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The two were speechless, looking upon something that should have perished a fiery death moments ago, yet stood before them, uninjured with the exception of his clothes slightly torn from the concussion of the blast. The blades of crimson energy crackled in his hands. The black flames licked at the air from his eyes, giving him an almost evil look. Sinister had sent his most powerful blast into the Mansion and by all rights, everything within should have been incinerated, including this boy!

"How did you..." He could not finish. Sinister wanted to know how on Earth he had survived such a blast!

Cole only smiled, one that made even the powerful Sinister take a step back in fear. "How is it I¡¦m still breathing? That was easy. I just threw up a reverse force dome so any kinetic-type energy would be reversed and turned in on itself when it got a foot from me."

"That is not possible," Sinister insisted, "No force can withstand my most powerful blast."

"Welcome to one that can." His foot snapped up, blasting into Sinister¡¦s face and sending him flying back. "That¡¦s for interrupting a bonding moment I had with Jubilee."

Jubilee blushed in embarrassment, despite the fact that they were in the middle of combat. "Cole, come on, you don¡¦t need to tell everyone."

Cole seemed to ignore her, but she caught a wink in her direction before he strode over to Sinister, the snarl back on his face. The blade in his right hand flashed, tearing a gouge out of Sinister¡¦s black chest, "That was for ruining the Mansion."

Sinister looked down at his chest and the wound closed together and knitted, very much akin to Wolverine¡¦s healing factor. With a smile, he looked up at Cole and chuckled. "Foolish boy, it doesn¡¦t matter how powerful you are, none can destroy me."

The crimson blade slashed through Sinister again, tearing another gouge in his side. "Fine, then I¡¦ll just have to hit you faster than you can heal up!"

Jubilee watched as Cole suddenly became a blur of motion, his blades of magickal energy flying as though living entities, dipping and swaying as they slashed, stabbed, hacked, and tore into one of the X-Men¡¦s most powerful enemies. She watched as he moved faster and faster, his blades seeming to meld with their motions as they scythed into Sinister. The black, leather-clad villain, one of the most dangerous beings the X-Men ever encountered, fell back desperately, trying to escape the onslaught of attacks that threatened to rend him asunder. Yet as Sinister backpedaled away, Cole pressed his attack, moving even faster, his form nothing but a formless blur with flashes of light to indicate a slash here and a stab there with his blades of energy.

With a sudden howl, either from rage or from pure adrenaline Jubilee couldn¡¦t tell, Cole plunged both blades deep into Sinister¡¦s chest, making the tips and a foot of the blades themselves explode out of his black, leather back. The villain looked down at his chest in disbelief as the glowing blades of energy lay buried within his flesh, cauterizing the wounds before they could heal so Sinister¡¦s formidable healing abilities were, for the moment, unavailable. "H-how," Sinister stammered in a weakening voice, "Only one man has been able to wound me so."

"You mean Cyclops?" Cole asked, twisting his blades inside Sinister¡¦s chest, making the pale-faced man howl in pain. "Yeah, I know, I researched it a while back. That¡¦s why I subtly altered the substance configuration of my blades to Cyke¡¦s optic blast energy signature. Welcome to the one person who can actually beat you Sinsister!" His arms snapped wide, his blades slicing through Sinister¡¦s chest and out his sides, functionally slicing the man in half. Yet, as before, the highly volatile energy cauterized the wounds so that they literally melted into each other, keeping the villain together. Sinister looked down at himself, then up at Cole, his solid red eyes wide with shock before he fell to the ground. Cole took a step back, his blades collapsing back into his hands as he watched one of the X-Men¡¦s greatest villains turn into a puddle of black liquid and seep into the Earth. He growled quietly, berating himself for not realizing Sinister would figure out a way to escape somehow. Just in case he wasn¡¦t too late, the energy blades sprang back out of Cole¡¦s hands and he plunged them into the Earth where Sinister had soaked into the ground. He waited a few moments, then drew them back out, knowing that his attempt had failed and Sinister had indeed escaped to come back and haunt them another day.

Collapsing his blades once more, Cole stood and looked over to see the X-Men slowly start to regain consciousness. The Nasty Boys had vaporized with the broadband energy blast Sinister had used to fell the X-Men, but they had been expendable in the first place. Sinister would just make more of them when he got back to his base. Still, there was that lovely plane that was undoubtedly getting ready to self destruct at any second. Turning slightly, Cole¡¦s coat whipped back as he brought his hand up, his fingers bursting suddenly with red energy. For a moment, nothing happened and Jubilee walked over and whispered, "Um, dude, I like posing too but this is a bit much."

Cole smiled slightly and in the next moment, the jet began to vibrate, almost as though losing its consistency. That quieted Jubilee down as she watched its windows suddenly explode out with a sound like a gunshot and shattered glass flying through the air. The vibrating increased and she could hear the low groan of metal straining. Cole turned his palm up and snapped his fist closed. The previous groaning of metal turned into a scream so loud and so pitched that Jubilee had to clap her hands over her ears. The jet buckled and then suddenly collapsed in on itself, folding in and then wrapping around itself. What was left was nothing more than a ball of metal and electrical wiring, which suddenly shot up into the air, soaring more than a hundred feet up before a dull thump sounded and the plane vanished into a bright light as the onboard self-destruct system vaporized itself.

When Cole looked over at Jubilee, he couldn¡¦t help but burst out laughing at the look of sheer amazement on her face. His laughter suddenly turned into a yelp of pain as he suddenly collapsed to the ground clutching his chest. Jubilee rushed over to him, falling to her knees besides him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, her eyes full of worry now. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

Cole nodded slightly, a growl of pain coming from him. "Yeah, I¡¦ll be okay, just a real bad Paradox backlash from the vulgar magicks."

She nodded and held him all the tighter. "Speaking of which, since when did you have magnetic powers?"

A pained chuckle came from the young battle mage, followed by a growl before he answered. "Magnetism had nothing to do with it. I manipulated the matter elements of the jet and then used a little wind redirection to send it flying before it blew." He looked over at the other X-Men to see them regaining consciousness.

Wolverine was the first one to awaken, leaping to his feet and popping his claws as he looked around. "All right," he growled, "Where is he?"

"You¡¦re late Wolvie," Jubilee giggled as she helped Cole to his feet again, "Siny decided to take up surfing and left."

"Surfing?" Logan looked obviously confused as the other X-Men slowly stood up. They were just as confused when Jubilee helped Cole back to the half of the Mansion still standing, both of them laughing quietly.

A few months later...

The soft light of the candle cast a warm glow over the room, mingling the plethora of shadows with the small amount of light. His eyes focused in on the single flame of light, its flickering and swaying form reflected in his irises. He used the candle flame as a focus, centering his entire consciousness into that tiny spire of orange light. Everything else around him seemed awash in shadow, nothing more than a dream flitting on the edge of consciousness. Concentrating all his focus on the candle, he extended his will, stroking the flame with the fingers of his mind, gently coaxing it, speaking to it, letting it understand. Carefully, he pressed a dip here, a curve there, an extension here. Gently, ever so gently, he molded the flame of the candle to the image in his mind, exerting precise control over the element. He was a sculptor and the flame was his marble. Yet he knew that the flame was too tiny to support the detail he wanted. Redirecting his energies, he fed the flame his own power, making it grow. He could feel the candle flame eagerly drawing in his energies, breaking beyond the bounds of the wick it was confined to. Now he had a palette he could work with. Once again, he coaxed the flame into molded shape, curving it to his desire. This time, the details were crystal clear, the flame big enough to hold the shape he desired.

Opening his eyes, Cole looked upon the flame of the candle, now ten times the size it would ordinarily hold with almost the intensity of a bonfire. The shape it held was nothing any ordinary flame could ever yield to, and yet it stood proud and strong, never wavering. This was the magick that took skill. Any low-level magi could easily just manipulate the elements in a combative attack, using brute force to slam winds of hurricane force into a person or to draw the life from the bowels of the Earth to ignite a pillar of fire. Carefully molding and coaxing the elements into a desired form, that took true skill and knowledge. It was what Cole had trained to do all his life and he was the most powerful in magicks amongst the Tradition magi. That was why they had chosen him to fight against the Conclave. He was their warrior, their champion, and he had found others with the power to destroy the Conclave as well. It was time to make a stand.

Turning, he strode towards the doorway of his room, determination clear in his posture, opening it and walking letting the flame sculpture of a young woman smoother and flicker down into a small flame once more before it was extinguished completely.

"We must attack full force immediately!" The middle aged man said, slamming his fist down on the tabletop so hard that the water glasses scattered along it rattled. "The Traditions are making surgical strikes all over the globe against our forces and decreasing our holds and profit all over."

There were several muttered agreements before an older man with graying hair stood up, silencing the room with a simple raise of his hand before brushing a piece of lint off his black suit jacket. "Gentlemen," he said in a calm, dignified voice, "I am well aware of our loses and they are quite inconsequential. Despite the Traditions¡¦ attempts to shut down several of our major operations, we still thrive as a force throughout the world. Profits are up by twenty percent and our technological advances have become considerate. As we speak, the first of the HIT Mark VII models are rolling off the assembly line and being armed and programmed with the latest in high grade weapons technology." A murmur of appreciation rippled through the group gathered. Such an event was not expected to have taken place for at least another two years. "Also, our Men in Black are currently undergoing new training procedures to further advance their combative expertise against the Tradition magicks. I anticipate a turnout within the year." Another ripple, this one louder, sounded through the hall. Indeed, progression was moving much faster than anyone had anticipated. The man listened to the others speak amongst themselves, careful to keep the satisfied smile off his lips. When all quieted down, he resumed speaking. "The whole problem is that we have been going about this whole situation wrongly. Attacking the Traditions full on with brute force is not the answer. The general rule is if we can think it and build it, they will find a way to counter it. What needs to be done is to find their power source, their area of inspiration, and shut it down permanently."

"You¡¦re insane!" one man cried, "You want us to attack the heart of their operations and take out the High Council?"

The head speaker chuckled. "No, of course not. Such an attack would indeed be suicide. What I propose is to eliminate not their leadership, but their inspiration. There is a young man in their ranks that holds the highest ability in magicks that I have ever seen. His continued fight and survival against our most lethal forces have spurned on this continuous resistance against us. If we were to destroy him, then the hopes of the Traditions would crumple at our feet."

"Excuse me," a man with firm, stone-like features said, "But how are we to defeat such a powerful magi if he is this strong? And how are we to find him?"

The speaker did smile then. "When we first detected him and sent our late combative Rizz in to destroy him, I made certain to employ several agents to keep certain of his location. To this day, he is currently residing in the Xavier School for the Gifted in Westchester."

"Westchester? Isn¡¦t that the home base location for the Mutant group the X-Men?"

"Indeed it is," the speaker said, "And that is why I have our people compiling a force of HIT Mark VII¡¦s and Men in Black to strike the X-Men¡¦s base. The attack force should be ready by the end of the week. With our advanced technology and magicks, these X-Men will prove easy to dispatch and then we can focus on our real target. Soon enough, the inspiration of the Traditions will be gone, a broken vessel, and the Traditions themselves will crumble." A great cheer rose up from the table and the speaker smiled.

Blue eyes looked through twin candle flames to lock onto the steel gray eyes that lay just beyond their searing embrace, a smile taking form upon soft, gentle lips that held a soft red coloring to them. A gentle rustle of cloth indicated a body shift and the owner of the steel gray eyes knew that the blue-eyed beauty sitting before him had crossed her legs, a very feminine and enticing gesture. It was ironic how the female of the species tried so hard sometimes to be the exact same as the male, and yet a simple action such as crossing the legs made them so very female. True, some men crossed their legs much as women did, but the very essence of the action was only captured by the soft gentleness of the fairer of the species.

Cole¡¦s reverie was broken by Jubilee¡¦s soft voice as she asked, "So what do you think, did Remy do good tonight?"

Cole smiled and took another bite of the chicken cordon bleu. "I have to hand it to that Cajun, he sure knows how to cook."

"One of his few talents that actually have usefulness," Jubilee said with a giggle, taking a bite of her own lavish dinner. "I¡¦m really surprised at how fast we were able to put everything back together so fast. I mean, it¡¦s been only four months since Sinister¡¦s attack and it seems like he was never here."

Cole took a sip from his wine glass and settled back in his chair, fidgeting slightly. He never liked dressing up and the suit he wore felt like it was trying to crush him. Of course, for Jubilee, he would do more than endure the uncomfortable clothes, he would love them. "Well, the combination of our powers and the Shi¡¦ar technology made real quick work of everything. But I thought we weren¡¦t talking about business tonight."

Jubilee blushed and looked down before nodding. It had been only a week since the two of them had really started seeing each other on something other than a friendship level. They had done all the things that normal people their age did when it came to the courtship dance: going to the movies, long strolls in the park where they talked about everything from deep, philosophical ideals to the latest hit musical group. Although their tastes in a great many things differed quite radically, Jubilee being an N¡¦Sync and Brittany Spears kind of person while Cole was more a Nine Inch Nails and Prodigy person, they found in each other a common bond that kept them very close together. Their outings had become more and more frequent until this evening when each had received a package in their rooms with instructions to come to dinner at six p.m sharp. Jubilee¡¦s package held a lovely dress of soft blue velvet with a square neckline and a skirt that swept to the floor, almost nearly covering the blue satin heeled slippers on her feet. Cole¡¦s package, to his dismay, was the dark black suit he now wore with a dark blue shirt beneath and a black tie to match. Though the suit was simple, it seemed to be the perfect look for the dangerous young man, keeping a hold on his lethality while at the same time giving him an air of dignity.

"You¡¦re right," Jubilee admitted, "What should we talk about?"

"The color of your eyes, the way your skin glows softly in the light of the fire, how your hair shines like silk, should I go on?"

Jubilee¡¦s blush became fiery under the onslaught of Cole¡¦s soft admirations. "You¡¦re making me blush."

"Really? And here I was about to ask if you had a fever or something you¡¦re turning so red." He chuckled and pushed his chair back, standing up and walking over to her side of the table while she watched his movements with wide, curious eyes. Taking her hand, he gently drew Jubilee to her feet, guiding her towards the large glass double doors. Pushing them open, he guided Jubilee outside, her hand tucked in his elbow in an elegant, age old gesture of affection towards a lady.

Jubilee smiled as the stepped out into the warm air, just cool enough to be comfortable. "It¡¦s a real nice night tonight," she commented quietly.

"Yeah," Cole remarked, his gaze lifting up to the sky, "I wonder how that happened, it was supposed to rain."

Jubilee joined Cole¡¦s skyward gaze and smiled, knowing exactly who was behind all of this. "Well, let¡¦s enjoy it while we can." Taking his hand in hers, the two of them strolled down the walkway that led to the vestibule on the back lawn. Taking the small step up onto the wooden planking, the two young people moved to the bench seat that circled around the interior perimeter of the vestibule, sitting down quite close to one another. Jubilee rested her hands in Cole¡¦s enjoying the warmth that spread through her as his fingers closed around hers. "I can¡¦t believe that this is happening," she said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Cole asked, his head tilted slightly in curiosity.

"Well, it¡¦s just that I¡¦ve found someone I care about and that we can take quiet walks in the moonlight and go out on the town to see a movie or what have you and not have to worry about hearing ¡¦mutie¡¦ screamed all the time."

Cole smirked slightly. "Jubes, I¡¦m not a mutant, remember?"

"No, but you¡¦re real close to being one. You have powers that are a part of who you are. That¡¦s just about every mutant on the planet."

To this Cole nodded somberly. "That¡¦s true, but sometimes you just have to try and put all of that ugliness behind you and look to the things that have made you happy."

Jubilee looked up into Cole¡¦s eyes and whispered, "Like you?"

Cole¡¦s eyes dropped self-consciously, the age old feeling of inadequacy filling in around his heart. "Well, I don¡¦t know about me. I mean, I¡¦m just some guy who¡¦s good at using what he has. I mean, after all, the best thing I do is fight and destroy." He looked up, saying, "I don¡¦t know if I-"

His words were cut off as Jubilee¡¦s soft lips touched his in one of the most intimate gestures that could ever be held between a man and woman. Her arms slipped around his waist and drew him close as she deepened the kiss beyond a gentle touching of lips. Her lips parted, urging his open as well before her tongue gently invaded his mouth, encouraging him to do the same. Cole need no further urging as explored the soft insides of Jubilee¡¦s mouth, tasting her, feeling her so close to him, her body pressed against his. He could feel her curves perfectly beneath her dress, the gentle curve of her thigh, the soft swell of her breasts, the gentle arch of her neck. She was the girl he had dreamed all his life of being with and never set his hopes on finding her.

Jubilee ran her fingers up and down his back, feeling the tightly packed muscle that lay beneath his clothes and skin. Her fingertips trailed over his arm and she could feel the tightly coiled strength held very carefully in check. She could feel his power, his ferocious energy that was ready to spring at any moment. Yet for her, he held it all back. All the violence and death and destruction, it was all swept away just for her. In its stead, she could feel the love and caring he had for her pour out of him. She could feel the gentleness in his kiss as he took of her everything she gave, and more. The sweep of his hand across her velvet-covered thigh made her gasp, followed quickly by a moan as his fingers slipped beneath her skirt to gently caress her skin, tiny bursts of fire igniting within her everywhere he touched. When his other hand trailed up her back, gently tracing the zipper line up the back of her dress, she knew that in a heartbeat, their flesh would have no boundaries between them, and it was just what she wanted.

A sudden explosion ripped them out of their passionate embrace, making the two of them snap their heads around to look at the Mansion. Their eyes widened in shock as they both watched the X-Men pour out of the Mansion from different exits, each of them ready for battle. Storm flew up through the roof of her attic, shooting into the sky, a rolling of thunder overhead welcoming her back into her skyward home. Jean shot out of the upstairs window with Scott, the X-Men¡¦s leader looking around with his crimson battle visor. From below, Beast bounded out a side window while Wolverine and Gambit charged out the front door. Standing, Cole (now codenamed Scythe by the X-Men) and Jubilee raced over towards the Mansion to find out just what happened. Before they had even exited the vestibule, Cole saw what had caused the explosion.

From out of the woods, a garrison of twenty large men, all dressed in military fatigues, walked in precise manner, their every step perfect and straight. Upon exiting the wood line, several branched off and started walking towards Gambit and Wolverine. Three separated from the formation to start heading towards Beast. The remaining group walked steadily towards Cole and Jubilee.

"Who the hell is that!" Jubilee cried, trying to figure out just how she was going to fight in an evening gown.

"HIT Marks," Cole said grimly as his hands crackled with energy. A moment later, Jubilee¡¦s evening gown rippled and shifted, becoming her yellow and red combat battle suit that she could move about easily in. Cole¡¦s own clothing rippled as well, becoming the black combat suit that he favored in battle. "They¡¦re cyborgs created by the Conclave to fight against the magi. They¡¦ve got high powered weapons and they are tough as hell to take down. Magick usually doesn¡¦t work against them either."

Jubilee smiled as Wolverine¡¦s claws flashed into existence and tore through one of the battle cyborgs, chopping it in half and leaving it laying on the ground, wires and servos sputtering uselessly. "Well it looks like they don¡¦t stand up very good to adamantium." Her eyes scanned left slightly to see Gambit hurl a trio of kinetically charged playing cards at another cyborg, blowing it back into a tree that snapped off at the base. "Or Gambit¡¦s power either."

Cole was much less jubilant as his crimson energy blades sprang out of his hands. "Don¡¦t be so quick to judge."

Before Jubilee could ask what he meant, she watched as twin chainguns on gyro housings exploded out of the cyborgs¡¦ backs, sweeping up to align themselves over the cyborgs¡¦ shoulders. Each of their left eyes flashed with a red diode before the chainguns opened fire, filling the air with the sound of what seemed like a chainsaw. Wolverine was directly in the path of the stream of bullets and went down in a heap, his body torn asunder under the hail of death. Jubilee felt a scream rise up in her throat, but died off when she saw that Wolverine was still breathing. He was hurt, badly, but he was alive. His healing factor would take care of the rest.

Gambit and Beast were another story. Their agility aided them in dodged the bullets, but there was simply too many for him to avoid. The Cajun and furry mutant took several hits to the leg, shoulder, and arm. They fell to the ground and didn¡¦t move. Now Jubilee did scream.

A sudden blast of lightning seared down from the sky, electrifying five of the deadly cyborgs and fusing their inner workings while wiping their internal computer systems at the same time. They collapsed to the ground, nothing more than oversized paperweights now. Cole looked up to see Storm swooping down, the thunder rolling behind her, awaiting her beck and call. Cyclops let loose a blast of crimson energy, turning another cyborg into scrap metal. The remaining HIT Marks turned, unleashing the full force of their weapons against their airborne adversaries. Jean threw up a telekinetic shield that easily deflected the rain of projectiles from her and Cyclops. Storm, for her part, used her ability with the elements to whip up a hurricane force wind to send the bullets wide from their target.

The HIT Marks moved to better position themselves for another onslaught when a blast of multicolored fireworks exploded into the faces of several, effectively blinding their optical sensors. Seconds later, a black blur shot across the cluster of cyborgs, a flash of crimson filling the air moments before the grouping fell to the ground in piles of three neatly sliced parts. Landing from his diving attack, Scythe spun, his crimson blades spinning as he faced against the next assault. When he saw it, his eyes went wide in disbelief.

From behind the Mansion, a dozen men in black suits, black trench coats, and black fedoras rose up from the Earth, coronas of green energy cocooned around them. Two of them drifted up and away, heading towards Storm even as she turned to face this new adversary. Three of the men angled towards Jean and Cyclops. The remaining group headed towards Jubilee and Scythe.

Scythe whispered, "Oh shit!"

Cyclops unleashed a blast of energy from his visor, then balked in shock as the blast harmlessly bounced off a green energy shield that sprang up before the lead man heading their way. All three of the men heading towards Cyclops and Jean lifted their hands towards them. "Scott, Jean," Scythe yelled as he rushed towards them, "Men in Black guys, Men in Black! Get the hell out of there!"

But his warning came too late as the three Men in Black sent searing blasts of magickal energy at the two mutants, the energy shifting base substance by their will so it punched right through Jean¡¦s telekinetic shield and enveloped to the two, drawing howls of pain from them before they plummeted to the Earth.

"No!" Scythe yelled, rushing to try and help Storm before she was attacked as well. But he wasn¡¦t fast enough. The Men in Black that angled towards her reached out with Magick, taking control of the natural elements that were normally at her command and turned them against her, using winds to buffet her around before throwing her to the ground, sending her crashing thirty feet down and burying her five feet into the Earth.

Just as Scythe was about to leap at the nearest Man in Black, one turned, firing a blast of green energy at him. Scythe leapt to the side, the energy flying passed. "You missed asshole!" he growled at them.

Scythe turned and saw Jubilee laying upon the ground. For several seconds, his heart stopped beating and his breath was gone. In the next instant, he was beside her on his knees, cradling her in his arms. "Jubilee! Jubilee, wake up, please!" For a horrifying moment, he was sure she was dead. Then, he saw her chest rise and fall. It was a shallow breath and it was obvious she was badly hurt, but she was alive. Clutching her to him, Cole whispered a prayer of thanks, then gently laid her down on the grass.

Slowly, he turned towards the Men in Black, black flames crackling from his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was low, slow, and sounding like something dragged from the pits of Hell. "You sons of bitches!!!" The blades of crimson, magickal energy exploded out of his hands with an angry hiss, crackling in the air and charging it with so much power that the hair on the back of the necks of the Men in Black stood up straight. With a roar of pure rage, Cole leapt, tearing into the grouping of Men in Black, his energy blades slashing so fast the eye was not able to follow them. Screams filled the air as body parts sheathed in black clothing fell to the ground like rain, the grass stained red with blood. Cole had become a living, breathing killing machine. All he knew was death. His flesh was awash in the blood of his adversaries. He was the horror that slept within the darkest nightmares of his enemies.

Landing back on the ground, Cole looked at the dismembered bodies, a sick, twisted glee curling his lips into a feral smile. Jubilee was hurt, how bad he didn¡¦t know, but ravaging those that caused it was not nearly enough for vengeance, but it would have to do for now.

Cole was so wrapped up in trying to settle himself down that he never felt the presence behind him. He never had a chance to respond as the hands clamped onto his head and sent a jolt of pure magickal energy into his brain, firing off neuron pathways and shutting his brain down. His eyes fluttered up and he crumpled to the ground. The last thing he saw was Jubilee¡¦s unconscious for being surrounded by Men in Black.

Then, everything went dark.

(rest assured, this is not the end of the X-Men and Cole)