During their years together as X-Men and teammates, Wolverine and Cyclops
had had their share of disagreements, some had been mutual, others heated,
and a few had teetered on the brink of full blown brawls, but in all those
intense arguments, Logan never lost respect for the X-Man leader. Now with
Sinister's shocking revelation concerning Katherine Summers, all he felt now
for Scott was sympathy.
Though he had no knowledge of his birth mother, Logan was certain of one
thing; if Sinister had experimented on her as he had done with the Summers'
woman, then the lunatic doctor would have been carved up into metallic
shrapnel and used as microscopic toothpicks.
He glanced at Storm, who bowed her head, stunned by what had been
revealed. In a somber voice, she spoke compassionately, "Katherine was
indeed a brave woman to have carried a burden of that magnitude all those
years. I can only hope Scott and Christopher can recover from this
horrendous knowledge."
Underneath him, Remy had stopped struggling; squeezing his eyes so tight
that it looked painful. In all the confusion, Logan had forgotten there was
another victim in Sinister's quest to create the perfect mutant.
Sensing the emotional turmoil raging within his friend, Logan retracted
his claws and regretted what he had to do next. He cupped Remy's chin,
forcing the younger mutant to open his eyes. "Didcha hear what Sinister did
t' yer mother, boy? He used her like some guinea pig under a microscope,
experimenting on her 'til he got th' results he wanted. Can ya even imagine
th' horrors she went through, keeping that kinda shame a secret from
everyone, especially her own family?"
"Logan," Storm said in a chastising tone, "Remy does not need to hear
such harsh words. He has been hurt enough."
"Ya know what you are, Gumbo? Yer th' results of that experiment."
Wolverine continued, ignoring Storm as if her words were nothing more than a
gentle breeze blowing in the wind. "Yer nothin' but a livin', breathin'
blob of goo to that madman. Yer his little invention, his toy, an' yer just
too stupid t' even realize it."
He could have belted the younger mutant several times and it wouldn't
have had the same affect as the harsh words had just accomplished. The
humiliated expression on his friend's face tore at Logan's heart, but he was
more determined to yank Remy out of that dream world he had been living in.
"It's a damn shame yer mother risked her life t' protect ya from that
thing ya seem t' worship. Betcha she'd be real proud of ya right now,
wouldn't she?"
"Logan, stop this conversation at once. I will not tell you again."
Storm warned, the sound of thunder rumbled in the distance.
"Coddling th' punk is yer department, Ro, it ain't mine." Logan snarled,
almost daring her to follow through with her threat. If being electrocuted
was the best she could do to him, then so be it. Being struck by lightning
would be a walk in the park compared to some of the things he'd had to
endure over the years.
He reached down, grabbed both hands full of Gambit's shirt, and lifted
him off the floor. "Ya mebbe Sinister's son, but there's no way in hell yer
mother wanted ya near him. She tried everything t' keep ya away from him
an' ya know it now, don't ya?"
Remy turned his head, refusing to speak. Logan had to hand it to the
kid; Gambit had mastered the art of masking his emotions perfectly. He
released Remy, allowing the thief a moment to regain some of his lost
dignity. He waited, watching anxiously for Gambit's next more, only the
young man fell back against the over turned sofa, shut his eyes, and
remained silent.
Wolverine placed a strong hand on Remy's shoulder and
uncharacteristically squeezed it with affection. "Sorry I had t' do that t'
ya kid, but ya needed t' know th' truth."
Ororo reached out and gently pulled Remy's hair away from his face before
she pulled him into her arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist, almost
in desperation. She held him tight, closed her eyes, and whispered, 'my
brother', in his ear.
With all the emotional bloodletting, Logan suddenly felt like a third
wheel.
Storm reopened her eyes, smiled, and in a compassion filled voice, asked,
"Logan, dear friend, could you give us some privacy? Remy is about to
display some hidden emotions that he prefers to do in private."
He wanted to protest, give her a reason for denying her request but when
she stared back at him, pleading with those cat blue eyes of hers, she could
have asked for the moon and he would have given it to her.
She took Wolverine's hand, assuring him of their safety. "Do not worry,
my friend. We are quite safe and completely hidden from Sinister's eyes.
Go! Scott needs you more than I."
Wolverine nodded slightly, turned and crept away, making sure he stayed
out of his enemies' line of sight. He easily joined Cyclops, and instantly
noticed the tension raging through the X-man's body. "Ya alright, Cyke?"
"What do you think!!" Scott glared at him, then sighed deeply and
apologized. "I'm sorry, Wolverine. I don't mean to take it out on you."
He nodded his head in Sinister's direction, and in a rage filled voice
added, "I never thought I could hate anyone as much as I do him. He's
actually standing there and bragging about what he did to my mother."
"Easy Slim," Logan placed his hand on Scott's shoulder, hoping the
gesture would console his friend. "Your father is on th' verge of going
ballistic, an' Gumbo's a mess."
Scott turned, sighing with relief. "Then he knows?"
"He knows." Logan answered, satisfied that one problem had finally been
solved.
Scott opened his mouth to speak, but Corsair's angry voice denied
Sinister's claim of Remy's parentage.
"My wife would have never kept the propaganda you're declaring as the
truth from me."
"She thought she had a good reason, you mindless twerp." Arclight
announced, laughing behind the Starjammers' back. Everyone turned, and was
shocked to find the Marauders standing and armed. Sinister had purposely
distracted everyone's attention to allow the Marauders time to recuperate.
Arclight noticed Rogue and smiled with a vicious grin, a promise of future
retribution lingered on her lips. "Another time, girly."
"When evah, you wanna, sugah." Rogue smiled sweetly with a poisoned
promise of retaliation, "only next time, you'll be lost in space when Ah
kick yer butt into orbit."
Scott stepped in front of Rogue, blocking the path between the two
women. "I asked you a question, Arclight." He impatiently said, annoyed at
the distraction. "What was the reason?"
"The reason? Well..." she purred, taunting him seductively as she ran her
fingertips across his chest, delighting in his discomfort. "Mr. Sinister
gave her a choice; either forfeit the baby or her family would suffer the
consequences. I never saw a woman turn so pale in my life. Why? Who
knew? Perhaps she placed a high value on your and Havok's lives."
"It was called love! Something I'm sure you know nothing about." Scott
snapped, then quick as lightning, grabbed Arclight's wrist roughly, twisting
it until the woman winced in pain. "But this is something you're very
familiar with, aren't you, Arclight? Unless you tell the entire truth, I'm
going to break your wrist, and don't think I won't do it either."
"Whoa, I love this side of you, Summers. I'm getting all excited just
thinking about what you could do to me." Arclight grinned diabolically
before she jerked her arm free.
"Philippa!" Scalphunter called, a hint of jealousy lingered in his
voice.
"Easy big boy, you have no contender for my affections - yet." She
replied with a conniving smirk. "I'm just having a little fun with Cyclops,
and reminiscing about his ingrate of a mommy."
Scott balled his hand into a fist, showing it to the Marauder. "You can
either tell me the truth or I'm going to forget you're a lady."
"She's no lady," Wolverine piped in, wishing Summers would cut the
chit-chat, so he could get down to some serious action. He was aching to
carve a few extra holes into some Marauder hides but when he heard
Arclight's next words, he froze.
"Katherine Summers didn't appreciate the generous offer the boss so
graciously bestowed on her. Instead she had the gall to demand a blood
test, insulting not only the boss's intelligence but his claim as the father
of her infant son." Arclight stared straight at Scott, ignoring Wolverine's
sarcastic remark and continued with her tale. "When she realized her
demands weren't going to be fulfilled, she started crying, screaming to keep
her baby. It was pathetic. The boss had to sedate her to get what was
rightfully his."
The Marauders started laughing, snickering between themselves.
It was at that exact moment Wolverine realized that Scott had reached the
breaking point. Cyclops intended to kill the female Marauder, not that he
could blame his friend, but knowing Scott as well as he did, he knew his
friend would regret it later.
Scott stepped forward, his hand reaching for his visor.
"Enough!" Sinister thundered, shooting a force bolt at Arclight's feet,
turning everyone's attention back to the scientist. The red eyes flashed,
and the voice hissed in anger as he approached Philippa. "You have said
quite enough. Another word and I will terminate your existence."
"Not before I terminate yours." Corsair vowed, walking slowly towards
his son, keeping his weapon pointed at Sinister. His trigger finger
twitched, inching closer to firing. "Because of you, I lost everything. My
wife, my sons, everything."
"Exaggerating a little bit, aren't you, Christopher?" Sinister taunted,
watching the man with absolute boredom. "If you are willing to be
reasonable you would realize that I permitted you the luxury of keeping your
little family intact, minus what was mine of course."
"You permitted?" Corsair asked, mocking Sinister's last statement with
laughter. "Well excuse me! I didn't know I was in the presence of God."
"Millenniums of evolution and still the homo sapien species hasn't made
any progress in intelligence." The scientist remarked, studying the pirate
with renewed animosity. "You, Christopher, and those like you, are a waste
of oxygen, useful for breeding and only then if the results bear the x
factor gene. Of course, I find it astonishing that you had two sons with
such qualifications."
"Three sons!" Corsair shouted in protest, "William's my son, not yours."
"William, indeed! Remington is a more fitting name for the son of
Nathaniel Essex." Sinister smiled a triumphant grin, folded his arms, and
asked nonchalantly. "Perhaps you should enlighten me Christopher, whose
eyes does Remington have? I would say his father, wouldn't you?"
"Hey Cyclops!" Scrambler shouted at Scott, laughing as he pointed a
mocking finger at him. "Maybe your mama was a lot friendlier to Sinister
than she let on, hum?"
Blockbuster and Riptide started laughing; each muttered something to the
other and then encouraged their comrade to continue with the insults.
Scott raised his hand, edging closer to his deadly visor.
Scrambler continued, unaware or couldn't care less of the approaching
danger, "Maybe she even got to---"
Scott fired his optic ray, blasting Scrambler before the insult could be
completed.
Scrambler hit the corner of the wall hard, bounced off, slammed into
Ch'od, who shoved him forcefully back into the corner. The Marauder looked
like a yo-yo ricocheting off one object to the other. The Marauder took two
wobbly steps, muttered something inaudible and then unceremoniously fell
face forward to the ground.
Scott glanced at the spot where Scrambler's shape had impacted the wall
and allowed himself a brief moment of satisfaction before he turned his
attention back to Riptide and Blockbuster, both had enjoyed Scrambler's
insulting remarks, and now they were about to share the same fate as their
comrade.
He glanced back at Sinister, if only to keep track of the scientist but
Scalphunter had moved closer to confront Arclight, thus blocking his view of
his adversary.
He turned back to Blockbuster and Riptide, but a bolt of lightning struck
the smaller Marauder, shaking Riptide with a violent jolt that caused the
weapons in his hands to melt into molted metal.
The confused Marauder glanced down, watching in disbelief as the liquid
metal seeped through his fingers and fell to the ground forming dark puddles
around his feet. For the first time in his life, Riptide was unarmed.
Scott turned to thank Storm, but his attention darted to her companion.
"Remy?" he called out, surprised to see his brother by Ororo's side. His
feelings were mixed, unsure if he should be happy that his brother knew the
truth or worried when Gambit walked by him.
He reached out and grabbed Gambit by the arm, pulling him back. "Remy, I
- -"
"Stay outta dis, Scotty." Gambit said, pulling out of Scott's grasp.
"Dis is between Sinister an' me."
"No!" Scott declared, shoving his hand in front of Gambit's chest to
halt the younger man's movement. "You're too emotional right now and that's
dangerous, one mistake could get you killed."
"An' you're not?" Remy challenged, glaring at him with enough certainty
that Scott felt the man could read his mind. Remy gently pushed Scott's
hand away, "Allow me to avenge our mother, mon frere."
Scott swallowed, understanding the need for revenge and the desire to
quench that thirst but he also knew the madman they faced. Unless one was
in control of their senses, they didn't stand a chance against Sinister. He
shook his head, denying his brother the same thing he himself wanted. "I'm
sorry, but - -"
"Stormy always knows what I need, non?" Remy never took his eyes off
Scott as he reached into his jean pocket, pulled out a deck of cards, and
shoved them up his sleeves. "You can't stop me, Scott an' we both know it."
As Gambit walked away, Scott almost called after him, but doing so would
only alert Sinister, further endangering Remy's life. Not wanting to be
left out, Scott followed his brother.
A card fell smoothly into Remy's hand, instantly charging with kinetic
energy as he approached the scientist from behind.
______________
Scalphunter was tired, irritated, and sick of Arclight's constant
flirting with anything in pants. She was doing it deliberately, which only
infuriated him further. If Sinister hadn't stepped in and silenced the
bitch when he had then the Marauder would have silenced her another way.
Movement drifted into his line of sight. Curious, he turned his head to
investigate, and surprisingly discovered LeBeau. He could have sworn Essex
had sent the boy back to the base, but if that were true, why was Remy still
in the mansion? From the devastated appearance on his young friend's face,
he was convinced Remy must have heard what had just been revealed.
Damn! No way, Essex planned that.
He watched LeBeau, waiting to see if the young man would give some
indication of what was amiss, or if Sinister himself would play his hand.
It wouldn't be the first time Essex kept his personal agenda hidden from the
rest of the group.
Summers reached out and grabbed LeBeau and the two started a brief but
secretive conversation that ended with both seemingly agreeing to a
conclusion. That alone, caught Scalphunter's attention.
With cards energized, Remy stepped forward, approaching from behind
Sinister's unsuspecting back. No doubt lingered in Scalphunter's mind now
at what was transpiring. As much as he wanted LeBeau to remain with the
team, loyalty to his creator was his primary program.
"Boss," he shouted, "behind you."
In a nonchalant fashion, Sinister turned and stared at the young man. If
the scientist was surprised to discover LeBeau standing behind him, he never
displayed it. Instead, with a wave of his hand, Sinister dismissed the
possible assassination attempt as if it were nothing more than an
annoyance. "You were told to return to base, Remington. Put the cards
down, and do as I command. I will not tell you again."
"You told me a lot of things, Sinister, an' most of dem were lies."
Remy's eyes narrowed, glowing with power with each step he took. "You lied
'bout everything."
"Perhaps, but what would have been accomplished if the truth had been
revealed?" Sinister glanced at Xavier, intending the words to be an
accusation. "Would you have returned to those who just a mere month ago,
considered you less than yesterday's garbage?" His probing eyes settled on
the young man, and added almost with gratification, "or would you have
preferred the life you lived before you met Scalphunter?"
In a desperate attempt to mask his emotions, Remy looked away. His
greatest fear has always been losing control of his mutant powers, and
Sinister used that knowledge as a powerful weapon against him.
Scalphunter lowered his weapon, remembering his first encounter with the
then teenage mutant, who had been scarred deeply by that loss of control.
To terrified to even touch anything, LeBeau had almost starved himself
before Scalphunter stepped in to offer assistance. Since that incident, the
two shared a special bond that only one other realized still existed today.
Sinister, well aware of that relationship, gave him an intense stare. No
words were spoken but the scientist filed that information away for future
use. It wasn't a surprise. Essex would do anything to further his own
agenda. Scalphunter's only regret, he no longer had command over his own
emotions, thoughts, or beliefs. Whatever Sinister programmed, he mindlessly
followed those orders, even at the expense of a one-time friend.
"You always twist things around so dat you make mutants believe you're
some savior," Remy spit out, the anger back in full force, "mais, you're
not, an' you had no right to keep de truth from me."
"Revealing mere details of your parentage would have only served our
enemy, not you."
"You're de enemy, Essex! It wasn't de X-Men who brutalized my mother.
It was you! She was nothin' but a specimen to you! Just another 'xperiment
for you to play wit'," Remy shouted, as the cards in his hand started to
glow brighter. An explosion was forthcoming if the kinetic energy wasn't
quickly contained, or absorbed, and from Scalphunter's view, LeBeau did not
intend to do neither.
"Remy, emotions have always been your Achilles heel. Back off before you
make a big mistake." Scalphunter warned as he moved to Sinister's side.
"Take another step, and I'll be forced to stop you. You know I have no
choice."
With the lines drawn, Scalphunter started to lower his weapon until he
saw Cyclops move. He turned the weapon on the approaching man. "Not so
fast, Summers," he hissed, "This is between Remy and the boss."
"Dat's right, Grey Crow! Dis is between Sinister an'
me. You stay out." Gambit warned, glaring intensely at the tall man. With
a conniving grin, Remy shoved a charged card into Essex' belt, and stepped
back to enjoy his handwork. However, enjoyment quickly turned to disbelief
when the kinetic energy in the card vanished as if it had never been
charged.
Before Remy had time to realize what had happened, Sinister reached out
and grabbed him by both wrists. The wide-eyed shock of being captured cost
Remy any chance he had of regaining his composure.
"Let him go, Sinister," Scott hissed, as he raised a warning hand to his
ruby visor. "Do it now before...."
"Before you do what, Summers?" Scalphunter challenged, aiming the pulsar
riffle at the X-men's leader. His finger curled around the trigger,
savoring the possibility of annihilating the 'Great' Scott Summers. He had
always wanted to know which would be fastest, his trigger finger, or
Summer's optic blast. Well no time like the present to find out.
Sinister lowered the weapon, scattering Scalphunter's fantasy. "Destroy
Summers," the scientist warned, leaving no doubt of what awaited the
marauder if he disobeyed, "and learn a new meaning to the word pain."
The warning heeded, Scalphunter relented. Arclight started chuckling
behind his back. Enraged by his lover's public disrespect, he turned to
confront her but spotted Christopher Summers advancing behind the female
marauder. Before he would warn or reprimand Philippa, Sinister took
control.
"So typical," Sinister declared before firing a force bolt into the
Starjammer's chest, knocking Corsair across the floor.
"Dad!" Cyclops shouted. With concern over his father, Scott completely
ignored the danger of Scalphunter's weapons as he rushed to assist Corsair.
Somehow, Scalphunter believed Sinister had planned to attack Corsair in
order to disrupt Cyclops' mental balance. It never ceased to amaze the
Marauder at how well his creator seemed to thrive on undermining their
enemies when defeat seemed evident.
Lifting Remy off the floor, Sinister never took his eyes off the young
man as he spoke to the Marauder leader, "I have need of this one without the
added nuisance of unwanted obstacles. Scalphunter, destroy those
hindrances."
"Sure Boss," Scalphunter replied, and then shouted to Sontag, "Arclight,
make it good."
"Don't I always, lover," the female marauder gloated. With précised aim,
Arclight pounded her fist into the floor and activated her mutant power.
Marauders, X-men, Starjammers, and furniture directly in her path fell
victim to the violent shockwave.
Scalphunter, Sinister, Arclight, and Gambit were spared the domino
effect.
Sinister turned his attention to LeBeau, and spoke in a tone that made
the two marauders cringe, "I altered your DNA before you were born to make
you more powerful." He pulled the playing card out of his belt, showed it
to the young man and then tossed it away. "I created you! Do you think I
would be foolish enough to allow you to use those powers against me?"
"You're not my father," LeBeau hissed in denial.
"You may deny the truth, but nothing will ever change the fact that you
are my creation," Sinister said, returning LeBeau to his feet, "That fact
alone guarentees that you are my son."
"So much for Scrambler's plan of turning the Boss against LeBeau."
Arclight folded her arms and sighed. "Not that I thought for one moment
that fool could accomplish such a feat."
Dying on one of Essex's famous lab tables would be merciful compared to
what awaited anyone who attempted to drive a wedge between father and son.
Scalphunter blinked in disbelief. The floor under Sinister's feet
started glowing with kinetic orange energy. "Boss," he yelled in warning,
"the floor!!!"
Sinister stepped away, pulling Remy with him before the floor exploded.
"Temper tantrum, Remington?" he asked, grabbing a hand full of LeBeau's
hair, viciously yanking Gambit's head back. "This is neither the time nor
the place for you to display them." With a wave of his hand, Sinister
opened another portal, stepped inside, and disappeared with LeBeau.
"Now what?" Arclight asked, angered over Sinister's unexpected
disappearing act. "Do we follow, or attack?"
Before Scalphunter could issue an order, Rogue and Wolverine had
recovered from the side effects of Arclight's shockwave and followed
Sinister through the portal as it began to shrink.
"Riptide," the Marauder leader shouted, pointing at the tesseract,
"you're the smallest. Follow and destroy them."
The Marauder quickly obeyed, barely having enough time to jump into the
tesseract before it closed behind him.
"Damn Essex!" Philippa cursed. She balled her hand into a fist, and
grinned cruelty at her recovering victims. "Everyone, let's get ready to
rumble." She tried lowering her fist but found herself encased inside a
telekinetic bubble, and her powers disabled.
"Jean, you and Elizabeth link your powers with mine." Charles urged with
importance. Sweat appeared on his forehead as he strained to keep a mental
hold on the superhuman Marauder, "Together, we can keep Arclight contained
while the others engage the remaining Marauders."
Never during his reign as Marauder leader had Scalphunter ordered a
retreat, but with Harpoon and Riptide gone, Arclight captured, and Scrambler
unconscious, that only left him and Blockbuster to handle the now recovered
Starjammers and X-Men. He didn't like those odds. He turned to Blockbuster
and shouted, "Baer, let's get the hell out of here."
Scalphunter didn't wait for a response from his teammate. He ran to the
same window Worthington had destroyed earlier when he had grabbed Harpoon.
The two hadn't been seen since that incident.
He heard ice freezing, and teeth chattering. Risking a quick glance,
Scalphunter looked over his shoulder. Blockbuster was encased in a block of
ice. He was on his own. The only Marauder still functioning
"That should keep you out of trouble for a while," Drake proclaimed. He
turned his attention to the unconscious Scrambler and rewarded him with the
same treatment he had given blockbuster. Then with a wicked glare, the
Iceman turned to the last Marauder standing. "You're next, Scalphunter."
"Think again, snowball," the Marauder laughed, and then jumped out the
window and ran for the woods. He needed their protection to regroup and
mount a rescue attempt of his captured companions.
-------------------------
Scott rushed to the window Scalphunter had just used as an escape route
and looked out, he scanned the area in all directions but could find no
trace of the retreating Marauder leader.
"He's faster than he looks," Cyclops commented with a frustrated sigh.
One Marauder on the loose was one too many. He knew he should feel relieved
or at least satisfied that they had captured several of the hired killers,
but when Sinister opened a portal and disappeared with Remy it was a bitter
pill to swallow.
"Jean, anything from Cerebro?"
"Nothing yet Scott," his wife answered, trying to reassure him as well as
the others in the room, "but it shouldn't take long with Rogue and Wolverine
inside the same portal. Cerebro is tracking their movements."
Cyclops exchanged worried glances with his father, who motioned him
closer. As Scott approached, Corsair nodded with his head, indicting the
captured Marauders, and asked, "Have you got a place for them?"
"Plenty, and with room to spare. I'll have Bishop, Bobby, and Warren,"
he paused, remembering he hadn't seen Angel since the beginning of the
attack. Worried, he turned and asked no one in particular, "Where's
Warren?"
"Took the trash out!" Bishop declared before tossing Scrambler's
unconscious body over his shoulder.
"If you drop your hands any lower, Arclight," Bobby warned as ice sprayed
from his fingertips. "I'll turn you into an iceberg."
"Raza, you and Ch'od stand guard over the prisoners until it's decided
what their fate is going to be," Corsair said. He glared at each Marauder
as they were led away in manacles before focusing his anger at the
professor. "Xavier, how much longer before that blasted machine of yours
locates my son?"
"I understand your impatience, Christopher, but you must understand that
until someone steps out of Sinister's tesseract, Cerebro cannot track
anyone, and I do mean anyone."
-----------------------------
"Put me down." the Marauder demanded, watching his feet swing back and
forth over the city skyline.
"Don't you like the view, Harpoon?" Angel taunted, barely holding the
smaller man just enough so he wouldn't drop him.
For the first time in years, Warren enjoyed the feel of the wind blowing
against his face. Risking a chance of being detected on radar, he soared
higher than he had flown before. Not that he cared, because by the time an
air pilot could investigate, he would be gone.
Harpoon tried wrapping his legs around Warren's torso, but Angel arched
his back, foiling the Marauder's feeble attempt. "What are you trying to
do, Worthington? Discovering how high you can stick your rich boy nose up
in the air?"
"Not quite."
"I don't know what you're doing, but knock it off before I really get
mad."
Warren ignored the empty threat.
"Are you trying to scare me, X-man?" Harpoon started to laugh. "We both
know you're not going to drop me. You, and the goody two shoes X-Men don't
have the guts to do anything like that."
"X-Men? Oh, I don't consider myself an X-Man anymore," Warren replied,
and then released the hold he had on the Marauder with his left hand. He
watched the Alaskan dangle in mid-air, and a loud defiant voice, declared,
"I am the Avenging Angel, and the day of retribution has come."
He opened his right hand, and watched the Marauder fall. "Kiss the earth
for me, Marauder, and may some deity forgive your sins but I never will."
His destiny now set, Warren no longer cared if he returned to the X-Men.
For five long years he had waited to plot his revenge, and now that it had
started, it felt great. He looked down. Harpoon had disappeared, and with
him, any chance Warren might have had of saving the Marauder.
It didn't matter, Warren thought to himself. He never intended to spare
Harpoon's life. He turned direction and headed towards the mansion.
"Michael Baer, you're next." He changed direction and headed towards the
mansion.