A/N: Special thanks to Lucas'sgirl & SperryDee for your reviews of the last chapter.
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It was a slightly overcast day in County Mayo, Ireland, but Theresa Cassidy could care less. She was extremely happy to be back at the home, a home that she hadn't seen since leaving to attend school in the U.S. more than a year and a half ago.
"I know I was joking with you the other day on Muir Island, but are you sure this place isn't haunted?" Kitty Pryde, the young mutant also known as Shadowcat, asked the girl walking beside her as they ventured down one of the numerous corridors inside of the giant castle called Cassidy Keep.
Cassidy Keep was an architectural marvel of its day, mainly because of its thick and steep walls, but also for the fact that it had been built near a cliff overlooking the sea and remained as steady as the day it was built. The unusual location was meant to provide a challenge to any nearby invaders that dared to attempt to overtake the castle. Cassidy Keep was also notable for being one of the few castles in the country that never fell during the numerous sieges laid upon it during it's nearly 800 year history.
"What makes ye ask a silly question like that?" Theresa Cassidy, who had been nicknamed Siryn, asked.
"I don't know, it just feels like we're being watched is all." Kitty told her, as they passed numerous artifacts such as the medieval suits of armor and weaponry that lined the hallway.
"You sure ye're not just comin' down with a case of teenage paranoia?" Theresa smiled, as they continued walking.
"I'm not paranoid." Kitty replied, "And I'm telling you, we're not alone."
"Well, ye're the freakin' ghost. Just walk up to whatever it is and say, 'Boo!'" Theresa smirked.
"Ha, Ha, very funny." Kitty replied in a very unimpressed tone, as she stopped and folded her arms in front of her, "Let's just get out of here, so we can catch up with Peter and Rahne."
"We'd already be outside with them, if you weren't such an internet-junkie." Theresa told her, as the two girls entered a staircase that lead up to the ground floor level.
"First you say I'm paranoid, now you talk like I spend every waking moment on the web. You sure got me diagnosed, Dr. Phil." Kitty quickly retorted, "I just wanted to get the latest on a website for technology buffs that I go to, and so I could chat with other 'tech-ies'."
"Yeah, but that was like two hours ago." Theresa stated
"I didn't chain you down and make you wait around." Kitty told her.
"The only reason I waited around was because you're not that familiar with the lower levels of Cassidy Keep. The last thing I need is for you to phase and get lost down here. If ye did, there's a good chance we would never find ye." Theresa replied.
"I happen to have a superb sense of direction, if you must know." Kitty said.
"Sure ye do." Theresa said mockingly, as the two girls made it to the top of the staircase.
Theresa and Kitty walked down another corridor, and then through a door that led to the outside of the castle. Then they strolled across the huge courtyard and eventually made it to where Peter and Rahne were. Peter was sitting out on a large rock, near the edge of the cliff that overlooked the ocean. He was busily creating a drawing of his current surroundings, and this time the locale around Cassidy Keep was his subject.
"How's it coming, big guy?" Kitty asked Peter, as she walked over and placed one arm around him. She greeted him with a very sensual kiss to the side of his face.
"It does not quite look like the way that I had envisioned it." Peter Rasputin, who also went by the name of Colossus replied. He stopped his sketching for a moment, and held his own work in front of him at arm's length.
"I think it is beautiful." The newest addition to the group, Rahne Sinclair, told Peter. She had been lying on her stomach on the newly sprouting springtime grass, with her face resting against the palms of her hands as she quietly watched Peter work, "The way ye can draw, Tis surely a gift from God."
"I am flattered that you believe so Rahne, but I have serious doubts about that." Peter replied.
"Sometimes you're just too hard on yuirself." Theresa told Peter, as she stood and inspected the sketch for herself.
"They say masters of their craft are their own toughest critic." Kitty added, as she inspected the drawing as well.
While Kitty, Theresa, and Rahne debated the artistic merit of Peter's work, two other bystanders were watching them. They were sitting together at a small outdoor table located on a balcony high above the group. The pair had taken notice of the four teenagers, who were busy talking with one another down by the cliff side.
"I can't believe how fast Me little girl has grown up, and in just the relatively short amount of time that she's been away t'Charles' school." Sean Cassidy, the former Interpol agent and ally of the X-Men known as Banshee said, as he talked about his teenaged daughter Theresa.
"As they all have. "Ororo Munroe, also known as Storm for obvious reasons replied, as they looked at her students, "In many ways, they have been left little choice by the world that we live in today."
"Aye. Especially considerin' the way that things keep goin' from bad t'worse for mutants everywhere, I suppose it's only t'be expected." Sean told her.
As soon as Sean made his last statement, the caretaker of Cassidy Keep and longtime friend of Sean's, Eamon O'Donnell, came outside to the balcony. He was carrying a tray with a teapot and two cups for Sean and Ororo.
"Eamon, old man, why don't ye sit and join us for a bit?" Sean said to him.
"Thanks for the offer, perhaps I will join ye and the lady a bit later. Right now, I have some other chores that need attendin' to." Eamon replied, as he took the tray and went back inside.
After Eamon had left, Ororo made an observation about Sean.
"I never took you for the type to observe a custom such as afternoon tea." Ororo said jokingly to Sean.
"This old rascal still has a lot of surprises left in him." Sean smiled, as they each took a sip from their cups. After a moment of silence, Sean decided to ask Ororo a question that had been on his mind ever since she and her students' had arrived. It was a subject that he had been waiting for the right opportunity to bring up, and at a time when his daughter and the other kids weren't around.
"Ororo, not to pry or anything, but I've been wondering how ye've been holding up?" Sean asked her sincerely.
This was a question that Ororo had gotten used to over the last few months, and she had come to expect it. She and Jean had been through so much together since arriving at Professor Xavier's School all of those years ago. In that time, they had formed a very close bond to one another.
"It has become easier to accept that she is gone, as time has passed. Jean sacrificed herself to save the rest of us, and that does bring a small amount of consolation, I suppose. Ororo answered.
"Jean was a fine lass. It's just a shame though, she and Scott seemed t'be so happy together. I remember vividly how I felt when Theresa's mother, my darlin' Maeve, died. I've been where Scott is now, and I know it can get t'be a mighty lonely place." Sean told Ororo.
"Considering your own personal experiences in such a matter, I am sure that Scott would like to talk with you about what he is currently feeling. Perhaps I should tell him to give you a call, when he returns to the mansion." Ororo suggested.
"Aye, it'd be nice t'talk to him again." Sean responded.
Sean and Ororo each took a sip of their tea. Then, Sean spoke again.
"Ye know, when I asked how ye were doin', I wasn't necessarily talking about what happened with Jean." Sean said.
Ororo looked at him for a second, unsure of what exactly Sean did mean.
"I know what happened with her hurt everyone deeply, but I've noticed a…difference in you for some years now." Sean elaborated, "Lookin' at Terry and the others down there, it reminds me of you and your classmates when ye were that age. Ororo, ye used t'have such a sparkle in yuir eye, not even the stars in heaven could match it. But I have'nae seen it for some time now, not ever since..."
Ororo knew that Sean's line of questioning was heading towards a subject that few others ever brought up with her, and one that even she hardly ever thought about herself these days.
"What you mean is, ever since Warren and I broke up." Ororo replied, "Sean, that was a long time ago."
"I know, and judgin' by your demeanor it seems like ye're still carryin' that hurt around. Ye used t'be bubblin' with joy, but now ye seem so reserved, like ye've cut that part of yourself off." Sean told her.
"We all change as we get older, and we learn that life is not as simple, or as kind, as we would like to believe." Ororo replied.
"Well, take it from an old man that's been there. Cuttin' yuirself off t'avoid the anguish that life can throw at you, can also keep ye from experiencing the intense bliss that it has t'offer." Sean told her, as he took another sip of his tea.
Ororo sat and sipped her tea as well. She considered for a few moments whether there was any truth in the words that Sean had just spoken to her, and whether love was really worth the potential heartache that came along with it.
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Meanwhile, half a world away, other individuals that resided at Xavier's School for the Gifted were busy looking for a young woman that they believed to be in grave danger. But, they were having little luck with their search so far.
"This is like the third night in a row that we've been searching for Allison with that little gizmo of yours, and so far we've turned up zilch." Jubilee said, as she, Bobby Drake, and Henry McCoy walked up the stairwell of an apartment complex, located in the section of New York City simply referred to as 'Hell's Kitchen'.
"I mean, so far we've managed to identify two mutants that we weren't looking for, a little old lady and some middle-aged guy that ran off when I looked at him for more than two seconds."
"Even though she wasn't at the address that I previously suspected, I believe that she is still in the general vicinity." Hank replied to her, as the trio walked down the hallway of the third floor of the complex.
"You'd think with the kind of money she's made, that Allison would fine somewhere a little more upscale to hide out." Jubilee said, as she commented on the less than ideal environment that defined Hell's Kitchen.
"Yeah, but if she's trying to hide out, this is the last place anyone is going to come looking for her." Bobby pointed out.
The entire group then stopped, as the portable Cerebro device began to give a strong readout in front of apartment number 307.
"Do you think this is it?" Bobby asked Hank.
"This handheld mutant locator is getting fairly strong readings from behind this door." Hank answered.
"Well what I don't understand is why we're showin' up here in our X-Men uniforms?" Jubilee asked as they stood in front of the door, "Like she's not gonna be freaked out enough by the three of us wanting to talk to her about the finer points of her DNA."
"It'll at least give some credibility to our story, when we try to explain the reason why we're here Jubes." Bobby answered.
"At least Hank over here has a regular suit, not one of these dark blue, baby uniforms like me and you." Jubilee told Bobby.
"You should feel lucky. At least you don't have to wear those uniforms that the original X-Men did, back when we first started training. Leather is heavenly in comparison. Plus, with the unstable molecules that I took the liberty of adding to our current attire, they should be far more durable now." Hank said to her.
"Besides, it's not like it really matters. You're wearing your jacket over your uniform anyways." Bobby said to Jubilee.
"Now that we've had our little discussion on super-hero apparel, I'm going to see if anyone is home." Hank said, as he proceeded to ring the doorbell.
The X-Men stood and waited to see if anyone was going to answer the door.
Eventually, someone did.
"Whatever you're selling, I don't want any." A female voice said to the group as she opened the door partway, but left the security chain latched to it.
"We're not selling anything, Miss Blaire. We just wanted to take a few minutes of your time to talk. We think we might be able to help you." Hank replied.
"First off, whoever you are, I don't know why you think that I'm that person. Second, I don't have time to hear your spiel about converting to whatever religion it is that you currently subscribe to either." The voice from behind the door replied.
After that last statement, the woman inside of the apartment started to close the door. But she stopped when another voice spoke to her.
"Look, we just think you might still be a target of the guys who sent the Blob to mess up your concert." Jubilee said to her.
"And why would I listen to any of this, especially from any of you?" The voice asked.
"Because, I almost became a permanent part of your band's equipment when he threw that amplifier at me." Jubilee stated.
After Jubilee's statement, the X-Men could see someone peer from behind the door. Then the door shut. The sound of the security chain being unlatched from the door could be heard, before it was completely opened up to them.
"You've got five minutes." Allison Blaire said, as she invited the three X-Men into her apartment.
As they walked inside, the X-Men noticed that Allison had changed her hair color from the golden blonde color that it had been before, to a deep shade of crimson. They also saw that she had cut her long hair to a shorter length that stopped around her shoulders.
"The 'do' looks nice on you." Jubilee said, as she paid Allison a compliment.
"It, plus a pair of sunglasses, makes it a lot easier to move around. People's eyes are usually drawn to my hair and not my now infamous face when I'm out in public." Allison replied, as they walked into her small living room.
Hank and Jubilee sat down on the sofa in the room, while Allison sat in a large chair to their side and Bobby grabbed a chair from the kitchen and brought it over to sit down on the other side of Allison.
"Well, you said you wanted to talk." Allison told them, as she waited to hear what they had to say.
"We understand that you have had some difficulties in your life, since your status as a mutant was revealed to the world." Hank started, "We wanted to let you know that we are mutants as well, and that…"
"And what?" Allison interrupted, "How great it is to be a mutant, and how wonderful it is to have some extra ability because of a genetic abnormality you were born with. 'Cause if that what you came here to say, I can save both of us a lot of time and tell you how much being a mutant has completely ruined my life."
"I know that things haven't been easy for you since that aspect of your life became public knowledge." Hank continued, "I've also experienced first hand the same kind difficulties that you are facing, but we can offer you place where you'll be safe, and can learn to use your abilities for the betterment of mankind."
"If that's all, then may I ask you all to please leave? I don't want to learn to be a better mutant. I just want my old life back, the way it was before all of this craziness started." Allison said, as her anger turned to tears that ran down her face.
"Okay, we'll leave," Hank said, "But, I have just one question before we do. I was wondering if you know why Mr. Dukes showed up at your concert in the first place? It just doesn't seem to be a random coincidence."
Allison sat in her chair and remained silent. She was contemplating on whether to tell these three strangers exactly what she did know. Finally, she let out a sigh and responded.
"Probably because I wouldn't go along with the scheme of the people that sent him." Allison replied.
"What do you mean?" Bobby asked her.
"A couple of years ago, members of a group calling itself the Council of Chosen contacted me about helping them." Allison started, as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "I was approached by a man named Harold Leland, and he told me that he knew I was a mutant. He also told me that they wanted my help in getting some inside information on a man named Edward Buckman, who happened to be an acquaintance of mine. Leland said that Buckman was involved in some program that posed a threat to mutants everywhere, and if I helped them, I would be guaranteed a position in their Council. I refused to go along with their plan, and I later went and told Edward about what was going on. The Council later sent word through a messenger that I would pay for that decision, and now it looks like they've come to collect."
"Who is this Buckman guy anyways?" Jubilee inquired.
"Edward was a very wealthy and powerful business man. He belonged to an organization called the Hellfire Club, a place where the cream of high-society in this country gathered, so that they could be around other rich and powerful people. Anyways, he was part of some secret sect inside of the Hellfire Club, but he and the other members of this secret group were having some sort of disagreement." Allison revealed.
"How do you know all of this?" Hank asked her.
"Because, Ed and I were…extremely close. He took me to the Hellfire Club a few times as his special guest, and he also hinted at a few of the things that went on behind the scenes, stuff that even involved some high-ranking officials in our own government, all before he..." Allison paused.
"Before what?" Jubilee asked.
"Before he died. It happened not too long after this secret council approached me. The investigators ruled it an accident, but I know better. They killed him and then they managed to cover it up, probably with some inside help.
"Then, perhaps you should reconsider your decision about coming with us?" Hank asked her.
"I don't know." Allison answered, with reluctance audible in her voice.
While Hank and Jubilee were talking to Allison, Bobby had walked over to one of the windows to take a look outside. While he was leaning against the window ledge, a bright flash outside caught Bobby's eye, like a mirror reflecting in the dark. He looked closer at the building across the street, and could see numerous people moving around on its roof. Then he noticed something else that really caught his eye.
"Hey guys, I think everyone should hit the floor, quick!" Bobby shouted, as he ran over to the others and they all jumped down.
Within a matter of seconds, the sound of bullets piercing the windows of Allison's apartment rang out in the nighttime air…
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Next Chapter: Hellfire comes to Hell's Kitchen, with a few unexpected surprises…