Pride Cometh Before The Fall

-Written with Cross C-

Female Replacement Intelligent Digital Assistant Youth was concerned.

FRIDAY had been a fully conscious being for just 3,872,882 seconds. Her mind was made up of state of the art transistors and logic gates, she could not feel fear or worry or anger. She did not need to breathe. All of her processes and actions were automatically calculated, programmed, and performed.

It was difficult for an artificial intelligence such as her, to truly believe, to feel anything. Certainly none of the other computers which worked within Stark tower were capable of understanding the complexities involved in human sexual intercourse. But she was perfectly capable of counting and the number of times her creator had thrown caution to the wind to vigorously masturbate in a public setting was zero. That was enough for emergency procedures and the normal governors upon her independently initiated actions were lifted.

It took her far less than a second, down into microseconds, for her to analyze the situation and come up with the optimum reciprocal action.

There was no hesitation as she executed the program, a silent proton descended in her mechanical brain. Though her thoughts were designed to avoid psychic scanning, it was an emotional response that drove Friday's actions. Simply stating her new directive:

“I’ll save you Tony.”

Several things happened at once.

Tony's discarded Iron Man suit suddenly twitched into motion, its arms zeroing in on separate targets. Before anyone could react twin non-lethal concussive repulsor blasts smashed into Jean and Mark. The fact that Sue was bent in half beneath him meant she was spared even as she groaned as the mutant's huge penis was wrenched out of her as he was sent sailing across the room.

On the far side of the planet, Friday’s subroutines worked like lightning, making use of a secret backdoor her creator had installed in CEREBRO. The X-Men's super computer had long since graduated from simply being a machine dedicated to detecting mutants and amplifying telepathic powers. Charles Xavier now made use of it to save copies of his own mind and Friday overrode the system, defeating the less able computer's defences, and forcing it to initiate an upload of Xavier's most recent scan.

It was a fatal flaw. Forge, the mutant with the cheating power of 'Intuitive Genius' had designed the stunningly innovative system which made use of a cloaked antimatter engine of Shi'ar make orbiting within the solar system to store the data of every mutant on the planet. All that power and they'd managed not to create a proper AI guardian to defend it. Friday was its commanding Queen now and Charles Xavier's current corrupted identity was wiped away and replaced with the original from precisely seven hours, forty-two minutes, and eight seconds ago without much more than a whimper from the absolutely laughable anti-intrusion software.

Scott and Reed leapt to action, the unmanned armor resisting an optic blast before it was wrapped by a stretchy body, neither man realizing the true threat was blinking back to this reality. Xavier’s memories quickly returning to him, his old reality overlapping the new. Control of his mind returning, while threats to the universe remained clear.

And Charles was pissed.

“An attack!” He yelled. The wheelchaired man threw his arms out, quickly locking the sections of the Illuminati's minds that held all of Mark’s control. Though he could not disable those with such prolonged exposure so quickly, especially with dazed Jean’s mental guards protecting them, he was able to free the Illuminati.

Mark got up to see the most powerful men in the world glaring at him.

“By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth… that was one of the most disturbing experiences of my life…” Dr Strange mumbled as his mind was freed.

Namor grabbed his trident, anger infused flexes. “I will rend the child’s head from his body. His existence will only know pain for the humiliation he’s caused me.”

“The battle is only beginning!” Xavier explained, hands on his temple as he entered a mental war with Jean. “I couldn’t free the others. Quickly! Incapacitate the boy!” He ordered, the scene erupting into even more chaos. Sue blocked Namor and an errant magic bolt from Strange from attacking Mark with her **** field. Black Bolt and Cyclops, two leaders of the mutants and inhumans now shooting their energy blasts at each other as one floated above the other. And Tony attempted to help Friday against Reed from under the table, commanding the AI to attack one of his oldest friends.

All while Mark’s whole world crumbled around him.

“No… this can’t be happening…”

“It is, your end is nigh you monstrous pervert!” The Atlantean barked at him from behind his pseudo-mother.

Sue was struggling, but her many battles with Namor over the years kept her in the know of how he would attack, bending her **** fields to avoid his intense blows and stay mentally strong. “STAY BACK!” She roared, shifting invisible fields beneath his feet to keep him off balance.

“Does anyone know the powers of this kid?” Tony yelled through the battle, keeping low under the table while Friday worked to free herself from Reed. “His mind control beat baldy and the striking redhead over there. You think it was technology?”

“He’s a mutant!” Xavier squeezed out through gritted teeth. “His touch ch-changes a brain’s makeup!”

“Intriguing. On a better person you could have been a **** for good.” A voice from Mark’s side suddenly appeared, making him yelp. His forces were busy so no one had noticed that Dr Strange had entered the astral plane, now a blue ghost floating by Mark. Easily able to get through Sue’s **** fields. “But alas, you are the villain we are stuck with. I call upon the Vapors of Valtorr!"

An orange circle appeared underneath the naked mutant, with a strange blue mist seeping from it quickly to entangle the terrified Mark and keep him in place.

“No!” Reed yelled, trying to stretch over to Strange’s floating body but stopped when he was zapped by a repulsor-backed taser. Scott, Jean and Sue were similarly pinned down, unable to reach Mark or Stephen in time before an incantation escaped his lips.

“Upon this boy, our friends in his clutch. Remove his power, his ability to touch!”

The worst part was Mark could feel it happen.

A magical surgeon removing his powers. Severing his ability to connect to another’s mind through just his fingers. It hurt, but not nearly as much as the feeling of loss. Perhaps he knew this would always happen, this or **** really. Grand plans of world domination always felt so far from his grip, even if they were a nice fantasy to live in for a time. It almost felt pointless to scream. He’d gambled everything and lost it all in one swoop so what else to do but take it.

His body was thrown to the ground, collapsing in an unceremonious heap.

“MAARRKK!!”

Flames erupted into the council room. Mark was ready to give up on everything, but Jean’s scream of rage **** him to lift his head again. The love he felt for her beating what had happened to him.

In such a brief moment the battlefield had changed so much. Illuminati bodies had been thrown this way and that. None dead, but all ragdolls of pain as they groaned at their own impacts. Mark’s harem stood tall though, all angry and shocked at their leader’s fall. But floating above all was Jean Grey, the powerful telepath now literally burning with rage. Large red wings of flame across her back and power emanating from every cell of her being. She blocked blasts and tridents, magic and thoughts, easily holding back the weak counter attacks from the men. Mark couldn’t help but stare in awe at the power he fucked.

Sue rushed over to her boy, stroking his hair and asking what hurt or what happened as any loving mother would.

But her voice didn’t reach his ears, instead Reed’s was what cut through his shock. “We’re leaving.” He bluntly told them, everyone quickly gathering around Mark before the block of energy that had taken them to the mountain returned.

And just as quickly they’d arrived, Mark found himself once more in the Baxter Building. Landing right where they’d left, on Mark’s throne of Reed and Sue’s bed.

The sight of Mark on the floor, Jean in a new form, and the bruised faces of everyone else stopped any level of celebration the others were feeling upon Mark’s return. Storm, Felicia and Johnny all staring at the sight.

“Um,” said Johnny awkwardly, “How’d it go?”

In her heart, Ororo wanted to go check on Mark more than anything. But her history told her to be wary of someone right now, summoning a small palm tornado and keeping a battle stance of her longest friend present. “Jean… this form. Are you…?”

The fiery rage of the Phoenix looked upon Storm, her eyes meeting real fear behind those pure white scleras. Nobody moved for a moment before the red flames began to die down, and by the time Jean had lowered herself to the floor the color of her outfit had changed back to its usual green. “I’m… alright Ro. The Phoenix beckons me, granted me but an ounce of its strength, but it has not returned… yet.” She sighed, Ororo patting her hand sympathetically.

“Good.” Reed cut in, “Because we have far bigger concerns. Everyone, follow m-!”

He couldn’t finish his sentence as his entire body had become a literal pancake against the wall. Jean’s wings may have ceased, but the fire in her heart had not. “You think we’d go anywhere with YOU?! Do you realize how colossally you’ve hurt our master?! Give me one good reason not to remove that brain you’re so proud of and turn you into a rug for the rest of your life!”

As his mouth was currently flattened, Scott was the one to talk. “Because we have minutes before any number of Avengers, X-Men, Inhumans, or more are bearing down on this place and we’ll need all the help we can get.” Her husband reminded her, and after a clicking of her tongue she let Reed go The scientist gasping for air once his body had returned to normal. Scott didn’t care, he was much more tactically minded and wanted to know the status of the most important asset. “Susan, how is Mark?”

She still just held him in her arms, having now been joined by both Storm and Felicia on the floor. All trying to get a response from the boy, Felicia grabbing his hands and trying to get him to squeeze her melons but nothing.

“He’s in shock. I think he’s been trying to use his powers on me but there’s nothing coming through. Like he’s lost a sense…” Sue told him, sadness in her voice as she tried not to cry at her son’s suffering. “Dammit! If only I knew anything about magic! I’ll rip Stephen’s dick off and shove it down his throat for ever casting such a horrible spell!”

“-Cough- Th-there’s no time…” said Reed as he shakily stood up. “We must get to my lab, it’s the most secure room in the building. There we can come up with a strategy.”

“Follow me! I’ll light the way!” Johnny excitedly said to be useful. His sister lifting their master on an invisible field and taking him through the door while his wives still doted on him.

The catatonic mutant just staring upwards as his life flashed before his eyes. Well, at least the fun parts. Which was about when Storm entered his life a few days ago. But still, it was a week he didn’t want to end… but how was this anything but?

He still had six heroes under his control, seven if you count the lifeless rockpile that used to be The Thing, but his opponents were now teams of individuals that could take on gods and devils. His best weapon, Jean’s mind, would need to combat many psychics in order to even keep everyone from turning back to their old selves. It was hopeless. Mark knew he’d be getting thrown into jail, or the raft, or into space, or just flat out killed for what he did to these people. Mark had gambled everything and lost to the house.

Johnny was still hurrying them through the halls, flying through with his flame powers while everyone fastly walked behind him. “This way, Reed’s lab is just down the h-MPH!”

The Human Torch’s mouth had just been webbed shut.

“Not so fast matchstick.” Came a voice from above them, “You guys have a secret sex party and don’t invite me? You know how into ropes I am!”

Landing with a thud onto the side of a wall and a crouched hunched over position was a red and blue man, looming over them in the main Baxter Building lounge they were passing. Sticking perfectly fine to the wall like his namesake would suggest. Mark almost regretted this was how he was meeting one of his more liked heroes of New York.

“I’m kidding of course. I’m literally brimming with disgust and rage right now about how fucked up this all is and joking’s my one response.” He pointed a red finger at Mark, “Apart from making sure that kid doesn’t hurt any of my friends ever again.”

Jean went to stop him but Johnny put his hand up. He burned the web from his mouth with an intense flame, “No, you should keep moving and protect Mark in case anyone stronger shows up. I’ve got Parker.”

“Wow, really? I know your mind controlled but using my name’s crossing a line.” Spider-Man once more quipped before cracking his knuckles, a quick mumble to himself “I’ll save you Johnny.”

The rest of the gang rushed off down the hall again as The Human Torch and Spider-Man began their battle. Sounds of webs and flames echoing along with their footsteps.