CH 91: Defence
It was a rather boring day for Sharon. Lex was off visiting another world, and Luna Snow had only recently returned to Korea, leaving the mansion unusually quiet. With no immediate responsibilities demanding her attention, Sharon had been considering meeting up with Ava, Alison, and Regan to spend the day at a spa or do something equally relaxing. Not that she particularly needed the treatment herself. Whatever voodoo Lex had performed on her, her body remained in perfect condition without any effort on her part, and she had long since grown accustomed to the benefits of his ridiculous abilities.
With Grayfia away, Sharon eventually decided to make breakfast herself. She usually enjoyed whatever elaborate dishes Grayfia prepared, and although she appreciated the woman's cooking, she occasionally felt like making something simple instead of indulging in another fancy meal. She wandered into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and reached inside for a handful of cherry tomatoes, already thinking about what else she could throw together. It was an ordinary, peaceful morning, and she had barely begun deciding what to cook when something in the atmosphere made her pause, an instinctive unease that she couldn't quite explain.
Fluffy's sudden, thunderous barking cut through the quiet before Sharon could investigate the feeling. The enormous dog sounded genuinely alarmed, and Sharon reacted without hesitation, abandoning the tomatoes as she sprinted toward the nearest window. She launched herself through it and out of the mansion just as the structure behind her shuddered violently, the walls and roof collapsing inward beneath an impact powerful enough to shake the surrounding grounds. Glass shattered across the garden, and an enormous cloud of dust and debris swallowed the house, turning the place where she'd been standing only moments earlier into a heap of rubble.
Sharon landed on the lawn and immediately turned toward the destruction, searching for signs of the others while keeping her senses alert for whoever had attacked them. She didn't have to wait long to find the first familiar face. Donna burst out of the rubble and launched herself straight at their assailants, her speed carrying her across the ruined grounds before the dust had even settled. Her first strikes landed against a huge man wearing a brown bodysuit and helmet, but the stranger barely seemed to notice them. He stood between Donna and the other attackers, absorbing her blows with a frightening ease that made it clear he wasn't an ordinary opponent.
Sharon recognized him almost immediately. Juggernaut was difficult to mistake for anyone else, and the remaining figures weren't much harder to identify once she had a clear view of them. Charles Xavier stood near the centre of the group, his familiar bald head and blue wheelchair conspicuous among the destruction, while Magneto hovered nearby in his distinctive helmet. Another man, equipped with metallic wings, circled above the battlefield, his metal feathers glinting as he adjusted his position. Five attackers in total, all of them dangerous, and they had chosen to demolish Lex's mansion while its owner was away.
Sharon didn't waste time wondering how they'd managed to coordinate the attack. She gave Fluffy a sharp signal, and the enormous dog immediately plunged into the rubble, digging through broken masonry in search of anyone who might be trapped underneath. With the mansion already reduced to ruins, finding the others was the first priority, but Sharon couldn't afford to leave Donna fighting alone against a group capable of bringing the building down in a single assault. She drew a breath, steadied herself, and moved toward the attackers, prepared to discover what they wanted the hard way.
“Where is Lex Everhart?” Charles asked, his voice carrying over the noise of crumbling stone and shifting debris.
Sharon felt something brush against her mind almost as soon as he spoke. It was an intrusive presence, probing at her thoughts with the confidence of someone accustomed to finding very little resistance. The attempt went nowhere, stopped cold by the protection Lex had given her. Whatever Charles was trying to do, his psychic influence couldn't get past it, and Sharon found herself almost amused by how reliably Lex's so-called voodoo continued to work. She looked directly at him, wearing a smile that was considerably more relaxed than the situation warranted.
“Lex is away on business at the moment. Why don't you boys go home, and I'll make an appointment for you when he gets back?” Sharon asked, snickering as though she were dealing with an impatient group of visitors rather than five superpowered attackers who had just destroyed her home.
The blue bald man's expression hardened. “Do you think this is humorous, human?”
“Let me handle her,” the winged man interrupted, already descending toward Sharon. His metallic feathers shifted around him, spreading into a threatening fan as he angled his body for an attack.
Sharon's smile faded as she summoned her battlesuit, its components forming around her before she brought her shield into position. She had chosen this particular uniform for a reason: its only metal component was vibranium, a material Magneto might still influence to some degree, but one he couldn't manipulate as easily as conventional alloys. It wasn't a perfect defence against him, yet she had no intention of giving him control over her entire suit if she could avoid it. The first volley of metallic feathers came slicing through the air, and Sharon raised her shield to intercept them, the sharp projectiles striking its surface with a series of hard, ringing impacts.
She used the momentary cover to spring forward, driving herself off the ground and into the air before the winged attacker could adjust his trajectory. Her boot slammed into his upper body, knocking him backward and disrupting his flight, while she twisted through the momentum of the strike and brought her shield around to protect herself from the feathers still cutting through the air. The man recovered quickly, his metallic wings beating hard enough to scatter dust and loose fragments of stone across the ruined garden, but Sharon was already repositioning herself rather than allowing him to dictate the fight. She couldn't afford to get caught in a prolonged aerial exchange while Donna was occupied with Juggernaut and the others remained free to attack.
Behind her, Fluffy's barking changed pitch as the dog uncovered something beneath the wreckage. He seized hold of Jubilee's clothing and carefully dragged her clear of the broken stone, pulling her away from the unstable remains of the mansion. Jubilee appeared badly injured, and Sharon's stomach tightened at the sight, but she reminded herself that Lex had already given her regeneration. Whatever damage she'd suffered, she should be able to recover, provided nothing else happened to her before the healing could take effect. Jean had also instinctively shielded Jubilee with her telekinesis when the mansion came down, which had likely prevented the injuries from being even worse. It wasn't enough to spare Jubilee from harm, but it had given her a chance.
Jean emerged from the rubble moments later, her expression dark with anger. Her eyes went straight to Charles Xavier, and whatever she saw in the man who had once been her mentor seemed to intensify the fury already burning in her. The air around her trembled as psychic energy gathered, and then a powerful wave burst outward from her position, sweeping across the ruined grounds. The force struck the attackers and drove them backward, forcing even Juggernaut to brace himself as debris skittered away from Jean in every direction. For the first time since the attack began, the five intruders were made to give ground.
Charles watched her with an expression that was difficult to read, but the bald man standing at the centre of the group seemed far more interested in what she had just demonstrated. His attention settled on Jean with an intensity that made Sharon's instincts flare, and the faintest hint of satisfaction touched his face as he regarded the psychic power radiating from her.
“Fascinating,” he said, sounding less concerned by the force that had pushed his companions back than impressed by its magnitude. “A psychic even more powerful than I expected. Girl, join me. I am Apocalypse, the God of Mutantkind, and I will grant you powers beyond those you already possess.”
Sharon's eyes narrowed at the grandiose declaration. She had no idea what Apocalypse wanted with Jean, but the timing of the attack and the destruction surrounding them made it clear that his offer wasn't a friendly invitation. Whatever his real purpose, he had brought Juggernaut, Magneto, Archangel, and a compromised Charles Xavier to Lex's doorstep, and now he was attempting to recruit Jean in the middle of the battle. Sharon had a strong suspicion that the mansion's destruction was only the beginning of whatever he had planned.
---
Somewhere else in New York, at Midtown High School, Ben was spending what had turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable day with the new friends he'd made. Peter, Ned, and MJ were there, along with Sylvie Lushton, the girl he'd met on his first day at school. He was still getting used to the group, but they had made it easy enough to settle in, and for once he could enjoy an ordinary school day without having to worry about saving the world or dealing with some alien threat. Sylvie was the one exception to that feeling of normality. There was something strange about her that Ben couldn't quite put his finger on, an impression that had lingered since their first meeting despite his inability to identify what, exactly, had set off his instincts.
Just as he was about to head to class, his phone buzzed with an emergency alert. Ben pulled it out, expecting one of the usual notifications, but the message on the screen came from Cortana. The words immediately wiped the casual expression from his face: Lex's mansion had been attacked. Ben didn't waste time trying to call for further details. He knew enough about the people who lived there to understand that an attack on their home could turn serious very quickly, and he wasn't about to sit through a lesson while they were in danger.
“Sorry, guys. Family emergency. Gotta go,” Ben said, already turning away as he hurried toward the exit.
Sylvie watched him leave, her attention following him for a moment longer than the others'. Ben had never exactly hidden his unusual life, and by this point his status as a hero was practically an open secret. He had been seen with other heroes often enough, and there were people who had witnessed him transform into entirely different creatures. Whatever was happening, it was clearly the sort of emergency that called for someone like Ben. Sylvie's thoughts turned toward the possibilities, and a quiet determination settled behind her expression. He's going out like this... This is definitely a hero emergency. Maybe this is my chance, too.
Peter was equally startled by the message, even without knowing its precise contents. Ben's sudden departure was enough to tell him something serious had happened, and his concern grew as he considered the people who might be involved. He had his own reasons for being interested in what was happening around the city, but he wasn't going to let a friend rush into danger without at least finding out what was going on. After a quick excuse to Ned and MJ, Peter headed out as well, intending to make his way toward the disturbance.
By the time Ben reached the sky, the Omnitrix had already transformed him into Astrodactyl. He flew toward Lex's mansion at speed, the city passing beneath him as he focused on reaching the scene as quickly as possible. When he arrived, the sight below made his expression sharpen. The mansion was in ruins, and five figures were engaged in a fight across the grounds. He immediately recognized Magneto, whose reputation as a mutant extremist had made him familiar even to people who weren't deeply involved in the superhero community. The others were less obvious to him, but the sight of Donna struggling to hold her own against a gigantic man in a brown suit was enough to tell him that this wasn't some minor disturbance.
Ben knew from experience that Donna was no pushover. Ben had fought her before, and even in his Ultimate Humungousaur form, he'd been overwhelmed by her speed. Ben had eventually won after switching to Ultimate Echo Echo, but that victory hadn't erased the lesson: Donna was fast, powerful, and difficult to deal with, and anyone who could keep her occupied while the mansion lay in ruins was a serious threat. Seeing her exchanging blows with the giant while the others continued their assault, Ben understood that he couldn't afford to waste time experimenting with transformations.
Technically, he had access to three Omnitrixes—or four, depending on how one counted them—including the Classic Omnitrix, the Rebooted Omnitrix, the Ultimatrix, and the Finished Omnitrix he was currently wearing. Each offered its own options, but this wasn't the moment to weigh every possible choice. He immediately activated the Finished Omnitrix and selected Atomix, hoping the transformation would give him the raw power necessary to turn the tide. The familiar green light engulfed him, his body reshaping as the transformation completed, and he dropped toward the battlefield with the confidence that came from choosing one of his strongest available forms.
Below him, Apocalypse was still addressing Jean, apparently convinced that his offer was worth making in the middle of a fight. Ben didn't know what the bald man was saying, and he certainly didn't care enough to wait for the conversation to finish. He came in from behind and drove a powerful punch into Apocalypse, catching him before he could turn around properly. The impact sent the mutant leader crashing downward, forcing him to abandon his attempt to recruit Jean as he hit the ground and scrambled to recover.
Apocalypse rose with a look of disbelief, his attention snapping toward the strange green-and-white figure that had just struck him. “You... what are you?”
“I'm Atomix,” Ben answered, offering the introduction with surprising politeness for someone who had just punched the man out of the air.
“And I'm The Apocalypse,” the bald mutant replied, his voice hardening as he straightened. Energy gathered around him, bright and dangerous, before he thrust his hand forward and unleashed a blast directly at Ben. Atomix met the attack with an energy blast of his own, the two forces colliding between them in a violent burst that illuminated the ruined mansion and sent loose debris tumbling across the grounds. Neither combatant immediately yielded, and the clash made it clear that Ben had at least found someone capable of responding to his chosen form.
Before the exchange could continue, movement in the sky caught Ben's attention. More figures were approaching the mansion, and the familiar silhouettes of the Avengers quickly became visible among them. Iron Man was at the front, his armour gleaming as he descended toward the battlefield, apparently ready to join the fight without waiting for a full explanation. His arrival gave the defenders another powerful ally, but it also drew Magneto's attention toward a target he likely considered especially vulnerable.
Magneto raised a hand toward Tony, attempting to seize control of the armour with his magnetic powers. For a moment, the gesture looked like the beginning of a familiar tactic, one that had worked against plenty of technological opponents before. Nothing happened. Tony continued moving through the air as though Magneto hadn't done anything at all, and the mutant's expression shifted from confidence to surprise when he realized his powers weren't having the expected effect.
“What? Surprised?” Tony called, sounding thoroughly pleased with himself. “You think I never thought about it?”