Chapter Five - HOUND

'There!' Logan shouted and an instant later Rogue spotted her as well. She plummeted from the sky, dropping Logan just before she landed next to the girl.

Rachel seemed not to have noticed them, though everyone else on the street had. Some were pointing and waving. Others were backing away in fear. Rogue and Logan ignored them.

Rachel had one hand on a wall, supporting herself. The other clutched her head as if she were in pain. Her eyes were closed, her breathing ragged.

'Ray, what's wrong, honey?' Rogue attempted to put an arm around the girl, but she shrugged it off. She started to run down the street, but it was more of a stumble and she was soon forced to stop to clear her head.

'Kid, we just want to help you.' Logan put a hand on Rachel's shoulder and forced her to turn and face him. He took an involuntary step backwards.

Rachel's features were contorted into a snarl. Deep black scars radiated outwards from her face.

'Get away!' she screamed, her voice cracked and broken.

'Look,' Logan suggested, 'why don't we all just go back to the house and we can talk about this.'

'No time,' Rachel replied, forcing the words out through gritted teeth. 'Gotta find her.' Once again she stumbled away and once again she collapsed into the wall.

'Gal, you're in no condition to find anyone,' Rogue admonished. 'No why don't you just calm down and we can talk about this. Whadya say, huh?'

Rogue reached forward and pinned Rachel's arms to her sides. Then she shot skywards.

'Get off me!' Rachel screamed. She closed her eyes and focussed a psychic blast on Rogue. To Rogue, it felt as if her head had just been split open. She released Rachel and fell to the sidewalk next to Logan. 'Don't you people understand? Kitty's in danger!'

Rogue and Logan were forced to shield their eyes. Rachel had summoned forth a phoenix shaped aura to support her aloft. Her clothing had changed to match her features. Her street clothes had been replaced by head-to-toe skin-tight leather. Blood red leather, trimmed with spikes.

'That's what she wore when she ran with the Hounds,' Logan muttered. 'This deal just gets better an' better.' He watched Rachel disappear into the heavens and then prodded Rogue with his boot. 'Well, what are you sittin' around for, darlin'. We've gotta get after her.

* * *

Peter had returned and, having been briefed on developments had hurried to get into costume like the others. Now he stood on the back lawn wearing a sleeveless red tunic, black pants and knee high red boots. He had also shifted to his metallic form. He glistened in the late afternoon sun. Magneto joined him, clad in clothes of deep purple, the colour of a bruise. Though the outfit was not as tight as that worn by Colossus, it still showed that, despite his age, Magnus kept himself in peak physical condition. He also wore a flowing red cape – no one could pull off a cape quite like Magneto – but had forsaken his trademark helmet since joining the X-Men. The helmet had been designed to inspire fear; it did not fit his new status as a superhero.

Kurt was crouched in the branches of a tree, nearly invisible in its shadows. He wore a black bodysuit with white gloves and boots. Over this, he wore a 'V' of red, running from shoulder to groin to shoulder. This 'V' flared at the ends to form wide shoulder-pads. Storm's costume was the least outlandish, but it was hardly inconspicuous. She wore tight leather pants and a short silvery top that left her arms bare. Over this she wore a leather vest, with leather gloves completing the ensemble. Today, she also had a long hunting knife, a souvenir from her victory over the leader of the Morlocks, belted at her hip, just in case.

'Well,' announced Magneto, 'are the three of you ready to depart.'

'To face danger and insurmountable odds?' Kurt cried as he leaped from his perch. 'To defend the free world and rescue beautiful maidens? Undoubtedly.'

Magneto raised an eyebrow. Where Nightcrawler was flamboyant, Magnus was minimalist, but no less expressive for it. 'I take it that is a yes, then?' he said.

'Hey, wait up,' a voice cried from up above. Jessica launched herself from an open window, the webbing beneath her arms catching the air and allowing her to glide to the ground. She was wearing her Spider-Woman costume, a tight red body-stocking, complete with yellow boots and gloves, a stylised yellow spider device displayed across her chest and abdomen and a cowl-mask that hid her eyes behind patches of white and allowed her raven hair to flow free. Kurt could not help wolf whistling and Jessica blushed. It had been a while since she had got that kind of response, but then it had been a while since she had worn the costume.

'Are you sure about this, Jessica?' Storm asked. 'I thought you had decided to retire.'

'Do you really expect me to sit around while my city's in danger?' Jessica responded. 'Do you?'

'Miss Drew,' Magneto began, 'I feel I must warn you of the dangers involved in accompanying us. We have already seen a sample of our enemies' power and there is nothing to suggest that they do not have even more at their disposal. It would be remiss of me not to advise you in the strongest possible terms to stay behind.'

Jessica strode across the lawn and looked Magneto directly in his steel-grey eyes. 'Listen, buster,' she said, 'I've been in the superhero business a hell of a lot longer than you have and part of being a hero is putting others before yourself. Of course it's dangerous and I don't need you to remind me of that. I'm just doing what needs to be done, which I believe is the same reason you aren't staying behind. Besides, with half the team missing, you need all the help you can get.'

Magneto bowed his head in acknowledgement. 'I apologise,' he said, 'it was not my intention to impugn your courage. I was raised with certainold-fashioned values and I fear they may cloud my judgement at times. I am trying to change, but you know what they say about old dogs.'

Magneto spread his arms wide and his cape billowed as if in a wind that was not there. Then he focused his power on each one of his comrades, making sure he had a firm grip, and then lifted the group aloft.

'One thing, though,' Magneto said to Jessica, 'in the field would you address me as "Magneto". I find that "Buster" does not have the same effect on our opponents.'

Jessica paused to let this sink in and then turned to Nightcrawler, who was levitating next to her. 'Kurt,' she whispered, 'am I imagining things or did Magneto just crack a joke?'

'Fraulein, this is Magneto we are talking about,' Kurt whispered back. 'Of course you imagined it.'

* * *

Kitty kept her back against the wall. Her eyes never left her opponents. It would be easy enough just to phase, to fall backwards through the bricks and concrete where they could not possibly follow. But if she did then who would protect their original victim, his green, puckered flesh concealed beneath his rags. Besides, running away did not solve anything; she had already discovered that for herself. Some problems had to be confronted head on.

She tipped her weight forward, balancing on the balls of her feet and waited for them to make the first move. She did not have long to wait. A blond rake of a man stepped forward, reaching out to grab her. She kicked him in the shin and, when he stumbled, chopped down on the back of his neck with both hands, forcing him to the floor. She had dropped on assailant; unfortunately, this only encouraged the others to be more violent. A short guy lunged at her, swinging his fists. She phased and he ran straight through her and into the wall, knocking himself out cold.

She stepped away from him and solidified. Not so long ago she had swapped bodies with a possible future incarnation of herself. That Kate had had the ability to solidify certain parts of her body while the rest remained phased. Kitty had yet to learn that trick, with her it was all or nothing. So, while the enemy could not touch her when intangible, she could not fight back either. She strained to recall the martial arts lessons Wolverine and Storm had been giving her. She widened her stance to improve her balance and hoped that they would continue to attack one at a time.

The gang was not stupid, however. They had underestimated her before based on her looks, but having seen how easily she had dispatched two of their number they were not about to take any more chances. Three rushed her at once. Kitty darted forward, smashing the nose of the middle thug against the heel of her right hand. He cried out and spurted blood. Grabbing hold of him for support, Kitty swung herself upwards and brought both feet into the stomach of the next. He doubled over, but Kitty did not have time to finish him. The third attacker had disappeared from he vision.

There was a clanging behind her. The third man had fallen to the ground. There was a knife in his hand. Standing over him was the rag-clad mutant, holding the lid of a trash can. Kitty smiled her gratitude and he returned the gesture. The gang was incensed and fell upon the mutant, an easier target than the girl. He disappeared beneath a pile of bodies.

Kitty saw red and dragged one of the men off of the pile and shoved him against the wall.

'Call off the others,' she ordered.

'Or what?' the man demanded.

Kitty phased both herself and the gang-member and shoved him back a few inches so he was now half-in, half-out of the wall. 'Or I let go,' she replied.

* * *

It is a good thing people in cities do not tend to look up much. Heaven alone knows what they would have made of the five figures rocketing over their heads towards the bay. No one spoke. There was no need; the X-Men had honed their teamwork through many hours' practice in the Danger Room. Each knew their place without having to ask. Spider-Woman was something of a wild card, but even she had spent enough time with the X-Men to know their strengths and weaknesses and she put her faith in her unnatural agility to keep her out of their way. She watched the people down below, exhilarated by the thrill of flight. Her costume allowed her to glide to some degree, but never at such heights or with such speed. She supposed she should be grateful to have any super powers at all, but she had always envied those who could fly.

A toddler with a balloon looked up and pointed at her. Spider-Woman smiled back, though at this distance the little girl wouldn't be able to see. In her surprise, she had let go of her balloon and it was sailing heavenwards. The girl, meanwhile, was tugging on her mother's skirts to get her to see what she had seen. By the time the mother glanced up, the heroes would be long gone.

The buildings slid away beneath her, replaced by the glittering watery expanse that is Golden Gate. The bridge that she had driven across so many times in the past seemed almost magical from up here.

'There it is,' Magneto announced.

At first Spider-Woman, unable to separate from her train of thought, believed he was taking about the bridge, but then she saw it, just appearing on the horizon. The island was dead ahead.

There was a buzzing at the base of her skull. Slowly it grew, becoming a dull throb and then a sensation like red-hot needles being driven through her brain. She knew what that meant.

'It's a trap,' she shouted to the others.

'How' Magneto began, but Jessica cut him off.

'Just trust me on this,' she said. 'They know we're coming.'

Magneto nodded and released his magnetic grip.

Spider-Woman felt the air catch in the wings beneath her arms and allowed herself to be lifted while she looked for a suitable place to land.

Nightcrawler disappeared in a cloud of pungent smoke.

Colossus simply plummeted straight down.

Unable to fly or survive a fall from this height, Storm was the most vulnerable so Magneto drew her closer to him as they both gracefully descended.

Jessica's spider-sense was still ringing like crazy, but she could not place the cause.

Nightcrawler hit the island first and then Jessica saw the problem. The elf appeared about a foot above the surface of the pebble-strewn beach, planning to fall into a fighting crouch. Instead, he fell straight through the island and into the bay. As Spider-Woman watch, the island shimmered and disappeared. Now she could see that it had been an illusion, as the real island appeared about five hundred metres to the right of the first.

To Nightcrawler, this was not a problem. He simply disappeared again. Colossus, on the other hand, had no way to change course. He plunged deep beneath the bay and for long moments Jessica feared he would not surface. Then he bobbed back into sight. With a reassuring wave to his companions, he began to swim the distance to the other shore.

There were three figures on the beach, not counting Kurt who had just appeared. One was a large, dark-haired man dressed in a battered leather jacket and jeans. One was a woman, who wore a white, hooded robe that obscured her face. The final member of the trio was tall, blond and handsome, in a roguish kind of way. He was dressed in eighteenth century finery, like some hero out of a romantic novel. He had a sword at his waist, Jessica noted as she came in to land.

This final figure raised both hands and pointed at her with the thumbs. She was suddenly surrounded by a circle of fire, which leapt into the air until it was taller than she was. At first she thought it was another illusion, but closer inspection showed that if it was then it was a very realistic one. Bending her knees, she crouched and then sprang straight up, easily clearing the flames. Spreading her arms, she allowed the winds to carry her a safe distance from the fire before she circled back to deliver some firepower of her own. The venom blast kicked up the beach at the magician's feet, forcing him back.

'Oh, this is going to be fun,' he laughed. 'I like a woman who gives as good as she gets.'

* * *

Kitty held him up by his jacket. For a brief instant she though she could see feat in his eyes. But then it was gone.

'Well, go on then,' he taunted. 'Let go of me.'

Kitty did not.

'You can't do it, can you?' he mocked. 'You haven't got the guts to kill me.'

And the worst of it was, Kitty knew he was right. She was an X-Man. She fought to protect people. That meant she did not kill, right? Heroes should not kill, not even when confronted by arrogant slime who did not deserve to even breathe the same air she did. She hated him, hated him with a passion and a fury she could not describe. But she could not kill him. That was his way not hers. Slowly, she pulled him from the wall and dropped him on the ground.

He laughed at her, brandishing a flick-knife. 'Game over, mutie,' he sneered.

'No!'

The alley was bathed in an orange glow, the colour of flame. Floating unsupported above them was a huge flaming bird. A phoenix.

A lump formed in Kitty's throat as she took in Rachel's clothes as she hovered in the centre of the flames. She knew Rachel's history, knew that she had run with a pack of Hounds tracking mutants. She had called upon that same training to find Kitty, but how deep did the transformation go? Judging from the tears glistening on Rachel's cheeks, too deep.

'What is this?' the knife-wielder demanded. 'A mutie convention?'

Rachel smiled. 'No,' she replied, her voice soft, but clearly audible. 'It's your worst nightmare.'

She extended an arm. The spikes running along it sparkled in the firelight.

'You,' she said, singling out a target seemingly at random. 'Feel my pain.'

White flames outlined the victim's body, as he stretched unnaturally, as if being pulled upwards on puppet-strings. He opened his mouth in a silent scream. His eyes were wide and a tear trickled from one socket. He hung there, on tiptoe, supported by Rachel's will. Then she let him go. He collapsed to his knees and vomited on the street.

'Who wants to be next?' Rachel asked.

Nobody moved.

'Well, what are you waiting for?' the knife-wielder demanded of his fellows. 'There's only one of her. She can't take all of us.'

'Really?' Rachel said.

She spread her arms wide and tilted her head back. The Phoenix also raised its head, crying out in ecstasy. Then it spread its wings, which glowed brighter as they grew large enough to engulf the entire scene. There was a flash of blinding light.

When Kitty's vision cleared, she could see that she and the rag-clad mutant were the only people left on the ground. The gang was suspended in the wings of the Phoenix.

'Let me tell you something about me,' Rachel was saying. 'I grew up in world much like this one, a world in which mutants were hunted and persecuted. I was taken from my parents as a child. I was tortured and brainwashed and used. Used to hunt my own kind. And if I refused then they tortured me some more. Finally, they decided I had outlived my usefulness and they threw me into a concentration camp where I was subject to yet more abuse. There was a break out and the resistance was put down with extreme prejudice. I had to watch all of my friends, all the people I loved, being killed in front of me. So I know a few things about pain.

'Back then I didn't have the power to do anything about it. Now I do. My mother used to have this power. Do you know what she did with it? She destroyed a planet. An inhabited planet. Imagine that. Billions of lives, snuffed out. Men, women, children, rich and poor, all gone. All dead. All that potential, all that energy, destroyed because she willed it so. They say that power corrupted her, but I'm not so sure. I can't help wondering if it was people like you that made her what she was. If after years of being trodden on and oppressed she finally decided to lash out and inflict some punishment of her own.

'Well it's my power now and I'm sick of people like you dictating my life. It's time for some payback.'

'Ray, no!'

He came swooping in like death from above. Hurled from the arms of Rogue, Wolverine shot like a bullet at Rachel, arms outstretched, fists leading the way. He struck Rachel with a sickening crack and Kitty was forced to look away.

Rachel lay broken and unconscious on the floor. Wolverine rolled away from her and sprang up into a crouch. The gang was staggering to their feet, some nursing their heads, but others still appeared to be spoiling for a fight.

Wolverine unsheathed his claws, the adamantium wickedly sharp.

'Beat it,' he ordered. No one had the strength left to argue.

* * *

Kurt bounded across the beach in an elaborate feat of acrobatics. He may have been both X-Man and student priest, but it was his skills learned as a circus performer that were keeping him one step ahead of the opposition at the moment. When he had appeared on the beach, he had caught the attention of the woman in white. As the dashing rogue, Kurt Wagner had always had an eye for a pretty face. Unfortunately, his charms were wasted in this instance. His senses were alerted when he noticed the silver bell she was holding in one hand. As a boy, he had seen both Margali and Jimaine, as Amanda had then been known, use such objects in their rituals. He was already bounding away when she lifted the bell in his direction while uttering a few words in an alien tongue.

Then a black tentacle shot from the sand and narrowly missed catching Nightcrawler's foot. He had been dodging tentacles ever since. What he wouldn't give for a sabre, preferably two. Errol Flynn had never had to deal with situations such as these. He wished Amanda was here or even – and he shuddered at the thought – Margali. The woman may have raised him, but he had never trusted the dark arts she practised. Still, he was practical enough to realise that magic was their best hope of victory.

He had had enough. It was time to reduce the odds. He teleported over to the woman. It was a mistake. Before he could get his bearings she had placed a piece of chalk to his forehead and spoken three words. The mutant found himself firmly bound in two iron bands.

* * *

Magneto dropped Storm near the edge of the conflict and flew over to the other side of the beach where the large leather-jacketed man was waiting. He had yet to reveal his powers and Magneto detested unknowns.

'You had best surrender now,' Magneto suggested. 'I am not known as the most powerful mutant on the planet for nothing.'

The man shrugged and hefted a large piece of driftwood. 'Perhaps,' he said, 'but every man has a weakness. I just have to find it.'

Magneto folded his arms across his chest. 'Do you expect to best me with a piece of wood?'

'As it happens, yes,' the man replied. 'That and a little something else. Yes, I thinkMagda. Yes, Magda will do.'

'What, how do you?' Magneto began. Memories came flooding back, memories of his late wife. How she had run from him when she had seen what he was, when all he was doing was avenging the murder of their child. There was a sudden blow to the side of his head. As the world went black he realised that in his confusion he had lowered his shields. And without his powers he was just a frail old man.

* * *

Jessica cursed under her breath. Kurt was trapped, Magnus was unconscious and Peter was still swimming. She and Ororo were the only ones left, one retired superhero, one powerless one. Still, at least blondie did not seem to be able to lay a finger on her. Her spider-sense kept her one step ahead of his magical blasts. Unfortunately, since her first shot, he had been able to whip up a shield to deflect her venom blasts. Maybe it was time to be a bit more direct.

Spider-Woman launched herself into the air, intending to come down feet first upon her opponent. Unfortunately, his colleagues had other ideas. The girl put her hands together as if praying and began a low chanting. The air became filled with bats that flocked around Spider-Woman tugging at her hair and clothes. She batted at them with flailing arms to get them loose, but as she did so, she folded up her wings and began to plummet to the ground like a stone. She twisted at the last moment to take the fall on her side and rolled clear of the flapping vermin.

'It had to be bats, didn't it,' Spider-Woman muttered, taking careful aim on the cloaked girl. She flicked her wrist and the woman became engulfed in sticky strands of webbing. 'There, that evens up the odds a little.'

Her pause almost cost her, but her spider-sense was working overtime. The blast of green fire may have churned up the beach, but Spider-Woman was already airborne again. She closed her eyes and trusted to her senses to keep her away from the multi-coloured missiles.

'Damn, this is pointless,' the blond man commented. 'Caven, you'll have to be my eyes.'

'Very well,' the other man agreed. 'Straight upnow!'

The blast hit Jessica full on, without warning. She tumbled from the sky, this time without the opportunity to roll from the impact.

* * *

Storm scrambled up the beach, clutching her knife. The fight would be all but over by the time she got there. She knew that without her powers she was of limited use in combat, but Magnus did not have to reinforce that by dropping her so far away.

If she had missed her powers before, the site that greeted her made Storm desperate for them. Nightcrawler, Spider-Woman and Magneto had all been subdued. It appeared that Jessica had at least managed to score a point for the good guys, but one of the two men was cutting the woman free from the web with his sword. Ororo figured her best chance would be to hide until Colossus got here and then they could regroup. At least her training as a thief had not deserted her.

It was not to be, however. The more heavily built figure tilted his head back as if sniffing the air. Then he said something to his companion. The swordsman slowly got to his feet and turned toward her.

'Storm, how nice of you to join us,' he said.

He was looking straight at her. Even if she dove for cover, he would not lose her. Her only option was to stand and fight. With a defiant roar, she lunged at him with the knife. He parried her with his sword.

He grinned. 'This will be entertaining,' he said.

* * *

Colossus pulled himself from the bay and up on to the island, water cascading from his metal shoulders.

'Storm,' he shouted. 'Magneto. Where are you?'

'Why, they're right here, tin man,' a voice replied. The voice did not belong to any of his friends.

Peter turned to face the three sorcerers knowing he did not stand a chance.