psinex@yahoo.com Academia Book 1: Starting Block Conclusion by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Everyone here is Marvel's, except for Aidan and Soraya, who are mine. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. NOTE: It's been a fun, crazy and often harrowing ride ... but this one is coming to an end early. The Academia Arc is NOT ending, however; I've just decided to play with some other characters within the timeline (*coughKittyPeteExcaliburcough*), and there are even more of these pesky kids and their accursed dog waiting to get out of my skull, soon >) -------------------------------------------------------- 11/14/00: Hammer Bay, Genosha: 05:00 hrs local: -------------------------------------------------------- The first hint anything was wrong was when the magistrates started randomly mutating. The mutates, confused by this turn of events, charged. Neither side survived the first of the magma jets. -------------------------------------------------------- "ERIK !?" Rogue held her husband in her arms, rocking him as he spasmed in agony. "S-s-something is direly wrong with the magnetic field," Magnus panted, bloody foam seeping from between his lips. "Ah knew we shouldn't'a come t'Genosha," Rogue muttered, hiding their presence from a patrol of magistrates with a holographic illusion generated by her electromagnetic power. "The entire island's -" They rocked, the ground moving under their feet. "Call Charles - Xavier," Magnus ordered his wife. "This is beyond even our power to deal with." -------------------------------------------------------- X-Mansion: 20:00 hrs EST: -------------------------------------------------------- "Well, no DUH !" Bill growled at the message from his step-grandmother. "Charlie's wiggin' out too, an' Cerebro's gone to pot !" "Damnit," Frank whispered, examining the results of the latest scanning probe of the Earth's inner layers. The New Mutants, X-Men, Avengers and Fantastic Four had gathered, with X-Force, Excalibur, X-Factor and Generation X filing in quickly. "Is it what we feared ?" Reed asked his son, nodding when Xavier, Hank Pym, Hank McCoy, and Iron Man approached. "Worse," Frank sighed, rubbing his eyes. "The infant Celestial's waking up early. And I don't have a clue on how to get rid of the stupid thing without majorly messing up the Earth. I mean, how do you destroy a planet's core and not cause huge environmental problems ?" "THAT'S the scale we're dealing with here !?" Iron Man exclaimed. "Think outside the box," Hank Pym advised. All eyes turned to him as he shrugged and said, "We need a miracle. Franklin warps reality - definable as a miracle. Let's see it." "'Put up or shut up,' Mr. Pym ?" Frank chuckled mirthlessly. He looked at where Ray was rocking Aidan and walked to her, caressing his girlfriend's face with one hand. "He's got your face," Ray breathed, letting Frank hold their son as she fought her own tears. "He deserves a world," Frank breathed back, locking eyes with his son. Aidan cooed, and Frank smiled tearfully - [- seeing an older Aidan, playing on a beach with a host of children his age -] - and whispered, "If I don't come back, protect your mom, OK ?" The baby seemed to burble an affirmative, wriggling a little when Frank kissed his forehead and handed the boy back to Ray. "You ARE coming back," Ray insisted. "If the Fifth Host of the Celestials comes gunning for me after I kill one of their own ..." Frank said, taking a deep breath. He kissed Ray hard, then looked at the Fantastic Four and the other heroes. "You want us to - ?" Reed asked. Frank shook his head. "If I go ... take the bastards out any way you can," he said, ice in his tone. "The Celestials used Earth and humanity. It's time we paid them back." "You, you mean," Chuck said, fixing Frank with a harsh stare. "This is a suicide run, Frank -" Frank shook his head again and said, "I've denied my power for too long, Chuck. Dr. Pym has a point - we don't KNOW what my upper limits are. "It's time to find out." -------------------------------------------------------- Somewhere within the orbit of Saturn, space folded. They floated, emotionless, approaching Earth with purpose, responding to the ancient signal they recognized. The planet's contractions were starting. -------------------------------------------------------- "Good God," Magnus breathed, floating with Rogue above what was rapidly becoming a scene from the Inferno. Downtown Hammer Bay was being inundated by lava, the magistrate and mutate forces having long since fled. Huge cracks were starting to appear in the bedrock, and lava was seeping like blood. "That sound - Erik, what's that horrible wailin' ?" Rogue asked, clinging to her man. Magnus tilted his head, then went ashen. "I heard it in Auschwitz, when mothers realized their children were dying," he whispered. "Earth is keening for its doomed children." -------------------------------------------------------- In the Atlantic Ocean, Namor tried vainly to evacuate his people from along suddenly-spreading suboceanic vents. In Yellowstone Park, Old Faithful spewed lava for the first time ever. Attilan's Great Hall rocked, and Karnak screamed, holding his head. And on the moon, Uatu looked down, and shivered. "I may not interfere," he told himself. "And I am damned for it ..." -------------------------------------------------------- They saw him first, appearing amidst a blaze of light. "FRANKLIN !?" Magnus shouted, seeing the boy's uniform start to disintegrate. ~PLEASE LEAVE, MR. LEHNSHERR,~ Frank sent, a terrible tone to his mental voice. Rogue shivered, looking into white-on-white eyes, and nodded, giving Magnus a fearful look. "We gotta go, darlin'," Rogue pleaded, as Magnus watched Frank continue to transform. The boy floated, unclothed, amidst white fire, continuing to pulsate and emit a palpable energy which made the very air spark. "Semele," Magnus breathed, turning away from the awful sight. When Rogue looked at him, uncomprehending, he took her hand and they started to accelerate. "In Greek mythology, Semele, one of Zeus's many loves, asked him to dress in his full splendor," Magnus continued. "Sworn to do so, Zeus inadvertently killed her with his glory. "Suddenly, I fear very much for whatever is causing this disaster ..." -------------------------------------------------------- "Ray ?" Kitty Wisdom massaged the shoulders of the girl she considered a younger sister and said, "You should really let someone else hold the little guy." "I suppose," Ray tried to laugh, letting Kitty take Aidan in her arms. "Jealous ?" "At least you didn't have to wait nine months like I will," Kitty snickered, making a silly face at Aidan. "Sinister actually did something right, long may he rot in the Vault." Ray's face lit up, and she looked at the suddenly-ashen Pete Wisdom. "Bluidy hell," Pete said, smiling despite himself. Then the world shook, and Ray gasped. -------------------------------------------------------- - fire, a pillar - - a scream, a horrific psionic wail cut sickeningly short - - outrage, the skies catching fire - - and wrath, youthful WRATH - -------------------------------------------------------- And on Mount Olympus, Zeus smiled wickedly. "THAT, thou arrogant churls, is thine reward for banning me and mine from Gaea !" the Lord of the Grecian Pantheon chortled. -------------------------------------------------------- He awoke, smiling, in a medbed. "You know, Genosha's become a garden spot," Ray said tearfully before pressing Aidan into Frank's arms. "I - what did I -" Frank whispered, rocking Aidan slowly. "You ... melted the unborn Celestial," Reed said, awe in his tones as the FF gathered around the foot of the bed. "And the debris from the rest has formed a ring around Earth." Frank's eyes widened in realization. "I -" "We've had peace entreaties from the Shi'ar, Kree, and Skrull," Ray said with a wicked grin. "I can't WAIT to hear Ronan begging." "I ... wiped out the Celestials," Frank said, looking at Aidan. "Don't worry, kiddo - I don't expect you to pull off a stunt like THIS." Aidan yawned, snuggling closer to his father, as the laughter began. -------------------------------------------------------- finis Book 1 of the Academia Cycle -------------------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ --- Support our Sponsor ------------------------------------ Get faster web speed! 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