A/N 1: As in the previous chapters - ideas, questions, plotbunnies, suggestions, flames, character pictures, corrections, additions, comments, and everything in between can be mailed to d.angelino@caramail.com (oh, the joys of multiple e-mail accounts ;)

A/N 2: The first of several new mutants will be introduced in this chapter - Rina Kells, who belongs to Katherine, Erik Angel, who belongs to Rogue Angel (although it probably wasn't the way she expected him to show up *wry smile*), and Francis Octavian, who belongs to Mr. Bigg. Profiles will be added to a separate chapter as the characters are introduced.

'...' Indicates telepathy/conversation between Jhonen and a spirit (are all these codes giving you a headache yet? ;)
_..._ Indicates thoughts

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Chapter Nine: Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave, part II

* * *

The door opened and Jhonen took a careful peek inside.

"Well...it could have been worse," he said, and opened the door completely.

The motel-room wasn't exactly good, but they only had to stay there for a night, so it didn't really matter. As long as there were even remotely usable beds, the trio would be happy. It had been a long day, and the exhaustion was starting to set in.

Suzuka followed him inside the room and tossed her bag on a bed. She sat down and nodded satisfied when she found that the bed was fairly comfortable.

Jhonen looked out the window.

"Nice neighborhood," he commented.

Suzuka got up and joined him by the window. Outside, the darkness had been chased away by dozens of brightly colored neon lights that were reflected in the small puddles of water on the road. Across the street, a young pair of hookers made suggestive gestures to the passing cars. Hidden in the shadows, a hollow eyed man took a drink of some cheap vodka, before he curled up underneath a torn umbrella.

Suzuka snorted.

"Well, what did you expect for the price we paid? The Four Seasons?"

Jhonen shook his head and sighed.

"I don't know, I'm just..." he made a helpless gesture, and Suzuka nodded.

"I know. But there's nothing we can do."

Jhonen shut the curtains and sat down on his bed. He felt tired, and not only physically. The past twenty-four hours had aged him more than he had ever thought possible, and he suddenly felt much older than his seventeen years. He had always been able to keep up a carefree facade, but the light-heartedness was quickly drowning beneath a mountain of unwanted emotions - bleakness, hopelessness, and a growing cynicism that he had never thought himself capable of.

'And they call *you* monsters,' a ghostly voice whispered in his ear. 'Why do you even put up with them?'

'They don't know any better,' Jhonen replied, without even thinking. It was this argument he'd used on himself whenever he felt the need to get even with another member of the FoH. Maybe it could be used on spirits, too.

'But they do. They know you. They know everything about you. Your powers, your weaknesses-'

"Jhonen? Are you okay" a voice interrupted.

Jhonen looked up and saw Suzuka frown. He shook his head to get rid of the remains of the ghostly voice.

"Sure...someone just felt the need to comment," he replied.

"Oh," Suzuka said and sat down. "Anyone we know?"

Almost against his will, Jhonen smiled. It seemed almost surreal at times - to talk about the spirits as if they were old friends. But then again...some of them were.

"Not to my knowledge, no. He didn't introduce himself."

"How impolite," Suzuka mumbled, and Jhonen smiled. Trust Suzuka to comment on something like that.

His train of thoughts was interrupted by a knock on the door, and Suzuka quickly got up and opened the door.

"Kyle! Finally!" she said and moved aside to let him in.

"Patience is a virtue," he reminded her with mock seriousness. Suzuka just stuck out her tongue. Kyle smiled, and tossed his bag on the last of the beds, then placed a paper bag on the table. Jhonen opened it.

"Cajun?" he asked.

Kyle shrugged.

"It was the only thing that looked even remotely edible."

"Hey, I don't care what it is, as long as it's food," Suzuka said.

Kyle just smiled and handed her the bag.

* * *

"Listen, Sergey. I need a safehouse, and I need it now," Laetitia snapped.

Despite the fact that she was standing in a phone booth, her three teammates could easily hear what she was saying. They could also hear that she was more than a little pissed at whoever was in the other end of the line.

"Yes, of course I can pay," Laetitia snapped. She paused and listened.

"Three besides me. We'll again leave tomorrow morning," she replied, this time a bit less angry.

Pheonix looked at Hal and Aaron.

"Who is it?" she asked quietly.

Hal shrugged, and Aaron frowned.

"She said something about an old contact," he hissed, his forked tongue swiping out. "She didn't mention any names."

"Thanks, Sergey," Laetitia said and hung up. She stepped out of the booth and motioned to the others.

"I found a safe place for us to spend the night. Someone will meet us here, and show us where it is," she told them. "It'll cost us about five hundred bucks, but we will be guaranteed safety."

"Who was it?" Pheonix asked.

"One of my father's old contacts," Laetitia replied. "His name is Sergey. That's all I'm going to tell you. Now sit down and make yourselves comfortable. This could take a while."


Not surprisingly, it turned out that Laetitia was right - one hour later, an old car pulled up in front of them, and a young man opened the door.

"You Nike?" he asked, and took off the earphones to his walkman.

Laetitia nodded and the young man smiled lazily.

"Great. I'm Francis Octavian, but everybody calls me Frank. Follow me, and we'll find that safehouse for you."

* * *

"So...where are we, and where are we going?" Jhonen asked.

"Here," Kyle said and pointed at a red spot on the map. "Harrisburg. Even if there is another checkpoint, we should be able to reach Johnstown tomorrow - if we don't get up too late, that is."

Jhonen and Suzuka nodded.

"Do you think the others will be there?" Suzuka asked.

"Sure," Kyle said. "You know Ryan and Deirdre - they won't let anything get in their way."

"I guess you're right," Suzuka admitted and sent him a small smile.

"Of course he is," Jhonen grinned. "A Sanderson is always right."

"Cute," Kyle remarked wryly. "Go get some sleep, you two."

"Sure. 'Night, Kyle," Suzuka said.

"Goodnight," Kyle replied absently, and folded the map back together. He had done the best he could to sound confident that Ryan and the others would be at the rendezvous, but in reality he had a nagging feeling of doubt. What Jhonen and Suzuka didn't know was that Ryan had been near unconscious when the team had split up. Who knew what condition he was in now?

* * *

"This is it," Frank said. "It ain't the Regency, but at least it's safe."

The four members of the Shadow Alliance looked at each other, then at the house. It wasn't nice by any standards - the two bedrooms showed clear signs of frequent use, and the once white walls were now a dusty grayish color - but it was far away from any prying eyes.
It had taken them about half an hour to reach the small house, which was hidden away in the industrial areas of the town, and on the way Frank had explained that the safehouse was used as a hideout for mutants who were on the run.

"The bathroom is down the hallway, first door on the right. The kitchen is straight ahead. You can use either bedroom - there's only one more person here today besides you, so there's plenty of beds," Frank continued.

The others nodded, and walked inside the first bedroom. Laetitia was about to follow them when Frank grabbed her arm.

"Meet me in the kitchen when you're done. It's important," he said quietly.

Laetitia nodded, and followed the others. She dumped her bag on the nearest bed, then headed out the door again.

"I'll be back in a moment. I have something to take care of," she said over her shoulder.

Her teammates just nodded, and started to look for the most comfortable of the beds.

* * *

"You wanted to talk to me?" Laetitia asked. The words were polite, but her entire attitude radiated nothing but cold indifference.

Frank smiled weakly.

"Y'know, Sergey was right - you can be pretty scary when you put your mind to it. Not that it's a bad thing," he hurriedly added.

Laetitia glared at him, and he sank.

"Oh, yeah, the message. Sergey says that the feds are closing in on you. Found a lead in Greece, I think. He recommends that you go underground and buy yourself a new identity."

"What?!" Laetitia demanded and slammed her hand down on the table.

Frank quickly backed away and held up his hands.

"Hey, don't kill the messenger!" he said. "It's not my fault - I'm just telling you what Sergey said!"

Laetitia sighed and rubbed her hand.

"I know, and despite my reputation, I'm not going to hurt you. Thank you for relaying the message, even if it wasn't a good one."

"You're welcome," Frank replied with a faint smile. "Listen, if you need anything, I'll be in the room next to the bedrooms, okay?"

Laetitia nodded, and then headed back to her teammates.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other three had discovered that other guest Frank had mentioned. On one of the beds in the corner lay a girl with her eyes closed. She was in her late teens, and had black hair with dark red streaks.

"Do you think we should, like, tell her we're here or something?" Hal whispered.

"I don't think so," Pheonix whispered back. "I know *I* would be pretty pissed if someone woke me up just to say 'hi'."

"You don't have to whisper, you know," the girl said and opened her eyes. "I'm not asleep."

She sat up and stretched, before getting out of bed to take a look at her new roommates.

"I'm Rina. Rina Kells," she introduced herself.

"I'm Pheonix, and this is Hal, and Aaron," Pheonix said and pointed at the others. "There's one more, Laetitia, but she had something to take care of. She'll be back soon."

Rina nodded.

"Cool. Where're you heading?"

Hal shrugged.

"South," she replied vaguely.

"We're from New York," Pheonix added, before Hal could stop her.

"Really? That's where I'm heading! How are things over there?" Rina asked.

Hal sent Pheonix a stern look before replying.

"It's bad. There were riots all over the city when we left. The whole place was on the edge of civil war. There are checkpoints around the entire city, too. Trust me, going there is a bad idea."

Rina shrugged.

"Maybe - but I'm counting on my power to keep me safe. I can hypnotize people by looking into their eyes...that should keep me safe, I think. Or at least for long enough for me to get a ticket to a plane to Europe. "

"Maybe," Aaron said, speaking for the first time since they got there. "But it's a big risk you're taking."

Rina shrugged.

"Probably, yeah. But I have friends in Europe, and it would be stupid to stay here."

The others nodded in agreement, then looked up as they heard someone enter the room.

"Hey, Nike," Hal said. "Laetitia, meet Rina. Rina, this is Laetitia," she introduced.

Laetitia just nodded before addressing her teammates.

"You should get some sleep. We have a long day ahead."

Pheonix stifled a yawn.

"I guess you're right," she admitted.

Laetitia's only reply was to ruffle Pheonix' hair in a rare gesture of affection.

* * *

"Freeze! Nobody moves!"

The shout tore through Jhonen's peaceful sleep, and he sat up with a gasp. Someone turned on the light, and he felt a flash of pain at the sudden brightness. He blinked several times to clear his eyes before he was able to see again.

In the doorway stood two police officers, both of them pointing their guns at the three mutants. Inside the room, two other cops, followed by a dog on a tight leash, were searching the small room.

"What's going on?" Kyle asked calmly, and sent his two teammates a look that clearly told them to stay put and let him handle things.

"A drug-raid," one of the cops said. "So unless you have something to hide, you have nothing to worry about."

Kyle nodded, and the two policemen continued their search. Muted protests from the other rooms reached Kyle's ears, and he realized that it hadn't been a trap - they had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jhonen took a deep breath to steady himself, then watched as the humans and their dog went through the bags on the floor.

'Nothing to worry about...yeah, right' a voice whispered. Jhonen immediately recognized the voice - it was the same spirit what had tried to make him angry earlier.

'Shut up. I didn't ask for your opinion,' Jhonen snapped.

'Temper, temper,' the voice taunted. 'Why don't you use that anger for something productive...like dealing with those damn flatscans?'

'Because it would get me killed, that's why,' Jhonen growled mentally.

'Oh, really? Kyle could stop the bullets before they hit any of you, and Suzuka could transform into a bear or a lion and deal with the fucking morons,' the voice hinted.

Jhonen didn't reply, but closed his eyes and tried to ignore the spirit. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

'Come on, mate. You know you want to,' the ghost-voice tempted.

Jhonen clenched his fists and felt a sharp pain as his nails sank into his soft skin.

'Go away,' he snapped, but the spirit just laughed hollowly.

'Do you know what they do to the mutants they catch?' it continued and tried another approach. 'They experiment on them. They lock them up in small cages until they find a use for them They treat them like animals. Like fucking animals.'

Jhonen concentrated and tried to block out the spirit, but he didn't succeed.

'And when they're tired of you, they'll kill you,' the voice taunted. 'The lucky ones die quickly. The rest...'

At that moment, Jhonen lost control. Every last bit of the anger that the spirit had brought coursed through his veins until it reached the only possible outlet - his powers.

Across the room, where the two policemen were still going through the bags, Kyle saw Jhonen turn semi-transparent, and mentally cursed. He raised his hands to slow down the policemen, but it was too late.

"We have a mutie here!" one of the cops shouted, and reached for the tranquilizer that hung from his belt. He fired the pistol at Jhonen, but Kyle froze the needle in the air before it could reach the young mutant.

Suddenly, he felt a needle penetrate his skin, and only then did he realize his fatal mistake - he had forgotten about the other two cops, and left himself open for attacks.

His last conscious thought was that they shouldn't have picked a motel in that part of town.

Then there was only darkness.


* * *
To anyone who might be wondering: yes, the new characters will show up again. When? Well, that's the big question ;)

Coming up: Chapter Ten: 'A Blast from the Past'. Apparently, Ryan and Blade's quarrel goes back a long time, but *how* long? That's something not even their own teammates know...

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