DISCLAIMER: Same as always. Theirs, not mine.

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Thicker than Water, Thinner than Blood

Part 3

by Indigo

~Sleep, Shaw, Sleep. Yes. That's it. Let your eyelids grow heavy.~

Manuel de la Rocha, the Nightmare Prince, sighed with relief as Shinobi Shaw's eyelids blinked in faint, futile resistance, before remaining closed as sleep enveloped him.

"Good evening, Seņor Shaw," Empath said, as Nightmare escorted the junior Shaw into the Nightmare Prince's presence. "So good of you to come."

Shinobi was on the verge of panicking. Even with his empathic abilities gone under Cordelia's damnable microtech inhibitors, Manuel could see that. ~Good. You should be afraid. My empathy is no longer the only power at my disposal. Theatrics will have to do. And your fear, my dear Shinobi, is just the tool I desired.~

"Good evening, de la Rocha-san," Shinobi responded, bowing in the proper Japanese fashion, keeping his eyes on Manuel.

Manuel noted, with a mingling of annoyance and admiration that Shaw was hiding his distress well. Only the roiling of the nightmare-scape behind him indicated that anything was amiss in young Shinobi's world. His face was the very picture of calmness and serenity.

"How is it that we are having this conversation?" Shinobi asked. "I was under the impression that you were--"

"Drugged? Sleeping? Helpless?" Manuel laughed richly. "Never. I am not without my resources, even when a duplicitous witch like Cordelia Frost has ensnared me in her convoluted plans -- however briefly." His smile was cold. "You realize I will be *worthless* to you when she delivers me, hm?"

Shinobi raised one brow. "Oh? How is that?" he asked, folding his arms.

"The moment she releases me and awakens me, you will either have to keep the inhibitors on me at all times -- or risk my wrath for your part in my imprisonment the moment you allow me access to my mutant gift." His smile was unctuously sweet. "Perhaps," Manuel mused, gesturing elegantly with one long-fingered hand, "It is I who shall be the new Black King, and you who shall serve me." He chuckled.

Shinobi was not cowed by brazen words. His father was Sebastian Shaw, and he well knew words could be threatening -- but only if permitted. Manuel was attempting to paint a portrait wherein he was a threat to Shinobi -- but at best, it was a ruse. "You are so certain of this, then, Empath? We shall see how certain you remain should you try your power on me. We shall see which of us is the quicker, and whether you can bend my emotions to your will with my fingers in your chest, clasped around your still-beating heart."

Thunder cracked on the nightmare-scape as Empath's eyes darkened with rage. "It would appear, then, Shaw, that we may have arrived at a stalemate. Consider well, then, before proceeding with this deal. Your position may not be as secure as you believe it."

...

"I'll rebuild the Inner Circle ..." Shinobi began, then snapped awake. ~A nightmare. It had only been a nightmare.~ He mopped at his brow with a linen napkin, then reached for the glass of brandy sitting beside him in its holder. He took a slow, deep draught, savoring the sweet warmth of the alcohol as it burned its way down his throat and settled his nerves.

~De La Rocha was sending me a message,~ Shinobi mused darkly. ~I am almost certain of it. I don't know how, but I believe that was more than any mere mundane dream. And damn him, but he does have a point. Perhaps, then, I can turn this to my advantage. Asking him to join me, rather than accepting him as a gift from Cordelia may well be the approach to take.~ Shinobi took another sip of brandy and leaned back into his seat as the jet soared across the world en route to Spain.

*****

"Mmmmmmm, baby." Cordelia kissed the outside of the six-inch-thick glass tube in which Manuel lay slumbering, surrounded by narcotic gel, oxygen mask over his face. A lipstick print was left smeared on the glass. "I know that once I'm the new White Queen you'll forget you were *ever* mad at me, and we can take Shinobi out together! Won't that be *fun*?"

Cordelia slunk over to the tri-fold mirror in Manuel's bedroom and inspected herself once again. Her hair was a careful symmetrical construction of spiral curls, which fell in a calculated cascade down her neck, shoulders and back, to accentuate her long neck. She had dressed the part, to be more persuasive. The gown she wore was a formal, with a sweetheart neckline and no back. Both sides boasted slits that revealed the contours of her tanned legs. Each foot wore a white pump. And on her arms were white opera-length gloves.

"You've done it this time, Cordelia Frost," she complimented herself in the mirror. "No one can stop you now." ~No one but Emma,~ came the thought to her head unbidden. ~But Emma doesn't *know* about this little plot!~ Cordelia consoled herself. ~But she could find out...~

~Then I'll handle her *too*!~ Cordelia thought, silencing the voice of her own self-doubt with a stamp of one dainty foot.

*****

Emma stood on the borders of the lands owned by La Familia De la Rocha. She was motionless as a statue, save for the gentle sway of her hair and cloak, moved by the breeze off the sea. She extended her telepathy, feeling around for the inhabitants of the small castle.

~Servants. Of little consequence. I can put them to sleep without trouble, especially given that they've grown complacent with Cordelia's having played 'good little mistress' to Manuel's 'heartless dictator.'~

She turned her most delicious smile on the guard. When his eyes followed the smile that came upon gazing at her figure, she struck. She reached out and enveloped the mind of the guard in her own, forced him to open the gate and admit her, then close and lock it again. "Forget you saw me," she said softly, although she didn't need to speak to make the telepathic imperative hold, she occasionally liked to hear the response to her voice.

"Forget," replied the guard in heavily-accented English.

~It will be suspicious to young Shinobi if he arrives at the gate and finds the guard station unmanned. Simple thing, really. A telepathic command should do it.~

Leaving the mind-thralled guard behind her, the White Queen strode toward a reckoning with her ambitious sister.

*****

By the time his jet landed in Barcelona, Shinobi Shaw had come to a different plan of approach. ~Empath would make more formidable an enemy than I care to encounter,~ he had decided, after several more nightmares had visited him, whereupon he relived the cruelties visited upon him by his father in the name of 'discipline.'

~Cordelia be damned. If she had any personal power of the mutant variety, she wouldn't need to constantly try to present me other mutants as gifts,~ Shaw thought. ~She is still not White Queen material. If she *is* a mutant, she will have to display that talent to me. And even that will not guarantee her a spot in the Inner Circle now. Not when appeasing Empath is of the greater importance.~ He smiled, as his drive took to the road, following the directions given by the servants of Manuel's household.

*****

"Shinobi's had a change of heart, change of heart, change of heart," whispered the leaves rustling in the night breeze as Emma strolled calmly toward Casa de la Rocha.

"Oh?" Emma asked, "Do tell."

"He seeks to betray Cordelia, since Empath is the greater threat," Nightmare communicated through the chirps of crickets and the rustle of wild creatures in the jungle.

"He's not as much a fool as I originally believed him," Emma mused. "Perhaps there is a spark of his father in him yet."

The walk from the gate to the house had been short. Shorter still, since none of the servants acknowledged the presence of the white ghostly figure that moved through the landscaped foliage.

She danced a ruthless, elegant ballet through the servants' minds, quickly divining from them the location where Cordelia was in the house, versus the location in which she'd stashed Manuel. ~I may not be able to read *your* mind, sister dear -- but there are a handful of other minds in the house which I will be able to use to my advantage.~

While it was not her custom to climb ivy-covered trellises, Emma did not shrink from it in the slightest. ~I failed my students once before,~ she thought, and that was all it took to overcome any distaste for the activity and spur her into motion. ~Never again. I may regret this in the morning when my shoulders protest the slightest movement. But I will *not* fail.~ She found her lips curling in a wry, humorless smile. ~And to think I scoffed at Jubilee for suggesting the 'American Gladiators' regime, complete with 'the Wall' and some of those other bizarre activities.~

~If this wasn't so serious, it would be ludicrous,~ Emma thought, fighting back a burble of laughter. ~I feel like some gender-reversed fairy tale hero, coming to the rescue of Sleeping Beauty.~

Cordelia had, in her supreme overconfidence, left the cryo-tube in which Manuel slept unattended. ~Stupid, my sister. Stupid. Some things never change.~ She raised a brow at the design and chuckled. ~Shaw Industries. Circles within circles. Sebastian would be very amused -- if he knew.~

Deft fingers moved to set the tube to draining and began the sequence which would awaken Manuel. Emma already was speeding his mind along on the road toward wakefulness. [~Your body is not yet free of its suspended state, Manuel. And the inhibitors, no doubt, are still active. Make no sound when you are ready to move. Be silent. Follow my lead. Shinobi can be swayed away from the wiles my sister means to work on him.~]

[~I ... I understand, seņorita,~] came the shaky thoughts of de la Rocha in response. [~And...gracias. I ... was not certain you would ... assist me.~]

Emma merely smiled, concealing her own thoughts, ~And that in itself displays how precarious Manuel perceived his situation. Perhaps he is growing up as well.~ Then, to Empath, she answered, [~You were my student. It is my responsibility and my duty.~]

[~And...what of Shaw? I will be...helpless...~] Emma could practically taste the bile on Mnauel's thoughts at that prospect.

[~Leave Shaw and Cordelia to me.~] Emma said calmly, walking for the door.

With the same sense of the dramatic her clock in Snow Valley had struck midnight, Casa de la Rocha's doorbell sounded. Shinobi had been permitted past the guardhouse and was at the door.

*****

Shinobi Shaw smiled politely and was forced to continue smiling politely as Cordelia greeted him with an impertinent kiss on the mouth; her lips met his hungrily, and her arms slipped up inside his jacket to pull him close to her. "It's so good to see you again, Shinobi," Cordelia cooed, stepping aside to let him in. "Welcome to Casa de la Rocha. Soon to be known as Casa Cordelia." She giggled girlishly and gestured grandly, leading him into the living room.

"So..." Cordelia said, leaning forward to calculated effect, as Shinobi's eyes almost unwillingly tracked the valley of her cleavage, "How soon should we be making arrangements to ship your little package out to your place?"

"I'd like to examine the goods here, first," Shinobi said thoughtfully. "Out of the package. I want to make sure you haven't damaged him with the micro-inhibitors."

Cordelia frowned. "why would you want to do *that*?" she asked, eyes shifting colours rapidly as she worked to maintain her poise. "He's so much simpler to handle as he is, Shinobi, really. Manny can be *such* a handful."

"Indeed, you empty-headed little strumpet," Shinobi said, not bothering to hide the contempt in his voice. "It is a testament to the male sex drive and how testosterone cuts off higher brain functioning that you were able to succeed in this same idiotic plan not once, but twice -- this time with a mutant far more dangerous, far more powerful than the gentle-minded Mondo."

Cordelia seethed, lower lip pouted cutely. "How dare you?" she demanded in a whisper. "How dare you say such things to me when I have done these things, only to please--"

"--To please yourself," Shinobi cut her off with a sharp gesture and a tactless smile. "Please. You are transparent, woman. You ought to take lessons from your sister if you want to beguile, if you want to know sublety. You think you can buy your way into my good graces -- or if that fails you can display your carnal talents and have me under your thumb? Is that it?"

"Of course not, Shinobi," Cordelia said, arms extended, mind racing. ~He sounded so agreeable on the phone. So accepting. So willing. What could have gone wrong?~ She smiled, again, though, and Shinobi's suddenly smug expression froze, indicating he suspected trickery. "Smart boy," she trilled throatily, and pressed a stud on one of her earrings. "I don't think you understand exactly the nature of the situation, though. See, this is *my* house. In fact, it's my world and you're not even a squirrel, trying to get a nut!" She tossed back her head and laughed.

"What are you talking about, Cordelia?" Shinobi demanded, reaching toward her. He closed the ground between them, fingers splayed on the hand he extended toward her.

He closed his fingers around Cordelia's left breast and looked astonished when nothing beyond that happened.

Cordelia giggled coquettishly, lifting her brown-blue eyes to Shinobi's astonished ones, and whispers, "Fresh! Are you this forward with all the Western girls?"

She sashayed away from Shinobi, who glowered at her hatefully.

"Did you think I'd learned nothing from my last visit? From my defeat at the hands of my sister?" Cordelia demanded. "You're inhibited, dear boy. There are several of them on your person. "

Shinobi ground his teeth. All those intimate touches he'd permitted Cordelia; she'd used them to plant her damnable micro-inhibitors on him. He began searching his pockets, trying not to look frantic. ~I can't believe I let her get the better of me!~

Cordelia chuckled. "Silly men. Always thinking girls don't know anything." she poured two glasses of champagne. "Sit down, dear. Have a drink. And we can discuss cementing our relationship. Cordelia Frost-Shaw, White Queen, has a nice ring to it...don't you think?"

~Damn her,~ Shinobi thought, mind reeling. ~Damn the brandy I drank to calm myself after the nightmares.~ "Lovely," Shinobi murmured, "Formal or casual for the wedding?" His smile was venomous. "You realize the moment you let your guard down, I will be a widower. And you can't amass any more power with the new Inner Circle without permitting me access to my abilities."

Cordelia chuckled. "You make it sound as if I can't simply flip the switch again and turn your powers off if you try to turn against me."

Shinobi balled a fist.

"Yes, Cordelia, that's true, but what's to stop someone, like, say -- me -- from doing something like *this*?" The voice was Emma's, and it was the last thing Cordelia heard before she was knocked unconscious by the expensive Waterford crystal vase that Emma swung into the base of her head.

Cordelia gave a grunt of pain, grasped feebly and futilely for her sister's hair, then slumped over onto the sofa, the back of her dark hair becoming matted, and a trail of dark blood trickling down her neck.

"Good evening, Shinobi," Emma said, smoothing back her blonde hair, and turning to smile up the stairs. "Manuel?"

"I cannot access my powers as yet," came the taut voice of Empath from the landing above.

~I don't know that I should permit them their powers back yet. Knowing the sheer amount of egotism and male stupidity that dominates this room with both of them in it, perhaps it's best if I take the better part of valor...~ Emma smiled, and turned to her sister.

Manuel had showed the earring, the wrist cuff, and the ring that he could not remove. They were sturdy enough to withstand Manuel showering, and fencing. Emma considered her options. Until she was certain she had done away with all Cordelia's control mechanisms, there would be the danger of her re-taking both men until she could get the inhibitors off them. ~Knowing Cordelia, however...~ Emma smiled, and reached for the magnum of champagne.

She pulled her sister by the hair into a half-sitting position and poured the champagne straight down between her breasts, ignoring Manuel's strangled cry as the champagne splashed and splattered onto his white leather sofa.

Emma gave a feline smile of satisfaction as electrical sparks and crackles came from beneath the bodice of the dress, leaving scorchmarks in the shape of the corset she had worn on the fabric of her gown.

"She touched a stud on her earring as well," Shinobi pointed out.

"Indeed," Emma acknowledged. "You'll take Manuel's off first before I attempt to disable those. I have a feeling she was clever enough to set up a pain-feedback mechanism if she was clever enough to do this."

Shinobi flushed, then blanched, but nodded. "But she has inhibited me as well, White Queen, and I can't do a thing for Manuel until I have my own abilities restored."

"It's likely somewhere in that overstated atrocity you call a suit." Emma shrugged. "Strip."

"What?"

"She planted it on you at some point. It's in your clothes. You surely have not forgotten your English, Shinobi. Or shall I repeat myself in Japanese? *Remove. Your. Clothing.*"

Manuel clung to the bannister, still weak from his recent unconsciousness. Shinobi stood, fists balled, and glaring at the White Queen.

"Fine, then," Emma sighed in the tone adults use with small children who won't take a bath or eat their vegetables. Her eyes lit with psionic fire from within as she exerted her telepathic control and Shinobi began to strip at her behest. ~Silly boy. It's not nice to argue with the White Queen.~

Emma permitted herself a glance that was half-amused, half admiring. "Excellent. Now phase the earring, the ring, and the bracelet off Manuel's body. Manuel, it is entirely likely that you will cause yourself damage if you attempt any empathic manipulation of Shinobi or myself."

Manuel scowled but nodded. ~She's right, damn it all. I am barely able to remain standing, and --*~ His thought was abruptly broken off as the nude Shinobi lifted a hand to his ear and gave the earring a solid *yank*. Manuel gave an awkward, startled whimper, but there was no pain and no blood as young Shaw phased the earring off him. The same applied for the bracelet and the ring, moments later.

"Into the fire," Emma said distractedly, hovering over her sister. "Your clothing too, Shinobi. Let's make sure these nasty little toys are all destroyed." The cuts weren't deep; Cordelia was in no danger. But neither did Emma desire dealing with the little prat's tantrum at having been thwarted.

Emma removed the post backing the earring on Cordelia's left ear, then the one on the right. She handed them to Shinobi, and he obediently threw them into the fire as well. As an after thought, she set the servants to tearing Cordelia's suite apart and burning everything she owned as well. ~Satisfying, whether she had backup copies of this micro-inhibitor technology or not.~

One servant returned with a robe for Shinobi. Emma released her hold on the servant, and poured herself a sangria, carefully sipping the deep red liquid, lest a drop spill on her white armor. Once clothed again, Emma released Shinobi himself. "I believe we are all safe from the ministrations of the Frost who would be Queen," she murmured, half-smiling at her own little jest.

"What..." demanded Shinobi, "Will you be doing now...White Queen?" His teeth clenched on the last two syllables. Even he had to admit to her still being worthy of the title after this. Cordelia had come very close to nabbing him and Empath both.

"I," Emma replied, "Will be taking my leave of you two, so that you may discuss the new Inner Circle together, without the distraction of my sister to impede your dealings." Her smile was shrewd.

Manuel gazed over the rim of his glass at Emma, measuringly.

Emma gazed back, menacingly. [~Nightmare prince or no, I *am* a woman, and there are mysteries that even you may never plumb completely, Empath. Remember who came to your rescue when you sit in power as the White King of the new Hellfire Club.~]

Manuel raised a brow, enquiringly, silent. [~You are willing to permit this to come to pass? Shinobi and I?~]

Emma shrugged and took another sip of her sangria. [~Shinobi is as determined as his father. And he has much to learn. You, my dear, have learned from the best. And as they say ... "better the devil you know..."~]

With that, Emma finished her drink, smiling as her sister moaned and came to consciousness. "Good evening, Cordelia."

"Oh, shit."

"Good to see you too, Cordelia."

"Guys?" Cordelia murmured, looking from her crisp-toasted dress to the two men she commanded. Her hand reached for her earring and she repeated, "Oh, *shit.*" Shinobi and Manuel ignored her, turning to regard each other.

Shinobi chuckled and took a glass from the sideboard. "De la Rocha-san, if you'd be so kind?"

Manuel poured the sangria with an elegant nod and a genuine smile. ~This might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Besides, Shaw's stuck here until morning at least. He's too big to borrow any of my suits, and he can't very well walk the streets of Barcelona naked. A captive audience I do not need my empathic powers to maintain. This will be -- an interesting evening. And then, there's always Cordelia's nightmares to sculpt when I become bored...~ His smile widened.

"Gentlemen, Cordelia and I will be taking our leave of you," Emma said, standing. "Come along, Cordelia. You and I have talking to do."

Cordelia gulped. "Shinobi...?" she asked, making one last attempt to flirt her way into his good graces.

"Go away, Cordelia, lest I forget I am a gentleman and put a finger through your cerebral cortex."

Emma clamped a hand over her sister's mouth. "Not another word."

*****

There was a plane waiting for Emma when she got back to the Barcelona Hilton, according to the message. Sean was ... bewildered. What was she doing in Spain? How had she gotten there in only a handful of hours, and why was her bathroom wrecked?

"Cordelia," Emma answered simply, and Sean had ceased with the questions.

"What are you going to do with me?" Cordelia asked her sister, as she sat handcuffed to the twin bed.

"Nothing," Emma said. "I'm going to pay my bill, get on my flight, and go home. And you, Cordelia, are going to have to cope in the world by your wits, rather than your ... ah ... physical attributes. Shaw Industries has already been faxed your photograph with a notarized letter from me saying to sell you *nothing*. Likewise, on the nightstand, you will find a check for ten thousand dollars. It is the last money you will receive from me until your trust fund becomes yours at 21. Use it wisely, Cordelia. Although I rather suspect you'll attempt to parlay it into one hundred thousand in the casino."

"Why?" Cordelia demanded hotly, "Why are you doing this? To humiliate me? To make me see which of us is superior?"

"Partly," Emma admitted. "But partly because it's time for you to learn to grow up, little sister. I may not always be about to bail you out of the consequences of your own stupidity and greed."

"But you're my sister! We're flesh and blood!"

"True...which is why I am not leaving you with nothing. Blood is thicker than water. Stupidity is thinner than blood. But reality casts all that in its shadow. Don't call. Don't write. If you get in over your own head again -- you sink or swim by your own design."

With that, Emma turned and walked out the door, leaving her sister to stare forlornly at the hotel room door, long after it had been closed.

She grumbled and wept, before the headache made her lie down on the bed. Then sleep overcame her.

Her nightmares starred Manuel and Shinobi.

--finis--