Rogue Replacement: A Marvel Story

Chapter 88

Arc 7 - Ch 5: Death

Date: Monday, August 29, 2011.

Location: Times Square, Manhattan, New York

Pain exploded across Tyson's body. It was like his skin had been flayed. But it only lasted a moment. His regeneration, combined with the Juggernaut's, kicked in, healing him almost immediately. He turned, trying to figure out what hit him, and saw Pietro.

With a copy of Muse in his hand.

He couldn't allow that. Pietro was dangerous enough already.

Muse was bound to him. While the speedster held a copy, the dagger was still beholden to his will. With a thought, he dismissed that copy. It immediately disappeared, leaving Pietro confused.

Now Tyson had a problem. How did you hit someone with superspeed? He didn't have an answer. As strong as Tyson was, Pietro was the real unstoppable force. He'd see anything Tyson threw at him far before the attack landed. Additionally, while wearing Magneto's helmet, Tyson couldn't use illusions. So, how? He'd need to use an attack that Pietro would see coming. His powers weren't helpful for this. Neither were the Juggernauts... But maybe Max's power.

Settling on the impromptu plan, he threw Muse at Pietro. As he released, he ran all of Electro's power through his skin. He was already glowing blue; it just made him glow slightly more. It looked like the blade would hit the speedster, but suddenly, Pietro disappeared.

And the electricity running under his skin discharged.

Pietro was at his back, faster than his eyes could follow, trying to stab him with Muse. But he fell for Tyson's trap.

Running the electricity along his skin forced it all to jump to the dagger when it pierced him. Electricity erupted from the weapon, coursing through the metal and into Pietro's body. The shock was immediate and overwhelming. Time, which had been moving so slowly for the speedster, suddenly snapped back to its normal pace. His eyes widened in surprise and pain as the current surged through him, paralyzing him completely, the dagger still clutched in his hand, its tip barely breaking Tyson's skin.

Tyson's eyes, which had been focused in the distance where Pietro stood previously, now locked onto his stunned face.

"Gotcha," he said, almost conversationally to the paralyzed speedster.

Pietro tried to respond, to move, but his body refused to obey. The electricity continued to course through him, causing intense pain and keeping him immobilized.

Wanda's eyes widened, horror and fear gripping her as she watched her beloved twin paralyzed as the electric current locked his muscles, negating his power.

"No," Wanda choked out.

She could only see her helpless brother, trapped as Tyson reached for him. Their father had warned them. One touch was all it took for Mirage to kill.

Pietro would die if she didn't prevent Tyson from touching him.

Rage simmered inside Wanda. Crimson energy sparked at her fingers, responding to the surge of desperate fury. Her eyes glowed red, power flowing through her veins.

"You'll pay for this," she growled through gritted teeth, her Sokovian accent becoming more pronounced with her anger.

With a cry of desperation, Wanda unleashed her chaotic power. A coruscating bolt of scarlet force streamed through the air. Tyson didn't register the attack until it slammed into him. The force of the impact sent him staggering backward, his feet sliding across the cracked pavement. Though Cain Marko's absorbed power shielded him from serious harm, the sheer intensity of Wanda's assault was enough to throw him off balance momentarily.

More importantly, the Hex Bolt knocked Pietro out of Tyson's reach. The speedster tumbled to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop, where he lay motionless.

"Pietro!" Wanda cried out, her voice thick with concern.

She rushed to her brother's side, kneeling beside him. Wanda's head snapped up, her eyes blazing with fury. "You dare threaten my family?" she spat.

The air around her began to warp and twist as reality bent to her will. Small objects nearby started to float, caught in the maelstrom of her power.

Tyson raised his hands, trying to placate the witch. "I'm not your enemy, Wanda. Magneto's been lying to you, using you. There's so much you don't understand."

"I understand enough," Wanda snarled. She rose to her feet, positioning herself protectively in front of Pietro. "No more words," she declared, raising her hands again. "You've hurt my brother. Now you face me."

Wanda unleashed a barrage of hex bolts, prompting Tyson to run. He considered his options as he dodged the bursts of crimson energy. Should he target the downed Pietro, Wanda, or his original goal, Multiple Man? The speedster was too risky. He didn't know if Pietro's power granted him increased recovery. If it did, he might already be out of reach when Tyson got to him. That, and Wanda stood between them. Tyson would need to go through her first. Even if he managed to get a hold of her, the Scarlet Witch's power was wild. Her attacks were purely emotionally driven. Dangerous, yes, but her lack of control made her power unpredictable. He doubted that his meager magical training would be enough to control her Chaos Magic.

Multiple Man, though... That power would turn the tide. That had to be his target.

He rolled under another hex bolt, putting Wanda and Pietra at his back. His enhanced reflexes let him weave between the attacks while each step brought him closer to Multiple Man.

"Your whole family sucks!" Tyson called over his shoulder, provoking another barrage.

He didn't let the attacks go unanswered. Crackling electricity arced from his outstretched hands, lancing through the air toward the Scarlet Witch as he fired back in her direction.

But his attack went far wide.

The lightning bolts splashed against a building's facade, leaving behind a pattern of black scorch marks across its surface. Electricity poured from his hand in a continuous stream.

When he cut it off, he fired another arching stream. But Wanda saw how poor his control was.

The concrete facade of another office building on the side of the square took the brunt of the stray bolts, filling the air with the acrid smell of ozone and scorched metal.

Wanda still hadn't landed a hit on Tyson, but she didn't need to hit her target directly. Each hex bolt that struck the ground, the air, or nearby objects sent ripples of chaos magic spreading outward. Reality itself warped and twisted in the wake of her power. Probabilities shifted, the impossible becoming possible, the unlikely becoming certain.

A stray bolt hit a piece of debris, multiplying it into a field of identical obstacles. Another bolt dispersed, creating a localized pocket of increased air resistance.

"Enough!" Wanda cried out.

She brought her hands together in a thunderous clap, releasing a shockwave of chaotic energy that spread across the area. Reality warped around her in ways that defied all logic and reason. The air thinned as if they stood at a mountain peak. Gravity stuttered for a split second, releasing its hold on the area. Every solid surface for over thirty meters in every direction lost all friction, becoming smoother than the finest polished glass. Caught at the nexus point of this impossible series of events, Tyson was hit by the full force of the probability storm. The slippery ground betrayed his footing. The momentary lapse of gravity left him suddenly weightless, his momentum hurling him helplessly into the air. He windmilled his arms, trying futilely to right himself, but found no purchase to stop his ascent.

With a gesture, Wanda halted Tyson's trajectory and pinned him in midair with an invisible telekinetic grip. He floated spread-eagle, immobilized and vulnerable, his body surrounded by the scarlet glow of her magic.

A look of surprise crossed his face. He had the Juggernaut's power. How had she stopped his movement? His eyes darted around, searching for a way out of his predicament. His muscles strained against the invisible force holding him, but to no avail.

Suddenly, Tyson fired a bolt of electricity from his body in a brilliant flash of blue-white light. The bolt streaked across the square, not appearing targeted at Wanda but at other Brotherhood members. Still, it went far wide, striking a building on the opposite side of the square. The concrete facade sizzled and smoked where the electricity made contact. He channeled the electricity for a moment before cutting it off.

"Your aim is as poor as your judgment," she spat.

He fired again, another bolt of lightning shooting from his outstretched hand. This time, it veered even further off course, not even coming close to any of his enemies.

The errant bolt struck yet another building, leaving behind a blackened scorch mark.

"What are you playing at?" Wanda demanded.

Tyson's face was a mask of intense focus as he floated immobilized in the scarlet energy field. His eyes were closed, his attention turned inward, and he seemed oblivious to her question.

She surveyed the scene. The situation was finally under control. Magneto held the hulking Juggernaut aloft, having retrieved and replaced his protective helmet. The remaining Brotherhood members were freed to engage without Cain attacking them. Pietro lay unmoving on the ground, but his chest's steady rise and fall reassured Wanda he would recover. And Mirage hung suspended, neutralized for the moment.

They'd won.

Yet Mirage's face still displayed an unsettling look of concentration, as if he were planning something. Her eyes narrowed, and she was wary of whatever scheme the illusionist had devised.

"I don't know what game you're playing," she said coldly, "but your tricks won't save you. Now answer me. What were you aiming at?"

In answer, Tyson's body erupted with electricity. It wasn't a single bolt this time but a sustained burst that split from his torso in four directions. The lightning arced through the air, each stream finding its way to one of the buildings he'd struck earlier.

As the electricity touched the scorched facades, something extraordinary happened. The seemingly random marks left behind by Tyson's earlier attacks began to glow. He maintained the connection, channeling Max's power into the marks, which filled with electricity, revealing intricate patterns burned into the buildings' surfaces.

A symbol resembling a 'Y' lit up on the first building, its central stroke protruding above the V shape.

The second building bore a mark akin to an 'X', with lines extending from the topmost point beyond the bottom.

A crooked 'Z' became visible on the third structure, its lines crackling with power.

The fourth and final symbol appeared to be an 'H', but with the middle line starting higher on the left side.

As the runes activated, Wanda felt a sudden, terrifying shift around her. The scarlet energy flowing through her veins like molten lava abruptly cooled, leaving behind a hollow emptiness. She staggered backward, panic flashed across her face at the sudden severing of her power.

"What have you done?" she gasped.

With a dramatic thud, Tyson landed, kneeling on one knee in a classic superhero pose, freed from Wanda's now-absent telekinetic grip. Electricity still arced from his muscular frame, fueling the glowing runes surrounding the square. He raised his head and answered Wanda with a smug grin.

"Magic."

His eyes crackled with arcs of electricity. Twin bolts of lightning erupted from Tyson's eyes, lancing through the air toward the Scarlet Witch. She threw up her hands, trying to summon a shield of scarlet energy, but her power didn't answer the call. The electric blast pierced through, striking her squarely in the chest. Wanda's body seized as the currents coursed through her, muscles locking in agony. Her shriek of pain echoed across the square. He maintained the flow, lightning continuing to stream from his eyes. Wanda shuddered until she could take no more, her eyes rolling back as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Tyson's grin still hadn't faded as he cut off the attack, letting Wanda's figure collapse bonelessly to the ground. He mumbled a silent thanks to Agatha, then broke into a sprint, charging toward the downed twins.

Pietro was his new target.

Seeing the fight with Mirage shifting, one of the Brotherhood members, Arclight, stepped forward, raising her hands.

"I've got him." She called, thrusting her arms forward, bringing her hands together in a clap that sent a powerful shockwave hurtling toward Tyson.

Her shockwave slammed into him while he was in a full sprint, and the air seemed to ripple as the energy washed over him. Yet he appeared unaffected. Arclight's attack dissipated harmlessly around his chiseled form, leaving him completely unscathed.

"That's it?" He yelled arrogantly as he neared the unconscious Maximoff's.

But then, Tyson's belt detonated in a blinding eruption of light as the concealed miniaturized Arc reactor exploded. The blast hurtled Tyson away as if he'd been shot from a cannon. Energetic flames engulfed half his body, incinerating flesh to the indestructible adamantium bone.

He hadn't taken so much damage since being blasted by Gungnir.

The Juggernaut's power must have faded, leaving his clothing, himself, and, most importantly, the Arc reactor vulnerable. Though his body was shredded, his healing factor quickly knit his wounds back together. Yet regeneration mattered little now.

The instant the fluctuating magnetic field around Tyson dissipated, Magneto sensed it. With a mere thought, Erik Lehnsherr seized control through his supreme mastery over magnetism and ferrokinesis. Invisible energy enfolded around Tyson, locking down his limbs in an inescapable grip. He struggled against the invisible bonds to no avail.

Magneto commanded, "Vanisher, get the twins out of here!"

Brad Pitt materialized beside the fallen speedster and witch. He knelt, grabbed Pietro's hand, and placed his other hand on Wanda's shoulder. The air around them seemed to ripple, and then they were gone, leaving behind only a faint distortion in the air where they had been. Their sudden absence left a momentary lull in the battlefield.

But it was short-lived.

A streak of color burst into the open expanse of Times Square. The yellow blur was difficult to track against the backdrop of neon signs and towering billboards.

Callisto, who had yet to engage in the fight beyond avoiding the Juggernaut, launched herself forward, tapping into her superhuman speed. She collided with the yellow blur. Both figures were catapulted away from each other, tumbling across the cracked pavement of Times Square. The newcomer was the first to rise, revealing her identity.

Jubilee pushed herself to her feet, her trademark coat fluttering after the collision.

"Sorry I'm late to the party," she quipped, shaking off the effects of the impact. She looked at Tyson and saw him immobilized, obviously trapped in Magneto's hold. She mumbled, "Not again." She moved between Tyson and Magneto.

"This time, I'm going to save you, Tyson," she announced.

Without missing a beat, Jubilee raised her hands, palms outward. The air around her fingertips began to crackle and pop with pent-up energy.

A dazzling array of plasma bursts erupted from her hands, filling the air with a kaleidoscope of colors. The fireworks streaked towards Magneto. Each burst trailed sparks and miniature explosions in its wake. The display was as beautiful as it was deadly.

With a gesture, Magneto summoned a barrier of twisted metal, pulling debris from the surrounding area to form a makeshift shield. Jubilee's plasma bursts slammed into the barrier, each impact sending tremors through the metal and lighting up the night with brilliant flashes.

"You dare challenge me, child?" Magneto's voice boomed, "Your light show is no match for the Master of Magnetism. I could snap my fingers and end you!"

"Light show? Alright, Buckethead. Let's see how you handle this!"

She looked at Tyson and winked.

Jubilee held her hands out wide. Sparks of multicolored plasma danced around her palms, growing brighter and more intense with each passing second. The air seemed to crackle with barely contained energy as Jubilee shouted.

"Final Flash!"

She brought her hands together and focused her mutant power into a single, devastating burst, releasing the plasma blast she had been building up. A blinding explosion of light and energy erupted from her outstretched hands, forcing everyone nearby to cry out and shield their eyes against the brilliant glare. The light was overwhelming, even painful to look at directly. It washed across the area, scorching the earth and kicking up a swirling cloud of dust and debris.

As the dazzling explosion slowly faded, it revealed Jubilee standing strong at the edge of a smoking crater blasted into the earth. The rent in the Earth stretched out from her hands, reaching to the hovering form of Magneto.

He hung suspended above the churned concrete, his signature crimson cape billowing dramatically around him. The metal barrier he'd created was nowhere to be seen, destroyed in the blast, but his magnetic shield held strong.

"Impressive," he admitted, though his tone still held a note of condescension. "But ultimately futile. You cannot hope to defeat me alone, child."

Jubilee straightened, undeterred by Magneto's words. A fierce grin spread across her face. "Who says I'm alone?" she called back defiantly.

Magneto's fingers splayed wide. Shards of metal rose from the ground, suspended in a deadly cloud around him. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the lethal barrage hurtling towards Jubilee. Her eyes widened in alarm. There was no way she could hope to evade such an overwhelming attack. Thinking quickly, Jubilee raised her hands and unleashed a brilliant burst of sizzling plasma energy, trying to blast an opening so she could escape.

The Brotherhood members converged on her. She couldn't properly defend herself with her hands occupied trying to break through Magneto's attack. Callisto's fist connected with her jaw with all the momentum of her superspeed dash, sending a shock of pain through her face. She stumbled back, tasting blood in her mouth.

"Too slow, firecracker," Callisto taunted before shouting, "Kill her! My senses say she's not even a mutant. She's something else."

Before Jubilee could recover, something slimy and wet wrapped around her ankle. She looked down to see Toad's elongated tongue coiled tightly around her leg. With a sharp yank, he pulled her off balance.

Jubilee hit the ground but rolled, desperately trying to put distance between herself and her attackers. Her hands crackled with energy, ready to unleash a plasma burst. But Magneto's metal projectiles were still coming. She had to move. Scrambling to her feet, Jubilee darted to the side, narrowly avoiding a rebar rod that embedded in the concrete where she'd been standing. A wall of flame erupted in front of her, cutting off her escape route. The heat seared her skin, forcing her to skid to a stop. She spun around, seeing Pyro manipulate the fire.

Trapped between Pyro's inferno and the advancing Brotherhood members, Jubilee made a split-second decision. She charged straight at Callisto and Toad, her hands blazing with multicolored energy.

All her morning training sessions with Tyson and Maki kicked in, and muscle memory took over. Jubilee ducked under the wild swing. She pivoted, using the woman's momentum against her, and drove her elbow into Callisto's solar plexus. The speedster doubled over, gasping for air.

Toad leapt at her, but Jubilee was ready. She dropped low, letting him sail over her head, then spun and fired a concentrated burst of plasma energy at his back. The blast caught Toad mid-air, sending him tumbling across the pavement with a pained yelp. For a moment, Jubilee had the upper hand.

Then Magneto intervened.

With a casual flick of his wrist, he summoned jagged pieces of metal from the debris-strewn square. Jubilee saw the movement too late. A searing pain shot through her right ankle as a metal shard pierced through her boot, pinning her foot to the ground. She cried out, her voice raw with agony. Looking down in dismay, she saw the blood beginning to pool around the metal stake. Before she could even think about how to free herself, a second metal rod struck her left leg just above the ankle, driving deep into the flesh and bone.

Panic set in as she realized she was trapped, rooted to the ground.

Callisto capitalized on her immobilization. The other woman's fist connected with Jubilee's cheek, snapping her head to the side. Dazed and in agony, Jubilee raised her arms, firing her powers wildly to drive back Callisto and Toad.

Tyson watched helplessly as Jubilee fought against the Brotherhood. He was desperate to aid his girlfriend, but Magneto's iron grip held him firmly in place. As the Brotherhood closed in, the fight seemed lost.

Suddenly, the night sky lit up.

But it wasn't Tyson's electricity or Jubilee's nuclear fireworks. The roar of multiple suit thrusters filled the air as armored figures descended on the battlefield. For a moment, hope surged through the crowd of onlookers. Since Stark Tower's construction began months earlier, New Yorkers were becoming familiar with the tell-tale blue-white glow of repulsors. Cheers erupted as people pointed to the sky, expecting to see Iron Man's red and gold armor join the fight.

Despite being pinned down, Jubilee smugly announced, "I told you I wasn't alone."

But as the suits hovered just above the ground of Times Square, it became clear that the other resident hero had not arrived.

It wasn't Iron Man.

These suits were bulkier, almost aged. Where Stark's armor had a certain heroic flair, these exuded cold, mechanical efficiency.

The suits raised their arms in perfect unison. Miniguns unfolded from their forearms. The barrels began to spin, and then all hell broke loose.

A deafening cacophony of gunfire filled the air as the suits opened fire on the Brotherhood members. Magneto and the green-haired mutant instinctively raised their hands, attempting to halt or deflect the incoming projectiles.

But nothing happened.

The green-haired mutant's eyes widened in shock and pain as the non-metallic rounds pierced her body. She crumpled to the ground with an agonized cry.

Magneto's face twisted with rage and dawning horror. Recognition flashed in his eyes as he recognized the armored attackers' designs.

"Sentinels!" he roared.

Instead of trying to stop the hail of bullets, a futile effort against non-metallic ammunition, he used his powers to reach out, tearing massive amounts of metal from nearby buildings and vehicles. The improvised shields rose between the Brotherhood members and the Sentinel suits, forming protective barriers. Bullets pinged off the metal surface, leaving dents and scorch marks but unable to penetrate.

"Brotherhood!" Magneto called out, his voice tinged with urgency. "Regroup!"

Across the battlefield, the remaining members of the Brotherhood struggled to respond. Avalanche sent tremors through the ground, trying in vain to destabilize the Sentinel suits. Pyro unleashed gouts of flame, attempting to melt their armor. But for every small victory, the Sentinels seemed to have a counter.

Arclight's hands came together in a thunderous clap, sending shockwaves rippling. The nearest Sentinels shattered like glass. Collapsing in shards of metal and circuitry.

Vanisher reappeared briefly, grabbing the injured green-haired mutant before disappearing again.

— Rogue Redemption —

Jean Grey's red hair billowed around her head as she landed on a nearby rooftop. She'd been awaiting Tyson's arrival at House of M with the others when Wednesday notified them of the news broadcast. They'd set out immediately, but she couldn't keep pace with Jubilee's vampiric speed. Still, flying was faster than driving through traffic, which is what the others from the institute were doing in their van. She was thankful for all the early morning training sessions as she nearly kept pace with the Sentinel suits. Her emerald eyes scanned the chaotic battle unfolding below. Magneto had trapped both Jubilee and Tyson with his power. The Brotherhood was occupied, engaging the Sentinel drones that Vanko controlled from back at the House of M.

The biggest threat, now, was Magneto. Stopping him was her priority.

She recalled watching the video footage of Tyson matching her powers against the Master of Magnetism. Even after months of growth and disciplined practice to focus her abilities, Jean still harbored doubts that she could overpower him with her telekinesis.

But she didn't have a choice. Her friends needed her.

The debris-strewn battlefield provided ample ammunition. Reaching out with her telekinetic powers, she gathered a dozen small projectiles, chunks of concrete, and shards of glass and sent them hurtling toward Magneto from different angles. The objects streaked through the air, each one aimed with pinpoint precision. The first one struck Magneto, interrupting his focus. But as the rest neared, they met an impenetrable wall.

He'd raised his shield.

The projectiles clattered harmlessly to the ground, leaving him untouched. Magneto turned to face Jean. With a lazy flick of his wrist, he sent a volley of metal fragments flying towards her. Jean's eyes widened, and she quickly threw up her own telekinetic barrier. The first wave of shrapnel bounced off her shield, but Magneto was relentless.

Another wave followed, then another.

Jean gritted her teeth, her concentration wavering under the constant barrage. Sweat beaded on her brow as she struggled to maintain her defenses. But Magneto's assault was too much, too fast.

Several metal shards slipped past her weakening barrier. Jean gasped as they sliced through her skin, leaving a trail of small, stinging wounds across her arms and legs. She stumbled backward, her breath coming in ragged pants.

"I'm sorry, my dear," Magneto's said. "But I can't allow you to stop me."

Before Jean could recover, Magneto made a sharp gesture with his hand. A large piece of metal flew towards her with dozens of others. Jean tried to deflect them all, but her reactions were too slow. The metal shard embedded itself deep in her shoulder.

A cry of pain tore from her throat as she fell to her knees. The world spun around her, and the edges of her vision blurred. She clutched at her wounded shoulder, feeling warm blood seeping between her fingers.

She crumpled to the ground, hidden behind the rooftop's edge. Jean forced herself to breathe slowly and deeply, using the meditation techniques she'd learned at the Institute. The pain was intense, but she managed to push through. As she lay there, out of sight of the ongoing battle, a new idea began to form in her mind. Her earlier attack hadn't been all in vain. She'd struck Magneto with her first projectile. It revealed that his shield wasn't always up. He had to focus on it actively. If he wasn't, he was vulnerable.

Pushing herself up just enough to look over the rooftop's edge, she saw Magneto had refocused on engaging the sentinels, thinking her out of the fight.

She reached out with her powers once more. But this time, she didn't gather debris or attempt to attack Magneto directly. She wasn't strong enough for that.

Instead, she released a small object from her pocket.

Gently levitating it down from the rooftop, it went unseen by anyone amidst the raging battle, floating just above the ground, propelled steadily toward Magneto. The Master of Magnetism remained oblivious, too distracted by the Sentinels to notice the subtle threat gliding toward him. Jean narrowed her eyes, intently directing the small object. Her senses narrowed to the item and her target, nothing more. She didn't have the power to hurt Magneto directly and didn't have the focus to pay attention to the battle or anything beyond that one object.

In just a few more seconds, it would be within range for her plan to be carried out...

Tyson, trapped in Magneto's invisible grip, was forced to watch the battle unfold around him. Jubilee knelt pinned by metal stakes. Jean had fallen from sight after Magneto's assault, and the Brotherhood's combined might was slowly destroying the Sentinels.

He needed to break free.

Electro's power was again his only option. Usually, he gained full control over someone's power with his absorption, but Max never had an opportunity to use his power, so Tyson gained no helpful memories. He was flying blind. Still, it was his only chance. And Juggernaut's power had already faded. He didn't have long before he'd lose the electricity, too. Maybe only seconds.

Tyson closed his eyes, blocking out the chaos around him. He delved deep into his consciousness, seeking the crackling energy he'd taken from Max. It buzzed beneath his skin, eager to be unleashed. But Tyson knew brute force wouldn't be enough.

His thoughts focused solely on his meta-knowledge from the movie. Electro had transformed into pure energy and traveled through electronics and power lines. He didn't know how to use that ability, but Max had figured it out instinctively, and now Tyson needed to as well.

Turning his focus to the nearest billboard, Tyson imagined himself as a living current flowing through circuits and wires. His body tingled, the sensation growing stronger with each passing second. Suddenly, he felt a shift. His physical form began to dissolve, atoms separating and realigning into pure electrical energy. He surged forward, no longer bound by Magneto's magnetic hold. In a blinding flash, his consciousness leaped into the billboard's circuitry. The advertisement flickered and distorted, pixels dancing erratically as Tyson's essence merged with the flow of electrons. He could feel every connection, every surge of power running through the massive display.

"No!" Magneto roared as he realized his prey had slipped away.

But more than that. A heavy, oppressive sensation filled Times Square as Tyson escaped Magneto's grasp for the third time.

Tyson's mind tried to make sense of his new form. He was everywhere and nowhere at once, a being of pure energy coursing through the billboard's systems. He struggled to maintain coherence, fighting against the urge to disperse into the city's power grid. Tyson knew he needed to reform and rejoin the battle, but the pull of the electrical current was intoxicating. It whispered promises of unlimited power, of freedom from the constraints of flesh and bone.

Magneto was frustrated by Tyson's escape. He reached out with his powers, gathering all the loose metal within reach. Half of the Sentinels were already reduced to scrap by Arclight's attacks. His eyes locked onto Jubilee, still pinned down, the only target of his rage. He knew she'd been a student at Xavier's school, but Callisto had been clear.

She was not a mutant.

Callisto's senses were impossibly accurate. Jubilee didn't deserve his mercy if she wasn't one of them. She was the sole reason Tyson had escaped his grasp again. Magneto launched all the nearby metal debris directly at the young mutant with a gesture of cold fury.

Jubilee was surrounded by the deadly shards now hurtling through the air.

Still pinned to the earth by the metal driven through her limbs, Jubilee desperately unleashed a volley of plasmoids. Brilliant bursts of colorful energy erupted from her palms, colliding with the oncoming metal, melting shards into slag or diverting their paths. But Magneto's power launched the metal fragments from every direction. Try as she might, Jubilee could not halt them all.

With monumental effort, Tyson forced himself to focus. He gathered his scattered consciousness, concentrating on the memory of his physical form. Slowly, painfully, he began to coalesce. Sparks danced across the billboard's surface as Tyson's body started to materialize. As he solidified, Tyson became aware of his surroundings once more. He stood atop the billboard, electricity crackling around him in a brilliant azure aura. Looking down, his eyes widened in horror as he took in the scene of Jubilee trapped, vulnerable, with hundreds of metal shards targeting her. He called Max's power to shift back into electricity, to jump through the metal to reach her.

But it was gone.

The blue tinge had faded from his skin. Not dwelling on the lost power, he leaped from the billboard. Calling Muse to his hand as he fell, he was infused with vampiric speed. Once he hit the ground, he launched himself forward towards Jubilee.

But even with his speed, the distance felt vast.

The world around him seemed to slow, each second stretching as he watched the deadly barrage of metal shards hurtling toward his friend. Tyson's heightened senses took in every detail of the chaotic scene in that moment of desperate sprint. The acrid smell of smoke and ozone filled his nostrils. He heard the cacophony of battle, explosions, the whine of Sentinel repulsors, and the screams from the crowd beyond Jubilee's trapped form, almost in the background. He'd nearly forgotten about all the onlookers around the edges of Times Square. In that frozen moment, his eyes were drawn past Jubilee, parsing every face in that crowd.

Amidst them, a woman stood out.

She was impossibly pale, her features sharp and beautiful in a way that defied description. Her long, dark hair matched her equally dark, flowing black gown. Her black eyes were filled with a calm acceptance as they met his for a brief, eternal moment. She observed the unfolding drama with an air of patient anticipation. Somehow, impossibly, within the frozen moment, her gaze flickered between Tyson and Jubilee as if she knew something he didn't, as if she were privy to some secret he couldn't comprehend.

The sight of her inexplicably filled him with a renewed sense of urgency. He tore his eyes away, refocusing on Jubilee. Her face was a mask of fear as she continued to unleash her plasmoids.

Tyson pushed himself harder. He could see each individual piece of shrapnel now, spinning through the air in agonizing slow motion. His hand reached out, stretching towards Jubilee. Their gazes met, and her fear disappeared.

She squinted, doing her best to smile with her eyes.

He was so close now. Just a few more feet...

But just as he reached out to grab her, shield her, an invisible force seized him, wrenching him to an abrupt halt.

Magneto.

Tyson strained against the magnetic fields enveloping his body, but even his enhanced strength was no match.

Until the small object Jean had released finally reached its target. With a soft click, it snapped around Magneto's neck. And Tyson was free.

But a single large piece of shrapnel, razor-sharp and moving with terrifying speed, had reached Jubilee first.

The cut was clean, almost surgical.

One moment, Jubilee was doing her best impression of Kakashi. The next, her head began falling forward in slow motion as if she were bowing.

"I'm here, Jubilee." Tyson's arms wrapped around her torso as he finally reached her. "I'm not going anywhere."

But something was terribly wrong.

Instead of the solid form he expected, his hands passed through her.

Jubilee's body began dispersing into motes of light.

He knelt there, arms still outstretched, grasping at nothing. The world around Tyson faded into a muffled haze as he watched Jubilee, his friend, his lover, disappear from his arms. One moment, she was there reenacting anime, as they always did. The next, she was but a glow twisting up into the sky.

"No," Tyson whispered, his voice cracking with anguish.

"No, no, no!"

The words tumbled from his lips, each repetition more desperate than the last. He could still feel the phantom sensation of her body against his chest, and he could still smell the lingering scent of ozone from her fireworks mixed with her unique scent of sparklers and bubblegum.

This wasn't right. She couldn't be dead. He'd seen vampires die before. He'd killed enough of them to know that they disintegrated into clouds of fine particles. Leaving behind but ash...

He looked back and forth, trying to find her.

Jubilee was just… Gone. The glowing lights dispersed, not even a trace remaining.

"Jubes?" he choked out.

"Jubes? Please, come back."

"You can't be gone. You can't..."

Tyson was unable to process the sudden, brutal loss. She was gone, wiped from existence in the blink of an eye. Reality seemed distant and unreal. The world had narrowed to this small patch of ground where Jubilee had fallen amidst the debris of Times Square.

Tyson's body shook with silent sobs as he felt the full weight of what had happened. He had failed her. With all his powers, he couldn't save the one person he could actually be with.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Jubes. I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't... I couldn't save you."

The guilt and self-loathing crashed over him in waves, threatening to drag him under. He had let her down.

"You can't be gone," he pleaded, "We had plans, remember? We were going to class tomorrow. You were going to the mall afterward to pick up Fruit Ninja for the Xbox. We were..." His voice trailed off as a fresh wave of grief washed over him. They had talked about the future, about how they would handle the events to come… together. Now that future was gone, along with all the traces of Jubilee.

What was the point of fighting and surviving if she wasn't here to share in the victory? If he couldn't protect the ones closest to him.

Memories flashed through his mind in rapid succession.

… Jubilee's enthusiasm when she'd been introduced to him in Professor Xavier's office.

… The way her eyes lit up when she narrated as she played Red Dead Redemption.

… The feel of her body pressed against him as they realized she was immune to his deadly touch.

Each memory was a dagger to his heart, a stark reminder of all that had been lost in a single, cruel moment.

"I love you," Tyson whispered, "I love you, Jubilation Lee. I should have..." His voice broke off as a fresh wave of sobs wracked his body. The what-ifs and should-haves piled up in his mind, each a fresh torment. "Come back," he pleaded. "Please, Jubes. I'll do anything. Just... please. Don't leave me alone."

But there was no response. No miracle resurrection, no last-minute reprieve from the cruel hand of fate. Just silence.

The crowd that had lined Times Square and remained to watch the battle fell into a hushed melancholy as Tyson's anguish played out on the massive screens surrounding them. Though they had viewed the fight with fear, excitement, and wary tension, they were all affected by the raw emotion he radiated. Their hero knelt alone amidst the rubble, oblivious to the countless eyes upon him. His shoulders shook with choked sobs. His head bowed under the weight of despair. They looked on in solemn stillness. An unspoken mournful solidarity rippled through the hushed onlookers.

— Rogue Redemption —

The mutation inhibitor collar Jean had released finally reached its target, and the effect was instantaneous. Magneto's eyes widened in shock and horror as he felt his connection to the magnetic fields abruptly severed. The collar, which Tyson had entrusted to Jean earlier that day, had done its job perfectly.

Without his powers to keep him aloft, Magneto plummeted. He crashed to the ground, his leg twisting at an unnatural angle as he landed. A sickening crack echoed as the bone snapped… The same leg Tyson had broken in their first encounter nearly a year ago.

Jean Grey still knelt on the rooftop, barely within sight. The inhibitor collar had found its mark, neutralizing Magneto's powers.

She'd beaten Magneto.

It wasn't as spectacular as Tyson's fight over the skies of the Bronx, but she'd done it regardless. However, her moment of triumph was short-lived. Despite the thousands of minds nearby, echoing within her thoughts, one screamed to her telepathic senses.

Overwhelming anguish.

Her head whipped around, focusing on the source.

Tyson?

That couldn't be right. She couldn't sense Tyson from this distance with his resistance to telepathy. He was always so quiet that she needed to focus to get any sensations from him, even when nearby.

But it could be no one else. Jean's heart clenched as she felt his emotions wash over her. They spent so much time psychically connected that she couldn't tell if she was feeling his emotions, her own, or both. Her confusion was quickly washed away by a tidal wave of grief and self-loathing that spilled from him, threatening to overwhelm her empathic senses.

The realization struck Jean like a sledgehammer, forcing the air from her lungs. Tyson was alone. Jubilee was gone.

Jean had known loss before and had felt the sting of grief reverberating in the minds of others. But Tyson's anguish was raw and feral, threatening to pull her into its riptide. She struggled to draw breath, to keep her head above the black water of his despair. They had spent too long psychically intertwined, like vines grown together around the same trellis. His pain became hers, inescapable, and she felt herself unraveling at the seams.

She heard a voice somewhere in the maze of her mind through the labyrinth of Tyson's suffering. Firm. Familiar.

Let. Me. Go.

The command was a lifeline, something solid to grasp amidst the flood. Jean reached for it desperately, pulling herself from the abyss. Tyson's grief receded into background noise, along with the constant susurrus of thousands of other minds that she was tuning out. Her vision cleared, details sharpened, and she became aware of the hints of red energy dissipating from her body.

Cradling her injured arm, she slowly descended from her vantage point. As she neared the ground, the familiar rumble of an engine caught her attention. The X-Van skidded into view, its tires screeching to a stop as it reached the debris-strewn pavement of Times Square.

The cavalry had arrived, but Jean knew with a sinking feeling that they were too late.

As the van's doors slid open, revealing the familiar faces of Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, and Professor Xavier, Jean's attention was drawn away by a flicker of movement in her peripheral vision. She turned just in time to see a man materialize amidst the rubble. In the blink of an eye, he put a hand on the back of one Brotherhood member, the massive giant of a man, and they both disappeared.

Jean's eyes widened as realization struck. Several of the Brotherhood were already gone. He must have snatched them to safety earlier while she was distracted. Before she could react, he reappeared and grabbed the remaining Brotherhood members battling the Sentinels. In another flicker, they, too, were gone.

When he materialized yet again near Magneto's fallen form, Jean acted on pure instinct. Her hand shot forth, fingers splayed as she focused her telekinetic power. She tore the telepathy-blocking helmet off his head with a sharp gesture, exposing his mind to her formidable psychic abilities.

Vanisher knew he was in trouble.

Magneto made it clear that if Mirage got inside their heads, the fight would be lost. He knew his mental defenses were gone once he felt the helmet leave his head. Instantly, he teleported away, not giving the illusionist a chance to render him helpless.

Jean stole his helmet, driving the teleporter off. But her attention returned to Tyson as she felt a sudden shift in his emotional state. The overwhelming anguish radiating from him was abruptly extinguished like a candle snuffed out by the wind. In its place, a cold, terrible rage began to build. She watched him slowly rise to his feet, his body tense with barely contained fury.

His face showed a cold hatred so intense it made Jean take an involuntary step back.

He'd always had beautiful eyes.

Amber, when he arrived at the institute, mismatched blue and green after Alkali Lake. But now, she could only describe them as… broken. They were still the mismatched purple-yellow as they always were when he wielded Muse, but now, the pupils looked like they shattered, spreading into the iris in the shape of a throwing star or sawblade. She wasn't sure if he was using his illusion powers, but the murderous intent rolled off him in waves as his gaze locked onto Magneto's prone form.

And she wasn't the only one to sense it.

Professor X, in his yellow hoverchair, moved closer. "Tyson, don't…" Xavier began, but his words were cut short as Tyson exploded into motion.

He charged, closing the distance between himself and Magneto. His stolen powers had faded during his grief, but with Muse, he charged faster than any normal human could move.

"Scott!" Xavier called out. "Stop him!"

Cyclops reached for his visor. A beam of concussive force lanced out, aiming to intercept Tyson's charge. But Tyson, operating on reflexes heightened by his borrowed speed, leapt and twisted in mid-air, avoiding the blast by mere inches. Cyclops released several more optic blasts, all off target, seemingly aimed in the wrong place as Tyson used his illusions to mask his position.

Logan growled, and his adamantium claws slid out. "What are you doing Chuck," he snarled.

Storm's eyes clouded over, turning a milky white as she summoned her elemental powers. The air crackled with building electrical charge as she prepared to unleash a lightning strike to incapacitate Tyson.

But it was Professor Xavier who acted first. His fingers pressed to his temple, his face a mask of concentration as he reached out with his formidable psychic abilities.

"Tyson," Xavier's voice echoed in the young mutant's mind. "I understand your pain, your anger. But this is not the way. Jubilee wouldn't want…"

Tyson's mental defenses slammed down with surprising force, cutting off Xavier's telepathic intrusion.

The Professor's eyes widened in shock. He closed his eyes and used his power to its fullest.

Times Square froze.

Thousands of minds, mutant and human alike, became immobile under the weight of his immense psychic power. Even Tyson, mere feet from the fallen Magneto, stood stock-still.

Meanwhile, the live news cameras continued broadcasting the image of Tyson, stationary only feet from Magneto.

Only Jean Grey remained unaffected. Her formidable psychic abilities shielded her from Xavier's influence. The Brotherhood had all evacuated with Vanisher, and the Sentinels stood on standby. It was eerie how still everything was. Until she caught the slightest movement, she watched, her emerald eyes widened with shock, as Tyson's finger twitched. Then, impossibly, he took a step forward.

Tyson was fighting off Xavier's power.

Xavier's brow furrowed in concentration, sweat beading on his forehead as he focused all his mental energy on restraining his former student.

But he took another step. Then another.

At that moment, she felt a shift in the psychic plane. He was finally stopped when Xavier pulled Tyson into a mental construct within his own mind.

Curiosity and concern warred within Jean as she pushed her consciousness forward. She followed the psychic trail in her astral form, which led her inside Tyson's mind. There, she became an unseen observer in a familiar setting.

The basketball court outside the Xavier Institute.

Tyson stood at the center of the court, confused as he took in his surroundings. The peaceful scene contrasted with the destruction they had left behind in Times Square. It took only moments for Tyson to know where he was. Months earlier, he'd delved into his subconscious, and the entrance had been a door just beyond this very court. He wasn't sure why this was the place that his mind had decided was the entrance to his subconscious, but he didn't care at the moment.

Professor Xavier wheeled onto the sidelines.

"Let me go," Tyson demanded, his voice tight with barely contained fury.

Xavier shook his head slowly. "I can't do that, Tyson. Not while you're on this path of destruction."

"Destruction?" Tyson spat. "Magneto tried to kill me again. He killed Jubilee!" His voice cracked on the last word, raw emotion bleeding through the anger.

"I understand your pain," Xavier said gently. "But killing Magneto won't bring Jubilee back. It won't ease your suffering. It will only lead you down a dark path from which there may be no return."

Tyson menacingly stepped toward Xavier. "I don't care. He has to pay for what he's done."

"I demand my due!" He shouted.

The psychic plane of his mindscape rumbled ominously, giving even Xavier pause.

"Perhaps I owe you an explanation. What you're experiencing now... it's my fault. I tried to help you stay on the right path. I thought that if I locked away all the psyches affecting you, you would be able to be yourself. But it didn't work as I had hoped."

Tyson's head snapped around. "What are you talking about?"

Xavier met his gaze steadily. "I made a choice. A choice I believed was for your own good. I locked you out of certain parts of your mind."

Tyson looked around the court. His eyes fell on a door set into the wall beside the basketball court. Recognition flickered in his eyes. "The white room," he murmured. Then he realized what Xavier was saying. "You... you locked me out of my own mind?" Shock and betrayal were evident in every syllable.

Xavier nodded solemnly. "I did what I thought was necessary to protect you, to give you a chance at a normal life. But I see now that my actions, however well-intentioned, have had unintended consequences."

Tyson's hands clenched into fists at his sides, his whole body trembling with rage and disbelief. "How could you? You had no right!"

"You're right," Xavier admitted regretfully. "I overstepped. But what I did then, and what I'm doing now, I do for the greater good. For your good, Tyson, and for the good of all mutantkind."

"What you're doing now…" Tyson mumbled, repeating the Professor's words. He took a step back, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "What is it you're doing?"

Xavier's expression hardened slightly. Resolve replaced regret. "What I must." The air around them seemed to thicken, and the peaceful illusion of the basketball court wavered at the edges.

Jean, still observing unseen, could feel the tension building between Tyson and the Professor. The revelation of Xavier's actions had clearly shaken him.

"You must understand. Your power, your ability to absorb and retain the abilities of others, is unlike anything we've ever encountered. The potential for good is immense, but so is the potential for harm. Both to yourself and to others."

Tyson shook his head, taking another step back. "That doesn't give you the right to mess with my mind!"

"No, it doesn't," Xavier agreed. "But it does give me the responsibility to try and help you control it. The psyches you've absorbed are fragments of personalities, of memories, of lives lived. Without proper control, they could overwhelm you, change who you are at your core."

Tyson's eyes darted to the door leading to the white room, then back to Xavier. "So you just decided to lock it all away? Without even asking me? Or telling me?"

Xavier's face fell, genuine remorse etching lines around his eyes. "I made a mistake, Tyson. I thought I was protecting you. By locking away those psyches, I hoped to give you a chance to develop your own identity without the influence of all those other minds. But I see now that in doing so, I may have caused more harm than good."

For a moment, Tyson's anger seemed to falter, replaced by a flicker of uncertainty. "What do you mean?"

"The rage you're feeling now, the overwhelming desire for vengeance. It's not all you," Xavier explained. "It's a culmination of all the minds you've absorbed, their anger and pain amplifying your own. By locking away your access to that part of yourself, I inadvertently created a pressure cooker of emotions with no release valve."

"You have no idea what you're talking about. That's not all you did. You kept me from learning how to control my power. It's the only reason I went to your damned school. And you didn't even lock the door correctly. Because guess what, professor? I still felt their influence. I was the one who had to learn to temper Sabertooth's viciousness. That was my control. Not your meddling."

His voice dripped with incredulity as he asked, "So what now? You unlock everything you locked away in my mind and hope for the best?"

Professor X shook his head slowly. "No. I'm afraid it's far too late for that." He wheeled his chair closer, his voice softening. "You were about to kill a man. My friend. In cold blood."

Tyson's laugh was sharp and bitter. "Your friend? Are you serious?" He paced back and forth, unable to contain his agitation. "After everything Magneto's done, you still call him a friend?"

Xavier's face creased with concern. "This emotional influence from those other psyches will be too difficult to tame. The safest thing for you would be to erase them and remove your memories of the trauma. Then you could go back to living your life."

Tyson disbelieved what he'd just heard. "You can't be serious."

Xavier pressed on. "How many people have you killed since you woke up in that truck, Tyson?"

Tyson reeled. The question hit him like a physical blow. "Two." he answered, but after a long moment, he continued, "And... the soldiers that attacked the institute."

"Sixty-Three, then," Xavier corrected, his voice heavy with sorrow. "Because you killed sixty-one during the incident."

Tyson's face contorted with fury. "How dare you."

"How many did I save?" he snarled, advancing on Xavier. "You weren't even there. Again, because you were parlaying with your 'friend'... Magneto." He spat the name like a curse. "If you had been there, how many would I have had to kill? You could have stopped that army in its tracks. Instead, I was left trying to salvage your school and save your students."

"Don't blame your failure on me."

Xavier raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I don't blame you, Tyson. I blame myself, Erik, and most of all Victor Creed for influencing you as he has."

Tyson shouted, "Let's not forget how many you would have killed at Alkali Lake if I hadn't stopped you. How many would that have been, Professor? Millions? Billions?"

As the argument raged on, Jean observed silently from the sidelines of the mental construct. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The Professor was wrong, dangerously so. She had been there during the institute invasion and saw Tyson risk everything to save the students. Yes, he had killed, but there was little choice. A chill ran down her spine as she realized what Xavier was proposing. He wanted to wipe Tyson's mind, to erase not just the trauma, not just the additional psyches within his subconscious, but the very essence of who Tyson had become. He'd be a shell of the man he was now and far worse off than he'd been when he arrived at the institute.

She couldn't let that happen.

Jean moved invisibly through the mental landscape, approaching the door to Tyson's subconscious. She could sense the psychic lock, etched with Professor Xavier's unmistakable psionic signature, barring entry, but there was no key.

Reaching out with her mind, Jean probed the lock, feeling along its mechanisms. As she did so, Xavier turned his focus from Tyson to the door, alerted by her tampering. Jean quickly created a blueprint of the lock in her mind and used it as a mold to call forth her own psionic key. With a thought, she inserted it into the lock and turned. The tumblers aligned and released their hold.

The door swung open.

Wasting no time, she withdrew her presence from Tyson's mind completely.

In the real world, she still had a telekinetic hold on that teleporter's helmet. With a thought, she sent it flying towards the Professor.

The helmet settled onto Xavier's head with a soft thunk. The effect was instantaneous. It didn't block just incoming psionics but outgoing as well. Professor X was forcibly ejected from Tyson's mind, thrown back into his own body with a jolt that left them both reeling.

The mental construct of the basketball court shattered like glass, reality rushing back in a dizzying wave. For a moment, Tyson looked disoriented, blinking rapidly as he readjusted to reality. Then he found Magneto's prone form, and without hesitation, he launched forward. Before anyone could react, his hand closed around Magneto's throat, lifting the once-powerful mutant into the air as if he weighed nothing.

Jean felt a surge of psychic energy as Tyson's power activated. She could sense the life force, the very essence of Magneto, flow into Tyson. Along with it came the unique mutation that had made Erik Lehnsherr one of the most formidable mutants on the planet.

He was a young boy in a concentration camp bearing an indescribable weight of sadness. Fenced in by barbed wire, surrounded by soldiers and the emaciated faces of his fellow prisoners, he felt an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. A yellow Star of David patch sewn to his frail clothing marked him and the others like him. He left behind the haunted eyes of that little boy to grow into a powerful mutant. The world around him changed, but the memories of the camp never left. Instead, they fueled his passion and rage against a world he knew would never accept him and those like him. He met Charles Xavier. The brilliant, rich young man with the dream of coexistence between mutants and humans. Their friendship only made their eventual ideological divergence all the more painful. He felt the loss of family, love, and of friends. But above all, he had power. Power over magnetic forces, power over metal, and now, the power to convert his enemies. He created a machine that would use his power to end the war with humanity by turning them into mutants…

"Tyson, no!" Xavier cried out, "Ororo, Scott, stop him." But it was too late. The metal debris around the ruined area formed a rotating protective cloud around Tyson and Magneto.

Scott's beams were still firing off target, missing their mark by a wide margin. Storm brought her lightning to bear, but it dispersed among the metal barrier.

All eyes were fixed on the incredible scene unfolding before them. Tyson's brown hair lightened as a white streak formed along his hairline, marking where Magneto's abilities had fused into his being. The older mutant grew visibly weaker with each passing second.

Xavier could only watch helplessly as his fingers struggled to remove the helmet from his head. He cried out, "Tyson, no!"

Cyclops continued firing his optic beams off-target. But Ororo could resist Tyson's simple illusions that ruined Cyclops's aim. Her eyes began glowing as she summoned a massive storm cloud overhead.

"Ro. Stop." Logan reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sometimes you gotta take risks. Leave the kid to his choices. It's his battle."

She responded with a gust of wind that blew him back, away from her.

She called down a massive beam of crackling lightning from above.

But as their vision cleared, they saw it had no effect. Tyson had raised a magnetic forcefield to protect himself behind the rotating metal barricade, layering his defenses.

Ororo's eyes glowed an electric white as she summoned the full fury of her power. The forming clouds darkened and boiled overhead, shot through with blinding forks of lightning. As she prepared to unleash nature's wrath, the air crackled with gathering energy.

But before she could strike, Cyclops wheeled around, influenced by Tyson's illusion, and his visor flashed red. Ororo barely had time to cry out before the crimson optic blast caught her squarely in the chest, throwing her backward with explosive force. She hit the ground hard, the lightning fading from her eyes as she struggled to regain the breath that had been knocked from her lungs.

Ororo raised herself to her hands and knees, shaking her head to clear it. But she could taste blood in her mouth and knew she would be defenseless if Cyclops attacked again. But he didn't, continuing to fire off harmlessly at targets only he could see.

As Jean watched Tyson absorb Magneto's powers and the professors divided, fighting amongst themselves, she couldn't help but wonder if she had made the right choice. She had acted to protect Tyson from Xavier's misguided attempt to alter his mind, but had she inadvertently set something worse in motion? Her attention was drawn to Professor Xavier. He sat in his wheelchair, fingers pressed to his temples, a look of intense concentration on his face. She knew he was trying to reach out with his formidable psychic abilities, trying to break through the helmet's nullification. He'd tried removing it, but she'd telekineticly kept it in place.

Xavier's eyes snapped open, filled with frustration and regret. "I've made a terrible mistake," he admitted. "I thought I was protecting Tyson, but I may have pushed him to this extreme."

The metal debris swirling around Tyson and Magneto began to move faster. Tyson's feet slowly lifted off the ground using Magneto's abilities.

Jean relaxed her hold over the helmet on Xavier's head and floated to where Tyson, one of her dearest friends, was about to kill a man. She moved into the metal cloud, knowing he wouldn't hurt her. And she was right. Tyson parted his defenses, allowing her entry.

He knew she had placed the helmet on Xavier's head. Who else could have?

"Tyson," she said gently. "I know you're hurting. I am, too. I know you want justice for Jubilee. So do I. But are you sure this is the way?"

Tyson's head turned slightly, his eyes meeting Jean's. She could see the internal struggle on his face, the desire for vengeance warring with the core of who he was. This close, she could see the shards of his pupils more clearly. She was wrong earlier. They were still beautiful, but it was a dangerous beauty. That he now turned on Magneto.

"Please," the old mutant gasped, barely able to form words. "You don't... understand..."

"I understand. Better than anyone else could. But she's right."

"This isn't the way."

For a second, Jean and Xavier thought Tyson would let Magneto go. But then he wrenched the helmet from Magneto's head and tossed it aside.

"My power is killing you far too fast. You deserve so much worse."

Tyson forced Magneto's blue eyes to lock with his broken pupils. He said one word.

"Tsukuyomi."

And the world around them warped and twisted. In an instant, Magneto found himself in a realm of endless darkness, his body bound to a cross. The air was thick with an oppressive, suffocating aura.

Tyson stood before him. Magneto struggled against his bonds, but they held fast. "What is this?" he demanded, fear creeping into his voice.

"This is where you'll face justice," Tyson replied coldly. "For Jubilee. For every life you've destroyed in your misguided crusade."

With a wave, Tyson conjured images from Magneto's past. The concentration camps of his youth, the loss of his family, and the birth of his hatred for humanity.

"Stop this!" Magneto cried out.

"No. You'll experience all the pain you've caused. The lives you've ruined firsthand."

The scene shifted, and Magneto found himself reliving every act of violence he'd ever committed, but from the perspective of his victims. He felt the terror of the humans he'd threatened, the agony of those who had opposed him. Each memory was amplified, stretched out to feel like it lasted for days.

"I can make a second feel like an eternity. You'll experience years of torment in the blink of an eye."

Magneto screamed as pain wracked his body. He saw Jubilee's face, contorted in fear and agony. He felt her final moments… He felt his head tumbling from his body.

Then Tyson rewound the scene, playing it out over and over again.

"Please," Magneto gasped between screams.

But the torture continued, relentless and unending. Magneto experienced the pain of every life he'd ever taken, the anguish of every family he'd torn apart. He felt the weight of his actions crushing down on him, threatening to break his very spirit.

In the real world, not even a second had passed. Xavier's fingers clawed at the helmet, wrenching it from his head. The instant it was off, he accessed his telepathic powers and dived deep into Erik's mind. What he found there chilled him to his core.

Erik was crucified, his face contorted in agony. Xavier immediately tried to end the nightmarish scene and free his old friend from the torment, but he quickly realized the futility of his efforts. Tyson's illusion power had completely infested Magneto's mind, creating a labyrinth of pain and suffering that seemed to have no end.

Tyson turned to face Xavier, his cold, broken eyes meeting the Professor's gaze. "Come to catch the show, Charles?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

Xavier watched helplessly as the torture continued. Erik was beheaded, only for the gruesome scene to reset and play out again.

And again.

And again.

Each time the pain never abated, Erik's screams grew more desperate and anguished.

"I'll help you, old friend," Xavier mumbled, his heart breaking at the sight of Erik's suffering. He knew he couldn't end the tortures within Erik's mind... Tyson's hold was too strong, the illusion too deeply rooted.

But perhaps he could offer a lifeline, a way out.

Xavier latched onto Erik's psyche, focusing all his considerable mental strength on creating a connection. He couldn't break the illusion. But he could offer an escape route.

"Erik," he called out mentally, "Come with me."

Xavier redoubled his efforts, creating a mental lifeline for Erik to follow.

Tyson taunted, "Go ahead. If you want to share in his tortures, be my guest. It's almost poetic. Like we're closing the circle. Magneto came for me, and I fought him to a stalemate. Subsequently, he was captured. Then, I tried to save your students from Stryker, and I got captured and tortured. Because you were with Erik, you got captured and tortured by Jason. Then Erik captured me, but eventually, I freed you at Alkali Lake. Now, I've captured Erik, and you're trying to free him from me." Tyson laughed. "Which one of us is the 'bad guy'? It's so hard to tell anymore."

Xavier tuned out Tyson's rambling as he worked. He was forced to share the psychological burden of the horrors Erik experienced. The weight of every life Magneto had taken, every family torn apart, every act of violence committed in the name of mutant supremacy, all of it crashed down upon Erik's and now Xavier's psyche in an endless, crushing wave.

Charles couldn't undo Tyson's actions or erase Erik's trauma. But he could offer sanctuary, a safe haven within his mind where Erik could recover.

Xavier gritted his teeth, pushing through the…

Onslaught…

Of negative emotions. With a final, monumental effort, Xavier freed Erik's consciousness from Tyson's mental trap by transporting them both into his psyche.

For a long, tense moment, no one moved. The swirling metal continued its frenzied dance around Tyson, Magneto, and Jean, who held her breath. Then, the metal began to slow its orbit until it settled down. Tyson lowered his feet back to the broken pavement. His grip on Magneto's throat loosened, and he dropped the old mutant to the ground.

He bent down to pick up Magneto's discarded helmet.

And he placed it upon his head. 

— Rogue Redemption —

Behind the Scenes

So yeah, that happened. Please excuse the in-story Author's note. This one is too long for the designated Author's note, but I felt it was too important to exclude. I'll highlight the big event in this chapter first; the rest of the behind-the-scenes will come after. I'm not going to talk about Jean until the next chapter's Behind the Scenes.

I've been foreshadowing Jubilee's death for a while. I didn't want to blindside you, so I've been dropping hints in every chapter since before she turned into a vampire...

- Chapter 75, the Ancient One's farewell. "Seek out the Enchantress, if that is the path you choose. And Jubilation, know that should the day come when Tyson walks the path of the Mystic Arts, should you still be at his side, you would be welcomed at Kamar Taj."

- Chapter 77, in the illusion with Jubilee at the Valley of the End. "I know you're scared. I'm scared too. But becoming a killer isn't the answer. That's not who you are. I know you're not going to hurt any of us. You're such a nerd, I noticed all your little details. Three-tomoe sharingan, not a Mangekyō. Whether you intended it or not, that has meaning."

- Chapter 77, when Jean is in Tyson's head. She saw Jubilee through his eyes, growing paler and weaker from the vampire's bite. Felt his crushing fear of losing her, the desperate need to save her at any cost. The memory shifted to his conversation with Amora, her smile as she demanded he grow stronger to earn her help. His determination crystallized into a single thought.

He wasn't strong enough to protect those he cared about.

- Chapter 77, after Tyson loses to the X-Men. "I'm dying. I can feel it… And if you love me back, you'll be there to support me as I die."… With a shaky breath, he took her hand in his. "I'm here, Jubilee. I'm not going anywhere."

- Chapter 78, the wedding scene. "The ice ring sparkled on Jubilee's hand, catching the light. Tyson couldn't help but smile at the symbolism. A ring that was beautiful yet fleeting. Bobby promised it should last a little over two months before melting." Then, in Chapter 85, when Jubilee told Jessica about it. "Had a ring and everything. But it was made by one of the other students from really slow-melting ice; it only finished melting earlier today. Remember how marriage works. Till death do us part."

There were 2 months and 4 days between that scene and this chapter in-universe. And 10 weeks between these chapters' releases.

- Chapter 78, after Jubilee dies the first time. "Jubilee... losing her? Her becoming a vampire? Is it my cost? The cost I need to pay to become a sorcerer?" The Ancient One's expression remained inscrutable, but she gave a slight nod. "In part," she replied, her words cryptic and laden with hidden meaning.

- Chapter 79, between bouts of lovemaking, Jubilee says. "You were my first. And you'll be my only."

- Chapter 79, near the end, Jubilee says. "Even death couldn't keep us apart." Tyson sighed and said, "Let's not tempt fate. You dying once was enough. Let's keep it from happening again. Please."

- Chapter 80, after power testing, Jubilee says. "Damn, I'm like immortal, immortal. If sunlight can't kill me, what does that leave? Silver and decapitation?"… "I'll stay with you until the end of my second life."

- Chapter 81, when Tyson goes over their plan in the park with Jubilee. "I don't want you intervening in the fight." he said… "One stray projectile could kill you permanently."

- Chapter 82, after stopping La Magra. "If we can stop a god..." she wondered aloud, "what can stop us?" One corner of Tyson's mouth quirked up. "Nothing," he replied, a note of humor underscoring his confidence. Despite herself, Jubilee huffed a small laugh. "Except maybe Magneto," she joked.

- Chapter 83, the final line of Arc 6, said by Jubilee. "Yeah, and who knows? Maybe we'll even find a way to survive freshman year."

- Chapter 84, in the car. "We're not fighting with you. We're fighting for you, just like you have for us," Jubilee stated firmly. "I'll die before I let him take you again."

- Chapter 85, during the Arc 1 flashback. Jubilee chimed in. "Magneto's lucky I got taken out by the sneak attack… He's really tough, though. I don't think I could take him 1v1 even now that I'm a vampire.

- Chapter 86, when Tyson checks out Jessica. "I'm pretty sure your girlfriend, Jubilee, a gorgeous vampire, is the femme fatale." The emphasis she placed on the word "girlfriend" was a clear reminder to Tyson. "You shouldn't be looking at other girls while she's still in the picture."

- Chapter 87, When Magneto exposed his identity. Earlier today, he'd told Jubilee that his secret identity was meant to protect those around him, not himself. But that those surrounding him now were strong enough. He could only hope that was true.

- Chapter 87, Pyro's response when Tyson tries to talk him down. "I'm sorry. But, if one of us from our class has to die to secure the future for mutants, it's worthwhile."

- Chapter 88, during the fight with Magneto. "You dare challenge me, child?" Magneto's voice boomed, "Your light show is no match for the Master of Magnetism. I could snap my fingers and end you!"

Almost every chapter for the last 3 months has hinted at this event.

- I tried to go with a more comic interpretation of Wanda's power. In this story, she and Pietro did not derive their abilities from the Mind Stone. During the fight with Wanda, Tyson is moving and she stops his momentum in midair. The Juggernaut is unstoppable, but his power is magic. Chthon > Cyttorak when it comes to magical power. Tyson used the same trick on Wanda that Agatha did in Wandavision.

- Vanisher is 'seen' in Deadpool 2. In the movie, he's invisible the whole time, up until his death, where he's briefly visible, and it's a cameo by Brad Pitt. I took pieces from his comic and movie characters for this story.

- I might get complaints about Tyson using Electro's power to merge into the billboards because of his adamantium skeleton. I've covered physical transformation since way back in the beginning of this story. Chapter 19: Beside him, Dr. Cornelius adjusted his glasses, adopting a professional tone. "If it's any consolation, we've refined the process over the years. Once bonded with a mutant healing factor, the adamantium undergoes a slight structural change we call the Beta variant. It retains its strength yet allows for natural bone growth and healing." It happened with the Abomination. His skeleton grows with him. It adjusts to his biological form because it is part of him. It's not just metal that his muscles are attached to.

- Arclight is somewhat gender fluid in X-Men: The Last Stand, but female in the comics, so I went with that. There's enough gender identity in this Arc with Jessica. I didn't need to dive into it with a second character, especially a minor one.

- I forgot to mention it during the Arc 6 Behind the Scenes, but Tyson and Jubilee's Marriage was foreshadowed way back in Arc 4, Chapter 42, during the Truth or Strip game with Natasha

Natasha leaned forward, an evil smirk playing on her full lips. "Okay, Tyson, let's spice things up. Fuck, Marry, Kill. Your choices are me, Felicia, and the mystery girl on the phone." He let out a laugh, his broad shoulders relaxing. "Going right for it, huh? Alright," he said, accepting the challenge. "Marry the girl on the phone because she's sweet, cool, fun, and beautiful. Fuck Felicia because... well, she's sexy and flexible." He pointed a finger at Natasha. "And kill you because you asked a question like that."

- This chapter is not titled 'Death' because Jubilee or Magneto died.

- When Tyson reached Jubilee he said, "I'm here, Jubilee. I'm not going anywhere." It's the same line he said in Chapter 77: Going Rogue when he accepted Jubilee was going to die and he would be there for her.

"I love you. I love that you tried so hard… And if you love me back, you'll be there to support me as I die." The following silence was deafening, broken only by the gentle hum of the Blackbird's engines. Tyson's eyes widened with shock and realization. His desperate plans and schemes now seemed hollow and meaningless in the face of Jubilee's plea. He had been so consumed that he had forgotten the most important thing. To be there for her, to love her, and to support her in her darkest hour. Tyson knew that he had a choice to make. He could continue down the path of desperation, seeking out powers and gods. Or he could choose to be the man Jubilee needed him to be, to stand by her side and face the coming darkness together. At that moment, as he looked into Jubilee's eyes, Tyson knew there was only one choice. With a shaky breath, he took her hand in his.

"I'm here, Jubilee. I'm not going anywhere."

- Tyson started the Naruto bit as a joke with Natasha. The first time Jubilee saw it was at the end of Arc 4 (Chapter 47). In Monaco (Chapter 50) he plays at being Naruto. He does Itachi against the Abomination in Arc 5 (Chapter 65). During the Arc 6 Lemons chapter (Chapter 74) Tyson tries to do Naruto again, but Jubilee prompts him that he isn't Naruto, he's Sasuke. She also says, "You're like, Mangekyou-level with these mind games." In Chapter 77, during the illusion with Jubilee at the Valley of the End, she says, "You're such a nerd, I noticed all your little details. Three-tomoe sharingan, not a Mangekyō. Whether you intended it or not, that has meaning."

- After leaving the club in Chapter 74, Jubilee wanted to be Hinata. But Tyson said, "You're not Hinata." Here, in this chapter, when Jubilee arrived she said, "This time, I'm going to save you, Tyson." And she stood between him and Magneto. Which is what Hinata said and did during the Pain Arc when Naruto was pinned down by Pain…

In the end, she got to be Hinata.

So, in this chapter, we see Tyson gain his Mangekyo. Is it Meta? Meh, maybe, sure, I won't argue that. But I will state my case that this fits within the story. Though it requires some background information that wasn't fully explained in the narrative, nor within the movies it was derived from. But all the pieces were there.

Note: The following is a small spoiler.

Justification:

Muse. The ritual to summon La Magra required a dozen pureblood vampires and the blood of the daywalker. Why? There are 12 vampire sects, each with different strengths. The purpose of the ritual is to absorb all the strengths available to vampires between all the sects, and then the daywalker to remove the weaknesses. Muse got all of that, plus Tyson's blood, which is even better, because it not only shores up the weaknesses of vampires, but it has absorbing qualities. That's why Muse can create blood elemental duplicates of people it absorbs enough blood from. But the key to the Mangekyo is the power of those vampire sects. Three of them in particular.

Yiki Onna - Exist as clouds of razor-sharp ice and can turn into a humanoid form. (Transformation)

Moksha - They feed as little as possible, and from their prolonged fasting, they gain mystical abilities. (Magic)

Siren - Possesses empathic and hypnotic abilities far beyond any other vampire. This enables them to seduce almost any creature and influence their moods and physiological responses. (Psychic)

While he's still learning Muse's capabilities, the weapon can access all the vampire powers, including the above. A transformation, magic, and psychic abilities.

Jubilee hinted that Tyson was pulling the Sharingan routine subconsciously… The Mangekyo is unlocked when experiencing a traumatic enough event. I felt like this qualified and lined up perfectly. Jubilee's death allowed Tyson's subconscious to channel Muse's full potential for just an instant to make his eyes transform appropriately for the trauma he was experiencing. Tsukuyomi fits rather nicely into Tyson's illusion powerset, but I don't think it's something I'll pull out again. I'd go so far as to say that Tyson won't be pulling out Naruto references much going forward after the trauma of this event.

Shoutout to you if you read to the end of this long-ass AN. I appreciate you.