Hellfire and Brimstone Part I

"Warpath, to say I am disappointed in you is an understatement," Emma sighed. Once again the X-Men and Xi had been captured and were bound tightly with shackles and restraining collars. This time both Sage and Warpath were with them. The Hellions and the Inner Circle were in the room as well.

"Not half as disappointed as I am in you guys not only condoning mutant experimentation, but funding it!" Warpath snarled.

"Somebody's been telling tales," Pierce glared at Evan.

"He would have found out anyway," Shaw intervened. "Better we know his intentions now than further down the road. What about the rest of you?"

"I don't really like it either but…" Monet hesitated. "You must have your reasons."

"Catseye will not go against Ms. Frost," Catseye shook her head.

"Neither will I," Yvonne spoke. "We may not like it but we will do whatever she asks us to. The two of us owe her too much."

"The rest of us are fine with this," Bevatron said.

"Yeah, who cares what happens to lower evolved mutants?" Beef shrugged. "As long as it ain't us."

"You guys really have joined the Dark Side haven't you?" Roberto snapped.

"Better than joining the menu on a barbecue," Bevatron snorted.

"What do you mean?" Jean asked.

"After the ceremony the Oracle of the Phoenix tends to get a bit…" Shaw paused. "Hyper."

"In other words we're going to be sacrificed," Sage told them.

"Correction, they are going to be sacrificed. With the exception of Young Mr. DaCosta for obvious reasons. And you my dear Sage are far too valuable to sacrifice," Shaw held her face in his hand. "Hellions! Take her away to our Manhattan offices! I'll deal with her later."

"Don't you need us for the ceremony?" Evan asked.

"This ceremony is only for the grown ups," Pierce sneered.

"Then how come you're staying?" Evan challenged.

"That's enough children," Shaw spoke in a tone that implied Pierce was more a Hellion than a member of the Inner Circle. "We have a ceremony to prepare for. And Miss Grey needs to get ready."

"I won't help you," Jean said defiantly.

"Yeah like you have a choice," Emma took out a syringe and jabbed it into Jean's arm. Jean twitched for a second then passed out.

"What did you do to her?" Remy strained against his bonds.

"Just a little something to keep her calm until we need her," Emma said. "And while I'm at it…" She jammed the same drug into Sage. "I don't exactly trust her awake now either. Now take Sage back to my office and wait there until the ceremony is over. I'll deal with Ms.Grey personally."

"But what about the X-Men and Misfits?" Evan asked. "You know sooner or later they're gonna figure out where we are somehow."

"Don't worry," Shaw told them. "Even if they do show up, we'll be ready for them."

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"Anybody else think it's weird that Selene just up and left after telling us about this place?" Kitty muttered as she looked at the Black Friar's Club building.

"Something tells me that doing actual work isn't her style," Logan growled.

"We're going to split into two groups," Xavier said. He was dressed in a white tuxedo. "Cyclops, Storm, Psylocke, Quicksilver, Colossus, Cover Girl and Low Light will join me in the frontal assault."

"Some frontal assault," Althea remarked. Xavier's group was very well dressed in fine clothing. "It looks like you're going to attack the Emmys."

"That show could use an improvement like that," Betsy quipped.

"Uh, this is gonna sound like a dumb question," Todd held up his hand.

"Coming from you they usually are," Bobby said.

"But ain't those Hellfire guys gonna recognize you the second you walk through that door?" Todd continued. He looked at Bobby. "And coming from the King of Dumb Questions that's not much of an insult."

"Yeah we're experts on that and that was pretty lame," Pietro added.

"Oh sorry I have offended you, O Lord of Lameness," Bobby glared at him.

"Now that one was pretty good," Todd admitted.

"Before we continue on the Name Calling Contest of the Decade," Wanda raised her hand to interrupt them. "Can we let Xavier answer because frankly for once Toad has a good point."

"Psylocke and I will psychically shield our team to make it appear like we are other people," Xavier told her. He pointed to a huge map on the monitor. "While we search the building we'll be in psychic link with the second wave. Wolverine, Beast, Wavedancer, Toad, Blob, Avalanche, Scarlet Witch, Spirit, Shadowcat, Rogue, Firestar, Iceman, Nightcrawler, X-23 and Roadblock will be the second wave. You will travel here, through the sewers and attack underground."

"Of course we'd get the fun job," Lance said sarcastically.

"Believe me I'd rather be down in the sewers than in this getup," Low Light grumbled.

"Angel, Shipwreck you and the remaining members of both teams will stay at the Institute in case of an attack or if we need backup," Xavier ordered.

"Fine with me," Warren shrugged. "As long as Shipwreck stays away from the alcohol."

"Hey I can be sober when I want to," Shipwreck defended.

"And when is that?" Polly cackled.

"Keep it up Sharkbait," Shipwreck glared at him. "Just keep it up."

"I can monitor your progress from back here," Arcade told them. "I might even be able to hack into the Hellfire Club's computer system if I get a link."

"You can use these," Forge showed them some small chips. "It's something I've been working on. A portable hacking device. Just insert or attach into any security system or computer and boom! Instant access."

"I just hope these things work better than your more recent inventions," Ororo took one. Forge handed both teams a few of them.

"Yeah especially your water purification thingy that made those giant mutant fish," Fred chuckled.

"Or your Middleverse machine," Kurt added.

"Or the lie detector," Kitty added.

"Or your healing ray that not only turned Storm and Shipwreck into teenagers but gave me a multiple personality complex!" Scott added.

"The toaster you 'fixed'," Rogue pointed out. "You know the one that set the curtains on fire."

"The other ray you made when those stupid giant seagulls trashed the Danger Room," Logan added.

"I wasn't too thrilled with the Electric Boomerangs you made for the Danger Room either," Kitty added.

"Oh man I hated those!" Rogue added. "Not to mention that mouse detector and ray gun that made all those holes in the walls."

"Don't forget the shrink ray, yo!" Todd called out. A collective groan was heard from the group.

"I almost forgot about that fiasco!" Scott groaned.

"Oh Lord I couldn't forget that if I tried," Hank rolled his eyes. "And believe me I've tried!"

"Okay! Okay! So I've had a few setbacks! I get it!" Forge snapped. "But these will definitely work! I promise!"

"I got another question," Todd held up his hand. "Why is the sewer group larger than the Fancy Scmancy group? Why so many people?"

"The Hellfire Club has a lot of resources," Logan told him. "And I mean a lot. Expect at least some kind of heavy defense systems."

"Didn't Selene give us some kind of override codes?" Althea asked.

"She did but she also warned us the Hellfire Club may have changed them by now," Scott told her.

"But why is your group so small?" Kitty asked. "I'd like to wear a fancy dress too."

"We don't want to attract too much attention to ourselves," Ororo explained to her.

"And I can run around that place in seconds," Pietro told them. "I can do a lot faster recon than if we sent in more people."

"Hopefully we can find the others and free them before you arrive," Xavier said.

"Still makes me a little uneasy Charles," Logan shook his head.

"Don't worry Logan," Scott said. "We can handle whatever the Hellfire Club throws at us. It's not going to be a problem."

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"And I thought my mansion back in England was posh," Psylocke looked around at the gold covered walls.

"It's certainly a lot more flashy than the outside," Cover Girl remarked. Except for Pietro the group was calmly making their way through the huge building. Pietro had run ahead to see what he could find. "Has Quicksilver found anything?"

"It's hard to say," Xavier frowned. "For some reason it's harder than usual to keep focused on his mind."

"Normally I'd make a joke on how much of a mind Quicksilver has," Low Light remarked. "But in this case I'd say it had something to do with the fact there are other telepaths here."

"They could have placed some kind of psychic barrier around the building," Xavier frowned. "That would explain why I could not scan this place with Cerebro."

"Well isn't that lovely?" Cover Girl groaned.

"Hey guys! Come to the lower east wing…" Cover Girl's communicator crackled with Pietro's voice. "I found something!"

"Maybe it's Jean!" Scott said. They moved quickly to another room.

"Careful Scott it could be a trap," Betsy warned.

"I don't think so," Scott said. Just then an iron door slammed shut behind them. "On the other hand…"

Some gas seeped in through the vents. "They're gonna gas us!" Betsy yelled.

"So much for the subtle approach!" Scott used his optic blasts to hit the nearest wall. He crashed a hole right through it. They stumbled through the hole into the next room.

Shaw, Emma, Pierce and Leland were there waiting for them. Pietro was there tied up. "Sorry guys," He gulped. "I kind of tripped over something…"

"I told you they'd come this way," Emma smirked.

"Fine I owe you a coke," Leland raised his hands.

Peter charged at them. He changed into his armored form. "Where are our friends you…BOZSHIE MOI!" Suddenly he fell down flat on his face. "I…I cannot move."

"Our dear Mr. Leland here has the mutant ability to control gravity," Emma remarked. "He can make anything as heavy or as light as he wishes for as long as he wishes."

"And our dear Ms. Frost has placed barriers on our minds so don't bother using your telepathy to attack us," Pierce grinned.

"Did you really think you could take me on?" Shaw grinned. "That the Hellfire Club wouldn't be prepared for you and your students and their freak friends?"

"We're not down yet!" Scott shouted as he started to attack with Betsy and Ororo. They all crashed straight to the floor. "Okay…Maybe we are…"

"This is the best you can do?" Shaw sneered at Xavier. "Honestly Xavier, I expected more of a challenge."

"You wanna challenge?" Low Light snapped. "Fine!" He changed his body to pure energy and went straight for Shaw. "Here's a challenge!" He tackled him.

"Senseless violence," Leland sighed. "Oh how I loathe it. Do you want me to put the kibosh on them too?"

"Come on Leland," Pierce grabbed Cover Girl. "Let me have some fun! Struggle all you like woman, my arm is pure machine! You'll never break loose!"

"Your arm may be metal, but I'll bet another part of your body isn't!" Cover Girl struggled.

"Yeah?" Pierce grinned. Then his face turned into an expression of absolute pain as she proved her point. "MOMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He let go and doubled over.

"I've wanted to do that for years," Emma chuckled. "And this too." She changed into her diamond form and knocked out Cover Girl with one punch. "This is already turning into the best night I've had in months."

Shaw was grappling with Low Light. "Normally…my powers only involve kinetic energy…" Shaw gritted his teeth as he sweated. "It makes me stronger, faster, more powerful…"

"Yeah? Do they ever help you shut your mouth?" Low Light hit Shaw rapidly.

Shaw staggered for a moment. Then grinned. "Your energy form may sting me a lot, but when you hit me…That really helps!" He shot out his fist straight into Low Light. It slammed him into the wall and knocked him out.

"Whoa…" Pietro was shocked.

"Not bad for a rich guy eh?" Shaw snickered. "Xavier for years you've been a thorn in my side. And now… Now I'm going to cut you out."

"We're not defeated yet," Xavier glared at him. "Tell me where Jean and the others are."

"Or what? You'll look at us to death?" Pierce snickered. "Hey…is it getting colder in here or is it just me?"

Ororo was creating a strong bitter cold wind with her powers. "I do not need to move my body to bring you to your knees!" She shouted. The wind grew stronger and colder. Soon it was a mini blizzard in the room.

"Somebody knock her unconscious!" Pierce yelled as he held on to the wall for dear life.

"Gladly!" Emma managed to move over to Ororo thanks to her more resilient diamond form and do so.

"STORM!" Xavier shouted.

"You were saying?" Shaw gloated at Xavier.

"Note it was the Joes that lasted longer than most ofthe X-Men," Leland pointed out. "Even the woman put up more of a fight than your team!"

"It's not as if they were at full strength," Emma pointed out. "You know that Wolverine and the others are sniffing around the grounds somewhere. I sense several mutant presences in the sewers."

"An appropriate place for them if there was one," Pierce tended to his damaged arm.

"True, but by the time they get through a few…obstacles I've placed the ceremony will be over," Shaw grinned. "So you see Xavier this was really quite pointless. But if you really want to see Miss Grey and the others, I think I can arrange it."

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"I really love my job sometimes," Bobby said sarcastically as the second team combed the sewers.

"You think you have it bad, try doing this with an enhanced sense of smell," Rina grunted.

"Hey this should be a piece of cake," Bobby shrugged. "I mean how tough can this Hellfire Club be if they leave the sewers unguarded?"

"Hold up!" Logan held out his hand. "Something's out there."

Rolling towards them were several large metal balls. Those metal balls turned into some bizarre kind of attack droids. Behind them floated over fifty flying droids. "I think I've just figured out why they left the sewers alone," Todd gulped.

"This is not good," Lance grumbled as the machines started to attack.

"Me and my big mouth," Bobby groaned.