* 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 NINE * * Divine Intervention * ************************* *** "The other people who were not killed by these terrible disasters still did not change their hearts and turn away from what they had made with their own hands. They did not stop worshipping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood -- things that cannot see or hear or walk. These people did not change their hearts and turn away from murder or evil magic, from their sexual sins or stealing." -- REVELATION 9:20-21 *** "Thank you, Kurt. We will be there as soon as possible", Emma Grace Frost smiled warmly, and then put the phone's receiver down. She leaned back in her chair and let her eyes linger on the window of her office for a few moments in a pleased expression, the storm outside starting to pick up in intensity, the rain starting to pour down in buckets. Then, she turned her eyes towards the door to the room and pressed a button on her desk. On the other side of the door, the just-arrived James Proudstar blinked and was surprised for a moment as the green 'enter' light beside Emma Frost's office door lit up. Then he reminded himself that she *was* a telepath, and an unscrupulous one at that. He placed his hand on the doorknob. "Come on, Jetstream", he said as he opened the door. Haroun ibn Sallah al-Rashid nodded and followed his team leader into the office, closing the door behind the two of them before turning his eyes onto his teacher/mentor. "You summoned us, Ms Frost?" "Yes", Emma nodded as she stood up and looked thoughful for a moment. "There is no easy way to tell you this..." she said, her frown deepening gradually. "I have just received a most...disturbing phone call. It's about Marie-Ange." *** "She never knew what hit her", Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha sneered as he held Katherine Anne Pryde's chin in his smooth hand. "A month ago, at the volleyball game, I used my powers in a fashion I had never before attempted. I altered Tarot's emotions *permanently*, placing in her pathetic head unconditional love for -- and psychopathical jealousy over -- me. This morning, she has evidently finally acted as I predicted, and attacked Rasputin -- and in doing so, proven that my new power stunt is quite functional." His grin widened as his eyes started glowing a bright crimson. "And not only that, her actions served as the catalyst for the next phase of my plan, delivering Kitty Pryde into my hands, helpless and ready to suffer the same fate as poor Tarot. I would have preferred to see Rasputin's brother among the attack force as well -- but he will fall victim to me later. For now -- look into my eyes, Shadowcat --!" Kitty's face constricted for a moment as she tried to fight, but it only lasted for a moment before Empath's overwhelming influence blasted thru her psychic defenses like a tidal wave over a breakwater. "Yes, my love", she whispered softly as she looked into that bright crimson glow and felt herself drown. *** "How did you know I'd survive a pool of lava?" Roberto Da Costa asked as he eased off on the handle, revving the engine of the motorcycle down slightly as the pouring rain kept stinging his face and making the asphalt road towards the Massachusetts Academy more slippery. "My magma form possesses quite a high temperature in order to remain molten and malleable enough for me to move in it. Samuel bore painful witness to this when he tried to touch me in Alphabet City shortly before we confronted you and the Brat Pack [1]", Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla explained, sitting behind Roberto on the Kawasaki Ninja, her arms around his waist. "However, you seemed to suffer no ill effects from tackling my fiery form when we battled the Demon Bear. [2]" Resultantly, I concluded --" [1] NEW MUTANTS ANNUAL #2 [2] NEW MUTANTS #20 "-- that I have an immunity to heat of some kind", Roberto finished as he leaned to the right, guiding the motorcycle thru a small turn. "Makes sense. I absorb solar energy. The sun constantly bathes the planet in far more than just light. An interesting theory to explore another day... You figured all that out before you jumped after me?" "No", Amara just replied. Roberto quirked an eyebrow and glanced briefly over his shoulder at Amara before returning his eyes to the road. "Oh." "I do not abandon my comrades", Amara said, raising her chin a bit defiantly. "What worth has a person who lacks honor?" "Not very much", Roberto agreed, and his eyes focused on the gates of the Academy coming into view. He turned the handle slightly, the engine revving up and the nose rising off the road for a moment as the motorcycle accelerated rapidly. "I, in turn, have a question", Amara said, tensing up nervously behind the Brazilian as the speed picked up and tightening her arms around his waist. "Where did you learn to drive this vehicle so well?" "I was taught by an old friend", Roberto replied as the motorcycle zoomed past the gates. "By the name of Gideon." *** "I can't affect the witch's mind directly", Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha stated with a wicked smile as his crimson-glowing eyes looked into Katherine Anne Pryde's. "Her demonic psi-shields make her immune to my influence. So I will have to use other ways to tear her heart out -- turning those nearest and dearest to her against her! You, Shadowcat, will be my first pawn. You *hate* Illyana Rasputin, as much as I do, don't you?" "Yes", Kitty whispered silently, her face not resisting in Manuel's hands. "And you *love* me." "Yes." "She thinks you are her closest friend. How she will be surprised when you turn against her. You will make her life a living hell, won't you, my pet?" "Yes", Kitty whispered, her eyes drifting closed. "She has a teddy bear and Bamf doll...she loves both of them. Too bad they'll end up 'accidentally' burned. If any guy ever catches her eye, I'll sleep with them before she can, and tell them what a bitch she is." A mischievous smile slowly crept onto her lips. "When she next has nightmares about her time in Limbo and comes whining to me, I'll tell her what a slut and murderer she is, and that she's only deluding herself if she ever thinks we can accept her...or if she thinks she can ever be a real human instead of a demon..." "That's exactly it", Manuel smirked, and let go of Kitty's face, his eyes stopping to glow. "Ah, how I wish her brother were here so I could instill the inclinations for physical and sexual abuse onto him...but that will, unfortunately, have to wait until I get my hands on him..." He smirked at Kitty. "Would you be willing to help with that?" "Anything that makes you happy, Manuel", the Jewish girl grinned widely, running a fingertip over his lips. "We'll make that little bitch hurt, and hurt bad..." "Not bad", Jennifer Stavros smiled, leaning back against a wall as she watched the show. "You might actually succeed, Manuel..." "Unnhh..." a low groan came from underneath the crashed chandelier as Danielle Moonstar started regaining consciousness. Manuel's attention slowly turned to the Cheyenne. "Too bad we won't have time to attend to the two-by-four...we're about to have visitors", he said. SLAM! The door slammed open as Thunderbird and Jetstream came running in, then paused at the doorway, blinking at the sight of the slightly damaged room and the triumphant Empath and Roulette. "I'm *touched* over your concern, Proudstar", Manuel smirked, and then walked across the room to Jennifer, "but our unwanted guests are who you should be worried about." "Dani!" Jimmy said in alarm, and went over, easily lifting the chandelier off her and helping the groggy Cheyenne onto her feet. "I'm okay, Jetstream..." Kitty mumbled softly, rubbing her temples slightly as she stood up, the Moor putting a hand onto her shoulder and holding her steady. "Thanks..." *** Neither Sharon Smith nor Catseye was her birth name. If she had ever had one, she had forgotten it during the years she spent solely as a cat, unaware of the fact that she was in truth, a human -- a mutant metamorph. Her current names were given her by her EmmaMother, as much of a parent as she ever recalled having. She was just exiting the main classroom facility of the Massachusetts Academy, after an hour and a half of Physics. Radiation. Alpha, beta, gamma particles. Electromagnetic spectrum wavelengths. Microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, radio. lambda = h/(mv). mvr = n h/(2 pi). d sin alpha = k lambda. She didn't understand why everyone seemed to have such trouble with the subject. She also didn't care too much. Her attention span was far too limited to bother with wondering about other people for too long, when their personal affairs didn't affect hers. It was pouring outside. She frowned, and stopped under the extended roof outside the building, hugging her textbooks a bit tighter against her chest as an almost childish pout came to her lips. She hated water. Hated it. Some of the other students went back inside the classroom building or stayed under the extended roof with Sharon, determined to wait the rain out, while others braved the weather and descended the stairs to the gravel path leading away from the building, running off towards the dormitories. "Would you be in need of assistance?" a voice spoke behind Sharon. Cultivated, refined, perhaps a bit haughty or snotty -- but with an underlying...tension? Mystique? Exoticism? Roughness? She turned her head around to see a man with obsidian-shiny hair, long, black and smooth as it descended onto his shoulders. He was perhaps a few years older than her -- in his late teens, certainly. And there was a quality in his eyes -- so...dominant? Like there was an inferno raging inside him kept in check by a veneer of rigid and unyielding self-discipline, but which cried out to be released -- an unstoppable force straining every moment against his indomitable will. All of this, Sharon could somehow *see*, just from looking at him. "Cat--" Catseye started, but then reminded herself not to refer to herself in third person among the normal students, and definitely not by her codename. "I is", she then said, smiling slightly. If he wanted to help her, why not let him? Roulette had tried to explain something called 'pride' and 'self-reliance' to her, but she hadn't quite grasped the concepts. "Water raining, I doesn't want to get wet. But I wants to go home." Easy enough switching to the first person pronoun, not as easy to remember that meant getting rid of the 's' in the verb. "To your dorm room?" the man asked, looking her over with a slightly detached, superior air, and then nodded, tucking his books inside his belt, tightening it enough to keep them in place, and then slid off his expensive-looking leather jacket and lifted it up to hold it over Catseye. "Would this be sufficient protection against the water?" he asked. "Yes", Catseye smiled brightly, and then as the man followed beside her, holding his jacket over her and keeping her dry, she walked down the stairs to the gravel path and headed towards the girls' dormitory. "I thankful, thought I would have to wait for rain to stop. Did not want to wait, likes being in HomeRoom. Feel safe in HomeRoom." "That is quite understandable", the man said calmly as the intense rain started matting his silky black hair against his head and shoulders. "There must be a great number of men on the prowl for a creature of such exquisite beauty as yourself. Unfortunately for them, though", he said, his eyes narrowing slightly as a little smile came to his lips, "few of them are driven by passion and heritage to be true *hunters*." "I likes men", Catsye smiled. "Likes men hunting, making C-- Sharon feel good. Doesn't like men not make Sharon feel good. But I doesn't know who makes feel good, who not, so must try everyone and make notes." She gave a little cheerful smile that didn't exactly make it clear whether she had been serious or joking. "You are not American, are you?" the man asked, still a small smile on his lips, seemingly little taken aback by Catseye's comments -- if anything, his eyes glinted even more curiously than before, the flames inside him fanned to an even greater extent. "No", Catseye shook her head. "Sharon is from Symkaria, in Eastern Europe. Do things different there, but is learning to change to be American, language and behavior. Sorry if Sharon has offended", she recited a lie carefully taught her by Emma Frost. "Not at all", the man said reassuringly, and held a little pause before continuing. "Symkaria, eh? Interesting... Perhaps you can regale me with tales of your homeland one day, but for now, I fear our journey is at an end." He turned his eyes to the entrance to the girls' dorm, maintaining the confident smile on his face despite the parting to come, as if knowing it wouldn't be the end. "Perhaps one day", a chilly voice came from behind the two youths who turned around to see Emma Grace Frost standing behind them, holding an umbrella which protected her from the rain. "Sharon, I require your presence. Go change, and meet me in Manuel's room in ten minutes", she snapped out an order, ignoring Catseye's companion as she spoke. Then, she turned towards him, and said in a frosty voice, "She will see you later." "Of course", the man smiled and nodded politely to Emma, before turning his attention back to Catseye. He took her hand in his, and bowed deep, touching his lips to the back of her hand lightly before standing straight again and smiling. "I will see you later, Sharon Smith", he said, perhaps having picked up her name during class. "And it is rude of me to know your name without introducing myself -- my name is Aleksei...but you may call me Alyosha. Alyosha...Kravinoff." Emma's hair whipped slightly as a gust of wind blasted thru the grounds, and she lowered her chin enough for her face to become covered in shadows. "Good-*bye*, Mr Kravinoff", she said sharply. "Da svidanya, Ms Frost", Alyosha smiled, undeterred by the cold front the headmistress was putting out, as he turned around, slipped his leather jacket back on, and walked away. Emma waited for Alyosha to get out of normal human hearing range, and then turned her attention to Catseye. "Go change", he told the purple-haired girl. "There are Hellions matters to be attended to. I shall wait here for you." One day, she would have to get Catseye over her dislike of water -- but not today. *** "This is weird", Roberto Da Costa frowned as he and Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla ran across the lawn from the parking lot towards the Massachusetts Academy boys' dormitory. "It's as if they're not even seeing us..." And indeed, the few people who were outside in the pouring rain and building winds did not give a second glance to the two teenagers in yellow and black uniforms. In fact, they did not even give a first glance, not seeming to notice the mutants even if Roberto or Amara ran right past them. "It must be Frost's doing. Psionic invisibility, perhaps. Any evidence of superhuman activity here would not be beneficial towards the Hellions' secrecy", Amara hissed as she pointed a finger at the entrance to the dorm, taking the lead and dashing towards it. "Follow me. I know where Manuel's room is." "How do you know that?" Roberto asked, a slight frown coming onto his face, perhaps from what he feared the answer would be, perhaps from thinking over Amara's suggestion of Frost's culpability. Definitely, someone was doing something, and Frost *was* a likely candidate. "I visited him several times when the New Mutants were part of the Hellions", the Nova Romani girl answered flatly as she yanked the front door open, and ran into the building, dripping wet from the rain, her golden hair matted against her. "He is at the top floor", she said, brushing some hair off her face as she ran into the stairwell and started climbing up, hopping three steps at a time. "You...'visited' him?" Roberto said, his frown deepening as he followed his teammate, thanking his athlete past for enabling him to easily keep up. "Any further details are not your business", Amara said, continuing up the stairs but now only two steps at a time, the rapid pace she was keeping up starting to exhaust her as she lost contact with the earth. Roberto's lips pulled back into a little snarl as his mind started producing all kinds of suspicions and detailed little scenarios of what Amara and Manuel might have been up to in a private room, undisturbed... He felt his loose fists constrict to tighter ones. "Here", Amara said as she exited the stairwell at the top floor, and looked down the hallway at a wooden door at the end of it. "That is Manuel's room..." she said, and then stopped in the hallway, a frown coming onto her face as she for a brief moment reconsidered this whole plan of action. It was so reckless, they could expose the Hellions -- possibly some of them didn't even have anything to do with Manuel's plan. "Perhaps we should knock --" "FINE", Roberto said loudly, walking up to the door, and suddenly powering up to his coal-black form. CRASH! "Knock knock", Roberto growled as he walked into the room after smashing the door into so much toothpicks. "'If they will endanger Illyana's life, I will endanger their secret.' Very short-sighted thinking, Roberto. You do have the potential for so much more than charging around like a bull in a china shop. A pity you choose to waste that potential", Emma Grace Frost said as she stood in the middle of the room, a riding crop tucked underneath her arm and her arms crossed over her ample chest. Five Hellions, in pink and shiny dark purple uniforms, stood behind her. "Frost", Roberto hissed, taking a threatening step forward. "Stay out of my mind!" "Da Costa", James Proudstar said, stepping forward. "Frost explained the situation to us. Look, I swear we didn't have anything to do with what happened to her. So if you'll just calm down --" "Maybe *you* didn't", Amara said, stepping forward to stand beside Roberto before pointing a finger at Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha. "But what of Empath?? Are you willing to swear on you honor, Thunderbird, that he is not party to this??" "I am", a voice said, and the two New Mutants turned to look to their left where Katherine Anne Pryde stood up from a chair, beside which stood a silent Danielle Moonstar. "I talked with Empath a good while, guys. For what it's worth, I believe him. He didn't do it." Roberto's frown remained on his face, but Amara hesitated, and then placed a hand onto his shoulder. "Perhaps...perhaps we'd better reconsider our course of action", she said slowly, punctuated by a rough gust of wind outside making the windows of the room vibrate. "Perhaps you'd better", a voice matching Emma Frost's most icy tones came from behind the two New Mutants, causing them to whirl around. Ororo Munroe stood in the doorway to Manuel's room, her eyes narrowed into little slits as he regarded Sunspot and Magma, with an expression that was anything but happy. KRA-KOOM! Lightning blazed a trail in the sky, illuminating the room for a fraction of a second.