My Enemy My Ally My Friend My Foe

Hellfire Club

"Now this should be most entertaining my dear En Sabah Nur. It looks as though the X-Men and the Brotherhood are going to do our dirty work for us. If we're fortunate they'll both decimate each other in the process and all that will be left will be to mop up the leftovers. I just so love needless bloodshed don't you Apocalypse?"

Selene's long polished nails caressed his cheek. A frown marred her face for a moment as he failed to respond. Then she sneered remembering how weak he really was. Besides Apocalypse had never really been one for the sybaritic pleasures that she could provide him. Still she could always seek satisfaction elsewhere from any number of willing individuals. That was the only problem with impending violence; it always got her libido racing. Selene sighed and adjusted her delicate black lace gown. A gesture and her spell took effect. Dense crimson fog swirled and then an image gradually coalesced within.

"There now we can watch our entertainment in comfort Apocalypse darling. Just you and me together, it's almost romantic isn't it?" purred Selene.

"I am interested in this fight only in that it serves to winnow out the weak Selene. The strong shall survive and may serve my future purposes. Both of our enemies will be weakened and then only X-Man and Puma shall remain as potential threats. For these reasons and these reasons alone I am willing to put up with your inchoate perversions," rumbled Apocalypse.

"Inchoate perversions you say? You don't understand the power which one may wield through what you call 'inchoate perversions'. You've always been unsubtle. You think that might make right and that a big stick is all you need to crush the enemy. Perhaps if I'd been born a man I'd be the same way but I follow a different path to the power I crave. For so many centuries I had to be content to be the power behind the throne just because I was a woman. Still I've always got what I want one way or another. Every man has his weakness, even you Apocalypse."

As Selene's nails slipped inside his shirt and began caressing his chest Apocalypse tried desperately not to react. Still she was right, even he couldn't resist her temptations entirely. Despite himself and to his utter shame he was beginning to feel aroused. Mustering his immense will he managed to regain control of himself. It would probably be wise to change the subject before the relationship with his ally went to a new and wholly undesirable level.

"What of our traitorous assassin Puma? How are we to deal with him?"

"Believe me Apocalypse I have that situation well in hand. Now shush because the fun is about to begin. An angel and a demon are about to clash which always makes for plenty of entertainment."

Just outside McCoy's apartment

An angel was flying, a veritable Angel of Death searching for the man who'd once cost him his wings. Warren was out for Remy's blood and he intended no mercy for him. He was looking forward to seeing those devil's eyes filled with terror as he swooped down out of the sky. Perhaps he was not so much an angel as an eagle waiting for the rabbit. He was but the first; his allies Bobby, Hank, Ororo, Scott, Kurt, Kitty, Samuel, Piotr and Jean were awaiting his signal. They had Rogue to thank or they would never have found this place and now the advantage of surprise was theirs. It was time to strike first, strike fast and above all strike hard.

"Ah so there you are Remy. This will be almost too easy," hissed Warren.

For once it seemed the master thief was completely unaware of his present danger. He was just standing out there in the open smoking his cigarette. He was helpless, a sitting duck and too much of an opportunity for Warren to resist. A cold smile played across Warren's face as he realized Gambit was at his mercy. Of course he had none for that traitor. He would show Remy the same mercy that his friends the Marauders had shown to him. He wished now he still had his razor wings so he could have sliced straight through Remy's flesh. Taking an arm would be a fair price to the man who had ultimately cost him his wings. Even without the razor wings he could still win this fight straight away.

Spreading his wings Warren ascended, gathering height for his impending swoop. With sufficient momentum and speed he could inflict a lot of damage when he landed on his target. Remy would be lucky to get away with broken bones. He wouldn't kill him of course; leaving him crippled would be punishment enough. For a second Warren considered calling out to his enemy but decided against it. Better to strike without warning since he had the advantage of total surprise.

Warren swooped down gathering speed and knowing Remy still had no warning, no time to dodge. Then to Warren's considerable dismay that was precisely what happened. The Cajun looked up, flashed him a grin and leapt to the side. Warren realized to his dismay that it was too late to abort the dive. He could do nothing but prepare for a rough landing.

"Bonjour mon ami, Remy sorry dat he spoil your fun. As an apology, have de cigar,"

A hum was followed by a glowing charged projectile which struck home right on its target. Warren screamed in agony as the stench of charred feathers and flesh assailed his nostrils. White hot pain told him that a bone had been fractured. Then he met the ground in a stunning impact. Two more searing stabs of pain told him that ribs were fractured. Adrenaline surged and he managed to stagger to his feet and buffet Remy with his remaining wing. The impact sent Remy flying and now it was the Cajun's turn to lie stunned.

"For that cheap trick traitor you will bleed," snarled Warren lashing out at his foe with fists and feet.

"Merde must be de angel of death non," muttered Remy.

Warren's assault was savage but uncoordinated. In his blind fury he was lashing out wildly and paying no attention to his own defense. Coolly Remy managed to dodge Warren's assault and gradually back away from his maddened foe until his hand closed around his Bo staff. Now he just needed to time this right. As a stray punch caught him on the jaw Remy groaned theatrically and pretended to stagger. With a hiss of triumph Warren wound up for one final knock out punch and caught a Bo staff straight to his temple. He was unconscious even before he hit the ground.

"Bang you dead mon ami," whispered Remy placing his boot lightly on his fallen enemy's chest.

Rubbing his bruised jaw he wondered whether his erstwhile allies were in any need of assistance. The X-Men might not have the advantage of surprise they had hoped for but it was still going to be a long and bloody fight. He couldn't pretend that all the fights would be as easy as his had been.

Nearby

"Ah Hank it really must be galling that Trish couldn't even tell the difference. No I tell a lie because in fact she could. I'm much better in bed than you are. No that's another lie sorry; we did it right on her desk,"

Dark Beast favored his alter ego with his best toothy grin. It was so pleasurable to rub salt into Hank's wounds and see that veneer of civility fall away. His words were like the sting of a whip to Hank and he always had managed to get under Hank's skin. In fact the blue-furred man was snarling and those blue eyes bore a hint of feral rage. Why Hank probably hadn't been this angry since McCoy had slaughtered most of his family and friends.

Hank was still not happy about this fight. He'd continued to try and reason even as they began to take their positions. Bobby and Ororo were equally unhappy but knew they had little choice but to go along with Scott's orders. Perhaps this battle had been inevitable and couldn't have been avoided no matter what they might have wished for. Still Hank knew that he couldn't fight Logan, Sarah or even Remy. He couldn't see them as the enemy no matter whether they were traitors. Dark Beast on the other hand would be an enemy he'd only be to happy to give the drubbing they deserved. Growling deep in his throat Hank dealt a crushing blow to McCoy's nose which promptly wiped the grin off his face.

"That was for Trish. The rest will be because I despise you so much. My apologies for the extremely gratuitous violence I will shortly perpetrate," snarled Hank.

"Don't hold back on my account will you," muttered Dark Beast as he finished spitting blood.

"Alex we used to be friends, hell we've even loved the same woman. Would Lorna want us to be fighting like this Alex? It doesn't have to be this way you know."

Bobby really wished he was somewhere else preferably curled up watching some trashy movie on MTV. It would have been easier if he was the one fighting Dark Beast or one of his allies like Fatale. He certainly didn't want to fight someone who'd once been an ally, a fellow team member. This was Alex Summers, Scott's little brother who'd been an X-Man almost as long as he had. It was true that Alex always seemed to end up having his mind taken over and becoming one of the enemies. Bobby wished this was the case now but the sad truth was that Alex was as he said his real self for the first time. Bobby wanted to believe that Alex was a good man, a hero and not a terrorist. Surely he didn't want this fight any more than he did.

"Sorry Popsicle but this is the way it is so deal. Now I'm afraid this is going to hurt a lot," there was something close to regret in Alex's voice.

White hot plasma struck the icy form and in a hiss of steam Iceman literally exploded apart. The look of disbelief and betrayal on Bobby's face would remain with Havok for a long time. He'd never intended for his plasma burst to have had such a devastating effect. He'd wanted to knock out Bobby not kill him. The mention of Lorna had riled him, anger causing him to lose control and not to hold back. He blinked back tears and gazed at the shattered ice chunks, water and steam which marked Bobby's last stand. He really couldn't see a way that Iceman could have survived that.

"For what it's worth I never intended this. Bobby, I'm sorry," whispered Alex.

A wave of ice smashed into him and he was promptly pummeled into unconsciousness.

"For what it's worth I'm sorry too Alex. Pity I didn't tell you that I've learnt more about my powers now. In this form I'm practically indestructible, I can literally pull myself back together. So there's no need to feel guilty Alex."

Bobby de-iced and wished he could feel elated. Instead he simply felt dirty, he'd won but he felt he'd lost more than he'd gained. He just hoped that one day Alex would come back to the light. For now he'd feel nothing but sadness and guilt.

"Unfortunately in merely human form you aren't nearly so durable Robert Drake. Catch," called McCoy.

Bobby turned to see an incoming furry blue projectile. Shocked and uncertain he had no chance to react before three hundred and fifty pounds of blue furry gorilla slammed into him. The impact was more than sufficient to render them both unconscious.

"So last man standing. That's the trouble with Hank, unlike me he always makes the mistake of holding back. Still he and Bobby will live to learn from their mistakes. As for you Alex, sleep this off. I however have a little appointment with Scotty Boy,"

He was bruised, bleeding and battered but he really didn't care. The thing was Dark Beast was just having so much fun and what did a little blood matter between friends?

Logan's room

"I just want to know why Wolvie. Please can you explain to Kurt and me exactly why you've joined forces with a man like McCoy? It's just that I must be stupid since I can't think of any possible reason the Wolverine I knew would do a thing like that?" Kitty had to break off at that point; she was just choked with emotion to continue.

"Ja mein freund, I thought that I knew you, honor I thought vas everything to you. Logan you will always be my friend but I'm hurt to think you could change sides. Has this Dark Beast done something to your mind? Unglaublich, I won't believe, I cannot believe that you would turn," there was more sadness than anger in Kurt's voice.

Logan had known this moment had come and he had felt a rare emotion for him. He'd been afraid, dreading seeing the sadness, the disbelief and the hurt on the faces of his friends. He could have coped with anger, even with hatred but not with despair and confusion. He couldn't fight them; he couldn't bear the thought of hurting two who meant so much to him.

"Kitty, Kurt I'm telling ya straight but I ain't going ta expect ya ta understand. I'm here only fer Remy's sake because I feel that we let him down. I don't think I can be a part of the X-Men anymore not after our hypocrisy. It wasn't right ta leave Remy ta die in Antarctica. We should have been able ta forgive him,"

"Logan he was the one who lead the Marauders in the Morlock Massacre. You were there Logan, remember all that death. We were both nearly killed and how can you expect us to forgive Remy for that? Maybe I could have forgiven him but he kept it hidden from us. Maybe I could forgive him now if he'd come back to us instead of choosing another side."

"Ja listen to Kitty mein freund. Come back to us Logan,"

Logan sighed heavily and for once couldn't look his friends in the eyes.

"Maybe yer right Kitty and he shouldn't have hidden his past from us. Still he ain't the only one ta hide things, we still don't know Rogue's real name fer one. Besides how many of us have done things we ain't proud of? Fer example I killed many more people than Remy ever did. He also truly regrets what he's done. Can ya say that ya never did anything that yer ashamed of?"

Logan looked up, a single tear trickling from the corner of his eye onto his cheek.

"I'm sorry but I can't come back with ya. I have ta see this through. So ya see the question is what are we going ta do?"

Neither Kurt nor Kitty had an answer.

Back outside

"Child we forgave you your crimes though they were heinous indeed. By the bright lady, we took you in Marrow and I even let myself begin to love you. How could you throw away your chance for redemption? Sarah I thought you wanted to become one of us,"

Ororo was trying not to be angry but it was becoming very hard. The sky was beginning to darken overhead and the first faint rumblings of distant thunder could be heard. Marrow was simply standing, sneering at her and Ororo felt her temper beginning to fray.

"Whoever said I wanted to join your stupid X-Men bitch. Besides you only take in the pretty ones, the First One was right about you. You never cared for the Morlocks; he's a far better leader than you ever were. So I'm not coming back like a good little girl. Are you going to rip my heart out again for that?"

"By the goddess, that was the worst thing I ever did! How dare you remind me child," Ororo's voice rose.

Marrow sneered and pulled free a bone dagger tossing it towards Ororo's heart. The wind batted the bone blade aside and then the wind became a gale pushing her back. Sarah gritted her teeth and pulled free another bone.

"What in tarnation? Keep still will yah," yelped Sam.

Unable to swerve aside in time his flight took him straight into Colossus. Thanks to his blasting field and Colossus's organic steel neither were hurt but both were knocked off-balance. Fatale laughed and teleported again and again, dancing at range tauntingly just out of reach.

"Oh I just enjoy flirting with you so much cutie," she purred blowing Sam a kiss.

"That's a girl. Keep him distracted. Ooh baby, that's got to hurt," winced Random in mock sympathy as Sam went down howling in pain, a splash of crimson on his thigh marking the impact of the organic body.

"Nyet tovarisch, his pain will not be nearly so great as yours. Dosvedanya Random,"

It would take all of Random's malleability to get his body back to it's normal state from the impact of Piotr's fist. Almost gelatinous his unconscious form slumped to the ground at Colossus's feet. Shaking his head he looked round for a sign of Fatale but she'd already teleported away. Paying her no further heed he instead set to tending Sam's wound.

A few minute's later

"This battle isn't going well Jean. We've put Havok and Random down for the count and Marrow's on the ropes. Logan and Fatale seem to be staying out of the fight now but the two deadliest members are still at large. We've paid a high price too, Warren, Hank, Bobby and Sam. I need you to end this now Jean before anyone else gets hurt," Scott's voice was tight.

Don't worry dear husband I will do my best. I'm reaching into Remy's-

Jean gritted her teeth as she felt stabbing pain from Remy's mental blocks. It was hard trying to fight past them and for a few seconds her guard was down. Long enough for Martinique Jason to slip psychic tendrils into her mind and plant an illusion. Jean shrieked in dismay as she saw Scott fall impaled through the heart by Logan's claws. The image of the two men she loved most of all killing each other was almost too much to bear.

That's just for starters Phoenix. Plenty more where that came from.

Mastermind's telepathic sneer echoed in Jean's mind as a psychic duel began.

"Jean," howled Scott as he heard his wife's scream.

He turned away at the crucial moment and McCoy took full advantage of this distraction. He was charging forwards at top speed and was halfway towards Scott before the man could react. Dark Beast grunted in pain as an optic blast grazed his ribs. Then he was upon Scott and in close combat the outcome looked bleak for his opponent.

Those still standing paused and watched as the deciding fight of the battle commenced.

Hellfire Club

"So far so good and it will only get better from here on out. Whatever the outcome there will only be one real victor and that will be us," purred Selene.

"As always you are correct,"

The chilling laughter of the two Externals filled the room.