Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men. Ilehana Xavier belongs to Corrinth. All other characters belong to me.
A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers out there; you really are all stars.
Scene 21"You've nearly ruined everything!"
The shadow man winced as her furious voice ripped through the ether between them. He tried to stutter something, but no words formed.
"How could you be so careless as to let the virus infect a mutant outside of the prescribed test zone? Did you not know how crucial the illusion of control is for the game we play?"
"Its no illusion, Ma'am." He stuttered, "We have complete control... It was simply not foreseen that a human would want to enter close enough contact with a mutant for it to be a problem..."
"Fool! All control is an illusion! And all eventualities must be explored, no matter how distasteful! I have had enough, warn your CIA contact that we grow weary of politics, and that as a gesture of good will we will act before payment is confirmed."
"Ve... Very good Ma'am." The shadow man confirmed. "And the target?"
"Let them see how useful this virus is, no matter the level of control. Lets see how low crime levels drop when all the mutant scum of New York City are dead. Pollute the bars and clubs. If this doesn't get their attention, hit a city a week until the money is in the bank."
"Very well..." The man replied, but she'd already signed off the link. Sweating he pushed back his hair and spun around in his chair. The factory around him, his factory, hummed with activity of men and machinery. Little did they know they were brewing the most potent biological weapon ever conceived to fight for the future of the human race...
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"And now breathe out, slowly. That's it." Blaze's voice was warm and calming, her own breathing as slow as the gentle rising of the sun, the leisurely flicker of flames in a hearth. Mercury sat cross-legged, sideways on the sofa in the rec. room, Blaze mirroring her position almost perfectly apart from the redhead not having one arm in a sling. Both had their eyes closed, the daylight dancing on their eyelids like fairy dust as they meditated.
"Are you sure this works?" Eloise opened her eyes with a sigh. "I don't feel any different."
"You wont if you're this impatient!" Blaze laughed. "And for me to call someone else that is saying something!"
"What's it feel like?"" Bobby asked curiously, leaning forward in his seat across the room.
"Oh its better than..." Mercury started before Blaze chipped in. "It feels like an island of calm in a stormy ocean, a good book in a library of beauty magazines, a decent film in a back catalogue of romantic comedies. And nothing like what Mercury is implying."
"Oh, okay." Bobby replied, not entirely understanding what Blaze was on about. But already Mercury had moved the conversation on, as Logan had noticed she'd been doing all afternoon. Wolverine sat on the windowsill, diligently overseeing the whole thing for the Xaviers' collective peace of mind.
"Speaking of which, you're not telling me that even with all these hunky guys about you're single, Blaze?" Eloise knew the instant Blaze raised an eyebrow at her that she'd hit a sore spot she could exploit. "You gotta tell me if you made it on the list yet?"
"The list?" Blaze scoffed, "I have immunity, thanks very much."
"What list?" Bobby asked, intrigued as if by a foreign language he almost understood but not quite. And he thought he knew Blaze...
"The list!" Mercury cried, "I knew it! You are so on the ex-list, it's written all over you! Thank hell for that! At least now I can talk to you about..."
"No way." Blaze shook her head. "I still don't want to know about you and Gambit! I never did and I never will, no matter how often you try and bring it up."
"No?" Mercury smiled thinly. "The can I at least ask..." Bobby squinted at the two girls as if that could help him overhear what Mercury was whispering to Blaze; making both their eyes glaze over slightly as they giggled. Wolverine on the other hand didn't have that problem, the look on his face as he stood to leave one of distaste.
"You're disgusting." He told Gambit as the Cajun entered, thoroughly traumatised.
"My ears is burnin'." Gambit let Wolverine go to take his shift watching Mercury with slightly more humour than his college. "You'se maybe talkin' about Gambit?"
"Hum, burning ears..." Mercury looked decisively at Blaze, "He's asking for it."
"Too easy." Blaze deflected the challenge to use her powers, knowing that Mercury was longing to see what else Blaze was capable of now she'd learned to control them.
"What the?" Gambit frowned, walking past the girls on the sofa to look out the window concernedly. "Police..."
"No way." Blaze was on her feet; old thief's dread washing over her as she saw it was true. Bobby got up too, more worried than he'd say. "Maybe they're here about the crash?"
"No, that's been sorted, Ilehana made sure." Wolverine came back in to get a better look. "This is somethin' else."
"The mutant known as Blaze!" A loudspeaker addressed the mansion as no less than eight patrol cars screeched to a halt in front of the house, lights flashing impressively, guns of all sizes and descriptions homed on the classrooms and students' bedrooms. "You are surrounded! Come out of the building with your hands up!"
"No way..." Blaze repeated, backing away from the window, fighting her firepower. "No way..." Sparks began to fly, Mercury lurching unevenly from the sofa as it began to smoulder. A magazine of Storm's left lying on the side spontaneously combusted, forcing Bobby to use his power on both items. "No..." Blaze's eyes betrayed her terror as inbred, beyond any plausible way of escape, a phobia. Wolverine could see it and even understand it. There was only one answer.
"Run Blaze." She glanced at her friend, not understanding. Logan repeated himself, trying to keep calm. "Run, we'll solve this. Just get out of here, now."
"Go Blaze." Bobby backed Logan up, eyes full of sympathy. "Trust us, just go."
Blaze nodded, then turned and made a break for the doorway. Her heart pounded, knowing she must have made another mistake, must have been the break-in she'd done for Studd... A voice called her back.
"Laura..."
"No, Rem, it's my mistake, you're not running with me..." She was firm, but his eyes were colder. His hand moved suddenly, and Blaze found herself catching something small and metallic that cut into her palm. Slowly she opened her hand, looking down at his bike key.
"Don't write it off." Was all he said, and she knew right then he'd had no intention of running with her. Good, she thought adamantly, but her stomach plummeted. She tried to meet his eyes, but found she didn't have the guts to see his disappointment in her.
"Don't abandon me." She almost thought the words were her own, she'd been thinking the exact same thing, but it was Mercury who spoke, not Blaze. "I need you Blaze, I need to learn what you can teach me."
Blaze didn't answer, her fist slamming sideways into the wooden panel of the hallway to reveal a secret passageway down to the garage. Mercury smiled shyly and disappeared ahead of the redhead. Laura met Remy's eyes briefly, knowing that everything was exactly wrong between them, and left. The wood slid slowly back into place behind the two women, and Gambit was left alone.