Disclaimer : I own none of the X-Men nor their surroundings, however Dell Tucker and Ilehana Xavier are mine.

A/N : The date at the start of a chapter refers to the timeline in respect to the Prologue.

Chapter Five : Battle

Six Months Previous, New York City

People dived from her path, this young woman dressed in a long black coat with hood, weapons attached to her wrists, belt, calves. She strode up to the front of a department store, entered the building. The security guards that challenged her suddenly found themselves exhausted, unable to stand on their own two feet let alone fight her. She had no thoughts for the horse she'd left in a garden in a suburb, somehow she knew he'd be taken care of, and she'd sort it all out later. Right now she kept focused on the task at hand. Terrified customers abandoned the elevator when she entered it, but she didn't care. Her fight would be taken to the rooftops, away from the people - she had ammunition enough for the X-Men, but not thousands of puny humans. Let the X-Men come.

"There, Cyclops!" Jean pointed ahead of them, out of the windscreen of the X-jet. Cyclops set the jet to hover mode and peered down at the figure that stared back up at him.

"She doesn't look so tough." He announced casually. "What do you make of her Jean?"

"Nothing. I can't read her at all."

#I'm afraid I have the same problem.# Xavier announced from Cerebro. #She's blocking our telepathy somehow.#

"I'm taking the blackbird in." Scott shrugged, putting the jet in gear again, heading for the roof next to the one upon which their aggressor stood. "We'll just have to deal with whatever she throws at us when the time comes."

She watched the tail-ramp of the jet slowly descend, twirling a dagger in her hand. The initial impulse to throw it haphazardly at the first person down the ramp was almost too much to bear but she crushed it. No, wait, let them cross the roof-tops to her. She knew who was aboard the jet - Jean Grey the telekinetic and telepathic mutant, Scott Summers (Cyclops) whose eyes shot laser-style energy and Storm, Ororo Munroe, the air-goddess with the power to control the winds. She was disappointed. Where was the Wolverine? He would have been the biggest challenge, simply because his adimantium skeleton was not part of his mutation……… She shook her head as Cyclops, Jean Grey and Storm emerged. Xavier sending his pups to do his bidding? She shook her head, so bitterly disappointed………

Cyclops' hand went to his visor, ready to fire if necessary as he went forward to speak with her. She smiled slowly, didn't he know it would be useless?

"What do you want?" Cyclops called to her.

"To destroy you." She answered almost coyly, twirled the dagger again. There was an innocence to the statement that was somehow malicious, cold, cruel.

"Why? What have we done to earn your enmity?"

"What have you done? What have you done!" The words were spat incredulously. She caught something - a kid strapped to Cyclops, jumping out of a plane, a parachute jerking open seeing two people clasped together left on board……… "You of all people should understand, Cyclops. You took my father from me………"

She shot out a hand, cutting off his power before he could flick the trigger, let fly her dagger aimed directly for his chest. She wasn't quick enough to smother Jean's power enough, the dagger was pulled off course just a little by her telekinesis……… Cyclops smothered a yell as the blade caught his upper arm, slicing through the leather, skin and muscle. He clapped the opposite hand to the wound, his eyes searching for hers behind the visor - he looked so puzzled, so hurt - but Jean was at work again, trying to lift her other weapons.

"No." She threw the word at Jean, smothering her attempts easily. Storm's eyes were white, eyeballs rolled back in her skull as she tried to call on the winds, but such attempts were useless. Danielle twirled a shuriken, a ninja-star, whilst laughing at them. "Give it up X-Men, surrender now and I will make your deaths painless."

He touched her mind gently, a 'tip-toe' approach as his daughter called it. She was too busy fending off Cyclops and the others to notice him. He frowned as he found her, a hardened warrior who hated humans, who hated the X-men for taking away her only link to her past - that was what this was about! Not the fact that she cared much for Magneto - no, indeed, she hated him as much as she loved him. It was just that he was her father, the only link to her past hidden beneath some barrier………

#Stop it, Xavier.#

The Professor choked as she curbed his power viciously, paralysed his telepathy until it was as useless as his legs. Clutching his mind and body-controls in a vice-like grip……… He coughed a hacking, rasping cough, fighting for every breath - she was going to kill him! He reached out to Storm and Jean quickly, he needed their help, she was killing him! Darkness was descending, he was losing his grip, his head becoming dizzyingly light, the room was fading away……… he managed to cuff off the helmet of Cerebro before it was too late………

"Argh!" Too busy clamping down on Xavier's very life force, she hadn't noticed Storm taking a lithe leap from one roof to the next, didn't see her aim a kick to the chest and she went backwards, her grip on Xavier lost. Her hand went to another dagger at her belt, drew the weapon, but it flew from her hand along with her other weapons, her grip on Jean's powers also lost. Snarling like a black panther, she readied herself before leaping at Storm, landing a kick to the chest, followed so quickly by a stream of punches that Storm could not hope to block. Storm fell back to the floor, staring up at her attacker as the hand tightened on her throat………

#This is not the way!# Xavier reached out to her again, back in control of his own breathing and Cerebro. #Please, let me help you!#

#How can you help me?# She managed somehow to keep him from invading her mind, but her voice was nothing more than a whimper, so tired and fragile, though with an edge of defiance. She re-established her hold on the others too, keeping all their powers at bay.

#You want a connection to your past - Eric Lencher is not that key. The man you call father has been my friend for many years - he is my oldest friend, the Godfather of my daughter. Eric Lencher has a few children, but you are not one of them.#

#You……… you lie!# The statement was wild, and so very unsure, flung at Xavier in a snarl.

#No.# Calm, clear.

#Then why would he say such things?# She began to tighten her grip on Xavier again, slowly, relying on her strength and ability to force Xavier to stop telling her what were obviously lies.

#You are a powerful mutant. I know not why you lost your memory, but Magneto has used that to his advantage. He sees you as the key to a world where mutants reign, for with you at his side, no human or mutant could stop him.#

#Why should I believe you?#

#What harm have I done you? Why should you not trust me?#

She thought about it, looking up at Cyclops still clinging to his bleeding arm. Jean was at his side, murmuring words to him. Though he was listening to Jean, his face was fixed on hers, and he was not angry or afraid, just so hurt that she should have attacked him so unjustly. Beneath her, Storm also stared up into her eyes, her own full of fear and pain, knowing Xavier was working in Cerebro. Danielle, suddenly unsure of herself, let go the hold on Storm's throat, stumbled backward, her body and emotions numb to the outside world. She released her hold on their powers, watched as Storm rose to call in the winds upon them. Danielle sank into a sitting position, suddenly so tired and not caring what happened to her any more.