The dust was still settling as Gojo held Rogue loosely in his arm. His white hair swayed gently with the remnants of wind from the earlier strike, and his senses which was working at overtime picked up something brushing against his mind.
A knock which was at first Delicate and insistent and then turned almost desperate.
Gojo's mental shields opened slightly, and a voice filtered in.
"Gojo… thank God. I finally reached you."
It was Professor Charles Xavier.
Gojo tilted his head, surveying the destroyed courtyard and the structure of the school itself.
"Uhhh professor, you do have insurance right…How do you even to rebuild all of this in such short times whenever it gets trashed like this?" he asked, brow raised. His gaze swept over the lack of structure and destroyed landscape, then landed directly on a figure standing right infront if him.
He grinned as he moved himself and rogue away a few feet by teleporting.
"I'm guessing he's responsible."
Charles's voice came back immediately, filled with urgency.
"Gojo… He cannot be stopped. Cain Marko is absolute motion. You'll need more than brute force. You have to get inside his head and force him into a sleep-induced coma."
Gojo didn't even need to look directly at the devastation Juggernaut had left behind. He could feel the bruised minds, the exhaustion, the pain scattered like embers throughout the battlefield. He was annoyed.
Pissed, even.
"Good," Gojo muttered darkly. "I needed someone durable… so I don't have to hold back."
Then, louder without looking at anyone in particular he said, "Stop hiding. I can clearly see you."
Everyone turned sharply to where his gaze had drifted to, just behind Juggernaut. Rogue weakly turned her head to follow it. "What… what are you looking at?"
Then, laughter. A sharp, echoing chuckle. Red shimmer danced in the air and suddenly the Brotherhood of Mutants shimmered bac into view with Mystique leading them.
"You made us wait a long time before finally showing up Mr. Gojo," Mystique said coolly, stepping forward.
Gojo rolled his neck. "My time is more precious than you could ever comprehend. Least of all wasted on shapeshifting backup dancers."
Tony, from behind some scattered rubble, gave a low whistle. "Okay, that's a burn."
Gojo's eyes shifted again to another person.
Wanda Maximoff. Simmering in barely restrained rage. The moment her gaze met his, her magic cracked at her fingertips like lightning.
"You owe me, Gojo," she growled. "I buried you deep beneath the earth. You should have stayed there."
Gojo raised an eyebrow. "And yet, here I am, alive, stronger and refreshed. You should've buried me deeper. And I don't owe you anything you deranged lunatic, I mean who the hell goes around burying people in Earth's Goddamn core?"
Wanda flared. "You put our father in a coma! He's not waking!"
Pietro moved to stand beside his sister. "We should have killed you when we had the chance!"
Gojo smirked. "You'll find that's a pretty common regret. And when have you ever had the chance Pietro?"
Pietro lunged forward in anger without thinking.
Even as he moved, Gojo's attention never left Juggernaut who stood watching, strangely quiet, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
'Is he enjoying this? Oh… he is, isn't he.'
Everything slowed. Pietro closing in fast. Wanda watching. Her eyes widened as she saw it, the faintest curve of Gojo's lips.
'That smirk, why is he…'
She felt something in her gut. Premonition.
Then Gojo spoke, "Still force."
Pietro froze mid-sprint, legs locked in place, eyes wide in confusion before settling into a more distant look as his eyes glazed over. Mystique's face twisted in confusion.
"What the hell?!"
Wanda turned in horror. "Pietro? What is wrong?!"
Gojo spoke calmly, almost conversational.
"Don't bother. I left a little something behind the first time we met."
He tapped the side of his head.
"A command package, up here."
Wanda stared at him. "What the hell does that mean?"
Gojo turned his gaze back to Juggernaut, casually speaking as if Wanda wasn't burning with rage. "It's a little neural suggestion… an implant, it's harmless, hidden, gentle and can be triggered by a single word from me."
'Thank you Itachi, for the inspiration'.
From the X-Men's mental link, Jean's voice gasped. "He… he installed a sleeper command, that's very hard to do and you need to be careful not to damage the usual mental connections"
Scott, still recovering, asked, "A what now?"
Jean explained quickly. "It's a psychic Trojan horse. Like hypnosis mixed with code. The second Gojo says the key phrase, It overrides control. It's terrifying."
Gojo's smile didn't fade.
"I speak the word… and I gain full control."
Pietro turned his head slowly, and as he did, Wanda's breath caught in her throat.
Gojo spoke through Pietro's mouth: "And the best part? I don't even need to worry about him fighting back."
Wanda screamed, releasing a blast of chaos magic but Gojo's voice rose again.
"Wrecking ball. Embers."
WHAM.
A meaty fist smashed into Wanda's side. It was Blob with his eyes glazed over, mind clearly as compromised as Pietro's.
Mystique screamed, but before she could react, Pietro was on her with a hand around her throat, lifting her off the ground.
Gojo gave his final order:
"Pietro, Blob, and now… Pyro. Keep them busy."
At once, Pyro's flames erupted outward cutting off Avalanche as he tried to charge in.
Gojo exhaled slowly.
'Now that that's out of the way…'
BOOM.
The ground exploded. Juggernaut moved like a bullet fired from a tank.
Gojo reacted immediately.
He ducked under the punch narrowly and unleashed an absolutely massive telekinetic repulsion burst from his entire body.
The resulting force ripped the earth apart and shattered the air like glass. It blew the treetops into the sky and flattened what was left of the forest into a barren wasteland.
A shockwave rolled out for miles. Everyone had to anchor themselves. Kitty phased into the ground; Storm gritted her teeth and summoned wind to hold her place; Beast grabbed Kurt's tail mid-air to keep him from being flung; Iceman stared, jaw open. The brotherhood on the other hand were flung away to God knows where.
Jean gasped, voice small: "That… that would've leveled a mountain."
The dust slowly began to settle.
Gojo narrowed his eyes.
Juggernaut was still standing. Not even a scratch. He adjusted his helmet and… grinned.
"Damn. That packed a punch. Yours hits harder than that ginger twig over there," he nodded toward Jean. "But here's the thing, sweetheart… I am the unstoppable force."
He stepped forward.
"I am the Juggernaut."
Gojo's expression barely changed. He raised a hand.
BOOM.
A gravity-crushing telekinetic field dropped around Juggernaut holding him for just four seconds.
But that was all Gojo needed.
He looked down at Rogue now surrounded by a golden aura as his rejection healed her.
"Trust me," he whispered.
He waved his hand skyward. A shimmering bubble formed around her, Kitty, Storm, Iceman, Jean, Beast even Logan's and jubilee's unconscious bodies. The force lifted them gently and carried them away from the battlefield, past the tree line, into the safe zone where the professor was waiting.
The field hardened, keeping them protected.
Gojo looked back at Juggernaut still struggling, beginning to break free.
He exhaled.
"Now then, let's get this show on the road shall we."
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