This is my first ever serious fic. I had a dream about this last night-sad, huh? Anyways, there are a lot of subplots involved, and several necessary new characters (however they are not prominent, at least not in this chapter). I don't know how I'm going to write this, to tell you the truth, due to the many in-depth sub-plots, and weird story. This stays not anywhere near what really happens in the books, but who cares? If I don't get many reviews, I may or may not continue-I seriously have no idea how it is. Please review.

Title: Felix Zeyf PO2-4194
Author: Blimey The Toad
Date: July 18, 2001
Archive: Just ask.
Disclaimer: Geez, naw, I don't own 'em none.

April 14, 1997:

"Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Scott Summers speaking."

"I... I have some news for... for the X-Men concerning.... a mutual enemy of ours." Scott was a bit apprehensive, as the voice sounded like some kind of prank call... but who would be prank calling who knew the location of the X-Men's location?

"I'm listening."

"I believe you've heard of... Essex. Also known by the alias of Sinister to his... special projects."

"Yes. We know a good deal about Sinister. Do you know his current whereabouts? Is there a specific reason you're calling? Is he planning something?"

"Ah, one question at a time. Yes, I... I know his current location. I am merely calling to inform you of... his next course of action. If you value your teams safety, I would destroy his current lab before he can finish his next project. Otherwise your wife, your friends, your team, and your world will be destroyed. You know he is capable of accomplishing this. Bring him down before... he does the same to you."

"Where is he hiding?"

"The old Wheaton, Missouri hospital. It is in the sub-basement, very good security. But I believe your teammate Gambit could get you through it with ease..."

"How do you know Gambit?"

"The same way I know your wife, Jean. Your... friend... Logan. The same way I know you."

"Who are you? How did you get this information?"

* click *


Jean walked into the room shortly thereafter, where Scott still held the reciever up to his ear. His face instantly gave away his fearful mood, and Jean became worried.

"Scott, what's wrong?"

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

"Good work, Mystique," congratulated Sinister to the blue woman who was currently melting from the form of the man she had taken back to her natural body.

"Remember, Essex, I am only helping you for now. When I have earned what you promised me, it is over." Sinister only gave a creepy grin, which would have brought most people to tears. However, Mystique had worked for more dangerous men than Sinister, she thought, and wasn't afraid. She merely added, with a snarl, "Touch Rogue and I will cut off your dick. That is, before I kill you altogether. You understand?"

Sinister merely kept his face contorted into the grin he was apparently unaccustomed to having, and stayed that way until Mystique left the room.

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

"X-Men, report to the War Room immediately." Came Scott's voice over the comm-badge. Storm and Logan had been swimming, while Rogue and Gambit had been taking a walk around the mansion grounds. Bobby, Warren, Betsy, and Bishop were inside of the mansion, eating chips and playing poker. Beast, of course, was in his lab, working on the new computer system for the mansion. They were currently on a week-long break-however, Scott didn't feel like the potential end of the Earth was a threat that could wait a week.

Bishop was there almost immediately; 10 minutes later, Bobby, Warren and Betsy arrived, in full uniform. 10 minutes after that, Logan, Storm, Rogue and Gambit arrived. They could tell by Scott's face that this wasn't some silly busy work he was going to have them do-if it was, he wouldn't have called the whole team in, anyways. As soon as Beast arrived, Scott began pacing. He seemed nervous. He had an unpleasant past associated with Sinister, and therefore that particular man caused him more anger and fear than any other. Jean had been with Scott when he had ordered the X-Men to assemble, so she was already there. She could sense his uneasiness, and was a tad perturbed that he'd refused to speak about it earlier when she'd asked him, but she respected his privacy enough not to probe him for the source of it. Eventually, though, he began.

"This has to do with Sinister." He immediately noticed several people shifting in their seats-he was not the only one with a fear of Sinister, it appeared. He briefed them on the situation that had been presented to him-he hadn't been given many details, so he couldn't give them many either.

"Alright," he began, "the team sent will consist of myself, Gambit, Rogue, Iceman, Psylocke and Bishop. Anyone else who wants to go as backup are encouraged, but not required. Any volunteers?" Wolverine and Storm stood up, offering their services. Scott noticed Beast began to stand, but before he could, he said, "Alright, I want the rest of you to stay here, guard the mansion, and be prepared to get help from one of our allies to rescue us, should the need arise. Any questions?" No one said anything. "Alright, the team leaving should be prepared to leave at 0600 hours tomorrow. Understood?" After nods from everyone, he dismissed them.

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

The hospital looked about how they had assumed it would: the outside was dirty, and trash littered the grounds outside. Getting inside was easy enough-the original locks were still in place from when the building still served as a hospital, and were easily smashed. They stepped inside to an area that was most likely a lobby or waiting room when the hospital was running-now, however, the tile floor was torn up in places, and the once white walls were discoloured. This certainly didn't look like an area that Sinister would be hiding out in. He generally kept things clean and sterilized, as his experiments required such conditions. They were all beginning to doubt that he was even actually here, but they had recieved the call; they couldn't yet leave without going a little further. As a group, they ventured further down the hall, checking every room they came to but finding nothing.

Scott eventually turned towards the group. "Alright. It appears that Sinister may not be here, but if he is I want him found. There are a total of 4 floors here; we've all explored the first floor, so that leaves three more. I would like us all to split up into three groups and try to find him. If there are any objections, we won't. If not, we'll continue with that course of action." No one spoke, so Scott continued. "If one of the groups DO find Sinister, do not attempt to fight him alone-contact the rest of us with your location immediately. Clear?" Everyone nodded, so he continued. "It will be myself, Psylocke, and Bishop on the second floor. I want Wolverine with Storm and Iceman to check out the top floor. Rogue, you and Gambit check the sub-levels, alright?" They all nodded once more, and then went their separate ways.

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

Storm and Wolverine kept silent as they made their way up the stairs, but Bobby immediately started in. "Ya know, I doubt he's even here. I mean, seriously! We probably scared him off or something, ya know? I bet he's like one of those snakes on those neture shows-'They're more afraid of you than you are of them', or something. What do you think?"

"I think you should shut up, personally." Stated Logan. He wasn't in the best of moods, and Bobby wasn't really his favorite person in the world. If Sinister *was* somewhere near, he'd proabaly been alerted to their presence already.

"Geez, man. I was just trying to make conversation. I mean, seriously! Why do you have to go and be like that? No wonder Storm ignores you when you flirt with her. Who'd want to date such a grouch!" Bobby, like everyone else had noticed Logan spending an increasing amount of time with Storm. He knew that'd piss him off, and of course, it did. Storm just blushed slightly and kept walking.

"Look, kid. You wanna keep flappin' yer jaws, alertin' Sinister to us, go ahead. If not, shut up. Spread yer damn Jerry Springer gossip sometime when we're *not* on a mission. Got it?" Bobby was a bit taken aback, a little suprised, but didn't say anything else.

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

Scott, Psylocke, and Bishop walked the halls silently. Bishop's heavy footsteps were the only thing that could be heard. As usual, he kept his large gun pointed ahead, and his other hand ready to grab another weapon if needed. Psylocke couldn't sense another presence in the building besides that of the X-Men-however, knowing Sinister, if he was here, he was untrackable anyways, and any of his allies would have some sort of protection against psychic detection, so she wasn't too suprised. Scott had basically lost hope that Sinister was here. He actually pretty much *hoped* he wasn't; Sinister was dangerous, and Scott knew this better than most people. He tried to supress a shudder, but failed.

"Cyclops, what's wrong?" Asked Psylocke.

"Nothing, I just-" They had just entered a large room, the same discoloured walls of the rest of the building, same flickering flourescent lights-however, standing right before them was Sinister, flanked on either side by Mystique, and a hispanic-looking man, of average height and build, but with completely black eyes and an aura of light surrounding him. Scott immediately clicked his comm-badge and called to the rest of his team, "We found Snister! Come to the end of the hall on the second floor!" Bishop had already began firing at him, and Psylocke had materialized her psychic blade. Scott took aim and fired upon Sinister. They were behind some sort of invisible barrier, however, and weren't damaged at all. Sinister's grin grew wider, and he merely watched on in amusement, waiting for the call from Sabretooth.

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

Rogue and Gambit walked alone down the dimly lit hallway of the basement. They seemed more caught up in chatting than hunting down the insane geneticist.

"Ah don't think he' even here, t' tell ya the truth. Ah think it was some sorta prank. This certainly don't look like nowhere Sinister'd be stayin', now does it?"

"Non, not really." Gambit agreed. "It don't look like no one been here f'r a long time. Gambit t'ink he have t'agree wit' you on dis one." They continued walking, nothing much being said for a while.

"So, d'ya think Scott'll give us a couple'a extra days vacation, seein' as how we had t' spend some of it down here, 'stead of really gettin' the time off?"

"I guess it does make sense. If he does, I was t'inkin', maybe I'd go somewhere. Maybe down t' Florida or somet'ing. Maybe you want t'join me?"

Rogue smiled at him, and answered, "Well, Ah don't think I got any other plans..." Gambit began to say something else when they rounded a corner and ran right into Sabretooth and another mutant they'd never seen before. Gambit should have sensed them, but was distracted. Before either him or Rogue had reacted, Sabretooth had taken out a small item, which resembled a taser in size and shape, and touched Rogue with it. It apparently was specifically designed for Rogue, as she immediately fell unconscious, despite her invulnerability. At the same time, the other mutant, which would later be identifed as Blur, an associate of Sinister's with the abilities of super-speed and super-strength, clubbed Gambit in the head, knocking him out, too. Sabretooth picked up Rogue's comm-badge as Scott's voice came over it, and crushed it with an evil grin.

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

Wolverine, Storm, and Iceman ran to where Scott told them too, and found Scott, Psylocke, and Bishop standing alone in an empty room, all three looking confused. Wolverine sniffed the air, and stated that he could smell Sinister, Mystique, and another unrecognizable scent. When Storm questioned Cyclops about it, he said that he and the others kept trying, unsuccessfully, to blast Sinister and the other two, but they were protected by what appeared to be a psi-shield, which they assumed was the work of the unknown mutant. Suddenly, Sinister left, without a word spoken, nor action preformed. Scott shook his head and had a defeated look on his face.

"I didn't know he was here. I could have sworn on it... I just had this feeling..." He looked up and scanned the room. "Where's Rogue and Gambit?"

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

Scott called to Rogue and Gambit, telling them to respond immediately, but recieved no answer. The six X-Men ran down to the basement, where Gambit and Rogue were supposed to have been. They ran from room to room, searching everywhere for them, and finally found them in the room at the far end of the hall. The room was of polished metal and contained nothing but wo cots, upon which lay Gambit and Rogue. They were found unconscious and naked. Gambit looked as though he had been recently aroused, and Rogue's vaginal area was bloody. They had determined that nothing sexual in nature had occurred between the two of them, as Rogue's powers were still fully functional, and her hymen was still intact. After a quick examination done by Beast, he determined that Rogue was currently menstruating. He was pretty sure he knew what Sinister was up to, and it made him sick to think he may be successful in doing it.