********************************************************************** DISCLAIMER 1) This material is not used for monetary profit in any manner. It is done solely for enjoyment purposes, and as homage to the great stories and characters of Marvel Comics Group 2) All the characters, events, and locations portrayed within are recognized as property of Marvel Comics Group should they so wish. 3) This story has been written by Samy Merchi . Any commentary in the form of compliments or critique is welcomed, and eagerly hoped for. So go ahead and drop me a line telling me what you thought, okay? It'll make my day. ;) ********************************************************************** ***************************** *** FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE *** ***************************** CHAPTER ONE: Manipulations [Gee, noticing this is an Empath series, I wonder how many chapters will have this name... -author] I adjust my tie and check myself out in the mirror. (You're a handsome devil, Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo De La Rocha) O o . I think while turning and walking over to the closet, taking a glance at my wardrobe before closing it. Moving over to the bathroom I sprinkle some after-shave behind my ears and on my wrists, smiling while I think about the upcoming night... The New Mutants are coming to visit again. And I'm going to make sure not to lose one chance...in anything. I feel my lips twist into somewhat of a smile as I think about what the night might bring... I hear the crowd roar downstairs. It is like any other ball here at the Academy. People talking, joking, having fun... I listen to the dulling noise for a while while leaning to my dresser. That is when I hear the car pull to the driveway. It is like any car sound but I know this is the one. Rushing to the window, I pull the curtain slightly aside, slowly enough not to be noticed, and look out. It is. The New Mutants. And they are all there. Tall, stupid Guthrie. You think you have a shot at Angelica? Maybe... but not quite the way you think... I smile as the next Mutie comes out of the limo. Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla. Maybe more than anyone I have ever met, she is like me. I can't help but wonder what it would be like to play with her a bit. Maybe tonight I'll find out. My lips have drawn to a smile and I don't force them back. I let the smile go a little wider but it all fades suddenly when she comes out. The blonde witch. A chill runs thru my spine and I close the curtain, almost afraid she'll notice. My legs take me away from the window, just in case. I pour myself a glass of brandy from the bottle my father sent me among the rest of my birthday gifts. Funny. He never came to see me. Guess he figured the presents were enough. I guess they are. The brandy goes down my throat without my even noticing it and I sit down on the couch. Better wait for them to be in, comfortable and gotten to the spirit of the night when I make my entrance. Rushing is never good. I pour myself another glass and roll the liquid in it slowly. The witch must have made me more nervous than I thought. Damn it. If only my powers worked on her, I'd make *her* nervous! But they don't. Damn her! There's a knock on the door. "Come in", I say without looking at the door. The door opens slowly, hesitantly and a head peeks inside. It's Tarot. Marie-Ange Colbert. One of my 'teammates'. Teammates. What's that supposed to mean? I'm supposed to sacrifice my life for hers? I chuckle a bit. Hardly. Not that she isn't a pleasure for my eyes. She and Firestar. Both so beautiful. Both so weak. So easy to manipulate. In every way. "The New Mutants have arrived, Manuel", she says, looking at me without a hint of smile on her lips. (Did she come here voluntarily?) O o . I think. Or did someone send her to tell me that? Surely she wouldn't come here just to tell me that of her own volition? And why isn't she smiling? Isn't she happy to see me? She will be. I see from the mirror how my eyes begin to glow crimson a bit as I look into her eyes. She smiles at me. Better. "I know that, Tarot. Shouldn't you be downstairs playing with them?" I ask sarcastically. She always pretends to be so nice, so kind. She'd fit in better with the Muties. The hypocrite. Just like them. "But... Aren't you coming?" she asks hesitantly, the smile slowly fading off along with the glow in my eyes. "Get lost, Tarot. Go play with the rest of the kids", I say. I turn back to my brandy and sip it slowly without paying any attention to her anymore. I smile as the door closes silently and I feel a burst of misery on the other side of the door. I hope I hurt her. She deserves it for being always so damn happy. FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER I feel the emotions starting to heat downstairs. Once again, the rest of the Hellions play their juvenile games with the New Mutants. Always circling down the same path. Always over the same reason. I hold my glass in front of my eyes, rolling the slight layer of brandy on the bottom around. Always the same reason, I think again. Women. Or should I say girls? Either of our teams don't really have women in them. All just giggling naive schoolgirls afraid to show their true selves. But I see it all. They don't know it, but I see it all. Hate. Love. Boredom. Jealousy. They're like colors to me, I don't even have to try to see them, I just do. And I laugh at what I see. All those emotions so tangled up and weaved into a complex web around them, trapping them into their own feelings... And I manipulate them. Every single strand is mine to pull and twist at my will. Rising from the armchair, I incline the glass and pour what little is left in the glass down my throat. The emotions are getting hotter downstairs. I wonder which ones it is now? The Brazilian and Jetstream over a woman? Maybe. Or maybe the Indians are trying to deny their emotions with a blanket of arguing? I don't know yet, and I don't really care. I walk out the door into the hallway. It takes me a few steps to reach the stairway and I remain at the top, looking down, observing the situation like any master manipulator has to do. I smile when I notice who it is causing all the emotions to run rampant. Roulette. Jennifer Stavros. Perhaps the one Hellion who actually enjoys the same kinds of things I do. Pain. Mayhem. And of course flirting. That seems to be what has got the emotions riding high tonight. She has put Sunspot and Cypher competing over her. I am impressed. It takes a lot to get Ramsey that upset. I should know. She glances upwards and notices me, winking her eye. I feel the pleasure she draws from the situation. I smile back. Keep going. I am going to look up a few targets of my own. I tweak the general atmosphere up a little, introducing a bit of awe to the room. Everyone should know by now that it's my calling card. And they do. I smile as several pairs of eyes turn to follow me as I walk down the stairs leisurely, enjoying my step, getting a thrill out of holding their attention. Enjoying the quiet I brought to the room with my presence alone. At the bottom I run first into the indians. Proudstar. You think you are so tough with all your physical prowess. Your apache 'heritage'. It is all nothing to me. As are you. For now, I allow you to hold the status of team leader because I have no interest in it. And as always, by your side the New Mutant co-leader. The tall, skinny cheyenne. I wonder if either of you really dare to face the emotions hidden under the surface? Pitiful. I give Proudstar a mildly disappointed glance and move onwards without saying anything. Everyone turns back away from me as I blend in and the speech begins filling the foyer once again. "Manuel. I have been waiting for you." A familiar voice. I turn around and look into the eyes of my...teacher. Emma Frost. The White Queen of the Hellfire Club. She looks deep into my eyes and smiles as coldly as she ever does. Something in her eyes makes me nervous and I must glance somewhere else, breaking the lock of our eyes. Does she do it somehow? Is she enjoying it? Let her. She will be mine one day. Everyone will. "Good evening, Miss Frost", I say courteously and nod my head to her. It isn't until then that I notice the figure behind her when I wrest my eyes from hers. Magneto. The headmaster of the New Mutants. Now the White King of the Hellfire Club. It makes one wonder just how close he and Emma are. I notice a cloud of jealousy roll over me but I banish it with a thought. I am in control. They will all pay for underestimating me. "I believe someone would like a word with you, Manuel." She points over my shoulder. I turn around and my heart jumps. It's her. The witch. Damn Emma! It is almost as if she had called her here. I try not to let on my nervousness but I feel a cold sweat breaking when she stares at me. Those cold blue eyes... "Dance, Empath?" she asks. I curse myself for stuttering my response and decide to not run away like I want to. It would not be befitting of me. "S...Sure", I say and curse my eloquence. She takes my hand in hers and leads me over to the ballroom where they are playing a waltz. While she leads me to the center of the room and takes a hold of me, I can't help but remember the time she took me to Limbo. Just thinking about it still chills my spine. I take a hold of her as well and start dancing smoothly, deciding to show her what a de la Rocha is made of. She smiles so sweetly while looking up to my eyes that she could be any nice naive girl from anywhere. Instead, she is a cursed demon sorceress on whom my powers have absolutely no effect. I can't even read her emotions. The little witch must be enjoying this. Well, I'm going to break you one day, and then we'll see just who is the master. The dance ends and we head to another room where some of our teammates have settled down. She holds my hand as we walk in. Most likely to mock me, but I have my reasons not to pull away as well. I look around, searching for Tarot with my eyes. Ah. There she is. In front of a table, giving Amara a reading. I smile a bit at her foolish cards and move closer, Illyana's hand in mine. This time I lead. Surprisingly, she follows, maybe out of idle curiosity as I walk to the table and look down at the cards. She notices me and looks up, her smile fading away as she sees me holding the russian's hand. She quickly turns back to her cards, looking down and pretending not to notice. But I know she does. She feels horrible. And I feel great. At least I accomplished something with the little witch. "Hello, Manuel", I hear from the left and my eyes move over to the other side of the table, to the person Tarot was performing her reading to. Amara. Magma. Fiery as the molten core of the earth itself. I flash a smile and feel a little hope rising inside her. I smile more and so does she, mistaking my smile for a smile of friendship. I will wipe that smile off her face before the night is over. "Hello, Amara", I nod. "How are you?" She smiles at me, probably deluding herself with illusions that I care. Good. That much easier to bring her down later. When Rasputin isn't around. I don't want her witnessing any of my tricks. I don't feel like another trip to Limbo. I start to walk away, watching Tarot place the final card down for Amara. Lovers. Interesting. I wonder if there is a man in her life? It would make that much more pleasurable to tear it down. Not that I believe in Tarot's cards, though. I am only curious. I resume my steps, moving slowly away. I feel Tarot behind me, watching as I walk away with the witch, hand in hand. Should I? I can't... Not with her next to me... I put my hand to my forehead, as if I had a slight migraine, and cover my eyes with the hand, preventing anyone from noticing in case my concentration slipped and I'd let off the crimson glow from my eyes as I do when I use my powers. But I don't. And it works perfectly. I take my hand off my brow and resume walking, hearing someone behind me rise from their chair and walk away from the room with a hurried pace. I can almost hear her crying in my head. My enjoyment is only growing by the minute. Illyana looks at me, narrowing her eyes a bit. Damn her! She guessed what was going on. I feel the hand holding hers start to sweat but she just squeezes it tighter. I loosen my collar slightly. It's suddenly very hot here. As I look to my left at her I notice she just turns her gaze away from me as if it never happened and starts walking towards the door. Maybe she doesn't care? After all, Tarot's my teammate, not hers. Why should she care? TWO HOURS LATER "Thank you, Magnus", Emma says to Magneto, smiling. I look from the sidelines as she shakes his hand and the New Mutants are putting on their coats. The Hellions are mingled with them still, socializing as if they were the best of friends. Da Costa's cheek is starting to swell from that lucky punch by Ramsey. I can't help but smile at Roulette across the room. "I believe the pleasure is quite mine, Emma." He bends down and kisses her hand. "You can expect us to visit often in the future." "Yes... There are just some... rough edges we must polish in order for the socializing to proceed without any further... roughhousing." She raises an accusing eyebrow to the two boys on either side of Jennifer, but still I see a hint of pleasure coming off her. Did she want that to happen? "I agree. I am sure you will speak with your charges, as I will with mine. I look forward to our next visit." He bows slightly and heads outside, the New Mutants following him. Illyana leaves last, passing by me and smiling evilly as she hugs me and gives me a little kiss on the lips. "That's for tonight, Manuel. I'm looking forward to the next time." I look at her departing, too confused to even notice Tarot leaving the room. She didn't teleport me to Limbo or anything? Why was she so nice for the whole evening? She walks out the door and glances over her shoulder at me, smiling and blowing a kiss. Could she actually like me? I stand there, unmoving, for minutes, staring after the closed door. I don't notice the other Hellions leaving, snickering among themselves. "Quite a night, Manuel. Wouldn't you say?" Emma smiles at me like she knows something I don't. "Uh...yes." I snap back to reality at her words and it is then that I notice a little slip of paper in my hand. I slowly open it up and read it. Could she actually like me? Hiya Manny, You must be wondering why I spent the evening with you. Well, I thought if I kept an eye on you, I could keep you out of stirring trouble like usual. Worked pretty well too. Ta ta. Love and kisses, Illyana P.S. Looking forward to next time. And a kiss on the lower right corner of the note. The lipstick carries a sweet scent that irritates me further. How dare she treat me like this! She is probably laughing in their limo with the rest of the New Mutants, telling everyone how she made a fool of me. Me! She will pay oh how she will pay! I crumple the note in my fist, gritting my teeth at the door as if I could vent my anger at it. But I can't, so I'm going to just have to wait until the next time. A hand lowers itself onto my left shoulder. "You should be more observant, Manuel", a voice whispers. I don't need to glance over my shoulder. I know it's Emma. "For a would-be manipulator like yourself, it is often vital to first know how not to be the manipulated." I curse and storm off, striding upstairs into my room. I open the door and close it silently behind me, leaning my back against the closed door. Damn her! I rush to the table and pour myself a glass of brandy and gulp it down with one try, slamming the glass onto the table. Then I loosen my tie and open the few uppermost buttons on my shirt. What's that red thing on my fingers? I bring my fingers close to my nose and smell that same sweet fragrance. It's her lipstick on my collar. I walk over to the window, opening the curtains wide and opening the glass double doors to the balcony. I step outside into the pale moonlight and look westwards, where a black limousine full of mutant teenagers travels towards Westchester beyond the horizon. My fingers dig into my pockets subconsciously and find the note, stuffed there. I pull it out and gently try to uncrumple it. My eyes fix on the image of her lips pressed onto the paper with red lipstick. "Yes, Illyana... I will be waiting for the next time as well..."