Operation Firebrand - Part 2
Posted on Tue Oct 8th, 2024 @ 9:08pm by Charles Xavier & Connor Bruin & Kurt Wagner & Bliss Hawkins & Shinobi Shaw & Hayden Davis & Ethan Hale & Aurora Summers & Kennedy Kelly & Maeve MacKenna & Emma Frost & Kitty Pryde & Selene Gallio & Jason Wyngarde
Edited on on Fri Oct 11th, 2024 @ 3:16pm
Mission:
Episode 5: Days of Fortune Past
Location: Hellfire Mansion | Upper East Side Manhattan
Timeline: November 3rd, 1990
As the security alarms went off inside the Inner Circle’s chambers Emma knew that was her cue to spring into action. She had sensed the presence of the X-Men as soon as they had arrived at the Gala but she had remained quiet, almost cooperative, with their infiltration. Her plotting turned towards her own survival since Shinobi had betrayed her. He had given away her title of White Queen to another, an act that she took personal offense towards. She glanced at Shinobi and realized he was no Sebastian, someone she could manipulate and seduce to her goals. This young pup was a wolf, and he happily bit the hand that fed him.
“They’re coming and they aren’t happy,” Emma said with a telepath’s intuition as she stood. “Let me take Kennedy so you can confront them. If it gets messy, you don’t want her to get hurt.”
He'd been enjoying having Kennedy draped around him and sitting in his lap. Then he scoffed, "They never are happy. And they'll regret breaking into the mansion and ruining the Gala." He looked at Kennedy and ran his hand through her hair. "Yes, she doesn't need to be here when they show up or for what comes afterwards."
The hallway filled with Hellfire Knights, both the blue-clad guards in white masks and the armored crimson variety with magenta tinted helmets. They watched the upcoming security elevator from the ground floor with weapons drawn. A loud clang announced the crash of the rooftop elevator, so a contingent of Knights trained their weapons in that direction. Nobody was watching the dumbwaiter lift.
But it wouldn’t have mattered if they had been. Iris was concentrating on keeping her and Aurora hidden, so when the dumbwaiter opened, anybody looking would have simply seen an empty dumbwaiter and made a note to have it checked. Iris held a finger to her lips and motioned for Aurora to climb out as quietly as possible.
Aurora nodded. Knowing there was at least one other telepath present, a powerful one from what she could sense, she focussed on shrouding her telepathic presence. It wasn’t something she was used to doing, but if it worked her own telepathic presence would be hidden from detection.
Seconds passed before any further sounds came from the rooftop elevator. The door finally opened, but instead of people, the space was filled with the twisted steel of the fallen elevator car. Large metal plating flung end over end like a frisbee, catching an armored Knight in the midsection who had been unable to dodge like his more nimble unarmored counterparts.
Bullets and directed energy blasts began flying, but the rooftop trio had already breached the grand hallway. Connor went low with tumbling that evaded most shots with irregular swinging of his limbs from hand to foot to the opposite hand. While he pressed the attack, Bliss and Ethan joined in the blitz as well.
Ethan's wing was mostly healed, thanks to Bliss and his own healing ability, but it still wasn't fully functional and even if they were, there was not enough room for him to fly. That didn't mean they were useless. He moved them in front of his body to act as a shield against attacks and then grabbed one of the Hellfire Knights by the throat.
He tried to lift him but found it impossible to do so. So, instead he lashed out at him with his claws hoping to connect.
One of the Knights had his neck opened by Ethan's talons, spurting crimson blood all over his white mask. The others stepped back a pace and dropped into a crouch in an attempt to open fire on Ethan beneath his guard. Connor drop-kicked the one on the end and sent him toppling across the line of fire, forcing them to regroup.
Ethan wasn't particularly bothered by the blood, he hardly noticed it. His own survival and the success of the mission took precedence. He had worked with Connor enough to anticipate his actions, so when he saw the guard go flying one way, he dove to the floor and rolled to his feet He then pointed to the guard closest to him pointed his direction with his bloody talon and said, "You're next if you don't surrender."
The Hellfire Knight hesitated for a second and became a human shield for the one behind him for his effort. With one arm around his cowardly compatriot's neck, the second Knight opened fire with his arm extended over the first Knight's shoulder for a spray and pray at Bliss and Ethan.
Bliss casually threw her captured Knight weapon down the hallway so she could focus on what she did best--cause chaos. She put her hands flat against the floor and exerted her tactile TK directly into the metal and wood. The effect was to create snapping kinetic waves through the material. The floor flowed like wood and metal tidal waves towards the Knights. The most nimble could attempt to surf the debris. The rest became ricocheting flotsam skittering down the hallway.
Seeing the chaos and confusion Bliss had made, Ethan made a snap decision to add to it in a rather unconventional way. He bean flapping his wings as fast and hard as he could. With one of his wings injured and the lack of space, he couldn't fly. But, he could stir up all the dust and grime in the hallway and chased the Hell Knights with it as they made their unplanned retreat.
Soon the battle split between two fronts and the Hellfire Knights found themselves surrounded.
The house elevator pinged open to what could be described as carnage. Ammunition of all sorts could be heard and seen as strange looking guards began to take aim at them. Maeve knew that in their enclosed location they were going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. "Kurt!" she yelled and grabbed him as well as Hayden. She hoped he'd teleport them to a safer location to begin to defend themselves.
The elevator came to a stop and Hayden froze as Maeve grabbed her. She looked as far out as she dared, searching for a water fountain or a bathroom or something with water. She found none. There wasn't enough humidity in the air to do anything with either. Without a water source, her powers were useless. She could still fight hand-to-hand if she could get around the bullets and energy blasts.
In a puff of sulfur, the three of them vanished out of the line of fire and reappeared behind the firing line of Hellfire Knights. Bullets and plasmas bursts filled the air until the security elevator doors closed from its timer. The guards began to turn around, seeking out the sounds of combat behind them.
As the seconds ticked by, she began to 'feel' or sense water somewhere. It took a few more seconds for her to realize that, despite no bathrooms or water fountains, there were large water pipes in the walls carrying water to other parts of mansion. "Hang on a minute. I think I might be able to create a distraction." She closed her eyes and concentrated on all of the water pipes. Two large ones ran along each side of the hallway and continued into the room they were trying to reach. Hayden stopped the water flow and built up pressure within the pipes until they exploded. One broke through the wall while the others flooded the rest of the space inside the walls. With any luck, it would reach old electrical boxes or outlets soon.
"There," she said, opening her eyes. She raised a hand and caused the gushing water to rise into a mist. "A little bit of visual cover."
"Ja, zhat's good," Kurt said. Teleporting everyone around was going to get tiring fast, so a little cover would go a long ways. "Pick your shots and try to stay out of harm's vay."
Meanwhile, Hoodwink had wound her way into the midst of the guards, looking for exposed magazine release buttons and giving them a quick press when she found them.
Two automatic rifles ejected their magazines, but the next guard had a directed energy weapon. When Iris found no way to disable his weapon, he took notice of her and clobbered her in the face with a savage buttstroke. The impact busted Iris's nose and sent her reeling to her knees, dazed and stunned.
"See you in hell!" The Knight pointed his laser weapon point blank in Iris's face.
A burst sulfuric smoke puffed into where she had been knelt, singeing a hole through the carpet. He blinked his eyes, wondering where she went before moving back into the firing line against the others.
Kurt and Iris reappeared in a bamf near a corner. "Seien Sie vorsichtig, frauelin." He looked at her face and winced before pulling out a handkerchief and offering it to her. "Der Teufel ist wie ein brüllender Löwe."
“Wie ein Löwe,” replied Iris, holding the handkerchief to her face, a bit dazed. “Aber eigentlich kein Löwe.”
Kurt clicked his tongue with concern. "Sie haben eine Gehirnerschütterung, fraulein," he said quietly. "Bleiben Sie außer Sicht, wenn Sie können."
Hayden thought about using a choke hold on one of the white-masked men as she was hidden in the mist. But then she remembered the Sentinel's at Beat Street. Even if the armor had no electrical or mechanics on the inside to disrupt, she could still try to waterlog the darn things and make it difficult to move. Hayden brought heavy mist around two of the armored guards in attempt to find enough spaces for it to seep in.
Maeve had been thankful for the quick save by Kurt. Bullets were not all that foreign to her, being in Ireland they'd had some pretty turbulent history with mainland UK but even on Achill they were somewhat rare. Energy weapons were almost alien and seemed like something you'd see on a science fiction television show. She had been trying to find a connection to the earth but she was scared doing so, pulling up the ground could potentially topple the mansion from the very foundations.
The walls shook as she searched the bricks and mortar. Bricks flew from the walls and struck some of the Knights. A rumble of the ground felt underfoot as chaos reigned. Maeve could only wonder if this is what life as an X-Man would feel like.
Between the rumbling of the floor and the bricks ripping through plaster and mortar to pummel the Hellfire Knights, the scene turned to a demolition nightmare in short order. Entire sections of wall were missing, leaving an open view into the Inner Circle Chambers. The twin oaken doors were hanging at awkward angles, with one swaying from the damage before ultimate collapsing onto the floor.
Aurora was quick to protect those X-Men in her vicinity who needed it with a telekinetic shield, not wanting anyone to get injured by flying debris.
A group of people who were gathered around an ebony conference table spread out and took defensive positions. A tall, thin golden haired man; a shorter but very obese man with a dishwater beard; two women with steely expressions, one raven-haired and grim while the other was a petite brunette with a scowl; lastly was a Brazilian man with a dour disposition.
At the head of them all was a very familiar face. He was adorned in very different attire than the X-Men remembered him. He held his head high and addressed them from his newfound position of power.
The Lord Imperial was standing, champagne glass in hand, and shaking his head. Kennedy was out of harm's way thanks to Emma and he could now do whatever was necessary to get rid of the intruders. He waited a few seconds after they'd destroyed his wall for the dust to literally settle before he spoke. "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. And thus we have the X-Men, the teenage cannon fodder of Xavier's Peace Corps. Mere target practice for my Prime Sentinels," he added with a sneer. "Haven't you learned yet that your desire for quick action blinds you to the consequences of your haste? I'd have thought the Arlington Memorial Bridge would have taught you that."
He took a sip of his champagne and then remembered, "Oh, how ill-mannered of me. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Shinobi Shaw, son of Sebastian Shaw, head of Shaw Industries, and Lord Imperial of the Hellfire Club." He stared at each of them in turn, gauging their reactions to his revelation. They had ignored him for far too long as he had watched and listened.
Shinobi decreased his density as he began. "Ah, I see you've brought your resident telepath. Tell me, Aurora, how is Scott these days? You know, your baby daddy. Oh, and Jean, of course, the real love of his life. I mean, remember when he risked everything for her? Searched for her far and wide? Did whatever it took to save her. You're brave, though, I’ll give you that. Trying to fill those shoes and live in that shadow."
"And then there's Iris...dear, sweet, little Iris," said Shinobi, condescension in his voice. "They actually let you tag along? How quaint. I'm surprised you haven't tripped over your own feet yet." His gaze swept dismissively over her as he looked at Connor. "You should really keep an eye on her. This is not a place for twelve year olds. As a matter of fact, it would have best had you left her at home with the babysitter. I can't guarantee her safety. Or that of any of the rest of you, for that matter."
"And what's this?" he said, turning to Maeve. "A new redhead." He'd never met Maeve as she had shown up after he'd left the institute. "Why does Xavier keep collecting them? Something about fiery tempers, maybe? Or is it just his guilty little fantasy? First Jean, then Aurora - who's now a blonde - and now new girl. It’s almost cliché at this point." He sighed. "And I thought my guests downstairs had their fetishes."
He laughed coldly, swirling the champagne in his glass. "And speaking of blondes," he said, pointing to Hayden, "I know I've seen you at the school, but you don't stand out in my mind. Perhaps you never really stood out at all. You must be one of those faces that just...fades into the background." He sipped his champagne again, his smirk deepening. "Maybe you should work on that."
Shinobi’s eyes gleamed with mischief as he turned to Bliss. “Ah, Bliss, since we’re on the subject of blondes, I’m certain someone downstairs would be thrilled to entertain you for a night.” He chuckled darkly, as if the thought amused him. “But wait, you and Connor still together? That could complicate things. Might even spark a little...competition for who gets to sleep with whom.” His grin widened, clearly enjoying the tension he was creating. "Such messy little entanglements, aren’t they? Though, I suppose you and Connor could go downstairs, find a quiet little corner, and spend some quality time together. Perhaps a show for those who haven't run away yet?"
Shinobi looked at Ethan and shook his head, his expression twisted with disdain. "Ah, the pretender, the hypocrite, the fake mutant. The inferior product of an inferior species. You're not fit to stand with humans or mutants. You walk around pretending to be something you're not, flaunting powers you never earned. It’s pathetic, really. Frankenstein's monster."
"Speaking of antiquated and primitive monsters," Shinobi turned his attention back to Connor. "Neanderthal...no, Caveman, Captain Caveman. How appropriate that the X-Men send someone who embodies the primitive, the outdated, to stand against me. While the rest of us evolve, you remain a relic of the past, clinging to brute force. You may possess the strength of your namesake, but strength alone will not help you in the world that is coming. The future belongs to those who understand power, true power, not those who merely swing their fists in the dark." He gestured with his champagne glass towards Bliss. "Why don't you club her and drag her back to the school? Have some...whatever it is you two do."
He cast his gaze over to the new, blue, team member. "Well, what do we have here?" he sneered. "I don't think I've ever had the pleasure. I'd certainly remember having met something spawned from the depths of hell." He gave a mocking once-over, his gaze lingering on Kurt’s blue skin. "Blue, though? Is that the result of hell freezing over? Because that's the only thing I can think of that would cause you all to break into my mansion and ruin my Gala." His voice sharpened, eyes flashing with irritation. "Now, do us all a favor and get out before you regret it."
Aurora wasn’t going to let Shinobi’s dig at her relationship with Scott and Jean get under her skin. If she’d learned one thing from Jean’s lessons it was not to let her emotions overpower her judgement. Instead she kept her focus. “We’re here for Kennedy, I doubt very much if she wants anything to do with you anymore.”
Iris was too dazed to understand a word of what he’d said. To her it just sounded like when an adult talked on the Charlie Brown TV specials- just a bunch of “wah wah-waaaaah!” So she just sat there looking confused and bloody.
Bliss chuckled and shook her head with a smirk.
"Shit-obi, it's like my mamma said--if you're good at something, never do it for free. And trust me, you and your disturbing collection of cosplaying has-beens and never-weres could never afford my attention. Money can't buy class."
His mind was disgusting and Maeve knew he was simply trying to get a rise out of her. Bullies always had that smug, superior attitude when they were just frightened little children pushing away anyone who could ever choose to accept them as who and what they are. Hurt others before they can hurt you. "You can test my fiery temper all you want and I'll make sure the ground swallows you whole no matter who you are." she glared at him. "Can someone just give this guy a hug?" she looked around at his supposed subjects.
Ethan shot his opponent an incredulous glance. "My powers were forced on me that is true, but I've earned them. If you don't think that's true, asshole, ask my teammates."
Hayden shook her head. "You're just mean," she said. "Plain old mean. The world did you wrong and now you're doing the world wrong. Why don't you fade into the background and leave the rest of us alone."
Shinobi looked at Aurora, dismissing the comments from the new girls. "Kennedy is safe. You have no need to worry about my White Queen; I'll protect her and stand up for her. Just as I did against your former teammate, Bobby. You people always hurt those closest to you." He gestured to Bliss, not even looking in her general direction, and continued, "Where the hell was she on that rescue mission to save the rest of the team? Huh? Muir Island, that's where. So here she is, playing the hero on another rescue mission and getting drunk; expect her to disappear soon and hurt the team again. Xavier should probably go ahead and call Moira to schedule an appointment." Then he gestured to Iris sitting on the floor. "Had you the sense to not bring her, she wouldn't be in the condition she's in...defeated. And no one in this room has even thrown a punch. You people hurt your very own teammates. You're worse than the gangs on the streets, inferior humans, and weak mutants. You can't protect anyone. Not even yourselves from each other."
Maeve had no idea what he was talking about. Having only joined this group a while ago she knew nothing of past transgressions or internal events that had led to the negativity that Shaw was describing. A seed of doubt crept into her mind. Was she too trusting of the first friendly faces she found here in the United States?
Kurt held out his hand in a halting motion. "No more lies from ze likes of you, as it is written: Ze vicked is devising against ze righteous, and gnashing against him his teesth. The Lord doth laugh at him, for He hasth seen zhat his day cometh." Kurt's ire faded with an edge of pleading for Shinobi's sake. "Zhis road you hef taken vill not end vhere you zhink."
While the banter endured, Connor was already plotting. Jace, or Shinobi now, had Kennedy nearby. That was who they were here to rescue. They needed to keep these people busy while someone located Kennedy.
~Enigma!~ Connor thought with intense focus. ~We cannot avoid a battle. Once it commences, take Hoodwink and slip away to search the other rooms for Artemis. Alert me or Nightcrawler when you find her or if you become entrapped. Once she is extracted, it will be time to retreat. There is no other victory to be found here~
Shinobi looked at the blue German and smiled confidently before issuing his orders. "I admire your courage, I really do. But courage alone is not going to save you. You should know that I have no interest in a fair fight. So let this be a lesson on how the game of power is truly played." He held his arms out to his sides. "My Inner Circle...target the weakest of them, the most vulnerable. Separate them, crush their spirits, and break their wills. And then remove the head." He smiled. "Show them true power, attack."
Aurora didn’t show any outward signs that she was communicating with Connor telepathically as she responded to his orders ~ Understood Connor, we’ll find her. ~
While the order to attack had been given, the Inner Circle members took their time in approaching. They fanned out like a pack of wolves. Each one took a different posture.
Donald Pierce stood tall and proud as his hand disappeared up his sleeve. A short blade replaced it which sizzled with electrical energy. Blood would be shed before the night was through.
Harry Leland tossed his empty glass over his shoulder and unbuttoned his vest. His face was already red. He would not be showing any quarter either.
Selene Gallio popped one hip to the side and braced one hand against it. The other hand was palm up with eldritch energy emanating from it. Her amused side eye held no pity or mirth for the whelps it beheld.
Janet Van Dyne shrunk down to a fraction of her size and took to the air, buzzing in a figure eight pattern while she assessed the enemy line-up. None of them appeared to be aerial like her, which put a smirk on her face. It was she who made the first attack. Her wrist-mounted biomechanical stingers shot blasts of energy toward the X-Men as she made a pass over them.
Emanuel Da Costa watched the chaos unfold with a practiced calm, his eyes cold and calculating. As the first signs of confrontation began to spark, he took a step back, his movements smooth and deliberate. With a subtle glance towards the door in one of the remaining walls, he saw his son, now fully enveloped in his burning Sunspot form, make entry. Emanuel began to button his suit jacket.
"Roberto," he murmured softly and then gave a demure nod.
Sunspot’s fiery gaze met his father’s, glowing with intensity, but there was no hesitation. The temperature in the room skyrocketed as his body radiated with solar energy, flickers of flame licking the edges of the walls.
Emanuel gave another polite, almost casual nod to the few who still remained in his view, his hand gesturing toward the door. "Com licença, senhores." His voice was courteous, as though he were merely excusing himself from a business meeting rather than the impending destruction.
With that, Emanuel slipped out of the room, his polished shoes barely making a sound on the floor. Behind him, the deafening roar of Sunspot burning through the wall filled the air as Roberto surged forward, a blazing silhouette of raw power taking his father’s place.
"Eles não têm chance, pai," Sunspot said in a deep, resonant voice, his words carrying both heat and confidence as flames danced around him.
Emanuel paused for only a moment at the threshold, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve. "Eu sei," he replied coolly, a small, satisfied smile playing on his lips. And with that, he was gone, leaving Roberto to finish what he had started.
Aurora wasn’t afraid of fire or flames, she had her own if needed. She gently telekinetically lifted Iris, making it look like she was removing her from the site of the upcoming battle. She didn’t verbalise instead she communicated telepathically ~ Hold on Iris, we’ve got a job to do. ~
Still dazed- but at least the bleeding had mostly stopped- Iris simply nodded in reply. She tried focus on staying hidden, but her mind was fuzzy. She didn’t know if she could keep Aurora hidden, but she was certainly trying.
While the team dodged Janet's stingers, Connor flung a broken chair in her direction. The dodge made her round off and circle back before making another pass.
Escapade stood ready to engage the lumbering bulk of the approaching Leland. He seemed slow, so when he got within the arms reach she swung the nearly full champagne Magnum against his head.
With a smug grin, Leland adjusted his stance and said, "Ah, a young lady with more courage than sense. I do hope you’re prepared for a sudden… drop in status." He raised his hand slightly and made the air around Bliss grow heavy.
The floor beneath Bliss's feet began to creak and groan under the intense strain suddenly foisted upon it. Before she could react, her body was forced through it and fell several stories, crashing through one floor after another. "Down you go, my dear. I’m afraid the weight of this situation was too much for you."
The cacophonic crunch of wood, concrete, bone, and flesh mixed with a breathless shriek as Bliss descended ever downward until even the screaming faded away.
"B-b-b-luh-sss!" Connor shouted in wrath and horror. He lunged for the hole in the floor to grab her, but he quickly saw it descended into darkness.
Shinobi shook his head. "For students, you certainly seem to have difficulty learning lessons." Still phased, he walked over to an unbroken champagne bottle. Shinobi adjusted his density so that he could lift it and refill his glass. "Aww, I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to hug her, Connor," sarcasm dripping from his voice as he watched Connor go for the hole. "But there's always the blonde water manipulator over there. Or if you wanted to really be like Scott, there's the redhead." Shinobi gestured with his champagne glass towards the two girls.
Hayden couldn't believe what she was seeing or hearing. She pulled what water there was still in the hallway over to her. It swirled around her hands and started forming into half inch diameter balls. She began launching them repeatedly at the woman scantily clad in black.
“This is a Brazilian Blowout,” Selene hissed as her glossy black hair was at risk of getting wet “Do you have any idea how expensive they are?” She reached down and touched one of the moaning and injured Hellfire Knights that remained on the floor, the man withered and shriveled into a husk before their eyes as his very life force was drained away. The murderous act seemed to invigorate Selene as she crackled and resonated with dark magic.
Selene pointed a single finger at Hayden and the ground beneath her feet ignited in black flames that licked at her skin and threatened to burn her alive.
Turning on Harry Leland with a furious rage, Connor snarled and lunged at the obese man. He simply swung a backhand at Connor that failed to connect yet still had the desired effect. Rather than collide with Leland in a tackle, Connor found his momentum carrying him up to the vaulted ceiling, adrift like a helium balloon.
Hayden was screaming as the magic fire surrounded her and burned her arms and face. Concentrating through pain like this was something that she hadn't had much practice with. Still she summoned all the strength she could find and pulled the water in to surround her. But magical...she had no idea if they could be extinguished. If it didn't work, she'd have to use the water as shield before it evaporated in the hopes of running through them. Time laid up in the infirmary was definitely in her future.
Meanwhile Aurora had relayed Connor’s instructions to Iris, though she wasn’t sure Iris was actually up to the hunt given her injuries. She paused their journey to set Iris gently back on her feet. “Are you up for this? I can look for Kennedy by myself if needs be.”
“No, I can do it,” replied Iris, forcing her brain to focus. “I just… need to focus.” She blinked hard. “Let’s go find Kennedy.”
Aurora nodded, continuing the hunt they found themselves in a corridor full of doors, no matter where she looked the doors seemed to go on forever which didn’t seem to make much sense. “This can’t be right..” she frowned.
“There’s a telepath clouding out minds,” Iris said. “I’ll bet you can counteract it.”
“I can try.” Aurora nodded before she focussed her mind on blocking out whoever was trying to influence what she and Iris were seeing. She wasn’t as powerful as Jean, not yet, but she was a fast learner.
Targeting the leader of a group always made sense to Maeve. If you put down the big bully then others tend to fall in line, or at the very least are distracted enough to try and help them. With her eyes on the battle around her Maeve threw out her right hand and felt herself slide across the ground somehow to avoid an incoming object and taking her to safety. As she came to a stop she was nearer Shinobi than she would have liked. His sarcasm, his words, had annoyed her and she could sense the sand within the glass he held. It was small, as was the limestone used to create the glass, but she held her gaze and watched it explode near his face. "Leave my friends alone." she snarled, hoping Connor would then go and deal with the man who forced Bliss through the floor.
The shattered glass flew through him and fell to the floor with a tinkling sound. "They were once my friends, too." He spoke quieter as they were nearer each other. "Then I was awakened to the fact that they are no different than anyone else. They used me for their own agendas, used me to break into someone else's home and steal from them. Just like the gangs on the streets." He paused a moment. "It's simple; be observant, look past the propaganda, and think for yourself. Now if you'll excuse me, I need another glass." Shinobi walked through the redhead to one of the undamaged cabinets, retrieved a new glass, and poured some champagne. He took note of the rest of the battle and grinned. Their only choices seemed to be either flee or die.
Rather than wait for Maeve to react to Shinobi, the diminutive Janet returned to her full human form, grabbed Maeve by the hair, and then shrunk down again to take flight, swinging Maeve around by the scalp to fling her up at Connor who was still helplessly afloat on the ceiling. Janet fired off stinger blasts at Maeve and Connor for good measure.
The sharp pull on Maeve's hair elicited a yelp of pain. Anyone with long hair would empathize with the sensation, but being flung aside like a rag doll was far worse. The force of her strike against Connor felt unusually potent. Yet, the sound of the blaster firing was a clear harbinger of impending peril. Landing in a pose reminiscent of a superhero, she aimed her palms at the walls on either side and, with a swift gesture, drew portions of the wall inward to shield them from the oncoming blasts.
The last one standing at the moment was Ethan. He was approached by both Donald Pierce and Harry Leland at once. Within range, Donald Pierce could slash him with his electrified blade and Harry Leland could send him through the ceiling or floor. Ethan would have to be careful.
Kurt bamfed to the other side of Pierce and took hold of his knife hand in an attempted armlock. "Nein, two on vone is not sporting." But he couldn't make the man's arm budge. It felt like tugging on a steel pole.
"Insufferable goblin!" Donald Pierce seized Kurt by the throat with his other hand and began to squeeze. "Your end is near."
More than the vice-like squeeze around his throat was the electrical shock that passed through his body. Kurt found himself unable to teleport. His fingers desperately clawed at Pierce's hand while his feet kicked wherever he could against the tall man's body. "Help..." Kurt gurgled.
Seeing his new teammate in serious trouble Ethan plowed into Pierce. He almost bounced off him, barely managing to stay on his feet. His claws, his now go-to attack came out. He swung at the enemy mutant. He connected but hit an armored arm. One of his claws snapped off.
Changing tactics, he pulled his claws back, then grabbed Pierce around his throat then fell backward.
Falling forward, Donald Pierce plunged his electrified blade into Ethan's middle before attempting to pry those talons free from his neck.
Ethan tried to keep his grip on Pierce, but the electricity running through his body made it impossible. He had accomplished his goal of freeing Kurt. But at what price? As he started to lose consciousness, he just hoped one of his teammates would return the favor while there was still time.
Released from the White Bishop's steel grip, Kurt fell to the floor rubbing his throat. That choke had nearly been fatal! It took a moment to get to his feet. When he did, his point ear twitched. Someone was shouting. The girls may be in the worst straits than they were. Perhaps they had found Kennedy. That was the mission, after all. This battle was diversionary at best. He vanished in a bamf.
From the hole in the floor came a fresh sound of crunching debris. Bliss appeared at the edge of the home, struggling like a swimmer against a riptide but making progress. Her expression a mask of focused rage, she reached out towards the author of her situation. Leland was lifted on a wave of floor towards the still struggling X man. She captured his ankle with her grip and let go of the tenuous grip on the edge of the hole. Like a draining sink, the pair were sucked down into the darkness.
"Noooooo!" Leland shouted just before his lumbering mass came to a quivering, sudden stop in the basement.
With the Black Bishop hoisted with his own petard, the effects of his power on Connor made him come crashing down to the floor. He landed near Selene who was casting eldritch fire with the ease of a predator toying with her prey.
"Ugh!" Connor grabbed Selene by her girdle and lifted her off the ground. They shared eye contact just long enough for Connor to absorb her energy and give it back in the form of a headbutt. The Black Queen went sailing over the edge of the hole where Bliss and Leland had disappeared.
Before Connor could respond, the Sunspot flew into his like a meteorite and sent them both crashing through the wall in a flurry of dark flame and flashes of black light. The supernova burst followed them out of the Inner Circle chambers, returning it to the eerie lighting of sconces and chandeliers.
Maeve found herself in combat with a woman possessing the ability to rapidly alter her size, rendering her nearly invisible when minuscule. In response, Maeve had crafted a pair of small shields, extending from her hands to her forearms, as a protective measure against the increasing number of stinger blasts directed at her since Connor had departed to engage another adversary.
A stray stinger blast grazed the edge of Maeve's right shield, partially hitting her right thigh and forcing her to kneel. As she did, she spotted what seemed to be a fly buzzing in the distance. From her position, she glanced at the ceiling and, with a swift motion of her left hand, she made a dramatic pulling gesture to bring a portion of it crashing down.
An entire section of plastered ceiling came down on the Black Rook. Even though she'd reverted to full size, she wasn't able to escape the falling debris. When the dust settled, her manicured hand reached out from the debris and gave a shudder before falling still.
Meanwhile, several stories below in the deep out of scumpled debris, Escapade was pounding poor Leland with focused rage. She was surely feeling the mass increasing effects of the man, but she used the moment to grab the Inner Circle member and use him to smooth the jagged sides of the hole with the man's own body. Only the appearance of Selene at the bottom of the hole changed her focus. She began to grind Selene into the debris with Leland, scrubbing them back and forth like trying to clean a honey pot with a brillo pad.
"Enough!" Shinobi bellowed from above. He shifted his density and became heavy, as dense and heavy as he dared on the old floor. "You break into my mansion! You ruin my Gala! You destroy everything you touch!" His emotions were running hot as he defended his cause, driving him to push beyond his limits. "You kill my Inner Circle! You say you've come for my White Queen! Enough is enough!" The density of the entire room immediately increased from what it normally was.
When the density of the room increased, it was like gravity had increased. There was difficulty breathing and pressure on the outside of the body thanks to the increased air pressure. Increased fatigue and the possibility of physical injury were things that had to be taken into account in this new environment. Shinobi had effectively created a suffocating, crushing, and oppressive environment for the others. "Well, how about that," he said. Then he remembered Magneto's words. "Evolution is driven by conflict, by competing forces that vie for supremacy. And now I am the master." He casually took a sip from the champagne glass that was still in his hand.
Maeve felt the air around her get heavy. It almost felt like iron had filled her lungs as she fell to her knees with the weight. Looking at the tiny woman under the rubble she couldn't, she wouldn't believe she had killed her. It was light to just knock her out right? Surely she hadn't seriously injured, or possibly killed another?
Her mind swung back to Shinobi. The once protective stone shields that adorned her forearms now had spread to cover all both her arms. An attempt to keep the limbs strong and her upright in some fashion. "Master, or maniac?" She mumbled as she noticed the care he took as he stood on the old floor of his current home.
Holding out both her arms she twisted them clockwise, the resistance of his power forcing her to double her efforts. Cracks began to form in the flooring around Shinobi. Could she make him tumble through the floors as he had done to Bliss?
Shinobi laughed and continued to increase the density around him, his goal being for the room to match his current density. It was easy enough for him to move around as the environment got closer to what he was. So he began to walk around the meeting room slowly.
"I wouldn't recommend continuing to do that," he said to the young redhead. "If you continue to put holes throughout the infrastructure of this building all the way down to the basement, you risk destroying the foundation and internal support structures. You would, in effect, bring this entire building crashing down on everyone inside. I would survive. And perhaps you, but would you be able to live with the knowledge that you murdered Charles Xavier's next generation X-Men? The blood of everyone in this building would be on your hands."
Another hole got knocked through the wall as a depowered Roberto Da Costa was strewn to rest amidst the plaster. Connor stepped through, eyes aglow with a misty red that trailed down his veins, making them pop through his uniform. It was clear where the other mutant's solar energy had went.
"WHERE IS KENNEDY?" It was difficult for him to sign in the dense atmosphere that crushed against his skin. Even the sound of his device seemed garbled as if underwater. He took a few steps and soon the red glow began to fade from him, expended by the exertion required to push through the ever thickening air that he could barely breathe. "Ugh..." he groaned from his hands and knees.
Shinobi laughed slowly, ignoring Connor's question. He looked down to him on his and knees, "Kneel, indeed. Darwin was right; survival of the fittest, natural selection...call it what you want. But in the end, you will always kneel."
While Aurora and Iris kept running the impossibly endless labyrinth of infinite doorways, the very air around them seemed to get thick and languid. Blood began oozing from the walls. Portraits came alive and began shrieking at them with eyeless sockets and tongues hanging down to their chests like panting dogs.
"GET OUT!"
"TURN BACK!"
"BEGONE!"
“You can try fooling us as much as you like!” Aurora looked towards Iris and offered a wry smile. “You’re not scaring us away!” With that she focussed on the rooms ahead. “We’re getting close, I’m sure we are. I’m sensing someone in that room ahead.” She pointed to a door to the far right at the top of the corridor.
The door opened of its own accord to reveal Professor Xavier. His face was etched in a deep scowl that was crowned by the look of sheer disappointment and contempt in his eyes. "What have you done? You are not real X-Men. You are the shame of us all." Each word was laced with telepathic compulsion like a battering ram assaulting their thoughts. "I regret the day I let you into my home. You are off the team. Don't darken my doorstep again!"
“You certainly don’t know Professor Xavier very well do you?” Aurora was focussing hard on the sole thing she and Iris had to do, finding Kennedy, and she would find her no matter what was thrown in her direction. “I suggest you get out of my head, before I burn you out of it!!”
“We must be getting close,” Iris commented. “They’re going all ‘false alarms’ like in The Labyrinth.” Then she suddenly started giggling. “They sound about as convincing, too,” she added.
"Flee before anybody else gets hurt on account of you!" Professor Xavier snarled. A sense of doom carried on the wave of his words. "They're invading the mansion as we speak! Sentinels are tearing the students apart and burning them alive! They will stand down only if you give up!"
Iris, however, saw through the ruse at once. First of all, Xavier was in a wheelchair; this apparition was not. Secondly, Xavier was older than this apparition. Whoever had created it had obviously lifted the image from Iris’s mind because this was exactly how she thought of the Professor when he wasn’t around.
So, she decided to have a little fun. “Oh good,” she said. “Once they’re gone, me and Aurora can take over the school. With all those mutant kids at our beck and call, we should be able to rule the world within a year.”
Aurora smiled and played along. “Then we most definitely wouldn’t need you Professor!” She focussed on repelling the intruder from their thoughts. “Now BEGONE!”
The apparition vanished in a fit of laughter as the X-Men offered nothing more than a myriad of insults in response to the illusion. As if harmless words would do anything to stop Mastermind.
On the other side of the door, they finally found their teammate. Kennedy was sprawled out on the bed in a sultry pose. Her body language suggested she had been that way for some time. Despite the commotion, she didn't give any indication she'd noticed them.
“Kennedy? Can you hear me?” Aurora moved across to Kennedy noting that she was most likely under someone’s spell. “Kennedy? We’ve come to take you home!”
Kennedy merely murmured and writhed against the bedsheets in response to Aurora's verbal questions. Her foggy mind and hazy logic left her helpless and bewildered in response to the gentle needling.
“Jason, what is this garbage?” A young woman with dark hair and dressed in red with a pair of sabers on her hips seemed to magically appear behind Aurora and Iris. She seemed less than amused by what she found in the bedroom and continued to talk to the absent Mastermind. “What am I going to tell Emma about all of this? Can you at least make yourself useful?”
At the woman in red’s command, Aurora and Iris were soon overcome with a crippling wave of vertigo thanks to Mastermind. Their equilibrium was destroyed and they were both left nauseated with their head’s spinning and incapacitated on the bedroom floor.
“A little girl and a pregnant teenager?!?” The woman in red scoffed at the two helpless X-Men on the ground. “What the hell kind of group is this?” The questions were more to herself than anyone else as she went to work and began to dispose of the two.
Picking up one leg of each of them, she began to drag the two out of the room. Ignoring the doors and walls, the woman simply phased through the obstacles and brought them both to the dumbwaiter lift that was right outside the bedroom that held Kennedy. Aurora and Iris had walked right past the room earlier that evening, Kennedy had been in arms reach before the combat had even started.
With a huff, a grunt, and phased push or two, she managed to load Aurora and Iris back into the dumbwaiter. In a rather unceremonious motion she lowered the dumbwaiter back down to the basement then cut the cord to the pulley system, ruining the dumbwaiter. “I better get paid overtime for taking out the trash.”
The sensation of vertigo left Aurora and Iris as they found themselves trapped in the basement of the Hellfire Mansion.
Just as the woman in red took another step, a familiar flash of bamf echoed through the room, followed by the pungent smell of brimstone. Nightcrawler materialized with practiced grace, landing lightly on the floor behind her. His tail flicked once, coiling into the space between them. His glowing yellow eyes narrowed, unsure of what he was seeing.
“Fraulein! At last!” His voice was in shock as he took stock of the scene. Kennedy was indecent at best and was guarded by a woman who looked more at home on the seven seas than in a ritzy mansion. “I hef come to rescue her. Step aside, please.”
“I don’t think so,” she said calmly, with the slightest tilt of her head. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, blue boy.”
Nightcrawler stepped forward, his lithe body coiling with readiness, though his stance remained cautious. “Perhaps not,” he said, his voice steady, “but I adjure you for vhat has been done to her. So again, I ask, step aside. I vill not ask again.”
A glint of amusement flashed in the brunette's eyes, and she casually placed her hand on the hilt of her rapier. “She’s under the protection of the Hellfire Club now. That means she stays.” Her voice was as cool as the steel she wielded.
Nightcrawler’s tail flicked, his glowing yellow eyes narrowing as the woman in the red attire faced him. She had yet to offer a name, and that made her all the more dangerous. If he could avoid a fight, then he would. Without warning, he bamfed in a swirl of sulfur and smoke, reappearing just beside Kennedy, his hand outstretched to take her and teleport them both out of harm's way.
But something was wrong.
His fingers passed through Kennedy as though she were made of mist. His hand slipped through her form, unable to grasp her arm or shoulder. Shock flickered across Kurt’s face. He tried again, swiping his hand toward her, but once more, it phased clean through. Kennedy, for her part, laid frozen, her face reflecting the same panic.
"Vhat is zhis?" Nightcrawler muttered under his breath, glancing back at the woman in red. She stood there, her posture calm, almost casual, as though she had expected his maneuver all along.
Before he could react, the glint of a rapier caught his eye. The woman had drawn her blade. Nightcrawler didn't wait to see the first strike—he bamfed again, vanishing just as the rapier swiped through the space where he had stood.
Reappearing at the far wall, he seized another rapier hanging as part of the room’s elaborate décor. With a practiced flick of his wrist, he tested the balance of the weapon, then immediately launched himself forward, closing the distance between them in an instant. The clash of steel echoed through the room as their swords met.
A series of fast, precise thrusts from the woman kept him on his toes. Her strikes were measured, deliberate, each one meant to pin him down or force him to retreat. But Kurt was faster, nimble, and elusive. He dodged to the side, parrying her blows with quick, deft flicks of his wrist.
Their blades locked for a moment with a klang!, sparks flying as Nightcrawler twisted his body away, his teleportation aiding him in dodging a particularly lethal thrust. He bamfed behind her, intending to surprise her with a quick strike. But she was ready. As he lunged, her body phased, and his sword passed harmlessly through her.
Nightcrawler’s eyes widened in frustration. The woman spun, her blade cutting through the air, her rapier effortlessly phasing through Kurt’s own sword as if it were immaterial. He barely had time to react, bamfing away again before the blade could pierce his side.
She grinned, her eyes gleaming with wicked delight, pressing her advantage. Nightcrawler bamfed again and again in a flurry of jumps, avoiding her strikes, but each time he tried to land a hit, her phasing ability rendered his efforts useless. He could feel the pressure building—if this kept up, he would be worn down.
His tail whipped behind him as he anticipated her next move. She lunged, her sword aimed directly for his chest. This time, Kurt didn't dodge; he let her blade phase through his own weapon as he sidestepped, spinning as if to dodge. With a flick of his tail, he knocked the hilt of her sword just enough to unbalance her. She staggered, caught off-guard.
In that split second, Kurt’s rapier flashed, disarming her with a deft parry that sent her sword clattering to the floor.
Without wasting a moment, Nightcrawler bamfed again, reappearing beside Kennedy. Before the woman in red could recover her footing, he wrapped his arm tightly around Kennedy’s waist, locking her into his grip.
"Hold tight, fraulein," he said. With a final bamf, they vanished in a cloud of brimstone.
The brunette retrieved her rapier just in time to watch them disappear. "Damn it," she grunted as she sheathed her weapon.
Down below in the storage closet where the ground team had changed into servers' attire, Kurt and Kennedy reappeared with a puff of smoke.
"Fraulein Kennedy, listen," Kurt said gently but frantically. "Ve hef no time to vaste. I need to take you back to ze jet but first I must see ze osthers to safety as vell. Vill you be all right for a moment?" Dazed as she was, Kurt was unsure of whether she could even hear him.
However Kurt’s teleportation worked seemed to be enough to break the hold Mastermind had on Kennedy’s mind. That brief trip through another dimension was a span of distance that caused Jason’s spell on her to be released and all the illusions started to dissolve. She didn’t respond to him at first, as the haze of who she was supposed to be disappeared and who she really was returned to her.
“I’m fine,” Kennedy finally replied but the tone of her voice indicated otherwise. She clutched her head as a splitting headache began to appear. “Go.”
"Kennedy is safe!" Kurt announced as he returned to the Inner Circle Chamber. "Retreat!"
By then the crushing weight of the overly dense atmosphere began to pull him down under its grasp. He had to act quickly! Kurt vanished in a puff, long enough to catch his breath, and then returned in front of Shinobi.
His glowing yellow eyes stared daggers at Shinobi, for everything he had done and for the condition in which Kennedy had been found. It was shameful. "God hef mercy!" Kurt shouted with contempt. For I have none, his tone implied.
Rather than fight the villain, Kurt turned back to the X-Men who were faltering amidst the deadly environment of the wrecked Inner Circle Chamber. One by one, Kurt reappeared, took hold of a teammate, and disappeared with them in tow until they were all bamfed out to safety.
Alone in the uniform closet, Kennedy collected her thoughts and began to process everything that had just happened. It had been like some sort of terrible dream where she was both inside and outside of her own body as a predetermined story played out with her as a character in it. As she finally woke up from it all she watched Shinobi phase through the ceiling of the closet like some sort of phantom.
“Jace!” Kennedy gasped his former name and took a step away from him as he appeared. Fear and horror filled her eyes as he phased into a solid mass before her. Her first inclination was to run, then to fight, but in the end her desire to understand someone she once cared for took over. “Why?”
He turned on the light and immediately held up his hands. "It's okay Kennedy, it's only me, no one else. I'd never harm you. I love you." He could tell that Emma had a hand in her attire after taking her to his his private room. "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to say it. But, I did it for you, for us."
The confession made her heart sting and her eyes filled with remorseful tears. “Jace…” Kennedy took a step towards him as she saw the person she had fallen for standing in front of her once more. “I could have loved you… I wanted to love you…”
She dared to embrace him because he was more the boy who made her laugh, who had made her feel special and wanted. Things had always been so easy with Jace which is why all of this was so hard. “But you hurt so many people. You are hurting so many people. None of this is worth what you’ve done.”
Kennedy leaned in and kissed him, a soft and sweet gesture that was filled with sadness. It was a goodbye, a final moment of affection for the person he had once been. Jace had been her person. Now it was Shinobi who stood before her, powerful and cruel, he offered her the world but in the end that wasn’t what she wanted.
“I liked you better when you had nothing. You were enough.” Kennedy took a step back from him and Kurt appeared behind her in a bamf of brimstone smoke. She reached out for his hand but her bright blue eyes remained fixed on Shinobi. “Goodbye, Lord Imperial.”
And just like that, she was gone thanks to Kurt. Returned to the X-Men and that school he had abandoned.
Kurt finally reappeared with Kennedy in the small huddle the team had formed outside. As tired as he was, he leaned against Connor's shoulder. "I... I may... a rest..."
"YES." Connor braced Kurt with one hand while signing with the other. "STATUS CHECK. IS ANYBODY INJURED?"
In the basement Aurora was slowly recovering from the mind spinning vertigo she and Iris were subjected to. To say it had made her feel sick to the stomach was an understatement, but she had managed to avoid the expected outcome. Taking a few deep breaths she slowly got to her feet checking on Iris. “Are you okay, Iris?”
A shake of her bleeding head indicated Iris was not.
Hearing Connor’s call, Aurora responded telepathically. ~Enigma and Hoodwink checking in. We’re in the basement...again.~
With her head reeling and her heart hurting from her final conversation with Shinobi, Kennedy appeared by Kurt’s side as they all collected and counted themselves. It was when she saw the faces of her teammates that the avalanche of adrenaline masked emotions finally appeared. She had been shocked, hurt, and scared but then feelings of shame and embarrassment took over. Kennedy had been warned not to come here, that the Hellfire Club was a snake’s den of immoral and dangerous people. She ignored those warnings in a quest for fortune and her former glory, what she had encountered was so much worse than she could have ever imagined. Seeing her fellow teammates now bruised and battered from the encounter left her feeling incredibly guilty and foolish.
Hugging her near naked body, Kennedy dropped down into a defeated and miserable crouching position as her tears turned into heavy sobs. “I’m sorry…” she gasped and struggled to breath as her heartache consumed her. “I’m so sorry…” Kennedy repeated over and over again in penance for what had just happened.
From the quiet of the back of the room stepped Bliss. She looked like she had been a shoved through six stories of building-- twice. Her uniform may have been wrecked but she was doing okay herself. She lowered an ornate but worn tablecloth over Kennedy's shivering shoulders. She crouched down to wrap her arm around her friend in a comforting manner. Her voice was soft and kind.
"You've nothing to be ashamed of, Kennedy, and definitely no need for apologies. You're not the first girl to have been lied to by the mutant equivalent of a big man on campus. The good news in your case is next time you see him you can put an exploding arrow in his ass. C'mon, we got places to be. Let's go home, sis."
Hayden was alive, but not unscathed. Her server's costume ranged from singed to burnt holes thanks to the magical fire. Her exposed arms and hands and parts of face were splotched with second degree burns. "Me," she said quietly. "And it hurts. Bad." She wanted to cry. But she was afraid the salty tears would make things worse. She flopped down on the ground, no more strength to even stand.
Maeve stood beside Hayden, gently nudging her in a spot unmarred by bruises or burns. "At least you've still got your looks," she quipped, her brogue Irish accent often coaxing a smile from many. Truthfully, Hayden needed a lift, not a let down. Glancing around, it seemed the whole team could use a boost after their clash at the Hellfire Club. Thankfully, they had all survived.
Shinobi's words echoed in Maeve's mind. Had she demolished the building, it could have been fatal for everyone. Her powers weighed heavily on her, with old memories resurfacing and past deeds refusing to stay buried. Pushing these thoughts aside, despite the pain in her thigh, she looked at Kennedy with empathy. "We protect each other, look out for each other. You're never alone, Kennedy," she reassured, guiding Hayden toward the jet.
Bliss looked over from where she was assisting Kennedy to Maeve with concern. She looked a mess from matted hair to shredded uniform. She hurt but would rather help her friends than herself.
"I'll do as much healing as I can on the plane, we gotta get out of here."
In his quick assessment, he saw Ethan, stoic as ever, holding his bleeding midsection. "GRYPHON IS HURT AS WELL. HE AND CALYPSO HAVE PRIORITY."
The bleeding head wound meant Iris was in no condition to fly. Fortunately Connor had more hours in the simulator by now than she did. He would get them home. While the rescue had not quite gone according to plan, nobody had been left behind.
~Well done, my X-Men~ The Professor's voice resonated throughout all of their minds. ~We have managed to boost Cerebro's output but it appears you have already been successful. The X-Mansion will be prepared to receive all wounded and weary with a hero's welcome, for you have prevailed against a great evil. I am proud of you all!~
