A/N: Hey guys... Happy New Year to you all! Thanks for all the reviews!

I must warn you that this chapter contains graphic descriptions of violence and serious sexual themes. It may be a M rated chapter. Don't like it, don't read it. You've been warned.


Chapter 29 – Illusions

U.S. Airspace

The X-Men and the acolytes had been flying for about an hour, a mix of relief and apprehension filling the air inside the Blackbird. After having confirmed that Alex and Lorna were free from any psychic influence, Xavier placed the portable Cerebro device on his head and telepathically contacted Nightcrawler.

'Kurt, what's Jubilee's condition?'

'Zhe doctor said she's stable, professor. Zhank God zhe bullet missed her lung. She's going into surgery as we speak,' the blue mutant explained.

'Thank God indeed. Stay with her, Kurt. Keep the image inducer on and stick to the New Year's party robbery story. We are on our way to Angel's cabin in Colorado. We'll send a transport to pick both of you as soon as Jubilee's dismissed from the hospital.'

'All right. Godspeed, herr professor.'

Xavier turned Cerebro off and addressed Beast next. "Hank, what is Cyclops' status?"

"Worrisome to say the least, Charles. I was able to chemically control the seizures after 30 milligrams of diazepam; nonetheless, Cyclops' still in coma. I find it impossible to determine his neurological prognostic without the proper medical equipment. I strongly recommend that we take him to a hospital…"

"As much as it hurts to say this, Hank, we can't. Admitting a mutant like Scott to the hospital would only raise suspicions towards our recent actions," Professor X stated. "Soon the police will arrive at the Hellfire Club and start asking questions."

"It's all my fault! My brother's dying because of me," Havoc yelled in despair while holding his brother's left hand. Cyclops had been lying on a bed in the Blackbird's med bay since the X-Men had took off from Manhattan, a heart monitor connected to his chest and an oxygen catheter placed inside his nostrils. Dr. McCoy, who had quickly recovered from Havoc's attack in the ballroom, had been solely working on Scott since their departure. Meanwhile, Amelia Voght, who happened to be a former nurse, was tending to Storm, Gambit and Colossus.

"Stop blaming yourself, honey. We were under that psychic whore's influence for a week. What's happened to Scott isn't your fault at all," Lorna said in an attempt to comfort her boyfriend.

"Polaris is right, Alex. Besides, I sense that your brother's current condition is due to the White Queen's telepathic attack, and not to the head traumas. Still, for some strange reason, my telepathy can't penetrate his mind. It is as if Emma has put psychic blocks around his conscience to prevent another telepath from ever accessing and retrieving Cyclops' mind."

"That vengeful bitch!" Bobby exclaimed. "Couldn't take a 'no' for an answer."

"Perhaps Jean's telepathic skills could help you overcome those blocks, Charles," Beast suggested. "She did help you pinpoint Polaris' and Alex's location."

"Yes, I've thought about it as well. However, I fear that Miss Grey will be busy facing problems of her own. That's why we must hurry."

"What about Rogue? No one's seen her since our confrontation in de Hellfire Club's ballroom," Gambit said, his voice dripping with worry.

"Although I'm currently incapable of pinpointing her location, my telepathic scan has revealed that Rogue is alive," Xavier replied.

"Still, we must look for her, non?" Remy asked.

"Of course," Xavier nodded, grasping Cerebro in his hands once again. "And with so many injured, I think it's time to call for reinforcements."


The Rocky Mountains, Colorado

"Ladies, prepare for landing," Angel spoke from the copilot's seat into the private jet's sound system. Jean was securing Rachel against her chest while Candy held Nathan firmly in her arms.

After two more minutes, the small aircraft landed safely on the snow-covered runway located half a mile away from Worthington's winter cabin. Warren opened the door and helped the two women out of the airplane.

"Paolo, you may return the jet to New York now."

"Okay, Mr. Worthington. Call me if you need my services again," the pilot answered.

"I will, thank you," the blonde replied and jogged towards the two women who were rapidly heading to the house. "Now you two, stay alert. According to Professor X, two Inner Circle members might be on their way here as we speak," he informed them, using his eagle-like vision to scan their surroundings.

"You've already warned us twice, Warr. I'm telepathically searching the area. Apparently, there's no one here beside us," Jean said. "Did the professor say how the mission against the Hellfire Club go?"

"No," Angel lied. Xavier had told him about Cyclops' injuries, but Jean didn't need to know about them right now.

"You're lying," the redhead replied over her shoulder while they approached the house. It was snowing and she chose to telekinetically carry their luggage to prevent it from touching the brown slush. "Warren, tell me what's happened," she demanded.

"Stay out of my head, Jean," he reprimanded.

"Hey honey, isn't she a friend of yours?" Candy interrupted them, pointing at a woman dressed in yellow and green leaning on the cabin's front door.

"Rogue," Angel nodded. "Good, the X-Men are here. That was fast."

"Hey sugahs. What took ya' so long?" The southern woman greeted them.

"Just normal airspace traffic. Where are the others?" Warren inquired while opening the door. Jean and Candy rushed inside the cabin with the babies, glad to be out of the cold. The redhead laid her daughter in the stroller and moved to help Candy with Nate.

"Oh, they're still busy. The professor sent me ahead," Anna replied.

"Why?" Warren asked. Jean noticed the suspicious in his tone and turned around to face them.

"We had everythin' under control, so I came heah to make sure ya' guys were fine," the Southern described.

"That doesn't make sense, Rogue. If the X-Men are still busy, why would Xavier send…"

"Warren, watch out!" Jean screamed from the middle of the living room as Rogue's fist nearly smacked Angel's cheek. Thanks to the warning, the winged mutant was able to dodge the punch and quickly flew towards Candy and Jean.

"Now ya' had to make things harder, hadn't ya', Grey?" Anna spoke, but it seemed as if her mouth's motions didn't quite match the rest of her features. Jean did a quick mind scan of her teammate.

"She's under some kind of mind control," the telepath explained.

"That means the Inner Circle's here," Angel concluded, landing in front of the women and babies and hiding them behind his opened wings. "Jean, see if you can get ahold of Rogue telepathically."

"O-Okay," the redhead replied, trying to conceal the panic in her voice. She involved the five of them in a telekinetic bubble and only then closed her eyes. She focused on Anna's mind but was unable to sense her friend's thoughts. When she reopened her eyelids, everything had changed.

'W-What? Where am I?' Jean looked around and inquired to no one in particular. She was alone in a wide green field, her body half sprawled on the grassy floor, dressed in some odd women's horse-riding clothes. Beside her on the ground laid a moribund stallion; she noticed that one of his legs was broken.

'There you are, milady. I'm so glad to find you unharmed.'

The telepath spun around only to find a well-dressed gentleman offering his right palm to her.

'Who are you? Where am I?' She asked again.

'Oh, my darling… I wonder if you have hit your head during the fall. Only a serious riding accident could explain you forgetting your true love's name,' the man responded.

Jean accepted his hand and stood up. She studied the man's face and demeanors - he was handsome, his manners kind and polite. He was her loving husband.

'Jason.'

'Of course, my love. I'm glad your memory's returned. Come, let me take you inside our house,' his left hand encircled her waist and he gently pulled her towards an impressive Victorian building.

Jean felt strange, almost… insecure. Something was amiss. She glanced over her shoulder in the fallen horse's direction. 'Wait. What about…?'

'The stallion? You don't need to pity it, darling. It was too dangerous for you to be around it,' her husband replied. 'Don't you worry your pretty head, one of the servants will take care of it.'

"Jean, what are you doing? Don't go with him!" Angel screamed from his spot on the living room's floor as he watched Mastermind leading the redhead away. She had looked straight into his eyes but hadn't been able to see him at all. Warren concluded that she must be caught up in some kind of mental illusion, powerful enough to make her break her telekinetic force field. In the meantime, Rogue had managed to hit the blonde in the stomach and was slowly approaching him again. Cornered, the X-Man quickly stood up and glanced at his girlfriend. "Candy, run to the mountains."

"B-But Warren…" She was in the verge of a panic attack, her hands tightly gripping the boy in her arms.

"Take Nathan and go. Now!" His voice had become demanding.

Candy nodded and finally dashed towards the front door. However, she was forced to make a halt as the Black Queen suddenly stood in her way, blocking the exit. "Going somewhere, human?"

Candy gave an uncertain step back. Nate started crying in her arms.

"Stay away from her!" Angel yelled before ducking another blow from Rogue.

Selene regarded him with a cocky smile. "Or what? You are going to kill me, little bird?"

"I will," a gruffy voice declared from behind her and two sets of adamantium claws pierced through the woman's back, their sharp edges cutting through her guts all the way down to the skin of her abdomen. The Black Queen uttered a gasp. "Go," Wolverine commanded Candy.

The woman sprinted through the doorway, and only then Logan retreated his claws.

Selene dropped to the floor, holding her belly with both her hands. She turned around to stare at the feral man's face, grinning widely as he realized that no blood dripped from her wounds. "You're going to need more than adamantium to prevent me from taking your precious littler daughter, Wolverine," she said, addressing Rogue next. "Bring those two back."

Rogue nodded and flew through the window, leaving a trail of shattered glass behind.

Angel's eyes widened. "Logan?"

"Go, Worthington," Wolverine said, his head motioning to the broken window, his dangerous eyes never leaving Selene's face. Angel flew after Rogue, and Logan unleashed his claws with a loud 'SNIKT'.

xxxxx

Inside Warren's suite, Jason Wyngarde had helped Jean to an armchair. 'These boots must be hurting your feet, milady. Let me take them off for you,' he offered, kneeling in front of the woman and taking off her tennis shoes.

'Jason, I… I'm not feeling well. This,' her eyes scurried around the cozy wooden room, perceiving instead a luxurious Victorian chamber, 'this doesn't feel right.'

'Oh. I see. You're feeling a bit shy today,' he gave her a charming smirk and whispered in her ear. 'You didn't mind my hands upon your legs last night, my love.' Mastermind run both his palms seductively over the redhead's calves, resting them on her jeans-clad knees.

Flashes of that same charming man making love to her under expensive cotton sheets invaded Jean's mind. Distracted, she didn't notice how his hands quickly got rid of her black wool coat and moved to the pearl buttons on her silk white shirt. She stopped his hands. 'Wait, Jason. Where's our daughter?'

'Daughter? We don't have a daughter, Jean, darling. But I'm more than willing to make a baby to you right now,' he stood up, pulling her out of the armchair and running his scrawny fingers down her neck and collarbone.

xxxxx

Meanwhile, Angel and Rogue were engaged in an airborne battle. Having a better sight than his teammate, Warren saw how Candy hid inside the snow-covered helicopter landed behind the cabin, and tried to lure Anna Marie in the opposite direction. "Rogue! It's me, Angel. I know you're still in there. Fight back."

"Ya're wastin' yoah time, flyboy. Ya're a traitor, and Ah am gonna teach ya' not to betray the X-Men," the woman plunged over him with all her strength. Warren dodged her attack and used his right wing to hit the southern in the face, making her yelp.

'Lucky strike,' Warren thought, ascending further into the sky. Yet, he knew that in a hand-to-hand combat he wouldn't stand a chance against his teammate's super strength. "Rogue, can't you see the Inner Circle's controlling your will? We're friends! We're X-Men. Why are you attacking me?"

"Ya're a filthy rat, that's why, Worthington!" She flew towards him at full speed.

"Brains over muscles it is, then," Angel muttered, flying upwards as fast and high as he could. As expected, Rogue followed suit. Warren knew that his mutant physiology prevented him from suffering from serious hypoxia in the rarefied air; he only hoped that Rogue's invulnerability didn't protect her the same way.

xxxxx

In the cabin's living room, Rachel was sleeping peacefully inside the stroller, to Wolverine's astonishment and gratitude. Meanwhile, he and the Black Queen fought mercilessly.

Selene was using telekinesis and sorcery to throw sharp objects in the man's direction, while Logan relied on his claws to redirect and pitch them away from Rachel. In a swift move, he managed to leave three deep gashes on his opposite's face, all of which rapidly healed. "You're not the only one who can't get hurt, Wolverine," the Black Queen said. "I wonder if your offspring shares your healing factor," she provoked, using psionic energy to bring the stroller close to her.

"Grrrrrrrr," Wolverine leaped at the woman, claws out, tackling her down and away from his baby daughter. At the same time, Selene's hands encircled Logan's neck and she started draining his life force away. All of a sudden, Rachel opened her blue eyes and began to cry desperately.

xxxxx

Inside the bedroom, Mastermind was about to peel off the last pieces of Jean's clothes when the woman shot up in bed. 'My baby!' She exclaimed, her hands pushing his face away from her neck and moving down to touch her stomach. By now, the redhead was only dressed in her underwear, her button up shirt opened to reveal a plain white bra. She stood up and started pacing around the room.

'Damn you, Selene. How hard can it be to control a fucking baby?' Wyngarde cursed, his patience completely worn out by now. 'Jean, darling. I've already told you that you don't have a baby. Now be a good wife and come back to bed before I get mad.'

'No, Jason. Don't you see? This is wrong,' the woman shook her head sideways. 'I… I remember. I've given birth to a child, not long ago. A baby girl,' her fingers searched for the thin scar in her lower abdomen, finding only the smooth skin underneath. Her green eyes filled with tears. 'I can feel her, in my heart… She's crying.'

'Jean. I've told you that there's no child! Now, if you don't come back to bed immediately, I'm going to assume that you've gone insane and arrange to have you locked up in an asylum!'

The redhead narrowed her eyes. 'What did you say?'

xxxxx

Angel calculated that they must have ascended to an altitude of nearly eight thousand feet. He knew he could probably keep going up, the rarified air not bothering him the least. He glanced down at Rogue, noticing that her rising had slowed down and that her eyes had become unfocused. She was about to lose consciousness, and Warren doubted that even her invulnerability could save her from the impact of such a fall.

"Hang on, Rogue," Warren shouted as his teammate's body started dropping to the ground. He redirected his flight downwards and dived as fast as his wings could take him, using the gravity in his favor. When they were as close as a hundred feet from the floor, Angel was finally able to catch the woman in his arms. "Thank God! That was close," he muttered to himself as he landed back on the white backyard.

"A-Angel?" Rogue uttered in his arms, her green eyes slowly opening again. "W-Where am I? Where are the othars?"

The blonde helped her up. "Colorado. The Inner Circle's been controlling your mind for a while, but I think you're safe now."

"Oh shit," she tried to walk but felt too dizzy. "Have Ah… have Ah hurt someone?"

"No," he responded, cupping Rogue in his arms before she collapsed to the floor and flying towards the helicopter. He opened the aircraft's door and sat her on the bench.

"Warren! Oh my God, I was so worried!" Candy yelled from the cockpit, launching herself in his arms. Nathan was behind her, crying on the co-pilot's seat.

Angel hugged his girlfriend in return. "I'm fine, Candy. But I need to go back inside the house and help Jean and Rachel. You two stay here and…"

His words were interrupted by the sound of a loud blast followed by a violent tremor that shook the grounds under the helicopter. Warren stuck his head out of the aircraft and saw that part of his cabin's roof had exploded. "Stay here!"

xxxxx

Logan was weak. He felt as if he had been struck by a train, twice, and didn't have any strength left to get up from the rails. Even with his claws buried deep inside the Black Queen's chest, the woman straddling his stomach didn't let go of his neck. 'So this… how I hit… the bucket,' his barely conscious mind spoke to him.

Selene's grip progressively tightened around his flesh, his own mutant life force powering up hers. "Oh, this is superb, Wolverine. All this power… all this raw, fierce energy… and to think that you're only my appetizer."

His tired eyes followed Selene's gaze - she was eyeing the stroller with anticipation. In the background, his weakened hearing could distinguish a faint cry. A baby's cry. His baby.

Wolverine's eyes suddenly darkened in fury. He briefly retreated his claws, only to thrust them back into the Black Queen's neck with sheer violence and rage. With a loud growl, he forced his hands up. Selene's fingers loosened around his neck; her body fell to his right side while her head rolled to his left. He glanced at Rachel's stroller one more time before collapsing on the floor, unable to feel how it trembled under him, nor to hear the loud blast that teared half the ceiling away in the main bedroom.

xxxxx

'What did you say?' Jean questioned the man leaning against the bed's headboard. For a brief moment, her green eyes turned dark.

'This is not the behavior I expect from my wife, Jean. Enough with this baby nonsense, or I'll see that you get proper treatment in a madhouse,' Mastermind threatened again.

'Hmm. I see,' the redhead looked down. 'Tell me, Jason… Have you ever been to a madhouse?' Her eyes darted up again as she slowly approached the bed.

'No,' he replied, smiling as she climbed back on the bed.

'I figured,' Jean smiled back, crawling seductively in his direction. 'You see, Jason, I've been to a mental institution once,' she told him as she straddled his lap and cupped his face between her palms. His smug grin gave way to a worry frown as the walls became once again covered in tasteful brown shiplaps and Jean's Victorian lingerie turned into plain 21st century cotton underwear. "You want to see what it's like inside a madhouse? I'll show you," the telepath said in her own voice, suddenly dumping into his mind all the unfamiliar ill thoughts that had once invaded her psyche during her teenage years.

Mastermind gasped in shock. "S-Stop… ple-please."

"C'mon, Jason… husband…" The woman spat the last word with disgust. "You were acting so mighty and strong only a few minutes ago, darling...," she mocked. "If I could endure these thoughts when I was twelve, I'm sure you can do it as a grown-up man," Jean's eyes turned black again as she forced more anarchic thoughts from mental patients into his mind.

"Arrghhh! S-Stop… argh… I-I beg you... Have… mercy," he pleaded, half delirious.

"Mercy?" She asked, her voice dark and menacing. "You know, Mastermind… That's your codename, isn't it? I could forgive you for threatening to send me to an asylum. I could even forgive you for almost tricking me into having sex with you," she took a deep breath. "However, I cannot forgive you for making me believe that I don't have a baby. You see, my daughter means everything to me," the redhead said, still cupping his face, "and I can hear her cries inside of my head as we speak!" She shouted the last phrase, letting go of his face to kneel back on the bed. "So, my dearest Jason… I've got no mercy for you!"

The Black Bishop's body was involved in a telekinetic cocoon and fiercely lifted from the bed. Jean combined her telepathy and telekinesis to force all her latent psionic power into his head. Mastermind couldn't handle it. The energy encaged in his body was just too much for him to bear. In less than five seconds, every cell in his body deteriorated, and the resultant kinetic energy was enough to blow up the entire house. Realizing the risks of what she had done, Jean used her telekinesis to cast a protective net all around the building's structure. Still, the cabin's floor shook under her feet and the ceiling above her head exploded in a loud blast that echoed throughout the snow-covered estate.

xxxxx

Jean's first instinct had been to hold the cabin together in order to protect her daughter from the explosion. A quick telepathic scan informed her that Rachel was unharmed, despite her frantic cries. Her second instinct had been to search for Nate's mind - the toddler was scared but unscathed as well. Her third and last instinct had been much simpler - to put her jeans back on and run to the living room.

She headed straight to stroller, picking her baby up in her arms and holding her tight. "Mommy's here, sweetie," she whispered in her daughter's ear at the same time that she sent soothing thoughts into her mind. "I'm sorry that I almost hurt you, baby… I'm so sorry," she slowly rocked Rachel until the girl had stopped crying.

It was only when Angel came running through the front door that the redhead detected the nauseating smell of blood. "Are you all right?" Warren asked, panting.

"Yes," she looked around, suddenly noticing the broken furniture and bloodied walls. A familiar grunt was mumbled from somewhere behind the couch. "Logan!"

She ran to his side and crouched beside him, using two fingers to check the pulse on his neck while holding Rachel in her left arm. "Thank God, his pulse's strong. Warr, help me carry him to the couch," Jean asked.

Angel began to walk but abruptly came to a halt. "Oh God… There's… there's a head in my living room," he stuttered, turning his head the other way. Then he saw the rest of Selene's body and put his fist against his mouth. "Jesus!" He ran to the kitchen sink and threw up.

"Stop… bein' a pussy… flyboy," Logan's voice sounded even hoarser as he slowly opened his eyes. Jean was staring back at him. "Hey darlin'."

"Hey you," she replied with a faint smile and placed her hand against his chest when he tried to sit up. "Take it easy, Logan. You were looking dead half a minute ago."

"I should be," he said as he leaned on his left elbow. His eyes moved from Jean's face to lay on his baby daughter. "Rach saved my ass."

"Did she?" The redhead cocked an eyebrow. "It seems to me that you saved hers," she gesticulated in mild disgust to the decapitated head on the floor.

"Nah," he dismissed, "I just did my job. Ya all right?"

"I'm fine," she responded, noticing that her baby's blue eyes were staring back at the man. "You two have the same eye color," Jean commented.

"Really? I hope she takes after ya in every other feature," Wolverine said as he finally sat up, and the woman recognized the flirting tone of his voice. "Give her t'me," his head motioned towards the baby.

Jean carefully placed Rachel in her father's strong arms. "Hey pumpkin… I know ya're not used t'me, but I'm your thickheaded dad," he spoke in a quiet tone, caressing her cheek with his rough index finger. Jean's heart skipped a beat at the scene, and her eyes filled with tears.

A sudden noise was heard outside. "Jeannie, the Blackbird's here," Angel announced from the doorway, his voice solemn. The redhead stood up to join her friend in the front porch. Unconsciously, her mind tried to reach another inside the jet. It failed.

Green eyes widened. "Oh my God. Scott!"