---

---

Punchable was a good word. He considered punching Robert too. Ed really didn't give a shit if he had worked with Xavier or not. There probably was a fair amount of people who had at one point or another. It didn't mean the chance of being backstabbed was any lower. Perry had hit the nail on the head. They had been forced here. Of course, they were a bit touchy after that.

If Mary was claustrophobic this was the first time Ed had thought that was possible. She had been in space before. Sure their situation was really dire at the moment. But they had been in many very dire situations.

"Mary, take a deep breath. We can figure it out." He said gently. Her fire was getting under control at least—stupid space chicken. "I have an idea, but it'll be messy. I can protect us with a shield and you can turn that water into steam." If his shield failed...If...if if. All those didn't really matter. They were stuck.

He wrapped the group, minus Mary, into a bubble. He made sure it was heatproof and would keep oxygen in. It had to be. If oxygen left the bubble it'd get cooked with the water, and if it weren't heatproof they'd be steamed. He was satisfied with the bubble of orange light that surrounded the group. He nodded at Mary and released the shield he had on the door. The rest was up to her.

---

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Carolina smiled at Annie. "Everyone is alright." She said to her friend as she looked between Guin and Magneto as he let her go into his mind surprisingly. She confirmed that Magneto didn't know or have anything to do with their people being kidnapped and brought here. The water was still pretty alarming and wondered what was actually causing it. Max then decided to try and open a portal to wherever the others were so that they could all get back home safely as they were all free to leave.

What happened next was more chaos as Max decided to open up a portal out into space she could see the planet of Venus in the distance, she could feel the air in the area quickly being sucked out. Luckily she still had the spacesuit that the chaotic boy made for them all not to long ago. But Max ended up closing the portal behind them as Carolina closed her eyes and sighed slightly she was glad that the portal was closed she just hoped that Max would be able to find his way back here somehow.

---

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Bethany crossed her arms over her chest as she listened to Magneto and Guin as they spoke luckily Magneto was actually telling the truth. She then looked at some of the others and was about to follow them over to where they needed to go next when Max opened up a portal. She could feel the air in the area suddenly being sucked out as she could see space in the distance and even Venus could be seen. Why Max decided to open a portal out into space Bethany had no clue why.

She was about to shadow travel herself and anyone who was close to her out of the area for good, but Max was able to close the portal behind him which was good. But Max didn't return which was a little bit troubling she was tempted to go out and try and rescue the chaotic gay boy. But she didn't have a spacesuit on her. Bethany turned to Magneto for a moment. "You should probably ban the use of portals here." Bethany suggested.

---

---

Perry let her introduction hang in the air as the new guy basically ignored her. That cinched it then, he was a grade-A douchebag. Perry continued to work on the computer until Mary started speaking. It seemed she was going through a lot and given how well this was all going, Perry could only imagine the pressure Mary was feeling. Before Perry could speak up to reassure her, Mary's appearance changed. What was once green turned red.

It was almost like Mary was a different person. And perhaps that was true, given what she was saying. Perry managed to piece it together though. Mary was referring to the Phoenix force. A power to be reckoned with, surely. Cortez seemed to kickstart that when he used his powers on them. Another reason to hate him.

Perry moved forward calmly, attempting to gauge Mary's emotional state. Perry couldn't lock anything down. It was as if Mary's emotions were going haywire and spiraling.

EIther way, it was not good.

"Ed is right. We'll get through this. We just need to calm down and work together. Let's try his plan. And, if worse comes to worse, we can heat things up. But maybe save that as a last resort, yeah?"

---

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Antoinette relaxed when Caroline said everyone was okay. Her state of calm was only furthered after Guin confirmed Magneto meant them no harm. Perhaps this space station was also a retreat of some kind. Antoinette wondered if there were any psychologists on board.
Antoinette was about to retrieve Arnold from the inside of her jacket when Max's powers manifested. Her eyes widened as beside her Neil started to slide forward with Max and Jaclyn. She reached out and grabbed onto Neil's shirt since he was the closest to her. It didn't help much since the pull from the hole to space started pulling her forward. Within seconds though the portal closed. Antoinette stumbled forward. She released Neil but left a hand on his arm, staring at the space where the portal once was. Antoinette opened her mouth then closed it, at a loss for words.
"Are you okay?" she asked Neil, at a loss herself.

---

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Flynn was incredibly confused, since last he checked, weren't her powers plant based? "...I thought you're powers revolved around like, plant life sort of things?" he asked, since he before had been a little confused when her arm had caught fire randomly before, but this was just not what he was expecting.

"Hmm?" she asked, looking over at him when he asked that, and she couldn't help but laugh a little bit. "Right, you work for SHIELD and this was sort of something that was kept a bit under wraps, for a reason mind you. A little annoying sometimes when an entity decides it wants to constantly hitch a ride whether you want it fully to or not," she explained simply with a shrug before walking over to the door. "It might get a bit warm in here, just a heads up."

Without another word thought, she just opened up the door, a wall of fire in front of her as she walked forward a bit. It did very much get really warm in the room. The shield that Ed had created did stop the brunt of everything, but it still would be a little bit with the uncomfortably warm. Flynn was the only one seemingly unaffected, likely due to his own fire based powers. The room was filled with a mix of decently controlled flames and a whole lot of steam from when the water met the fire.

It was several minutes before everything cleared, and Mary wasn't by the door anymore, but looked like the hallway might be clear of water, at the moment anyway. Though farther along to the left out in the hallway, there would be the sound of a few voices. Anyone stepping out would see Mary a little farther down talking with the person with the water powers.

"Look, I know you don't like us, at all, but tell me what happened because you were perfectly fine when we took off and saw you last."

"Well after you all left, this one guy came along while I was using my powers to heal everyone from the fight, but he said something about being able to heal everyone quicker. Next thing I created a tidal wave and the others took off in the opposite direction to avoid the water." she responded, clearly a little freaked out by what had just happened.

"...Did they get hit by his powers too?" she asked, very much not too thrilled with what the likely answer was.

"Yeah, they were. Why? And did you all bring that guy here?"

"No, we didn't the guy was already here, but I'd be a bit more concerned about something else..." she started to say, before the ground shook from the sounds of explosions. That was the least of their concerns, as there was the crackling of electricity farther along, and they were in both a metal hallway, and the hallway was still covered in water a bit, though a lot of it by the room they had been in was gone entirely now. "Well this is getting added to the list of issues I'm having right now..." she muttered under her breath.

Seriously you took over just to deal with more stress? Honestly I can deal with all of this.

No, you'd just kill people if able.

You're the one whose spiraling. Honestly I should thank that Cortez guy, at least now I'm still here and all and able to actually do things.

Yeah cause problems for me, now shut up I have to send a message to Guin.

---

---

I mean yeah, but also he might just die so we won't have to worry about that sort of thing, maybe. Pietro said to Guin as everyone in the hall started walking along.

The speedster was getting a little bored, and contemplated zipping off a little ways beyond everyone to find the other group, so that they could get out of there quicker. Especially since he very much was not thrilled that they were still fully walking around with Exodus and Magneto. As if nothing was really happening or anything like that. Yeah, this day had been going great, so much fun.

Lance could only just shake his head a little bit at what Max had done. At least it wasn't an actual hole in the station, since then they'd all be sort of screwed with how their luck went. "Hopefully he pops back up soon, who knows how much air that suit has or how durable it is given where he landed..." Lance commented. That was a bit ridiculous to have them maybe teleport or portal, since it seemed like they might not be super far away from the other group. On the plus side, Neil would easily be able to tell that Max was still alive, at least at the moment anyway.

Mira was staying fairly silent as they continued along, but eventually they'd come across Miranda again who had finally rejoined them. She stopped for a moment when she saw that Magneto was with them and simply looked away a bit after a moment. "Hello Erik, it has been a while," she eventually said out loud.

"Hello Miranda," he eventually said to her, though it was a little odd with the way he spoke, and Miranda very much was still avoiding him. Though any continuation of that conversation was interrupted by what sounded like yet another explosion.

"Guin, we've got a bit problem, major, major problem. Cortez? The guy I mentioned? He's wrecking havoc without a second thought. He triggered the powers of others, and it is very much not a good thing. There first was the tidal wave of water that got shot throughout the place because he overpowered someone to the point where they couldn't control them, and now it sounds like he did the same thing to a lot more people. Meaning a chain reaction of chaos is about to happen. Mary's voice broke through into Guin's head.

As if right on cue, there was a large gust of wind beginning to blow throughout the entire hallway, and it was starting to becoming very strong. They weren't able to see too far ahead of them enough to see what was going on or who was the one responsible. But if they weren't careful soon there would likely be a tornado or something forming in the small area that they were in.

"...I can try to run ahead and maybe find out what's going on over there... And probably could take two people with me if they want to tag along." Pietro said, though he did have to speak a bit loudly for anyone to hear him. The wind was really howling and making it difficult to hear anything from anyone. They likely would have to be almost shouting at this point in order to hear anything.

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OfAll had to wonder if Max was mouthing "sorry" for just suddenly grabbing and pulling her somewhere, or for the fact she had manifested his magic. Perhaps he had a sense of what she'd wound up doing with it. And maybe she should've had the sense not to mention she had manifested it at all.

Max tried a circuit with herself and Neil, the latter of which not seeming so keen.

It was unlike any experience OfAll previously had. As if her body was operating through a network beyond her own brain; her internal rhythms shifting from her own to something more communal between herself, Max and Neil. She felt connected to something beyond them, like magic itself, and yet, untethered. . .as if she could go anywhere.

And then she was.

She opened her eyes to the physical world in front of her and found herself staring into an unsettlingly identifiable celestial object.
How?

It took her precious seconds to realize what had just happened, and for the second time that day, and for the same reason, she found herself behind pulled out towards the uninhabitable expanse of space. This time with a set destination that would mean certain death -her spacesuit was already damaged.

"NO!"
Then Max gave the explanation -and solution, and with cautionary words just to her, he was gone.

Unshed tears held in her eyes. For a moment she was still, then she looked around.

Neil seemed concerned about Max. Bethany as well, though her comment to Magneto struck OfAll as a bit off.

Lance and Carolina seemed more. . .low key about it. Like they were familiar with Max doing this -just another day at the office. There was some reassurance to be had in that, besides Lance's comment about Max's oxygen.

Then there was Guin. She seemed livid. OfAll held back saying anything however, even an apology; that could come later. It seemed better just to move on from the moment. A major discussion was certain to follow this foray into space, like a battle of its own. Now was not the time.

Besides that, something was prickling in the back of OfAll's mind: it was something in Max's manner when he cautioned her, and something about the manner of his teammates now. . .She drew a refocusing breath just before a huge gust of wind struck through their hallway. Regular air moving over OfAll's arms caused pain --this was searing. She shifted at first not sure how to guard against it, and finally went with holding her arms behind her back and leaning against the wall.

She shook her head at Pietro --much as she wanted to know what was going on, she felt she was at the bottom of any prudent tag-along list.

"Who's on here with wind powers?!"OfAll yelled out to Magneto. There was no way it made sense to feel this amount of wind here, unless maybe all the oxygen was getting sucked out. Though it didn't feel that way. OfAll thought of Storm. She did not think Storm was up here, but what OfAll was thinking was how Storm could do a lot more than just manipulate wind. She could've caused that flood as well. Was there another mutant with weather powers? And if so, what else ought they prepare for?

---

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Max sat down on the moon's surface, taking in the view of Earth from above, watching the world he's tried defending so many times from a vantage point he'd never seen before. He squinted his eyes, trying to see the Ley Lines that were composed of the spell that guarded over their planet. The reason for the Sanctum's placements and why the job of the Sorcerer Supreme was so vital. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he could see the spell from up here. Maybe it was just the fatigue of everything that had happened, maybe his eyes were tired, or perhaps they weren't visible from this distance. Max didn't know. He placed his hands behind himself, tilting his head back and looking up at the vast expanse of darkness. He closed his eyes, and took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly.

"That should be a good enough rest for now. Let's try this one more time." Light was swallowed up around him as a black hole wrapped itself across his body before he was teleported back into the hallway where he'd just been. Cold air seeped into the hall and blew towards the others as the winds knocked past him. His shoes squeaked as he tried to keep his footing, sliding back and into Neil's arms for a moment as he tried to get his bearings. "I leave you guys for one minute and suddenly there's a tornado in the base?" He said with a grin before he began to weave a spell. His motions were off, the wind buffering his arms this way or that as they threw off the somatic components to the spell. "I call upon the Whirling Winds of Watoomb to send you back from whence you came" Max called out towards the air that rushed at them. It felt a little silly to be speaking to thin air, but he needed to in order to change its direction or break it up entirely.

Winds spread from his hands, green mists that tried to fight against the oncoming blasts but were quickly blown away. He tried once more, this time with a bit more conviction, making it further past where his previous attempt had let him. But still the spell faltered against the might of whomever was creating these winds. "What in Limbo is making these winds? No matter. No matter the danger, no matter the dread challenge that awaits me…I…must go forth." Max tried to press forward, looking back towards Neil and then to Jaclyn, wondering if all three performed the spell together if they could combat the forces. He could feel the reservoir of magic within Neil, it was nothing like his own, yet still every drop helped when facing foes stronger than yourself.

As Mary finished boiling the water away, Rob ran over to the computer and quickly put the dehumidifiers up to max to counteract the fact that she had just turned this entire floor into a sauna, rapidly super-heated steam being sucked into the air-vents to have the moisture recycled into the resevoir. He looked at the others as she walked out into the hallway. He was the first one into the hallway after her, he put his hands up to the others, a look of total and utter fear across his face "STAY BACK!!!" He looked at her talking to the boy who had made all of the water and then to the others "That's not your friend in there anymore, that's something VERY dangerous and we are all in mortal peril. We have got to make our way, VERY slowly away from here and to whatever ship you have, because if she decides it, we're all going to be dust within seconds..." He said. "Trust me, don't trust me, think i'm one of Magneto's stooges all you want, but you weren't there... You didn't see what that... What that thing did to Professor Grey... How many people it made her just... Vaporize... No warning, no mercy." He thought back to all those years ago... over at her and smiled, trying to keep the illusion that he wasn't afraid of what it would do the moment he turned his back. He remembered the burning... The Fire...

Rob had had quite the day at Nasa. 2 years since Master Mold's attack had taken Asari from him, 2 years it had been just him and Jasmine and the nanny he had hired to look after her. He was living in Yonkers at the time and had been working in New Jersey that day, checking on the manufacturing for one of their new Satilites. He was hoping to swing by Annandale-on-Hudson on the way back, trying to see if Professor Logan was in one of his old favourite bars, try to catch up on it. His old Buick attracting the novelty of a 60 year old car. He was just driving through one of the suburbs towards the bar when. A bright flash in the sky, a large fireball, a meteorite? Either way, it touched down in a park near him. In order to drive, he had to focus on the adamantium keeping his spine in check, but acting on instinct, he put on the hazards, turned off the ignition and jumped out of the car, running into the park, he grabbed a metal trashcan, and absorbed it, getting a new alluminium coating over his body. As he ran through the treeline, he ran into the park, seeing the flames, the destruction, civilians running away, turning to ash as they did so and he saw her...

Tall, Inferno Red Hair, black, red and yellow costume, slowly walking forwards, her beautiful face twisted into an enraged sneer. "Pro... Profes-ssor Grey?" He shook. Rob wasn't a coward, he had faced down powerful foes before... But... The casual brutality of this, the utter barbarity... He stood there, paralyzed by fear... He... He couldn't do this... He couldn't just charge into battle, especially not against such overwhelming odds. As he saw the fire burning in her eyes, just casually disintegrating another man who broke cover to escape her wrath, he seemed to black out, everything went... Fuzzy, the next thing he knew, he was in the car driving at 80mph down a country road, he looked in his wingmirror to see a bright light lighting up the evening sky. He knew that an epic battle was going on back there, but all he could think was the need to get back to his daughter and be there to protect her when that... When that monster came for them... Came for all of them...

That thing had made him feel powerless on that day... He found out later when he had talked to Professor Logan and Summers that it had been a creature called Phoenix. But he had ran that day and had survived. He had no reservations about running on this day too, but this time, there was no Professor X or Logan or Storm coming to rescue them. The only way these kids were getting out of this one was with his help. "I'm not playing around with you kids. If you want to live, long and happy lives, we need to get away from that thing that has taken your friends body for a joyride." He seemed to turn around and put himself between the others and Mary. "I bet you don't even remember my face..." He mumbled under is breath.

---

---

Ed was relieved it had worked. He also hoped it meant Mary had burned (no pun intended) some of that energy that had been building. She had stepped out into the hall. He let his shield drop as the steam dissipated.

"You're right. That is my friend. We know about it. We are trying to help her. If you don't want anything to do with her that's your choice. But we've dealt with some bullshit together. I'm not going to abandon her. I know what a world without her is like, I'd like to keep her in this world. The threat here is Cortez." Ed said fiercely at Robert. He had trusted Mary with the secret fear he had had that Klara had been replaced by Loki. He wasn't going to let her down when she needed him because he was afraid of what she could do to him.

He stepped into the hallway. "Alright, we got those visuals on the others, can we find them now?" Getting the group all together would be ideal. He heard the crackling of electricity. He did not like that noise.

---

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Carolina continued to follow alongside with the others as they moved further down the hallway, she looked between Miranda and Magneto as the two of them were reunited again by the looks of it. She then started to feel the wind in the area starting to pick up and it was starting to get pretty strong as she tried to shield herself against the wind by using her arms. "This place is certainly getting more and more interesting." Carolina said as a few seconds later Max reappeared back to them in the hallway.

"Welcome back to the land of the living there." She said jokingly, she knew that Max would end up coming back, the wind still continued to blow around them, she didn't really have any power to really combat against the wind seeing as Max seemed to have failed using his magic against whoever was making the wind.

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Bethany continued to follow along with the others she had a feeling that Max would come back safely and unharmed as she continued down the hallway she noticed that the winds suddenly started to pick up. She started to shield herself from the wind as well to, when Pietro asked if anyone would want to come with him to try and stop whoever was creating the violent winds throughout the station. "I'll go, and help if there is anyone in there that needs help to." Bethany suggested.

And like she thought Max reappeared with them at least he didn't end up teleporting somewhere else that was probably a lot worse than being stranded in space. Max tried to use his magic again only for it to not really have much effect as Bethany approached Pietro and looked at the others. "Anyone else want to come?" She asked.

---

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Neil didn't mind that Annie had grabbed onto them, or that her hand lingered on their chest. If they helped her to feel safe, they were glad. This situation was incredibly stressful, even by X-Men standards. The fragility of the space station was as great a threat as Magneto and Exodus were, if not more. They were still staring in shock at the spot where Max had been, and as they reached out with their necromantic senses, they couldn't feel the energy of a death. He was alive. Maybe. Neil had been wrong before - they had thought Lance had been dead earlier and he turned out to be fine.

"I'm okay," Neil said softly to Annie. Everyone else seemed to be more or less... indifferent? to whether Max had lived or died. Granted they all didn't really know Max, but still, Max was a living breathing person. They were X-Men, they were supposed to care about saving lives. The indifference was unsettling to them. The others were just moving along down the hallway, eventually running into a brunette that Neil didn't recognize.

The wind picked up, becoming more and more violent, and Neil squinted, holding out a hand to protect their eyes. The chaos and the trials seemed to be never ending in this place. Neil was less and less convinced that this station was fit to sustain life for very long at all. Before they could figure out the source of the wind though, a portal opened up in front of them and the ancient, wise wizard collapsed into their arms. They managed to catch him despite their surprise, as Neil studied Max's face. Relief filled his body. The mage was alive. But even his magnificent powers were no match for the tempest they were facing.

Neil couldn't take their eyes off of Max. They noticed in that moment how beautiful he was. "Are you okay?" they murmured.

---

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Guin shook her head at Pietro's suggestion that they might get lucky and Max would just die. She didn't wish death on him - even if she had just told Pietro she did. It was a frustration response, her anger poking out. If anything, she'd rather scream at Max for being so reckless and stupid, and then convince Mary to kick him off the team. He'd barely been a member anyways. Maybe they could just make a clean break and fire all of the new people at once. They didn't need them - they were dead weight at best. And at worst, they were Max.

They pressed onwards, shortly running into Miranda - Pietro's adoptive / step-mom from the reality Wanda had created. Guin wasn't in the mood to watch Magneto have an awkward encounter with his ex, they had more important things going on - namely, Mary just so happened to contact her telepathically, whispering into her head.

Guin's eyes widened as Mary explained everything that was happening - that the strange failures and whatnot happening were somewhat due to the actions of this asshole Cortez, who was hyping everyone's powers up out of control. "It's someone named Cortez, he's amping up people's powers till they lose control," she explained. Right on queue, a huge gale broke out and Guin instantly assumed that it was also connected to this Cortez person. Max popped back up, thankfully not dead, and Guin was going to yell at him later - but they had a situation to deal with now.

Got it, can you shut him down? Guin asked Mary telepathically.

"I can go with you two, too," Guin offered. She somewhat partially assumed Pietro would want her to be one of the two anyways.

---

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Antoinette smiled softly and nodded at Neil before she stepped back, giving him space once more. They walked for a short time before encountering a new problem. The space station rumbled under the feet. A rushing sound of wind filled the hallway before they were all blasted with wind. Antoinette automatically held her breath. Her mind panicked, thinking there was a hole in the space station. She looked around, seeing people talking and no one exploding or turning to ice and deemed breathing safe. She took a breath, but it wasn’t helpful. The intense wind made it difficult for her to catch her breath.
The presence of the wind was perfectly timed for Max’s return, and Antoinette smiled brightly, seeing that he had returned safely. Guin spoke up shortly after, relaying information from Mary. Antoinette furrowed her brows.
”Have you heard of this Cortez?” Antoinette asked Caroline, hoping she could hear her over the wind.

---

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Perry watched as Mary, along with her Phoenix powers, warmed the room up. Well, warm was being nice about it. Perry hated heat and she could feel herself getting warmer, wondering what exactly Mary intended to do. The fire grew and so did the steam from the fire fighting the water. Eventually, it cleared but Mary had moved on. Perry followed Ed into the hallway and saw Mary speaking to another person.

And then Robert had to inject himself into the conversation. "With all due respect, dude. You just joined this merry band of misfits. And granted, I am new too, but I have at least established some connection with them whereas we just met you. As Ed said, she's our friend so we are going to go help her. If you want to fall back and have a little pity party for yourself, by all means. Otherwise join us and let's get the others and get off this stupid rock."

Perry pushed past and made her way to Mary. "Cortez again huh? Dude's looking to get his face punched in again by the sounds of it. But we should go get the others. More fists means more punching."

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Mary was going to say something else to the girl they had ran into, when her attention shifted towards Robert as he basically started yelling about something. She actually was pleasantly surprised when Ed instantly jumped to her defense, and Perry even chimed in a little bit with regards to it, and she turned now to actually look at Robert. Sure, she totally understood what he was saying, but things weren't that simple. You don't exactly just tell a giant space chicken to get out and stopped hitching a ride. The thing freaked her out, but until it decided it was bored she kind of was stuck a little bit with it at the moment.

"I get it, I really do, hell I was at the mansion when all of that chaos happened. But just a bit of advice, one simply does not tell a flaming bird space entity to get lost. Just a heads up with that. Though been making some progress in convincing the bird to stop hanging around Earth. But it's still here because it wants to ensure that all the reality rifts that were opened up on Earth are fully sealed up and dealt with or something like that," she said simply with a shrug, "Pretty sure they're all gone, but apparently need to make sure so people don't get stranded where they don't want to. Alternate realities suck by the way. Or at least the one we fell into did."

Nodding her head a bit with regards to what Ed said about catching up to the others, "Well hopefully we can catch up to them. If they were in this hallway initially they might have gone for another way around. Though this hallway might be able to connect farther up to where they are now. And as for Cortez," she added, looking towards Perry, "We definitely need to do something about him, since at this rate this whole place is going to get smashed to bits by what all is going on."

Looking down the pathways, she figured they might want to head towards the direction where all of the chaos was occurring, so she instantly started walking along towards that way. The group who headed along would almost get electrocuted a few times, but Ed would manage to throw up shields in time to protect everyone as they headed along.

---

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I would if I knew where the hell that guy went, since I very much don't know. came Mary's response to Guin.

"Well I have no idea who the hell that is," Pietro ended up saying towards the rest of the group. He'd never heard of this guy named Cortez at all, so he figured the guy was newer around here or something.

"That would be because he just recently joined us a few months back. His powers when used for the correct purpose can be incredibly useful when needed," Magneto responded.

"Well clearly what he wants to do is very different then what you thought, hence why he seems to just enjoy creating chaos or something." he said as he walked over to Bethany and Guin, "Well if you two are ready we can see about trying to get up there."

"Unless you want to make multiple trips I'd recommend potentially stopping whoever is sending the wind this way to make it easier for the rest of us to get there. If you need help you can always come back," Lance said towards him over the wind heading their way.

"Will do," he said as he grabbed Bethany and Guin by the arms, "Alright Bethany, Guina, hang on this might be a bit more of a bumpy ride," he said to them, before smirking at Max slightly as the guy was trying to fight past the wind, "Let me know when you catch up," he said to him, as he took off with a loud boom sound.

Mira wasn't entirely sure about the entire situation that was going on, but fighting through the wind entirely didn't seem like a very good idea, at least at the moment anyway. Though farther along she saw something else heading their way. That being an actual tornado, it didn't take up the entire hallway so Pietro had been able to slip by it, but it was still fairly large and looked like it might be getting bigger as it headed their way.

Guin and Bethany (along with Pietro) would eventually get to the end of the hall. It wasn't exactly an easy thing as Pietro had been fighting the wind and trying not to lose his footing as he went along, but they'd eventually get there. They'd see a guy surrounded by mini tornadoes, trying clearly to get rid of them but it seemed like that was making it worse as it was what was causing the wind and tornadoes to go down the hallway. Farther along though, at the other end of the area they were now in, they'd see another guy who was clearly trying to get electrical powers under control, as jolts were shooting down another hall as well.

---

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'What next?' OfAll thought as something formed in the middle of the winds, and then-- Max!! No worse for wear.

Her heart lightened, despite the overcast she still felt.

She watched -and heard- as Max tried to combat the winds with magical ones of his own, but it didn't seem to work. She caught his look. After what'd just happened, was he actually expecting to circuit again? Like the winds around them, a question swirled in OfAll's mind, one that came into it a few moments ago; Max's present disposition possibly answered it some. Possibly not.

Pietro went off with Bethany and Guin, and by Lance's words, the rest of them would be doing their best to hold firm until those three managed to "shut down" the winds up ahead. If one mutant was enhancing another, OfAll had a fair feeling the other probably wasn't intending to be doing what they presently were. Especially as they couldn't see them, what reason would they have to blast wind down a hallway? Unless it was something of a knee jerk response to the prior explosion, but it still seemed reckless.

And, despite Magneto's words, "reckless" sounded like an apt moniker for this Cortez guy, at least.

In any case, OfAll hoped Pietro, Guin and Bethany could stop things peaceably. There were already enough face-offs for one day, though they were pretty much 0-for-X.

And if the rest of them were just essentially waiting, it seemed an advantageous time to ask that question of hers: "Max, is it just portalling that's dang--" Since she was keeping her arms to her back, all OfAll could do to shield her face was look away from the wind. As such she didn't see the tornado coming so much as she realized she was having to raise her voice above the wind more -realized by the intensifying sound that it was growing, still.

And then she squinted through --and in the next instant was whipped violently down the hall a few feet before banging into a corner of the ceiling and falling to the floor, the rest of the wind washing over her.

Those telltale words rose into her mind:
'Welcome to the X-Men. Hope you survive the experience.'

As everyone funnelled past his attempt at self sacrifice and several of them berated him for his concerns that people were dismissing the fact that an unstoppable force of purest death that could instantly disintegrate any of them at any moment was taking their friends body for a joyride and the ONLY one of them that seemed to actually address that fact was said girl who's body had been hijacked. "Am i the only one on this damn rock not taking crazy pills?" He asked himself. "Cortez is a danger to himself and people immediately around him. Stay away from him and he's not that much of a threat." He stared at Mary "That thing is so dangerous that multiple galactic civilizations have warrants out for its imprisonment and destruction because it has single handedly wiped out LITERAL GALAXIES!" He stared at the others. "But i suppose that if it decides to murder us all that ground zero is probably the safest place to be. At least it's over quick..." He scrunched his lips up in contemplation. He grabbed his face with his outstretched fingers and pulled down, this not stretching his skin due to the steel plating surrounding him at the moment. "Fine, fine, fine. Look, there is no pity-party in this. It's all, what i think we can all agree, is legitimate concern about the unstoppable god of galactic genocide and holocaust that has hijacked your friends body." He then walked towards Mary only to be electrocuted by the walls. He stopped for a second to change his skin from the steel he had absorbed to the leather and fabric from his Wheelchair. The electricity no longer effecting him as his outside was now made of non-conductive material. He then ran to walk alongside Mary

"Might i suggest we do the sensible thing, though. The rest of us go and deal with Cortez? If he gets us and makes our powers wig out, we could hurt someone. If he makes the Phoenix's powers wig out, then it'll be quicker to list the people of this solar system it doesn't hurt. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be doing something, but there are other things that need doing and you tackling Cortez in your current condition is like trying to put out a forest fire with Petrol. I met your other friends, Carolina, Max and the others. Last time i saw them, they were running over towards an explosion. They might need your help more." He asked. Anyone looking at him could clearly see this was someone legitimately trying to keep everyone around him safe. "Look, you guys are Professor Xavier's X-Men. He wouldn't have sent you guys if he didn't have complete confidence in you and i'll follow your lead, but i'm just trying to help."

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The cold that sat on his skin from his recent transposition began to be whisked away from the heat coming off of Neil's hands as they held him. They were looking at Max, eyes locked for a moment before his face went flush. Neil was attractive, no one would doubt that, and being held by them like this had definitely stirred something in him. "I-I-I'm okay. Thank you." He managed to stutter out before leaving Neil's grasp and finding his footing once more. The winds didn't seem to loosen any, if anything they became worse as a few whipped up together forming tornadoes. One of them buffeted Jaclyn around as she tried to ask him a question. He could figure out what she wanted to ask, though he wasn't sure where she'd assumed the danger laid within portals. In space they seemed to be more of an issue, though in truth they were typically safe…save for the random trip to the Savage Lands.

Max held his hands in the same manner as Strange had many times before (which oddly mimicked Spider-Man but Max wouldn't dare to bring that up to him). He spoke the words, invoking the winds of a far off realm and halting the tornadoes in their tracks. Mystic green smoke entangled with his magic that resembled cosmic dust, working together to bind the vortexes in place to allow the others to help him dismantle the wild winds. "I've locked them down. Lance could you erect a barrier to block the oncoming winds so we can press forward? Antoinette, could you check on Jaclyn for me and Carolina any chance you could go Astral and take over whoever is making all this wind while we work out way closer? We can defend you as we press on." Truthfully the only powers he knew of Neil's were his necromancy which didn't seem capable out in space. I mean what were the odds of corpses lying around to help out? "Neil, keep being adorable, oh and maybe help watch over Carolina if she does go ghost."

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Bethany looked over at the others for a moment. "We'll be back in a bit." Bethany said as she looked at Pietro and Guin as she held onto Pietro as tightly as she could, as the three of them suddenly sped off. She could easily tell that Pietro was having a real hard time dealing with the wind as they moved past a tornado that was going by them. They eventually were led into a new room, as she eyed the two people in the room their powers were both going crazy by the looks of it.

Bethany started to think about what to do, she didn't want to end up seriously injuring the two people since they were more or less innocent. She held out her hand as she focused on the guy who had wind powers by the looks of it, he was the one that was going to be an issue getting the others to move forward. "I got the wind guy one of you two get the electrical powered guy under control." Bethany said as she used her powers over the guy's shadow. The wind around them was very intense as she continued to concentrate but her powers worked as the shadow around him swallowed him whole and he was transported somewhere else on the station. "There the others should be able to move forward now hopefully, and wherever he is on the station it isn't anywhere near our people." Bethany said.

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Carolina turned to look at Annie and shook her head slightly, she didn't know who Cortez actually was, but it seems like he was new to the station from what Magneto had mentioned. "I don't know him sadly." Carolina said as she stared at Max and Neil for a moment, she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous seeing the way that Max was basically flirting with him. Jaclyne was knocked around by some wind as Guin Beth and Pietro sped off to deal with the wind issue going on.

"I can try, but no guarantees just watch over my body." Carolina said as she was about to use her powers and astral project herself to try and help the three of them. However by the time she was ready the wind suddenly stopped just as quickly as it had come either they were successful or something else was going on. However the issue remained was the tornado of sorts at the end of the hall. "Well by the feels of it the wind stopped. Does anyone know how to stop the tornado?" Carolina asked.

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Ed tried to think of the last time he had had a conversation with the Professor. He frowned. Maybe his intake interview, and even that had been...limited. "Well considering we were literally kidnapped and not sent here, that isn't exactly what happened. The others came after us because of said kidnapping."

If Ed was honest, he doubted the Professor even knew where they were at the moment. It depended on if one of them had had the thought to leave a note or something for him. He hated space. He had quit smoking because of space. He wanted a cigarette. The urge to smoke one was suddenly very strong and he wished he had a pack with him, even if it was stupid to smoke in space.

"Anyone have a cigarette?"

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Neil hadn't really been with anyone since Sera - their heart still throbbed just thinking about her, and how she had run away, terrified of them and their family. They didn't think they'd ever see her again, and that was fine, but at the same time... It had been hard for them to move on, to find closure. So they'd been alone, at least in the romantic and sexual sense, ever since. There had been moments where it seemed like something might happen - whether it was with Annie, Carolina, Mira, or Bethany, they weren't quite sure. They didn't want to rush into things.

But when Max called them cute, they were falling hopelessly head over heels. It was like gravity, dragging them down, with no chance of fighting it. They didn't know what Max would think though of their family - if he would find them cruel, immoral, sadistic monsters just like Sera had. But they could dream. When it came to men, their taste had always skewed older anyways.

They were ready to defend Carolina's body, when suddenly the wind stopped - but the tornado remained. Neil threw a hand out, concentrating on the winds, before they forced them to move in the reverse direction, dispelling it harmlessly. The way was clear now for them to catch up with the others.

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Guin had made it down to the end of the hallway with Bethany and Pietro, thanks to her husband's super speed. The winds were still blasting away at them, but they could see the source of them now - an overwhelmed mutant, trying to bat away tornadoes that just wouldn't stop forming. Bethany leapt into action, teleporting them away somewhere, leaving Guin and Pietro to deal with the other issue they could see - an electrical mutant, spouting electricity.

"I'm on it," Guin declared, focusing on that mutant. She nearly had it on the first try, a quick dive into their mind to send them into peaceful unconsciousness, but they repelled her. She frowned, digging in and trying again, only to be buffeted out once more, the mutant's powers picking up more and more in the dangerous recklessness. "Okay, fucking work with me here, buddy," Guin muttered, before trying AGAIN and this time, she managed to get through. She disabled the out of control mutant, putting them into a blissful sleep. The powers ceased going haywire.

And then, in the distance down that hallway, she could see Mary and the others. Guin tentatively waved. "Hey girls."