The cross shattered! As Malachi bellowed, Lenna released the force grip on his neck, dropped her focus to the severed arm on the ground, then snapped it to her hand with telekinesis. She raised it up to her head and gave Niko a quick army salute. Then, she bubbled it with telekinesis again, and started running towards Agatha, one arm extended away and behind at her side. The severed arm was pulled along behind her, in a straight line from the fingertips of that arm.

In a perfect world, she would have closed all the fingers into a fist. She would have launched at Agatha like a rocket. She wasn’t a rail gun. She could not catapult the arm with dangerous force. It would simply be like chucking a severed body part at Agatha, as hard as she could chuck. But she could slap… that was a whole other cup of physics.

So, Lenna rushed until she was within range, hauled back the severed arm of Agatha’s champion, and SLAPPED her with it as hard as she was physically and psychically able. With telekinesis.

The woman was caught in a clothing bind. She struggled with her head, but not much. Still struggling? Lenna did it one more time.

Slap, slap. Hard. With concussive force.

His teammates were so badass. Eisen watched as Agatha's prized soldier was ripped apart like a ragdoll in the mouths of several Rottweilers, and Agatha herself was like a Christmas tree after everyone shouts to tear the tree down. Her necklace was ripped off her neck, and as much as she tried to hide behind her fallen Champion, she was being slapped to oblivion by the woman wielding the warrior's chopped-off arm.

Eisen exhaled with relief as he let go of his mutation, and Agatha's clothes were back in liquid time and under the effects of gravity. He stretched his sore arms and legs, having remained tense for a prolonged duration of time. Boy was it great to stretch!

He then hopped down from the tree and wobbled down to solid ground, catching his breath and exposing himself to his teammates. The woman with bugs crawling upon her and the other one who seemed to be manipulating the plants were close by.

He got up after recovering his breath after a bit-- two beautiful women were exhausted after spending themselves in battle. What better time to introduce himself?

"You two ok? The name's Pause." In reality he had very poor first-aid skills and only had his comms and a few more stun grenades in his possession. The best he could probably do was strike up a few jokes to see if he could lessen their pain.

The samurai watched as Malachi's arm went flying and turned, aiming her blade point towards him yet again. However it proved to be unnecessary as the holy warrior met a bloody demise at the end of one of the Aura's pink-colored constructs. As the man struggled to manage against the bodily damage he wasn't feeling, Niko heard a shot ring out and immediately snapped her attention to Ez. There was a scream and her attention flipped back to Malachi, and the shattered holy symbol on the ground. Blood and screams of pain filled the air as Malachi fell over and Niko breathed in relief.

There was Aura, who commented and greeted her. Her reputation was well known so the bloody samurai had stay her sword, after all they did work together to stop a common threat. A nod was probably the most Aura would get from Niko, as there were clearer bigger fish that the samurai sought to skewer.

Straighten a little, Niko turned to the locked woman and marched up to her. Glaring at Agatha through her demonic mask, she hissed as the woman was being slapped by Lenna's abilities. Glaring at her, Niko pulled her sword free once again and pointed the end of it unapologetically under the supreme's chin, drawing a trickle of blood.

"I'm only going to ask once..." She said. "I am no X-Man. I have no moral qualm with slitting your throat and neither does that woman there, nor of putting a bullet through your skull." She nicks the woman's chin a little deeper. "We are everything that you believe mutants to be. Demons. Now..." She says as she leans in real close, eyes flashing red. "Where did the Man of Shadows and the Unmaker go and what is their plan?"

The young bug mutant (formerly) was still sniffling as she watched the insects turn and chitter away from her. Most people were afraid of such things, running away or screaming or shivering if they so much as touch their skin. But Agnes had removed that fear a long time ago. They were friends, sometimes her only, before she found her way to the X-Mansion. Now she was lacking one of the oldest and most profound connections she had ever had. The last thing from her past to leave her.

Watching them skitter, she stood up and brushed down the remains of her clothing. Her shift into the insect queen had lefts her clothes torn and asunder, but still enough of it was left for the sake of modesty. The dark-haired, pixie cut woman with crystalline eyes and a pale complexion, turned her attention back to the mystic that saved her and she offered her a weak smile and brushed the last of the tears from her cheeks.

"T-Thank you..." She said again. "I do appreciate the rescue." Her attention then turned to the other, someone named Pause. She nodded her head to him and glanced up to the tree where he had been stationed. How long had he been up there? She shrugged it off and merely nodded. "Okay. Little...tired and...different. But okay."

Her gaze then snapped to the trapped Agatha and her eyes narrowed. A snarl curled her lips but she refrained from charging at her again. Instead she merely stared at the old woman. She didn't care what happened to her, but damned if she wouldn't get at least something in. Strolling up to the trapped Agatha, Agnes glared at her until she had the woman's attention. Even Niko, sensing the bad blood between them, backed up a bit so Agnes could have her front and center.

Agnes glared before reaching up and grabbing a handful of Agatha's hair. She pulled until their gaze met.

"Curse you, Agatha. Curse you for all the people you've harmed and all the lives you've ruined in your pathetic, overzealous belief." Suddenly her arm snaps out, slapping her hand across the old woman's face. "That...is for ruining my brother's life..." She said with sigh, feeling a little better. She then turned as if she were going to walk away, letting Niko have her. But after only a few words, Agnes suddenly snapped back around and drove her fist as deep into the old woman's stomach as she could muster, trying to force the contents back up her lying throat. "And that's for fruiting branding me!!"

Afterwards Agnes turned and fully walked away. She got what she wanted. Let the wolves have the scraps.

Agatha was defeated; put down by abominations. How could God abandon her just cause? She refused to believe her enemies fought on the side of justice.

It was only at sword point of an angry mutant that Agatha realized the truth. She had not lost. Her niece yanked her by the hair and unloaded on her with a slap and some catharsis, but even there, Agatha had succeeded; a demon was driven out, even if the young woman's spirit was still evil.

Straining through the pain, she laughed, drawing more blood against the blade. "I do not know a Man of Shadows, demon. But I'm certain you're already too late. They have had time; they will find the Gateway to the Mystic Plane. Soon, this will be a world dominated by God's Chosen: The Mystics."

Her laughter was cut short by Agnes punching her, knocking the wind out of her. Without her magic, she was still well along in age and doubled over.

Lenna stepped back as Niko moved in to interrogate the woman. Lethal force was threatened, and it was not something Lenna had problems with others doing. It was more something she avoided… not because the x-men avoid it. More so, it was because in another life she had been a murdering murderer, and when she had deaged, she had rolled back her kill count to zero. It is nice to have a perfect record. Even if it is entirely within one’s own mind.

She let the severed arm fall to the ground.

A woman with a pixie cut hairdo approached and had words, and blows, with the woman. The lady chose to taunt and threaten. It worked out well for her. She got punched in the gut.

Sighing, Lenna turned and pulled a roll of bandages from one of the numerous pockets in her camouflage jacket.

“Come over here, Aura. I’ll bandage you up. Anyone else that needs first aid, please get in line.”

Malachi was on the ground, bleeding out. He twitched, and she thought it seemed somewhat hopeful. But she offered him no aid. “Also, whoever held her clothes in place. Nice one. And oh hi, Zek.”

Aura hit her communicator again. "We have the supreme witchblood in costody and our portal friend has more in his...other dimension? We have wounded, including myself, and though justice demands her death, we will keep her prisoner...well the cute Samurai just knocked her out....Im not sure about our bug friend she looks ok but but they may have robbed her of her birthright." Aura clicked of the comms off as she began a hacking cough.

Aura hears Lenna's call and made her way over there, it hurt to breathe, a clear sign her rib was cracked or broke, both her hands were burned black her right up to her elbow and her shoulder has a bit of white showing from the hole. Her back had several gashes as well.

"Thank you, My layered friend" she said holding her arm to her side still to prevent movement but the aura covering her body was thin. With a grimace she formed her aura under her shirt and carefully cut it with a small aura blade til it dropped to the ground leaving her in her bra as she approached Lenna. Her layered friend would need access to her wounds and maybe more bandages. Everything seemed to sting as the shock started to wear off, she resisted the dizziness that tried to overtake her.

"Thank you, my Samurai friend, I may have fallen had you not lent aide at the time you did. Then more important people may have also been hurt" she said giving the Mutant a nod as she did not want to risk bending over at the moment.

"friend Zek, good work keeping them off us, Just how much can you hold?" she asked recalling the various disappearances Zek had caused. She had no idea on the man's limits, but they seemed limitless compared to what Aura could see.

"I really hate these witch blood, at least those I have encountered" she said amending it at the end reminding herself not all Mystics were of the same mold, a new lesson Aura was still trying to force into her ideology and stay awake.

Zek was almost in tears. It was all just so...beautiful! Such an epic duel against a backdrop of drama, angst, and like a lot of bugs. Okay, the last part wasn't at thrilling but then there had been a massive booming. He felt like he was at a fancy 3D movie where you could actually feel the wind on your face!

Zek waved away the wind from his face because it was annoying. It might've looked like he was waving at Linda.

"I can hold as much as I want," he said with a grin to Madame Rose. He got up out of his chair and kicked it through a portal. He walked over, eyed the man on the ground, and then licked his lips at the way the light glinted off the probably magic armor. "As much as I want," he said to himself as he dropped golden orbs on the downed man, his sword, and the old woman who talked a lot.

He started rubbing his hands together and a ball of white light later, he was crossing over into Zekworld where things began shifting and changing.

Things were still tense, but this was a big win for their side. Taking out a Supreme was a big deal; this was only the second one, as far as Ezmeralda knew. Of course, the victory cost her more than she could have imagined losing, but she had to compartmentalize that. As long as she still had bullets, she could still help.

And the problem wasn't dealt with yet. "We should pull ourselves back together and head back to the courtyard. It sounds like things are still crazy back there."

She could only hope chaos was favoring their side. Once they were all stable enough to get moving, they would just see how things were going in their absence.

Chapter 3: The Cataclysm Descends
(Originally occurred concurrently with Chapter 2)

As mutants and friends of the Mansion cleaned up Mystics in the courtyard, keeping them from making it to the building’s entrance, a howling could be heard in the air. The sound grew louder and louder until a figure trailing fire came into vision.

Approaching the ground with intense velocity, he reached for his bicep, draining a tattoo from his skin. He held out both hands and a vortex of wind formed, stopping his momentum and lifting him back into the air so he could float down harmlessly. Meanwhile, the display of wind was enough to kick up dirt and dust across the courtyard.

As everything settled, the handsome man with the malicious smile laughed. His right arm blazed with fire that seemed to leave him unharmed, and he aimed his left hand, index and middle finger pointing at a redhead in a breastplate. The tattoo on his finger drained to his fingertip.

“Bang.” A compact bullet of force fired from his fingers toward Rebecca.

By the time Featherbutt and Zek had armed themselves, the blue-tongued dude had entirely forgotten where they were at in conjunction with Dullworld. "Let's ride!" he shouted as he clambered up onto Carter's back and raised his morningstar mace high, Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries beginning to blare from everywhere inside Zekworld. He threw a white ball in front of them and it turned into a white portal. He kicked his heels like he was nudging a horse. "Hi ho, Sliver, away!"

> The woman smirked, and Amelia smirked right back. Then, her mind finally placed the face. Ho-ly shit. Serena Lockhart, CEO of — Amelia followed fashion. She liked the clothes the woman’s company put out. Maybe couldn’t afford them, but— she had just been saved by a fashion mogul.
>
> ‘God Bless Clothes,’ Amelia thought to herself. Then, she watched a fiery explosion in black and white. The portal went down. And distantly, she heard a second explosion simultaneous to the first.
>
> Her joints ached. Back, throbbed. Later, there would be painkillers. Body armor does not block all, but for the moment— Amelia wiped the bloodied corner of her mouth clean and got herself prepared for battle. Only to hear a howling in the air. A figure trailing fire flew onto the scene. From a distance, he had a handsome face and tattoos, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was not only did he have fire, he had wind. He used it to break his momentum, and she did not even have time for breaking wind jokes because dust was everywhere and she held up a sleeve to cover her face.
>
> “Portal down. But. Incoming big mystic in courtyard, Sabine.” She coughed into her comms. “He-“ She stopped as he raised his hand, said bang. And— Amelia did not see what happened to the redhead (black and white in her vision, but Becca all the same). “He just shot a force blast at Becca, that bastard.” Her voice lacked flavor, as if she could hardly think enough to put emphasis on any of the words.
>
> Mind = recalculating.
>
> “I am going in.” She muttered into the comms. She made to rush the guy, and figure out strategy later. A blast of stench several yards ahead gave her pause. Amelia staggered back, and coughed some more. Her throat felt red.
>
> Again, recalculating…
>
> She drew her side arm, and trained it on the mystic. This probably wasn’t going to work but he shot at Becca. Play shit games, win shit prizes. Amelia attempted to shoot a mundane bullet at 5th supreme .
>
> The Fifth Supreme smiled as he saw some woman in a big coat draw a gun at him. With a flick of his hand, he moved the winds to whirl around him and tossed a bit of fire into the vortex. The shot was redirected upwards in a spiral of air and heat. This move had the added benefit of pushing any air-based attacks, like, say, a stinking cloud, away from his person. Up up and away.

It was quite the scene, dozens of Carrick’s wielding baseball bats and Zek’s wielding snacks prepped for the portal breach to the normal world. If they ever opened a movie studio it should be here. “Gryphon squadron this is Gryphon Alpha. We have a portal open! Go go go!” he knew that the rest of the Carrick’s wouldn’t make it out but it was the thought that count.

“Stop kicking me!”

The portal was white he couldn’t see where they were being let out. Nor did he know what to expect he just knew he was in the air and had to stop as his English teacher was right in front of him. Snapping open his wings he slowed himself. “Hiya teach!” he flapped once to remain airborne till the bullet meant for his former teacher caught Carrick in the shoulder.

“Mother ******er!” the shifter roared as he spiraled in the direction of the hit shoulder trying to over compensate for it. It hurt. Was he shot again?

‘Pain.... fight!’ the shifter squinted and tried to shut out the shift that was coming once he was struck. ‘Kill’

“** sakes!” Carrick shouted as he grabbed his wounded arm wishing he was a lefty with the baseball bat he had dropped. Carrick’s eyes turned to slits as he grabbed his shoulder.

In a lull The skunk girl felt the Mystic arrive from the wind alone and dig her clawed feet into the ground to stay upright. "Javier I think I need to....." She started but as she saw the New Mystic fire the force bullet she could only think she had to help Miss Rebecca though exactly how the amazing skunk girl was suppose to do that and end up alive well Luna's mind never quite considered. She had to remind herself that yes she could prove herself x men material here but this really was not the time for those thoughts either. She had no idea if Javier followed her but she owed him a thanks anyway in more peaceful times anyway.

She knew she would never make it in time so grabbing her tail quickly and yanking out some fur on accident she aimed her tail and fired toward the mystic trying to distract him from another shot.

It was only then her mind wondered if the man would be immune to her smell or even care but she had to try. Hopefully it worked better then in the danger room with Saphirus. This guy could not take a half dozen mutants at once could he? She thought to herself.

Things were fast spiraling out of control. "Thanks Shard" Maya nodded as Shin came to the rescue, putting enough pressure on her wounds to allow her too keep fighting for now. Just in time too, because as Maya drew and arrow, another, much bigger and badder mystic made an appearance... and shot right at Becca. "Becks!... Where the f*** are they coming from?!" Maya yelled, feeling the sudden rage and the instinct to shoot to kill. The fire-and-air inferno would deflect her arrows, though, and she knew that. "Steel, where are you?" Maybe they could fight the fire with ice.