Surprise Attack on The Institute (Flashback) [pt. II]

Magik had been staring out the window, her focused attention on the situation outside had never wavered, so her soft but clearly emphatic swear word, so out of character for the dour but generally unfailingly polite Russian, drew everyone's attention.

That it was instantly followed by the unmistakable sounds of high energy weapons fire, had the more martially inclined teens rushing for the windows, **** to see what was going on while the rest backed away from the windows and huddled closer together.

All around the lawn were six sleek, clearly high-tech black aircraft almost shaped like hearts without wings, simply hovering in place with blue energy emanating from the twin horizontal bars of their engines. Each were unleashing blasts of bright gold energy-fire at the X-Men and Shield agents alike.

Three lowered down to the ground and disgorged squads of soldiers so heavily armored that they looked like nothing so much as faceless robots, though black skin could be glimpsed at the joints and small slits across their chests and arms.

Energy rifles, crackling with ominous yellow energy, were raised in unison as the warriors poured from the ships.

The initial volley was devastating. Yellow blasts tore through the air, searing the lush green lawn black and igniting a nearby cluster of trees. A hapless SHIELD agent, caught in the open, was struck full in the chest. He flew back, a broken marionette, before landing with a sickening thud, his body unmoving.

Pandemonium erupted.

SHIELD agents scrambled for cover, their training kicking in as they returned fire with an impressive display of professionalism. However, the Wakandan energy rifles were superior in every way, their blasts carving through the agents' measly bulletproof vests like tissue paper, while the Wakandan soldiers themselves shrugged off bullets as if they were mere pinpricks. Screams filled the air as more agents fell, their bodies littering the once pristine lawn.

In the midst of the chaos, the X-Men sprang into action.

Wolverine crouched low, his body coiled like a spring. A guttural growl rumbled deep in his throat. His powerful muscles tensed, a predator ready to pounce. In a blur of yellow and black, he leapt into the fray, claws slashing at the armored soldiers.

Bobby Drake, the ever-adaptable lceman, swept forward on a smooth, curving path of ice, weaving through the chaos like an ethereal skater. With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a barrage of icy blasts, transforming hapless Wakandan soldiers into shimmering statues, "Ice to meet you, gents!"

Rogue, a busty goddess in green and gold, took to the skies, effortlessly deflecting energy blasts with her invulnerability. She snatched a Wakandan soldier off the lawn with ease and with a casual lob, sent him soaring like a discarded ragdoll, his trajectory ending it bone-jarring thud somewhere in the distant woods.

"Ya'll picked the wrong house to mess with!" Rogue declared, smirking as she watched the soldier vanish into the distance.

"Ol' Remy ain't feeling so playful now," Gambit muttered, his Cajun drawl laced with a hint of grim determination. His trademark staff whistled through the air as he expertly parried a Wakandan's attack. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the butt of the staff crashing into the soldier's chest, the impact sending him sprawling. A well-placed throw transformed the soldier's own energy rifle into a glowing orb, pulsing with explosive potential. Gambit smirked, a sardonic glint in his eye, as the repurposed weapon detonated with a satisfying boom, showering the surrounding area with molten debris.

Beast, a blur of fur and muscle, channeled his inner acrobat, flipping and twisting through the attacking soldiers. His powerful slaps sent them flying with a sickening thud, their armor no match for his superlative strength. "Allow me to demonstrate the finer points of leverage!" Beast announced as he sent another soldier sprawling.

Jubilee, young and inexperienced, played a more cautious role. Dodging blasts and weaving between combatants, she launched colorful bursts of pyrotechnics, momentarily blinding and disorienting the invaders.

"Take that! And that! Oh man, there's so many of them!" Jubilee shouted, a mix of excitement and nerves in her voice.

Magma, her body now a molten form of living lava, erupted from the ground behind the attacking line. Geysers of molten rock spewed forth, catching the soldiers off guard and sending them scrambling in retreat.

"Behold the fury of the earth's molten core! Flee, lest ye be consumed!" Magma's voice resonated with the grandeur of a Roman noblewoman, her words commanding and fierce.

Colossus, a towering behemoth of steel and muscle, charged out of the mansion doors, a roar echoing across the battlefield as he plowed into the fray.

"Rue the day you dared to attack this school!" he bellowed, his metallic fist crashing down on an unlucky soldier. "You face the strength of Colossus!"

Wolverine was slicing through the chaos with ferocious intensity.

"Come on, bub! Is that all ya got?" he snarled, eyes blazing with rage as he carved a path through the soldiers.

From the mansion's rec room, the students watched in stunned silence. The idyllic world they knew had been shattered in a matter of seconds.

Wiggling that thong clad butt, Pixie whined, "What do we do!?!"

"We get to the basement! It's secure and reinforced!" someone cried.

"We can't even access that without biometrics! It's not supposed to exist!" was an instant response.

"Fuck that!" Shouted Hellion and with a mighty telekinetic push, he launched the nearest couch through the window, shattering the glass in a shower of glittering shards. "We're gonna fight!"

Hisako didn't hesitate. She was afraid but her determination to protect her fellow students outweighed any fear. She called upon her ancestors and her armor formed around her body. Ruby red energy lifted her off the floor as she ran for the window Hellion had just destroyed.

Sunspot, his skin as black as a black hole and yet radiating light like a miniature star, raised his hand and blasted forth a sunbeam of dazzling golden energy that sent a squad of soldiers sprawling, their armor glowing with heat.

Meanwhile, Magik, a vision of arcane power, summoned her soulsword and carved a shimmering portal in the air. With a coordinated leap, she, Pixie, and Prodigy stepped through the portal, disappearing into the heart of the battle raging on the lawn.

The others, a ragtag group of teenagers thrust into a nightmare, surged forward, their mutant abilities flaring to life.

And then...

...every single X-Man, SHIELD Agent, and student froze.

The battle, the shouts, the screams – all halted in a single, agonizing moment. Bodies locked in mid-action, expressions frozen in a grotesque tableau. Rogue, her fist cocked to deliver a bone-crunching blow to the mutant terrorist/freedom fighter otherwise known as Mystique who was somehow in the midst of this unprecedented Wakandan strike on the Xavier Institute.