* DISCLAIMER * This is a non-profit work of fan-fiction involving characters created and owned by Marvel Comics Group. * WRITTEN BY * Samy Merchi * ARCHIVED AT * http://mash.yok.utu.fi/corona.html * STARRING * Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo "EMPATH" de la Rocha Illyana Nikolovna "MAGIK" Rasputina in *************************** * FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE * * CHAPTER SIX * * Frequent Flyer Mileage * *************************** *** "Take-off complete. Undercarriage is in. Fuel tank checks as full. Shi'ar ramjets working perfectly. Radar gives no contacts nearby. Setting heading...021. There... Increasing speed to 45% thrust..." Kitty mumbled under her breath as her hands danced on the Blackbird's console. "45 percent?" Roberto frowned, as he came in from the passenger compartment. "We can get there faster than that." "Sure we can", Kitty replied, glancing at Roberto over her shoulder. "But we need some time to plan what we're going to *do*, and not just be there in two minutes and go off half-cocked." "45 percent thrust will give us a speed of..." Roberto paused, and did a few quick calculations in his head. "Mach 1.035. Just over the speed of sound. That is not a tactically sound choice. We will either go under Mach 1 and make no sonic boom so as to go in quiet, or we will get everything we can out of the Blackbird and leave any possible pursuit far behind." He sat down in the co-pilot's chair, and glanced towards the passenger compartment. "Dani?" he called out. "Do you want to come in hard and fast or quiet and careful?" Kitty frowned slightly at Roberto's ignoring her so fully and acting like he was in charge. He *was* still just a New Mutant, and she...she was an X-Man, after all. But she also knew that even despite his overbearing, arrogant manner -- he was right. She glanced towards the passenger area as well, waiting for an answer. Dani quickly showed up at the doorway, peeking into the cockpit with a "Hm?". Amara was behind her, one eyebrow raised as she listened in interestedly. "We have two basic choices", Roberto explained. "First is going in slow and quiet. By going under the speed of sound and engaging our cloaking systems, the Blackbird will be virtually undetectable, and we will be able to sneak into the vicinity of the Academy. However, the down side of this approach is that by slowing down, we risk pursuit by the X-Men. Furthermore, if the X-Men phone to the Academy to warn Frost, she will have more time to prepare for our assault." Dani nodded once. "Okay, and if we go in hard and fast?" "In that case", Roberto continued, "we will exceed the sound barrier and cause a sonic boom that will most certainly alert the Academy and Frost to our presence. However, if we take everything out of the Blackbird that we can, we can reach Mach 2.3 --" "4.2, actually", Kitty interrupted. "We could take a ballistic route instead of sticking level the whole trip. But we couldn't hold 4.2 all the way. I can do the precise calculations and get an ETA if we're gonna go ballistic. Average speed would be around 3.5ish or so, though." Roberto frowned a bit, then nodded. "In any case, the end result is the same. We can leave behind any pursuit and still have the chance for the element of surprise. At Mach 3.5, we can reach the Academy in..." He paused for a moment, again his brain racing in quick calculations. "...slightly under 5 minutes. Even if the X-Men call Frost, she can't mobilize the Hellions to an unbreachable defense in that short a time. But if we go in under the speed of sound, it will take us 15 minutes or more to get to the Academy... That will give Frost quite ample time to prepare for us..." "Assuming the X-Men even *do* call her", Kitty interjected. "They might not. I think they'd have called her about Tarot, which would probably mean she's awake. But I don't think they'd have called her again almost right after, and tell her about us..." She frowned a bit. "I don't know. I'm not sure. Maybe they would have. They know that if we go in fast, not even Rogue can catch the Blackbird. Then again, they might want to deal with us themselves, and not alert Frost, hoping that they can catch us themselves and return Empath to Frost before she even knows he's gone..." Roberto and Kitty both watched Dani, preparing to direct the Blackbird onto whichever choice Dani chose, as she frowned thoughtfully, thinking the options over. "I find it doubtful the X-Men would inform Frost", Amara interjected. "It is not a wise political move to inform rivals of your mistakes unless you absolutely have to. Surely you have read espionage novels in which secret agents are dispatched to rectify a situation gone wrong before the other state's tension reaches sufficient levels to mobilize a counterassault." "Yeah, I think you and Kitty are right, Amy", Dani mused. "The X-Men won't call Frost. They'll come after us themselves. But Frost is probably awake at this time, and she can detect us coming... We won't be able to sneak into a telepath's place. Even if the X-Men haven't called her about us, if they *have* called about Tarot, she'll be *expecting* *someone* to try and come get revenge. We need to go in hard and fast. Get us there ASAP." Roberto nodded once, and turned towards the flight console, his fingers starting to dance on the Shi'ar flight computers as he started inputting a ballistic flight path. "ETA five minutes or so, Dani. In the meanwhile, we should make a battle plan..." *** "You're not following any landmarks", James Proudstar remarked, as he soared high in the Massachusetts sky, Haroun ibn-Sallah al-Rashid's hands under his arms as the cyborg flew rapidly southwestwards. "You taking the direction by the sun?" "Partially", Haroun replied calmly, enjoying the feel of the wind in his face, rushing past his ears, but a serious expression on his face as he was concerned about his teammate. "My cyborg parts include sensory equipment which confers on me an absolute sense of direction." "Sounds pretty handy", James commented, even as his eagle-sharp eyes scanned the vicinity of the two Hellions -- the ground below, and the sky ahead, behind, at the sides...and above. "You think she'll be there?" he asked with slight concern in his voice. "Where would she go?" Haroun simply asked. "Ms Frost offered her New York penthouse for her to stay in so she could get over Manuel's manipulations of her. It is highly unlikely the mere few days she has spent there would have had a sufficient impact. She is far more vulnerable than that. If she is ever to recover from Manuel's games, it will take a much longer time." "With my luck, she's right now on a bus heading back for Massachusetts..." Jimmy muttered faintly. "I dunno. Why do we let him get away with all of this, Jetstream? When we get back to the Academy, I'm going to beat the crap out of him..." "Easier said than done, my friend", Haroun replied calmly. "Once you are in his vicinity, you'll feel otherwise..." Jimmy snarled slightly. "Sometimes I wonder if the New Mutants weren't *right* to kidnap him and scare the hell out of him... [1]" He shook his head. "Marie-Ange doesn't deserve the kind of treatment he gets from Manuel..." [1] The New Mutants kidnapped Empath in NEW MUTANTS #43, as vengeance over him having used his powers on Tom Corsi and Sharon Friedlander in order to force them to intercourse each others' brains out. "Few people do, James", Haroun answered. "However, it is not our place to intervene. If we are to do anything, it is to inform Ms Frost of our doubts regarding Manuel's membership in the Hellions and the negative effect on team morale he has. If any actions are to be taken, they are Ms Frost's to take. Considering the usefulness of Manuel's powers to the Hellfire Club, I can understand Ms Frost's allowing him...liberties." "You sound like you *approve* of Frost's not doing anything about him!" James said sharply. "I neither approve nor disapprove of Ms Frost's methods", Haroun replied. "I disapprove of *Manuel's* actions, but Ms Frost's actions are not for me to judge. Even if they were, and even if I did disapprove of her actions, it is not my place to voice such concerns. I owe her a great deal." "Yeah well, owing someone doesn't mean you let them get away with everything." "I may well discuss the matter of Manuel with Ms Frost in the near future", Haroun answered, "but I do not expect her to make any significant changes as a result. It is a fact of life, James. Manuel's powers are profitable, and a great advantage to Ms Frost." Thunderbird simply hrmphed. "Can't you go any faster?" *** SCRITCHHH! ... ... PUFF! Wolfsbane wrinkled her nose slightly, still half-unconscious, before her eyes fluttered open. "What is tha' beastly smell??" she murmured, as she started stumbling upright from the ground, dusting her black and gold New Mutant uniform off slightly. "One o' the best stogies in the world, pun'kin", came Wolverine's gruff voice, as he held a thick cigar between the index and middle fingers of his right hand. "Straight from Havana." He paused for a moment, bringing the cigar to his lips, and the head glowed bright a few moments as he filled his lungs with aromatic smoke, before asking, "You okay?" "Ye shouldna' be smokin', Mr Logan", Rahne said with a soft groan, as she put a hand to her forehead, where a small bump was rising from the shrapnel which had struck her. "Even if'n ye have a healin' factor yuirself, second-hand-smokin' causes lung cancer, tae..." Logan hrmphed, and walked a few dozen feet, over to the other side of the group of five New Mutants, four of whom were still out cold. "Good enough if I'll be downwind from you?" he asked, as his thoughts mulled over the frustration over always having to watch himself. (( Flamin' health freaks... Almost as bad as 'Ro... )) he thought to himself. Rahne smiled brightly as the older man took her worries into consideration, and then briefly glanced to her four teammates lying unconscious. "The others...they got away..." she murmured with a frown. "Yup", Wolverine answered. "So what'll we do noo?" Rahne asked as she knelt beside Sam and tried to shake him and wake him up. "'m workin' on it, kid." *** ((Our first priority is Illyana's health)), Ororo Munroe spoke telepathically as she sprinted thru the woods. ((Magneto is indisposable in the operating room. Elizabeth, I want you in the Cerebro room, immediately.)) ((But --)) the British telepath started arguing. ((Do it!)) Storm snapped. ((Thomas, how are you and Rogue doing with the firefighting?)) ((We are getting the fire under control -- but it should take at least fifteen minutes more before we have got it in a condition where we dare leave it alone.)) ((Rogue will leave it now. Tell her to meet me and Wolverine at the hangar, immediately. Peter?)) ((Da, Storm?)) ((I am sorry to have to ask this of you, but your skills are needed elsewhere than Illyana's bedside. Rendezvous with Thomas --)) ((Ororo, I am *not* leaving my sister!)) Storm hesitated momentarily. But only momentarily. ((Colossus, you *will* do as I say! Rendezvous with Thomas at the fire immediately. Elizabeth will show you the way telepathically.)) ((Storm --!)) ((DO IT! Kurt?)) ((Ja, liebchen?)) ((Tarot. Make certain she is guarded at all times. Do not let her out of your sight. This may still be an elaborate ruse to scatter our forces and make us vulnerable.)) ((Consider it done, Ororo.)) ((Storm, this is Psylocke. I am at the Cerebro now. What do you want me to do?)) ((Locate the renegade New Mutants. If you can, monitor them in an invisible astral form. But your first priority is monitoring the mansion grounds. That is of paramount importance at this point. The slightest misstep -- if the power is cut or if a tremor rocks the ground -- could mean the difference between life and death for Illyana. You are responsible for making certain the mansion is secure. Monitoring the New Mutants is secondary by far. Understood?)) ((Understood, Storm.)) ((Good)), Ororo Munroe spoke, and then leaped over a bush out of the forest, and sprinted across a field towards the hangar, waving an arm at Wolverine while Rogue swooped down from the sky. *** "Some tea, perhaps, mädchen? Chamomile? I am not a great fan of tea myself, but I am told it soothes the nerves. And that is definitely something we all need at this time..." "Tea would be...yes, thank you", Marie-Ange Colbert nodded nervously as she sat at the kitchen table, her hands clasped together tightly, her eyes lowered in her lap. Dark red strands of hair fell down from her head, obscuring her face from sight. "Now", Kurt Wagner said, bringing the girl a cup of tea and setting it down in front of her on the table, "I know I am not Frau Sally Jessy Raphael, but if you have need to discuss something, I am willing to listen..." "What is there to talk about?" Tarot just asked a bit defensively, lifting her eyes up a bit to stare at the cup of tea, but not moving to touch it. "Ach, ich weiss nicht -- perhaps life, the universe and everything? Or would you prefer a less loosely defined topic?" Nightcrawler asked as he stepped over to the fridge and took out a bottle of beer. "Love, perhaps?" "I shall not talk about Manuel", Tarot said adamantly. "And I am not forcing you", Kurt answered, popping the cap off the bottle before taking a sip. "However, it seems the two of us are in the same proverbial boat, nicht wahr? I with my rugged good looks and you with your picturesque beauty -- yet neither of us can get the affection we require from the one we love." "What do you mean?" Marie-Ange murmured softly, lowering her eyes defeatedly and tentatively reaching for the cup of tea, hesitantly bringing it to her lips for a sip. "Some weeks ago", Kurt said, hopping over to perch on the back of the couch, his tail wagging slowly, "my lady love, Amanda, left me. I said some things that hurt her." He looked thoughtfully at the beer in his hand, a slight frown coming onto his face. "I still don't know if I meant the words I told her." "I am...sorry to hear that", Marie said softly and gingerly placed her tea cup back onto its saucer, before burying her face in her hands. "It is a terrible feeling...longing after someone so much you feel separate from the rest of the world...like it doesn't matter at all...because the only thing you can think of is...him..." Her shoulder shook in a small sob. "And you can't have him." "Different sexual preferences aside", Kurt said, his tail flipping over and coming to rest on Marie-Ange's shoulder, "I can sympathize. However", he went on thoughtfully, "I can not blame Amanda for her decision. She made the right choice. She is a smart woman who had the intelligence and strength to walk away from a man who hurt her. Perhaps one day, I can get her to forgive me. When I have become a better man. But until such a day, I fully understand and approve of her decision to leave." He sipped his beer. "If Manuel is any kind of man, he will understand it if you decided the same." He paused for a moment, and then shrugged slightly. "And if he isn't -- is he worth your continued pursuit?" Marie-Ange sniffed slightly, and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, before looking up at the shadowy-skinned man with slightly reddened eyes. "Thank you...for understanding", she said, and sniffled again, brushing the handkerchief under her nose. "You are...most kind..." She closed her eyes for a moment and shuddered a bit. "I just...he...I don't know where else to go..." she murmured and pulled her knees against her small chest, curling up a bit and leaning her head against Nightcrawler's thigh, craving comforting and protection. Kurt's eyebrows rose slightly and a moderately amused smile came to his lips. He looked up at the ceiling and gave himself a little shrug. "That is not a *bad* place to start..." *** "What's the game plan, Storm?" Rogue asked as she hovered in the air beside the two other X-Men, as well as the New Mutants, who were slowly recovering from the beating administered to them by their renegade teammates. "We goin' after the Blackbird? Ah can carry you an' Wolvie, but Ah can't fly too fast without y'all not bein' able to breathe..." "That is precisely why you are not going, Rogue", Storm stated as she extended a hand to Douglas Ramsey, helping the groggy teenager up onto his feet. "I have a special mission in mind for you. Logan, you will stay here and coordinate mansion defenses. You are in charge in my absence." "The Elf's done the leader job before", Logan grunted, taking the cigar he was puffing on from between his lips. "He can do it better'n me." "Kurt is still recovering from the injuries he sustained in the battle against Nimrod", Ororo Munroe said sharply. "Do not argue with me now, Logan. I am not in the mood." "Fine", the Canadian grumbled and flicked his cigar into the ruins of the air operations hut that Cannonball had wrecked. "I take it you're goin' after 'em, then?" "Yes", Storm nodded flatly. "SelFriendOroroStorm requires transportation", the techno-organic alien Warlock stated while stumbling up from the ground. "SELF is not working optimally, but can provide transportation to location: Massachusetts Academy --" "No", Storm just said. "Ah'm not in a too bad condition, ma'am", Cannonball interjected. "Just mah pride's that been injured. But Ah can get you there fast, if'n --" Storm shook his head again and then turned towards the assemblage of New Mutants, surveying them with an icy stare that silenced them all. "You will stay here." She didn't bother with any explanations. "Yes'm." "Aye." "D'accord, mam'selle." "Gotcha." "Affirmative." "So what 'bout me, Storm?" Rogue asked. "Whatcha need me for?" Storm turned towards Rogue and opened her mouth. *** Moira MacTaggert took a deep breath to clear her head, and blinked away the salty sweat that flowed from her forehead down her face, stinging her eyes. "Damn it", she hissed tensely and closed her eyes for a moment, the stress starting to get to her. But this was one operation she could not put on 'pause' while she went to rest. Illyana Nikolovna Rasputina's life hung barely on by a weak thread. Minutes, even seconds could mean the difference between life and death for the Russian girl. "Heart rate is holding steady", Sharon Friedlander reported with a steady voice before glancing to the doctor worriedly. She knew Moira well enough to know when she was pushing herself past her limits, and she definitely was not doing too well now. One of the worst things in being a nurse, and not a doctor, was the fact that you had to just watch others do everything important, and no matter how much you wanted to relieve them, take over, give them a break and help out -- you simply did not have the skills for that. She could do nothing but assist Moira. The Scottish woman would have to pull Illyana thru herself, from beginning to end, with no rest accorded to her. "What is it, doctor?" Magneto asked, standing stoically beside the operating table Illyana was lying on limply, his right fist crackling silently with electric blue energies, his face set somewhere between calmness and anger as he focused on nothing else but controlling the iron in Illyana's blood, helping Moira's desperate attempts at brain surgery as best he could by directing the teenage girl's circulation. "The bullet", Moira answered darkly and drew air into her lungs in a long, sharp breath. "Good news -- it hasna' done as much damage to the brain as I feared." She paused a moment, pulling back a fork-sized medical instrument and grabbing another. "Bad news -- it severed an artery. Worse news -- the blood is buildin' up inside Illyana's head, creatin' pressure against her brainstem..." "Which means?" Magneto asked. "If the pressure against the brainstem grows strong enough", Sharon explained, "it'll disrupt the brainstem's operation -- autonomical functions, like breathing, heartbeat --" "In short", Moira interjected, "if the blood pressure grows big enough, she'll stop breathin', her heart'll stop beatin' -- basically, we'll lose her", she murmured and leaned close to Illyana's head. "I'm goin' to drill a hole in her skull, try t' create an outlet f'r the pressure..." WHIZZZZZ! Magneto's cold blue, steel-hard eyes couldn't keep from widening slightly as the drill buzzed into action. *** A black shape screeched thru the air as it zoomed down from the upper atmosphere, homing in on a set of coordinates inputted into its flight computer. A set of coordinates in the Berkshire Mountains, Massachusetts. The prestigious Massachusetts Academy, school to the richest and most brilliant, was about to be under attack. "30 miles. Ballistic jump completed. Switching to manual. Reducing thrust", Katherine Anne Pryde said grimly as she flipped a number of switches and eased the control stick back slightly, raising the nose of the Blackbird minutely over the horizon. "Accessing topographical map." "28 miles", Roberto Da Costa continued. "Altitude holding steady at 2300 feet. Airspeed down to Mach 1.8. Weather conditions -- storm front approaching from the east, 9 miles away. Starting to program autopilot for landing..." He frowned for a moment with confusion in his eyes. "Incoming bogey, really small, at 1 o'clock --" *** BOOM! "ARRGH!" James Proudstar shouted as a black form streaked past him and Haroun ibn Sallah al-Rashid, a fraction of a second later the sonic boom hitting them with a sound louder than any rock concert. He slipped away from the Moor carrying him thru the air, and started plummeting down from the sky, towards a rocky cliffside hundreds of feet down below. "I've got you!" Haroun shouted as he swooped down from the sky after taking a few moments to clear his head from the sonic boom. Maneuverability, Jetstream did not lack, and he easily caught up with Proudstar and grabbed the Apache's arm, then pulled up and head back into the sky again. Jimmy's attention wasn't on Haroun, though. He stared after the black form rapidly disappearing towards the horizon. "That was the Blackbird --!" *** "That was Thunderbird!" Kitty Pryde gasped, her head snapping around instinctively to look over her shoulder as the Blackbird passed the two Hellions, even though the cockpit limited her visibility so she couldn't see anything behind the plane. "With Jetstream, no doubt, considering he's the only Hellion who flies", added Roberto Da Costa, frowning deeply. "Can Frost have already mobilized her defenses this quickly --?" "They wouldn't be this far away", Danielle Moonstar said with her eyes narrowed and thoughtful. "Frost isn't an idiot, and she'd have to be one if she tried to deploy a security net around the Academy at a range of 25 miles. That's a ridiculous amount of ground. I think those two were just going somewhere --" "And they just *happened* to run into us?" Roberto asked. "That's even *more* ludicrous. What are the odds --?" *** Jennifer Stavros flicked a little poker-chip-sized black disk into the air repeatedly, like one might flip a coin. A smug smile danced on her lips as she left Emma Frost's office and headed down the hallway. *** "Match speed. Get as close as you can. That's it --" "You're absolutely mad, James --" "THERE!" James Proudstar shouted as he let go of Haroun ibn Sallah al-Rashid's hand, and started plummeting downwards thru the air. "Let's find out what they're up to --" *** THUMP! "They're mad --!" Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla gasped at the sound and slight feel of something falling onto the Blackbird, glancing up at the ceiling as she stood in the passenger compartment. "How dare they --? The brazen nerve --!" "Jetstream can fly", Danielle Moonstar murmured, gritting her teeth as her eyes went to the ceiling as well, watching it nervously. "That must've been Thunderbird." "Good", Roberto Da Costa snarled, and tapped a few keys to finish inputting the landing program for the autopilot, then sprang up from his seat and stalked from the cockpit into the passenger compartment. "He's just what I needed to vent my frustrations", the Brazilian said as he hopped onto one of the passenger seats and reached for the roof access hatch. *** Thunderbird grunted as he sank his fingers into the metal roof of the Blackbird, getting a firm grip on the plane as the wind whistling by at over the speed of sound tore at him, making it near impossible to breathe, draining heat from him, trying to grab him and toss him into free fall towards his destruction. That's when the hatch slid open. "'BERTO! GET DOWN FROM THERE! ARE YOU CRAZY!?!" Danielle Moonstar's voice cried out from inside the plane, just barely reaching Thunderbird's sensitive ears over the rush of the wind. Thunderbird gritted his teeth and slowly forced himself up, first to his knees, then to his feet, fighting every second to maintain his balance as he rose up to meet the blazing black solar-powered fury standing on the roof before him. *** Emma Grace Frost sat calmly behind her desk, forming a triangle with her hands held thoughtfully in front of her eyes, fingertips resting against each other. Her face drew deeper into shadow, dark clouds gathering over the Massachusetts Academy. KRA-KOOM! A lightning flash lit up the office for a split second, and her smile widened.