* 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 TEN * ******************************* *** "Take-off complete. Undercarriage is in. Fuel tank is almost full. Shi'ar ramjets working perfectly. Radar gives no contacts nearby. Setting heading...201. There... Increasing speed to 35% thrust..." Katherine Anne Pryde mumbled under her breath as her hands danced on the Blackbird's console. "Weather conditions improving. We're out of the storm front", Roberto Da Costa said, flicking a few switches on the cockpit's ceiling above the co-pilot's seat he was sitting in. "I wish we were that lucky", Kitty mumbled. *** "We made a mistake. I accept full responsibility over our actions. I'm sorry", Danielle Moonstar said, maintaining a rigid expression that was slightly defiant despite her words, as she stood in the front of the passenger compartment of the Blackbird beside the seat where Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla was sitting. "As well you should be, Danielle", Ororo Munroe said sharply, staring into Dani's eyes for a moment. Then, she turned away, deciding to let the matter lie for the moment. Chastising the children in front of their rivals would only foster more enmity, and that was the last thing that was needed at the moment. Her eyes turned to the recipient of the apology, waiting for his reaction. "Apology accepted", Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha said with a self-pleased smile, enjoying rubbing the New Mutants' faces in the dirt. "It isn't your fault you lack the sufficient intelligence to realize that if I bore a grudge towards Rasputin, my vengeance would be far more elaborate than having her shot." "Please, Manuel, refrain from insulting our hosts", Emma Grace Frost said from the back of the compartment where she was sitting in one of the four passenger seats, her leg elegantly crossed over the other. "After all, without their graciously allowing us to join them in the Blackbird, it would take us *hours* to reach poor Tarot and aid her in her time of distress." "Of course, Ms Frost", Manuel nodded. "I apologize for my harsh words, Moonstar", he said with a smile that quite clearly let the Cheyenne know that he wasn't sorry at all. Emma Frost watched a moment before her eyes briefly passed over Jennifer Stavros standing behind Manuel's seat, her elbows resting on the back of the seat, her chin resting in her hands. A little smile came to Emma's lips, then she turned to look out the window beside her as the snow-white clouds rolled beautifully underneath. ((How is your mission proceeding, Catseye?)) *** ((Catseye learning fast, doing EmmaMother proud)), Catseye replied to Frost's telepathic communique as she sat behind Kitty and Roberto in the flight engineer's seat -- one of the three seats in the cockpit -- and intently watching every procedure the two teens did without trying to draw attention to herself. ((Catseye able to fly Blackbird soon. EmmaMother happy?)) *** ((Most so)), Emma Frost answered and her smile widened slightly. ((Let me know if Da Costa grows suspicious of your presence in the cockpit)), she said before ending the conversation and turning her eyes to Ororo Munroe who was leaning against a wall as there were no more seats available. "Thank you again for letting us accompany you in the Blackbird, Ororo", she smiled sweetly. "I know this plane is only designed to accomodate seven people, crew included, but really, what is a little crowd among friends?" "I'm sure we could have fit Thunderbird and Jetstream in here for such a short trip", Ororo replied in a flat tone, not answering Emma's question which both of them knew was rhetorical in the first place. "Perhaps so, Ororo", Emma smiled, "but we are already testing your patience after Tarot's actions this morning -- troubling you with the problem of how to fit all of our team on the plane would hardly be polite of us -- you have far more important things to worry about currently." She paused for a moment, and then her smile widened a bit. "In any case, Jetstream relishes using his power, and James...seems to have developed a sudden aversion for aircraft. I do believe they prefer journeying on their own." *** "There it is", James Proudstar said, pointing a finger down at a building on the ground below as they zoomed rapidly southwards in the sky. "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters." "Brevity does not seem to be one of Professor Xavier's most exercised qualities", Haroun ibn Sallah al-Rashid commented neutrally as he slowed down and started descending towards the school. "Nor yours", Jimmy smiled faintly, and then glanced down as a dull orange streak of energy rocketed up from the school towards the skies, and the two Hellions. "Guthrie", Haroun simply said, and flew towards the approaching New Mutant, slowing down even further in preparation for the encounter. "Hey Jimmy -- Jets", Samuel Zachery Guthrie said as he flew over to the two Hellions, nodding to both of them in turn as he passed them and then looped around them, coming to fly beside Jetstream in the same direction. "What's up?" "We heard about Marie-Ange and Illyana", Jimmy replied. "Dani and the others are heading back in the Blackbird with Frost and the rest of the Hellions. We thought we'd come over and see if we could do anything. How are the two of them?" "Tarot's calming down -- she's all right", Sam said as he cut power and descended down to the lawn in front of the school. "Illyana's still in surgery. We're not quite sure how things are over there." Haroun nodded in understanding as he descended to the lawn beside Sam, and let go of Jimmy. "Marie-Ange shot Illyana, as I understand it?" he asked. Sam looked down and closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded and opened his eyes. "In the head", he mumbled before starting to walk towards the front door. (('s all right, Betsy. They ain't here t' cause any trouble...)) *** ((Understood, Sam)), Elizabeth Braddock said as she sat in front of the Cerebro computer system, her head covered by a metal helmet connected to the computers via several cables. ((I will let Tarot know that she has visitors.)) *** ((Oui...merci...thank you...I will be downstairs in a few minutes)), Marie-Ange Colbert replied to the telepathic communique as she started rinsing off her hair underneath the shower of hot water. *** Moira MacTaggert cursed softly in Scottish and closed her eyes for a moment, pulling her hands away from the comatose Illyana Nikolovna Rasputina's head. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, rolling her head around slightly to massage her aching and tense neck muscles. Sharon Friedlander dabbed Moira's forehead with a cloth, wiping off the salty sweat that was flowing down into her tired eyes and making them sting. "What is it, doctor?" she asked with a concerned frown after glancing to the monitor readouts that indicated Illyana's state was still stable for the moment. "I've managed tae alleviate the pressure to th' brainstem", Moira said slowly and then held a long, grim pause. "The cardiovascular an' pulmonary responses should be nae problem any longer -- brainstem isn't in danger o' stoppin' functioning anymore." "But...?" Magneto said, his eyes fixed steadily and emotionlessly on Illyana's head and all the blood on the surface underneath. He maintained his cold facade perfectly, focusing on nothing else except using his powers to create magnetic fields inside the girl's head to control her blood circulation at Moira's instructions. Moira looked at a monitor screen and tapped in a few commands via a computer keyboard, a sideways X-ray picture of Illyana's skull coming up on the screen. The bullet was clearly visible, maybe an inch or so inside her forehead, highlighted by a crosshairs superimposed over the X-ray. "It isn't as deep as I expected", Magneto said flatly. "I could get it out..." "No", Moira mumbled. "Not yet, at least. We'll keep tha' as a last resort." She took a deep breath, and then turned to regard the Master of Magnetism. "The brain's an extremely fragile organ", she started in a teacher-like voice. "Imagine propelling something small -- say, a pebble -- intae a lump o' yoghurt, or jello. Now, it goes in quickly, an' makes a relatively small and clean entry hole. Then, it's embedded inside. And gettin' it *oot* is a hell of a problem." "The faster you pull it out, the less it damages the jello. Kind of like pulling off a bandaid. It won't have time to tear up tissues while it comes out", Sharon nodded, understanding Moira's point. "But you run the risk of it hitting something important in the way." "Especially since the hole closes up after the pebble's entered", Moira nodded. "The weight o' the tissue causes the hole t' close up on itself -- yoghurt -- or the brain, f'r that matter -- isn't rigid enough t' maintain the hole. The pebble's cocooned in there, an' whichever way you pull it out, it's goin' tae destroy somethin'." "So we should just leave it inside her?" Magneto asked, a bit angrily. "I refuse to believe that is the only solution --" "It's the smartest solution", Moira mumbled. "Under normal circumstances." Then, she glanced back towards the X-ray on the monitor screen. "But the bullet's movin' inside her brain -- an' I have no clue why --" Magneto's eyes narrowed. "I do", he said as his expression turned into a frown. Moira blinked and her eyes widened. "Of course", she said, first quietly, and then a bit louder. "Of *course*!" she growled, banging her fist against a desk, and then closing her eyes in thought. "You have t' create incredibly strong magnetic fields inside her head t' control her circulation -- if 'tis strong enough tae control the iron in her blood, surely 'tis strong enough to attract a *bullet*..." "I rarely use my powers to heal, Doctor", Magneto said with his nose wrinkled in frustration. "I am uncertain if I possess sufficient skill to control her circulation without causing the bullet to move..." "We need you tae control her blood", Moira said firmly. "That's nae question." Her hands clenched nervously into fists. "We have to get the bullet out, then. But I dinnae know if I'm good enough." "You will have to be, Doctor", Magneto said. *** BOOM! A small form blasted thru the sonic barrier, exceeding the speed of sound and emitting a loud boom spreading outwards from the wake as the shape zoomed northwards a few hundred feet above southern New York State. *** SHOOM! Winds blasted outwards from a spot on the Xavier's School private runway, as the ebony Blackbird descended downwards, its VTOL* ramjets smoothly lowering it to the ground, and then gradually winding down as the power to them was cut. * Vertical Take-Off and Landing "This way", Ororo Munroe said as she pressed a button and the side door of the plane swished open, letting her hop down and out onto the runway. Emma Grace Frost followed the X-Men's leader with a more graceful descent. 'Hopping' was below the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, especially when she wasn't trying to distract any males by bouncing around. "Either there has been a battle here recently", she commented, laying her eyes onto the ruined air operations hut and some blasted-apart charred ground near it, "or you should fire your groundskeeper." "What do you know, Ms Frost actually made a joke", Jennifer Stavros grinned as she hopped down from the plane and put her hands on her hips as she looked to the right and left, taking in the runway curiously. "Such as it was..." Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha mumbled as he descended from the aircraft in a manner closer to Frost's than Roulette's. "Ah, Manuel", Emma smiled brightly as she turned towards him, perhaps having heard his words, perhaps not. "I think it might be a good idea if you did not see poor Marie-Ange immediately. The merest sight of you might upset her, considering the very reason for her unfortunate actions this morning..." Manuel frowned slightly in confusion. "I --" he started, a bit hesitantly, while Catseye, Danielle Moonstar and Amara Aquilla all in turn departed the Blackbird behind him. "Sounds like a good call, Ms Frost", Katherine Anne Pryde called out from the Blackbird's doorway. "I can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't run into Tarot before she's in a condition to see him..." She glanced over to Storm questioningly. "If that's okay with you, Ororo?" Ororo nodded once in approval. "Very well, Kitten. Manuel is yours to look after." A small smile rose to Manuel's lips, like a kid in a candy store, and he glanced towards Emma questioningly, wondering if she knew what she had just done. Unfortunately, she was already walking away towards the school with Ororo, not seeming to pay Manuel the slightest attention. "You get the Blackbird back into the hangar, Bobby. I'll see you later", Kitty said, glancing towards the cockpit, and then she hopped down from the plane and headed towards Manuel. *** Roberto Da Costa mumbled something unprintable under his breath in the cockpit and started going thru the run-down procedures in his mind. "...I hate the X-Men...feh...think they can tell me what to do...just because I'm a New Mutant..." he grumbled and started flicking switches inside the cockpit. *** "Whoa." Samuel Zachery Guthrie and James Proudstar froze in place, wide-eyed, as Marie-Ange Colbert entered the living room clad in a black and gold New Mutants uniform that was nicely tight in all the right places. "Interesting", Haroun ibn Sallah al-Rashid just said as he stood between the two men, and looked Marie-Ange over calmly. "I hope this does not signify a shift in allegiancies." "We only wish, Jetstream", Kurt Wagner smiled as he followed Marie-Ange into the room, closely followed by Xi'an Coy Manh. "Ms Colbert's previous set of clothes was merely in a less than perfect state, so I asked the lovely Karma to lend Marie-Ange one of her New Mutants uniforms." Marie-Ange nodded quietly, her body nervously tensed up as it stood near the doorway. "Oui...what he said is...correct." She swallowed a bit. "I have not been...taking the best of care of myself lately..." A tense silence descended into the living room as no one was quite certain what to say or do next. Eventually, Sam cleared his throat slightly, and looked towards Xi'an. "Jimmy tells me Frost and the other Hellions're on their way here...maybe we oughta put on a pot o' coffee or somethin'...?" "Consider it done, Samuel", Xi'an nodded and headed out of the living room for the kitchen to prepare some snacks. *** Moira MacTaggert blinked a droplet of sweat away from her eyes and tried to concentrate to stop her surgical-gloved hands from trembling as they approached Illyana Nikolovna Rasputina's head. She breathed quicker, feeling like she was burning up, and then cursed. "I cannae do this", she spat out and took a few quick breaths, trying to calm herself down. "What if I fail --? What if me hands slip --? She could end up comatose for the rest o' her life..." "Doctor, you *have* to do this", Magneto stated sharply. "We don't have a choice." "Yes. We do", Moira said silently and turned towards Magneto. "You will pull out the bullet." *** "MS FROST!" Marie-Ange Colbert squealed and ran right into her teacher's arms. "There, there, Marie-Ange", Emma Grace Frost whispered soothingly as she put her arms around her student, holding her close, not seeming to even notice the uniform from the rival school for the moment, just concentrating on stroking the back of Tarot's head tenderly. "It's all right. I will fix it all..." "Meanin' no offense, ma'am, but how do you propose t' fix a hole in Illyana's head?" Samuel Zachery Guthrie asked lightly, sitting on the armrest of a recliner. "What's to fix?" Jennifer Stavros smiled sweetly. "I think she looks much better that way." "Careful there, maedchen", Kurt Wagner said levelly. "A few more comments like that, and Sam might forget what an easy-going, peace-loving man he is." "Ah might?" Sam blinked, glancing towards Kurt. Kurt shrugged and smiled slightly. "You don't seriously expect me to hit a woman, now do you Sam?" "Aw gee, thanks, Nightcrawler", Sam replied sarcastically. *** "Hi, guys." "Katya?" Piotr Nikolievich Rasputin blinked, turning around towards the door into the observation booth where he, Douglas Ramsey, Warlock and Rahne Sinclair were intently watching the surgery going on beyond the windows. Doug glanced over his shoulder and then wrinkled his nose slightly in a hurt expression. "So you guys finally got back, huh? So tell me, how many confirmed kills did you score, She-Punisher?" Kitty returned an equally hurt expression at Doug and then sighed. "Look, Doug, I'm sorry. You guys were right, I know that now. I was wrong. I was just -- so angry over what happened." She closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them again. "If you can't forgive me, Doug, I'll just have to learn to live with it." Then, her eyes turned to Peter, and she hesitated for a moment, before asking, "Piotr? Could I have a word with you? In private?" Peter looked at Kitty for a few moments emotionlessly, then took a deep breath and nodded. "Da. You can, Kitty", he said, and then walked out of the booth with her. Rahne sighed deeply and shook her head. "A'm hurtin' so bad..." she murmured. "A can only imagine what it must be like f'r them... the closest ones t' Illyana..." *** "I know how bad you must be hurting, Piotr", Kitty whispered as she placed her hands onto his chest and pushed him backwards thru the doorway into the physics lab. The door swished shut between the two X-Men, leaving them in the dark, silent room. "I'm hurting so bad, and you must hurt even worse... Let me take the pain away", she whispered and started placing heated kisses onto his throat and neck as her hands roamed his body. "Katya, what are you --?" Peter blinked and resisted for a moment before allowing himself to yield to the pleasure. They both started breathing quicker for a moment. Then, he let out a little growl and pushed Kitty away from him. "What do you think you are doing, Katya?? Illyana could be *dying*, and *this* is what you think of?? Have you lost your mind??" "No", Kitty smiled in the darkness. "But you will." Suddenly the room was lit up by a crimson glow