Hello, its me again.  Now this is not the complete version of Vol III code named Effect, but instead a preview chapter.  Its to let people know I haven't given up and that I'm still writing it.  There may be changes made between now and the final product but this is basically, how it will all begin.  I hope to try to get done sooner than later, but classes and all that.  Now I don't expect you to read this story, as I didn't expect people to read the first two stories, instead read somebody else's, like Dr Benway's or Philip Hunn.  For disclaimer look at the first two volumes.  To contact me I am llm202@psu.edu , I like feedback that is truthful.  If you hate something tell me.  I promise to try to get the rest done as soon as possible.
 

Prelude:

 A young man of thirteen ran down the alleyway.  His body language spoke nothing but terror but his mind, yes, his mind was tranquil and orderly.  He had to look scared, even though he wasn't.  That was the only way this was going to work.  The man he was looking for had to think he was scared out of his mind.  He knew he would be down this alleyway; he just had to keep running.

 Thump!  The boy ran into something -- no, someone, the person he was looking for.  He looked into the features of this man, his face lit up by the soft glow of a cigarette.  It looked just like the pictures from the database, even with the added years.  He was the first person to be needed if they were going to stop the evil being.  He looked into those eyes with his own eyes full of fake tears.

Pete Wisdom just looked down at this very distraught boy.  He looked familiar but couldn't place the face.  "Wot in the bloody 'ell is wrong wit' you, kid?"  He showed his usual tact.

"My-my-my name's Piotr Ramsey. And I-I..."

"Ramsey?  You're Kitty's brat?"  He started seeing the resemblance.  He had heard Kate had kids but didn't quite believe it.  In truth he only knew a limited amount about the X-Men these days and that's the way he liked it.

"Y-y-yeah and she and m-m-my sister are in tr-tr-trouble..."  He felt these emotional outbursts and the stuttering between tears made the distraught seem that more believable.  "I-I-I can't go ba-ba-back while he's there..."  A half-truth at best.  He could go back but he didn't want to as the evil would be waiting and he knew he wasn't strong enough to face it at this moment.

Pete reached out his arm to offer the kid something resembling sympathy but was taken aback as a flame shot by.  It was Lockheed.  "You bloody little rat!"

"H-h-he decided to co-co-come with me.  He co-co-could sense the evil too."  The little dragon gave Pete a stare that showed the highest amount of protectiveness.  He never saw that look from the dragon, not even for Kate.  The dragon knew something was wrong and Pete knew the dragon may be a pest but when it came to danger to Kate, he was, well, he was Lockheed.

"Kid, I think you better start at the beginning."
 

Chapter 1: Home is where the heart is

Five years later

The personal log of Douglas Ramsey

There is nothing to report on the current state of the team formerly known as the Hellions.  They are as they had been since being awakened, there but gone.  I'm not a medical doctor but I of course have had the most knowledge of this technology.  Emma has been working with them on a mental level trying to restore them and also trying to restore Jubilee back to her former self.  I have more hope for the Hellions' recovery than I do Jubilee's.

"Dammit!"  He wasn't really mad, just frustrated.  He had volunteered to help restore the Hellions because he had experienced what had happened to them, his son now had been missing for what was going on five years, the X-Men were now run by a bunch of bureaucrats and his daughter led the Blue Team.  His life was full of enough stress without feeling a phantom limb.  He turned and looked at Sharon who was starting to cry.  Out of all the Hellions she had recovered the most.  She was capable of speech, her memories were still there, and she could accomplish things and not just be in a conscious coma like her teammates.  Yes, she had progressed much father than the rest of her team, but things had changed for her as a result.  She no longer used her mutant powers and looked more human than she ever did, her sing-songy voice was no longer there, her attitude had switched to an almost unparalleled level of timidness, and any hostility around her she felt was directed at her, even that little bit of anger Doug just showed.

He wanted to say something to try to calm her down but she was already running back to the room with the other Hellions and Emma.  Emma would yell at him later for hurting Sharon like that, but he was too busy with other things right now.  He needed a distraction from worrying about the Hellions.  He activated an icon on his desktop, and a program he designed a few years back was up and running.  It was an improvement on Cerbero's mutant locator system so that a psychic wouldn't have to use it and there would be no power loss.  He had it in a continuous search for his son but, so far, he had never even had a blip.  He missed his son with his heart but he knew whatever sadness he felt was small in comparison to what Kate felt about it.  She blamed herself for him leaving but Doug knew the truth.  It was and always had been Doug's fault.

Meanwhile, five miles down the road from the mansion, in an unmarked van, three people are finishing their preparations.

"Are you sure this is wot you want, kid?"  A voice came from the driver seat as he turned to look into the back of the van at the figure doing a last minute weapons check.  The figure didn't even acknowledge the question but locked a clip in his berretta and placed it in his shoulder harness and did the same thing with a second one.

"Leave him alone," a very young, feminine voice came from the passenger seat.  "I may not have known him as long as you, but you were the one who always assured me he could do almost anything he set his mind to.  You even told me everything he learned was leading up to this mission and I'm feeling this should be a great learning experience for all parties involved."  She turned to look at the man in the back seat who had all his weapons locked onto his body and was now working on the computer.  This was all his equipment and all his information, and all she was here for was to be an observer.  He had no help whatsoever and was going to be totally by himself.  She smiled -- this was going to be more than interesting.

The computer displayed a schematic of the mansion and also where all the X-Men and other residents were.  The Blue Team was the only activated combat team on the premises, the Hellions including Emma and Jubilation were there, the Ramsey family was present, and also the Jean Grey half of the administration.  They had the mutant healer, Josh, on staff too.  The computer showed the easiest path for him to take, so he would run into the least amount of sensors and enemies.  He could get to his target, take care of it, and get out in less than fifteen minutes.  He pressed some buttons on the computer and the path shown changed, it was a path now that would cause him to run into all the Blue Team.  He zipped up his Kevlar mask, donned his night vision goggles, and placed on his black ski mask then slung a riffle over his shoulder.  He tapped on the driver's shoulder to signal it was time.  They drove up to the mansion and he got out right before the gate and disappeared.

"Now what are we supposed to do?  Just sit here and wait?"  She pulled out a cigarette and lit it up.

"Nope.  Not "we" -- you.  Me and the bloody rat with wings 'ave somebody we 'ave to visit."  Pete pulled out a cigarette of his own and Lockheed lit it, but burned Pete's lips.  They may never be friends but in the five years they've spent together these two former enemies have learned a great deal of respect for each other.  Pete stepped out of the van follow by Lockheed then disappeared in the darkness just as the person before them had.

In the kitchen of the mansion two of the members of the X-Men Blue Team, or B-Team as it was called, were on a mission of their own.  "Man, oh, man...Zack, my friend, we can't do this every Friday night."  Charles Summers let out an exaggerated sigh as he slumped against the kitchen counter.

"Can't do what, Charles?"  Zachary Starsmore pulled out a container of Dijon mustard and set it with the deli meats on the counter and went back to rummaging through the fridge.

"Charlie.  How many times have I told you, call me Charlie... or Burst.  Only my mother calls me Charles."  He grabbed a piece of turkey from the pile of cold cuts which had started to form.  "And what do you mean "what"? This!  It's Friday night, we're young, we have an awesome car, and a government expense account.  We should be out at a local club hitting on some hot women, man.  Not making sandwiches and watching whatever is on TV."

"Hmm.  We're out of Miracle Whip."  He pulled out of a jar of mayonnaise instead and went to the counter and began making his meal.

"Hey! Are you listening to me, man?" Charlie fired a small plasma burst at a piece of bread Zachary had set on the counter burning it.

Zachary looked down at the piece of burned bread and proceeded to pick it up and toss it out.  He went over to the bread box and pulled out some other bread.  "You know that was the last piece of the Jewish rye, I now have to use the wheat bread."  He began piling assorted deli meats on his piece of bread.  "And yes, I have been listening to you.  The thing I don't understand is, why me?  There are other guys you can hang out with, so why don't you ask them or go alone?"

Charles snatched some bread and began making his own sandwich.  "Who else do I have to ask?  Jack? Frank? Matt?  Jack wouldn't go because he hates me, I would never ask Frank because he's an ass -- no wait, not just an ass, but Captain Ass, leader of the Ass Brigade, a team devoted to being douche bags.  And Matt, well, I don't think he even leaves the mansion unless for a mission.  And going alone is out of the question.  I need a wingman."

"No thanks."  He placed the finishing slice of bread on his sandwich.  "Besides I don't think girls would go for me that much."

"Man, have you seriously looked in a mirror lately?  You are probably the best looking guy at the mansion, right behind me.  I only say behind me because I'm quite vain and egotistical.  You're not your father.  Your mutant power didn't blow off half your fucking face leaving you an ugly son of a bit-" He didn't get to finish as a quite strong hand was now closed around his throat.

"Let's get one thing straight, 'Charles'.  Never, EVER, talk that way about my father."  The fury in the usually calm eyes of the man codenamed Reject was boring into Charles' body.  "If you understand, blink twice."  Charles could've tried shooting a plasma burst into this man to break the hold but he's seen him take his strongest blasts at point blank range and just shrug them off so he figured blinking would be the safest bet.  "Good.  And now I wouldn't talk about fathers.  Yours is the one who always chases after the girls with weird hair colors.  First green and then blue?  That's just weird."  His grip loosened and Charles slid down to the floor.  Zachary then took a bite out of his sandwich which he never let go in the whole confrontation.

Outside the kitchen a masked figure was listening to the whole conversation.  He had avoided all the sensors and was now waiting to make his move.  He had plotted out fifteen different ways to get in and beat both these guys during their argument.  These two were easy even though the one was supposed to be at durability level of invulnerable and the other's plasma bursts were suppose to be twice the intensity of his father's.  He checked the tranq gun in its holster; he wasn't going to kill any of them except the one that needed to be killed.  It was time.

Burst and Renegade turned to see someone pop into the kitchen from the outside.  He was in completely black.  If they were smart they would've alerted Cerebro to the intruder's presence, but who ever said the X-Men were smart.  "I got him!"  Renegade threw his fist at the intruder.  Now the strength of Renegade's punch has never been properly gauged as he always held back in any test but the highest estimate came when he put a dent in a three-foot cube of solid adamantium without even trying , so if his fist connects it can do some damage... if it connects.  The man in black side-stepped the fist and, using its leverage, proceeded to break Renegade's arm.  The scream of pain never had a chance to exit his lips as a needle entered his throat.  The tranquilizer took immediate effect as he slumped to the ground but the man in black stayed behind the body.  He had been watching the other one, making sure not to give him a clean shot.  He knew Renegade's body could withstand any blast Burst shot at him.  He also noticed Burst hadn't powered up yet.  It takes thirty seconds for Burst to power up -- even a weak shot -- and he had to expel it if he created the energy, so he wasn't powering up till he could take a shot.  He had thirty seconds to make his move.

Burst was waiting.  He didn't want to waste a shot but the idea of this fight got him excited.  He was an adrenaline junky, which was why he'd joined the X-Men.  He wanted the thrill and fun, and the more danger the better.  He wanted to prolong this fight as long as he could.  Zachary on the other hand tried to end it quickly.  Charles never understood that about his friend.  He was always reluctant to fight but, when he did, he tried to make it as quick as possible.  Everyone knew he hated being an X-Men, but his mother forced that life on him -- but Burst was never forced.  He'd joined against his mother's wishes and his father's beliefs.  This was what he enjoyed, this was what he lived for.  The thrill, the fun, the victory.

The man in black vaulted over the body of Renegade and the counter and, as soon as the man came in view, Burst started charging up his plasma burst.  He would be able to take him out in thirty seconds but, unfortunately for him, he was twenty seven seconds away.  The man in black's fist connected with Burst's nose.  He was totally unprepared for an attack like that as he was too dependent on his power.  He felt his nose shatter under the force of the fist.  Then he felt another fist, this time in his chest, then another.  He felt alternating blows until he felt his ribs crack.  The man grabbed Charles's arm and broke it.  Burst's mind finally realized that this wasn't any fun, as he felt a prick in his neck and blacked out.

That had been easier for the intruder than he thought.  He checked over the bodies for any open wounds.  He knew there was someone with heightened senses on the premises that could smell blood.  He also was hoping that the thought pattern mimicker he had designed was working.  He had field tested it and used it many times before, but he had learned often that past experiences have no relation to present circumstances.  He moved from the kitchen to the main hall and then to the sitting room where one of the lifts to the lower levels was located.  He had memorized the schematics -- but he had spent almost thirteen years of his life at this place before he took up his mission so, even without the schematics, he knew where it was.  He opened the bookcase acting as a door to the lift.  He stopped, counted to three, and threw an elbow behind him.

Matthew Romanoff who had taken the codename Dread stumbled back.  He had been following the intruder since he first entered on the grounds and now he had made his move.  He let his teammates get taken out so he could judge the skills of his opponent.  He would have to do this quickly.  He fell back into a defensive position and grabbed the shroud that covered his face.  His power was in his face, and he knew a short burst of his power would knock the intruder out for just a little bit.  He looked directly at his opponent, knowing evenif  he closed his eyes, the fear he caused would overwhelm him, as it did everyone.  Well, almost everyone -- the intruder came running and planted a fist in his face.  He then kicked his knee, with enough force to cause it to bend the other way.  He then did it again with Dread's other knee.  He reached in, grabbing Dread's rapier from his belt, and jammed it into his shoulder pinning him to the ground.  He pulled out one of his tranquilizers and stuck it into Matthew's throat.

He looked down at the body.  He knew all about Dread.  He'd even trained with his father, even though he was believed to be dead.  He knew who'd killed his mother, which was the reason he'd joined the X-Men.  He knew Dread could've used all the equipment here to find out that his father was still alive, but all he was concerned with was revenge.  The irony was how the X-Men had been deceiving him.  His powers were mental, not physical, and he could control them if he put in the effort, but a person with a hard-on for revenge and a problem with self-image was just what they needed.  He was not only a member of the Blue Team but the special ops Black Team.  The breaking of their bones was slowing him down, but it was teaching them a much-needed lesson.  He pried open the lift doors, attached his repelling cable and headed down to the first sub level.

"It's true, Sue."  Franklin Richards was looking over his female teammate with hungry eyes.

"How can that be true?"  Susan Grey on the other hand was looking for a way out.  She'd only got into a relationship with Franklin because Rachel had one with her version of Franklin.  She realizes now that he's a pompous ass who deserves to be kicked off the team for his grandstanding but she never had the courage to say that to him.  She adjusted her glasses.

"I don't know, it just is."

"So what you're telling me is that you not only created a pocket universe but the earth from it was moved to an orbit exactly opposite ours on the sun?"

"Yes."

"Frank, I've heard some big tales, everything from the Siege Perilous to a villain who actually called himself the Purple Man, but that story is ... is..."  She didn't get her last word as a figure clad in black swung in from the elevator shaft.  She looked at Psi-Lord who had already token a defensive position.

"I'll probe him and see what he wants."  He opened up his telepathic powers, hoping to take this person out quickly and painlessly.

The intruder felt Psi-Lord's mental scan.  It would be ineffective as his mystical training, plus a technological shield and his own natural blocks all protected him from even the most powerful mental attacks.  Dread's power was even more powerful than Psi-Lord's.  The intruder opened up a small hole in his shields which Franklin immediately latched onto, with dire results.  A psychic backlash caused him to reel back in pain.  The intruder used this moment to spin kick him in the face, breaking Psi-Lord's jaw, and than jammed a needle in his neck, letting the tranquilizer take effect.  He then turned to the girl.

Susan stood there, mouth wide-open and eyes as big as saucers.  "You beat Frank.  I guess mental powers won't work on you so I think I should show you why they call me the Phoenix."  Her arms flew behind her as a giant fire-bird appeared behind her.  "To paraphrase a couple people who were much wiser than me you may be a firecracker but I'm a fucking atomic bomb."

He delivered a strong blow to her body.  She let out a gasp of air as the firebird died out.  He grabbed her arm and broke it at the wrist.  Next she felt her hair being grabbed and then her face moved quickly towards the knee he brought up, drilling her in the temple.  He pulled out his needle and stuck in her.  The bluff she pulled was called.  Though the phoenix power was in her, she had no control of it.  She could summon the avatar and travel in the vacuum of space but beyond that she couldn't do anything.  A primal force was castrated in her body and no one was willing to teach her the true aspects of its power.

Meanwhile upstairs in one of the guest rooms a former X-Man who has seen better days was waking up from a nightmare she had been experienced for the last few years.  Kate woke up gasping for breath.  The nightmare faded quickly with the last moments of unconsciousness.  "The dream is over, the dream is over..."  She told herself that as she looked next to her for her husband's body.  Nope, Doug wasn't there.  He was probably working on the Hellion problem again, she thought, as she got up from the bed and headed to the dresser.  She spent the weekends with Doug here as he needed to work with the Hellions, but she hated being back at the mansion.  Something about it made her uneasy.  She didn't know whether it was the professor being dead or Logan disappearing those years back, but something just didn't fell right about being here.  It wasn't home anymore.  She looked in the mirror and drew the robe around her more closely.  A sad smile came on her face as she realized the words she spoke.  "The dream is over."  Those were the words Scott spoke at Charles' funeral, the only words he spoke.  He disappeared after that and no one knew where he went, not his ex-wife or his daughter.  She wondered if that was true.  She looked at the mirror at the grown up woman staring back at her.  "The dream is over."

"Or 'as it just begun."

She turned to look for the source of the voice.  Even though she was older that didn't mean she'd lost any of her skills.  The training she went under in Japan was still with her.  She looked in the dark for anything misshapen or out of place.  Whoever was there was a professional and she would be ready for any attack.

A flame lit up the darkness.  Kate got into position to attack but instead she saw the face holding a cigarette lit by the flame.  The figure took a drag on the cigarette.  "Thank you, you flying rat."  Kate recognized the voice and the features as they were lit up.  He sounded older but so did she.

"Pete?"

"Yeah. Kitty?"  He turned on the lamp by the bed and sat down.  Lockheed perched on the window they came through.

"And Lockheed too?"  She walked slowly towards the bed and sat down.

"Yeah."

"But why? How? Why?"

"Well it's about Piotr."

"My son?! How do you know him?"

"Yeah, well that's a long story but to cut to the chase, 'e decided to come home and, well..."

Down in the sub-basement the figure in black did a quick check of his two most recent victims.  After being sure that they were out he continued down the hallway only to have his progress halted by a lone figure.

"Ah, bon soir, Monsieur ninja.  Dey call me Renegade but you can call me Jacques Lebeau, prince of thieves.  I see you took out Richards and his women, dey were easy, non?  Well, Jacques isn't."  A blast of energy formed in his hand then suddenly it extended out, becoming a quarter staff.  Spinning it around his body, he quickly found a good balance and took a defensive position.

The man in black just stared.  A few years back he beat this man, and that led him to join the X-Men.  Over twenty different ways of beating him came to mind; less than half were lethal, but he decided he had to school this guy again.  In one of his pockets he kept a metal cylinder, which he produced rather quickly.  He pressed a button on it and it telescoped to full quarter staff length.  Unlike his opponent he didn't twirl it at all but instead held it tightly in the most basic of battle positions.

"Yeaaaaaaaaaa!!!" Jacques let out a scream as he charged at the man in black.  There was no finesse to the attack, it was just a charge.  The man in black stood and bided his time.  When Jacques got close enough he was met with a spin kick to the stomach, then a quick downward swing of the staff.  Jacques felt his fingers being lifted off the ground, and then being broken individually.  The intruder jabbed a tranquilizer into Jacques's neck and moved on.  A smile appeared under his mask but was quickly diminished as he barely dodged a flaming fist.

Joy Lee stood before this intruder.  Her senses picked up on him -- she'd never developed them as well as they could be but, as soon as the man in black got downstairs, she knew where he was.  The fire from her hands surged as she let out a little growl and charged after her prey.  The way she fought was on pure instincts making her dangerous as she concerned herself with just stopping the one she was fighting.  In combat she was nearly unbeatable, but any other time she barely would give anybody the time of day.  A foot shrouded in flames sailed past the intruder's face.  He could smell the flames and feel the heat right through his mask, as he bobbed out of the way.  His fist connected with her but he quickly drew it back as his glove ignited, just from touching her body.  They looked each other up and down and backed away slightly.  A fireball appeared between her hands and he drew the rifle off his back.  Aiming.  Firing.  Tink! Whoosh!  She fell over as the tranquilizer sank in, the fireball on the other hand just missed him and hit the wall.  He let out a sigh hoping that specially designed tranquilizer would counteract her healing factor.  A moment of rest against a wall would allow him to continue on.  The toughest opponent was defeated and only two active X-Men remained.  He had a special weapon designed for one and the other... well, he just wanted to meet her.  The wall began quivering and two silver tentacles wrapped around him.  The panel took the shape of a silver female who kept her grasp on the masked figure.  A gasp of air was let go as the metal cords tightened.  The intruder couldn't move his arms but that didn't mean he was less dangerous.  Taking a page from a former X-Men leader, he hid a switch in his glove.  Once activated it caused a surge to overtake his body; according to his research this surge should be enough to stun the gelatinous monstrosity that now held him.  It worked like a charm and he soon slipped from her grasp.  Rolling quickly, he digs in a pouch on his fatigues and produces three blades which he launches quickly back at the silver creature.  He already knew they wouldn't hurt her but was hoping to distract her long enough to get his special weapon out.  The spherical object was held tight as he turned to face Silver.

Amara Guthrie smiled -- well, smiled as well as she could.  In her liquid metal state her face was sort of not there.  She had seen how this guy was taking out all her fellow X-Men and now was up to her to stop him, just like her dad's stories.  "Preserving the dream from those who fear and hate us," The thought always at the forefront of her mind.  The blades in her melted out.  Watching this figure take another battle stance made her want to laugh.  "I can't be beaten."  Confidence wasn't just an emotion for her, it was a way of life.  Not in any particular fashion, the intruder charged at her.  Standing her ground, she stretched a tentacle out at him, he just weaved out of the way and continued the charge.  She shot out another one, which he dodged even easier than the first.  The charge ended a few feet before her as he slid underneath her, than rolled back into a standing position and hurled three more blades at her.  The blades tickled as they passed through her body.  Four limbs formed and became swords.  Slice and dicing, the intruder was able to weave and dodge every slash, except the last one, the last one which sliced into his mask, through the Kevlar.

She was pulling back the blade just as he wanted and decided this was the perfect time to make his move.  The sword was only about two inches away from his face as he jammed his fist, containing the sphere, into her body.  Pressing a button on it he pulled out his hand quickly.  Silver's body lit with pain as the negator bomb went to work.  Her limbs whipped back, the crack of new bones forming was heard, then the screaming started.  Yes, screaming -- a fact that made her want to scream more, she didn't have vocal cords or a mouth unless she wanted them, and now she definitely didn't want them.  Her eyes -- yes eyes, no longer a general conscious viewing from the whole body but actual eyes -- looked down at the stubby squiggly pink things, where her pretty shiny body should be.  Then she felt the cold -- she had no clothes on, and was actually feeling the cold.  The sphere that did this to her rolled out.  The intruder simply walked over and picked it up.  Her organs, things she hasn't had since she was twelve, felt uneasy, so what came next would be natural to any other human being but her -- she vomited.  "Wh-Wh-wh-ut deed yo dew ta-ta meh?"  Her words felt funny, not used to actually having to use real muscles.  He didn't bother to explain, but simply put a quick boot to her jaw, sending her flying back.  Walking over he jammed a tranq in her neck.  "Almost the whole blue team taken out in a little under an hour, I'm way behind."  The thought trailed off as he continued to the lab where his target was.

Doug sighed and rubbed his temple, the stress was still too strong for him.  He wasn't a hero anymore, but life was still quite the adventure.  It took strength and love of both him and Kate to keep their daughter happy, but she wanted more.  She had to be an X-Man, a decision Kate and Doug once made, a decision which cost them and gave them so much.  "I will never let that silly dream ruin another life."  A silent promise he made over the crib of his children, a silent promise he knew he couldn't keep.  Doug began typing again, why he wasn't sure, he wasn't searching for his son and he wasn't working on the Hellions' problems.  Another thing had to be done, he wasn't sure why but his typing continued.

This is the last will and testament of Douglas Ramsey.  I, Douglas Ramsey, being of sound mind and sound body I hereby bequeath the following.

"Drop it!"  A bolt of electricity sailed passed the man and his hostage.  "Nobody threatens my Dad!"  Elisabeth Ramsey stood, hand extended out with electrical energy cracking around it, her costume of the traditional blue and yellow, standing proudly out.  Her face was full of determination, not showing an ounce of fear.  The only thing missing from her stance to make it the perfect cliché of a strong, determined warrior was a wind blowing through her long blonde hair.  Quite an impressive sight, able to strike fear in most, only the intruder wasn't paying attention to her.  All he did was draw his second gun and, without even looking, aimed it at her.  "Bullets can't stop me.  I can turn into pure electricity before the bullet even gets close."

"Yes, but can you get over here before the bullet enter his head?"  The intruder spoke.  His voice distant, with an eerie calm about it.

"Maybe."  She bluffed.  There was no way she could get to her father in time.

"Liar, we both know you can't."  He never took his eyes off Doug.

There they were, in a modified Mexican standoff.  She could take him out, but if he wasn't bluffing about wanting to kill her father; he was good as dead.  The intruder wasn't going to give an inch and neither was Hacker.  "I could try to posses his nervous system but the gun could go off if he resists or I could short out every circuit in the room but he might have night vision or I could..."  A million different "coulds" went through her mind, she was the team leader and now when faced with a hard choice she couldn't decide.  It was up to her and only her to stop him and save her father.  No one coming to the rescue, no mommy or daddy, just her.

"Stop!"  All three looked up including the intruder at the familiar voice of a woman as she descended down from the ceiling along with an older man, holding a cigarette in his mouth.

"Shit, Kat! I forgot 'ow your phasing feels."  He struck a match off the ground and lit his cigarette.

"Mom?!"

"Kitty?!  What is Pete doing here?"

"Hey, Pete, I thought you were going to wait in the car?"  Doug and Elisabeth both turned to the intruder.

"I was, kid, but then I realized 'ow bloody stupid you were being."  Tact of a barbarian, that was Pete Wisdom.  "Take off that mask, and let's talk instead of shooting." No one moved.

"To take off my mask, I would have to stop targeting one of them.  That would be a great error in any combat situation, to give up a hostage, Pete."  The crackling energy at Elisabeth's hand made sure he wasn't going to deter his aim from either of them any time soon.

"Stand down, Blondie."

"The name's Hacker, buddy, and you're not in charge here."  Tough? Sure.  Determined? Fine.  Ready to kill a man to save her father's life? Elisabeth was more than ready.

"Listen, I don't give a damn if you're the bloody Queen of England.  STAND DOWN!"

"And just who the hell are you to give me orders?"  The stubbornness of her mother was there for all to see.

"Elisabeth Patricia Ramsey!"  That voice she knew and when all three names were used she knew to listen.  "Stand down."

"But Mom..."  A child's plea.

"Power down, and let Wisdom talk.  Right now he's our best chance for getting out of this without bloodshed."

"Fine."  The energy dissipated.  "But as soon as I see a problem I'm frying that sucker."

"Now, kid, take off the mask.  I'll make sure she doesn't attack."

The intruder never turned to see Pete.  The words reached his ears, and he carefully holstered one of the guns, his other arm keeping target on Doug.  His hand free, he pulled up the ski mask off his face and let it drop to the floor.  Next the night vision goggles were removed.  The Kevlar mask gave him the look of a knight, full of honor and duty.  The zipper moved smoothly and it came off without any problem.  He ran his hair through his short brown hair.  Doug's eyes went wide as he stared at the young man.

"Piotr?"  The hostage.

"Piotr?"  The X-Man.

"So Pete was telling the truth." The mother.

"Mom. Lis. Dad.  Actually it's just Pete now.  Sorry our reunion has to be under these circumstances, but he has to die."

"That's bullshit, kid."  Pete walked right next to him.  "If you wanted to really kill 'im, you would've done it by now.  I've seen you face worse situations and complete 'em much quicker than this."  He was standing in between Piotr and Doug now.

"Pete, get out of the way.  This has to be done -- you know it, I know it.  You've seen what he's capable of.  The destruction, the death.  Stopping him now will guarantee what he did never happens again."

"Bollocks.  You're Wiseguy.  Assassin, covert ops, killer.  'Efficient and deadly' are wot the people who 'ire you say.  You should 'ave no problem shooting through me to get to 'im -- 'ell, you should've shot 'im soon as you came in.  IF...if you really wanted him dead."

"My bullet will pass right fucking through you, Pete."  The words came out, no fear, no worry, just words.  Pete looked at the boy he had pretty much raised.  "Fuck you."  Pete nodded at those words as Piotr's gun found a holster.  He turned and headed to the door; when he got there, not turning around and more saying in passing.  "I think we have much to talk about -- and, Lis, you'll find your team around...I think they will all require medical attention and, oh Pete..."  Now he turned, drawing his gun.  Blam!  The bullet passed through Pete's shoulder and landed in the wall over at the far side.  "If I wanted to I would fucking shoot through you in a heartbeat."  Turning he headed back out the door.

Kate rushed over to Pete.  "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Fuck."  He touched the bullet wound.  "Should've expected the kid to do that, 'e likes to make points."  The hole bled a little but not enough to bother him; forming up a hot knife, he cauterized the wound.  He then moved from Kate out the door, following Piotr.   Leaving the Ramsey family, in deep pondering of what had just happened.

A little later after the team had been moved to the medical lab, the parties concerned -- the family Ramsey, the prodigal son, his surrogate father, a purple dragon,   and two telepaths one with hair of red, and the other white -- had gathered in Xavier's former study, kept in pristine condition.  Piotr who moved to a corner had produced a gold cigarette case which also seemed to double as a lighter.  Pete located at a different corner facing the main desk, also lit up one of his brand.  Kate, from a chair in the centre of the room, watched the similarities between these two; they seemed to be almost identical in subtle body movements.  She wondered if maybe this was what a child would be like if she had chosen Pete...

"There's no smoking on the grounds."  The attention turned to Elisabeth as she sat in one of the chairs of the room.  "It's against safety precautious and this is now a designated government facility, so no smoking."  Piotr rolled his eyes, took a drag on it, and blew out a large puff of smoke.

"So, Mr. Ramsey, are you going to tell us what this is all about?"  Emma decided to get right down to business.  Not liking people breaking into her facility, especially with her patients downstairs, needing her attention.  Jean eyed her; not really developing more than a loose friendship over the years, she hated when Emma undermined her authority -- especially since she was co-headmistress of the school.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, queenie, we just have to wait for the final person to get her royal ass out of the shadows."  They all looked at him strangely, not exactly sure what he meant.  So they would as a light flickered in the shadows and out walked Luna Maximoff, the X-Men's government liaison, with a cigarette of her own.

"Wiseguy!  You say another thing like that about me and I'll make sure your family and nobody else for that matter will see you, ever again."  She walked in and looked the young man into his eyes.  Her own, with years of practice, would cause even the most tough jarheads to back down.

A smile returned to this woman who was still trapped in the body of a seventeen year old.  "Sorry, I forget being the 'Heir of Magneto' was something your family doesn't like to talk about... of course you are the heir to the inhuman royal family -- oh wait, no, you're not.  Blackbolt decided you weren't good enough to marry his son, right?"

"If you weren't so valuable..."

"But I am, deal with it."

She rolled her eyes and moved towards Pete.  "You're his wrangler."  He just tapped the bullet wound in his shoulder.  "Fine."  Her attention moved to Elisabeth.  "Your team failed."

"But..."

"No excuse, he beat you all, not even using super powers, and he could have killed everyone too."  She looked to Piotr.  "If he wanted to."  He glared at her.

"Wait -- this was a test?"  Jean's indignation at this revelation was not suppressed in the least.

"No... well, yes...in a way.  I heard what Mr. Ramsey there was planning, and decided to use it as an evaluation for the team.  It just proved they need a hell of a lot more training."  The cigarette switched sides of his mouth.

"Wait...wait...I don't care about training exercises or any of that, I just want to know where my son has been for the last 6 years, and why he wants to kill his father."

"I have an Oedipus complex."  He was met by dumbfounded faces.  "God, can't anyone take a fucking joke anymore?"  No one answered.  "Guess not.  Well as for where I've been, a little bit of everywhere, doing things that you and your fucking high and mighty Xavier taught system of ethics would surely look down upon.  Now why I want to kill Douggey, well I've been places, like his dimension.  When my powers first kicked in so long ago, that's where I went.  Whenever I fucking teleport, that's where I go.  You know what the fucking place is like, dontcha, Douggey -- you helped create it.  You know what that does to a twelve year old's mind?  A lot of bad shit."  He smiled a little smile.  Everyone except Pete and Luna looked on in shock.  Lockheed moved down by him.  Kate watched the dragon, noticing how protective the dragon was of him, just like her.

"We could've helped you!"  Kate's words had a tinge of sadness to them.

"No, you couldn't.  My powers, my problems."  He dragged on his cigarette.  Lockheed puffed a little smoke.

"Piotr, I can tell you what happened there will never happen here."  Doug's words were firmer but he had better practice at hiding remorse.

"Can you, Douggey?  Can you sit there and honestly tell me, you won't destroy the universe again?"  No answer.  "Thought so."  Lockheed snorted.

"So when are you leaving?"  Elisabeth was not happy.  She hated this failure, and wanted the cause gone as soon as possible.

"Can't, at least not yet.  See, there's another problem.  One I will handle."

"That is...?"  Jean was not in the mood.  Things were disorganized enough without bringing in further conflict, especially with the main team in outer space.

"Pete, did you bring what I asked?"

"Yeah, kid."  Out from behind a desk in the study, as if it had been there before this even began, Pete produced a black duffel bag, which he tossed to Piotr.

Piotr caught the bag very easily.  He set it down and unzipped it.  From it came something wrapped in yellow.  Unwrapping it he pulled from it a sword, which he then set down as if it was of no interest.  Finished opening it, he held out it for all to see -- it was a yellow raincoat, ripped up from claw marks.

To be continued