Disclaimer: i dont own the X-men
The Mission of Hellfire
Chapter 10: the Second assault
Soldier had found what he needed, the weapons laying in the S.H.I.E.L.D. container. He punched in the access code and unlocked the box. The box contained the two things he needed for an assault on the club. But first he needed to tend to his wounds. Taking the bandages and disinfectant that had also been stored in the box, Soldier wrapped up his arm and chest as tightly as he could. The first item he needed for his assault was the suit he had requested. It was a shaped like basic S.H.I.E.L.D. heavy armour, although unlike the gas masks that the agent used, Soldier would use a metallic, red eyed helmet. Another key difference between the agent's armour and Soldier's was his armour's black colour. He put the heavy armour on and reached for the rest of his the equipment that would aid him in his attack, two submachine guns, a few special grenades and of the object that was central to Soldier actually getting there.
'A one time use teleportation ring, one of Hydra's creations' Soldier thought as he held the ring in his hand. 'I'm coming X-men, hold on just a little bit longer'
Cable and Scott crept through the corridors of the Hellfire Club while the prisoners below them walked up the spiral staircase. Scott had removed the suit and took the visor around Cable's neck.
"How did you get your hands on this?" Cyclops asked.
"Trust me, you'd only get awkward if I told you" Cable said, carrying the two Psimitars on his shoulder.
Beast huffed and puffed as he dragged Blob up the spiral staircase, keeping his eyes and nose out for Selene.
"It's the dead of night, I'm not going to be that much good in a fight" Roberto said.
"Then I guess it's up to me then" Rogue said.
"I don't think so cheri, anything I touch can be a weapon" Gambit smirked.
"Are you kidding, your too wounded from the beatings Selene gave you" Amara said.
"Keep the talk down, I just want to find Kitty and get out of here" Avalanche growled.
The group finally reached Shaw's office, where he thankfully wasn't at the moment. He stood in the main dining hall of the club, drinking champagne while Fitzroy and Leland both sat down, enjoying the sight of Wanda dancing, while Pietro sat, chained and watching in disgust. A few moments passed before Tessa entered, with Storm, Roulette, Empath, a Native American boy with the same Hellion's uniform and their prisoners Rahne, Kitty, Xavier and Magneto.
"I can't believe how easy it was to catch that wolf girl, she just sat there praying over Catseye's corpse" Empath said.
"We just lost a friend Empath, the least you could do is show a little respect" The Black haired boy said.
"Oh please James, that girl did nothing but lay around, she never once had fun, except for that almost fuck that you two had" Roulette said.
"Sir the hidden cameras in the dungeons indicate that the prisoners have escaped" Tessa whispered into Shaw's ear.
"Don't worry dear, they're tired, drained and morally defeated, we have their teacher as well as some of their other friends still under out control, that and if they hope to find out where their other friends are they have no choice but to submit to us" Shaw explained.
"And what of Essex?"
"He's already cleared out his lab and evacuated the Lord Imperial, he's left Mystique in our care"
Cable and Scott crept through the corridors of the club and opened the door to Shaw's office. Once inside, Scott immediately put his hand to the button on his visor, for Mystique was lying on the floor, naked and chained to the ground.
"Easy Scott, we're all in the same boat now" Cable said as he walked to Mystique's side.
He gripped the woman's head and focused with his mind. Suddenly, Mystique shot awake and head butted the X-man. She got up off the floor and looked around, confused and angered by her surroundings.
"Who are you, are you with them? Where's that pig Sinister?" She asked.
"Cant anyone see the X anymore?" Cable asked himself just as the door on the bookcase opened.
Rogue and the other prisoners walked into the office. Mystique's features immediately lit up as she saw her adoptive daughter. However the southern belle's face remained bitter and angry.
"Where are the others, Alex, Jean…. oh god the professor, we need to find him quickly…they were planning to kill him once they had us converted but now that everything's blowing up in their faces they might resort to killing him and Magneto" Scott explained.
"Well what are we waiting for, let's get in there and kick some ass" Rogue said as she traced her hand along Scott's cheek, taking just a bit of his power.
"I'll get Jamie, Roberto, Sam and Tabitha out of here, they can fight in their condition" Beast said.
"What about Blob?" Bobby asked.
Cable span his psimitar round and stuck the blade into Fred's shoulder. The boy yelled in pain as he awakened from his slumber.
"Where am I?" Blob asked.
"Long story short Blob, stupid guys try to mind fuck us…that's blown up so now we're gonna kick their asses and get the guys who aren't with us back" Lance explained.
Blob nodded his head, understanding the simple situation. He got up off the floor and ripped the Hellfire shit he wore off. Those who could fight walked towards the dinner hall, ready to take their friends back. They opened the doors, to see Shaw sitting on a chair atop a stage. The X-men and Brotherhood members looked in confusion, for the dinning hall had been changed completely into a theatre, the kind where opera would be hosted. At the stage was Shaw, along with Tessa, Wanda and the chained Quicksilver and Shadowcat. The others looked to the side to see Hellfire club guards standing on the balconies, and in the spectator seats were Storm, Toad, the remaining Hellion's, Fistroy and Leland.
"SHAW WHERE'S JEAN! WHERE'S THE PROFESSOR!!!" Scott yelled at the Black King.
"The woman you love is currently no longer with us, as for the Professor, you'd better look up" Shaw said with a smirk.
The X-men looked up and gasped in horror, particularly Cable. Charles and Magneto had been pinned to the ceiling by their wrists. Their blood fell to the floor, Cable stared at the image, his teeth biting together. His eye began to glow an intense shade of yellow as he took a few steps down towards the spectator seats. He growled in anger, gripping the handles of his Psimitar's tightly.
"You bastards…WONT GET AWAY WITH THIS!!!" Cable yelled.
Suddenly a beam of yellow light shot forth from Cable's eye, burning the group of guards on the left side balconies. He dragged the beam along, cutting a line straight through the curtains and wall of the theatre. Tessa pushed the hostages off the stage and looked back at Shaw, who merely winked at her. The beam covered Shaw, consuming him in its devastating light.
"LORD SHAW!!!" Warpath yelled.
"Don't worry boy, you haven't seen it before have you, Sebastian's mutant ability?" Leland asked.
Cable closed his eye and fell to his knees, rubbing his head in pain. The Hellfire guards aimed their rifles at the X-men while the smoke on the stage cleared. Each one of the X-men gasped in shock at whom they saw. Shaw stood their, his clothes burnt off and a few blemishes on his chest, but other than that he was unharmed.
"So I was right, you are capable of absorbing kinetic energy" Cable said as he got off the floor.
"You act like you aren't surprised, who are you?" Shaw asked as he stepped off the stage.
"An X-man, born and raised by the first and greatest, but trained…BY THE BEST THERE IS!!!" Cable yelled.
For the second time that day Cable surprised his allies. He held out his metallic arm and suddenly, three familiar claws popped out of the knuckles.
"Someone say my line?" A voice asked from behind the guards.
The Hellfire club guards turned their heads in horror as Wolverine stood before them. Logan ran into the guards, stabbing and slashing them apart with his claws. He knocked a bundle of them off the balcony, falling to the ground beside Leland.
"You and me got a score to settle tubby" Wolverine growled.
Cable broke off into a run, blocking a hail of bullets with his arm. He ran towards Shaw, but Storm flew in his way. The former X-woman gathered lighting into her hands and fired a shot at Cable, who used his claw as a conductor to block the lighting. Cyclops fired a beam into one of the balconies, knocking several of the guards back. More and more guards began to flood the room, this time dressed in a type of strange red armour. The armoured guards began firing their blasters at the same time the other guards fired their rifles. Bobby created a ice wall to block the bullets while Blob merely took the laser blasts. Rogue ran at Fitzroy, raising her fist to strike the man. But Warpath ran in her way and delivered a hard punch to the girls cheek, knocking her to the side.
"COME ON X-MEN GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!!" Shaw yelled as he ran into the fight.
The Black King delivered a crushing punch to Wolverine's head, lifting him into the air. Leland used a fraction of his power to cause Wolverine to crash into the ground. Wanda's hands glowed blue as she unleashed her hex powers. Across the theatre were several snake like patterns built into the wall. The patterns suddenly came to life, creating four giant snakes. Iceman fired a blast into one of the snake's mouth, sending it choking to the ground. Bobby yelled in pain as one of the armoured guards shot him in the back. The X-men spread out across the theatre, some of them facing individual opponents while others fought anyone who got in their way. Blob slapped aside several guards as he marched towards Empath.
"You should have stayed home pretty boy" Blob said as he raised his hand.
Suddenly, a black disc appeared beneath Blob's feet. The floor underneath Blob gave in, sending him falling down to the basement.
"You know roulette I could have handled that myself" Empath said.
"And ruin your pretty face, I think not" The girl smirked.
Lance ran towards Kitty and Pietro, knocking down any of guard that approached him. Tessa suddenly stepped into his path, with a guard by her side.
"Lady you are making a big mistake" Avalanche growled.
"Indeed she is!" The guard said.
Tessa turned around just as Mystique changed into her natural form. The former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. grabbed the shape shifter's arm and threw her over her shoulder. Mystique rolled backwards and slammed her feet into Tessa's chest.
"Get your girlfriend and Pietro Alvers, this bitch is mine" Mystique snarled as she jumped on Tessa.
'Hot' Pietro thought as he watched the two women roll across the ground, pulling on one another's hair.
"Power dampening cuffs, whose got the key?" Lance asked.
"Forget keys" Cyclops said as he ran towards the group.
Suddenly a hex bolt slammed into his chest, knocking him into a chair. Tentacles suddenly wrapped around Scott, trapping him on the chair. Wolverine stabbed his claws into one of the giant snakes and began climbing towards its head, taking the bullets that the guards fired like they were bee stings. Storm blew Cable into Shaw's hands.
"You certainly did well boy but in the end, it was for nothing" Shaw said and grabbed Cable's wrist and heel.
The Black King pulled on the two limbs and Cable grinded his teeth together, doing his best not to scream. Toad kicked Iceman off of his ice slide and began spitting slime at Amara. The girl put her hands in front of her eyes, increasing the head of her hands to evaporate the slime before it could even touch her. She then changed into her magma form and began forming a ball of molten slag.
"Rogue!" She said, throwing the rock into Rogue's arms.
Rogue threw the rock as hard as she could at Shaw, hitting him in the chest. Even though it didn't hurt, it still knocked him back, giving Cable the opportunity to slip out of his arms. Cable landed on his feet and thrust his Psimitar forward, the blade made contact with the mans skin, but it would not pierce. Shaw slapped Cable aside and ran towards Magma. Amara shot Shaw with a burst of fire, but the flames didn't even faze him. The Black Knight grabbed Magma by the throat, lifting her off the floor.
"AMARA!!" Rogue yelled, giving Warpath the perfect opportunity to kick her in the back.
Cyclops shot the tentacles holding him and fired a blast into Wanda's chest, bruising her ribs but knocking her down at least. He put a hand to his visor and shot apart Kitty's cuffs. Lance shook the ground, knocking some of the guards off balance. Cyclops then got back into the fight, firing a hole straight through the head of one of the giant snakes. Wolverine stabbed the third snake in the head, cutting it apart until there was nothing left for it to see or bite with. He then jumped off the falling corpse and slashed Leland in the back.
"Bastard, you wont get me" Leland said in fear.
Suddenly, a reaper slashed Logan across the back with its scythe.
"Thank you Tarot. Keep him away from me" Leland said as he ran off, leaving Wolverine to the brown haired Hellion, who summoned a great number of reapers with her tarot cards.
Kitty phased her hand through Quicksilver's cuffs. As soon as they came off, Pietro broke off into a run, knocking down several Hellfire club guards and running into Warpath, knocking him to the ground. Gambit grabbed one of the guard's pistols and fired several shots that bought down at least two of the guards. He then charged the gun and threw it into the mouth of the last remaining snake, blowing its head off.
"WHERE'S MY SON!!!" Mystique screamed at Tessa as she pinned her down and punched her across the face.
"I'm not sure" Tessa said, her tone emotionless before she smashed her head into Mystique's nose. "Even if I did, do you really think I would tell you, even if our plans fail the Hellfire Club ensures that its enemies suffer"
Leland ran through the corridors of the Hellfire club, making his escape. Quicksilver ran after the old man, knocking him out and dragging him back to the theatre.
"Rogue, get Shaw off of Magma" Cyclops said as he shot Warpath away from Rogue.
Wolverine ducked underneath a swing from one of the reapers and ran at Tarot. The girl tired summoning another creature with her cards, but Wolverine sliced the card in half and elbowed the girl, knocking her out.
"Hey Cajun!" Wolverine said, throwing Tarot's deck of cards into Gambit's hand.
Gambit threw a flurry of charged cards into the armoured guards, blowing apart their armour. Wolverine easily pierced through the armour with his claws, slashing their throats and stabbing their hearts. Rogue ran towards Shaw, but suddenly the darkness around her came to life, wrapping itself around her.
"ROGUE!!" Cable yelled as the darkness completely covered the girl.
Cable swung his psimitar's round, slashing two guards across their throats. He then thrust both spears forward, stabbing both Toad and Storm in their chests.
"I avoided your vital organs, but you two will be out of it for a while" Cable said as he turned towards Shaw.
"I wouldn't take a step forward if I were you" Shaw said, tightening his grip on Amara's neck.
The girl gasped for air, and Cable grinded his teeth together.
"I think at this point I'll have to take acceptable losses into account" Cable said as he stepped forward.
"Don't forget the southern bitch…and everybody else!" A voice said from the shadows.
The X-men and Cable turned their heads to see Selene, standing with Beast, Tabitha, Sam, Roberto and Jamie, all of them wrapped in the dark tentacles that Selene manipulated.
"Damn it!" Cable whispered, dropping his spears.
With heavy hearts, the others soon dropped their aggressive stance, but Wolverine still kept his claws out.
"Someone get the two dreamers down!" Shaw said.
"Allow me!" Selene grinned as she created two hands from the darkness of the ceiling.
The hands ripped out the spikes on the two men's wrists. Selene also used a levitation spell to float the two men to the floor.
"If you even hope to save your friends forget it, if you attempt a daring final strike then you will never see the friends we've hidden away again" Shaw said as she walked towards the stage.
"Empath, Tarot, could you two please come up to the stage with us" Selene said.
"It'll be my pleasure" Empath said, walking past the half conscious Tarot.
"I'm sorry Mistress Selene, I'll be with you in a moment" The girl said.
"Forget it, Roulette why don't you come instead"
"Yes Mistress Selene" Roulette said, immediately running to the Black King and Queen's side.
Fitzroy also walked onto the stage, followed by the now conscious Leland.
"Now I want you all to stay there and be good…forget everything about us, then we'll leave you alone, but if you do attempt to stop us from converting at least some of you, then you wont die, we will give you a fate much worse than death" Selene said, licking her lips.
"Please I beg of you, I will give you anything you want…just please let my son and daughter go" Mystique said.
"Oh how the mighty fall…don't worry we wont kill them, everyone can be melded by the club" Shaw laughed at the woman's plea.
"Warpath, Tarot, you two stay here with Frost, she can clean this up, we're leaving" Leland said.
"What about us my Lord?" Empath asked.
"You have proven yourselves as more than pawns, we want you to become Mr Fitzroy's apprentices for the position of White Rook" Shaw said with a smile.
"DAMN YOU!!" Wolverine yelled, punching the floor in anger.
"Oh don't feel too bad…this is what happens to everyone who opposes the Hellfire club, life will return to normal for us, we will return to being the rich and famous, then we will establish a new order through the billions of dollars and contracts we have secured, in time the Hellfire Club will evolve, into a corporation, one that will be the leading party in our new world order" Shaw explained, dropping Magma to the floor.
The girl was soon swallowed up by the darkness that Selene controlled.
"Imagine it X-men a world of order, one where there are no needs, no hunger"
As Shaw spoke, Cable noticed something hiding behind the stage curtains. A smile crossed the X-man's face before Shaw finished his speech.
"In the new order that we will envision, there will be no difference, no hate and no war"
"You forgot one thing…no freedom!"
A grenade suddenly rolled into the middle of the main members of the club. The grenade ignited, unleashing an incredible white flash, the darkness that Selene controlled disappeared and Tessa felt her telepathy scramble as hundreds of thoughts poured into her head, one of which for once in her life made her shocked.
'You aren't the Sage Tessa, the Sage was Randall' Soldier thought, smiling beneath his mask as he made the supposedly emotionless woman angry.
Soldier aimed his guns and fired a burst of machine gun fire into Selene, bringing her down before she could cast attack.
"It's over Shaw, your dream ends" Soldier said, aiming his two guns at Sebastian.
Shaw glared at the masked man, "What makes you say that?" he asked.
"Even now S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are raiding every Hellfire Club safe house and ending every operation you have going on throughout the world…Randall gave Fury everything that was needed to make a legitimate arrest, the names and records of all the mercenary groups you hired to create conflicts across the world, the crime syndicates and families you bullied into serving you and photos and blood samples from the people, the countless people you killed for saying no, Selene shouldn't have tortured them before killing" Soldier explained.
Shaw gasped in utter horror, for he along with everyone else heard the sound of helicopters flying over the club. Everything was falling apart for the Hellfire club, everything contract that Shaw had set up, every bribe or black mail he had performed, every death he had caused was finally catching up with him.
"No matter where you go, justice will find you…it's over Shaw, order cannot be achieved through death…that's not real order…the countless suffering and pointless death you have caused…IT ENDS TODAY!!!" Soldier yelled and the X-men rose up, for victory was upon them.
Next Chapter 11: The sacrifices
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter