Julian had fought his way through the fog, literally, and for a moment he ended up a little bit away from the others. Not far, but far enough that he was on his own for the moment. The only good news was that he only had one soldier to fight against. Well, one soldier and a dark God, anyway.
They're all gonna die, a voice whispered in his head.
"Shut. Up," Julian spat out through gritted teeth, glaring at the soldier he was locking horns with. The soldier only grinned darkly at him in return.
They'll all gonna die and there's nothing you can do about it.
"I said shut. Up!" That was followed with a hard right that caught mid-swing. All Julian could do was grunt loudly as his arm was wrenched and twisted.
What's wrong, kid? Can't stand the truth? You don't have powers, kid, not that it would make much of a difference anyway. It didn't for Brian, Jay, Laurie, DJ, or any of the others. Hell, if Emma hadn't kicked your sorry ass into overdrive, Laura would've died in your arms. And it was only because X-23 was willing to do everything that you wouldn't that Cessily got saved.
Some hero you are. No wonder they all dumped your ass in the end.
You used to parade around like you were a God, thought the world was yours. So tell me, how does it feel to know you're so far short of being a God that nothing you do will ever matter?
Despite the pain, Julian stopped struggling after a moment as a realization hit him. Something someone once said to him-- that 'the X-Men are a lesson in humility'-- finally made sense, as did a few other things.
Apocalypse. The Phoenix. Magneto. Mr. Sinister. Whoever was behind M-Day. Every time mutants tried to play God, it blew up in their faces spectacularly. A lesson Scott and Emma failed to learn, considering how they thought they could overcome extinction by using someone else's baby.
The thought of the 'messiah child' suddenly mad him sick.
And he, himself, who thought he was invincible, only to be shown one thing...
"You're right, I'm not a God. I'm not a hero. I'm a goddamn X-Man!" Julian punched the soldier in the mouth, twice, then kneed him in the stomach. It was enough for him to finally pull his arm free, though he didn't let up. He pressed on, throwing one punch after another.
And, of course, he wasn't going to shut up while doing it.
"You know what that means?" Aside from making that guy eat fist, anyway. "It means that I'm just a mutant. Just a person, as screwed up as any other. It's not about powers, its about taking the talents I was born with, and use them to make things better tomorrow than they are today."
Grabbing the soldier by his uniform, Julian slammed him against the side of the shelter. Repeatedly. And each time was punctuated more talking. He was on a roll with this speech. "Not because I think I'm a God. Not because I need to be a hero. Not to make humanity feel inferior-- though that's an added bonus. But to show people what's possible when they use everything they've got." And fuck you both, Scott and Emma, for forgetting that. "And today I'm going to show you that I don't need my powers to raise some hell."
He reared back his fist to throw another punch, and there was a faint green flash of his eyes. His lips curled into an absolutely wicked grin, and he unloaded a punch that hit the force of someone twice his size.
That was still just a spark, just a glimpse of the power that he was still largely cut off from. The Nightmare King was still in his head, but his hold was slipping. But he didn't care. For the first time in a long time, he felt like himself again.
And he would have, even if he never had gotten his powers back. "...but having them certainly helps."
tl;dr "How Julian Got His Groove Back"
They're all gonna die, a voice whispered in his head.
"Shut. Up," Julian spat out through gritted teeth, glaring at the soldier he was locking horns with. The soldier only grinned darkly at him in return.
They'll all gonna die and there's nothing you can do about it.
"I said shut. Up!" That was followed with a hard right that caught mid-swing. All Julian could do was grunt loudly as his arm was wrenched and twisted.
What's wrong, kid? Can't stand the truth? You don't have powers, kid, not that it would make much of a difference anyway. It didn't for Brian, Jay, Laurie, DJ, or any of the others. Hell, if Emma hadn't kicked your sorry ass into overdrive, Laura would've died in your arms. And it was only because X-23 was willing to do everything that you wouldn't that Cessily got saved.
Some hero you are. No wonder they all dumped your ass in the end.
You used to parade around like you were a God, thought the world was yours. So tell me, how does it feel to know you're so far short of being a God that nothing you do will ever matter?
Despite the pain, Julian stopped struggling after a moment as a realization hit him. Something someone once said to him-- that 'the X-Men are a lesson in humility'-- finally made sense, as did a few other things.
Apocalypse. The Phoenix. Magneto. Mr. Sinister. Whoever was behind M-Day. Every time mutants tried to play God, it blew up in their faces spectacularly. A lesson Scott and Emma failed to learn, considering how they thought they could overcome extinction by using someone else's baby.
The thought of the 'messiah child' suddenly mad him sick.
And he, himself, who thought he was invincible, only to be shown one thing...
"You're right, I'm not a God. I'm not a hero. I'm a goddamn X-Man!" Julian punched the soldier in the mouth, twice, then kneed him in the stomach. It was enough for him to finally pull his arm free, though he didn't let up. He pressed on, throwing one punch after another.
And, of course, he wasn't going to shut up while doing it.
"You know what that means?" Aside from making that guy eat fist, anyway. "It means that I'm just a mutant. Just a person, as screwed up as any other. It's not about powers, its about taking the talents I was born with, and use them to make things better tomorrow than they are today."
Grabbing the soldier by his uniform, Julian slammed him against the side of the shelter. Repeatedly. And each time was punctuated more talking. He was on a roll with this speech. "Not because I think I'm a God. Not because I need to be a hero. Not to make humanity feel inferior-- though that's an added bonus. But to show people what's possible when they use everything they've got." And fuck you both, Scott and Emma, for forgetting that. "And today I'm going to show you that I don't need my powers to raise some hell."
He reared back his fist to throw another punch, and there was a faint green flash of his eyes. His lips curled into an absolutely wicked grin, and he unloaded a punch that hit the force of someone twice his size.
That was still just a spark, just a glimpse of the power that he was still largely cut off from. The Nightmare King was still in his head, but his hold was slipping. But he didn't care. For the first time in a long time, he felt like himself again.
And he would have, even if he never had gotten his powers back. "...but having them certainly helps."
Now to really get himself back into this fight...