"SHIELD?" Professor Xavier's voice was laced with genuine confusion. He looked from the man in the eyepatch to the disciplined soldiers fanning out behind him. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that agency." He was well-acquainted with the CIA; a whirlwind romance with agent Moira MacTaggert during the crisis in '62 had made sure of that. But this name, this man, was a blank. He subtly reached out with his mind, preparing to sift through the newcomer's thoughts for answers. He found… nothing. A wall. A smooth, featureless barrier where a mind should be.
Nick Fury smirked, a cold, knowing expression. He tapped a finger against a small, circular device glowing with a soft blue light on the side of his neck. "We used to have a longer name. Something about Strategic Homeland Intervention. A mouthful. And Professor," he added, his one good eye boring into Charles, "don't bother trying to get in my head. Since I decided to come have this chat, you can bet I came prepared."
This device was his ace in the hole, reverse-engineered from Kree technology designed to control Carol Danvers. It was a crude tool, but effective. He'd learned all about Charles and his old friend Magneto from the deep-level CIA files he'd acquired when he took over as Director—files detailing the Cuban Missile Crisis and the terrifying power of the mutant he knew as Sebastian Shaw. He'd been content to let the mutants police themselves, but an attack on the President? That crossed a line. That forced his hand.
"Director Fury, I assure you, there has been a profound misunderstanding," Professor X began, his voice patient and reasonable, the voice he used to de-escalate international incidents. He started to explain Stryker's conspiracy, the mind control, the theft of Cerebro.
Fury held up a hand, cutting him off. "Save it. After I take you in, my people will find the real answers. If your story checks out," he said, his tone making it clear he didn't believe it for a second, "and if you're willing to sign a certain… agreement… then maybe I'll consider letting you go back to your little school."
The truth was, he didn't much care who the mastermind was. This incident was the leverage he'd been waiting for. For humans, mutants were walking, talking weapons of mass destruction. He didn't want them exterminated—they were a potential asset—but they damn well needed to be controlled. And that started with putting a leash on their two kings, Xavier and Magneto.
Professor X's patient expression hardened. "I'm sorry, Director," he said, his voice losing its warmth. "But I cannot place the safety of my students in the hands of a government that does not understand them." For a fleeting, agonizing moment, he wasn't at Alkali Lake; he was back in the war room decades ago, watching names on a screen blink from 'active' to 'KIA', seeing the faces of his first students, betrayed by their own country and sent to their deaths or to a vivisection table. He would not make that mistake again. He had built the X-Men for this very reason. To protect his children.
"Then I guess we're done talking," Fury said, his voice flat. He gave a subtle nod. "Take them."
The world exploded into chaos.
"X-Men, engage!" Xavier's command ripped through their minds.
The sky, which had been clear moments before, turned an angry, bruised purple. Dark clouds boiled overhead as Storm's eyes turned a milky white. With a gesture, she called down a bolt of lightning that slammed into a squad of SHIELD agents, sending them flying. SNIKT! Wolverine and a now-conscious, snarling Lady Deathstrike became twin whirlwinds of adamantium, charging headlong at Captain Carter, Black Widow, and Agent May. A continuous, searing VWOOOOM of ruby energy erupted from Cyclops's visor as he targeted the woman burning like a star in the sky. Colossus, a living wall of organic steel, planted himself in front of them, the heavy thump-thump-thump of bullets spattering harmlessly against his chest. Kurt, his face a mask of terror, grabbed the Professor's wheelchair, ready to teleport them away from any stray fire.
Ethan's mind processed the battlefield in a fraction of a second. The brawls on the ground were a sideshow. The real threats were the queen and her bishop. Storm is area control, he thought. But Hawkeye, up there in the trees, he's her counter. But the queen on the chessboard, the one who can end this whole game, is the glowing woman in the sky. His strategy was clear: eliminate the support pieces, then gang up on Captain Marvel.
He handed his new, heavy adamantium staff to a bewildered Nightcrawler. "Hold this for me." Before Kurt could protest, Ethan pulled the Power Pole from his back.
Just as he predicted, a black-tipped arrow hissed out of the darkness, flying at a high, clever angle designed to arc over Colossus's head and strike Storm down while she was concentrating on the storm.
"Not a chance," Ethan muttered.
He leaped into the air, spinning his staff like a propeller, and smacked the arrow out of the sky. He didn't wait to see where it landed. He shot off like a bullet towards the treeline where the shot had come from. Hawkeye, not expecting a twelve-year-old to be his first problem, let loose a volley of arrows. One trailed crackling electricity, another burst into a net of sticky goo.
Ethan didn't try to dodge them. He simply flickered. "Afterimage Punch."
He left a series of phantom copies hanging in the air, each one pierced by an arrow. Hawkeye's eyes widened in confusion, but by then it was too late. The real Ethan was already there. A swift, hard blow from the Power Pole, and the world's greatest archer crumpled to the ground without a sound.
One down. But as he turned back, his stomach lurched. Captain Marvel was winning. She was pushing through Scott's full-force optic blast, her golden aura deflecting it like water off a duck's back. She was getting closer. Storm, seeing the danger, added a torrent of chain lightning to Scott's beam. It slowed the glowing woman down, but it didn't stop her. She was an inch away from breaking through, and Ethan knew if she got into melee range, Scott was dead.
There was no other choice. He moved to the side, getting a clear line of sight, and poured every last ounce of the template's remaining energy into his hands.
"Ka… me… ha… me… HAAAA!"
A brilliant blue beacon of hope erupted from his palms, slamming into Captain Marvel's exposed flank. Caught completely by surprise, her focus entirely on the two X-Men in front of her, she cried out as the blast hit her with the force of a freight train, sending her careening off into the dark forest.