Chapter 13: Final Skirmishes

The fight hadn't started the way Mustang would have preferred. Hell once Magneto had started talking to Jacobs nothing had been going the way Mustang preferred. The Central troops had just been wiped out, the conditions of Hawkeye and Hughes were unknown, and now he and Major Armstrong were facing down the strongest of Magneto's forces. To top it all off that walking sewer Toad had…slimed…his hands, leaving him unable to use his alchemy with Pyro running loose. Even though he had complete confidence in the Major he didn't want to leave him to face Juggernaut by himself so he hadn't moved yet.

"You need'nt worry about me sir. I shall be all right." Armstrong replied, seemingly reading Mustangs thoughts as he tossed his jacket to the side. Mustang nodded and began to move away from the two of them.

"You're going to be a lot of things, but all right isn't one of them." Juggernaut promised, ignoring the Colonel. Mustang didn't look back as Juggernaut walked towards Armstrong, moving towards what was left of one of the tanks.

Finding an area that wasn't razor sharp or still burning Mustang swung one of his slime encased hands against the tank's armor. There was a dull thud when the two substances met but the slime didn't break. Undeterred Mustang swung again, harder this time. Again there was a dull thud but he saw a chip of it fall off. Encouraged he began beating the side of the tank with foul substance as hard as he dared. After several more hits there was a loud crack from the slime. Swinging one more time the slime finally shattered, freeing his hand. Chunks of the stuff were still stuck to his glove but he was now able to move his fingers. More importantly the array on his glove was undamaged and none of it was stuck to the flint in the fingertips. He held his other hand away from him turned his face away and snapped his fingers. He wasn't going to try to blow the slime off completely, that was just asking to take the hand with it. All he needed was enough force to weaken the slime, and the banging on the tank had shown him just how much the substance could take. There was a flash and a small bang but thankfully no shrapnel. Turning back Mustang saw a large crack running down the center of the chunk where he had set the explosion. Knowing that was all he needed Mustang swung the hand into the tank, shattering the slime and freeing his other hand.

"That's one problem taken care of." Mustang said to himself, wiping the residue off his gloves.

"And one bloody big one to go." An oddly accented voice stated from behind him. Battle instincts taking over Mustang threw himself to the ground just as a ball of fire raced over he head and slammed into the tank. He covered his head to keep any flames that made it down this far from setting his hair on fire but to his surprise he didn't feel anything. Chancing a look up that the fireball seemed to be stuck to the side of the tank. Stranger still was that it was attached to a chain, also made completely out of fire.

(Okay maybe not so strange.) Mustang thought as he remembered just who he was dealing with.

"Had to let you get your fancy gloves back into play." Pyro stated as he drew the fireball and chain back to him. Looking at his opponent Mustang saw that in addition to the giant medieval style flail he had created with his right flamethrower Pyro also 'held' a fire scythe with the left. "Wouldn't have been able to show who's the best when it comes to fire if both of your hands tied behind your back now would I? Figured you deserved a chance to loose with some dignity." Mustang's eye twitched but other then that his face remained impassive.

"How very noble of you." He said sarcastically and brought his fingers together. Pyro saw his hand start to move and rather then wait and see what happened he swung his fire flail in an arc that would make it land right on top of Mustang. Knowing he needed to move now the Colonel pushed himself to his feet, dove and rolled forward, making the fireball miss him by inches. Ignoring the intense heat he could feel behind him Mustang stood, brought up his hands and snapped his fingers. The ball part of the flail and half of the chain disappeared in a blinding flash and when it cleared the fire chain was lying on the ground like a regular chain that had been cut in two. He couldn't focus on how odd that was, he had other problems at the moment. Like one certain fire crazed mutant.

"Don't mention it mate." Pyro stated and swung the scythe he had created. The blow was telegraphed and Mustang was easily able to duck under it. He watched as Pyro followed through with the weapon, hitting the tank he had used to get rid of the slime constricting his hands. The fire blade continued to move in its swung arc, not pausing as moved along the length of the vehicle. Mustang saw the tip of the weapon coming out the other side but thought Pyro was just trying to intimidate him by making his powers seem stronger then they actually were. That thought began to change when he saw a bright red line along the path the scythe had taken. Then it disappeared completely when the portion of the tank shifted slightly, and slid off completely, almost hitting Mustang. The Colonel jumped out of the way to make sure he wasn't squashed, then looked over at Pyro.

(All right. I'll admit it. I did not see that one coming.) Mustang thought to himself as he glared at Pyro. He had expected the fire-wielding mutant to be able to do quite a bit with the flames he controlled, but upping their temperature to that kind of heat wasn't one of them. Oh well, it was just another problem he had to take into consideration, nothing more.

"Can't do that now can ya?" Pyro said smugly as he swung the scythe again. This time Mustang didn't flinch and snapped his fingers, causing the entire length of the fire weapon to be engulfed in the explosion. The blast wave snuffed out the fire but that didn't hinder Pyro, who created a spear to replace it. "You don't have that kind of precision, that type of control." He mocked as he threw the spear forward. Mustang created another blast in front of the spear's flight path, obliterating it. "You can only make flames pop up where you want them, after that you've got nothing. Me on the other hand…" Activating his both his flamethrowers he molded the fire into the shape of a gigantic snake, one that had equally gigantic fangs. "I can do anything I damn well please with it."

He gestured his hand forward and the fire snake responded, lunging at Mustang with its mouth wide open. Still not about to be scared into moving the Colonel casually snapped his fingers and blew the head of the snake clean off, along with half its body. Unfortunately unlike with the weapons beforehand the snake simply grew a new head and continued its lunge at Mustang through the clearing smoke, faster then before. Now needing to move unless he wanted to be burnt to a crisp Mustang quickly ran to the side, making the flame creation take a 'bite' out of the ground instead of him. It quickly brought its head back up and turned towards Mustang, coiling for another lunge. The Colonel wasn't about to give it the chance. Noticing Pyro's change of tactics Mustang knew he would have to extinguish every part of the snake to keep it from attacking again. Creating a shockwave powerful enough to do that would injure him as well so he would have to adjust his tactics accordingly. After calculating what length of the snake would have to be extinguished to stay out of Pyro's range Mustang created a very precise line of instability along the ground. When he snapped his fingers this time the sudden change in air pressure combined with a wave of dirt and dust that managed to smother almost the entire length of the snake almost all the way back to its creator.

"Not bad my boy, not bad." Pyro said, taking the snake's destruction in stride. "Thing is though…" With a foowwshh he activated his flamethrowers, this time the streams of flame lying on the ground like pieces of rope. "I can do this all day." He finished and swung the streams of fire forward like whips. The first one came down from above like the flail had, giving Mustang barely enough time to get out of the way and cut the whip in half with another explosion. That gave him just enough time to duck under the second fire whip as it was about to take his head off like a sword. A second explosion extinguished it but it just regrew to its former length like the first one had. "And you know what the best part is?" He asked as he drew the whips back to swing again. "Unlike you I'm not limited to what I can make." He finished arrogantly. Mustang heard the fire on the tank behind him pick up in intensity and turned just in time to see flames jumping off the vehicle and at him.

"Shit!" He cursed as he tried to jump out of the way. He mostly succeeded and the flames only brushed the arm of his uniform jacket. He clamped down on part of the sleeve that was burning with one hand to put the flames out and used his other hand to make an explosion that blew out the flames covering the tank. Of course he knew that was only half of his problem, turning around quickly and snapping his fingers almost blindly. He was correct that Pyro was trying to hit him in the back, those whips now coming at him like spears. The resulting explosion was bigger then he had wanted and actually needed to flinch away and cover his eyes from it since he was so close. The fire whips were extinguished but he still had the same problem as before. Glancing through the clearing haze he saw that Pyro was now laughing and molding his fire into a gigantic axe.

"Almost made you blow yourself to bits! Even you got to admit it, that was a clever one!" Pyro exclaimed, still laughing. Mustang glared at the mutant angrily. "What you think you can do better? I'd like you see you try!"

"You got it." Mustang answered calmly and snapped his fingers. All during the fight he hadn't been able to concentrate shifting the air composition where it would do the most good. With Pyro's pause to mock him Mustang managed to prepare his target. When Pyro challenged him to do better Mustang saw the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. He'd be able to win this fight and in the process wipe that arrogant look off the mutant's face. All thanks to one small but powerful explosion, right next to the fuel tank on Pyro's back.

Mustang had fully expected the chain reaction to be fast and violent, with the fuel exploding all over Pyro and setting the mutant ablaze. With his concentration broken the command he held over the fires would end and Mustang would be able to trigger a second explosion, one that would blow out the fire before Pyro was too badly injured and knocking him unconscious in the process. What he honestly did not expect was for the explosion he had used to cause a much bigger one and create a twenty-foot tall fireball that completely consumed Pyro and a good portion of the area around him. Whatever had been in that pack was more volatile then he thought it would be and it blocked his view of Pyro so he wouldn't be able to help him. It was either let him burn to death or create an explosion so large it would disintegrate the mutant. As he stood there trying to figure out the best course of action he saw the problem solve itself for him as the fire began to shift and move in unnatural ways. On the ground the fire separated like a stage curtain being pulled aside and standing there in the middle of the inferno was an unharmed Pyro. Well not quite unharmed. His hair had been completely burned off but from what Mustang could see of his face it was untouched and his posture didn't seem like someone who had just been seriously burned.

"Oh come on now Colonel, give me a little bit of credit!" Pyro said, noticing Mustang's look of surprise. "Did you really think someone with powers like mine wouldn't have a suit that was fireproof? I may not be a bleeding rocket scientist but I'm not stupid!"

Well that explained that much. Of course there were fabrics that were fire-resistant but to Mustang's knowledge no one had ever come up with something that was truly fireproof. That threw his first plan completely out the window. Pyro's suit rendered him immune to fire damage and with the flames constant shifting around in random movements the composition of the air around him was constantly in flux. That meant building up enough oxygen for a useful explosion would be almost impossible. And that was if his target just stood there and did nothing to stop him. Of course that happening were exactly zero.

"But if you want ta take off the kiddy gloves." Pyro stated as he raised his arms, proving Mustang right. Several chunks of flame separated themselves from the main fire, becoming flattened out and jagged. "That's fine by me." The separated flames began to spin. Slowly at first but picking up speed until the blades were no longer visible, just like the saws they were imitating.

(Looks like it's down to plan B.) Mustang told himself. He'd been formulating this plan since he had met the fire-wielding mutant in the castle's library, certain they would be on opposite sides of a battle. He had never tried something like this before but he was certain it would work, he just hoped Pyro wouldn't catch on until it was too late. Not moving from the spot and taking a deep breath the Colonel glared at Pyro, daring him to try something. He took the bait and threw his hands forward, concentrating on the arrogant looks on Mustang's face, not the glowing arrays on his gloves. The fire saw blades obeyed the mental command of their master, launching themselves at Mustang not in a straight line but with random curves and height changes. He could see what Pyro was attempting and under normal circumstances it would have been a problem to intercept so many fast moving and unpredictable targets. Today though, he didn't even move his arms to let him snap his fingers. Pyro was debating whether the Colonel had thrown in the towel or just gone mad when the blades got within ten feet of him, and promptly vanished like blown out candles. Mustang stood there smirking as Pyro's jaw dropped and he just stood there uncomprehending.

"How in the bloody….?' Pyro started, unable to understand it. Mustang hadn't even snapped his fingers, he hadn't even moved his hands. So how did he managed to stop all of them at once, just by looking at them? Thinking it was a fluke Pyro tried again, this time recreating the axe he had before Mustang had blown up his fuel tank and swinging it at the motionless Colonel. Again when the fire got close to Mustang it fizzled out, neatly cleaving half of the blade off. With the smirk never leaving his face Mustang began to slowly walk towards Pyro. "Don't come any closer!" He shouted and sent a large stream of fire at Mustang head on. When it got close to the Colonel it acted just like a stream of water would when it came to an obstacle it couldn't knock over, breaking in two and flowing around its target leaving the man unharmed. "Stay back!" He shouted as he was becoming more confused, and angrier, the closer Mustang got. Deciding that defense would be a better option he set up a wall of flames in Mustang's path, figuring he would have to switch to the offense to get through and leave himself open. Mustang didn't even change the pace of his walk as a hole opened up in the wall and allowed him to step through just as if Pyro had done it himself. Now starting to feel desperate Pryo raised his hands over his head and every bit of fire around them rose up and concentrated itself into on gigantic fireball right over the Colonel. Other then glancing up at the giant floating inferno he paid it no mind and continued walking. "BURN DAMN YOU!" He screamed, bringing the entire thing down on Mustang's head.

It was certainly one of the most unique sights Mustang had ever seen. Being in the heart of a roaring inferno, surrounded by flames but untouched allowed him to watch the fire twist and swirl around him was not something he thought he would ever be able to see. But while his new trick kept the flames themselves away from him and allowed him to see this impressive sight it did nothing with the heat, he felt like a roasting chicken inside here. Of course that in itself was a good thing since he only felt like he was roasting, not actually bursting into flames and being cooked alive. As interesting as the view was in here Mustang didn't stick around to admire it, continuing his slow walk until he had finally exited the sphere of fire. As luck would have it he came out not twenty feet from a bewildered looking Pyro. That bewilderment was quickly mixed in with outright panic as he saw that except for sweating slightly from he heat Mustang had come out of that mass of solid fire completely unscathed.

"That's not possible!" Pryo screamed as Mustang kept walking towards him, ignoring his ranting. "There's now way you could have….HUFF HUUFF ACCCKK!" He stopped mid-sentence and grabbed his throat as he found himself suddenly unable to breath when Mustang got within ten feet of him. The Colonel didn't seem to have any concern about Pyro's well-being, as a matter of fact he stopped and looked behind him. As he suspected with the mutant's concentration broken the fireball collapsed and mostly burned itself out, leaving a patch of ground on fire but no flames anywhere else. Satisfied that things were going well enough Mustang dropped half of the air bubble around him that was devoid of oxygen so he and Pyro could breath, but leave his back covered in case he was attacked from behind. After letting Pyro take a couple of deep breaths Mustang grabbed the collar of his costume, almost choking him a second time, and drew back his fist.

"So, shall we start discussing that title now?" Mustang asked, the smile on his face turning almost evil.

"Oh bugger." Pyro managed to groan before Mustang's fist hit him. The Colonel tried to not enjoy it too much as he punched the mutant as hard as he could. He let go when the punch landed and Pyro fell flat on his back, unmoving. Positive the mutant was truly unconscious Mustang looked back towards the only source of noise left in the area. Armstrong was still on his feet and it looked like he had somehow knocked Juggernaut's helmet off but that seemed to be the only thing that the Major had going for him. He was covered in bruises, bleeding from multiple cuts and his face looked like it had been on the receiving end of some devastating punches while the worst his opponent had suffered seemed to be just getting his armor dirty. That didn't deter Armstrong as he lowered his shoulder and charged forward.

Charging straight at an enemy that had so far had been unaffected by everything that had been thrown at him would normally been considered foolish, to say the least. Armstrong was well aware of these facts, but also knew that conventional thinking had to be completely discarded when facing an opponent like this. He had learned that the hard way in Reesembol and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. He stood and waited as Juggernaut approached, knowing he would have to let the mercenary make the first move so he could counter it by surprise. Juggernaut did not speed up and did not make any move to throw a punch, merely stopping when he was toe to toe with the Major. Again it was an odd feeling to have someone actually glaring down at him but he wasn't about to be intimidated and glared right back. For several long tense seconds the stare down went on in silence, neither moving, waiting for the other to lose their nerve and back away. When it became obvious that it wouldn't end like that Juggernaut broke the silence.

"So you going to do the smart thing and call it a day?" He asked, not breaking his glare.

"Not just yet. You're still standing." Armstrong replied evenly. Juggernaut responded by laughing.

"I've gone toe to toe with the Hulk, and won." He boasted. "You really think I'm going to be afraid of some wimp with a couple of cheap tricks?" He asked mockingly. Even though he didn't know just what that boast meant this was the chance Armstrong needed.

"You certainly hide your fear very well." The Major responded. Juggernaut stopped smiling and snarled. Watching the shoulders Armstrong knew where the first punch was coming from and as soon as Juggernaut threw the uppercut he was able to twist to the side to avoid it. Not deterred by the miss Juggernaut swung his arm, trying to backhand the Major. Again Armstrong was able to avoid it by dropping into a crouch, punching the ground with both fists as he did. The soil underneath Juggernaut's rippled and from it a giant stone hand rose up lifted him off the ground. Knowing he could shatter the rock easily Armstrong had the hand physically throw Juggernaut to buy him time. The landing caused a minor ground tremor and formed a small crater but Juggernaut was already getting up. That was fine with Armstrong, who punched the ground with both hands again, stood up, and ran right for Juggernaut.

"That's not gonna work." Juggernaut growled when he saw what Armstrong had done with that second punch. The Major's arms were sheathed in metal armor up to his shoulders not all that dissimilar from what Al's arms looked like. As he got closer he drew back one arm and threw a punch at Juggernaut's midsection. The armor covering the arm crumpled and shattered but Armstrong had controlled the punch in such a way that aside from a slight jolting of his arm he was not injured. "Didn't even feel that." Juggernaut gloated, expecting Armstrong to be angry that he wasn't doubled over 'as planned'.

"Then I suppose you won't mind if I try it again." Armstrong quickly stated as he threw a punch with his other arm, aimed at Juggernaut's face. Even if he hadn't been caught off guard with that comment Juggernaut would have let him do it anyway, just to see the idiot break his hand. What actually happened was a surprise even for him as the metal around Armstrong's hand not only broke but seemed to disintegrate when the blow landed. From the gauntlet up to the forearm the armor seemed to explode into small flake like shards that continued to fly forward due to momentum. When Armstrong pulled his arm back the front of Juggernaut's helmet and chest armor was covered in metal shards and if he had succeeded….

"Bleech! Phaaa! Pffffffttt!" Sure enough a good deal of them had made it inside Juggernaut's helmet. "Great choice of armor dumbass!" He shouted as he kept on spitting out metal shards he had almost swallowed. "Maybe you should try paper next time!"

"Actually it did precisely what I wanted it to." Armstrong said as he backed up and removed a piece of the armor up near his shoulder.

"What the hell kind of armor do you want to break that easily?" Juggernaut asked incredulously.

"The kind that's made out of magnesium." Armstrong answered simply and threw the piece he had removed, the one that was made out of flint. Even if Juggernaut had known that he still wouldn't have been able to react in time to stop it or get out of the way. Armstrong didn't know just what Juggernaut's armor was made of but he knew it was more then hard enough to make the flint spark when it struck. He was correct in his assumption and when the flint struck the metal near the eyehole of the helmet sparks flew and the effects were near instantaneous. The magnesium shards touched by the sparks ignited, with their heat igniting the shards around them, which in turn ignited more. In the blink of an eye Juggernaut was giving off so much light Armstrong had to use his hand to block the worst of it. And that was just on the outside. On the inside….

"AHHHHHHH!" Juggernaut bellowed as he instinctively started clawing at his helmet and chest. He knocked away enough of the burning metal so Armstrong could lower his hand but there was still the surreal sight of light pouring out of the helmet's eye and mouth holes. "You stupid asshole this is not funny! NOT FUNNY!" He screamed as he began staggering around, trying to get away from the light. He sounded more annoyed then in pain but Armstrong had expected that. He might be immune to physical damage but his senses were not. Unfortunately it also made him unpredictable as he started wildly swinging at where he had last seen Armstrong. He had to move to get out of the other man's much longer reach but when he stepped aside Juggernaut turned to match him. He might be blind but he could obviously still hear footsteps.

"I suggest that you surrender now." Armstrong stated as dodged the wildly thrown punches. "The longer you waste time the more serious the damage to your eyes. If you stop we can have Winry treat you and…"

"The hell with that!" Juggernaut yelled as he stopped in his tracks and grabbed his helmet. With one swift motion he yanked the dome off his head and started grabbing furiously at the still burning metal on his face and neck. After getting rid of enough to make the light less then blinding he turned to glare at Armstrong. As the Major had expected none of his skin or even his hair showed any sign of burning, not even a singe. What he had not excepted were the eyes. They were completely clear and focused, and they left no doubt that Juggernaut was now very angry. Armstrong had been wrong, the mercenary's senses were just as invulnerable as his skin. "My turn." The giant growled before swinging his helmet like a club. Armstrong put his arms up to block but the helmet connected, shattered the rest of his improvised armor, knocked him off his feet and sent him flying through the air. He landed on his back and could feel himself skidding along and digging up the ground as he did but he didn't focus on the pain.

(Don't stay down, not for a moment.) He told himself as he skidded to a stop. He couldn't give Juggernaut any additional advantages. Getting to one knee he took a quick look where Juggernaut was and saw that he had tossed his helmet away and while he wasn't running he was stomping his way towards him at a fast clip. Hoping to knock the giant off balance Armstrong punched the ground once. There was a flash and a cube of rock jumped from the ground as if it had been loaded on a spring. Standing quickly Armstrong waited until it reached the peak of its jump before punching it as well. There was a second flash and a super sized version of his stone spear headed straight towards Juggernaut, who made no attempt to get out of the way. The spear hit him in the face but he didn't flinch, even when it exploded not into shards of rock but a giant cloud of dust so thick he couldn't see out of it.

"Way to go pal, you just bought yourself two whole seconds." Juggernaut's sarcastic voice stated from within the dust cloud, the loud rumble of his footsteps never slowing.

"And that is all that I need." Armstrong replied, punching the ground a third time. Using Juggernauts voice and footfalls to judge the distance the Major opened up a thirty-foot pit under his opponent's feet. He heard Juggernaut's surprised shout, echoing slightly as he fell, and once the ground shuddered from his landing Armstrong twisted his fist, sealing the hole and creating a span of solid granite that surrounded Juggernaut for thirty feet in every direction. Knowing that he didn't need air Armstrong wasn't worried about him suffocating and he was sure it would take even Juggernaut some time to dig his way out. By then things would have calmed down and Magneto would be able to bring him under control. Armstrong quickly learned never to tempt fate as he felt the ground beneath his feet rumble slightly. It was followed by a second, stronger tremor. Then there was a third, and a fourth. Soon the ground was shaking so much Armstrong was having trouble keeping his balance. Finally with one last heaving tremor the ground over Juggernaut's prison exploded outward as the giant's hand burst from underneath. Taking a hold on the surface Juggernaut slowly pulled himself back above ground. Once he got his second arm free he climbed out of the hole completely he faced the stunned Armstrong.

"Yeah like that's never been tried before. Why don't you just give up?" Juggernaut taunted and he sprinted towards Armstrong, fist raised. Determined to hold his ground Armstrong set his feet, punched his gauntlets together, and gestured for Juggernaut to attack him. The first punch was heavily telegraphed and Armstrong was able to dodge it easily. The ones that followed were another matter. Despite his immense size Juggernaut moved with the speed and reaction time of a normal sized person who was in good fighting shape, which meant he was moving far faster then he had any right to. Despite that Armstrong was able to duck and weave through his punches like a boxer waiting for just the right moment. When he ducked under one hook he saw it and swung with a right cross of his own. The punch connected with Juggernaut's jaw and like before the impact was not what the larger man expected. Instead of the gauntlet flying apart and Armstrong's hand breaking there was small explosion that made Juggernaut flinch. It was only in surprise but it was enough to allow Armstrong to swing with his left, which created an even bigger explosion then before. This time ready Juggernaut didn't flinch but the flash was enough to disorient him long enough for Armstrong to backpedal slightly. Creating nitroglycerine inside the spikes on his right gauntlet with had been dangerous, creating even more inside the ones on his left was bordering on insanity. But it created the distraction Armstrong needed to try his last idea.

He had come into this fight with three ideas on how to immobilize his super powered opponent. The first two had been unsuccessful and he now had to resort to using pure brute strength. Against someone like Juggernaut that would normally be futile but he had shown he could be taken by surprise and that did make him vulnerable, however slight. After checking to make sure the arrays on his gauntlets were in one piece he went into action.

"Members of the Armstrong family are taught to never give up!" He bellowed back at the challenge as he crouched down and punched the ground with both hands. Between the two of them something shot upwards at almost blinding speed and when Juggernaut got a good look he found himself staring at the upper half of a giant statue that bared a perfect resemblance to Major Armstrong, one with his right fist drawn back and aimed right at him. The statue held the pose for a second before that fist came flying down at him. In response Juggernaut smirked and drew his own right fist back. This is what Armstrong had been hoping for. Juggernaut would treat this attack as a joke and not throw his punch at full force. On the other hand he not only had the statue throw its punch with all its might but he decided to employ a tactic Ed had used beforehand. The entire right arm of the statue was made of diamond, covered with a thin layer of stone. It might not be able to harm Juggernaut but Armstrong was betting that between the force behind the statute's punch, the unforgiving material the arm was made out of, and Juggernaut's half hearted counterattack he would at least be able to knock the mercenary off balance. Once off balance a follow up blow would hopefully end this fight.

"Well then I guess it's time you learned some new lessons." Juggernaut said and threw his punch. Juggernaut's fist collided head on with the much larger fist of the statue, and shattered it like it was made of glass. Not content with just winning the test of strength Juggernaut kept the blow moving forward, shattering more and more of the arm and he followed through with the punch. When he finally brought his fist down the statue was now missing most of its arm, and almost seemed to be reeling away from Juggernaut in pain. Of course he couldn't let the fun stop there so he drew back his left fist and threw a punch at the statue's stomach. The blow didn't break the stone it was made of so much as make it explode, forcing Armstrong to hold up his hands to protect himself from all the flying debris. Even so he could still feel himself being pelted and cut from the storm of rock. In a way it was a good thing that he was covering his face because he never got to see the final blow Juggernaut inflicted on the statue. With the lower torso gone the rest of the monument began to fall forward and rather then get out of the way Juggernaut stood perfectly still. When the head of the statue was about to hit him he threw an uppercut that caught the stone Armstrong on the chin, and shattered the head into a million pieces.

Armstrong was now truly at a loss. Every plan he had tried had failed and the only thing left standing between himself and Juggernaut was the last intact portion of the statue he had created, the shoulders and part of the upper torso. That proved to be of no consequence either as Juggernaut merely grabbed it with one hand and flipped it aside like a piece of wood, despite the fact it weighed close to a dozen tons. Once that was out of the way he started running at Armstrong again. There was no time to use his alchemy, and almost as little time to formulate a plan at all. From here on out he would have to play it by ear so he raised his fists and waited.

He let Juggernaut make the opening move again, a punch thrown at his head. He was able to dodge it easily as before and grabbed the other man's wrist with both hands. He twisted as hard as he could, trying to dislocate the joint but it refused to yield. He again had failed to injure the man, but in that same thought Armstrong realized he had left himself horribly wide open. He barely had time to process that when he felt something slam into his stomach hard enough to make him double over. As he tried to force air back into his lungs he saw Juggernaut's fist pull back from his stomach and fly forward, too fast for him to avoid it. Taking the uppercut to the face Armstrong saw stars but it also made him stand back up. He shook his head to clear his vision and got it back just in time to see Juggernaut's other fist coming right at him. The blow rang his head and made his world tilt but as he staggered back but Armstrong remained on his feet. Juggernaut quickly followed up with another punch that Armstrong swore came close to taking his head clean off.

"Looks like family advice ain't what it used to be." Juggernaut said as he punched Armstrong again. The blow staggered the State alchemist but he remained on his feet and had enough of his wits to glare back at Juggernaut. "Not so funny when you're on the receiving end of a sucker punch now is it?" He shouted. Armstrong tried to throw a punch of his own but Juggernaut easily caught it with one hand and squeezed, twisted, then let go in one motion, crushing the gauntlet, and dislocating the wrist in the process. Armstrong didn't even have to gasp in pain as Juggernaut grabbed him by the neck with the other hand. Even knowing it would do no good Armstrong instinctively grabbed onto the fingers around his throat and tried to pry them loose. It made no difference as Juggernaut lifted Armstrong over his head, held him there for a second so he could realize exactly what was coming, and threw him to the ground. The ground shook from the impact but Armstrong remained conscious and slammed one his remaining gauntlet into the ground when he hit. Sections of the ground underneath and behind Juggernaut began to collapse, forcing him to take several large stumbling backwards unless he wanted to fall over. Using the distraction Armstrong forced himself to get to his feet, it was slow but he eventually stood up. Juggernaut made his way back to solid ground and just stared at the Major. "You should have stayed down." He sneered in warning.

"Not as long as I can still stand." Armstrong answered back, popping his wrist back into place.

"Well I can take care of that real easy." Juggernaut said, balling his hand back into fists. Before he could do anything Armstrong took the initiative, rushing towards him with his shoulder lowered. That idiot really thought he was going to knock him down with a football tackle? It was so ridiculous that he was tempted to stand there and let him break his neck but after what had happened the last couple of times he gave out free hits he decided it would just be easier to knock the guy out when he got within range. When Armstrong got to within arms length Juggernaut threw his punch but the Major deftly avoided it. He tried to grab with his other hand but Armstrong dodged that to. Before Juggernaut could swing again Armstrong surprised him by not trying to hit but instead grabbing his belt with one hand and the top of his chest armor with the other. Armstrong steeled himself, knowing that if nothing was as it seemed with Juggernaut this was going to take all his strength. Sure enough when he started to lift he found that his opponent was much heavier then he looked, what had to be 800 pounds at the least. It felt like he was close to tearing every muscle in his arms and back but Armstrong managed to lift Juggernaut off the ground and over his head. He was half tempted to hold that pose in triumph for a moment but instead followed through with the bodyslam, throwing Juggernaut to the ground. The tremor it caused felt like a minor earthquake and the area immediately around him cratered under the impact as glass like cracks and fissures started to spread from in every direction. Any sense of accomplishment Armstrong may have felt with his success evaporated as Juggernaut nonchalantly sat up and got to his feet, dusting himself off.

"So you got anything else you wanna try?" Juggernaut asked, not moving even though he was less then five feet away the Major. Armstrong remained silent but put his fists back up, staring down the giant once again. "No? Guess I can stop humoring you then." Armstrong didn't like the sound of that and his wariness proved to be justified as Juggernaut lashed out with a punch faster then any of the others he had thrown. He was barely able to catch any movement at all before everything went black, not even feeling the hit land.

The three that were watching saw the punch land, and the way Armstrong's head twisted when it did all of them had the simultaneous, horrifying thought that Juggernaut had just broken the Major's neck. The only thing that told them that wasn't the case was that Armstrong's body twisted to follow his head's movement instead of just going limp and crumpling to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Spinning around and falling flat on your face like a fallen tree wasn't very dignified but it was a lot better then being dead. Watching the fallen Major for a few seconds to make sure he wasn't playing possum Juggernaut looked around to see who else was left. Ed and Hughes were standing near the woods, neither of them looking like they were in the best of shape. Colonel Mustang was near a wrecked tank, not too far from an unconscious Pyro, and looked to be untouched. All of them were giving him looks that said they wanted to rush in and finish the fight Armstrong had started.

"Anyone else feeling lucky?" Juggernaut taunted, spreading his arms in a 'come on' gesture. Mustang's eyes narrowed and Ed began to bring his hands together.

"I believe that will be quite enough." A voice above them stated. Looking up all of them saw Magneto hovering over their heads, without the aid of his shield. Now that he had their attention and any further violence had been averted he lowered himself to the ground. Juggernaut remained silent and stayed where he was but Mustang, Hughes and Ed walked towards him. All three looked at him with angry expressions but Ed looked absolutely livid.

"NOW it's enough?" Ed shouted before either of his superiors could say anything. "It wasn't enough when you killed all these men without hesitating? When you were having fun doing it?" He shouted, gesturing at what was left of the troops from Central. Hughes glanced up at Mustang but the Colonel shook his head. Trying to stop Ed would only aggravate him further and they'd probably have to knock him out to make him stop. Best just to let him rant and hope he didn't overstep his bounds, especially with that last accusation.

"Mr. Elric I take no joy in killing." Magneto replied calmly. "While some I command do I only take such actions because they are necessary."

"THEY WEREN'T NECESSARY!" Ed screamed. "I don't care what you say, there's always an alternative!"

"Yes there is." Magneto agreed, surprising Ed so much he forgot what he was going to say next. "The alternative would have been to let them live and try to kill all of us again at a later time." Ed opened his mouth to argue but Magneto cut him off. "You're only trying to fool yourself if you think otherwise. You know as well as I they would have killed everyone to make sure they completed their objective. They would have killed my mutant brethren and myself as well so long as they would be able to weaponize our abilities. Every dead body here…" He now gestured to the same bodies Ed had. "…as regrettable as any loss of life might be, means one less chance for them to come after us in the future."

"But they didn't know!" Ed yelled, refusing to believe a mass killing like this could be justified. "Jacobs and some of his officers maybe but the soldiers thought that you were enemies of the State, that you were the ones that were going to hurt innocent civilians. They weren't evil people!"

"No, just people who would have done what they were told without question, no matter how grievous or immoral that order may have been." Magneto countered in a tone so icy Ed felt a chill go up his back. "The excuse that they were 'just following orders' hardly justifies such actions. Wouldn't you agree Colonel?" He asked Mustang.

"It never does." Mustang agreed. Ed looked at his CO in shock. He was actually agreeing with what had happened? "But whole scale slaughter in the name of self defense isn't the answer either." He added. Well Ed found that to be a bit of a relief.

"Do you believe there was an alternative way to handle this?" Magneto asked.

"Technically the best outcome we could have hoped for would have been to detain Jacobs and his officers and scare the rest of them back to their train and off to Central." Mustang replied.

"Wait a second." Ed stated. While he was glad Mustang had a plan that didn't involve bloodshed something about the way he described it sounded weird. "What do you mean 'technically' it would have been the best outcome?"

"It would have been the best outcome for us." Hughes clarified. "But once they got back to Central odds are all of them would have been shot as traitors." Ed's eyes widened at the statement. "Sometimes there just is no 'good' alternative to something, no matter how hard you look." Ed scowled and turned towards Magneto.

"That still doesn't make it right." He almost growled. "Or sicing your thugs on us either." He added, glaring at the steel box that held Sabertooth.

"Again a regrettable but necessary action." Magneto stated. "I had no intention of putting Sabertooth against any of you, only Jacobs' men. His…zealous way of dealing with simple problems can be an issue, which is why I assigned Juggernaut to keep him under control. Though I see it was not necessary." Pausing for a moment he turned back towards Mustang. "You should not be worried about the Lieutenant, Mystique follows orders a bit more strictly then others." He said, glancing at Sabertooth's prison.

"I'm not worried about Lieutenant Hawkeye." Mustang responded. Magneto turned back and even though his face was covered Mustang could tell it was in surprise. "What should be worrying is what she did to Mystique, despite the 'restraint' she showed." Unlike Magneto he had full confidence that Hawkeye would have been able to handle Mystique, powers or not.

"In light of what I can see I suppose it should not come as a surprise." Magneto admitted, looking around at the battlefield. Pyro was down and Toad was nowhere to be seen but it stood to reason that he was somewhere else and unconscious as well. Sabertooth was fully incapacitated and when he opened the radio link in his helmet the lack of a response from Mystique told him things had not gone as well as she had hoped. Out of the six members of the Brotherhood only himself and Juggernaut remained standing, technically speaking. Pyro and Sabertooth had been defeated by what amounted to other mutants but Mystique and apparently Toad had been bested by ordinary humans. "A very impressive showing Colonel, you should be proud."

"I am, but that isn't the point." Mustang said as Magneto turned back to face him. "I wish I could say this could have been avoided if you didn't goad Jacobs into firing on you…" He took deep breath; sounding like he didn't want to admit what he was about to say. "...but between that unexplained gunfire from behind us and the fact they had ammunition designed to be used on you specifically they appeared intent on giving us no other option from the beginning. However that doesn't justify completely annihilating the entire group, especially the ones who were retreating." He said angrily.

"And give them the chance to regroup and attack again?" Magneto asked calmly.

"They wouldn't have and you know it." Mustang growled as he walked up to Magneto and stood face to face with him, looking him in the eye with an unwavering glare. "They would have been too scared to come back and try again. Even if they weren't there would have been too few of them to be any sort of threat. Deadly force in self defense is one thing, but after that all you did was murder people who had no intention of fighting back, or were unable to fight back to begin with."

"Do you honestly think any of them would have had any hesitation of putting a bullet through your head if the situation was reversed and you or your comrades were the ones lying there wounded? Of doing the same to the unarmed and helpless scientists, or a civilian like Winry?" Magneto countered sharply.

"No I don't." Mustang answered, still angry. "But I believe in being better then that, of not lowering myself or the people I command to that kind of level."

"And I did not." Magneto replied, now sounding as angry as Mustang. "This was not the same as murdering the defenseless in cold blood. This was making sure a rabid animal was dead so it was no longer a threat. Either through orders, fear or revenge every one of those soldiers…"

"You don't know it was every one! There was no way you could have known!" Mustang cut him off. He could tell the mutant leader was glaring at him for the rebuke but he didn't care. "You never once gave any thought that there might be ones that wanted no part of this, that might have been content just to run and not even look back."

"Colonel, I haven't lived this long by taking such foolish chances." Magneto answered coldly. Mustang's glare narrowed but Magneto pressed on. "Even if what you are saying is true, that there were ones against it. They should have either deserted or killed Jacobs before they even came face to face with us. That meant that they were willing to go through with what their commander wanted, regardless of their own conscience."

"Actually there was a very good reason for that." A new voice stated before Mustang could respond. Everyone still conscious snapped their attention in the direction the voice had come from. Juggernaut had no real reaction except to turn and look but Ed clapped his hands together in preparation, while Hughes drew one of his knives and motioned to throw it. Magneto and Colonel Mustang simply turned their heads and raised their arms. Mustang was ready to snap his fingers at a moments notice but Magneto was able to match him in the intimidation department since his hand was now glowing. The focus of their prepared onslaught were two men dressed in simple private's uniforms, both with their arms raised and out to the sides. "Killing Jacobs only would have been seen as a plot by these strange visitors and their State allies. The 801st would have become fully focused on the cause and any hesitation about what they were doing would have been diminished, to say the least." The shorter of the two men, one with dark hair and black-rimmed glasses, explained calmly in the face of all the violence aimed at him.

"Stop where your are and identify yourselves immediately!" Mustang ordered. Even though neither of them seemed to be armed he didn't need any more unpleasant surprises today. Both men did as ordered and stopped in their tracks.

"My apologies Colonel." The first man said. "After what's transpired you are entitled to some explanations. I am Major Howard Phillips, Military Intelligence, and my nervous looking assistant is Lieutenant Daniel Cain. We're here under orders of the Fuehrer himself to gauge exactly what the situation concerning the mutants has become and to provide any assistance we could."

"With only two men?" Mustang asked suspiciously. The fact he had referred to Magneto and the others as mutants and not alchemists told him the other man was at least fully aware of what was actually going on.

"Oh there where more." Phillips assured Mustang before glancing around the battlefield. "Unfortunately the rest of them were with the main group." Despite the risk involved Mustang turned his head and glared at Magneto, who didn't move. "Don't concern yourself with it Colonel, I not going to. In this type of business you have to accept the fact that you'll die without warning, if any of them didn't they shouldn't have joined up. No room for those who aren't fully committed." Turning back Mustang decided that he already didn't like this guy. He had just stated that not only did he not care that men under his command had been killed but that it was what they were there for to begin with. Then there was the fact that the had survived, and that meant…

"That gunfire in the woods behind us. That was the two of you back there wasn't it?" Mustang asked. He knew the answer but there had to be details he was missing.

"Along with one very dead sniper." Phillips confirmed. "I don't know who exactly he was supposed to kill but since the mutants were too valuable to bring back dead I would have to guess it would have been you and your subordinates. Much easier to explain the deaths of traitors then leaving potential loose ends." This time Magneto turned to look at Mustang, who didn't respond and kept his eyes on Phillips.

"You said you where here to help. How can you do that when there's only two of you?" The Colonel asked. Like him or not Phillips was the only viable link to Central they had now and any help he could provide, especially if it avoided another bloodbath like this, they needed to take.

"I have a set of orders straight from the Fuehrer himself that state that no one is to approach this facility or become involved in this project except for the ones already stationed here and those under my command." The Major explained.

"The chain of command didn't exactly stop Jacobs." Mustang pointed out. (Or whoever might be giving him orders.) He added in a silent challenge.

"No it didn't." Phillips admitted. "And when we were sent to intercept Jacobs' unit it was still under investigation if he was acting alone or not. I'll have to confer with Central just how much progress has been made, but if there is a conspiracy at work I believe it would be fair to say that a small setback like this won't deter them that much. And if it was only him you probably have seen the end of your troubles."

"But you don't believe that do you?" Mustang asked. "There's got to be more to it, even if it was only who was supplying the specialized ammunition."

"Jacobs was a good commander but he was never one for imaginative thinking, or for taking the initiative so boldly. No, he wasn't nearly intelligent enough to even remotely attempt a scheme like this and I believe there is definitely someone else pulling the strings." Phillips confirmed.

"So more like him will be coming." Magneto said. A statement, not a question.

"Unless they can be stopped yes." Phillips answered. "I can help you avoid that, if you'll let me." He addressed the last part towards Mustang. Despite the fact that they needed any help they could get Mustang was hesitant. First and foremost Phillips was the type that valued life as a cheap commodity. Second was the way he had refereed to Jacobs. True there was always rivalry between units but calling a superior officer, even a dead one, stupid in front of other superior officers showed that he was not the type to let a little thing like authority get in his way. Yes he personally bent and broke the rules but it was always for the greater good. He could tell Phillips would do anything and everything to further his own personal goals first, orders second, and any type of good would be a distant third. He was the type of person Mustang did not want to even have under his command, let alone having a position of power above him, which Phillips technically did. Still, he couldn't just dismiss any type of help out of hand, especially someone who apparently had the Fuehrer's ear.

"All right." He finally answered, bringing his hand down. He looked over at the others and waited. Juggernaut remained impassive while Hughes, Ed, and even Magneto slowly lowered their own arms, the latter with the glow fading from his hand. He could tell everyone had reservations about working with Phillips, but at least they were willing to trust his judgment on the matter. He didn't know how long that would last with Magneto but he considered himself lucky the mutant leader was being so cooperative in the first place. ""However…" He added. "…You will be running stall tactics from this facility only. You're not going to bring anyone here, and you're not going to send anyone back. Not until this whole thing is over and done with."

"I appreciate it Colonel." Phillips responded as he and Cain brought their hands down from the surrender position. "But it would probably be in all of our best interests if I called in some more of my men. Spies might have already been able to infiltrate the town and the surrounding area. Even we were unaware of the sniper and caught him only by luck. If they manage to leave the area by a civilian train…"

"That particular problem has already been rectified Major." Magneto stated. Phillips became silent and everyone looked to the mutant leader for an explanation.

Several minutes prior:

When the train had first come screeching into the station only a few people had been present to witness it. Between that, the loud roars of tank engines and the sight of a long line of troops and those same tanks rushing towards the castle quite a number of townspeople had come down to the station to see what was going on. They were met be several squads of soldiers who blocked their path, with an officer in captain's bars telling them that they were here to capture a renegade group of State alchemists. Quite a few of them thought it was odd that they would need to send a small army for so few people but the captain's words had a 'believe this or else' tone to them, which was backed up by all the guns he and his men had ready to use. They had remained relatively quiet and motionless for several minutes when the first cannon shot echoed through the air. They jumped and the murmuring became louder but the Central troops remained unfazed, they had been told to expect something like this. That calmness and feeling of control lasted for only about several more seconds before all hell preceded to break loose. After that first shot came a volume of cannon blasts, explosions and gunfire that made it sound like a small war had started.

"Now everyone calm down!" The Captain shouted, just as much to his troops as to the even more anxious looking crowd. "We have the situation under control. This is why we brought everything that we did. It will be over in a minute, we'll have accomplished our mission and we'll be out of your hair before you know it. It'll be like we were never here." The crowd looked a bit apprehensive about the assurance they had just gotten but they weren't panicking yet either. Slowly the cannon and gunfire began to trail off and after a few sporadic pops it stopped completely. "There you see? Nothing to worry about. Now if you'll all return…."

BOOOOMM

The next explosion came without warning, not even a cannon shot preceding it. What was worse was that it sounded different from the ones they had just heard. That made everyone, including the soldiers turn to look in the direction it came from. What they saw was a column of black smoke rising into the air, and caught the first whiff of fuel burning. That meant that someone had just taken out on of their vehicles. The Captain was about to say that it was just one explosion when a second happened, then a third. Guns and cannon started sounding again but this time is sounded like random shooting, not the massed precise fire of a few moments ago. More and more columns of smoke sprang up and now even the civilian crowd was able to figure out what was going on. Something was wiping out the all those tanks and soldiers they had just seen arrive. And whatever it was seemed to be doing it with such ease that the ones guarding the train were starting to look panicked. That panic quickly spread to the crowd, which began moving.

"What's going on?" One man shouted.

"What the hell kind of alchemists are they fighting?" Another added.

"It's a matter of national security...!" The Captain started to say, not sure how effective that line would be.

"National security? What about our security?" A woman shouted back.

"Your security is just as important." The Captain lied. "Once we take care of this threat…."

"What threat?" An older man cut him off. "The military has had guys here for a while now and we haven't had any trouble with em at all! They come down here every once in a while and they seem like a decent bunch, not any kind of threat. Everything was quiet until you showed up!"

"That's right!" A second man shouted. "If something was going on that was so dangerous why didn't they tell us?" He demanded. The crowd began shouting in agreement and moving forward.

"Get back!" The Captain shouted as he drew his pistol and pointed it straight up. "This is your last warning!" He shouted and fired his pistol into the air. In response all the train guards leveled their guns on the crowd. They halted and became silent. For a moment it looked like the situation was under control when the old man spoke again.

"So you'd rather shoot us then deal with that so called threat?" He yelled, pointing towards the smoke billowing from near the castle. "You're not here to help anyone! You're just here to kill somebody!" He accused.

"I said get back!" The captain shouted, this time pointing his pistol at the old man even though he hadn't moved. The old man backed up slightly but he had already given the crowd to much incentive not to trust them so he pulled the trigger anyway. At this short a range it would have been impossible to miss and the old man would have been dead, if the pistol didn't explode in the Captain's hand. Screaming in pain and surprise the Captain reflexively grabbed his wounded hand and saw that he had lost several fingers. He was so concentrated on the pain and trying to figure out what had just happened that he didn't notice the crowd had become motionless and silent.

"Sir!" The private closest to him shouted. Snapped out of haze he had been in the Captain turned towards the voice and was about to give the order to open fire when he saw all the soldier's rifles shift their aim towards the man in front of them and fire simultaneously. The only soldiers that didn't fire were the ones directly in front of and behind him. He was sprayed with blood from both sides and the bullets passed by him harmlessly but he saw he wasn't the only one who apparently got lucky. A single horrified looking private at the end of the firing line remained unharmed due only to the fact that no one was behind him to shoot in the first place. Turning around he saw that the same thing had happened with the troops on his right, including a second private that looked just as shocked as the first. As the Captain tired to make sense of what had just happened the rifle of the last solider snapped upward so the barrel was placed underneath his chin and fired. The Captain heard a second gunshot behind him and knew the same thing had happened with the other private but what was important was what he had seen. He had been watching the gun in case it was aimed at him and when the man had committed suicide his hand had been nowhere near the trigger. The gun had moved and fired itself on its own accord. That meant….

The shriek of metal being torn behind him kept him from finishing that thought and he turned around just in time to see a strip of metal ripping itself off the train engine and fly right at him. Before he could even think of avoiding it the metal had wrapped itself around his neck and started lifting him off the ground like a noose. He could breath, barely, but grabbed at the metal and tried to pull it off, kicking his feet as he was lifted higher.

"First you personally kill an old man in cold blood." A voice said from above him. The Captain stopped struggling and looked up and saw someone floating in midair dressed in a red and dark purple uniform. The stranger was looking down at him but other then his cape which floated in the breeze he made no movement. Like a horrifying elevator ride the metal wrapped around the Captain's neck brought him closer and closer until he was at eye level with the second man. Between his eyes being hidden behind the helmet he wore and his remaining silent for several agonizing seconds the Captain felt like he was looking at death itself. That was exactly what Magneto had been going for and once he saw the complete and total look of fear in the Captain's eyes he spoke again. "And then you order your men to fire into a crowd of equally defenseless civilians. That was what you were going to do, correct?" He asked, daring the Captain to even try and lie to him. Even if he wanted the Captain couldn't respond, too frightened to do anything else but gasp for breath. "Your government must be very proud of you." He stated emotionlessly. He allowed the Captain only a second to take in the exact meaning of his words before tightening the metal band, crushing his windpipe and spine. As he watched the Captain's body fall to the ground he noticed the crowd had stayed through the entire thing and was now watching him silently. When he made no effort to speak with them the old man stepped forward.

"So you're one of those alchemists they consider such a big threat?" He asked.

"That depends entirely on how you define the meaning of the word threat." Magneto answered back simply.

"I think we can figure that out pretty easily." The old man answered looking at the Captain's body. He might not be able to speak for everyone, but enough of the people agreed with him. Magneto could see it in their faces and eyes. They were afraid of him, as well they should be, but they didn't curse, threaten or try to attack him. They would not look at him like a hero but they knew that the greater danger came from the ones who were supposed to protect them. Even if they did not like him he had shown that they should not dare cross him either, and that he wouldn't act unless they did. That one problem taken care of he turned around in midair to face the train the soldiers had been guarding.

"You may stay at your own discretion." He stated as he raised one of his arms. The crowd looked on in confusion for a moment before the train and all of its cars began to rise off the ground like they were being lifted by invisible hands. Magneto made a sweeping motion with his hand and the train responded in kind, flying as easily as it had been hurled like a grenade before landing with earth shaking crash of metal bending and snapping under the impact. That was impressive enough but as the crowd watched Magneto held out his hands to the sides. Underneath him the train tracks snapped and reared back like a taut string that had just been cut. Instead of flying back further the rails and spikes yanked themselves off the ground and shot skyward, coiling into balls that hovered just outside of Magneto's outstretched palms. As the crowd watched more of the track from both directions was ripping itself up and added to the growing balls of metal Magneto was forming. They continued to grow and grow until they were bigger then most of the houses, if not every single building, in the entire town. Finally the person behind it seemed to decide that it was enough, pushing the two enormous piles of scrap metal over the wreck of the military's train. Dropping his arms the metal followed suit, crushing several sections of the train flat and causing another artificial tremor that almost caused some of the spectators to loose their footing. Without another word he flew back towards the castle, leaving the civilians to gawk at what he had just done.

Now:

Magneto was getting annoyed looks from both Mustang and Phillips, more so from the Intelligence officer.

"And just how much track did you decide to wreck?" The Major asked him.

"Twenty miles in each direction." Magneto answered. "Not a permanent solution but one that should give us significantly more time."

"I hope you took into account that you've now completely isolated the entire town." Mustang stated. He had a hunch Magneto had but he needed to make sure, if for no other reason then to make it appear that he wasn't outright siding with the mutants and could lower Phillips' guard.

"I have." Magneto responded. "This town has enough supplies along with the ability to be self-sufficient long enough to last for several weeks without contact from the outside. Barring some unforeseen catastrophe it will be little more of an inconvenience then anything else and we will not be getting anymore unwelcome surprises in the meantime." He finished, making a point to keep his eyes on Phillips the whole time. So he didn't trust the Major at all either, good. At least that confirmed both of them were on the same page. The officer in question frowned slightly but gave no other indication of what he was thinking.

"I guess we'll just have to make due with what we've got." Phillips said casually, looking from Magneto over to Mustang. He made no effort to hide just what he meant by that sentence but neither Magneto nor the Colonel took the bait. "That being said I believe the most prudent course of action would be to pool our resources and devise a plan so that…. unpleasant incidents…like this wont be necessary in the future." He added, looking around at the carnage. "It would probably also be wise to organize a search for the X-Men as well. With my contacts I'll be able to get them to a location secure from whoever was commanding Jacobs." Instead of frowning or becoming angry in general like the Major had expected Mustang kept his face neutral.

"That's very generous but they're already moving to a secure location as we speak." The Colonel's voice didn't give anything away but Phillips could guess what he actually meant.

"It's good that you've thought ahead but in the time it would take them to get here they would be exposed to attack for long periods of time. And then there's the fact that this location, while secure and defendable, is known to the enemy. I can arrange a location known to only a handful of people, none of them involved with Jacobs, as well as a full escort to guarantee their complete protection." This was something else Mustang had expected to hear and had a full explanation ready to (politely) make clear that there was no way in hell that was going to happen.

"The offer is appreciated." A new voice stated, again making everyone's heads snap in the direction it came from. Walking out of the hole Juggernaut had punched in the castle wall was a man with red hair in a black uniform type of costume, with a bruised and beaten face and a yellow visor with a red line down the middle hiding his eyes. Behind him was a shorter man with dark hair wearing torn up and blood soaked clothing but not looking injured in any way. Unlike the first man's calm, controlled expression the second man's face was almost a scowl and showed he was ready to jump into action at a moment's notice. Next to the shorter man was a massive suit of armor with glowing eyes that seemed to fidget nervously now that all the attention was on him. "But we've always been pretty good at taking care of ourselves." The red-haired man finished.