CHAPTER 181 — THE LAST STAND
The camp stank of iron and ash. The chain-link fences rattled under the wind, a sound like bones clattering. Sentinels patrolled high on their metal legs, searchlights sweeping across the rubble of what once was Manhattan.
Logan crouched in the shadows, Storm beside him, Rachel clutching the limp body of Kate Pryde. Colossus loomed over them, jaw set, and Franklin Richards hovered protectively near Rachel, fists glowing faintly with unstable energy.
Magneto sat in his wheelchair, eyes narrowed, fingers curling like a conductor testing the air. Around them, stray bolts and scraps of iron quivered, pulled to him by instinct.
"This is where we part," Magneto said quietly.
Rachel's head shot up. "No. Erik—"
He silenced her with a hand. "They need a distraction. Someone to draw the Sentinels away. Someone they still… fear." His lips twisted in bitter pride. "That role falls to me."
Storm reached for him. "You cannot fight them alone—"
"I can," Magneto cut in, voice steel. "And I will. What life I have left is borrowed time. Better to spend it than waste it."
Logan's jaw worked, teeth grinding. He didn't argue. He just crouched low, meeting the old man's gaze. "Hell of a way to go out, bub. You sure?"
Magneto's mouth twitched. "You of all people should know, Logan. I've never done anything halfway."
There was a moment of silence. Then, slowly, Magneto turned his chair, wheeling toward the floodlights. Metal screamed as he raised his arms, the very earth groaning as he ripped pipes and rebar from the ground, hurling them skyward.
The Sentinels turned. Engines roared. Searchlights fixed on him.
Magneto's voice thundered: "COME THEN, CHILDREN OF MAN! FACE YOUR CREATOR'S MONSTER!"
A Sentinel fired. The ground erupted. Magneto's figure disappeared in a blaze of white.
Rachel whimpered, eyes squeezing shut, his final defiance echoing through her mind.
Logan pulled his cigar stub from his mouth, spat it into the dirt. "C'mon. He bought us the window. Let's move."
---
They crept through ruins. Twice they ducked into collapsed subway tunnels while Sentinels thundered above. Once, Franklin had to unleash a blast of power to cripple a patrol—but a lance of energy found him in turn.
The boy screamed, staggered, then fell smoking into Rachel's arms.
"Franklin!" Rachel sobbed, holding him close.
He touched her cheek with a trembling hand, smile weak. "Finish it… Rae…" His eyes dimmed, body going limp.
"No!" She rocked over him, grief shredding her chest.
Logan's hand came down heavy on her shoulder. "We can't stop. Not now." His voice cracked under the gravel. "Make his death mean somethin'."
She nodded through tears, clutching Kate tighter. They pressed on.
---
The Baxter Building loomed at last, scarred but still standing. Its symbol long gone, the Sentinels had gutted it into their nest.
Rachel crouched with Kate's body in a forgotten alcove. "Go," she whispered. "I'll protect her."
Logan looked back once. Storm squeezed his arm. Colossus simply nodded.
The three slipped into the old Fantastic Four elevator shaft. It groaned as it carried them upward, cables squealing.
When the doors parted, they stepped into a vast steel chamber lit red. And there—blocking the path—stood a Sentinel taller than any they'd seen. Armor thicker, eyes blazing white. The Omega.
Logan's nostrils flared. He lifted a hand to hold the others back. "This one's mine." He prowled low, circling behind the giant's knee.
'Gotta take it down fast. Claws in the joint, rip out the—'
The Omega's head snapped around. Its eyes flared.
A beam of searing white fire engulfed him.
There was no scream. Just a flash, the smell of burning flesh, and when the blaze died—nothing but a smoking adamantium skeleton crumpled to the floor.
"LOGAN!" Storm screamed.
Colossus roared, fists clenching. "No—no—!"
The Omega turned its eyes on them.
Storm's grief exploded into fury. Lightning split the chamber, bolts lashing the Sentinel with the fury of a goddess. Its armor cracked, sparks flying. She rose into the air, cloak billowing, a storm made flesh.
"You will PAY!"
The Omega staggered—then from behind, another beam of red fire. A second Sentinel had waited, cloaked in shadow. Its shot tore through her side. She gasped, eyes wide, lightning faltering.
Colossus lunged, catching her as she fell limp. "Ororo—NO!" Her body sagged in his arms, lifeless.
He laid her gently on the steel, face pale, then turned with a roar that shook the walls. His skin turned to gleaming metal, muscles straining as he hurled himself at the Omega.
He smashed through its shin, tore chunks of steel with his fists, ripped cables free with bare hands. Sentinels swarmed in answer, pouring from vents and walls, dozens at once.
Colossus fought like ten men, every blow a thunderclap, every shout a war cry. But numbers mounted. Energy blasts struck from all sides. His body cracked, dented, faltered.
Still he fought—until he fell beneath the tide, buried in steel and smoke.
---
Below, Rachel screamed. Her mind-link shattered as each soul winked out one by one. Erik. Franklin. Logan. Ororo. Piotr.
She clutched Kate's limp body against her chest, tears streaking her face.
'Please. Please let it work. Please let her change the past. Even if this timeline rots—let another live.'
The Sentinels' engines roared above. Rachel buried her face against Kitty's hair, whispering like a prayer.
"Don't let it be for nothing."
And the future burned.