Part Nine: Class Reunion "Are you alright, Dwayne?" Emma asked the brooding Night Thrasher as Magneto propelled the small aircraft over Asia. She had asked him to bring the X-Men with him, but Magneto had refused. Three of his charges were dead, as well as several dear friends. He would put no more in danger. The Hellfire Club would settle this themselves. "I'm NOT alright, Emma," the young black man told Frost. "I've just found out that everything I've ever known is a lie, and its not sitting well with me." "I know," she said. "The Woman who RAISED me, and one of my closest friends, they just tried to kill us, and now we're going after them, to fight them again. Its them or us, Emma, and I don't know if I can do it." "It will not be necessary for you to do it yourself, Dwayne. The woman is manipulating their minds, and I will not let that continue. If her death is called for, I shall be the one to do it." "We're all in this," He replied, returning to his dark thoughts. "And I'm one of us, just as much as you, or Magneto, or Phoenix. We're the Hellfire Club, the most powerful people on the planet, and I'm not going to let sentimentality stop me from saving those who aren't in power." "Like the Hellions," Frost finished for him. "Like the Hellions." The ancient woman had led the Hellfire Club through the temple, into its very heart. They stared in wonder at the dazzling lights pouring through an opening in the floor. Every possible color, shimmering against the very walls, flowed from the ground to the ceiling. "This is the Dragon's Breadth," Tai announced. "We shall await the Hellfire Club here." "What are we waiting for, exactly?" Roulette asked. "I draw my powers from the Well of All Things," Tai gestured to the light show. "As long as the Well is open, its energies flow through me, but if it is ever closed, the magick will reside inside me. I shall become the Dragon's Breadth, the Goddess of All Things, and I and my followers shall be unopposed." "So how do we shut it?" Shinobi demanded. "By casting the White Queen, Firestar, Night Thrasher, and all the rest of our enemies into the pit," Tai laughed. "The mutant energies of their bodies will close the portal, and focus the power onto me." "Dwayne is no mutant!" Midnight's Fire exclaimed. "But he has power capable of rivaling a mutants," Tai smiled. "His will is equal to that of a dragon, and it will be enough." "That is why you did not want them dead, isn't it?" Ming asked. "So that they would come after us?" "Correct Child," The old woman was smiling viciously. In another world, that smile could have made the White Queen grow cold. In this one, it had a similar effect on her rebellious students. Tai was reveling in her domination of the group. Between the two of them, Selene and Tai held them all, even Empath, under their mental Thrall. Of course, they weren't aware of it. The fools believed themselves to be acting under their own free will. Tai had offered each what he or she truly wanted; To Command the Hellfire Club, to restore Rome, to free Nova Roma, to Wed his Teammate, to be the wealthiest man alive, to protect the environment, to battle each other, to defeat Firestar, to kill Catseye, to lead Britain for his father, to become a god. But Tai knew that only she could have what she truly wanted, and nothing could prevent it. Not now. "I sense Brian," Elisabeth said, her voice full of hatred and anger for her brother. "Are you certain?" Emma and Phoenix looked at their fellow telepath. Neither of them could sense any members of the Club anywhere around them. "Positive," Psylocke told them. She wore her Hellfire Club armor, a gleaming silver bodice and breast plate with the HC stylized crest in the center of her chest. A chain mail skirt hung about her thighs, and metal and leather covered her body. Her blonde hair hung loosely over her pink cloak, and her eyes were glowing dangerously. "Phoenix," Emma said, "Set us down." Jean Grey had telekinetically moved the three of them above the jungles, while Emma and Betsy had psionically searched for their traitorous team mates. Emma knew they were masking, but Betsy's bond with Brian prevented the mask from being effective. And now, they had found them. The thought of the White Queen shot out to the others, who were still at the clearing where he had landed the helicopter, "They're through that doorway," Psylocke said. "And Brian and Jamie are very excited about something." "Can you tell what?" Jean asked. "No," She told her. "The temple itself seems to be blocking most of my powers. I don't even know if Emma and I will have our telepathy when we go inside, but I'll be able to sense Brian and Jamie even without my power." The wind began to swirl, and a blue light appeared in the sky. The three women looked up, seeing Magneto surrounded by a bubble of blue light, floating towards them. Following him were Firestar, riding her microwave energy, Angel, flapping his way across the sky, Jetstream, blasting through the air, and a second bubble, carrying Dazzler, Kitty, Bevatron, Night Thrasher, Silhouette, Thunderbird, Tarot, Catseye and Jubilee. The bubble and the Hellfire Club landed safely before the Temple. "Yo, Frosty!" Jubilee asked Emma, "Is THAT where She-who-is- older-than-the-hills took our buddies?" "Yes, Jubilation." "Then let's get them back," Dwayne ordered. "Welcome, my Hellfire Club," Tai's voice echoed through the corridor as the heroes entered the huge, vaulted room. Dwayne saw Tai, with the traitorous Hellfire Club standing on all sides of her. "The Prophecy is to be fulfilled." "Prophecy?" Tarot demanded. "Yes, Marie," The old woman laughed. "You see, the prophecy is of the coming of God, the one true God, and she will take the corrupt and depraved world in her hands and reform it. The planet shall be baptized in Blood, and it shall begin with yours." Dozens of warriors filed into the room, dressed in black bamboo armor. Each held a long, thin spear with a blade that resembled a bayonet attached to both ends. Emma sent out her thought, uncertain of whether or not it would be perceived by her comrades. The air was ripped apart by Firestar's assault, microwaves blasting through the temple, straight for the old woman. Bevatron followed suit, as did Jubilee and Dazzler. Angel and Jetstream took to the air, as did Magneto and Phoenix. Catseye melted into her feline form, and Silhouette vanished into the shadows. Apparently, they had heard the call. Tai teleported away, but her servants responded in kind. Captain Britain launched himself at Jetstream. Smiling Tiger leapt towards his feline opponent. Firewall went air borne as well. "TAKE NO PRISONERS!" Meggan growled, reaching out with her mind. She had always wanted to say that. She wasn't quiet certain what it meant, but she thought it was neat all the same. Energy surrounded the elf as nature bent to her will. Midnight's Fire was leaping at her with a flying kick, only to be knocked away by a wall of air that had suddenly become harder than stone. Firestar was flying through the chamber, her microwave blasts exploding around her enemies, although she wasn't hitting many of them. She was making a beeline for Tai, but then felt something strike her. It wasn't anything hard or particularly fast, but Angelica lost control, crashing to the ground with a thump. She stood up, only to see the blonde figure Roulette standing near her, a black disk in her hand, laughing. "I've waited a long time for this," the blonde said, advancing on Firestar. Harry Leland was holding the White Queen in with his Gravitational power, crushing her to the ground. Emma screamed as the weight of her organs threatened to crush her. She lashed out mentally, her mind blast knocking him off his feet as he clutched his head in pain. Emma rose to face her opponent. She was smiling. Bevatron was trying to shoot Captain Britain out of the air, while Jubilee's sparks were bouncing off Firewall, sending the woman spiraling out of control. Catseye and Smiling Tiger were slashing at each other, blood and growls coming from the feral mutants. Psylocke was concentrating on Selene, as the two women's minds wrestled unseen through the room. Magma hurled lava against Magneto's energy field, but she could not penetrate the barrier. Jamie Braddock was screaming as he tried to work his power on Meggan. Her shape did change, although it wasn't to the misshapen pig that he wanted her to become. Instead, the blonde elf transformed herself into an enormous wolf like creature, ten feet tall, complete with claws and fangs. Night Thrasher was trading blows with Midnight's Fire, while Silhouette was shadow melting through the soldiers, her bow cracking at their skulls before they even knew she was there. Kitty was chasing Shinobi through walls and people, holding a small knife in her hand. Dazzler was hurling her photons at Beef as Thunderbird traded blows with Bloodstrike, both trying not to hurt them, holding them back. Psylocke was mind blasting random enemies, stunning them long enough for her friends to get an advantage. Jetstream was circling around Empath, his distance preventing the telepath from gaining a mental hold on him. Tarot was controlling a warrior, mounted atop a tiger, and sending him slashing his way through the soldiers. Phoenix and Tai were not participating in the Melee. Instead, the Black Queen and High Priestess faced each other. Jean wore a scowl, while Tai's face was wrinkled into a grin. "So, you would like to try again, Avatar?" the hag sneered. "You won't catch me unaware again, old crone," Jean hissed at her. "You'll have to do more than dump me in a pit to beat me again." The old woman vanished, as did her followers, in a cloud of mint. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SMELL?" Angel demanded, settling to the ground. "Whenever she uses her powers, I smell it," Emma said. "I remember it sometimes," Dwayne mused, "when I was younger. I could see Tai, I could smell the mint, but nothing else..." "Mind Control," Psylocke exclaimed. "When she uses her powers, any of her powers, her body must generate that smell when she does anything." "So she's been using her mind control on me, ever since I was a child?" Dwayne exclaimed. The Cyborg was not pleased at the revelation. "She must have been." "But Chord?" Dwayne demanded. "What about Chord?" "Chord?" Psylocke asked. "Dwayne's Godfather," Silhouette explained. "Tai and Chord have known each other for years. When Dwayne's parents died, they raised him." Phoenix felt something strange, as if the power in her soul was trying to tell her something. She reached out with her telepathy, reaching for Silhouette and Dwayne. She felt a presence about Silhouette, as if she were smelling mint with her mind. She felt the presence of Tai, not in the girl's mind, but in her body, in her genes. It was a direct connection, as if...not the matron...but... "Silhouette, Tai is your GRANDMOTHER!" "What?" "She's your grandmother!" Phoenix was astounded. "However you got me out of that place where she trapped me kept me from realizing it, but she's your grandmother." Tarot flipped through her cards, her mind focusing on the images she spread out before her. "Firewall, Night Thrasher, Bloodstrike, Tiger, Fire and Silhouette," she said. "They're the ones she really wanted. Tai wanted them dead at first, but changed her plans. Now she wants us, all of the Hellfire Club, dead, and them alive as her servants." "So she plans to kill the others?" Psylocke asked her. "After she uses them to kill us. Those ones have enough power to do whatever she wants by dying, but all of us combined have enough to do it better." "They're through that hallway," Phoenix said. "And I'm willing to bet that if we don't try to kill her, she'll use them AND kill us." "Let's go," Dwayne said. The Hellfire Club looked at each other and nodded. Phoenix lead the way, surrounded by a telekinetic shield, and the others followed. Daniel Thomas "...But I do not enjoy the killing...I AM NOT VIOLENT!! And I will put an arrow through the brains of anyone who says I am!!!"-Artemis (Artemis Requiem #4-DC)