To Raise a Tempest... Ch 5 Disclaimer in Ch 1 Far above the interlopers, the faint scent of decaying flesh and antiseptic has yet to draw attention. A furtive shadow of a beast on the prowl skulks in the darkness, tasting the air with anticipation... Somewhere below, the levitating Phoenix shivered slightly, her thoughts on the matter easily read by both Psykeye, Madame and Cable, The feral snarl of the wild beastman clearly identified the "who" as Madame whispered, |It was.. Sabretooth!| Psykeye looked up in time to see the leprous looking cretin's trajectory and easily sidestepped his flailing claws as he impacted on one of the "stepping stones". She wrinkled her aristocratic nose in distaste, [OF course... Who else could be tracked solely by his foul stench?] With one smooth motion she stored the psiblade hilt on her utility belt while cocking back the other fist, her violet eyes narrowing as she found an outlet for her anger and frustration, [Oi, ye bloody, banjaxed furball, maybe t'isn't fair to take it out on ye... even if yer not the 'real McCoy...no offense, Henry ...but ye got no idear how bad I've been wanting to do...] [...THIS!!] she projected directly into what passed for the clone's under developed brain, her psi-blade firing at the moment her gauntleted fist connected with his jaw...and a rush of Otherworldly strength sending the creature flying into a solid containment door. The underdeveloped clone impacted with a dull thud, punctuated by the grinding of meat and bone and a sticky residue trailing down the door as he sank into a heap almost at Hank's feet. The scientist peeked between his fingers, a grimace evident on his furry mug as he shook his head in disgust at the sight, "hmmm... Send in the clones! And one with a glass jaw! How disappointing for you, Psykeye?!" Remy chuckled in the shadows as he lit up a smoke, "Jus' t'ink how poor Remy feel, Henri. Woulda been nicer t'take all our frustrations out on th' real t'ing, neh? Ol' Remy here ain' sure wha' our fair 'Lisabet found in tha' batard's noggin, but she ain' looked at me th' same way since then... Lookin' at me th' same way she look at him..." Beast merely shrugged, as though to indicate that what ever romantic problems the wily Cajun was having with his Coda lady were no concern of his, "Perhaps, my gambling grifter, but t'would be a fleeting moment of gratification, since this inferior facsimile is barely half the man.. er.. beast, our filaceous flea bag purports to be..." "Scruitinise this particular example," Hank observed with clinical detachment, not noting the various looks of revulsion to mild disgust on his compatriots faces, "He is as blighted as a cadaver that has been exposed to the elemental and organic scavengers for a week. Riptide appeared to be in less malodorous condition. This... thing...is a life betrayed by its very creator!" Phoenix encapsulated the offending organics in a forcefield and flung them into the depths of the chamber, He chuckled, "Ah...I cannot say that I regret the removal of such a regurgative subject matter, my facile firebrand, but this presence raises an intriguing conundrum. We can here with a specific agenda: to gain access to any information Sinister may have on the Legacy Virus, as well as his rather obfuscating partnership with a certain mentor of a certain research institute...and thus far, we have obtained bupkis! So much for the best laid plans of mice, men and Beasts!" Cable shook his pale head while tapping his cybernetics and telepathy into the resident computer system, [My apologies, lady, but I want a look at this myself. Now we can all walk away, allowing Sinister the continued ability to re-create all this cannon-fodder of his, who happen to be on SHIELD's "most wanted" list... or we can find what we came for, with or with out your help, lady...] Phoenix and Psykeye looked at each other shaking their heads as Madame allowed the cyberneticly enhanced merc to "hack" into the system, guiding him, and helping him along the way, |You underestimate me, young man!| Hank nodded, "I am not certain we have, Madame, but we can't allow Sinister..or Xavier..to continue this. But I find myself confronting a critical concern: is it ethical of us... of me especially, as a doctor and a researcher...to destroy all the vast potential for good contained here?" Remy shook his head and slunk a bit deeper into the shadows. He was the last one to be speaking of ethical concerns: Guildmaster of the Thieves' Guild, and consort of the most recent of the Coda Majestrixes. He was treading a dangerously thin line, and was unsure what the consequences might be. The resident telekinetic raised an eyebrow at Hank's quandary, "Are you suggesting we rent a moving van and haul this out of here? Liz and Emma have always said that knowledge is power... it's a tool, and in the right hands, it can accomplish a great deal... let's use it." Madame's thoughts gently intruded on the debate, |With a word, I can eliminate some of that power, my dear children. Sinister could lose access to the genetic research he has been compiling for a very, very long time...| The Coda Sister shook her violet mane, [I don't think so, Madame...] |Very well. Shall I create a core dump to a location of your choice?| the fragile old woman inquired, |Do we really have a choice? Sinister..and Xavier..must be stopped, but Phoenix is right: in the right hands, this data is priceless and could accomplish a great deal!| Liz raised her cybernetic eyes to gaze in the sightless eyes of her former mentor, [We have no right to be judging the data itself. Whatever previous motives or decisions have brought it into *our* hands are beyond our control. What *is* in our control is the decision to use this for a the benefit of the many, not just the few...] She gave an IP address and a domain server to Cable and Madame, [Computer access, you'll need to override the ICE, but Emma's waiting for it. There's a bank of Otherworld techno-magickal mainframes on the other side of that gateway. If you're going to run a core dump, make it fast and make it clean. We're going to extract as soon as a cascade failure can be instituted here.] Phoenix and Hank looked at her expectantly, the redhead speaking for them, "I'm not sure we can do that, Liz. Your friend is still symbiotically linked to that machine. Without her, this is not a situation we can control or dominate..." [Is it not?] the Coda replied with a raised eyebrow as they watched the transmission, pacing like a restless lioness, [WE are here. Xavier and Sinister are not. I do not care to think of this sort of power in the hands of madmen, Redd. There are people dying of the LV, of AIDS and far more things than we can care to count. And precisely what have men like Xavier and Sinister done about it? NOTHING!!] Both Phoenix and the Beast winced at the vehemenance in her tone, and Hank began to understand..remembering that this Coda Sister was also Sight-gifted, and that what he'd suspected about her escalating psi-powers and bodily changes might be true... "Why do you feel so strongly about this, m'lady?" he asked her, the concern genuine, as well as the professional curiosity. [Two reasons, Bones,] she replied, ticking off on her gauntleted fingers, [One: becuase I've head my life ripped apart, more than once. Everything I thought I was, stolen from me: my sight, my sanity, my very identity. My sense of self determination and my sense of self stripped from me by this debacle with Kwannon. I know how helpless a person can feel when they are at the mercy of the caring and charity of others to tend their needs. I know how Madame feels, bereft of the world she was once an active part of, her body decimated by Lou Gherig's disease: artero-lateral sclerosis, a bright wonderful mind trapped in a shell!] Phoenix felt her friend's anxiety and concern as the Coda loosened the cowl around her neck, exposing some fine, angry red lines that disappeared under her long, violet hair and down beneath her dulled pewter and black battle armor, [There is another, more pressing issue that qualifies me to make decisions on this matter. I know why you've been keeping such a close watch on me, Hank. The pieces have fallen together, so that even one with rapidly increasing levels of Sight-gift and no scientific background can peice it together... I have been infected with this Legacy Virus, as well.] Remy swallowed hard, his garnet eyes glimmering in the darkness. That was not what he'd expected. Candra had sought to bring this one under "control", but there had been no order to eliminate the renegade Coda Sister... "mon dieu," he whispered hoarsely, his voice choking as he slipped away from them, his mind racing. Had Xavier sought to "bind" her into the X-Force by offering to "treat" her in return for loyalty? No, that would be too unethical, even for him, wouldn't it? This was the man who'd violated Stormy, Phoenix, Bobby and others among his students, in a more intimate way that the mind control he'd witnessed the old man exercise on lesser occasions to keep Rasputin under his thumb after the Russian's little sister had died... Hank shook his head, "I am sorry, Elisabeth. I have suspected, but been uncertain, because the pathology is taking a different route through your bio-system..." Liz let him fold her into a comforting embrace as Phoenix slipped in to make it a threefold, [It doesn't surprise me, Bones. I'm becoming less and less human...] the telekinetic asked, lending what emotional support she could, and still feeling like it wasn't enough. [I'm half Otherworlder, half human, Redd,] she explained, pushing violet hair back to show pointed ears, [And I'm rather like Prince Namor. I've a mutation in the soup, as well. This unbelievably strong precog aspect to my Sight-gift is not normal for Otherworlders, who are ESPers and telepaths predominately... as to what it's doing, Bones can explain that better, I should think...] "...well, I can but try," he interjected as they waited for the core dump to complete, "and I shall do so while we make use of that Sight-gift of yours and our fair friend's 'kinetics to move this plethora to that old SHIELD HQ under Emma's immense edifice. You're certain, m'lady Elisabeth, that you have secured it?" The Coda smiled wanly, [Aye... It has been mothballed, and I've ensured that even the redoubtable Nick Fury shan't interfere with a forgotten facility such as this!] Time passed as they translocated the DNA library and equipment to storage buried almost a mile beneath Manhattan, Hank McCoy did his best to explain the strange course of the Legacy Virus through the Otherworlder's system, "...so you see, it is not killing our pulchritudinous psychic, but rather eliminating the human DNA by rewriting it, thusly justifying the perfect points upon her outer ears, and the lower body temperature, slower metabolic rate and improvement in her imperviousness and recuperative faculties!" Phoenix nodded, 'kinetically shifting another load "between", "And how does that explain Liz's increasing levels of psychic power, "Bones"?" The Otherworlder telepath smiled ruefully, [The nature of the virus is to amplify and increase the power levels of the infected, only in my case, it's not killing me, I'm able to keep up with it, thanks to Emma and Joseph's help. I'm controlling the power as it increases, and the genetic changes mean that I'm less and less human. I'm becoming a full Otherworlder...like Roma, for example. I'm just "growing" in a way, and there's growing pains with it.] "You know I'll be there for you, Liz," she said softly, brushing a bead of sweat off her brow from the effort of moving so much weight via clairvoyant viewing, "You were there for me.. it's only fair." Psykeye flashed the redhead a gracious smile, and squeezed her hand, [I appreciate it, Redd. I'm going to need all the help I can get!] Their reverie was broken by Hank who handed over a bottle of spring water from his backpack, "Here you are, requisite refreshment for the body and soul..." "Thanks, Hank." Phoenix replied sinking into a comfortable levitated position, "Sit, luv, I'm not so tired that I'm going to drop you..." The telepath acquiesced as Beast moved to check on the progress made by Cable and Madame, sighing contentedly as she leaned back in perfect comfort... They both knew that their respite was going to be short lived....