Ashes to Ashes

Rubble was everywhere. Not a single brick of the Hellfire Headquarters was attached to anything. And yet with the destruction all around them, the Misfits, X-Men and anyone else left in the building miraculously survived.

"Professor…?" Jean said weakly.

"Jean are you alright?" Scott hugged her.

"I don't know…" Jean trembled. "It's contained but…I just don't know." Then she passed out.

"Jean!" Scott cried out.

"I can't believe we're alive…" Todd groaned as he looked at the debris all around them. "Anybody else not dead?"

"I think I am," Bobby coughed. "Alive that is."

"What happened to Cobra Commander and the Hellfire Club?" Kitty asked as she helped Lance phase out of some rubble.

"They must have fled while Xavier and Psylocke were trying to save Jean," Lance coughed.

"Professor?" Rogue made her way to Xavier and pulled some rubble off him. "Professor?"

"I'm fine…Somewhat," Xavier coughed. "I think Jean, Psylocke and I have managed to contain the Phoenix…for now."

"You think?" Lance asked holding his head. He looked around. "It looks like 911 all over again."

"Fortunately I think it's only this building that's turned to ashes," Althea sat up. "Jean! Is she…?"

"Unconscious but alive," Scott held her. "I think somehow her powers saved us all."

"That's good," Pietro groaned. "Ooh! Look at the pretty little fire birds flying around."

"We are not the only ones here," Peter picked up Emma's body. "She is breathing but not responding."

"She's in a coma," Ororo looked her over. She heard a vehicle approaching. "Now what?"

It was Evan and the other Hellions in a helicopter. Evan hopped out with an unconscious Sage in his arms. "How about a deal?" Evan called out. "Our teacher for your first student? Or are you willing to abandon her again?"

Xavier made a hard face. "Do it…"He ordered Peter. "Give her to them."

"Professor?" Scott asked.

"Why don't we just take 'em down?" Ray snarled.

"We can't risk hurting Sage," Warpath stopped him.

"Sage huh?" Lance asked. "Why do I have a feeling there's a long story behind this?"

Peter walked over carrying Emma. He glared at Evan who took her after putting Sage down. The sounds of sirens alerted them. "Nice doing business with you," Evan said as he left. Soon the chopper left and dozens of police cruisers were arriving.

"Tessa…" Logan was shocked.

"You know her?" Todd asked.

"Yeah," Logan sighed. "We do."

"She was my first student," Xavier told them.

"Your first…?" Kurt's jaw dropped.

"It's a long story," Remy sighed. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know…" Xavier sighed. "I honestly don't know…"

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The next evening…

"And once again we've made the Six O'clock news," Todd changed the channel. They were at the Xavier Institute recovering.

"I have to admit it's a nice change that someone else's house gets trashed for once," Bobby said as he watched the news with most of the Misfits and the X-Men.

Trish Tilby was on the scene. "It has now been confirmed that the Black Friar's Club, a place popular for retired bankers was now a front for the notorious Hellfire Club. The Hellfire Club has been rumored to have illegal ties to organized crime all over the world. During a confrontation with the mutant teams the X-Men and the Misfits…"

"Blah, blah, blah…" Todd groaned. He shouted at the TV. "We know all this!"

"How's Jean?" Ororo asked Hank as he walked in.

"Resting, along with Miss Sage," Hank explained. "Scott and Xavier are with them both. What did I miss?"

"Not much that you didn't already know about," Althea pointed. "But you did make it for Wilson Fisk weaseling out of this."

"I had no idea such nefarious things were going on," Kingpin told reporters. "I was merely investigating the Black Friar's Club to see if it would be interested in setting up a retirement program for some of my older employees. Where they could spend their golden years in comfort. This is most distressing…" He wiped his brow. "How could people take advantage of pensioners? Not to mention the city of New York? I feel so betrayed!"

"And the Oscar goes to…" Pietro mocked.

"And the worst part of it all is that I was held hostage by Cobra!" Kingpin threw up his hands. "Who were clearly in cahoots with these vile miscreants!"

"Sir, are you saying you were rescued by the X-Men and the Misfits?" Trish asked.

"Yes," Kingpin put on a brave face. "It appears that I, as well as the entire city of New York, no humanity owes them our lives! I mean this Bio-Pulse machine and Cobra? Just think of the horrors…No I don't want to think about it." He shuddered. "If it wasn't for the X-Men and Misfits, countless lives would have been lost!"

"Un-believable," Roberto's jaw dropped. "Un-Freaking-believable!"

"I thought I'd seen it all," Logan shook his head.

"This episode has clearly shown that not all mutants are monsters bent on world destruction," Kingpin was now really in his element. "If anything we must encourage those mutants who are willing to use their powers in order to benefit mankind! That is why I have decided…To start a non profit foundation of my own. An academy dedicated to helping young mutants achieve their potential and placing them in jobs suited for their many talents."

"What?" Wanda raised an eyebrow.

"Mutants need to be given positive direction in order to benefit society," Kingpin continued. He dragged Steve to the cameras. "Like this young man. Who was…Also a hostage of the Hellfire Club."

"Yeah! I was!" Steve nodded vigorously. He waved with two of his four hands. "Hi Mom!"

"I think young Steven here and other members of the mutant community need a chance. And I am going to give them that chance," Kingpin grinned. "I will personally oversee this project, placing many mutants in my employ!"

"Okay," Logan was shocked. "Now I've seen it all!"

"He did not just do what I think he did, did he?" Ray groaned.

"If you mean turn a disaster into a golden opportunity to recruit mutants and gain even more power," Hank sighed. "Yes he did."

"And I thought the Hellfire Club was slick," Shipwreck shook his head. "This guy makes them look like rank amateurs."

"Speaking of which how did the Hellions get away without being detected?" Fred asked. "The cops were literally right behind them!"

"Monet must have used her powers to psychically cloak them," Ororo explained.

"Not to mention the cops had all their attention on us," Lance groaned. "Not to mention SHIELD who arrived at the exact same time!"

"Good thing they did show up," Kitty groaned. "We were nearly arrested!"

"That was pretty smart of you Blob to grab the plans and that piece of the Bio Pulse," Logan admitted.

"You act like it's the only smart thing I ever did," Fred huffed.

"No comment," Rogue remarked.

"You think the Hellfire Club's finished?" Bobby asked.

"We hurt 'em bad," Logan grunted. "Trashed their inner sanctum and burned it right to the ground."

"That won't stop them from coming after us," Ororo told him.

"No, but maybe it'll make 'em think twice before they do," Logan grunted. "I could smell the fear on Shaw a mile away."

"Something tells me he'll manage to overcome it in the future," Spirit sighed.

"What I can't believe the Professor had a student before Scott and Jean and didn't tell anyone," Kitty shook her head. "I mean…The Professor having his own spy? It doesn't make any sense!"

"It makes perfect sense," Althea remarked. "I'd have been more surprised if he didn't have some spies working out in the field. Maybe Xavier isn't as naïve as I thought."

"Wait, you approve of stuff like this?" Kitty was shocked.

"Kitty for crying out loud look at where I came from," Althea rolled her eyes. "GI Joe wasn't always publicly known ya know?"

"And she's not the only one out there is she?" Scott asked. He had just entered the room and was looking at Logan. Obviously he had heard the tail end of the conversation.

"Sage was the only student that went out into the field…" Logan sighed. "But there are a couple more out there. Mostly contacts. Don't ask me who they are. Even I'm not sure of 'em all."

"But why wouldn't the Xavier tell us?" Scott asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lance raised an eyebrow. "To keep you X-Men nice and clean."

"Well that plan backfired big time," Bobby grumbled. "Most people think we're only a step up from terrorists anyway."

"Yeah and tonight only confirmed it," Rogue groaned as she looked at the pictures of the smoldering building the Hellfire Club once considered their home.

The hall phone rang. "I'll get it," Warren sighed and went to answer it.

"Not everyone thinks that we are criminals after tonight," Hank corrected Rogue.

"Depends on which news station you watch," Roberto shrugged. "Or how many supporters the Kingpin has."

"Some week this has been," Bobby lay back on the couch. "Sentinels, Neverland, the Hellfire Club, Sinister, Cobra and the Phoenix force and it's only…Wednesday."

"For once I'm not looking forward to Friday," Lance remarked. "Who knows how many other nutcases it will turn out we're related to!"

"And I thought my father was the devil," Kurt sighed as he looked at Remy.

"How much do you know?" Remy groaned.

"Roberto and Xi told us pretty much everything while you were in the bathroom," Rogue said.

"Great!" Remy threw up his hands and looked at Scott. "And I suppose you want to say something about this?"

"To be honest I'm still trying to get my head around an all powerful cosmic force possessing my girlfriend and nearly killing us all," Scott groaned. "Give me a few days okay?"

"You still should have told us," Rogue sighed. "Or tell me at least! I mean look at who I'm related to over here!" She pointed to Pietro.

"And don't get me started on my side of the family," Kurt moaned.

"Well one good thing about hitting bottom," Remy groaned. "At least all this family stuff is out in the open. Can't get much more screwed up than this!"

Just then Warren walked in with a dark look on his face. "Warren? What's wrong?" Rogue asked.

"My father's dead…" Warren said in a shaky voice. "He had a heart attack when he saw me on the news…"