All characters herein are trademarks of Marvel Comics. This story is an unauthorised work done purely for my personal enjoyment, and is not intended to infringe on any of their rights in or their profits from these characters. But this story is copy write to me.

Comments, especially (constructive) criticism, always welcomed. Please e-mail me at Mshakespeare@callnetuk.com

This is the third sequel to 'Heart of Darkness', after 'Homecoming' and 'Damnation and Hellfire' - please read those first! Please note that this story jumps viewpoints, and I don't actually say who the thinker is, though hopefully it should be obvious!

A Death in the Family

It is fortunate that I still have most of Katherine's memories, otherwise I might not be able to blend in at this funeral. They are all here, the surviving X-Men. The young ones will be gone soon - their parents will no longer let them stay here, with Xavier dead - apart from the demon sorceress. Her brother is here, and that keeps her here too. Perhaps I should dispose of him, then she might leave.

I must admit that the one named Rogue fascinates me. She absorbs the memories, minds and powers of those she touches. And she is inhumanly strong, invulnerable, and can fly. Were I to add my own fighting skills and Katherine's ability to become intangible, that would be an almost unbeatable combination. Perhaps, some time soon, I will touch this Rogue - I have little doubt that I could take control of her body as easily as I did that of Katherine......

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I can't believe it - the Professor, dead. Oh sure, I know that the bastard who killed him is dead - Thunderbird killed himself immediately afterwards, a quicker death than I'd have granted him - but I still can't believe it. Dammit, it's not that long ago that he helped us to get Rahne and Roberto back from being possessed by the powers of Cloak and Dagger.

Kitty. I still think there's something wrong about her, but I dunno what. She's my best friend, my soulmate, yet there's a distance between us now, like we're strangers. And Lockheed's avoiding her - I wish I knew why, it's not like him at all. Maybe it's got something to do with losing both Logan and the Professor in such quick succession, what with her parents not wanting to hear from her, or getting involved with organised crime. I guess that must be it - give her time and she'll be fine.

There's something wrong with us, there has to be. First Logan and Yukio, and Hades knows the fuss Storm made about Yukio's death - I wonder if there was anything between them? Doesn't matter, the Professor is dead. The man we thought would teach us to control our powers, to be heroes, to make a difference - dead. And we stand here, mouthing platitudes, watching the coffin being lowered into the ground.

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I think the Professor would have been pleased that so many of his former students turned out for his funeral, even those who are no longer active members, like Bobby and Warren and Hank.

God, it's like watching Jean being buried again, and I can't bear it! He was my father, as much as my real father was, once he'd taken me in, after I'd run away from the orphanage. He trained me to be the best I could, taught me to lead the X-men. He was there for me so many times, and now he's gone, killed by one of the Hellions, Thunderbird. The bastard killed himself afterwards, but the damage was already done.

No-one's talking. This has hit too close to home, we're all in shock, especially coming so soon after Logan's death. Ororo is taking this very hard indeed, as is Moira, and so is Kitty. I know she was close to Logan, but she's cutting herself off from everyone, even Ororo and Illyana and Lockheed. I think she might be taking this too hard. Maybe she shouldn't be here anymore ......

What's that noise?

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Wait, who is this? The Hellfire Club's Inner Circle?! And they have brought many of their soldiers to attack the X-Men! Excellent, I can kill them here and now, rather than having to track them down. I phase into the ground, and 'swim' over to a clump of trees to observe my new foes. The Inner Circle is here, along with the surviving Hellions, and a small army of Hellfire Club troopers. Well, the Inner Circle are the main threat - I do not know who the black-haired woman dressed as Emma Frost but in black might be, I will leave her until later. Emma first, then Sebastian Shaw, I think.

Amara has to turn into her lava form to escape injury or death from the volley of bullets aimed at her. She replies with blasts of magma, her namesake, which knock down the men who had been shooting at her.

Rachel screams 'Selene' at the woman in black leather - they know each other, apparently. I will leave them to fight one another. I spot my first target, and make my way towards her.....

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I have had enough of this shit! To Hades with them all! I summon a stepping disk, and call a small army of demons to attack the Hellfire Club's grunts. Rachel goes ballistic, and hurls herself at the one dressed as the Black Queen.

But I'm too late to save Ororo. With her powers, she might have saved herself, but without them, she's vulnerable, and her grief at the Professor's death slows her reactions - she doesn't move as fast as she should have. Before she can get clear of the killing zone, a burst of automatic fire cuts her down. Sam screams in rage, and power-dives at the gunmen - and Harry Leland increases his density until he crashes. More gunmen riddle him too.

I hear Rahne's shriek of rage - she'd had a crush on him for ages, and now he's lying there, dead. She shifts into her wolfen form, ignoring Dani's warning cries, and throws herself at the soldiers. Rahney was always the one who was the shyest, gentlest of us all. Now she's tearing men limb from limb. I don't know how she'll react to what she's done when she recovers from her rage.

Now my demons are killing soldiers. Rachel and the Black Queen are fighting one another - it's an even match. Guess it's time for me to get involved myself....

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Those verdammte schweinhunden! They couldn't wait until the Professor was laid to rest! Well, if a fight they want, then a fight they most certainly shall have! I teleport into the midst of the soldiers, and begin striking them down, lashing out in all directions. They might be skilled troops, but they're best with their guns, not in hand to hand combat, which is my speciality - after all, I can strike in five directions at once.....

I see Ororo down, her white hair stained red, and scream with hate. I break a soldier's neck with one kick, and crush another's windpipe with a fist. I know that God Above does not approve of killing, but at this moment I do not care - a woman I saw as a sister lies dead, and those responsible will pay for her death, I swear this by all I hold dear. If Logan were here, he would do far worse. I glance around, after the men I have been fighting are all downed, and see Katzchen strike Emma down. Piotr is smashing armoured troopers into scrap, as is Rogue, and Scott is blasting them into orbit - gut.

Warren swoops down on the Hellfire Club stormtroopers to distract them, but they catch him in a crossfire and he falls. Danielle Moonstar reaches into the minds of the men and draws forth their greatest fear - and Logan appears, claws out, and leaps full at them. They shriek in terror, and run. But one of them, braver and smarter than the others, opens fire at the Cheyenne girl, who staggers back and falls, red blotches appearing on her chest.

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Ah don't believe this! These stupid SOBs won't give up, an' Petey an' I are trashin' them but good! Well, Ah guess we'd better carry on till there ain't none o' them left! Lorna is using her magnetic powers ta knock out the goons before they fire, or else ta deflect their bullets - smart gal! Alex is simply fryin' them, but then, the boy never did have much subtlety.....

An earthquake - Amara's doin'. It don't bother me, ah'm flyin. But Petey staggers, then straightenes up an' smashes two goons' heads together. Amara lets fly with a lava blast, and toasts the Hellfire Club's armed transport. Good move, 'Mara!

Hank is playin' 'Tag' with the goons. No matter how much they shoot, they cain't get a good shot at him - McCoy's way too fast for that! Kurt's the only X-man as fast as Beast. An' they're both usin' that speed ta their advantage. Way ta go, Hank! That's three more goons won't shoot at no-one no more!

Behind the goons, Ah see Roberto DaCosta lunge at Leland, crying for revenge for Sam. Shaw steps to block his way, and Roberto turns on him instead of his first target, fists swinging wildly. The stupid boy! He's forgotten that Shaw absorbs the kinetic energy o' punches! As hard as Sunspot hits him, Shaw gets stronger. Piotr yells at the boy ta back off, let someone else deal with the Black King, but Roberto ain't listenin'. He hits an' hits an' hits, blinded by grief, till Shaw laughs, reaches out, an' snaps his neck.

Another death ta avenge.

Illyana does that. The sorceress teleports over ta Shaw, an' then disappears, takin' the Black King with her. I hate ta think what she'll have her demons do ta him - whatever it is, I hope it hurts plenty .......

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Poor Emma Frost - she never knew what hit her, as I phased my hand through her head to scramble her brain. I chose not to kill her, as I may have use of her later. Ah, here come her Hellions - I wondered if they would defend Emma above any other priorities. Tarot draws a card and begins concentrating on it. She falls when I kick her in the abdomen, just under her ribcage, angling upwards to crush her heart. Then I break Roulette's neck

I look around. Ororo Monroe is gone, as is Roberto DaCosta. Sam Guthrie lies dead, riddled with bullets, as does Warren Worthington. Illyana Rasputin has vanished, as has Sebastian Shaw. Leland is encased in ice, and has turned blue. Rachel Summers and Selene are still locked in combat. I back-kick Catseye in the throat, crushing her windpipe - she never had the chance to learn not to try sneaking up on me.

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I've lost track of the rest of the fight - all I can see is Selene, taunting me about how I failed to stop her from killing when we first met, and how she'll do it again. Well, she's wrong. I'll stop her.

The fire within me is rising, I can feel it. The anger and rage is fuelling it. There is a darkness within me which cries out for blood. I wonder if this is what my mother felt when she became Dark Phoenix? I do not care if it is - Selene must be stopped, permanently.

The force rises, and I begin to exert pressure on my opponent, blocking the power of her manipulation of matter and energy alike. Selene screams curses at me in Latin, but I ignore her, and squeeze with all of the power available to me. She strengthens her defenses. I smash them down. Now she is vulnerable. I remember the people she's killed, drained of life and left as shrivelled husks. I sear her flesh with Phoenix-fire, and smile as she screams.

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I return from Limbo, leaving Sebastian in the tender care of my demons, and look around. Hellfire and damnation, so many dead! Roberto, Sam, Dani, Ororo, Warren - all dead. I see Emma, unconscious by the look of it, and Leland's corpse, and Selene burning as a bird of fire incinerates her - good riddance. The Hellfire Club goons have been ripped apart, often literally so. They didn't expect us to play for keeps, I suppose - their last mistake. More New Mutants have died than X-Men, I guess because they had less combat experience. There's Piotr - I'm so glad he's alive, I'd have found it hard to stand if he'd died too. Rahne is having hysterics, now that she's come out of her berserker rage and realised what she's done, and how many of her friends are dead. And there's Kitty, looking grim - we all do. This was to be a funeral for the Professor, and now it's become a graveyard for most of my friends and teammates.....

Kitty. She's killed someone now, I can see the bodies of the Hellions she's struck down. I'd never have believed it. Maybe she can be as nasty as I can. I think I'd like that - it might make us even closer ...... The rest of them might not approve, but I like the idea of us getting together - she might help me banish the memories my time with Belasco left behind .......

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Well, the Hellfire Club have now gone, so another threat is removed. Not enough X-Men died for me to be fully safe, but enough for grief to cloud the minds of the survivors, making it easier for me to remain undetected until I strike. Rogue lives, I am pleased to say - I have plans for her.

Some of them are regarding me with shocked looks - ah, Katherine had never killed before she slew the Hellions, as far as they knew. I should have thought of that. Well, I will make them think that I have acted hysterically, or simply acted in blind rage, and will pretend that I am as shocked at my actions as any of them. Fortunately, the only remaining telepath amongst the X-men, the redheaded girl named Rachel, has also killed, and seems to be in an emotional state of some agitation, so she will not be able to detect that anything is different about me.

Of the others who know of Katherine Pryde's existence, such as the Fantastic Four, none know her well enough to be a threat. Once the last of these mutants have been dealt with, I may go about my business with no fear of being detected. I regard those left to deal with; Illyana Rasputin, Piotr Rasputin, Rahne Sinclair, Robert Drake, Amara Aquila, Kurt Wagner, Rogue, Scott Summers, Hank McCoy, Alex Summers and Lorna Dane.

Amara will leave soon, probably to return to Nova Roma. Rahne will be taken away by Moira McTaggert, who has now emerged from the cover from where she had been shooting, using a captured Hellfire Club rifle. Scott Summers returned just for the funeral, as he was away with his wife - I doubt he will stay here. Alex Summers and Lorna Dane may well depart, as they too were not on the team roster. Hank McCoy was an Avenger, and will probably return there. Robert Drake came back just for the funeral, he has a career outside of the X-men - he will not stay either, I think. That leaves four for me to deal with - and the blonde sorceress must be the first .....

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I ..... I feel strange. Like I shouldn't be here. Wait, what's that silver cord, leading from me into ... into ..... I still don't know where I am, but it doesn't look like Japan. Hey, wait a minute! Why am I being pulled by this cord, where is it taking me?? Hey, anyone, can you hear me?!

Am I ..... dead? Is this what it feels like? I don't know, it's not like anything I ever expected it to be like if it is death. I dunno. I just wish I knew where I was going to end up .....

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FIN