Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men. Unfortunately. But please enjoy Chapter 6.

A/N: I am really sorry it took me so long to post this. I thought I did but turns out I didn't. Well I probably just lost about all my faithful readers but oh well. I really do hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 6: Mental Problems

Ororo Munroe walked across the ballroom of the Hellfire Club mansion holding her glass of champagne. She looked at the faces of the people and matched them files she had read about Hellfire Club members. Most she didn't recognize but some she picked out and tried to remember what she had read. This was what she did to occupy the time, for her lack of a partner denied her of the pleasure of dancing and she had no intention of striking a deal with any businessmen. Finally she stopped to talk with Sage who stood to the side to avoid glares from allies of her former employer, Sebastian Shaw. "Party is going well," she said taking a sip from her glass.

"Not as well as they could be," she added motioning to a group of people socializing in the opposite corner.

"Who are they?" Storm asked. "I don't recognize any of them."

"I don't know who they are," she started. "That's the problem. Their minds are blocked. Which means they know a telepath or one of them is," she added.

Ororo looked at her suspiciously. She wondered why she had been trying to work her way into people's minds. She still wasn't used to it. Jean and the Professor had vowed never to enter anyone's mind without permission or unless it was really necessary. Ororo didn't judge Tessa for she didn't know what she would do with that kind of power. "Shouldn't you be able to tell by their mental defenses?" she asked.

"I could find out but not without them knowing," she said. "And if your wondering," she added quickly. "I'm only sweeping the area for trouble. It's an old habit to do at parties." Ororo nodded.

"Who is that?" she asked later pointing to a woman clad in a black leather mini dress. "She looks familiar."

Sage looked at her and then turned back to Storm. "I don't know, but I could find out." She stared forward and Storm knew that she was about to enter the woman's mind. All of a sudden Tessa gasped and her knees buckled beneath her. Ororo reacted quickly and caught her before anyone noticed.

"Tessa? Tessa?" she said patting her friends face gently. Tessa was barely conscious and Storm pulled her into a nearby restroom. "Tessa are you okay?" she asked splashing water from the sink onto her face. Sage opened her eyes and gasped again as if she were losing breath. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Sage turned back to Ororo and looked like she was surprised to see her there. "I don't really know. But there is something wrong. Terribly wrong."

Another woman walked into the bathroom and saw the two. Storm glared at her and motioned for her to leave the room. Once the door closed again Storm locked it and walked back to Sage who was now sitting up against the wall on the floor. Storm sat in front of her. "Who was that woman?" she asked finally after she felt that she was ready to talk.

Sage grabbed her head and began to speak again. "Her name is Kathleen, that's all I got out of her before…" she trailed off but Storm didn't need to hear the rest. This Kathleen had mentally attacked Tessa once she discovered that she was snooping around in her mind.

"Are you sure you don't know anything else about her?" Storm asked dabbing her head with a wet rag. Tessa nodded.

"I'm not a strong enough telepath to resist an attack like that. I don't think most telepath could resist an attack that strong. Who ever she is, she's strong." Tessa added before she was hit with another pang in her head.

Storm helped her to her feet and got her steady? "Are you okay?" she asked. Sage nodded. "Okay. Let's go back out. Just try to avoid this Kathleen woman," she warned as she unlocked the door and stepped back into the ballroom. Once Storm was positive that she was okay she left to go find somebody. She searched the whole mansion until she finally found Emma Frost talking with Northstar. "Emma," she said getting the White Queen's attention. "Come with me." Emma gave her glass to Northstar before Storm pulled her away. Ororo lead Emma back to Sage and explained everything that happened on the way. "I thought that maybe you might be able to get something more out of her, considering you are a more experienced telepath," Storm said.

"Okay," Emma answered. "Where is she?" she asked. Ororo pointed her out and Emma focused on her. Storm and Sage watched as The White Queen held her temples and closed her eyes. Everything was going good until Emma started to wince and then she started to pant loudly.

"Emma?" Storm asked. "Are you okay?" Then Emma Frost started to scream. Storm closed her mouth quickly before she drew to much attention to herself. Then she reached behind her neck and squeezed two pressure points on her neck. Emma blacked out and the screaming stopped. Then she heard a voice inside her head.

"Ororo, What's going on over there?" Betsy asked in her mind. 'I think we might have a problem over here.' Storm answered. Once again dragged her friend into the bathroom and set her up on the sink.

Minutes later Psylocke and Mystique burst into the bathroom. "What's wrong?" she asked once she saw Emma leaning unconscious up against the wall.

"Do you know anything about a woman named Kathleen?" she asked even though she knew the answer. Psylocke shook her head. "Well, apparently she is a very powerful telepath. That's all I know for details you might want to talk to Tessa."

Mystique turned to Sage and began her questioning. "SO, what happened?" she asked.

"I was about to figure out who she was when she mentally attacked me. I know I'm not that strong so I stood down before she drew any information from my mind. But it's like her mental defenses are also armed with offensive material," Tessa answered still holding her aching head.

"What do you mean?" Mystique asked.

Betsy turned around and answered the question for her. "She means that when somebody trys to enter her mind there is an automatic self-defense system. I've done it before but it takes an extreme amount of control and I couldn't hold it for more than a couple of hours. And if I need my mind for something else then it would be to much of a strain." Mystique nodded in understanding. "Once Emma comes around I think its time for a meeting."