Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men. Ilehana Xavier belongs to Corrinth and is used with permission. Blaze, Shockwave, Hawley, Matthew Cooper, Gaia and Iona belong to Lamby and should not be used without my permission.

Scene 16

So it was that most of the X-Men and pupils at the Xavier School were still in bed, when late that same morning an unusual sound filled the cool air outside. It grew louder as the she-wolf lifted her heavy head from her paws, and stared balefully at the sky. The sound of an approaching helicopter; a light, non-military spec. by the drone of its propellers. Standing slowly and shaking her fur free of the few clinging blades of grass, Ilehana padded back to the mansion to see what was going on. She met Cyclops coming outside, dressed smartly as though for a meeting, and quickly realised this helicopter was expected by Scott if no one else.

#Going up in the world, One-Eye? # Vixen asked as she yawned, stretching her wolf muscles and realising too late shape shifting back after so long in this form was going to be a painful experience. Ah well, nothing for it now.

"Very funny Claws." Scott smiled down at his childhood friend, not bothered in the slightest about talking out loud to a wolf. "Its Senator Hawley, I'm supposed to have a meeting with him this afternoon about Samantha, but he is kinda early…"

#And yet you look as though you've been ready for him for hours already. You seriously need a hobby Scott… # Ilehana teased, tongue lolling as both mutants watched the helicopter hover and then begin to descend towards the expanse of lawn. #Have fun, and mind your manners. # She grinned, a wolfish expression involving a painful number of very sharp teeth, and left him to it. Cyclops could only shake his head and smile. Vixen certainly was one in a million…

"Was that a wolf I just saw you talking to?" Michael Hawley was a big, gruff man who reminded Scott somewhat of a wild boar, as he took Cyclops' hand in a firm grip and shook it stoutly.

"Ilehana Xavier." Scott filled in easily, knowing no further explanation was necessary. Senator Hawley had certainly come a long way since his mutant-hating days when he'd nearly punched Kelly-Mystique's lights out after a speech. With the Professor's help, Hawley was well on the way to being more of a force for mutant rights in government than Kelly-Mystique had ever managed, and without calling for a mutant-human war. "Good to see you Senator, and you Matthew." Cyclops took Hawley's aide's hand in a friendly handshake too, one the only human who'd ever served with the X-Men returned easily with a smile. "You too Scott. Always a pleasure."

"Is there a problem, Senator?" Cyclops turned back to business with an arm waved to indicate they take the conversation inside. "Its just we weren't expecting you until this afternoon."

"I'm afraid the meeting on my daughter will have to wait," Hawley announced seriously, pacing besides Cyclops as his aide brought up the rear dutifully. "I've been asked to approach the X-Men as a go-between for a government agency. Your expertise is required on a special project, one I'd most like to discuss with Professor Xavier, if that is possible?"

Even as Scott looked blankly at the Senator, not quite understanding the older man's answer, Xavier appeared from nowhere with a serious expression on his face.

"Of course, Senator." Xavier addressed the man formally, "My office, please, and Cyclops if you could gather the X-Men in the briefing room it would be much appreciated."

"What, again?" Cyclops asked of no one in particular, as Xavier, Hawley and Matthew Cooper disappeared into the office and left the schoolteacher stood on his own.

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With Hawley and Matthew Cooper both talking animatedly on their mobile phones in Xavier's office, and likely to remain in that state for a while, the Professor headed for the lower levels. Already through his telepathy he knew the X-Men were waiting for him, but he sent them a wave of psychic apology and headed first to Cerebro. He needed to check something…

The swell of undeniable power Charles felt as the helmet set around his brow enhanced his mutation took his breath away. It always did, no matter the reason why he was using the giant machine. With no effort at all, he reached out for Mexico as a normal human would reach for the television remote. Flicking from mutant to mutant, he tried to find his local operative, the young woman named Gaia. She would be in the jungle, at an excavation no doubt. But if something untoward were going on, she would be the one to know…

It took Xavier a moment as he reached out at last to tap lightly on Gaia's telepathic signature, to ask for her attention, for him to realise something was very wrong. The startling energy with which the Mexican mutant turned on him, snarling and corrupted, threw Xavier backwards into the void. Dark laughter danced around him, Apocalypse's laughter, evil and triumphant.

#Do you think that you could keep your spy safe from me Xavier? I am the eternal! And she is mine now, has joined the legions of my glorious army! #

Xavier flung himself away forcefully, fleeing Apocalypse's laughter without shame. He had Gaia, that much was certain, but legions? The very idea that Apocalypse could have formed an army of slave mutants disturbed Xavier, not least because when in the presence of that disturbing laughter, Xavier himself could feel him slipping towards Apocalypse's fearsome control.

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"These satellite images were taken of the Tibetan Plateaux a little over a year ago." Xavier addressed his team as evenly as he could, grateful for Ilehana's calming telepathic presence as his now-human daughter sat besides him, fully aware through her own mutation of how rattled Xavier was. "The explosion comes from a deep well of catacombs called Min Garze. S.H.I.E.L.D., the agency that have approached us through Senator Hawley, have no idea what caused it. At the time they did briefly investigate, but the appearance of the Horsemen distracted matters, and the investigation was dropped. As nothing else happened, no follow up was undertaken and the explosion was accredited to seismic disturbances."

"Seismic what?" Bobby asked unbelievingly, "The whole place is purple… What type of seismic disturbance lights up purple?"

"It even weirder than Jubilee's hair, non?" Gambit teased, making Jubilee pull a face at the Cajun across the table, and Kitty giggle.

"Quite." Xavier smiled, before changing the image on the screen to another satellite scan, this time of a deep jungle region. "This is taken over Mexico, the pyramid you can just about make out in the lower left corner of the image is the pinnacle of the Xitakulkan temple…"

For a moment, the X-Men just looked at the image. The same purple brilliance shone iridescently just above the temple, whilst trees fell away from the explosion violently. The scar that was left was a brown smudge on the landscape, hasty deforestation, almost as if someone had thought himself above walking through the trees to reach the pyramid.

"When was this taken?" Storm asked hesitantly. "Why hasn't Gaia reported this?"

"This image was taken last night." Xavier paused again to let that sink in, watching as the X-Men tried to join up the dots. "I have tried to contact Gaia, but I'm afraid she is unreachable…"

"Unreachable how?" Blaze asked, worried for the peace-loving young woman. "Apocalypse?"

"I'm afraid so. S.H.I.E.L.D. have requested that we put our expertise in mutants to good use. They too have lost operatives in the area and are loathe to send in more before they know more about what they are up against. The X-Men are to go in as scouts only…"

"Sounds like a set-up to me, Professor." Logan as ever wasn't backwards in coming forwards. "These government types had enough of getting their hands dirty so they send us in instead? What's in it for us?"

"The information giving us a chance to find out what Apocalypse is up to before any more innocent people are caught up in this. Don't worry Logan, just think of the military as back-up, they cannot deal with mutants as well as the X-Men, or they wouldn't have come to us in the first place."

"So when we leavin'?" Wolverine snarled, cracking the adimantium bones in his hands, making Xavier smile.

"I'd request straight away, Logan…"