The X Conspiracy Chapter 4
Scott Summers sent up a silent prayer as the flames surrounded him. He braced himself and waited for the heat to sear his skin, the fire to char his flesh and consume him entirely. Instead the fire encircled him leaving a circle around him unburned.
"I love you too," came a sweet voice in his mind. Peering through the flames, he could see a figure coming towards him. His wife strode through the inferno to greet him. Cyclops smiled as it was difficult to ignore the irony. Jean Grey was his devoted wife and she was Phoenix, an X-Man. Years ago Jean had be possessed and replaced by the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force. Eventually she was freed, but opted to keep the code name. She returned his smile as she closed the space between them and the two heroes embraced and kissed deeply. "I will never leave you…" She caressed his face as the flames were doused with a spray of icy slush.
Iceman hung back while the love birds had their moment. He wasn't one for public displays of affection. He glanced over at Rogue, who watched Cyclops and Phoenix with wet eyes. Bobby's gut wrenched. He felt sorry for rogue and wondered what it was like not being able to touch another person. He and every other X-Man knew that if Rogue ever touched someone with her bare skin she would absorb their memories, their personalities and in the case of mutants, their powers as well. Unfortunately for her she was unable to control her power; case and point, Carol Danvers, whose powers now permanently belonged to the southern belle.
Bobby tore his gaze away from Rogue and focused his attention on Wolverine. At the moment he was extracting himself from a scrapheap that was once a Sentinel. An ugly jagged gash traced the length of his torso and before his very eyes the wound began to seal itself, the skin writhing like a zipper. By the time Canadian brawler was at Bobby's side he had not a scratch on him. As the team drew together the entire city melted away. Cowering civilians, burning cars, and robots all vanished leaving sterile, gray arena.
The doors of the Danger Room parted and a tall, elegant black woman entered. Storm gazed expectantly at her teammates; her family. Everyone seemed to be in one piece. "The threat is over," she replied confidently. "Beast has regained control of the Danger Room."
BAMF!
Two azure figures materialized in a cloud of sulfuric smoke. Kurt cast a worried glance around with his glowing eyes and in turn Hank studied them as well. "I regret to inform you that although our control of the computer mainframe has been restored, all files regarding security, Cerebro, Danger Room training and International relations have been copied," Beast's cultured commentary betrayed his frightening appearance. Cyclops frowned and removed the remains of his tattered Oxford shirt.
"Everyone to the War Room," he ordered, "We need to get to the bottom of all this."
Sebastian Shaw sipped Cristal from his champagne glass with satisfaction. The raid on the Xavier Institute had gone better than expected. He was now enjoying a celebratory feast with the other members of Club Hellfire. To his immediate right was Selene, his Black Queen. He gave the evil witch a wry grin. God, he hated her, he thought to himself not caring that Selene had telepathic abilities and could probably hear his thoughts. As if replying she winked an eye at him and curved her blood red lips into a wicked smile. Her black eyes glittered like onyx and she flipped her long curtain of raven hair over her shoulder. Sebastian took a moment to admire her porcelain skin and sinful body, which was fitted snugly into a black corset and thigh high boots, before shifting his gaze down the table.
His eyes were drawn to a shock of bright green hair. Trevor Fitzroy was greedily slurping great mouthfuls of wine down his throat. His eye caught Sebastian's and he quickly set his glass down and composed himself, wiping his mouth with a fine white napkin. Trevor was a parasite, literally in fact. To open his inter-dimensional portals he needed to drain the life energy from others. Selene gladly provided victims for him, after she was done corrupting their minds. Trevor had come from a distant and possible future where mutants were hunted and imprisoned. He had hoped his knowledge of advanced technology and future events would afford him some advantage in the past. So far he had not exceeded the rank of Black Rook. Sebastian knew that this parasitic opportunist was not to be trusted. Actually the only person he did trust was his personal assistant, Tessa. She was also his loyal confidant and she stood silently to the side dressed in black bustier, her hair pulled back into a smart bun. She gave Sebastian a reassuring nod. Sebastian nodded in return, grateful for Tessa's computer-like mind. She was able to store massive amounts of information and recall it instantly and accurately. Plus she was a telepath to boot, although not a very strong one. Still, Shaw relied on her heavily. Without her special talents the New York branch of the Hellfire Club would not be the premier branch.
As for the rest of the Royal members, loyalty was an issue. After the defection of Emma Frost, his White Queen, he had become increasingly weary of traitors. Frost had been a key player in Hellfire, easily moving up the ranks and padding the branch's bank account via her scheming. She was one of the most powerful telepaths he had met and she had decided to give all of this up to follow Xavier's naïve vision. Fool. Lady Mastermind had never betrayed Shaw, but her father had put his affairs before Hellfire. Not only had Reagan Wyngard inherited her father's mutant power but also his haughty demeanor. Yet, he had appointed her his Black Knight because she was extremely effective. The final member of the Royals was Donald Pierce. Sebastian Shaw trusted him least of all as he wasn't even a mutant. Pierce spent a small fortune augmenting his body with cybernetic implants. If Pierce's father had not been a Royal before him he may have never been appointed Black Bishop.
In an organization like The Hellfire Club, trustworthiness ranks low on the list of membership requirements. Selene was arguably the most powerful of the Royal Circle, but fortunately for Shaw (and the rest of Manhattan) she was bound to the building by several mystical enchantments. Being a mutant and a sorceress had earned Selene many unconventional enemies of the magical variety. Shaw often wondered who she had crossed to warrant being trapped here.
Shaking the random thoughts from his head Shaw raised his glass to the table. Its contents sparkled in the candlelight and glowed like an eerie specter. He cleared his throat gaining the attention of the table. "To the successful raid on the Xavier Institute," he addressed his cohorts. "To our new temporary alliance," he shot Tessa a meaningful look. She knew the "alliance" was more of a short term contract. A true alliance with their new partner would be dangerous and unsavory. Though Hellfire Club members acted outside the law, they did so very discreetly and thus held a sterling reputation with the authorities. . Generous donations to the NYPD didn't hurt either. Shaw had no desire to be labeled a criminal or terrorist which is why he stressed the word "temporary". He conducted a visual sweep of the table and stood to his feet. The others followed suit. "But above all, to Hellfire!" he concluded the toast lifting his glass higher.
"To Hellfire!" the exclaimed together and Shaw grinned smugly, but inside uncertainty sent his heart rate up. This "temporary alliance" promised to be extremely lucrative, ensuring that the New York branch of Hellfire remained the envy of all the other branches for years to come. Still, he considered the risk he had taken tangoing with the X-Men. They would come for them, he was counting on that. With phase one out of the way the difficult part lay ahead. Phase two would go into effect tonight. The entire plan was still a mystery to his Royal Court, and he had even withheld specifics from Tessa. He would brief them all after dinner then they would prepare to strike. Then they would wait for Xavier's fools to make their move, by then it would be too late.
