Kaine smiled, as he listened to the origin of Brimstone Love, and while the mutants debated amongst themselves, he had been forgotten. His plans for Xavier city were in ruins along with the city itself but his would-be assassins would not escape either.

"Your usefulness as prisoners is over, but we'll see if the body shop can find a use for you all," he announced to them and then he pressed a button and across the Stark/Fujikawa complex, alarms sounded. "It's over."

"So it is," said Luna with a growl, her grief over losing Tim again building to a crescendo and she leapt at Kaine.

"Wait!" said Morphine, thinking back to the electro-static discharge and if they were to get out he needed her but his warning was in vain and she grabbed him, her hunger ready to be sated on the emotional pain of Reno Kaine. His modified nanites sent the charge through her much as it has done Sinister before, but as she gasped in pleasure, a stark contrast to the silent scream of Kaine and her grip around his throat held. "Or not," murmured Morphine. "Essex, we need a plan."

"We destroy this place," said Essex and he altered his shape to match that of Kaine.

"Glad to see at least something around here still works," said Morphine, as he watched as the real Kaine and La Lunatica continue their dance and Essex wandered to the console.

"Primitive design," muttered the geneticist and pressed a button.

"Voice authorisation needed for auto destruct," said the computer and Essex looked over to his daughter.

"Whenever you are ready, child," he said and she looked at him, hunger in her eyes and he could see she wanted more emotions to feast upon. "The password," he said rationally, using a tone of voice he knew would reach her on a level he had pre-programmed in to her many years ago.

"Avengers assemble," she said, her voice little more than a feral rasp at what had been unleashed from deep within.

"Of course," said Sinister and in Kaine's voice he spoke to the computer. "Avengers assemble."

"Auto destruct initiated," the computer said in confirmation of the order and the tone changed pitch from one of intruder to evacuation.

"What about Kaine?" asked Luna, gaining a modicum of control over herself.

"Let the bastard shocking drown," said Morphine. "He's not even worth killing."

"I agree," said Sinister and then he looked at Morphine. "On the other hand..." Morphine was struck by an energy blast that hurled him across the room as a cadre of guards entered the room.

"Do something," hissed Luna, thinking the odds were too far against them and wishing they'd had the sense to leave when the alarm had changed.

"Really?" asked Sinister, stepping forward, obscuring the real Kaine. "I will take the girl," he ordered. "Ensure Mr Somers never leaves."

"Yes, Mr Kaine," said the guard, not realising the man giving orders was an impostor, and they started to kick and boot the helpless Morphine, who laid there trying to stand, but Sinister's blast had done what it set out to do

"You can't do this," said Luna, as Sinister dragged her out and she put her hands on him, ready to feed off of her fat5her, but to her surprise and dismay, her powers would not work.

"Be reasonable, child," he said. "What kind of fool would I be to create, to father something that could harm me in anyway?"

"No!" she said, looking at Morphine. Even though she had no great liking for him, this was wrong and he would soon be dead, and with the X-Men gone, she'd be with her father for the rest of her natural life, and if her father had anything to do with it, beyond.

---

Brimstone Love looked around, not seeing any trace of his enemies and Xavier City in ruins and he smiled. He had won, he had beaten them all and he had gained more power than he had ever dreamt of. The Theatre of Pain was nothing, nothing compared to what he was now, and he knew what he had to do next - to confront Miguel O'Hara and break the man and cast Mjolnir aside and begin a rule of mutancy unlike any had ever dreamt of.

The X-Men were gone and that was an end of that nuisance. In a way he was sorry for they had provided a great distraction and that it was at and end was disappointing, but it had ended the only way it could have ended - with him atop their smoking corpses.

"Do you see, father?" he said to the air. "DO YOU SEE!"

"Only if he's around," said Skullfire, manifesting before him. "And there's not much chance of that..."

"So you live," said Brimstone Love. "You are a very difficult creature to kill, Fitzgerald."

"So are you," said Tim. "That geothermal explosion was a neat trick."

"The ultimate extension of my power, as your energy form is of yours," he said. "You cannot stop me, Fitzgerald. Not now."

"Probably not," said Tim. "You exploded your body, covering everyone in lava and sending a shockwave a kilometre in diameter and you're not even phased. Can't match that sort of power."

"so you're letting me go?" asked Brimstone Love. "I doubt that."

"Yeah," said Tim. "I would too." Brimstone looked at him and then he felt something.

"No..." he muttered, feeling strange and he looked at his lower chest to see a hand print in his body armour and he fell to his knees.

"You've been judged by your peers," said Tim. "And found guilty. The sentence is death." Brimstone looked around as the ruins and charred bodies faded away to uncover reality.

"Telepath..." muttered Brimstone as he tried to marshall his energies and stop what was happening to him.

"Nope," said Meanstreak. "An old friend. Someone you should recognise." Henri stepped aside to reveal Diamanda LaSalle, the mutant known as Sham and former member of the X-Men. "You remember Sham? Your friends in the Theatre were using her and Quiver as lab rats."

"So many," said Brimstone and he looked over to Xi'an, whose ungloved hand was glowing with the destructive energy at it's command. "Lawless... scum..." he muttered as the decay spread further, eating away at him and he dropped from his knees to the floor and his body was engulfed in flame as the energies he commanded devoured him as he lost control and his corpse blazed in the middle of the main street of Xavier City.

"Xi'an," said Eddie, looking at him. He knew Xi'an's distaste at such things and Xi'an shook his head and Eddie knew he wanted to be left alone for a little while, he looked over to Henri. "Good thinking, brother." It had been Henri's idea to get Sham in, ideally to distract Brimstone but it had seemed that he had saved the city, bringing them as they had travelled with the Stark/Fujikawa Special Operations people. Quiver too was standing by, looking visibly tired after creating the shockwaves to fool Brimstone Love.

Tim had felt the change in Love and Henri had picked up on it and timed it so Brimstone had seen what Sham had considered to be the ultimate extension of his powers. It had been real enough to fool him and allowed Xi'an to strike the killer blow. It had been a close one and whatever Brimstone had been capable of... well, they'd not know now.

"The crisis is averted," said Tim. "You lot help get the people back in the city," he instructed the special ops people and then he looked at the X-Men. "There's something I need to tell you," he said, his voice becoming solemn. "Something... bad."

---

"Help me," shouted Shakti, but the infirmary was empty and she dragged herself to a bed and began to focus, pushing past the pain in. She was in the first stage of labour, she knew that and her waters had broken on the way to the infirmary. The pain she had felt earlier was because of the alien nature of her child, she knew that instinctively and she was also able to get a better sense of things and people - her powers were slowly returning. Whether it was due to the deaths of Victor and Krys or because of the birth she didn't know, but she was recovering.

Of course, her main concern was now that she was by herself and that she was giving birth alone. It was not what she wanted, and she couldn't tell if she was doing okay or what. The contractions and she gripped the sides of the bed as they hit her. She breathed deeply waiting for them, knowing that they would get faster as time wore on and she knew that the faster they got the closer she was to giving birth. She was ready to push now, but she knew it was too early and there was a long way to go just yet, but she knew she needed help.

She needed Xi'an and she hoped that she had enough power to try and reach him, to feel him out there. She closed her eyes, hoping there wasn't another contraction any time soon and reached out.

---

"Dead," said Eddie, looking at Tim. "They can't be… I mean… Are you sure?"

"Yes," said Tim. "He struck them down, and there was nothing I could do." He turned to Henri, who was on his knees at the place where the two of them had died. "Henri…"

"I can't believe it," he said. "I can't believe she's not here any more, Tim." He looked up. "If there was one constant she was it. I loved her so much, and now… now…"

"I know," said Tim. "She was special. One of the best people I ever met."

"Victor was a good man," said Xi'an placing his hand on Henri's shoulder. "Of all the Lawless, for all the things we did, he was the conscience of the group. He was the first to walk away, the first to claim his soul back, and now he's gone."

"We barely knew them," said Sham, coming over, "but in the time that we did, we knew them to be true heroes."

"Thank you," said Tim. "For everything. I know you quit, but…"

"Not a problem," said Quiver. "Just please, don't make a habit of it." Tim nodded and then noticed that Xi'an was rigid in his posture.

"Shakti," he said.

"What?" asked Eddie.

"She's giving birth," said Xi'an. "I must get to the infirmary!"

"Henri, get him there," said Tim. "I'll get the docs." The other two nodded and Xi'an climbed on top of Henri's back and the two of them set off, a little slower than Meanstreak's usual speed, but it was still faster than if Xi'an had gone on his own and Tim headed for the evac site. Eddie looked at Quiver and Sham.

"Guess we'd better follow Xi'an," he said and they made their own way towards the medical buildings.

---

Morphine felt each blow as they struck him and he knew he was badly hurt. What eh didn't know was how much time he had left before this place was destroyed and then the blows stopped and he was able to open his eyes. The guards had gone and he was alone, except for the real Reno Kaine who was awake, but dribbling and staring up blankly. As Morphine managed to drag himself over to him, he could see that his face was deathly pale and his hair had gone white.

"T'rff'c," hissed Morphine and he knew he needed help or else he was going to die of these injuries, though that'd be moot if the waters came in because then he'd drown. "Wek u," he said, flecks of blood splattering Kaine's face. "Wek th' sh'ck u," he said more fiercely and shook him, hurting as he did so, but he had to if he was to live. He had survived so much, he was not going to die like this.

"I've been a terrible person," whimpered Kaine.

"Yea, y'h've," stuttered Morphine. "Mek amen's."

"I can't," he said. "I deserve to die."

"I d'n't," Morphine stated. "T'lepor'r, whur i'it?"

"Desk," said Kaine. "It's on my desk." Morphine nodded as the alarms pitch got higher, and he forced himself to stand.

"Use it," he managed to say properly and Kaine looked at him. "Make… amends…"

"I don't know how," said Kaine.

"I'll help," said Morphine and Kaine stared at him and somewhere inside a primal desire to live kicked in and he helped Morphine to the desk.

"I'll set it for Alchemax," said Kaine and Morphine nodded. Xavier City was gone, so New York was the best place to go and Kaine pressed the buttons and then he looked at Morphine. "Get ready. Do you think they will forgive me as you have?"

"No," said Morphine and though it hurt him he shoved Kaine away and he could see the horror in Kaine's eyes as he started to dematerialise. The fool had really believed Morphine had forgiven him. Xavier City was gone and Morphine Somers was certain that if he was going to die, Kaine was going to die first. "Bye." Then he was gone and Kaine watched as the main parts of the complex started to deconstruct, using a special metal eating virus designed by Tony Stark to stop the fourth and final Armour War.

Then the waters rushed in and consumed him.

---

Miguel O'Hara was rallying the troops. Xavier City needed his help and he was going to do whatever he could to ensure they survived when word came to him that someone had arrived, and he hurried down to the medical labs where he could see Morphine Somers lying on a medical bed and the man was beaten to a bloody pulp but he was smiling.

"Morphine," he said as he came closer, and Morphine said something. "I can't hear you," said Miguel, going in closer. Morphine repeated it and then he closed his eyes.

"What did he say?" asked Reed Richards, who was also anxious for news of the Savage Land, and Miguel looked at him.

"I don't understand," the president of Alchemax and leader of the free world said. "He said 'sell your S/F shares'."

---

Marcus Raven called out to Doom, but if the Sorcerer Supreme could hear him, he wasn't answering the man's distress call. Kulan Gath was working on something and for some reason he was keeping Rosa a prisoner in her own mind and was doing the same to him after he had gone to rescue her. Whatever Gath had been up to a century before, he was seemingly trying again.

However whatever was happening was something important as he was doing whatever he could to avoid detection, because with Doom as the greatest sorcerer on the planet, Gath was in no position to test his powers against those of Doom. Doom was a great many things but he was also devious and cunning and if he saw an opportunity he would take it. The man may have reformed but his methods were the same.

"Marcus, Marcus, Marcus," said a voice and Raven turned to see Forge standing there and he knew that Gath was contacting him again. Forge had been a great many things but he had never been condescending. "It won't work, what you're doing."

"Ah know you now, Kulan Gath," he said. "Ah know we beat you before and we'll beat you again."

"Not this time," said Gath, shedding the visage of Forge to reveal his true face. "Before I was not ready. The time was wrong and you struck early. This time, the signs, the portents are correct. I have taken a great many steps to ensure this moment comes to pass and I will not have you or anyone else stop me. Not even the great Victor Von Doom, in whom you seem to place so much faith."

"Ah've seen him at work," said Dust. "Have you?"

"Oh yes," said Gath. "If not for me, he would never have come to this time period. I needed him to dispose of the Phalanx, though I never expected him to survive the experience."

"Underestimated him."

"Yes, I did," admitted Gath. "However I never make the same mistake twice. Where I am, he cannot reach me but I can reach him."

"Is that right?" said a voice and Forge and Dust looked to see the astral form of the Sorcerer Supreme. "I owe this man, Kulan Gath. If he calls me, I answer."

"Doom," said Gath. "Victor Von Doom. As unimpressive as ever." Doom ignored his taunt and looked him in the eye.

"I am aware of you, Kulan Gath. I am aware of where you are. I am aware of the Ascension."

"Cagliostro," said Gath. "You believed him?"

"No," said Doom. "I believed someone else instead, someone as beyond me as I am beyond you."

"I look forward to testing that, Victor," said Kulan Gath. "The Harbinger comes and not even you can stop him from rising."

"Perhaps," said Doom. "However I will do everything I can to prevent the Ascension, and there are other forces that will take on the Harbinger of Set."

"Impossible," said Gath.

"Nothing is impossible," said Dust, finding his voice again, and Doom smiled.

"For example…" the Sorcerer Supreme stated and Kulan Gath's astral image shattered as if it were glass and vanished and Dust could feel his mind returning to normal.

"Ah'm free," he said. "Thank you."

"Do not thank me yet," said Doom. "The Harbinger rises. You must ready the X-Men, and the world. The Sons of Set will soon follow and I will not be able to stop them from destroying this world."

"How will we know the Harbinger?" Dust asked.

"By the cry of a child," said Doom and then he was gone and Dust awoke and sat up.

"By Thor!" said the medic who was looking after him. Dust had not been expected to recover and Dust looked in to the man's mind and got the gist of what was happening.

"Gotta find the X-Men," he said, and then he thought of someone else and he looked over to see Rosa was also recovering. Doom had indeed freed them from Kulan Gath, but Raven knew no matter how bad things were now, they were about to get even worse.