Subject: [OTL]: HellsX 35 Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 17:54:29 -0700 (PDT) From: D Benway HellsX [35:45] The Ambassadors Produced by Benway. See notes for disclaimers. _______________________________________________________________________________ Cassandra didn't call. They let Kitty out, two weeks later, on her own this time. She hadn't a clue about where to go. The Tea Room had closed, and was about to become a museum for the PGA. She thought about going shopping, but what was there to buy? The only things that interested her were the salespeople and their many pints of fresh, delightful, sweet, sweet blood. The Prof had ordered her to stay away from any blood drinking except under official and operating conditions. Of the thirteen bags of blood she'd been given since Gotham, she had consumed every last one of them. She had taken all thirteen onto the scale with her and consumed them, noting that as she drank them down, their weight seemed to evaporate into the air. She hadn't told anyone about the ghosting. Not Doug, not Summers, and certainly not Logan or the Professor. She wanted to tell Cassandra, but Cassandra hadn't called. Kitty spent half the afternoon looking for little leather-clad Asian girls, and was so preoccupied that she didn't even notice when the scrawny, shock-haired man sidled up beside her at the balcony over the ice rink at Rockefeller Centre. "You look familiar," he said, in a rough London accent. "You skate?" "Just like to watch," she said. "You look so much like this girl who died," said the man, discreetly checking around them before pulling out a small pistol. Kitty could see a faint blue glow around the magazine. "I could hurt you without this, ghost or not," he said. "What are you-," she said. "Come along, then," he said. He took her by the elbow towards a Yellow Cab idling at the curb. He didn't say anything, as the car made its way towards the Brooklyn Bridge. The driver watched them through the rear-view mirror, not caring that one passenger had a gun trained on the other. "How-" said Kitty. "What I'd like to do to you involves a great many tiny endsilver knives," said the man. "That, and fire." "That's why we're going to Brooklyn?" she said. "You've killed several mates of mine," said the man. "But some people think you could be very important, and so I don't get to do what I'd like to. Unless you do something stupid, that is." The car pulled to a stop in front of a row of houses. They looked expensive, not Hellfire Club expensive, but more expensive than anything she had previously known. He escorted her into the hall and down the back to a windowless kitchen lit by a single fluorescent lamp. He motioned her to sit down on a metal chair beside a formica table. "It's the custom of your host to extend every hospitality to her guests," said the man, extracting a bag of blood from a very old refrigerator. "In my opinion, she's fucking insane." "Now John," said a woman, entering from what looked like a door down to the basement. "Without the rules of hospitality, how could we possibly call ourselves civilized?" It was good question, especially as the woman appeared to be holding a shrunken human head by the hair. "My name is Maximoff," said the woman. "Wanda Maximoff." "Constantine," growled the man. "John Constantine." "Have they told you of the Watchers?" said Maximoff. "Why not let all the cats out of the bloody bag?" said Constantine. "Watchers?" said Kitty. "Have they given you any idea at all about what you're truly doing?" said Maximoff. "Fighting-" said Kitty. "Well?" said Constantine. "Don't know," said Kitty. "Bad guys." "Look in a fucking mirror," said Constantine. "John, dear," said Maximoff. "Why don't you have a look downstairs and see what's cooking?" "I can take a hint," said Constantine, heading down the basement stairs. "I'm sure someone's asked you these questions before," said Maximoff. "Someone," said Kitty. "It took us an entire day to convince a certain very angry Egyptian not to go after your head," said Maximoff. "You had a very narrow escape." "Have lots of those," said Kitty. "Look at these," said Maximoff, laying out 8 by 10 photos all across the table. Some were of the witch alive, some of the witch dead. The ones with Willow dead had the crest of the Hellfire Club on them. There were the photos of the kids frozen in the basement, before and after. There were others, with the label TOPEKA along the bottom. "Bloody hell!" said Constantine, from down below. "Mmm," said Maximoff. "Phase, please." "Huh?" said Kitty. "Your 'ghosting thing', as you put it," said Maximoff. Kitty ghosted, or phased, or whatever it was, floating a few inches off the chair, then unphased. "Now, keep looking at these," said Maximoff. "If anything unusual happens, phase at once." Maximoff disappeared into the basement. Kitty looked at the pictures, before and after. Except for the autopsy photos, she found it easier to relate to the afters. What were they laughing about, what were they smiling about, when they were alive? It seemed so strange, so unreal. "You," said a gruff voice from the kitchen door. An old man was standing there, fixing her with an uncertain gaze. He looked healthy, dressed in Old European Man clothes, but the look in his eyes reminded Kitty of her grandfather when she'd seen him for the last time. His hair was not so much white as silver. "Thou shalt not suffer a vampire to live," he said. Every drawer in the kitchen opened at once, hurling themselves off their runners and onto the floor. Every metal utensil rose, their pointed ends pointed at her. Kitty phased. Some of the floating knives had the blue glow of endsilver. They converged on a single point, her heart, with a tremendous crash. She heard, from far away, the sound of two pairs of feet running up the stairs. "Usually works," said the old man, frowning. "Fucking hell!" said Constantine. Maximoff let loose in some weird language, and the old man replied. The knives all hung in the air, inside of her phased body. "Pryde!" said Constantine. "Shift yourself over here." She floated over, away from the mass of metal. It was shedding knives and scissors and olive pitters, two and three at a time, onto the floor. Both Maximoff and the old man were now interesting shades of red. One of the old man's gestures knocked a box of semolina to the floor. "Don't unphase," said Constantine. "Get ready to catch him," said Maximoff in mid-tirade. "Hang on," said Constantine. Maximoff suddenly said something that sounded like it was in another language entirely and then glowed with that same glow that Willow had. Kitty started to salivate. The old man keeled over, and landed in their arms, almost knocking both to the ground. The remaining knives fell to the floor with a clatter. "Bloody hell," said Constantine. "Give us a hand." "Me?" she said. "Never get him up the bloody stairs," said Constantine. "So what-" said Kitty. "Put him in the lounge," said Constantine. "The living room," said Maximoff. Kitty unphased and took the old man off their hands. She carried him into the living room. She set him down on the sofa. He didn't awaken. "This strength, it amazes me every time I see it," said Maximoff. "She's so small, and yet practically a super-woman." Constantine grunted. "Pryde," he said. "What would you have done if I'd told you to break him in half?" "Uh-" said Kitty. "Don't forget what we're dealing with, Wanda," said Constantine. "I won't," said Maximoff. "Now, John, please go downstairs and decant." "Bloody hell," said Constantine, heading back down the stairs. "John isn't always this bitter," said Maximoff. "Some plans that he's been involved with for years haven't worked out quite the way he expected." "Oh," said Kitty. "Why-" "Why are you here, or why were you made?" said Maximoff. "Uh-" said Kitty. "I'll answer the second question first," said Maximoff. "You are a weapon of the Apocalypse, Kitty. The ones who made you believed that they could exploit weaknesses in your character and transform you into a directed weapon against your own kind. You were to be a front-line soldier in the next American Civil War." "Civil war?" said Kitty. "One in ten Americans is now a mutant or of the NightKind," said Maximoff. "The numbers grow each day. Many have no idea that they are anything but human. Rogers believes that mutants and NightKind are abominations, and is about to unleash a war against anyone or anything he believes to be different from a baseline human. He's made an alliance with a mutant faction that believes it can save itself by helping the humans destroy the NightKind, but they found that even they couldn't do it alone. That's where you and Logan and the ghouls come in to the picture." "Me," said Kitty. "You will be allowed to live as long as you're needed," said Maximoff. "Then Rogers will have you and the Avengers purged. If he can get his hands on magic, he'll use that to destroy our Council and all of you." "Oh," said Kitty. "But you can escape," said Maximoff. "Escape," said Kitty. "I believe you had a long talk about it with our Egyptian friend," said Maximoff. "Yes," said Kitty. "And you still want to escape?" said Maximoff. "Can't," said Kitty. "Oh?" said Maximoff. "Messed up," said Kitty. "You had no knowledge about what you were facing in Gotham," said Maximoff. "Both you and Robert were misled, in an attempt to thwart your escape. This effort was coordinated by Professor Frost." "My-" said Kitty. "My-" "Master?" said Maximoff. "Escape," whispered Kitty. "We can help you escape," said Maximoff. "Please," said Kitty. "You must do something for us in return," said Maximoff. "Something," said Kitty. "We have no-one on the inside of the club," said Maximoff. "We need someone who can get close to Emma without being detected." "Master," whispered Kitty. "Who is your master?" said Maximoff. "Don't know," said Kitty. "Which one would you side with, if forced to make a choice?" said Maximoff. "The professor," said Kitty. "And what is his name?" said Maximoff. "His name?" said Kitty. "What is the professor's name?" said Maximoff. "Emma Frost," said Kitty. "Emma Frost is your true master?" said Maximoff. "Yes," said Kitty. "This is not correct," said Maximoff. "But-" said Kitty. "You obey her because of link between her virgin body and the thing that created you," said Maximoff. "Yet she is even more of a prisoner than you are." "Don't understand," said Kitty. "Then I shall explain," said Maximoff. "The Council watches over magic. We control the power that our Mother the Earth grants us, for her benefit. This is what we like to believe, yet no two persons on the Council have the same understanding of what that means. So, over the years, various factions have arisen, all of which have different ideas about how Rogers should be stopped and your country brought back down to Earth, as it were." "Oh," said Kitty. "We seldom send true magic users over to this land, and when we do it is to rescue any users who spontaneously arise, " said Maximoff. "If any one were captured, the results could be catastrophic. One faction, many years ago, recruited mutants to send here instead, to infiltrate society and government. Some of these are still in deep cover, but others have betrayed us. The man who imprisons Emma Frost is one of these." "Master?" said Kitty. "Imprisoned?" "Emma Frost ran the Hellfire Club, a private army of mutants allied with Rogers," said Maximoff. "Xavier and a small band of our mutant allies was charged with taking care of the club, and leaving a message that other mutants planning to ally with Rogers would understand. During an attack on the club, Xavier was gravely wounded and lost his body. He was a powerful telepath, and his consciousness took over the mind of Emma Frost, imprisoning her within. Since none there knew of this, Xavier pretended that he was Frost and took over the club, betraying us. It seems that he believes that he can take care of Rogers on his own, without our help. In so doing, he's become Rogers' unwitting ally in the approach to Civil War." "Then-" said Kitty. "You've never spoken to your master," said Maximoff. "You are in thrall to a liar and a thief who holds your master prisoner, and who must be destroyed." "Destroyed," said Kitty. "When he is destroyed, you and Douglas and your Master can escape," said Maximoff. "We can get you out. It will be payment to you for the help you will be giving us to weaken Rogers' regime." "I-" said Kitty. "It's ready," said Constantine, emerging from the basement holding what looked like a ghoul's midnight snack in his hand. "My Master is not my Master?" said Kitty. "You must free your Master," said Maxmoff. "But how?" said Kitty. "Go back," said Maximoff. "Tell no-one you can phase." "Especially Ramsay," said Constantine. "Doug?" said Kitty. "That comment seems to indicate a remarkable absence of wisdom," said Maximoff, coldly. "Not from where we're standing," said Constantine. "We've got new contacts in there, not ones who've been feeding us lies for the last decade." "Our information is solid," said Maximoff. "Our sources remain fully under our control. We're not relying on sources that have yet to be fully tested." "That's why your faction's been so bloody effective over the years," said Constantine. "I rather thought our effectiveness or lack thereof was most strongly correlated with infighting," said Maximoff. "Er-" said Constantine. "If you wish to free your master, Kitty, this is what you must do," said Maximoff, holding out the thing that Constantine had brought from the basement. "You must smuggle this into the Club this evening, and hide it in a place where you can get to it. When the time comes, take it to the professor's office, and place it anywhere on his person. That is all you need to do. We will handle everything from that point onwards." "But-" said Kitty. "Yes?" said Maximoff. "He could tell me not to," said Kitty. "And I couldn't be sure-" "He won't," said Constantine. "We've made sure of that." "Oh," said Kitty. "But, how will I know-" "When to do it? said Constantine. "You'll know. We'll get word to you. There'll be no doubt." "How will I know you won't betray me too?" said Kitty. "You don't," said Constantine. "Got any other rescue offers?" "Uh-," said Kitty. "We have no intention of betraying you, Katherine," said Maximoff. "Our goal is to free every mutant and every one of the NightKind in America. You have as much a right to walk our Mother Earth as does any other creature." "Who follows the Council's orders," said Constantine. "And what would you do, John?" said Maximoff. "Follow in Charles' footsteps? Build yourself a little forest on an island between the two warring parties? When I say we will rescue everyone, I mean everyone." "Everyone?" said Constantine. "Everyone," said Maximoff. "Even her." "I heard-" said Constantine. "I'm in charge in the field, John," said Maximoff. "It's my decision." "Wasn't expecting-" said Constantine. "If you stopped being in love with your own misery for five minutes, John, you might recognize that the entire world is not against you," said Maximoff. "Bloody well feels like it," muttered Constantine. "I-" said Kitty. "Yes?" said Maximoff. "They search us on the way," said Kitty. "Scan us." "Ah yes," said Maximoff. "We prepared for that eventuality. John?" Constantine picked the ghoul's breakfast off the table. Kitty could see where the holes for the eyes and ears had been sewn shut. "I believe you have a number of bodily orifices you are no longer using," said Maximoff. "I can handle any installation that you are uncomfortable with. I am, among other things, a registered nurse." "Can't hold it in," said Kitty. "This sac has been treated to prevent your body from rejecting it," said Maximoff. "You should be able to contain it until you can hide it within your apartments." "They'll see," said Kitty. "They might, if most of the cameras weren't broken," said Maximoff. "The one in your lav won't work," said Constantine. "Took care of that. There's a tile underneath the hot water tap in the bath that's loose. You could hide it in there, and no-one would know. They stopped searching your bathroom months ago." "Oh," said Kitty. "The plan is foolproof," said Maximoff. "In two months, you will have a new life free from fear." "Two days," said Kitty. "I'm afraid we won't be ready-" said Maximoff. "Cassandra said it would take two days," said Kitty. "Then I could escape." "Thing is," said Constantine. "Her plan was rubbish. Ours is so bloody wonderful we have to put on a plinth and admire it for a month or two before we start in on the messy business of executing it." "What John means is that we have a far less extensive network now than we once had," said Maximoff. "It will take more time to execute our plans, although circumstances may cause them to come to fruition sooner." "So," said Constantine. "You in?" "Two months," said Kitty. "Then, escape?" "Provided that you play the role we have assigned to you," said Maximoff. "Will you do it?" Kitty took the sac and secreted it within her person. Her body did nothing to reject it. "I'll take that as agreement," said Maximoff. "You can stop staring now, John." "What do I-" said Kitty. "Our people inside will contact you when the time comes," said Maximoff. "Oh," said Kitty. "Right," said Constantine. "Just so you know, we've had some bint we hired dressed like some mad Scotsman's idea of Death, and she's been leading your shadowers all across Manhattan today. She's just crossed the Brooklyn bridge on foot, and if you leave right about now for Hoyt/Schermerhorn, she'll switch off with you. No one will ever know you were here." "Oh," Kitty muttered. "Shalt not," muttered the old man in his sleep. Kitty found the station easily enough, but didn't see her double. She did see a lot of people reading the newspaper, and conversing animatedly. "Can you believe it?" said an old man in a black coat and a homburg. "Some guy in Gotham says Captain America's a vamp!" [Next: Bruce Wayne]