The X-Project

Paige tries to get three of the students to safety but is penned in to a desperate ploy by Dark Phoenix



The battle was raging and a stray blast smashed into the ground nearby, coring open part of the basement and destroying the main science lab of the X-Men. Paige held up her charges from their slow way back to the Blackbird to keep them out of the fight. Unfortunately, the blast drew the attention of the Dark Phoenix, who was moving now towards their position.

"Move!" Paige yelled, ushering them through halls, memorized even through the smoke and debris. Unfortunately, Jean Grey was rather familiar with them as well, following easily. She turned her back to her, and gestured them around the corner, hoping to block the directions, as she looped around, eyes scanning, brain ticking.

"Not good," Molly said, frowning deeply. They were running as fast as they could but that was hard with rubble everywhere. More people were dead. Now Sue too. This wasn't right.

But she didn't really have time to think about that, though. Cause they might be dead soon too. Especially with evil Doctor Jean chasing them.

"What do we do?"

Molly Hayes had decided that she had seen enough alternate evil people to last her for like, ever.

Tandy was running behind Molly, her face was now expressionless but moment before she had been crying over the lost of her best friend, Sue. Her skin glowed brightly helping keep Ty's shadows back from Paige and Molly. "I have no idea anymore."

The shadows encompassed the light, shielding their party from eyes and attack as best he could. "You guys can hide, and I can keep going like you're still here?" Ty suggested.

"Good, use that. I have an idea, but you're all going to have to stay here and keep low until I give the signal," Paige said, as they rounded another corner, a T shape with a smaller alcove to one side.

"I'm going to rig the reactor to blow, but I'll need your help after to get it as close to her as possible, if she doesn't follow me. If she does, you run, got it?"

The sky rippled with the heat of the Dark Phoenix's wings. Combined with Xavier's meddling, this many minds in such close proximity meant even she was capable of mild surprise. If nothing else she occasionally discovered some amusing new configuration of resistance. She paused a short distance away, the ground beneath her slowly blackening.

"Are those little bugs I see, scuttling under a rock for safety?"

Almost lazily, the Dark Phoenix swept a wing towards the ground. It struck with the force of a meteor, flinging chunks of dirt and debris in all directions, and covered Paige's retreat.

Ty siphoned energy from Tandy's light and poured it into the shadows around them, solidifying the surface enough to let the flying objects ping off of it. He felt light-headed and swayed on his feet.

Molly quickly got up behind him, lifting her hands up to keep Ty steady, like a prop. She couldn't see anything, and could only hear the sounds of rocks and metal hit the shield, making loud booms as they bounced off it. She didn't even know where Evil Doc Jean was. And because she was unsquishable, she felt a little weird being protected. Most of the time she'd be the battering ram.

Tandy felt the shadows feeding off her light until Ty swayed. She turned to face him. "Hey Ty, stay awake please." She whispered, forcing her light into him - hoping that it would give him a boost. "I hope Paige comes back soon. I am not sure how much longer we can hold down right here."

A sharp whistle drew Ty's attention to Paige. She stood in the hallway, giant hunk of metal in her grip. His eyes widened and with one big surge of adrenaline fueled strength, he cleared the debris between them and Paige.

Molly skidded to a stop, baseball style, as she eyed the reactor warily. "I dunno if I like this idea, but...." She shrugged. It was the only one they had left. Otherwise they were probably gonna...well. Y'know. Join Matty.

Grabbing the reactor, her eyes glowed purple she hoisted it up into the air with Paige's help to make sure everything got disconnected properly, and they began to run to get a good distance away. Well, as away they could.

"So, like the olympics, right?"

Paige smiled. "Just like the Olympics, chickpea."

Straightening, Molly puffed up her chest and nodded. "Okay. Here goes," she said. Taking a deep breath, she could see the reactor doing things it probably shouldn't, so she spun around a few times with the reactor in her hands. Once she'd gotten enough momentum, she let go and flung it at the evil version of Doc Jean. She didn't try to think about how this was probably gonna kill her.

Wait, she was thinking it now. Stupid thoughts.

But at least it would be over.

Tandy was right behind Molly as she released her daggers towards the woman who looked like Dr. Grey. She had aimed her daggers towards the woman's face, her daggers would hit her and then blind her. Well, that was the plan anyways.

The spears of light splashed harmlessly against the shield. The flash was intense, but the Dark Phoenix saw with more than her eyes. She sensed the overloading reactor, hurtling towards her like a meteor... and smiled.

The Dark Phoenix did not bat it away. Instead, an instant before the hulk of twisting metal reached critical mass, she wrapped it in a cone of telekinesis to contain the explosion -- and redirected it.

The fireball roared towards the four below her, brighter than the lifeforce shining from Tandy's body, so bright Ty was stripped of his shadows. Molly's invulnerability would not save her from the heat; any form Paige might have husked into would have been pulverized or melted to slag. There was nowhere to run.

The explosion stopped a fraction of an inch from them, the intense heat and flame frozen close enough to brush against them. The air had taken on an odd blue quality, and around Paige the students were frozen in their reaction to the Dark Phoenix' response. It was not the first time Paige had seen this and there was no surprise as she caught sight of the horsed figure spiralling down from the sky above.

Seven feet tall, dressed in armor that was badly approximated by a thousand Wagner operas, the woman on the horse landed delicately on the ground beside her, hilting the spear that was longer that she was tall against her stirrup.

"Well met, Paige, daughter of Lucinda."

"And you, Brunhilde. Nice timing," Paige replied with a nod and warm, though tired, smile.

"Our call is always at the moment of death, Paige, daughter of Lucinda. Yours is the scarcest breath away." She took off her helmet, allowing her blonde braids to fall loose about her. "Which is why I am here, sister. The time has come to pay your debt to the All-Father."

Continuing to nod, Paige looked at the others, swallowing against the guilt rising in her chest. "And them? Do they... What happens?"

"Them?" Brunhilde looked over at the other mutants, frozen in time before their deaths. "They will have died fighting. Ushering their way to Valhalla would be your right, sister."

"But if I was one of the Valkyrie, a new recruit as it were. How out of the realm of possibility would it be that I took a bit of a wrong turn," Paige answered, not a real question. Her eyes sparkled as she continued, beneath the dark circles and dirt as her husk fell away. "You know, left turn at the PLACE IN ASGARD instead of right, whoops! All halls look the same to me."

"You join our ranks involuntarily as the result of a granted life boon and now you ask for more? You have a curious way of paying a debt, Paige, daughter of Lucinda." Despite her words, there was a odd cast to Brunhilde's eyes. The Valkyrie were shepherds of the dead and the mead bearers of Valhalla, but they were also the personal force of Odin when called and none made their position through meekness or lack of gall. "You would petition the All-Father for them? I must warn you. If he rules against you, they could find themselves in much worse places than Valhalla."

Meeting her gaze, Paige raised her chin. "They're my responsibility, Brunhilde. I have to try, I can't do any less than my best for them."

"Then ready yourself to face the All-Father, Paige, daughter of Lucinda no more. Now, sister of the valkyrja, chooser of the slain, bearer of mead, and maiden of battle." A decidedly horsey noise was made behind Paige, and she turned to see the white winged steed from her time in Asgard. "Mount, and we shall ride for Asgard!"