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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 <samerc@mash.yok.utu.fi>.  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.  ;)
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                    *** FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE ***
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                       CHAPTER TWO: Reflections
                   (Or: I'm Going To Get You Yet!)

  "Nice  work,  Illyana!"  Dani  smiles as she leans back in her seat.
She obviously noticed what I was doing during the evening.
  I  smile back at her and wink.  "Wasn't hard." Then we both burst to
insane giggling.  The others look at the two of us with a puzzled look
on their faces.  I grin and lean back, nodding to Dani as a go-ahead.
  "She  pulled  one over Empath", Dani manages to get out from between
her  giggling.   Everyone  suddenly goes quiet and looks at her.  Then
their eyes all turn to me in almost a single motion.
  "What, you think she enjoyed that?" Dani says with a stunned look on
her face, then bursts to giggling again.  Everyone is still quiet.
  Sam breaks the silence.  He looks at me, putting on a self-righteous
stern  paternal look.  "Ah don't reckon we need ta stoop t' his level,
Illyana", he says.
  I just simply shrug even though I don't appreciate his condescending
attitude.   Manuel  deserved it, and I'm not going to feel sorry about
what  I  did.   My  look turns away from him and looks around the car.
Bobby  and  Doug  are  glaring at each other and look like they didn't
hear anything.  Rahne is staring at me.
  "I  think  it  was  mean", Rahne says.  She looks at me a bit sadly,
like I had disappointed her.
  I feel like screaming.  Can't anybody understand why I did it?
  "No meaner than anything he's done, Rahne", I say with narrowed eyes
meaning  that  I'm  reaching the limit of being judged.  "I fight fire
with  fire."  Then I turn around, looking out the window and away from
Sam and Rahne.
  "Look, guys - Illyana's right", I suddenly hear Dani say.  She seems
a  bit  angry  too.   "Empath  deserved  it."  She  puts  a hand on my
shoulder.
  I  don't  look away from the window.  I don't flinch.  Let them talk
it  out.  Let them think about the morality of what I did.  I did what
I did and I'm not sorry.  I'm the Darkchilde.  I've done worse things.
  "Amara?" Dani asks.
  Amara doesn't answer for a while.  "What?" she then suddenly asks as
if  she just snapped back to reality from her thoughts.  Her tone is a
bit soft, almost sad, and I wonder what she's thinking about.
  "Did Empath deserve it or what?" Dani recaps to her.
  "Deserve  what?"  Amara asks, clearing her throat a bit, now wrested
away from her thoughts.
  Dani is interrupted by Sam.  "Dani thinks Illyana was right ta twist
Empath  around  her  little  finger."  He  pauses for a while to let a
silence  settle.   "Just  like he does t' a lotta folks." An even more
uncomfortable  silence.   I'm  tempted  to teleport to Limbo and leave
them behind.
  I  see  from  the  corner  of my eye Amara turning to look at me.  I
focus my attention back to the window and the passing scenery.
  "It  was...a  deception?" Amara asks, her voice relieved.  I'd never
have  thought  she'd  worry so much about me.  I have no idea that the
relief she has in her voice is not for me.
  "Geez,  Amara  -  You  thought  Illyana  would fall for a dweeb like
Empath?" Dani asks astonishedly.
  Amara softly ohs and goes quiet again.
  "I  still  think  it was mean, Dani", Rahne says meekly in her usual
weak voice.  Can't she see the need to put Manuel in his place?
  "Ah  think  it  was  wrong,  Illyana",  Sam says.  "We're s'posta be
better  than  the  Hellions."  He  glances  at Bobby and Doug but says
nothing.
  "What,  Sam?"  Bobby  snaps back angrily.  "You gonna lecture us now
too?"  I  can feel the emotions getting hotter in the car.  It reminds
me of Manuel.
  "Better  me'n  Magneto", Sam replies calmly and trying to defuse the
situation.  He fails at it miserably.
  "What  happened  between  me  and  Jenny  is  none of your business,
Guthrie!"  Douglas  says  with  an icy voice.  Then he turns to Bobby.
"Or yours."
  Dani  jumps  in  and  tries  to break up the beginning fight.  "Come
down, boys!" I almost wish she hadn't.
  "You're  all acting like Empath controlled you!" she frowns and then
a  look of surprise comes on her face as she turns to Sam.  "You don't
suppose..."
  "...he  has  the  range  for  this..."  Sam finishes Dani's thought.
Everyone  goes quiet and looks at each other.  I still keep my eyes to
the  window,  looking  out.  It isn't Manuel.  I can feel it.  They're
just being childish.  As usual.
  I  think  and a stepping disk materializes under the car, swallowing
it  up  and  transporting  it  to  Limbo,  then almost instantaneously
placing  it back on Earth, passing along Graymalkin Lane.  That should
put their fears at ease.
  Everyone looks surprised, and suddenly the limo slows down and comes
to  a  halt.  A panel between the front compartment and the back opens
up and Magneto looks in.
  "An  explanation,  Illyana", he says in a stern but calm voice but I
know  he's almost ready to explode.  I don't care.  I don't answer.  I
just keep looking out the window.
  "Uhm...  We were just worried 'bout Empath, sir...  And we wanted to
get  away as fast as possible", Sam says.  "Ah told Illyana to do it",
he continues, taking the rap for me.  I'm impressed.
  I  look  away  from  the  window to Sam with narrowed eyes.  Maybe I
should  cut him some slack.  Maybe he's right.  I'll think about it...
someday.
  "Sam,  I  don't  approve  of  this.   You  are not qualified to make
decisions  like  this.   What  if  the  car  had  crashed  after being
teleported?"  Magneto preaches.  What right does he have to judge Sam?
Especially  when  it  wasn't  his  fault.  And besides, I made sure to
place the car on a long straight stretch.
  "Ah just figured you could easily keep that from happening with your
powers, sir", Sam says.
  Magneto  is  quiet for a while, then frowns.  "Nonetheless, I expect
you  not  to  be  so reckless with your mutant powers." He narrows his
eyes  at  Sam.  "I will talk with you later." Then he closes the panel
and the car starts moving again.
  My  eyes  go  to  Sam.   I  don't  thank him.  I did them a service,
bringing them here.  Hope they're happy now.
  Everyone remains quiet for the last five minutes of the trip.

  "Perhaps  you  should  not  be  so harsh on them, m'sieu", Shan says
softly, in her usual tentative tone.  Sitting in the front compartment
with  Magnus,  they  have  been talking some time now about her future
with the New Mutants, and her missing siblings.
  Magneto  doesn't  even glance at her after closing the panel between
the  front  and the back compartment, where the rest of the team sits.
He just looks ahead with calm eyes, behind which a blazing fire rages.
"They  are -irresponsible-, Xi'an!" he says tensely as he presses down
the  gas  and  the  car  starts  moving slowly.  "I will not have such
behavior from my charges!"
  Shan nods silently and starts staring ahead as well.  "What did they
say?   What  was their explanation?" she asks after a while, in a tone
soft enough not to break the silence.
  The  car  picks  up  speed,  as  if  reflecting  the  drivers  mood,
aggressively  speeding up.  "They were concerned that Empath was using
his powers on them still." Magnus snorts as if this were an impossible
idea.   "They  should have consulted me about such a theory instead of
making decisions on their own."
  A  moment  of  silence reigns again, as Shan lets Magneto ponder his
own words, before she carefully offers a few words again.  "Pardon me,
m'sieu,  but  I  do  not  see  Illyana  doing what she did out of that
reason..."
  Magneto  merely  wrinkles  his  nose  in  anger  as he stares ahead,
slowing  the car down a bit to make the turn to Graymalkin Lane.  "Sam
told her to do it", he says icily.
  Again,  Shan  nods  her head and leaves a moment of quiet, to appear
inoffensive  in  her words.  She turns her head towards him.  "Perhaps
you  should look for the real reason...?" she says silently, her words
carrying  a  weight  of  conviction  in  them, as if she was sure that
Magneto wasn't told the whole story.
  Magnus raises his eyebrow and finally glances to the side, narrowing
his  eyes  a bit.  "What do you mean?" he asks in a commanding, steely
tone.
  "I  do  not  believe  for  a  moment  that Samuel would have ordered
Illyana to act so impulsively without consulting you first."
  "You  suggest  that  Sam was lying??" Magneto narrows his eyes more,
and the car picks up speed, just enough to be noticeable.
  Shan sighs slightly and nods.  "Perhaps he would be more...inclined,
to tell the full story to a teammate.  Would you like me to find out?"
she offers to him in an inoffensive tone.
  Silence  falls again for a moment as Magnus stares into Shan's eyes,
evaluating  the  truthfulness of her words.  Then, he shakes his head.
"I will find out for myself, Xi'an", he says, looking ahead again.  "I
will not have them lie to me", he growls.
  Keeping  her  eyes  in Magneto, Shan looks downwards for a moment in
submission,  then  raises  her head.  "M'sieu...I do not believe for a
moment  that  they would lie without a very good reason..." She pauses
for  a moment, the silence giving her words far more weight than harsh
tones  and  sharp language.  "I am certain both parties will be better
off  if  you  found  the...correct approach." She chose not to further
elaborate  on  what  Magnus  should do, or his natural arrogance might
work  to  keep  him  from taking that exact route, just because it was
suggested by someone else.
   Magnus  drove  in  silence for a while, thinking about Shan's words
and  the  car  slowed down slightly, as it made a turn and entered the
main gates to the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.  "Perhaps you
are  right",  he  said after a while as the car drove in the driveway.
"I  will  look  into  this",  he  said with his usual grim expression,
but...something in his eyes seemed slightly different.  Lighter.

              NEXT MORNING, AT THE MASSACHUSETTS ACADEMY

   My  lips  are  totally dry as I awaken.  Sitting up produces an odd
feeling  as everything starts spinning in my head and my stomach feels
like  it's  being  turned  around over and over.  I quickly run to the
bathroom  and  kneel  down  in  front  of the toilet bowl, emptying my
stomach  into it.  If I were in my senses, I'd be disgusted, but right
now  all  I  can  feel is relief as I stay there for a moment, leaning
onto the bowl, trying to clear my head.
   The  first thing that pops into my head after it starts to clear up
is  Illyana.   How  beautiful  she  is.   And  more  importantly,  how
deliciously  manipulative  she  is.   If  it  were anyone else she had
tricked,  I would have complimented her.  But she -dared- do this to a
de  la  Rocha???   To  -me-,  no less???  This is not something easily
forgiven,  my little russian 'snowflake'.  You will pay.  You will pay
most dearly.
   Finally,  I get my head cleared enough to stand up and wash myself,
taking  a  look  into  the  mirror.  A smile settles onto my lips as I
notice  I  am as handsome as ever.  My feet slowly take me back to the
room after I have finished washing up, and I notice I am a bit wobbly.
Then I notice the reason.
   The  bottle  of  brandy stands on the table beside the bed.  Empty.
Guh.   I'm  never  going  to  touch  alcohol again.  Brandy, at least.
Well, not this particular brand of brandy.
   I  let  out  a  long  sigh  as  I  sit down onto the bed and let my
thoughts  drift back to last night.  Well, thank god Jennifer at least
provided  some  entertainment.   What I wouldn't have given to witness
Ramsey  throw  that punch at Da Costa.  And all I got was Tarot.  Like
making her cry is such a big deal.
   But  Illyana  will pay.  Most definitely so.  Since my powers won't
work  on her, I will need another approach.  My lips draw into an evil
grin as I get an idea...

   Jennifer Stavros was a Hellion, just like Manuel.  As Roulette, her
mutant  gift  was  to  control probabilities via projecting disks that
produced  good  or  bad  luck, which explained her exceptional beauty.
She had had quite a bit of luck with her looks.
   She  appeared  to  be  in  her mid-teens, perhaps 15 or 16, but was
slightly tall for that age, approaching six feet, possessing a perfect
body  that  would enrapture many a man.  Under the silken robe she was
wearing, noticeable curves could already be seen, and her breasts were
more than budding, in full bloom in their firmness and size.
   Her  head  turned  as she heard footsteps enter the kitchen, though
her  hands kept scrambling the eggs on the frying pan.  "Good morning,
Manuel",  she  chirped  out  cheerily,  almost  teasingly  considering
Manuel's hung over condition, which most certainly did not look good.
   Manuel  mumbled  something incoherent as he walked up to the fridge
and  took  out  an orange juice container, as well as a glass from the
cupboard, before shambling over to the table and sitting down.
   "So, what are we doing about that little witch?" she asked like she
was  supposed  to know his secret shame.  But Manuel wasn't surprised.
He  and Jennifer shared a connection.  Something unexplainable, but it
was  there.   They  were both the same kind of people, who enjoyed and
looked  for  the same things.  And he had almost expected that she had
seen  what was going on.  He would have noticed if someone were trying
to  twist her around their little finger.  They also knew that neither
would  lift a finger to help the other.  Initially.  Because vengeance
was  the driving force between both of them.  They had to be hurt, and
they would strike back, making the culprit much more miserable.
   Manuel  looked  up, putting his fingers to his head as the headache
worsened  again,  and tried to fight it off, to little avail.  He gave
no answer.
   The  eggs  began  to  be  finished  and Jennifer dumped them onto a
plate,  serving  the food to Manuel, setting it in front of his bleary
eyes.   "Here  you  go",  she  said and rustled his hair for a moment,
looking at him.  He was an aristocrat, a nobleman.  And she was just a
kid from Atlantic City, whose father had been a smalltime card dealer.
She  sometimes  felt  so insignificant when compared to him.  But then
again,  at  times like these, he was just a little whipped puppy, more
pitiful  than  to be respected.  Such duality, the differences between
him  and  her,  and  still,  they  were so alike.  She held her hand a
moment  in Manuel's hair, then retreated back to the stove, moving her
body sexily, knowing that he was watching.  And liking it.
   Manuel  groaned,  looking  at  Jennifer's  body  in motion, but his
unfocused  eyes straightened her wavy hair, making her look a bit more
like  Illyana.   He  shook  his  head  and  closed his eyes for a bit,
rubbing  them to clear them, and when he opened his eyes, Jennifer was
there again.
   Manuel  opened  his  mouth and tried to say something, but no sound
came  out.   He cleared his throat a bit and started again.  "I have a
plan",  he  said a bit weakly, but having that de la Rocha haughtiness
he always had.
   A few more eggs were broken into the frying pan, and the scrambling
began  anew,  as Jennifer's energetic hands kept up the motion.  "Care
to share it?" she asked sarcastically.
   There  were  footsteps  again  coming  from the corridor and Manuel
glanced  towards  the door as Tarot stepped in, dressed in jeans and a
red  sweatshirt  carrying the Massachusetts Academy emblem.  She froze
upon  seeing him and he looked back, letting his mutant power out with
a  crimson glow in his eyes.  "Hello, Tarot", he said in a sickeningly
sweet voice, that was obviously a mocking one.
   Tarot  didn't  seem  to  distinguish  the  tease in Manuel's voice,
looking  like  she took it as genuine, as her eyes lit up and her lips
drew  into  a  warm smile at this recognition from him.  She ran up to
him and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.  "Oh, Manuel!"
she  smiled.  "I'm so glad to see you awake!  I thought you were going
to sleep all day!"
   A  slight  chuckle  escaped  Manuel's  lips  before he pressed them
against  Tarot's  lips,  kissing  her fully, enjoying the moment for a
while,  before  letting  her  emotions  return  to  normal.  She still
lingered  there,  as  if  not  realizing  where she was, before Manuel
rudely pushed her away.
   Her  eyes  going  wide,  Tarot  stared  at  Manuel  for  a while in
disbelief,  before  realizing  he  had just been kidding.  Just toying
with  her.   Her  face  flushed red and she tried to cover it with her
hands  as she ran out of the room, weeping silently at the pain Manuel
did to her.
   Jennifer  watched  the  whole  scene  from  the  corner of her eye,
amused, but as usual, not saying anything.  This was Manuel's game and
she was letting him play it like he saw fit.  And, after all, if Tarot
didn't  have  the  guts to stand up to his manipulations, she deserved
her fate.
   Manuel's  lips  went  to  a  wide, diabolical grin and he shook his
head, looking at the door Tarot had ran out.  He felt much better now,
and  started  to  slowly  eat up the scrambled eggs.  "I will share my
plan,  my  dear  Jennifer", he said eerily.  "Once I have made sure it
will  work."  He  frowned  a bit at the sacrifice he'd have to make to
test  out  his  plan,  but...  It'd be worth it.  Definitely.  Illyana
would be sorry for what she did.