Hellfire in New York

Hellfire in New York

Chapter 18: Peter Rasputin Has His Hands Full

Wolfsbane and Psyche had been staying together, partly because both of their boyfriends were still in Sickbay, but mostly because they were best friends. As a result, they were stuck in the maze together. Having a practical turn of mind, they didn't waste time grousing, but set about finding a way out. As they went, they chatted about this and that, until Dani sighed and said, "This would be a lot nicer if we had a couple guys with us!"

"Ye think so?" asked Rahne. "I'm thinkin' they'd only do what men do, and get under our feet."

"Probably," Dani agreed, "but they'd improve the scenery a bit. Wouldn't be bad to have a couple of hot guys like 'Berto or Harry."

"Hmph!" remarked Rahne. "Dinna get me wrong, Roberto has lovely eyes, and Harry's a nice wee bum on him, I'll grant you, but neither of 'em's as hunky or beddable as Sam or Ron."

Dani stared at Rahne, then asked mock-sternly, "OK, who are you and what have you done with the real Rahne Sinclaire? You know, the one who was so modest she wore a blindfold in the shower?"

Rahne giggled and shook her head. "Well, ye ken, lassie, havin' gone all the way wi' Sam, it seems a wee bit daft to be all prissy and prim!"

Dani laughed. "It's amazing what one little thing can do!"

"Och," Rahne replied. "It's no' a little thing, Dani!"

It took a moment for Dani to catch on to her friend's outrageous double entendre, then she stared in amazement at Rahne, who finally had the grace to blush. Both girls succumbed to a long fit of the giggles, which lasted until they reached an open circular area that was clearly the centre of the maze.

The place was a butcher's shop - a slaughterhouse. Dismembered, bloody corpses in the shredded remains of black leather uniforms or grey camouflage, lay scattered around. Among them, tittering msira demons fed voraciously. Around the perimeter, Hell Guards were setting heads on stakes - the heads of the X-Men and their wizard friends - and every face bore an expression of agony. The stench of death hung in the air.

For a moment, both young women stood aghast. Then Rahne shifted to wolf and uttered a long howl of anger and despair. It was that howl that jolted Psyche from her shock. The unique empathic and psychic qualities of her Mutant brain acted as sixth senses, and they were screaming at her now. This wasn't right. Psyche was an illusion-caster herself, and she knew in the bone that, however much this scene overwhelmed her ordinary senses, it was not real!

Grimly, she began to struggle to see past the simulacra to the reality. She was striving against another mind, she realised, a mind that was older and more experienced than her own. But Danielle Moonstar was full of grit and determination, and so she fought.

Wolfsbane suddenly became aware that, while the demons and bodies seemed to fade from her perceptions, there was one scent that was real, and did not belong to a friend. With a snarl, she sprang forward, and the gruesome scene faded as she bore a living human body to the ground.

The White Knight had been over-confident. His earlier success in aiding Harry's infiltration of the Club and the way in which he had trapped Emma Frost today must have made him sloppy. Magneto had ordered him to capture any of the younger X-Men that he could for 're-education' into the Brotherhood's ideology. Jason had thought that these two girls would be easy prey, but now he stared up into Wolfsbane's gleaming fangs and wondered if he were going to survive.

"Rahne! Let him up!" snapped Psyche. "I've got business with him."

Wolfsbane backed away, growling, and Wyngarde got to his feet, brushing off his clothes and trying to look and sound nonchalant.

"Well, well! Psyche, isn't it? And your toothy friend here must be Wolfsbane. A pleasure to meet you both." He smiled with all the charm he could muster. "I have a proposal for you and your young friends from Mr Lensherr."

"Stow it!" Psyche hissed. "I'm not interested, Mastermind, or White Knight or whatever you're calling yourself right now. You just made us see people we love butchered, dead. You were trying to break us with our worst fears, weren't you?"

Mastermind shrugged. "Just showing you the kind of thing that's gonna happen if you kids keep listening to Xavier. The old guy's soft on flatscans, but they won't be soft on you!"

Dani shook her head. "That's bullshit. I'm an illusionist myself, and I know a bit about people's worst fears. Like yours, for instance!"

Wyngarde went white. His mouth opened, but he seemed unable to scream. He fell to his knees, reaching out to something in front of him. In his eyes was a mixture of stark fear and a terrible yearning.

Wolfsbane shifted back to her human form. Much as she loved Dani, she never liked seeing her friend use her power, and in her wolf-form, the fear that poured off Psyche's targets was a palpable, hateful thing.

As she transformed, Rahne felt a sudden blast of bitter cold. Looking around, she saw the hedges that formed the maze had suddenly become silver with frost. Leaves began to fall from them with musical tinkling sounds. From some distance off came other sounds, like glass cracking.

Then, closer to hand, came a sudden double boom. Two women appeared close to the kneeling form of Jason Wyngarde. Both were tall, and wearing witch's robes; one was youngish, with long, copper-coloured hair. Neither Rahne nor Dani recognised her, but the other one was quite familiar.

"Professor McGonagall?" said Rahne, amazed, but the Headmistress ignored her for the moment, concentrating on her companion. The younger woman was staring at the White Knight.

"Jason?" she breathed, with an incredulous look on her face. Then she spun to confront Psyche, raising her wand. "What are you doing to him?"

Dani released Wyngarde from her power, facing the newcomer. Rahne tensed, but McGonagall was already there, placing a restraining hand on her companion's arm.

"One moment, Jessica," she said firmly. "I would not advise you to confront Miss Moonstar without a very good reason. She is quite a formidable young lady, and one whose character, aside from a tendency to levity, is beyond reproach.

"Miss Moonstar, I would be obliged if you and Miss Sinclaire would provide an explanation for this extraordinary scene."

Rather than being resentful, Dani was grateful for McGonagall's assumption of authority. She did not want to be forced to fight this unknown witch who was clearly English and might well be one of the good guys. Briefly, Dani explained who Jason Wyngarde was, his role in the Hellfire Club, his recent attack on Rahne and herself, and what she had gleaned of his apparent role as an agent of Magneto. She concluded by pointing out, "But none of that explains who this lady is, or why you two are here, Professor."

The younger woman answered, "I'm Jessica Crowe, a teacher at Hogwarts, and this man...." She paused, then knelt beside Wyngarde and put her arms round him. "This is Jason, my half-brother."

Wyngarde, who had been hiding his face in his hands, suddenly looked up at her. "Jess?" he asked. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, dearest," she murmured soothingly. "It's me. I'm here."

He next looked at Dani, and she saw the resemblance now. The White Knight's skin was sallow, and his hair lank and dark, while Professor Crowe's hair was thick and red, her skin pale, but the bone structure of their faces was similar, and both had those odd-colored eyes, one blue, one gold.

"Are you doing this?" he asked Psyche. She shook her head.

"No, she's real enough."

Mastermind buried his face in Jessica's shoulder and began to cry quietly. For a moment, the tableau held, then Rahne brought their attention back to the situation.

"Those noises are gettin' closer!" she said, "And if I'm any judge, it was Iceman froze the hedges. What do we -"

At that moment, they all became aware of a high-pitched sound just on the edge of hearing. For a second, it set their teeth on edge, then the frozen vegetation around them shattered. They were momentarily enveloped in a fine, stinging spray of ice crystals, and then they were once again in a vast, open area.

With shouts of joy, they saw their friends heading towards them, Iceman and Fleur from one direction, Seamus, Dazzler and Havok from another, while Banshee, Sunfire, Bill and Tonks dropped from above to settle nearby.

"Sorry if I hurt anybody's ears," said Banshee, "but since the maze was frozen, I was after thinkin' my scream was the quickest way to clear it."

Iceman turned to Havok. "I'd have frozen the hedge sooner, but Ms. Delacour and I had a little demon trouble."

"And I," said Fleur, "'ave learned a new English word - 'demonsicles'. C'est tres amusant, n'est-ce-pas?"

Havok stared at Bobby. "You froze the whole thing in one shot?" Iceman nodded, and Havok whistled. "I can never get a handle on just how much juice you have, Bobby!"

"Neither can I," Iceman admitted. "Every time I think I've hit the limit of what I can do, I find I can do more!"

Banshee was looking around. "We're some people short, and we've gained a couple we didn't have. What's been goin' on?"

"We lost each other in the maze," Havok said, indicating the doors and archways that dotted the outer wall. "Some of our people might have gone through those, but we can't tell until comms are back up. Where are Storm and Polaris?"

"Storm went off on an errand of her own - witchin' stuff," reported Banshee. "But that was after we had the devil of a scrap to get onto the roof - some kind of flyin' demons. Polaris is still up there usin' her magnetic powers to get into the Secure Room and hopefully bollix their jammers. The rest of us saw you on the CCTV and came straight down to help out."

"Excuse me," Jessica Crowe interrupted. "I need to get my brother somewhere safe. He's in shock, and he can't stay here."

Seamus stepped forward, fishing inside his T-shirt, before pulling out a St Christopher medallion.

"Here, Professor, take this," he offered. "It's my personal Portkey to Professor Xavier's mansion. Dr MacTaggart and Professor Xavier will be after takin' good care of your brother there, and ye'll find no safer spot, to be sure!"

"Thanks, Seamus, but are you sure this Professor Xavier won't mind my suddenly appearing there?" Jessica asked.

"Sure and he's used to wizards poppin' in and out all the time, Jessica!" Seamus reassured her. "What with me and Fleur here, not to mention Mr Lupin, he's got used to our habits. He's a way of knowin' things as well, so like as not, he'll be expectin' ye, so he will!" Jessica gratefully accepted the Portkey, and she and her brother vanished.

*****

Cyclops was worried; less than an hour into the mission, and his team had already been split several ways! Worse, the team assigned to the rooftop and penthouse had clearly not yet managed to gain control of the communications suite. He had suspected that the Hellfire Club would attempt to jam their comms, so he had assigned all the flight-capable X-Men, along with Bill and Tonks, to attack from above.

Still, he had to rely on the abilities of his people to take care of themselves, and he knew those abilities to be considerable. He led Colossus and Ariel along a corridor, stopping and holding up a hand for silence when he heard voices. Signalling for a stealthy approach, he went forward carefully.

He peered into the room ahead. Two men were there. The White Rook was kneeling on the floor, making adjustments to some kind of device. Another man was standing watching a video screen. Cyclops recognised him from Tonks' description; he was the former Death Eater, Rookwood.

As Cyclops watched, Rookwood asked, "Is that thing ready yet?"

"Almost," replied Pierce, "What's going on down there?"

"They're still duelling. The Weasley girl's giving Bella a run for her money!"

"You realize, Augustus, they they'll both be killed when this goes off?"

"Gods, I hope so," stated Rookwood fervently. "The Weasleys are blood traitors, every last one of them! Killing that little whore will break Potter's heart. Just a tiny touch of vengeance for my Dark Lord! I'd rather it was her brother, though. He's polluting himself with a Mudblood."

"You make it sound like he's mating with an animal," Pierce snorted.

"He might as well be!" growled Rookwood.

"What about Mrs Lestrange?" asked the White Rook. "You came here with her, after all. I thought you two went way back?"

"She's a traitor!" Rookwood snapped. "She's betrayed Selene. Look at her, parading around in the Black Queen's regalia. What's more, she's bedding Shaw - not just a Muggle, but a Mutant!"

"You're right about the betrayal," Pierce agreed. "Sebastian's betrayed Selene, too. Both of them are plotting against her. There, the bomb's set. It'll bring the roof down on both of them. We'd better go, Augustus."

The two men began to move toward the door where the three X-Men were concealed, watching them. There was no time or place to hide, so Cyclops stepped forward.

"Gentlemen, you better disarm that device, 'cause neither of you is leaving this room until you do!"

Rookwood raised his wand, but not fast enough, as Cyclops' eyebeams took him in the chest and threw him across the room. The White Rook leapt forward, only to meet the immovable mass that was Colossus. The two powerful men closed in combat, each trying to gain that essential leverage.

Staggering to his feet, Rookwood made for another door at the far end of the room. Cyclops went after him, yelling, "Ariel, get the bomb!"

Kitty was one of the most intelligent of the X-Men; her IQ checked at genius level. She'd eagerly absorbed everything Beast could teach her about electronics and all that Wolverine, with his military training, could tell her about bomb disposal. One look told her all she needed to know. The White Rook had made this device specifically to foil any and all of the X-Men's abilities. A wizard might be able to disarm it, but there wasn't one here.

"Colossus!" she called. "I can't disarm it. We need a wizard."

"Then get Firebird," he yelled back. "She's just below us, remember?"

Kitty phased through the floor, shouting for Firebird.

A few moments later, Bellatrix said in a strained voice, "Ginevra, can you and your friend get me out of here? I'm afraid I'm not very good with enclosed spaces. Too much time in Azkaban, you understand?"

"Can we lift her between us?" Ginny asked Kitty.

"No sweat! On three. One, two..."

Carrying Bellatrix between them, the two girls climbed through and out of the rubble, then set the older witch, who was gratefully gasping open air, down on top of it. Ginny and Kitty looked around at the wreckage.

"Bozhe moi!" muttered Ginny, just as Kitty murmured, "Merlin's beard!" Both girls stared at each other, then began to laugh.

"Talk about your cultural exchanges," said Ginny.

"I fail to see a shred of humour in this situation," Bellatrix said sourly. "Whoever did this, Ginevra, clearly intended to dispose of both of us, you realise?"

"It was the White Rook," Ariel supplied, "and that Rookwood character. They're both still loyal to Selene, and -"

Just then the rubble nearby suddenly shifted and slid aside, and the towering form of Colossus emerged, shaking his head.

"Petey!" Ariel called happily, dashing over to him. "You OK, hon?"

"I'm fine, Katyushka," he rumbled, then waved at Ginny, who was still guarding her captive. "Hey, babe!"

"Hiya, Peter!"

"What happened to Pierce?" Kitty wanted to know.

"He's down here." Colossus pointed. "I protected him as best I could, but he took a heckuva bump on the head. He's down for the count! I also had to damage his arms and one of his legs a little. When he wakes up, he won't be going anywhere in a rush."

"Which leaves us," said Ginny, "wondering what to do about darling Bella here."

"You could let me go," Bellatrix suggested. "I can give you directions to get to the throne room, but I need you to let me go my own way. Sebastian needs me."

"How d'you know that?" asked Ginny.

"The same way, and for the same reason, that you'd know if Harry needed you!" Bella looked up at Ginny. "I'm in love with him, you see. Isn't that odd? The arch champion of wizarding purity, former mistress of the Dark Lord himself, head over heels in love with a Mutant!"

"It can happen," said Ginny, thinking of Scott and Fleur, as well as Ororo and Sirius.

"Anyway," Bella went on, "Sebastian wanted to speak with the Granger girl, and that means your brother will be after him. After what I've been through with you, Ginevra, I'm not so sanguine about Sebastian's chances of dealing with young Ronald."

"If Shaw's gotten Hunter ticked off," Peter asserted, "he's in a world of hurt!"

Ginny released Bellatrix from the Binding Charm. "Your wand's under all this rubble somewhere," Ginny told her. "You'll have to make do without."

"I've others," Bellatrix said. Then she gave them directions to get to the throne room.

"If you've lied to us," Ginny warned, "I'll be coming for you!"

"Of course," Bellatrix said. "One last thing: What happened to Rookwood?"

"Last seen heading for the high country with Cyclops on his tail," Kitty informed her. "Unless he did that Apparation thing, he's probably down and out. Cyke was pretty mad by then, and he doesn't kid around."

"Splendid!" Bellatrix nodded. "Well, good luck, the three of you. Ginevra, until next time...I'll watch out for your feet in future!"

"You do that," Ginny replied. "They'll be landing on your scrawny arse!"

"Sweet child," murmured Bella as she left.

The three youngsters set off in the direction Bellatrix had indicated. Peter, in his invulnerable metal form, took point. The two girls walked behind.

Something had been nagging at Ginny. Now she turned to he companion and said, "Kitty, would you say I was fat?"

"Fat?" replied Kitty. "No, not fat. Curvaceous, certainly, or buxom, but I wouldn't say you were fat - unless I was really mad at you!"

"Ah," Ginny answered, nodding. "Well, I'd have to be really cross with you to comment on your figure. If you had one!"

"Anyway," Kitty went on, "it's in your genes. Your Mom's awful...what's Hermione's word? Cuddly? Just genetics, nothing to do with the huge plate of ham and eggs you eat at breakfast every day."

Ginny shrugged, "Well, at least with you around, Hermione can't complain about being flat-chested. She's a 34A - that's two inches and a cup size up on you, yes? As for that boyish bum - from the back, I could almost fancy you myself!"

Peter didn't have Harry's gift for dry put-downs, but the girls' habit of sniping at each other got his goat as well. He spun on his heel and confronted them, glaring.

"If you two don't cut it out," he growled, "I'll put one of you across each knee and spank the daylights out of both of you!"

The reaction was not what he hoped for. Kitty fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly and squealed "Ooooh! Promise?" Ginny grinned impishly and said, "Now there's an offer you don't get every day! D'you want us to strip or just pull our knickers down?"

Peter threw up his hands, turned, and came face to face with a tall, skeletal demon cloaked in darkness. Colossus unleashed all his frustration in one awesome blow, and the demon hurtled back into the room it had come from, crashing into a massive, iron door. Part of the rock ceiling fell in to crush the demon and half-bury the door.

"Job tvo madje!" Peter swore. "Kitty, can you phase us through?"

"Don't!" interrupted Ginny. "That door has a Sealing Rune on it. We don't know how it would react to Ariel's power. I should be able to open it, but I need to see the whole rune."

"Fine, OK," said Colossus. "I'll dig it out. It's gonna take a while, though, so you two better keep watch - and behave yourselves!"

Both girls faced his glare for a moment, then chorused meekly, "Yes, Peter." They went over to the other door while he began to work.

Shortly after that, Cyclops called for a report. Ariel told him what was happening, and they settled down to wait.

After a while, Ginny asked, "Kitty, why did you take up with Peter? I know it wasn't just to spite me for taking Harry off you, because you really care for him."

Kitty shrugged. "You're right. It was nothing to do with Harry. It was actually Ron!"

"Ron?" Ginny repeated, perplexed.

"While they were over here," Kitty explained, "I got myself hugged a couple times by your brother. I'd never felt so safe, so protected. I mean, I love - loved - Harry, but he's not a safe guy, you know? He's on the edge there. In his way, he's as dangerous as Wolverine.

"But Petey, he's a lot like Ron in some ways. They're both big, gentle, warm guys. I feel settled, at home, safe with him. If Petey's around, I can tackle anything!"

Ginny nodded. "That's Ron. He does make you feel safe."

Kitty cocked an eyebrow, and Ginny looked her in the eye. "Yes," Ginny admitted, "I tease and torment him. I'm a right pain in the bum to him. But he's my big brother, he'll always be there for me, and I love him. And by the way, Kitty, it's OK to love Harry - just stay out of his trousers, OK?"

Kitty smiled and nodded, and the two carried on waiting in silence.

****

For a while, the reunited X-Men and wizards stood in the vast, open space, considering their next move. Then a door was blasted off its hinges by scarlet beams, announcing the arrival of Cyclops, who was carrying over his shoulder the inert form of a wizard. He strode across to the group and dumped the wizard on the floor at Tonks' feet.

"I think," he announced, "this one's yours, Tonks. It's that Rookwood guy. I'm afraid he's a little the worse for wear."

"No more than he deserves, I'll bet!" declared Tonks, binding the senseless man.

Just then, all the communicators crackled, and Cyclops heard a voice. "Polaris to Cyclops, I've managed to unjam the communications. I'm on my way down to you, but I think trouble's on the way, too!"

"Acknowledged," Cyclops told Polaris. He switched frequency, requesting a check in. After listening to the responses, Cyclops declared, "Rogue, Storm, Wolverine and Padfoot are on their way here. So are Charm and Hunter. Emma's joined up with Beast, Nightcrawler and Remus, and they'll be here soon. Colossus, Ariel and Firebird have run into a problem. Hawk's on his way to Selene's temple with some of the others, apparently. We'll stay here for now!"

Just as Cyclops finished speaking, the big double doors at one end of the chamber flew open, and a horde of demons charged through. As well as the msira types and Hell Guards, there were several of the taller, more powerful Hell Vanguards. Violet flashes above announced the arrival of a half-dozen Abyss Goats and a swarm of bird-like demons who hurled drops of liquid fire from under their wings.

Cyclops turned to McGonagall. "Minerva, I don't know how you got here, but you'd better go. We seem to have a situation here."

"No shit, Sherlock!" replied McGonagall, deftly exorcising the lead Hell Vanguard. She turned to Scott with a grin that seemed to belong to a much younger Minerva McGonagall. "I think I'll stay just where I am, Scott!"

Cyclops found himself grinning back. Then he raised his voice to shout, "Let's take 'em!"

Sunfire leapt into the air, incinerating an Abyss Goat with a single plasma bolt. Seconds later, Bill, Tonks and Banshee were aloft, creating havoc among the winged demons. Polaris flew down from an overhead shaft and pitched in with her magnetic powers.

On the ground, a battle-royal was being waged. The demons were still reeling from the ferocity of the defence when Wolverine and Sirius emerged from an archway.

"Crap!" growled the Canadian. "Looks like they started without us, Padfoot!"

"Well, let's not waste any more time, mate," replied Sirius, and the two friends strode forward, carving a bloody path toward their allies.

Another door opened, allowing Beast, Nightcrawler, Emma, Remus, Storm and Rogue into the room. With a fearsome Rebel yell, Rogue led the earthbound newcomers forward, while Storm took flight, summoning a freezing gale that shredded the feathers of the smaller winged demons and sent the Abyss Goats tumbling. Seconds later, Hunter and Charm arrived, creating their own unique brand of mayhem.

But the demons were numerous, and more were flooding into the room by the second. Even the sudden arrival of the mighty Colossus, accompanied by the formidable Firebird and surprisingly effective Ariel was not enough to turn the tide.

Things were looking grim, and Cyclops was searching for a way to retreat, when he heard a voice in his ear. "Hawk to Cyclops. Hang on, Scott. There's more help on the way!"