freaking sweet!" Wayne said as he flew around.
Devin zipped in. "Dude, this place is huge! We even have a pool!" He disappeared and reappeared with a large sandwich. "And a kitchen!"
"Adonai made this?" Angie asked, awed.
"If Tony Stark can make his Iron Man suitin a cave in the desert, then why can't Adonai do this?" Jacob asked.
"And he just gave it to you?" Rikard asked.
Michael held up the key.
"Talk about irresponsible," Franziska said.
"You will give this over to the proper authorities/ of course," Rickard said.
"Are you insane?! Michael can't give this up!" Wayne said.
"Yeah, this place is banging! Look at this tech!" Devin exclaimed.
"But we can't trust it. Who knows if we can really trust Adonai? How do we know he is not watching us right now?" Angie asked.
Eve appeared then right next to Angie. "I can assure you Adonai is not watching us."
"Of course you would say that, he is your master," Angie said.
The Champions continue to argue on why Michael should or shouldn't tell someone about the Ark. Devin, Jacob, and Wayne were for him keeping it, but Rickard and the girls were against it.
"I am keeping it," Michael said.
"Michael!" Rickard said.
"But only if you all help me with it."
They all looked at him in surprise.
"Come on, guys. Didn't you feel great tonight? Didn't it feel natural to help people? It was like the good old days. Just because the X-Men are gone doesn't mean Xavier's dream must die."
"What are you saying, Michael?" Angie asked.
"I am saying we have an opportunity here. To do what we were trained to do - keep the peace between humans and mutants. To stop those who would seek to make a war."
"The seven of us?" Wayne asked.
"Why not? It was just five X-Men originally. With the Ark we can do some good. We can keep the world safe. We are the Champions, after all. With the signal boosters we can stay home and when need be, assemble to fight evil on a moment's notice."
Everyone looked from one to another.
"I'm in," Devin said quickly.
"Me too!" Wayne said.
"You can count me in as well," Jacob said.
"I will, someone needs to make sure you men don't wreck things," Franziska said.
"I agree. Men and power do not go hand in hand," Angie said.
"I can't let you damn kids do this all by yourselves," Rickard said.
Michael smiled. "Alright then, let's go back to the penthouse. Tomorrow we are going to meet up with some old friends."
"What do you mean?" Jacob asked.
"I think if we are going to do this it is only right we ask if anyone else wants to join, right?"
"Oh yeah, the X-Men are back, baby!" Devin said happily.

The next morning Michael was just getting up.
He had taken a showerand was in his closet getting dressed.
He had a huge selection of clothes to choose from. Many of them bought for him by Betsy who loved fashion.
At the end of his closet was his suit of armor and his spear.
Michael walked up to it, letting his fingers run over the armor. He had not worn it since the battle with Bastion.
"Don't worry guys, I will be putting you to good use very soon," he said.
He walked out of his closet and into the dining room where the Champions were sitting eating breakfast and waiting for him.
"Alright guys. Today is the day. You all have your targets," Michael said.
"Why don't we ask the senior members of the X-Men again? "Angie asked.
"Duh, if Cyclops or any of the older members found out they would make Michael give them the Ark," Devin said.
"He's right. They wouldn't trust all that power to a kid, no offense," Rickard said.
"It's true. But I won't do this alone, I don't think anyone should have this much power, which is why I want to share it." Michael took a bite of his toast. "Eve has searched and found almost all of the students."
"Almost all of them?" Jacob asked.
"Keven has gone missing. The FBI has been keeping a close eye on him but he vanished."
"Keven? You mean Wither?" Wayne asked.
"He was so distraught about Laurie. He liked her a lot," Franziska said.
"Who else couldn't you find?" Rickard asked.
"X-23 and Blut."
"Wait, you're going to ask those two psychos to join?" Angie asked.
"X isn't a psycho, just misunderstood. And Blut is...well...Blut," Michael said.
"Good luck trying to find them; with their training, if they don't want to be found then they won't be," Rickard said.
"And just how long did you think you would have before I wouldn't find out?"
They all turned and saw Warren standing in front of them, his hand on his hips.
"Warren...uh...we," Michael stuttered.
Warren's face broke into a grin. He drew up his left hand and showed them the morning newspaper.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going to be in today's paper?"
"Wait what?" Michael asked.
Warren folded the paper and put it on the table for everyone to see. It was one of the photos Peter took of Michael and May yesterday.
The headline was Proud Legacy Continues by Karen Grant.
It read:
Despite the fact the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters is now closed, the students continue to uphold the beliefs it stood for.
Michael Gabriel Bronson, now seventeen, first made headlines many months ago when videos sprung up of him fighting another mutant.
Bronson, whose family was tragically murdered by members of the Purifiers, the now defunct anti-mutant group, now lives with billionaire Warren Worthington the third, in his penthouse.
Bronson has also been seen with Adonai Malakah who revealed himself to be a mutant as well not too long ago, and due to their similar appearance, caused accusations that Bronson was an illegitimate child of Adonai's, but which were later proven to be false.
Yesterday, Bronson was on his way home when May Parker almost lost her purse to a thief. Bronson was able to stop the thief and return Mrs. Parker her purse.
The Xavier Institute may be closed, but it's legacy still lives on.
"Oh yeah, that," Michael said.
"Good job, Michael. Just don't make this a habit, alright? Leave the heroics to the others, okay."
Warren left, leaving the group alone. They all took a deep breath of air.
"That was too close," Angie said.
"Alright, so we all have our targets." Michael held up a pendant in the shape of a pair of wings connected by a halo. "Just tell Eve where you want to go and she can send you there."
"God, I hate teleporting," Wayne said.

It was hours later and the Champions had brought their recruits to the Ark.
Using the Ark's teleportation tech, the Champions had traveled around the whole world to speak to the former students of the Xavier Institute.
Only five agreed.
Julian, Hisako, Megan, Josh, and victor were the only ones who agreed to join them. All the others had declined. Some because they did not want to get involved in the violence being a superhero brought, others because they had found a new way to live their life.
Hisako had always wanted to be an X-Woman, but even though the X-Men were disbanded she still wanted to be a hero.
Victor was not content to live a quiet life back in his hometown and wanted to get back in the heroics. Plus, this was a good chance for him and Rickard to spend more time together.
Julian had been in a severe depression since he lost his arms. He was stuck living with his parents, which did not help with his depression, so when Michael had arrived at his family's mansion, he was quick to say yes.
Megan had gone back to live with her grandparents in Wales. But there had been a nasty incident involving demons which she was thankfully able to handle with her soul dagger. After that she realized she needed to learn more about her new mystical abilities and how to properly control them.
And as for Josh, he just wanted to find a way to resume his golden form. Right now his body was nothing but splotches of metallic gold and obsidian black. He was hoping working with the Champions might be what he needed.
"Thank you all for coming," Michael said.
"This place is amazing, Michael," Megan said excitedly.
"You sure do have friends in high places," Josh said.
"I know. This place is full of potential. We can use that potential to do some good now that the X-Men are gone; someone needs to step up and pick up the slack," Michael said.
"Why not just tell Warren about it?" Victor asked.
"Because if he or the other X-Men knew, they would make us shut this place down and all this potential would go to waste. I want to help people again. I miss being a hero. And if we work together we can do a lot of good."
Michael showed them the badges. "With these things Eve can locate us and teleport us anywhere in the world," Michael explained.
"Who the hell is Eve?" Julian asked.
Eve appeared next to Michael. "Hello," she greeted.
"Holy hell!" Victor said.
"My name is Eve. I am an artificial intelligence designed by Adonai to help Michael maintain the Ark and help serve him. If ever any of you have any questions or need help with a task, please ask and I will help," she said.
"Dude, this keeps getting better and better!" Josh said.
"Well shit, I am in. If it gets me out of my parent's mansion, I'm in," Julian said.
"The Ark has over two hundred personal quarters. If you so wish, you can live here," Eve said.
"So who is the leader?" Hisako asked.
"Rickard of course, he is the oldest and was our leader before, so-," Michael started.
"No," Rickard interrupted Michael. "I am not the leader, Michael, you are."
"Me?" Michael asked surprised.
"Of course. This is your show, Michael. You're the one who brought us all together and you are the one who owns this place. You should be the leader."
"But I have never led before, I don't know how to lead," Michael said.
"It's easy. Just point and tell them what to do," Julian said.
"There is a difference between leading and bossing people around, Keller," Angie said.
"Could have fooled me," Julian said.
"I think Michael would make a good leader," Megan said.
"Me too." Victor nodded his head.
"Then we are all agreed, Michael is our leader," Jacob said.
"We will need a co-leader then. And I want it to be Rickard," Michael said.
"I can be co-leader," he said.
"What about costumes, if we are going to do this we have to keep our identities a secret, right?" Wayne asked.
"I can construct costumes for you all to wear," Eve said.
"Great, when can you have them ready by?" Michael asked.
"Tomorrow."
"Perfect. Let's look around the Ark a bit," Michael said.
Everyone got up to look around, but before Michael could leave Eve stopped him.
"Michael, might I have a moment of your time?" she asked.
"Sure."
"As you know, the Ark is wired into every computer system on the planet. With help from satellites made by Paradise, are able to monitor the entire planet. This allows us to observe events taking place around the world. But we also have mystical sensors that warn us of any dangers of a mystic nature."
"What do you mean?"
A holographic image of America appeared in the air. A red dot shined from Arizona.
"For the past several weeks I have detected an increase in unusual mystical frequencies in a town nearby Camp Verde.
"What kind of frequencies?" Michael asked.
"In some cases, when powerful and dangerous magic is about to be performed it sends out tremors - ways of warning people of coming danger. These tremors manifest as omens and signs. The mystic enhancements to my sensors have allowed me to see the gathering magic in this location and I have accessed the internet and found many news articles speaking about strange events centered around the area. Due to the size of the energy I believe it is of note to investigate."
"What is this place?"
"The town is called Devil's Keyhole. My files on the area reveal it has been a hot spot for dark spirits for many years. And as of late it seems more and more of these spirits have been appearing in the area. I believe they are being drawn there."
"But why?"
"That is the question."
"Hmm, well work on it tomorrow. Thank you for informing me of this, Eve."
"Of course, Michael. If you have any more questions, please ask."
Michael continued on his way out of the room, eager to explore his new place.

"Neat!" Victor said.
Victor and Rickard were in the garden.
At first one would think they were outside in the bright sunlight but they were inside the Ark.
"How is this possible?" Rickard asked.
Eve appeared in front of them.
"The garden is designed an artificial atmosphere to supply all the plants and trees with the light they require. The atmosphere can also be altered to cause variations in the weather."
"Awesome."
Eve vanished and Victor and Rickard began to stroll through the garden hand in hand.
"I am glad you like it," Rickard said.
"How can I not? This way we can finally be together again."
"You're not just doing this because of that, are you?" Rickard asked.
"I admit, the superhero stuff is mostly just a bonus," Victor said.
"You don't have to do this just to keep seeing me, you know."
"It's not just you, Rickard. Michael is right. Now that the X-Men are gone someone needs to take their place. It's only a matter time before there are protests and attacks again. I want to help keep the peace."
He plucked a flower and put it on Rickard's ear.
"So, did you get back in contact with your parents?"
"Sadly, yes. My dad answered the phone and as soon as I said it was me he told me I wasn't supposed to be talking to them and to never call again," Rickard said.
"I am sorry to hear that," Victor said.
He shrugged. "They still hate me for being bi and a mutant, and blame me for my sister dying. As far as they are concerned, they don't have a son."
"You deserve better then to be treated like that. You're a great person, Rickard. You're so full of love, it's a shame they can't see that."
"I don't need them. I have people in my life who care and appreciate me. People like you."
Rickard leaned in and kissed Victor. The young reptilian's heart skipped a beat as it always did at the feel of his lips being graced by Rickard's.
"I love kissing you," Rickard murmured.
Victor blushed and his cheeks turned a darker shade of green.
"Thanks."
"So, want to find our room?"
"Our?" Victor asked.
"Of course. I mean...do you want to share a room with me?"
Victor imagined what it would be like to wake up to Rickard's sleep-tousled hair, his face so peaceful and serene, with his arms wrapped around Victor, his breathing soft and melodic.
"Oh, yeah."

"What the hell is this thing?" Julian asked.
"Beats the hell out of me," Josh said.
They had found a large octagonal room with a tree inside. The tree had several vines extending from its branches that at first glance appeared to yield fruit. But upon closer inspection it was revealed the things growing from the vines were actually chunks of metal.
"Since when do trees make metal?" Julian asked. He raised his hand and used his telekinesis to pull one of the spheres over to him.
They inspected the metal; it was multi-colored with reds, blues, greens, and yellows.
Eve appeared next to them. "That is firmamanium. The Ark is made from it. This tree grows the metal in a limitless supply. Firmaminum is not from this world and has several mystical properties. It was used by the Cheyarafim to forge their strongest weapons. The metal, although not as durable as adamatium, is useful for allowing certain abilities to be channeled."
Julian had an idea then. Using his TKhe pulled several more metal orbs down and began to tear and twist and fuse them with his power.
"What are you doing?" Josh asked.
Julian has used the metal to create a set of metal arms. They flew to his stumps and hovered just over to where his forearms used to be. (
He flexed the fingers and moved his wrists.
"I can feel things with them." He ruffled his hair with his left metal hand. "I can feel my hair and I can feel the warmth of my skin."
"How is that possible?" Josh asked.
"Since Mr. Keller is a telekinetic, the firmaminium focuses his telekinesis and allows him to use it in cohesion with the metal as an extension for his sense of touch," Eve said.
"You know, maybe I could grow your hands back," Josh said. "I have been doing a lot of studying on the human anatomy."
"Maybe when you learn not to turn someone into a walking tumor," Julian said.
"That's my dark side," Josh said with a frown.
"And you are still plenty dark for comfort. So for now I will be using my kickass new metal arms," Julian said flexing his new arms.
"Where did you learn to do that? I didn't know you could be so finesse with your power."
"Well, after losing my arms I had to learn to use my powers for simple things like opening doors, feeding myself, wiping my ass. You know, things hands were meant for."
"You used your telekinesis to wipe your butt?" Josh asked.
"Believe me, it was not easy...or very sanitary."
"Too much info," Josh said covering his mouth.
"The point is, it taught me how to use my ability in such a way. I am a lot more accurate now."
"Well, at least something good came out of this for you." Josh looked at his dark left hand sadly. "At least you are useful."
"Don't be such a wimp. Once you learn how to correct yourself you can be the best healer in the world again. Hell, this might be good for you, you can finally use your power to defend yourself."
"If by defend you mean bring pain and death, then I would rather stay gold," Josh said.
"Beggars can't be choosers and since we are back in the hero game we are going to need some offense. Just hope Bronson knows what he is doing."

Franziska, Megan, and Wayne were flying around a library. It was a huge three-story room filled with books.
"Wow, look at all this. I don't think I could read all these in my lifetime," Wayne said.
"Oh my gosh look, there are books in other languages," Megan said.
Eve appeared then. "The library holds more than fifty million books, scrolls, tomes, and texts. We even have a section for books on magic. I am sure this would interest you, Megan."
"You wouldn't happen to have anything on soul-daggers would you?" she asked.
"As a matter of fact, we have several books."
"Great!"
"Just how big is this place?" Franziska asked. "It seems like it goes on forever."
"The Ark is dimensionally transcendent. The barriers of size and mass have been altered so the inside of the Ark is much bigger than the outside," Eve explained.
"Dude! That is such a rip-off of "Doctor Who"! Please tell me this baby can travel through space and time!" Wayne said.
"Sadly, that is not within the Ark's abilities, though with the proper upgrades time travel could be possible," Eve said.
"Bitchin!" Wayne said.
"Just how big is the Ark? On the inside, I mean," Franziska said.
"The answer depends on how big it is set to be. Right now it goes on for five hundred miles. But if so desired it could be set for an infinite capacity," Eve said.
"I can't believe this, it is amazing!" Megan said.
"I can't believe Adoani went through all the trouble to build this place. Then he just handed it over to Michael," Franziska said.
"Well, when you are as rich as he is you can afford anything I guess," Wayne said.
"But how do we know this doesn't come with a price? How do we know Adonai isn't going to make us pay for it one day?"
Wayne shrugged his shoulders. "We don't. But I trust Michael. So if he thinks we can do this, then so do I."
"Guys, look at this! I found this really creepy book!" Megan said showing them a leather-bound book. "It's written in this old language. And it smells funny too."
"That is the book of Shuma-Gorath. Written using virgin blood and skin," Eve said.
A look of pure disgust crossed Megan's face and she dropped the book.
"I really need to be careful what I touch in here."

Fusedtwilight: Next chapter the Champions have their first mission. Abreal reappears and may prove to much for them.
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Angel In The Attic