First, a big thanks to everyone whose reviewed all my fics so far, going back and taking in all your reviews really gave me the strength to keep going with this

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or X-Men: Evoltion, T'challa, Norman Osborn, Sinister and his crew are all owned by Marvel Comnics ltd, my OCs are mine though, so it's not all bad news

Chapter Eight: The Enemy Of My Enemy

For the first few seconds after Sinister's appearance there was complete bedlam, sick mutants tried to climb out of their beds to escape or fight the new threat, getting in the way of the able-bodied mutants and scientists who weren't in the room at the time of the knockout gas being deployed. Sick and able-bodied people alike were getting knocked down and trampled in the chaos

Dr Doom aimed an energy blast at Sinister but a scattering Morlock bumped into him and sent the blast at Reed, which knocked him backwards into two other scientists scrambling to get away from the monster that appeared in the room

"You'll take any chance to kill me won't you Victor!" Reed accused, pointing an elasticated finger at the Latverian despot

"Do not accuse me of such dishonourable tactics!" Doom bellowed in response above the pandemonium, apparently it either didn't convince Reed or the leader of the Fantastic Four didn't believe him and he rushed Doom, forgetting the real threat, intent to subduing his arch nemesis

Knocking mutant and human alike aside, Norman Osborn ran for the exit

"OSBORN GET BACK HERE!" Fury roared

"The hell I am, I didn't sign up for this, I'm outta here" he called over his shoulder as he vanished round a corner

"He won't get far Colonel Fury" T'challa yelled, jumping over the chaotic throng and following Osborn in hot pursuit, his long black cloak whipping round the corner of the door as he vanished in chase of the mad scientist

Storm crawled off her bed and tried valiantly to stand but as she tried to call up a thunderbolt pain flooded her mind and she coughed violently, blood splattering her black silk pyjamas and her knees gave way, lying on the floor, barely breathing

These scenes repeated themselves all over the infirmary, fighters tried to fire off energy shots or push their way through the panicked throng to get to the attackers but none of them could get off a decent shot or get close enough before being knocked off their feet by the panicked crowd

Above ground…

"No way, I aint buying it bub" Wolverine snorted, Maria Hill was getting tired of his attitude

"Director Fury's telling you the truth, Wolverine, there is no Nathaniel Essex, he doesn't exist"

"Well then how did he get in the Institute? I thought SHEILD was on top of that kinda thing?" he said, saturating every syllable with as much sarcasm as possible

"We don't know, he must have hacked our system and added himself onto one of the medical teams, but that's not why we're so concerned" she threw a folder across the table to Wolverine, who upended it and a dozen photos scattered across the table

"The fingerprints we have on file for 'Doctor Essex' match a few partials collected from murder scenes all across the Northeast, and they aren't exactly clean cut murders" Wolverine took a closer look at some of the photos, he noticed several of the corpses had deep lacerations, some of them were scabbed over

"These people weren't just killed, someone kept them alive for awhile, long enough for some of the wounds to start to heal"

"We know, they also had high levels of morphine and sedatives in their systems, it's looking like this guy kept them as his own lab rats for his sick little experiments" Fury said, his face set sternly

"I didn't risk my neck back in the war for some sick SOB to play doctor with peoples lives" Wolverine snarled, Fury sighed and decided to let Agent Hill deliver the worst piece of news

"It gets worse, the victims all shared the symptoms associated with the virus we're dealing with here, and it seems to be their C.O.D as well"

"So let me get this straight, you think this guy's got something to do with this virus, he's killed at least ten people, and you're just letting him run around free down there with the sick kids? Well I'm not" Wolverine snapped, before turning around and heading for the door before Fury grabbed his arm

"Wait a second Logan"

"Bub, take it off or I'll hack it off" Wolverine's claws slid out, Fury quickly let go, not sure whether Logan was bluffing or if he really meant it, either way he didn't want to take a chance with the mood the Canadian was in at that moment

"Logan, you know me, I'd never let someone like this perp stay loose without a good reason, SHEILD is letting him stay free for the moment to keep an eye on him, we need to know who he's working for, this kind of operation's too big for one man to do on his own, then we'll swoop in and take them all down. The first sign he's up to something I'll pull the plug and bring him in myself, you have my word", almost as soon as Fury finished talking the Institute's alarms sounded

"You were saying?" Wolverine asked, Fury shot him a scowl before the two split form the room and ran down the hall towards the elevator that led down to the lower levels of the Institute

Back in the infirmary…

Sinister glanced to one of the mutants next to him, a white man with long frizzy cotton candy pink hair dressed in attire that wouldn't look out of place in Pride and Prejudice

"Ruckus, if you'd be so kind" he inclined politely, the mutants sharp grey eyes eyed the crowd, there were so many different sounds, he drank them all in, 'so much to work with, I'll give these guys a show they'll never forget'

"You got it Mister S" he cupped his hands to his mouth, drew in a breath and let loose a sound the likes of which no-one in the room had ever heard before

Compared to the sound, the roar of a tiger was the mewling of a kitten; the bellow of a mustang's V8 was the whirr of an electric toothbrush, even the crack of a gunshot was like the popping of a cap gun

It split the throng of bodies like Moses parting the Red Sea, hurling them into tables, beds, monitors and IV stands, it made a path that Sinister and his men strode down, nearing the bed ridden mutants on the other side, the few mutants who'd kept their heads in the earlier bedlam rose to fight them

"Stay back!" Berserker warned, calling up his electric powers and drawing in extra juice from nearby machinery

"George, if you wouldn't mind" Sinister asked

"T'd be my pleasure sir, leave it to Gorgeous George" the mutant to Sinister's left answered in a heavy Australian accent. George was a tall lanky looking man with a very dark, tar like complexion; almost as if he had a port wine birthmark that covered his whole body, his hair was long, straggly and dark pink, mattered to his head and the back of his long lilac trench coat

"Nice threads, who does your shopping?" Berserker mocked, stalling for time in the hope someone else would come down to the infirmary as backup

"Watch it mate, or I'll be making my next coat outta your foul mouthed hide" George snarled, lunging at Berserker, who threw up a wall of electricity, the voltage danced across Gorgeous George's body and threw him backwards, hitting a heavy cabinet he didn't crumple to the floor but splattered all over it like a water balloon filled with grape juice

"Oh my god! You killed him!" Wanda cried

"I didn't mean to, I swear I didn't mean to, you saw it, it was self defence right?" he cried, dropping his protective barrier in shock at what he'd done, not noticing how the purple goo was sliding off the cabinet and wall and congealing together

"Well well, the little X-Man's a murderer, how's it feel? They say the first time's the best" Ruckus asked, Berserker just stared down at his hands, not noticing the puddle that was moving towards him, it suddenly rose upwards, reforming into Gorgeous George

"Crikey, that struck a nerve" Berserker just stared in absolute disbelief, not reacting when he saw Georges whip like arm descending on him, it slammed into him with the force of an elephant trunk and sent him skidding across the room to crash into a bed, his head hit the corner of the steel bed with a crack and his head slumped down to rest on his chest, out cold

"Hah! These kids are pathetic" Gorgeous George laughed, sliding forwards, his lower body looking like a giant snake made out of tar when a bolt of blue energy hit his right shoulder and he lost cohesion, reverting back to a puddle

"How unlucky" the Scarlet Witch noted, stepping forwards to take Berserkers place

"Nice one babycakes" Toad quipped, hopping onto the bed next to her, Wanda glared at him and he hopped back a few leaps

"Most impressive, you are Magneto's daughter, correct?" Sinister inquired

"Yes, not that it seems to matter to him" she replied

"I doubt it will matter to him right now, seeing as how he's my prisoner. I'd be happy to turn him over to your mercies, if you do something for me" his mouth split open, showing his pristine white teeth, Toad was reminded of a shark opening its mouth before taking its first bite

"What sort of favour do you have in mind?" Wanda asked

"Help me get these sick mutants out of here, I can sue them and the virus they're carrying to make this world a better place for all mutants"

"And I get my father after you're done?"

"You have my word and the world of a gentleman" Sinister told her, Wanda lowered her hands, glowing with hex power, in deep thought, remaining there for a few seconds, Toad hopped back over

"Babycakes?" Wanda spun round and blasted him close range with all the hex power she could muster

"Okay, deal" she told Sinister, who clapped his hands together

"Wonderful, now help my Boys gather up all the bed ridden mutants"

As Sinister's men and Wanda plucked Callisto, Storm, Hellblade, Magma, Lucid, Zamiel, Stormcaller and Quicksilver from their beds Nightcrawler, who'd been trampled in the fray, slowly pushed himself to his feet and saw Gorgeous George slithering over to where Rogue lay in her bed. Kurt quickly teleported to her bedside and lifted Rogue up in his arms, holding her around her bandage wrapped arms and pyjama-clothed body, glaring at Sinister

"I don't think so", Sinister gave him a toothy grin as the jewel in his forehead glowed with a dull red light, Rogues closed eyes snapped open, now a glowing blood red like those of the man who was controlling her mind. She lifted her un-bandaged hand and pressed it to Kurt's cheek, his eyes rolled back in his sockets and he let out a low groan as he slumped to the ground unconscious

"I do" Sinister told his unconscious form as Rogue climbed out of bed and walked slowly over to him, his subordinates and his prisoners, they all placed a hand on her arms and as one they teleported out in a puff of smoke

Down on the floor Lance pulled himself up just as Wolverine and Nick Fury burst into the infirmary, the three shared a knowing look, Sinister had outwitted some of the greatest minds on Earth, defeated the X-Men, Brotherhood, Morlocks and SHEILD, managed to escape and whatever his plan was, they were powerless to stop it

In the next chapter – The origins of the mysterious virus are revealed

Who will die? What's the deal with the Legacy Virus? And where's Deadpool gone? You'll find out in the next chapter, now get thee to the reviewing page and leave your views on my latest chappie