Merchants of Death

Chapter 18



The Phoenix felt Storm and Cyclops hit the ground with bone breaking force.

Less than a second later the host of the Phoenix Force appeared beside them in a

burst of fiery power.



Ororo Munroe's back and neck were bent at an unnatural angle, while Scott

Summers stomach had been torn open by a sharp rock he had landed on, exposing

the man's organs and spilling his intestines upon the dirty ground. Both of the

unlucky mutants had lost a lot of blood, and neither one had a heartbeat.



But The Phoenix would not accept their deaths.



Jean Grey reached for their spirits as she channeled healing power into their

flesh. The soul of Ororo welcomed the fiery touch of her friend and lover as

Jean mended her body. Her spirit held in place by the awesome psychic might of

The Phoenix as her bones and organs moved back to their proper positions, even

Ororo's beautiful brown skin healing the many cuts and bruises it had received

on impact almost instantly.



But Storm's lover resisted healing.



Deprived of physical form and with his spirit only held in place by the power of

The Phoenix, Scott Summers was forced into a mental bonding with his wife closer

than anything the husband and wife had experienced since Jean Grey had

reappeared.



He saw how possessive Jean's love for him had become, realizing that the next

time they got into a serious argument there was a good chance that his wife

would simply `change' his mind the way that she had Storm's. That the more Jean

embraced absolute power the more she saw compromise and negotiation (even with

those she loved) as beneath her.



In that moment Scott made a choice, he would not surrender his freedom of

thought and individuality. Not even to a woman who (in spite of her growing

hubris) loved him.



Drawing on all his will power Cyclops pushed away from The Phoenix.



There was no way that the former X-Men team leader could have succeeded if The

Phoenix had actively resisted him. But Jean was too shocked at her husband's

actions to respond right away.



And too stung by his rejection of her.



For a moment the soul of Scott Summers lingered near his broken body. Then it

was gone, beyond even the godlike Phoenix's power to sense.



*****



Though the Terminator was far more advanced than the Epsilon robots as an A.I.,

they outclassed him when it came to weapons, armor, and even physical strength.

Something Sage's surviving servant was all too aware of as he fought an Epsilon

unit.



The bullets the robot was firing at the Terminator tore through what was left of

his organic flesh but did little harm to the machinery beneath. Of course the

Terminator looked badly damaged thanks to all the bloody wounds his cloned flesh

had received, however the Epsilon unit was smart enough to realize that shooting

the Terminator wasn't working.



It targeted the Terminator with its last rocket, and then fired. Watching with

something like disappointment as he dodged the rocket by moving quickly to the

left, deciding that use of its primary weapon was required.



The Terminator saw the chest plates on the other robot's torso open. Knowing

that it signaled that the Epsilon unit was about to fire its radiation cannon,

and estimating that his own frame lacked the durability to survive a hit from

that weapon.







The Terminator charged the Epsilon robot; intent on shoving the gun in its hand

into the radiation cannon before the weapon could fire, calculating that such an

action had at least a 50% chance of destroying the Epsilon.



But the cannon fired before the Terminator reached its target, the powerful

burst of green energy blasting through the cyborg's lower torso in a violent

shower of broken metal, blood, and electricity. Then the two halves of the

Terminator plummeted to the ground.



The ruined machine's main source of power had been in its chest, along with

several of its other vital systems, so the Terminator was in the process of

shutting down for the final time.



The Epsilon unit turned away from its fallen foe, obviously not considering the

Terminator a threat any longer. As the legacy of Skynet lost power and its

vision grew dim the A.I. felt a sense of failure, its mistress had not been

avenged.



However, the last sight the Terminator saw was its destroyer exploding in a

burst of Phoenix fire, as other Epsilon units and security personnel around it

also spontaneously combusted. The Terminator curved its lips at the vision of

destruction, allowing it to die with a smile on its face.



*****



The Phoenix was angry.



All of the Epsilon robots and Imperious Industries security personnel fighting

the universal travelers and the forces of Silverymoon on the battlefield

spontaneously combusted as she unleashed her rage on them, blowing apart in

violent explosions of flesh and metal.



Over a dozen Knights in Silver were too close to their enemies when they

exploded, and were instantly killed or badly wounded. While four Spellguard

wizards who had been surrounded by Epsilon robots were burned to death as their

enemies violently detonated.



The rest of those who had come from Silverymoon (that survived) simply watched

in fear or awe as over a hundred enemies were consumed by simultaneous fiery

explosions. An act of destruction even the mighty Lady Alustriel could not have

easily matched.



Chrissy Lera, who was usually among the most arrogant, found herself momentarily

humbled by the demonstration of such raw destructive power. Vocalizing the

thoughts of many when she murmured "I am glad that she's on our side."



*****



Mystique had woken up shortly after being placed in the fortress dungeon, but

the shapeshifter was pretending to still be asleep. Hoping that she could catch

her captors off guard the next time they opened the door to her little cell.



But all such petty concerns flew from her mind when she heard the voice of Jean

Grey in her head.



~Stay away from the fortress.~



~What…how can I stay away from the fortress?...I'm in the dungeon you...~ the

blue skinned woman started to reply when she suddenly experienced a severe sense

of disorientation.



Then she realized that she was lying on soft grass and surrounded by Silverymoon

soldiers. Teleported away by The Phoenix before she could even finish her

thought.



Immediately after that Mystique noticed some of the men in shining armor leering

down at her. Realizing that not only was she naked (as usual) but that she had

not bothered to shape shift any pseudo clothes since regaining consciousness.



~Why does this keep happening to me on this world?~ Mystique wondered, feeling

an uncharacteristic urge to blush.



*****



Leshrak wasn't terrified, but the Mind Flayer was more worried than he could

ever remember being.



All of his troops out in the field had just spontaneously combusted, and

something was blocking the telepath's access to the minds of his enemies now.

Leshrak was still trying to figure out what to do when a fiery bird appeared

before him, and then rapidly solidified into the shape of a red haired woman.



One of Leshrak's people took out his pistol and opened fire on the woman, but

the bullets didn't seem to have any effect. Then the redhead gestured violently

in the stocky man's direction and her attacker was flung backward with enough

force go through a wall.



The illithid was trying to reach the mind of this new opponent, but her mental

defenses were the strongest Leshrak had ever encountered. He doubted the woman

even noticed his telepathic assault.



~What is she?~ Leshrak wondered.



Two more of Leshrak's commanders tried to attack The Phoenix and died

immediately afterward. The five men surviving tried to flee and urged their

boss to do the same.



"I think you have a point…we should…" Leshrak started to say, and then stared in

horror as his trusted subordinates all collapsed, their very minds snuffed out

by the power of The Phoenix.



Leshrak facial tentacles quivered in fear as he stared at the deadly woman,

fighting down the urge to panic, wishing that he was wearing something stronger

than his bulletproof black body armor.



Having already seen that bullets had no affect on The Phoenix, Leshrak grabbed

the nearest metal object. Hurling the stapler he always kept near his computer

at the redhead as hard as he could.

Staring in disappointment as the stapler seemed to disintegrate mere inches away

from Jean's skin.



"No…I didn't really expect that to work" Leshrak sighed.



The full power of The Phoenix hit Leshrak like a tornado, and in that terrifying

moment the Mind Flayer realized just how outclassed he really was.



Phoenix fire burned away his mortal form in moments, leaving less than ash

behind. But Jean Grey was not done with Leshrak.



She was angry about her husband's death, and even more upset about Scott's

rejection of her in his final moments. And Leshrak had become the target of her

rage.



~No…please~ the spirit of the illithid pleaded, held near what remained of his

body by the power and wrath of The Phoenix.



Holding his very soul in her grip, the angry woman squeezed, applying enough

force to destroy mountains against the Mind Flayer's spirit. Leshrak's soul

could do little more than shriek as the titanic energies ripped it apart.



*****



What happened to the Imperious Industries fortress was beyond a simple

explosion.



Raw fiery power raced through the vast structure, a deluge of psychic might so

concentrated that it could be seen with the naked eye. Consuming the fortress

along with everyone and everything within it in moments, if anyone inside had

been able to survive the onslaught of such great mental energies would have

rendered them completely insane. But the raw physical power of The Phoenix's

attack made that a non-issue. Even the strongest and most well protected in the

facility could do little more than gasp in surprise and fear before they were

consumed.



"By the gods" Lady Alustriel murmured as she watched the massive stone structure

rapidly burn up like cheap paper. Having teleported to a nearby mountainside

almost immediately after

The Phoenix arrived on the scene.



The Chosen of Mystra could sense the raw destructive forces the angry god-woman

was unleashing, and as she witnessed the scale of Jean Grey's power, the High

Mage was honestly not sure that she could match it. Even with the help of her

goddess.



*****



Now that all their attackers were dead, the universal travelers had gathered

around Storm and Cyclops. They soon realized that the wind rider was alive and

that Scott Summers was very dead.



"What happened?" asked She-Hulk in a monotone as she stared down at the man's

mangled corpse.



"After they fell a woman wreathed in flame appeared and healed madam Munroe then

she simply disappeared" an elfin Knight who had witnessed the event from a

distance answered, still a bit in shock at how the battle had ended.



"But why didn't she heal her husband?" Mystique said in an almost accusing tone.



She had not been fond of Cyclops, but Mystique had respected the man, and had

been certain that he loved Jean Grey. Jean healing her lover and just leaving

her husband to die seemed very…cold to the shapeshifter.



Emma Frost simply stared down at her former lover's corpse with a troubled

expression. Her daughters clustered around their mother protectively; disturbed

by the path her thoughts were taking.



Lady Alustriel and The Phoenix appeared near the gathering at virtually the same

moment. The leader of Silverymoon exchanged brief pleasantries with the

universal travelers and then looked for the highest ranking survivor of the

combined Knights in Silver and Spellguard force that she had sent on this

mission. Jean Grey Summers simply knelt by her husband's side, tears silently

running down her face as she cupped his cheek.



"How many survived?" Lady Alustriel asked Malcolm Walsh, an elderly human wizard

with a long silver beard and lines of weariness around his eyes.



"Not enough your Highness...at least three thirds of the army was wiped out…we

only have about thirty warriors and spell-casters left in any condition to

fight" Walsh replied gloomily.



"We are not ready to fight a war like this" the wizard said more to himself than

anyone else as he saw the recent slaughter again in his mind.



"I should have been here I could have stopped this" the Chosen of Mystra

exclaimed as she looked over the scene of devastation.



Armored and robed corpses were sprawled across the ground as far as the eye

could see. Many of the bodies were so damaged that they were little more than

shreds of flesh and bone now, and even the more intact corpses tended to have

huge bloody wounds. In some places so much blood had been spilled that the

grass appeared to be stained red.



There were also many broken Epsilon robots and corpses wearing the distinctive

armor of Imperious Industries security personnel scattered across the ground.

But they were vastly outnumbered by the dead bodies of men and women wearing the

armor and insignia of the Spellguard or Knights in Silver.



Malcolm Walsh didn't reply to his sovereign. He was a loyal servant of the High

Mage and Silverymoon itself, but he could find no words of reassurance or

support for Lady Alustriel at the moment.



The wizard supposed that they had won the battle, since their enemies had been

annihilated. But too many of his comrades had died (and with disturbing

quickness at that) for him to consider it a real victory.



Emma Frost was having similar thoughts as she gazed down at The Phoenix and the

corpse of Scott Summers.



She had loved Scott once, even if she had only admitted the feeling to herself.

Now she looked down at his corpse and felt nothing.



When had her feelings towards the man changed?



As Emma Frost examined her own memories she pinpointed the moment when she had

stopped loving Scott, after his wife had attacked her mind. She had always

assumed that she had stopped loving the man because he had failed to protect her

from Jean, that she had `wised up' on some level and realized that she deserved

better than Scott Summers, but the longer she looked at the scene of Jean

mourning her husband, the less likely that simple explanation seemed.



Jean had changed her and Storm so profoundly during that time, and the redhead

had been almost mad with jealousy when she assaulted Emma. It was all too easy

to believe that a jealous wife like Jean had made other changes to her mind.



The conclusion hit Emma Frost like an epiphany.

She had stopped loving Scott Summers because Jean Grey had altered her so that

she no longer loved Scott.



"YOU BITCH" Emma snarled as she strode over to Jean Grey, knocking the kneeling

woman over with a powerful punch to the face.



Emma's attack had only succeeded because Jean had been completely caught up in

her grief. But after taking a fist to the face Jean was alert, and more

importantly, angry.



Emma found herself unable to move as Phoenix fire swirled around her body,

binding her arms like unbreakable rope. The fiery bands tightening to the point

of pain, only by changing to her diamond form did Emma avoid being crushed.



"I KNOW WHAT YOU DID YOU FUCKING BITCH" Emma screamed as a little voice inside

tried to tell her that this was madness, that she needed to make peace with Jean

now (though in her rage Emma had trouble telling if the voice was Sophie or her

own common sense). But Emma was too angry to listen, after everything that she

had gone through she simply wanted to hurt Jean any way she could.



"SO WHAT YOU ARROGANT BOTTLE BLONDE SLUT…YOU NEVER HAD ANY CLAIM TO SCOTT

ANYWAY" Jean yelled as she reached out and grasped Emma around the neck, her

seemingly delicate hand squeezing the diamond hard flesh with choking force.



"Let go of her Jean Summers" Lady Alustriel said coldly.



The Phoenix looked and saw the High Mage standing to the right of her, the

beautiful sorceress's hands raised in the act of spell casting. The surviving

Knights and Spellguard who could still stand were rushing towards their

sovereign. While Celeste, Mindee, and Phoebe Frost were all glaring at Jean,

clearly nervous but ready for a fight.



"Everyone needs to calm down" Mystique said firmly, trying to play peacemaker

before people started dying.



"STAY OUT OF THIS" Jean screamed savagely, the words accompanied by a burst of

raw psychic power strong enough to leave everyone present clutching their heads.



This woke Storm up, to find herself staring at the corpse of her lover and

teammate. At this point Ororo was in too much shock to feel grief for Scott and

was drawn to the sight of Jean strangling Emma.



The Phoenix's back was to She-Hulk, and the green skinned woman picked up a rock

the size of a motorcycle as she tried to creep up on Jean, hoping that her

strength would be enough to stop The Phoenix.



"Jean please stop this…there has been enough death today" Storm pleaded as she

stared at her lover.



"YOU'RE TAKING HER SIDE" Jean said angrily as she continued to choke Emma Frost.



"There are no sides Jean…we are supposed to be on the same side…but even if we

weren't…what would Scott think of you strangling a helpless pregnant woman?"

Ororo softly replied, her brilliant blue eyes staring deeply into Jean's.



The words hit the red haired woman like a blow.



Was this why Scott had rejected her?



For all of her power that was a question that The Phoenix couldn't face. Mainly

because she feared she knew the answer.



"Please" Ororo pleaded.



The Phoenix let go of Emma Frost, who fell to the ground clutching her throat.

Phoebe, Celeste, and Mindee rushed to her side, desperate to make sure that

their mother and little sister were all right.



But despite the close call she had just had, Emma Frost couldn't seem to leave

The Phoenix alone.



Her rage was like a monster trying to claw its way out of her. Emma had been

afraid of Jean Grey for a long time, but she had spent even longer hating the

woman, and now that Emma's hatred was greater than her fear the blonde couldn't

resisting hurting Jean anyway that she could.



Emma stared straight into Ororo's blue eyes as she said "you only love that

demonic bitch because she MADE you…you were straight before Jean reprogrammed

you."



`THAT'S A LIE" Storm screamed in outrage, looking to Jean for support. But her

lover's guilty expression told a different story.



"Its…its true isn't it" a horrified Storm whispered.



For all her vast power Jean Grey couldn't say anything.

It was too much.



The death of Scott, his rejection of her, and now the feeling of betrayal

emanating from Storm, even the demise of Sage filled her with guilt because Jean

knew that she could have prevented it if she had been here. The Phoenix had

failed or come short in so many ways, and Jean seemed to see them all reflected

in Ororo's beautiful blue eyes.



Jean Grey couldn't face that look; she wanted to get away from that look. With

The Phoenix action followed thought and Jean disappeared in a burst of Phoenix

fire.



*****



There was no sign of where The Phoenix had gone. Even Lady Alustriel's goddess

could tell her Chosen nothing about Jean Grey's current whereabouts. It

appeared that she had gone somewhere beyond the sight of the goddess of magic

herself.



~She might not even be on this plane of existence anymore~ Alustriel thought,

hoping that the redhead would trouble Toril no more.



However, Malcolm Walsh's thoughts were on more mundane matters as he approached

his Lady. Keeping in mind recent events as he asked her "High Mage…are we

certain that our new allies are goodly folk?"



Alustriel Silverhand paused before replying, mentally weighing everything she

knew about the universal travelers in her mind.



"No…their morality still appears ambiguous to me."



Malcolm repressed a sigh; over the generations that Alustriel had ruled the city

many of Silverymoon's citizens had come to revere the Chosen of Mystra almost

like a goddess in her own right. The wizard did not worship her like that, but

he had still expected more from his leader.



The universal travelers were too preoccupied by their own concerns at the moment

to notice the High Mage's critical gaze. Emma Frost had collapsed almost

immediately after The Phoenix had left, due to radiation poisoning and her

bruised neck. Now two Spellguard sorcerers were casting healing spells on Emma

and her unborn child, fixing the damage inflicted by the Epsilon robot and Jean

Grey.



"She and her babe should be fine…but she should stay out of battle until she

delivers the girl…otherwise it is all too likely to happen again" the senior

sorcerer announced, sounding far more patronizing than he intended.



"I don't think we can get her to take it easy…" Phoebe began.

"Mother is very…" Mindee continued.

"Stubborn" Celeste finished.



"A trait my girls inherited" Emma Frost said blearily as she struggled to stand

up.



Her daughters reached down to help her and Emma's first impulse was to tell them

she didn't need it. But she suppressed the impulse, telling herself not to be a

proud fool.



~Are you all right Sophie?~ Emma asked the girl in her womb once she was on her

feet.



~Yes mother…but that was…insane…you could have gotten us both killed~ Sophie

telepathically replied.



Emma couldn't argue with that. Now that her anger had cooled even she saw her

recent actions as suicidally stupid. But she was too proud (and stubborn) to

easily admit as much, so she said nothing.



Mystique, Storm, She-Hulk, and Chrissy Lera had gathered around the Frost family

while the former White Queen was being healed. They had been silent during the

healing (which took only moments), but now that Emma Frost was on her feet they

started to talk again.



"Now what?" Mystique said, asking the universe at large as much as her

companions.



"We need a leader" She-Hulk burst out.



"We have gone this long without taking major casualties thanks to going up

against much weaker enemies or luck…somebody needs to be in charge to prevent a

disaster like this from happening again" the green skinned woman continued as

the other universal travelers stared at her in surprise.



"So who should be in charge then?...you?" Mystique asked with a hint of disdain,

not at all keen to take orders from the younger woman who kept trying to

befriend her.



The muscular green woman smiled as she replied "no Emma Frost."



"What" Emma Frost exclaimed, having not really paid attention to the

conversation until now, still being by the actions of The Phoenix.



"With Sage…gone…you're at least as smart as anyone left and your girls already

do whatever you say…besides I think this recent mess proves that we need a

leader who can effectively defend their mind AND body" She-Hulk explained.



Mystique found herself agreeing with the tall green woman's reasoning. Besides

while the shapeshifter preferred not to take orders, she wouldn't want to be

responsible for this little group at this point anyway.



"I will accept Frost as leader if that's what everyone else wants" the blue

skinned mutant said dryly.



"I have no objection to Emma as leader" Storm announced emotionlessly.



"Madam Frost seems like a fine choice all things considered" Chrissy Lera

stated, automatically assuming that her opinion was needed even though she was

not part of their group.



"Were in charge" Phoebe, Celeste, and Mindee Frost all said in unison. Their

voices filled more with surprise than anything else.



And as effortlessly as that Emma Frost became the undisputed leader of the

universal travelers, then the former White Queen thought of what the group was

up against now that they had essentially declared war on Imperious Industries

and wasn't sure she wanted the job.



*****



While the rest of the universal travelers discussed their future plans Ororo

Munroe slowly walked over to Sage's corpse.



The wind rider couldn't describe how she felt about Scott Summers and his wife

now.



On some level Storm still loved them, for even what had just happened couldn't

erase the feelings Jean Grey had created in her mind. But knowing that her

feelings for Jean (and most likely the late Cyclops too) were artificial filled

her with a sense of anger and betrayal towards the husband and wife.



However there was no such conflict when it came to her feelings towards Sage.

In fact Storm had understood (and sympathized with) the former assistant of

Sebastian Shaw more than the cyberpath had ever realized.



"I am sorry that I couldn't love you the way that you wanted me to Sage…I kept

hoping that you would find someone else to return your love…but I know that if

there is any justice in this cosmos you have finally found the peace and

contentment that you never could in this life" Storm whispered as she gently

closed Sage's unseeing eyes, not even trying to hold the tears in any longer.