Shout outs:

Mark C: Yep you'll see Fury soon and the X-Men will know what's happening but there's no good luck for Tessa. And you forget that they have another way to get information out of her other then Jean.

Aaron: Yeah she does work for SHIELD. Look for a little Wanda/Kitty interaction too because of what Kitty let out of the bag in this one. Glad you liked how this is going.

Episodic: X-23 obsession huh? Well she'll be in this fic too but much later on. You forget Rogue though, there's nothing Tessa can do against her.

IvyZoe: I guess it's an evil villain thing, you know like telling your master plan to the hero or some other cliché like that. Well you have to admit Kurt's been under a lot of stress and Gambit didn't make the best impression on him either. Yes Tessa does work for SHIELD and the action is coming soon trust me.

X0001: Yes I know that, and there's no plans for her to show up either.

The Uncanny R-Man: Well maybe she is or she let it slip about Kurt and Wanda. Yeah she is in trouble at this point.

coldqueen: Sorry no Bishop is planned for this.

Thanks to: Wen1, Chica De Los Ojos Café, Lil Jean

CHAPTER 15: SECRETS REVEALED

Tessa thought quickly. With Jean in her mind she couldn't lie without it being detected…So that meant she only had one option left. She closed her mind off, making it impossible for any telepath to gain entry and then with a cool look on her face, stared right into Shaw's eye and with a perfect poker face responded. "I serve you…I have always served you and always will."

Shaw looked at her coldly. She couldn't gage his reactions when he was like this or even tell what he was thinking. He let go and took a step back. Jean cried out in pain and held a hand to her head from the backlash of trying to get into Tessa's mind. Everyone knew what had happened, for they had all seen that happen to Emma before and now more then ever, the Inner Circle members tensed up.

"Why my dear Tessa…It seems that you are hiding something," Shaw said to her almost in an amused tone. "Now why don't you let down your shields and let Jean vouch for your honesty?"

Tessa remained as cold and as calm as ever. "I have served you faithful for three years. Have I ever given you any reason to doubt me?"

"Until today? No," He said simply, "And that's why I'm asking. This is the first time you've ever done something out of character. You went to a cyber café and did something with a computer and if I was to have your PC looked over, would I find something interesting? Like a large amount of data perhaps?"

"I went out to lunch."

"With only a coffee and at a place so far away with such elaborate transportation means?" Shaw said to her in a tone that made it clear that he didn't believe her and she was going through her mind trying to see how they had followed her. "Now let your shields down and let my queen in or else things will get messy." He said with a tone of anger in his voice.

Tessa knew that she couldn't bluff her way out of this…So she just stood there looking impassive at Shaw. Shaw himself guessed that she wasn't going to say anything and he didn't like that defiant look in her eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck, finding out that Tessa, the best and most trustworthy assistant he ever had now seemed to be working for someone else, but the question was who?

"Very well then," he said simply and quickly backhanded her across the face, "Pick her up." Tessa struggle to get up, but Harry and Pierce were stronger then her and each of them held an arm.

"Shall I get my room ready?" Selene asked with an evil grin on her face.

"No, I have a better solution…One that is quicker then your usual methods." Shaw looked to Rogue and simply nodded. She took a few steps forward and Tessa's eyes widened in fear. Rogue could and would absorb all her knowledge and if she opened her mind, Jean would swoop in. She saw Jean looking at her intently, ready to move the moment her mind was open. Tessa struggled as best she could, but Harry's grip was strong and Pierce's cybernetic limbs were nearly crushing her bones, but she still tried to break before it was too late.

Rogue smiled at her and Tessa froze knowing what was about to happen. Rogue, with her bare hands touched Tessa's face and activated her powers. Tessa's eyes rolled back in her head as she felt herself draining away. Rogue took, as much as she could without killing her, she was certain Shaw would want her alive and well.

Tessa was now limp and was out like a light. Shaw lifted her chin and then dropped it and turned to Rogue. "So?"

Rogue's eyes were closed as she shifted through all the memories she had received and after a few seconds, her eyes snapped open. "Well first of all…Her real name is Sage and she works for SHIELD."

Shaw's jaw clenched tightly and looked at Tessa/Sage with pure venom. SHIELD had been a thorn in his side for too long and the fact they got an operative this close to him was not only worrisome, but also insulting to him that he let them slip in here for so long.

"Put a collar on her and take her to the others downstairs," he said and went to the windows with his hands held behind his back. The others left him there as he just stared out at nothing.

"Are you alright my King?" Jean asked him as she stepped up next to him and ran a hand over his chest.

"I actually liked her you know? The fact that she was a spy has actually hurt me somewhat and that's surprising since I never thought of myself as getting close to anyone."

"Except me of course," Jean said with a little worried tone.

"Of course my Queen," he said to her taking her hand and kissing it.

"Do you wish to retire to bed early?" She asked him again, although in her warped mind it wasn't Shaw she was seeing, but an image of Scott in dark eighteen century clothing.

"Not tonight my Queen, I have things I must think about."

"Of course my King." Jean said and bowed to him before leaving him alone to his thoughts. Shaw however was thinking about how much SHIELD now knew about their operations. He would have to make a few calls and shift some information around but he could hold of any legal means SHIELD would throw at them, unless they had enough information to pick them apart but that would take time. If SHIELD tried something else like a covert op…Well they still have the Reavers on hand to take out any team they might send.

Shaw left the window intent on getting to work on this immediately.

Xavier Institute – Dormitories

Wanda Maximoff was not in a good mood to say the least. And with her powers, that was a dangerous mixture. Practically everywhere she went, anything that could shake did. At this point, the entire mansion now knew that she had spent the night in Kurt's room thanks in large part to Kitty. Apparently, she had told Piotr and was unknowingly heard by Bobby who told Jubilee and so on. And had Piotr not been there to protect her, Wanda would have made Kitty pay for spreading something she wanted to keep private.

Even before she got her memories back, Wanda was a fiercely private person. Things like the insane asylum, her father, and other issues she found difficult were things she wanted to keep to herself and she especially didn't like people pestering her about her private life. Now, if anybody so much as whispered something about it under their breath they were likely to be hexed to the wall. But that didn't stop rumors from spreading around about her and Kurt. And while she didn't like them, some of them did spark her interest…Mainly those saying that Kurt's heart still belonged to Amanda even though he said he was over her. Such things made Wanda more anxious and less angry because it only made her question her growing relationship with Kurt even further. Ever since Jean and Rogue's kidnapping, everything had been complicated. Now she just wished that it would all stop and everything would go back to the way it was…But she knew deep down that there truly was no going back at this point.

As the late afternoon set in, Wanda couldn't stand listening to gossip anymore and chose to head up to her room where she planned to completely sequester herself until she cooled off. But as fate would have it…As she walked down towards her, who else should she run into other than the one that had started this whole thing other than Kitty Pryde.

"Uh…Wanda," said Kitty nervously because this time Piotr wasn't around to protect her from the ever temperamental Scarlet Witch.

Wanda shot her an angry scowl as the walls began to shake at the sight of the one who had started this whole mess.

"Kitty…" she said simply, this time without letting her eyes glow purple like last time.

Kitty began to back away in the other direction, but Wanda wasn't going to let her off completely after all the frustration she caused her.

"You know you can't avoid me forever," said Wanda as the shaking continued, "We live in the same house."

"Look, I said I was sorry…" said Kitty in defense, "I know you're angry, but what more do you want me to say?"

"Kitty…It's bad enough you have to tell everybody I spent the night in Kurt's room," said Wanda, trying hard not to let her powers get the best of her, "But spreading rumors about me and Kurt being…Together…It's just…You have no right to assume that! Do you have any idea what everybody is saying about us now?! They're all talking about how we've been 'secretly dating' or 'sneaking away' and they've even been saying that we were having sex last night!"

"Hey now, I didn't start that one!" said Kitty, holding her hands up in defense.

"But it was because of you it started!" Wanda shot back.

"Look…Why are you so angry about this? I mean…I know you're upset about the rumors, but if you and Kurt are an item you shouldn't be embarrassed or…"

"We are NOT an item!" said Wanda, cutting her off, the walls shaking even more intensely upon saying that.

Wanda forced herself to take deep breaths and Kitty saw that this was making her too hysterical. But that last comment seemed to be the clincher for her temper and Kitty knew she had struck a deep chord by implying what she had.

"Okay, okay…Whatever you say Wanda," said Kitty as she backed away back down the hall, "Just calm down…I'm leaving."

And with that, Kitty left the hallway and was soon out of Wanda's sight…Leaving her frozen in place. She kept taking deep breaths as she repeated what she had said over and over again in her head. Part of it sounded logical…Part of it made her upset. She didn't quite know why she felt this way and now as her own words rang through her head like a mantra, tears started forming in her eyes.

Then, as she stood paralyzed by her emotions, Kurt appeared right behind her. Apparently, he had felt the intense shaking from the last outburst on the floor below and quickly teleported up to her to see what was the matter. He knew that she had been upset about all this…But she had never lost control like that. While Kurt didn't know exactly what she had said, he could only imagine it had been quite upsetting to her.

"Vanda? Vanda, are you all right?" said Kurt as his touch helped calm her down.

After a few deep breaths, the shaking in the hall stopped and Wanda tried to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Come on," said Kurt softly, "Maybe you should sit down or something."

Wanda, not wanting to say anything more to make her powers go haywire again, didn't argue as Kurt led her into her room where she promptly collapsed on her bed and rested her head on her hands. They both sat in silence for a brief moment as they both tried to calm down and process their current situation. However, the anxious expression on Wanda's face after her outburst did not go away. Kurt was quick to pick up on this as he sat down beside her.

"I take it you've heard it to…" said Kurt as he saw the overly stressed look on her face.

"What gave it away, the shouting or the shaking?" said Wanda in an exasperated tone.

"Vell…I couldn't hear the shouting, but I think everybody heard the shaking," said Kurt, managing a smile.

Wanda felt somewhat relieved when he said that he didn't hear her outburst to Kitty. It shouldn't have mattered…But it did. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't important, but her mind kept telling her that it was.

"As if we don't have enough problems around here," muttered Wanda as let out another deep sigh.

"Hey…It's just gossip," said Kurt as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah…But that doesn't make it any less annoying," said Wanda, "Man I swear…I will make Kitty pay for this if it's the last thing I do!"

"Come on Vanda," said Kurt, doing his best to keep her calm, "I know it's hard to ignore, but they'll get bored eventually. Believe me, I know."

Wanda tried to lighten up as best she could, but it was hard being the temperamental person she was. While Kurt had found it equally frustrating to deal with all the gossip and rumors about him and Wanda, he hadn't lost his cool like she had and for that Wanda couldn't help but admire him. He had enough to deal with ever since Rogue's kidnapping, but he still managed to stay cool. Wanda had never been too good at that and Kurt had been a big help to her ever since she arrived at the institute. The more she thought about it, the less she really cared about the rumors. In a way…Simply thinking about the previous night helped her cope with her current situation.

"So how long did it take for the gossip to stop for Scott and Jean?" asked Wanda in a lighter tone.

Kurt let out a light laugh as he recalled vividly their all too similar situation.

"From the time before they hooked up to the time they moved out…I'd say about, oh I don't know, years I guess…"

As grim as that prospect sounded, Wanda managed to laugh again…Maybe spending all this time around Kurt had rubbed off on her after all.

"Damn…" she said shaking her head, knowing that they were probably in for the long hall with this issue.

Kurt then moved closer to her and placed his hand on hers.

"Does that mean you regret what happened last night?" asked Kurt in a softer, more serious tone.

Wanda responded by simply smiling back at her fuzzy friend and gently running her hand down his soft face.

"Of course not…And just so you know…I'd do it again."

Kurt smiled back at her as he soon found himself embracing her, much to Wanda's surprise. She didn't resist, she only relished in it. It was a good feeling and at a time like this such sensations were few and far between. The gossip may have been annoying…But it was now clear to both Wanda and Kurt that neither of them would have changed a moment of last night no matter what anybody else said.

-Hellfire Club Prison Room-

The remaining three prisoners were left only to wait, for it was only a matter of time before someone came for them. Vince was still a little quiet after whatever Jason had put him through and the two women decided to leave him to it. Betsy was starting to scratch under her collar. "Bloody hell, how do you get these damn things to stop itching?"

"Just stop scratching or you'll just drive yourself nuts," Emma said sourly.

Then the door opened and they all tensed, wondering what else was going to happen to them. But they were all surprised to see an unconscious Tessa being dragged in with a collar on her neck as well.

"What the-I thought she was on their side?" Betsy whispered to Emma. She herself was perplexed at this and wondered what was going on. Tessa was Shaw's personal assistant and had been here before Emma had joined up. Emma was trying to racking her brain since Tessa had always seemed like the least likely person to betray Shaw.

The two guards merely dumped the dark haired woman onto the cold floor and left without another word. Betsy moved to her and turned her on her back and saw the split lip on her face and a small bruise on her face and arms as well. Betsy looked to Emma confused. "Just what in the hell is going on here?"

Emma just shook her head. They would have to wait for her to wake up and Emma, for one, wanted to know what was going on here.

Xavier Institute – Logan's Room

Logan once again found himself cloistered in his room. Upon his return from his little intelligence run with Remy which had turned up more question than answers, he decided to seal himself off once again to collect his thoughts, but given his feral nature that was much easier said than done. He had Jean and Rogue's kidnapping, his recurring flashes of a mysterious woman named Yuriko, and his recent fight with Ororo bearing down on him. He could barely handle one problem at a time, less along three.

The Wolverine soon found himself fall back on his bed as he stared blankly at the ceiling. He briefly recalled the memories he had floating around in his head and tried to dig deeper into his ever-clouded mind. But as he tried to make sense out of the confusing images, he was suddenly brought out of his daze by the sound of loud thunder booming outside his window.

"What the…" he said as he quickly got up and looked out the window.

The sky had been crystal clear and sunny just a few minutes ago and there had been no indication of rain all day. But to his surprise, he saw a dark storm cloud forming over the institute as lighting flashes preceded more loud thunder. The cloud was quickly growing at an unnatural rate. While most people would have been baffled by this sudden development, Logan quickly surmised the only possible source of this phenomenon.

"Ororo…"

Logan quickly ran out of his room and dashed down the halls of the dormitories. Upon not finding her in her room, he followed her scent downstairs and to the elevators leading to the lower levels. Her scent was one of the few that he could find without even trying after having been so accustomed and attached to it over the years. The thunder outside only grew more intense and many of the residents took notice. Logan knew that Ororo's powers were driven in part by her emotions and the weather outside often reflected how she was feeling. And if this sudden development was any indication…She was quite angry and distraught at the moment.

His impatience only grew as the elevator seemed to take forever and the doors seemed downright inert in terms of speed. And as he had suspected, Ororo was in the danger room. Upon entering, he saw nobody managing the console. The settings were on the same kind of advanced programs that he often used. And from the observation area, Logan could see bright flashes of intense lightning blasting across the area along with massive whirlwinds that caused the whole structure to shake. And just as he feared…Ororo was at the center of it all, letting out loud, angry yells of frustration as she took down holographic images of sentinels and various deadly obstacles.

"Shit!" cursed Logan as he rapidly began to punch the override controls, "I gotta stop her!"

While he was not Beast when it came to the controls of the danger room, he knew how to run the emergency shut down procedure. But even as the holograms faded, the former weather goddess's fury did not lessen. If anything, it got worse.

As winds grew stronger, Logan ran down to the entrance to the danger room and forced the doors opened as he stepped into the windy melee.

"Ororo! Ororo it's me!" yelled Logan over the noise.

The winds didn't stop and Logan almost found himself being swept off his feet as he struggled to maintain his balance.

"Ro! You have to stop this! You have to calm down!" he urged as he fought his way through the storm and made his way towards her.

The former weather goddess let out another cry of frustration as she turned to face Logan with her eyes glowing and crackling with lightning sparks.

"Come on Ororo…This isn't you," he urged, "I know it! This isn't you…"

Upon seeing Logan standing there fighting his way through the fury of wind that she was creating in her venting frustration, the expression on her face changed. She began breathing hard as she calmed the winds around her and ceased the lightning flashes. Outside the institute, the storm cloud faded and as she once again gained control over her mind and powers once she realized what she had been doing.

'Oh no…' she thought as a feeling of dread came over her, 'What have I done?'

Slowly, she descended to the ground, but her leg refused to support her as she collapsed onto the cold, hard floor of the danger room and began to hyperventilate. Logan quickly rushed to her side and helped support her tired body. She looked back into his eye with tears streaming down her face. Seeing his face made her remember what she had done to betray his trust and how she failed to help him. She tried to look away, but she merely let out a sob of self pity.

"Ro…Ro are you okay?" asked Wolverine, his voice full of concern, "Normally…I'd expect this kind of thing from me."

Ororo had never lost control like this before…She never got to the point where she let her powers go with such fury. But after all the hurt she felt after Logan unleashed his anger on her for looking at his files, she felt like such a wreck. She hated herself for betraying the trust of a friend even though part of her felt she had no other choice in the end. But none of that mattered because she still failed. And it hurt…It hurt a lot more than she could ever imagine.

"I'm sorry I…I just…I couldn't take it," she said as she continued hyperventilating as a result of using so much power.

"But…Why?" he asked, as he saw her tears.

"I wanted to blow off some steam…I guess I got carried away," she admitted shamefully, feeling as though she had failed herself for losing the control she had always been able to maintain.

"Yeah…I know the feeling," said Logan, managing a grin.

However, Ororo did not respond to this…She merely looked away and forced herself back up onto her feet, ignoring the lightheadedness that followed. She managed to shake herself free of Logan's grasp as she stumbled towards the exit. The look on her face struck Logan as being one of distaste. Quickly, he tried to catch up with her.

"Ro, wait!" said Logan, but a sudden gust of wind stopped him.

"Don't Logan…" said Ororo as she looked back at him one last time with hurt still apparent in her eyes, "Please…Just don't."

Logan simply froze in place as he watched her simply walk out, leaving him in a state of shock and self-loathing. While he hadn't seen the additional tears that formed in her eyes when she left, the message was already clear. He had hurt her for trying to help him…She was a friend and he had hurt her. All she ever tried to do was lend him her support when he had driven everybody else away. Everybody had simply did what he said and left her alone…Except her. She kept trying because she was concerned and he yelled at her for it.

"Err…Damnit!" yelled the confused, feral man as he punched the cold metal floor with his bare fist.

His breathing became erratic as he felt nothing but pure, unabated hatred for himself. It was bad enough he was dealing with his convoluted memories…But this was just as bad, if not worse. The more he thought about it the more his mind tortured him. But seeing Ororo with tears in her eyes…Tears caused because of him…Was just too much. He was determined to fix this. He didn't know how or even where to start…But he was going to fix the friendship he held so dear. He swore it…He was going make things right with Ororo no matter what…If for anything, so he wouldn't have to see those tears in her beautiful eyes again.

-SHIELD HQ-

At his desk Col. Nick Fury, a middle aged man with graying hair in his once dark crew-cut hairstyle that he kept from his old military days as a Howling Commando and an eye patch over a missing eye he lost years ago, sat in his ever tense state. His face had its share of age lines, but given the life he had lived, that was to be expected. He sat back at his desk, but he hated the desk job he found himself in and he missed the field and getting his hands dirty.

But someone needed to run SHIELD and he was the best for that job. Plus, even he had to admit he was getting old and wasn't as fast or as young as he had been. He stopped doing his paperwork, remembering the good old days, but soon put that aside. Now wasn't the time for day dreaming. Besides, he hated it when paper work got piled up. It always gave him more work to have to do behind his desk.

His office was pretty much Spartan with only a few pictures, mainly of friends and a photo of his old unit, on the wall. He had no family to speak of. His life didn't allow that much free time, but once he had been close…But he pushed that thought away too, for that was also something he didn't need to think of.

Then, there was a knock on his door. "Come in."

One of his intel people then entered. He was a young man in his early twenties in the usual white shirt and tie that the tech people wore while in the office with his ID badge clipped onto his front pocket. "Um…sir?" The boy was pretty nervous, for he had never actually met his boss like this and from what he heard about him, the man was a living legend. He was intimidated by just the presence of the man. But the data he got was for his eyes only and he might have only been working here a year, but he knew enough to take stuff like this right to whoever needed it as fast as possible.

"What do you have son?" Fury asked him, wishing that he didn't have to follow those damn no smoking rules in Government buildings. You'd think that he could light up every now and then, but he had to set an example.

The young man walked forward with a disk he placed on the desk. "This came in for you sir. It was marked for your eyes only and the only info on who it was from was someone named Sage."

Fury's interests peeked at that point. "You're dismissed," he told the young man and grabbed the disk and put into his computer at his desk. The Tech man knew not to stay around and quickly left and closed the door behind him. Fury looked through the info that was sent and what was going on.

'The paper work can wait,' He thought to himself reading what was currently going on. He hadn't known about Xavier's kids being taken or this other boy he had never heard of. He had taken surveillance off of Xavier's out of thanks for Apocalypse, but now he regretted it. If he had his team stationed, they would have known and could have helped by now. Reading about what those kids had to endure turned his stomach.

He would have to see if he could take down the Hellfire Club first with the data she had sent him. He had a personal stake in this and this Hellfire Club was a cancer that needed to be cut out. But they had high connections and he was even thinking that some of the people who were behind SHIELD had dealings or were being blackmailed by the Hellfire Club to do their bidding. He had been told to leave them alone, but he had made his own unofficial operation against them.

Now he just hoped he could bring them all down…If not…Then maybe he would have to do this another way. He pushed all the paper work aside and would work this through the night if he had to. He would find what he needed. If not…Then he was sure that the X-Men would love this data, but he had to make sure they only got what they needed and nothing more.

NEXT UP CHAPTER 16: CONTACT AND COMFORT

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