6 EXODUS!

" Rachel?" Rogue called out to the telepath.

" I can't read his mind." Rachel told the woman. " But I can keep him out of ours."

" There is no need to invade my thoughts. " Exodus told the woman. " Nor, I hope, for me to intrude upon yours. I will explain my intentions plainly." Exodus explained. " I have come to save mutantkind."

" You're a day late and a dollar shot." Frenzy told the man in anger as she used to be one of his acolytes for the brotherhood of evil mutants. " In fact, you've got a hell of a lot of nerve coming here at all. Last time I saw you, you were running off like a pouting kid taking his ball and going home. Throwing away everything you believed in. Everything we believed in."

" Yes." Exodus responded. " Professor Xavier persuaded me that mutantkind could no longer survive divided. That fighting amongst ourselves was suicidal. I saw truth in his words. I left to ponder my place in this new world, then the news reached me. My people have again been torn apart by internecine conflict. Fatally weakened. It was then I divined my purpose. To unite lost tribes. To make us whole again... And so save us all." Exodus explained to the mutants. " You have abandoned Utopia. This is unacceptable. You must put your differences aside and come together once more." Exodus told the others.

" Ain't quite that simple." Rogue told the man.

" What is simpler than survival?" Exodus asked. " You must reunite, and you will."

" Maybe someday, but not cause you asked us to." Rogue told the man.

" You misunderstand. That was not a request. If you will not change your minds... I shall change them for you." Exodus told the X-men.

" He's trying mind control!" Rachel yelled.

" Cannonball now!" Logan ordered.

Cannonball Shot off the ground and attacked Exodus in the air. Exodus blocked the coming attack and teleported away.

" He's teleporting!" Cannonball shouted. " He's RFF!" Cannonball was trying to catch Exodus but was shot in the back by the man's telekinetic blasts.

Iceman quickly caught the falling Cannonball and placed him on the floor.

" Long as he can teleport we can't lay a finger on him." Rogue told the others.

" I'm trying to pierce his defenses." Rachel told the woman. " I can only skim surface thoughts but... Yes. There!" Rachel shouted to Rogue. She pointed over to the next spot that Exodus would appear, and Rogue ran towards it just as Exodus popped up.

" What?" Exodus exclaimed.

Rogue reached up and touched his face to steal his powers.

Exodus quickly backhanded the woman away, like a child. " Stupid child. My powers are far too vast for you to steal." Exodus told the girl.

" Got that right sugah." Rogue told the man. " But Ah just needed one." Rogue spoke she then teleported away.

" What?" Exodus exclaimed again.

Now without his power to teleport, Wolverine Beast ad Frenzy all slammed into Exodus. But with a wave of his hand Exodus swatted them all away. " Of all of them, you've come the farthest, Rogue. Taking but one of my powers... Bravo." Exodus spoke complimenting the woman. " I don't need it of course. And I won't let you touch me again." Exodus exclaimed.

" She doesn't need to." Above Exodus, a large object crashed down on top of the man. " This looks like a fun fight, mind if I cut in?" Shiva asked.

" You're supposed to be in a safety room!" Frenzy yelled at the boy.

" What, I didn't have time!" Shiva yelled back. He felt the man below start to shake violently. " Oh, shit!" Shiva cursed.

With a wave of his hands, Exodus launched Shiva off of him.

" You dare Strike Exodus Child?!!!" Exodus shouted.

Shiva hit the ground hard and rubbed his nose, the wet feeling of blood in his hands alerted him to just how powerful this Exodus was. Shiva laughed and jumped to his feet, his suit in tatters, revealing his godly physique below.

" You need to go inside now kid!" Frenzy yelled.

" No way. My blood is shaking and stirring. And from the look of things you need help." Shiva responded.

" You are a child. Leave now and I will spare you my wrath. Stay and die." Exodus told the boy.

" UgH! Fine, Rogue! Go do what you need to do." Frenzy yelled to the woman. She then ran up and punched Exodus in his face. " We'll hold it down here."

" I'll be back soon." Rogue shouted back.

" Take your time." Shiva told the woman. He and Frenzy both pounded away at the raving Exodus, his body taking the brunt of Exodus' large psionic attacks.

" Pestilent, Brat. You are strong for your age. But Exodus cannot be beaten by brute force alone." Exodus told the boy. Exodus raised his hand and blasted Shiva right in his chest. He then turned and faced Frenzy alone. " Joanna. No one was more dedicated to our cause than you. How can you betray something you once felt so--" Exodus asked the woman, however he saw inside her mind and the truth became clear. He reached out and trapped her in a telekinetic prison " Ah, your thoughts make it plain. The heart is the ultimate betrayer is it not?" Exodus told the woman.

" Let me go, you cowardly son of a-" Frenzy cursed.

" I blame myself for leaving you alone, without a cause." Exodus told the woman. He reached towards her head and began using his powers to remake her mind. " But I can remove the confusion... The pain and doubt. Make you the woman you once were."

" Never... I'll die first." Frenzy replied.

" We all would." Rogue shouted. She returned to the fight having borrowed the powers of Kid Gladiator and drove Exodus into the ground.

Returning to the fight, Shiva jumped into the air and punched Exodus in the back of his head, just as he was about to shoot Rogue with his psionic eye beams.

" We made a choice." Rogue told the man. " One of the hardest of our lives. You have no idea what that cost us." Rogue then blasted the man with her heat vision causing him to stagger in the air.

Rogue and Shiva both used their bodies and rove Exodus into the ground as hard as they could.

" What we sacrificed. Cause we believed it was worth it. No way in hell are you gonna take that from us. Like Frenzy said, we'd rather die. Every last one of us." Rogue finished as she and Shiva both stood over exodus.

The other X-men all got to their feet and started walking up to the man

" N-No..." Exodus exclaimed. His eyes started glowing again. " That is unacceptable!" Exodus shouted and used his energy to blow everyone away. " You would truly force me to slay you rather than subvert your petty desires for the good of your people?" Exodus asked. " It defies comprehension."

" Not comprehension. Understanding." Rogue replied. " You don't get why we did this. And ah don't think you will... Unless we show you. Look into my mind." Rogue told the man.

" Rogue... Once he's in there I can't protect you." Rachel told the woman.

" No, she's right." Logan interjected. " Go on, Exodus, take a peek. I ain't gonna fight ya either." Logan told the man.

" Very well." Exodus replied. " But I cannot imagine anything that would justify rending your species asunder... Risking our very survival." Exodus explained.

" We were risking it by staying. See for yourself." Logan told the man.

And Exodus did. He used his power to peer into Rogue's mind and see every event that had occurred that caused the schism between the Mutants. The detah of night crawler.

" You own this now and forever!" Hank yelled at Scott.

" If I have to be a messiah. I won't be the type that lets people die for me." Hope exclaimed.

" You see children I see X-Men." Scott told Logan as the two argued about Hope and the others place on the battlefield.

" When you stand on the brink of extinction, you can no longer afford the luxury of noncombatants." Scott explained to logan.

The last thing Exodus saw was Wolverine and Cyclops both fighting each other. When it was over Exodus snapped back to reality in disbelief and shock.

" MADNESS!" Exodus shouted. " The child, Hope... Is the prophesized savior of our people and Cyclops risks her in battle?!"

" All the kids... Ask me. We can't afford to lose any of em. But yeah. Especially her." Logan replied.

" Hey, what's going. We done fighting?" Shiva asked.

" Shut up kid." Gambit whispered into Shiva's ear.

" My apologies I was wrong." Exodus told the X-Men. He then floated into the air." You were entirely justified in your actions. I have sworn to save mutant kind. My course is clear. I shall remove the obstacle. Then we will be as one again." Exodus declared before flying off into the distance.

Rogue then turned to Logan. " Um... Did we just get Cyclops killed?" Rogue asked the man.

The realization set in and Logan and the others started running. " Damn it." Logan cursed.

" So, fight on?" Shiva asked.

" Not for you. You're done. Get yer ass in lockdown now!" Logan yelled.

" Ah, come on!" shiva shouted.

" Come on, nothing. You weren't supposed to be out there in the first place. If it wasn't for the fact that everything happened so quickly, I'd be throwing you in detention." Logan told the boy.

" Sorry, kid. You ain't ready for the big leagues yet." Gambit joked

Shiva stood there in complete disbelief. The fight of his life. An opponent even Stronger than Kid Gladiator and he was being benched.

He watched as the X-men's blackbird took off from the school.

" No way am I missing this. I'll follow along just in case." Shiva spoke. Putting his strength in his legs, Shiva took off after the blackbird. Using his unbelievable might to keep pace with the mach four jet.