To Raise a Tempest... Ch 1 Disclaimer: The X-Men and Hellfire Club are Marvels, the Coda are Wildstorm's and the story is mine. No profit is being made from this story, it is solely intended for entertainment value. Xavier Institute, New York. Dr. Moira MacTaggert, Lady Kinross, Dr. Charles Xavier and Dr. Hank McCoy were gathered in the high tech sickbay and research labs, going over the latest statistics of the epidemic Legacy Virus... For the mutant "militia" known as the X-Force who lived there, the Institute has become as much a barricade as a home...and if things continue as they recently have, if this deadly new virus carried on the winds of hate and revenge continues to spread, then the Institute would also become a refuge, a sanitarium...and possibly even a tomb, though those eminent geneticists present would prefer to think other wise. Hank was busily programming data into one of the terminals, configuring a holographic projection of the most recent outbreaks of the mutant plague while Charles briefed Moira, "The glowing points indicate the most recent outbreaks of the Legacy Virus..." "Of the five new casualties today..." she replied, looking over her own reports, just faxed in from Muir Isle, "the only positive ID is on an Iraqi military agent called Aminedi." The winged mutant, and one of the major financial backers of the Institute, Sir Warren Worthington III looked on, "The disease Stryfe unleashed is spreading across the world, isn't it?" A weary Beast nodded, "It has, Warren, and it seems that Elisabeth is right, there is nothing we can do about this dreaded disease--except watch it kill off innocent mutants one by one...and watch Homo Sapiens celebrate the demise of so called Homo Superior." Xavier turned to one of his earliest students, from the first class, raising an eyebrow as he sought to soothe the tired man's doubts, "Do you *really* believe that, Hank?" The blue furred researcher turned dull blue eyes at his one-time mentor, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Why of course not, Charles--how else am I to get you great me like a man of weight and substance--unless I act as morally perturbed and angst-ridden as everyone else in this room?" Charles winced as his attempt to mollify the Avenger glanced off a set of well constructed passive psi-screens, "Hank, I have already appologised for Moira and myself, about not having originally consulted you regarding the Virus when we first suspected its existence...we did not wish to burden you unduly..." The man called Beast glared balefully at Xavier and MacTaggert, "But Illyana Rasputina is already dead, Charles, and I can't blame either of you for that, but you can't deny it anymore: the longer you dawdle, the more mutants become infected...who knows how many more may die?" Charles looked away, not knowing what to say as the blue furred Avenger continued, "And, to add fuel to that fire, I know of at least one *non* mutant whom appears to have been infected..." And as if on cue, Charles, Moira and Warren turned to watch grimly as more points of light began erupting on the holodisplay....as the satellite scanners registered one more victim claimed... Elsewhere, in New York's China Town, Liz Braddock faced down a handful of seasoned opponents, her violet eyes sparkling in anticipation of a challenge... [Sooo...who wants to go first?] she taunted, as her cybernetic eyes adjusted to the gloom, broken only by the insidious neon glow of signs and the occasional flash of lightening over head. Cable, Phoenix, Shatterstar, Storm and Shinobi Shaw were there to ascertain their strategic abilities and tactics, to gage one another's skills in the case of needing to defend against the likes of an ambush from their rivals... Shinobi chuckled, delighting in teasing her, "Give it your best shot, you hoity-toidy British tea-sippin' scone-eatin' telepathic swordswinger...." Cable's eye glowed as he watched her relaxed stance, knowing that the subtle tension in her muscles signified that the Coda was ready for anything they'd throw at her, "Feel free to start with the loudmouth over there, if you like?" Phoenix hovered above the scene, her glowing, golden eyes alight, ready for a little fun, as the Coda Sister bestowed them with a predatory smile, "Why Cable, how gallant of you..." A moment later, the peculiar slip-slide of psionic energies coalesced in an amethyst beam emitted from a focusing hilt Emma and Joseph'd cooked up for her over the last week or so. It made focusing her talents much easier, and more potent...looking something like a violet lightsabre. She feinted toward the phasing Shaw, keeping them off guard with her banter, "..but the point of this exercise is to determine what course of action to take in a fight or flight situation, isn't it? And when *I* am placed in a do or die situation... A Coda takes out as many opponents as she possibly can..." The speed at which she turned and struck Cable was astonishing, the psi-blade slicing through his techno-organics and spinal column, not stopping to watch his metallic body parts splay out of control as she flipped over Ororo Munroe's head, avoiding a lightening bolt. "Coda start with the best," she informed them, "the biggest threat, and work their way down..." The Otherworlder then jumped again, tackling the weather-witch who'd gone air borne, using her telepathy to confuse the Egyptian's sense of direction, ricocheting off a wall as Ororo slammed into it--thinking she was heading for open sky... She landed behind Shinobi, who didn't realise quite where she was, "And as for you, Shee, don't think I'm going to go lightly on you, luv... it's about time you learned to fend for yourself in combat!" He lunged toward where he *thought* she was, only to stumble in the alley, and find her psi-blade disrupting his phased form as easily as if he were solid, he cried out in agony as the layers of his mind and his neurological functions were turned inside out... "And you can be thankful that my psi-blade is a fraction of my telepathic abilities, luv," she told him as he collapsed to the floor, clutching his head. "ooooohhh, maaaaaan," Shaw muttered, "major excedrin headache... when am i ever going to start thinking straight?" Phoenix dove down toward her, using her telekinetic powers to stir up the litter in the alley, attempting to slow the Coda telepath's movements, "Come on, Liz, no need to run away..." She turned, ducking under a fire escape, 'pathing to the redhead, [There is, Redd, a difference between running away, and running to!] The telekinetic tackled what she thought was the purple-maned telepath, "And you just ran into a whole heap of trouble, Ingles!" Thinking she'd pinned the Englishwoman, she teased her, "Interested in trying some of that mindscramble on me? Oh, I forget, you already know who's inside of my head..." A hand tapped Phoenix on the shoulder, [No, your psi-shields are still fragile, Redd. I won't risk you going comatose again...but I'll confuse the hell out of ya, luv!] The recovering redhead shook her fiery locks out of her eyes, tying them back with a clip, "I expected to do better..." Liz hugged the other woman gently, [You're still healing, and that takes time, Redd. You know good and well that Emma and I aren't going to let you push your self yet... Now, whose turn to be "it"?] "Shinobi? Cable? You up for it," Ororo asked, helping the Ameriasian back to his feet as the merc "collected" his Techno-organics back into some semblance of order... "Yeah, sure..." he replied woozily, "Once my head stops bulging like one of Stallone's biceps..." Liz moved to Shatterstar's side, noting that he had not participated, [What about you, 'Star? Afraid of being beaten by a girl?] His silver eyes flickered, "Fekt, no... I am watching, and learning. The others, I am familiar with, but you...you are a true warrior. Would that you would be willing to cross swords with an arena warrior?" The Coda chuckled, [You had best be prepared to earn some bruises, lad...] Up in the control room, for the holodeck, Joseph von Lensherr and Emma Frost watched their associates, while recording the vitals on them during the exercises. "I don't know if I'm comfortable with this, Emma," he told her, as the ice blonde telepath donned something akin to a more advanced Cerebro helmet with his help. "..And you think I am?" she replied, as he set the controls, "It is my decision, Joseph. From what we've learned, Charles is planting subliminal suggestions, blocks and using more blatant mind control on his students... I need to find out if it is Charles, or if his actions are controlled by some intruder... I *will* have answers, and I'd rather keep some of our suspicions between us, before we disturb the others with what may just be supposition on our part." "I can understand that," the Master of Magnetism replied quietly, "But I feel that Elisabeth should be involved if we're..." Emma shook her silvery bangs out of her eyes, "...we shouldn't bother Liz about this...after all she's been through. I need to find out if it was Charles...who did this, or something more...sinister. I would really rather keep this between us for the moment, if you don't mind, Joseph." The Master of Magnetism nodded quietly, appreciating Emma's innate caution, "From what we've learned, Charles is under a great deal of strain: his shields are "brittle" and he is ostensibly growing more desperate to "bind" the loyalty of his 'students' to him...and my findings agree with what we gathered from McCoy's findings: Elisabeth has been infected with a variant of the Legacy Virus..." Meanwhile, down in the holodeck, Cable watched Liz and Shatterstar trade blows, their swords ringing like silver bells. Coda versus gladiator: two very different fighting styles. One showy and flamboyant, the other efficient, graceful and no less lethal. Liz gasped, dropping her blades, clutching her head as her mindshields exploded outward, only the split second timing of Phoenix's telekinetic grasp prevented her from crumpling into a heap... Up in the control booth, Emma and Joseph were shielded by his magnetic fields, blissfully unaware of the situation below... The ice-telepath raised an eyebrow at her longtime friend, [And what if we find that an outside influence is dictating his actions? What if there's something eating him away from the inside? And what about Liz? What if he deliberately infected her? What is she going to do?] he asked gently,