A/N: Well, I am done with my freshman year of college, and I know that you all must think me dead… however, I am still alive. Here's the final chapter of Blackmail City; I hope you enjoyed reading it just like I enjoyed writing it!
"…"- conversation
'…'- thoughts
(…)- extra facts/actions (some)
'blah…' -telepathy/what people say mentally
"…" – information on the notes/banners
Chapter 8: FinaleKitchen, Xavier Institute for the Gifted, Bayville, NY, USA—June 9, 9:45 PM
After the mess had been cleaned up fairly well, the large group of mutants gathered in the kitchen at the table, with Logan and Ororo at the head, followed by Scott and a very reluctant Jean. Everyone else was sitting where they had been earlier that day.
Logan threw his bag, now devoid of the note, in front of him in utter frustration. "Alright, listen up: we've seen how these people operate – they wait for the time when we're off guard and then strike. I'm going to read my note out loud. When I'm done raise your hand if your note says the same thing." Logan cleared his throat, feeling all eyes on him, and began.
"Logan: Welcome to the maze of the exotic; well, not really like a jungle. Let's just say that the word exotic refers to what you found in the company of this note. Yes, I know what you are wondering and you are entirely correct in your deductions: I am blackmailing you. I know you are most likely pissed off and wondering just how the hell you are going to find me and kill me. I'll tell you what; I'll make a deal with you. All you have to do is come to the Danger Room at exactly 10:15 PM and wait underneath the observation platform for further instructions. Oh, and you might want to bring everyone else who received a note like this as well. Have fun!
Logan growled and crumbled the note up, willing himself to not lose his temper and eject his claws to shred something. He looked up and found everyone watching him. "Whose note said the same thing?" he asked gruffly, knowing that every hand was most likely going to go up in the air. True to his prediction every hand rose in the air, albeit some were shaking a little, not sure what Logan was going to do next.
Ororo took over then, placing a hand on Logan's shoulder, which had a calming effect on him as he sighed and unfolded the note, glaring at it rather than at the students. "Very well; I think we should all go to the Danger Room, and find out what we are supposed to do next. Shall we?" Ororo then got up from the table, taking her note with her, and moved towards the kitchen exit. Logan sighed and followed her, tossing his note in the garbage can on his way out.
Scott and Jean looked at each other, and, after a furious mental argument that Scott somehow won, they followed Logan and Ororo. Everyone else looked at each other, not sure what to do next.
"Remy thinks that we should follow 'em," Remy commented from his place, a deck of cards passing from hand to hand.
Bobby frowned; he made it his duty to research all kinds of tactics for pranking, yet in all his hours of research he hadn't come across something of this magnitude. "I don't know… I mean, how do we know that this isn't just another trap?"
John, who was flipping a lighter open and closed, leaned forward and said, "Oy think that we should follow Storm and Wolverine's lead; hell, if it comes down to a fight, mate, then we can take 'em; don' ya think?"
Ray nodded and said, "I agree with Pyro; we have more than enough power to combat a trap if one's launched; I vote that we go." Ray looked around and saw that Alex, Lance, Pietro, Warren, and Evan were nodding their heads in agreement.
Bobby sat silent, debating whether or not to follow his instructors' instructions, or to disobey them and stay safe in the kitchen. However, when it came down to it, Bobby made his decision. "You're right… we have all these powers, so there is definitely the chance that if we have to defend ourselves, we'll be able to do so! We can do this; let's go!" Bobby then got up from his seat and marched out of the kitchen, Jubilee following him while muttering under her breath about how stupid her boyfriend looked marching like a soldier. Everyone else followed Bobby's lead, John still flipping his lighter and Remy playing with his cards as they left.
Danger Room, Xavier Institute for the Gifted, Bayville, NY, USA—June 9, 10:10 PM
When the younger mutants reached the Danger Room they saw that Logan, Ororo, Scott, and Jean were staring up at the observation booth, all with murderous looks in their eyes.
"Scott, what's up?" Alex asked, moving so that he was to his brother's left. Looking up his eyes widened and his hands began to glow orange. "Damn it! They're going to pay!"
Everyone who had entered then turned their attention to the observation booth and amidst the curses and shouts that filled the room the object of consternation was finally seen. A banner with large, black words hung directly in front of them, seemingly taunting the mutants with its message.
The banner read, "Glad you all could make it. Now, I know I said that I would give you further instructions and I will. However, before I agree to give you more instructions you must promise two things. One—DO NOT KILL THE BLACKMAILER! I did this for your own good. Two—you must serve the blackmailer for a month or risk having your pictures sent to your guardians, leaving you to deal with the consequences. Only when I hear everyone's voice saying yes to my pleas will I show myself."
"Great… we risk total humiliation either way; what do we do here?" Tabby asked, crossing her arms in front of her, a frown marring her face.
Logan growled; he was not at all pleased at this development. He knew that Ororo was debating about what to do. If it weren't for the fact that if he didn't agree to the terms on the banner, he was risking getting Ororo disowned by her sister for not watching over Evan closely enough he would have said to hell with the banner and would have gone on a killing spree. Ororo cared deeply about her family; he knew that and knew that if she were disowned it would feel like a dagger in the back for her.
"I say we bring that booth down!" Lance said, fists clenched at his side. There was no way in hell he was going to serve some idiotic person who thought it amusing to make everyone suffer for the whole day. Hell, he had had to go through a Danger Room session that had almost ended up with him just narrowly missing getting impaled on a stray spike from Evan.
Kitty shook her head and, stepping up beside Lance said, "No, I think we have to follow this guy's demands. How many of us are willing to risk total humiliation on a global scale, and Lance, you'd have to deal with Magneto, who would most likely accuse you of not watching over Pietro, Wanda, and Lorna."
Lance shook his head, and, turning to Kitty responded, "Nope; Magneto would blame Pietro. He is the oldest of the three of them, after all."
Pietro glared at Lance from down the line, his sapphire eyes glittering dangerously. "You'll-die-Alvers…" he hissed, ignoring the glare Lexie was giving him.
"That may be, Lance, but you'd still get hurt, and I… I couldn't stand it if something happened to you," Kitty continued, her eyes staring into Lance's. She then threw herself into Lance's arms, hugging him. Lance returned it, and, after a minute, Lance sighed in defeat. Kitty smiled into Lance's chest; she had him.
"Fine… we'll do it your way, Kit-Kat," Lance said, eyes downcast, not wanting to see what reactions he'd get from everyone else who'd heard him.
Pietro opened his mouth to retort when Lexie clamped a hand over it and, turning Pietro to face her said, "Pie, Lance's right. If Magneto sees the photo he'll come after you, my dad, and me. I hate to say it but Logan and I don't stand a chance against him; he'd just manipulate our metal skeletons and torture us… he'd do even worse to you. What do you value more? A few moments of triumph, or months, even years of torture?" Her hazel eyes pleaded with Pietro's sapphire ones to see her point of view.
Pietro sighed; damn it, he was weak when Lexie used her eyes on him and she knew how to use it to her advantage. "Fine… I agree to the damn blackmailer's terms." He crossed his arms over his chest and on seeing Lance smirking at him from up the line added, "But-I-still-don't-like-it!"
Those who had heard Lance and Pietro's admissions that they'd follow the new rules of the game looked at each other and thought for a minute: was it really worth it to have Xavier riding their backs for months just to get the satisfaction of not having to serve the blackmailer? Ray sighed; he didn't like doing this but hell, if he wouldn't have to deal with the disappointed looks Xavier would be sure to send his way then he would take serving the blackmailer for a month.
"I'm in," Ray said, Amara nodding in agreement. Slowly, one by one, everyone agreed to the terms, with even Scott and Jean admitting that they'd serve the blackmailer for a month. Soon, the only person that was left was Logan.
Logan grunted; damn it did he wish that he had a cigar with him. After a few minutes of uneasy silence, Logan sighed and, looking up at the observation booth said loudly, "You win, bub. I'll serve ya for a month and I promise to not kill ya when I find out who you are. Happy?"
"Quite so," came the blackmailer's voice from the booth, every eye now on the glass paneling, craning to see who was behind the glass. "Thank you so much for agreeing to my plans. However, I sense that some of you are… how should I put this, insincere with your agreement that states that you wish to serve me. Therefore, I feel it necessary to have you all swear on your lives to not kill me and to serve me. Once I have that from all of you I'll continue."
The voice then stopped, leaving a group of fuming mutants beneath the booth, all of them pissed and angrily glaring at the observation booth.
Observation Booth, Danger Room, Xavier Institute for the Gifted, Bayville, NY, USA—June 9, 10:25 PM
While everyone below was angrily cursing at the booth Roberto and Rahne were seated on the floor, doubt showing in their eyes.
"Rahne… I don't know if I can do this… I mean, I bunk with Alex and when he gets pissed there's no way in hell that I can stop him," Roberto muttered, his eyes showing how unsure he was along with the desire to not die a premature death. "Maybe this thing got of hand and we've dug ourselves a hole that we just can't get out of now."
Rahne nodded in agreement and opened her mouth to add something to Roberto's demoralizing statement when she thought of something. "'Berto, we can do this; Ay mean, think. The whole time Ay was doubtin' our ability tae pull this off yet ye kept reassurin' me tha' it could be done. We've come this far; why give up now?"
Roberto looked over at Rahne and, grinning, remarked, "That's what I love about you, Rahne. You make me feel like I can do anything." Leaning over Roberto gave Rahne a quick peck on the lips and, getting to his feet said, "Ready to do this, Wolfie?"
Rahne nodded and taking Roberto's hand got to her feet. They then moved over to the glass panels, which had been covered in black paper to prevent anyone from seeing what was going on inside. Picking up a voice synthesizer Roberto nodded at Rahne, who flipped the switch that allowed the machine to work on. Taking a deep breath Roberto prepared to speak again, knowing that in doing so he would most likely exile every one of his friends in the process.
Danger Room, Xavier Institute for the Gifted, Bayville, NY, USA—June 9, 10:25 PM
While Roberto and Rahne were putting the final touches on their plans the mutants below were angrily yelling back and forth about whether or not to swear on their lives to not touch the blackmailer.
"There is no way in hell that I'm going to swear on my life to not kill this guy!" Evan protested, his spikes threatening to rip through his clothing due to his rage. "He made me suffer today and deserves to pay!" He saw many of the mutants nodding in agreement, none of them willing to do that; to them it was just plain stupid.
"Come on guys… Ah think that we don' have a choice in tha matter," Sam said, running a hand through his hair, which he had taken out of its ponytail an hour ago. Tabby nodded beside him, just wanting to get this over with and get on with her life.
Ray glared over at Sam and said, "Yeah, I hear what you're sayin', Guthrie. You'd rather play the part of peacemaker then get our well-deserved revenge… yep, sounds like a plan to me."
Sam glared over at Ray and retorted, "Yeah, Ray, Ah can see where your plan's goin' ta get yah—stuck in tha professor's office while he stares at yah and tells yah how disappointed he is in yah. Do yah really want that, Ray?" Ray glared back and didn't say a word; they stayed this way until their girlfriends, tired of the pointless glaring contest slapped them upside their heads.
"Grow up you two! We need to decide on this thing now in a diplomatic manner and not go about it like some kind of barbaric tribe!" Amara declared, glaring at Ray while Tabby glared at Sam.
"She's right, yah know," Rogue said, stepping into the conversation. "We need ta settle this once and for all and Ah think tha' we have no other options. We have ta agree ta this guy's demented rules if we don' want ta have ta deal with a disappointed Professor Xavier."
Ororo looked at Evan and said, "Evan, I agree with Rogue. Now, I do not like this at all but we have no other choice in the matter. Would you like it if your mother found out about this?" Evan averted his eyes, not wanting to show his aunt how much that would affect him.
After a few minutes of silence between the two, Evan said, "Fine… you win, Auntie O." He then moved over to where Dani was and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her against his chest and resting his head on top of hers. Dani didn't pull away; she knew that Evan needed comfort and if she could give it to him then so much the better.
Logan gauged the other warring couples and after a while turned to the booth and shouted, "Fine… you win again bub. I, for one, swear on my life that when I see your identities I will not gut ya and I will serve you."
The voice came back into existence, this time with a serious tone in it. "Are you sure that you want to do that, my friend? Have you thought about what it might entail?"
Logan snorted and, crossing his arms over his chest replied, "I know exactly what it entails, bub. Now, everyone here has voted me the representative, right?" Logan turned around and stared at the group, who all nodded yes. Turning so that he faced the booth Logan continued, "We all agree to your terms, bub. Now, keep your promise to us."
"Very well," the voice said before fading into nothingness. Roberto and Rahne looked at each other and, taking a deep breath both began taking down the black paper. While those below watched light shone out from between cracks, illuminating the scene inside. Once everything was down they watched the booth, eagerly awaiting the revelation of their assailants.
"I will keep my promise to you," the voice said, this time sounding higher pitched, almost as if a different person were speaking. "The identity of your blackmailer is …" the voice faded as two images appeared behind the glass paneling, earning curses and threats from the X-Factor team below.
"Hey guys… how's it going?" Roberto asked, a smile on his face while Rahne stood next to him, a large manila envelope in her hands as she grinned down at her teammates.
"Damn it Roberto!" Bobby screamed, pushing his way to the front of the group, anger in his eyes. "How could you do this to us! And Rahne! God, what happened? You were never like this until you and he got together!"
"Jealous, Bobby?" Rahne asked, knowing she shouldn't have just asked the question she did but noting that Bobby had paled considerably upon hearing the question, and Jubilee was marching up to her boyfriend, her eyes sparking.
"No!" Bobby screamed, his voice high and strained. Jubilee noted this and, glaring at Bobby slapped him upside the head. "Ouch! God, Jubes, I am not jealous of Roberto or Rahne, okay?!"
Jubilee glared at Bobby, daring him to say another thing. The rest of their team, who had been watching this, were shocked at the nerve of their friend. Bobby was right. When Rahne had first joined the Institute she had been shy and would never have done anything like she was doing now. However, when she and Roberto had hooked up she had been getting more and more daring, showing an evil streak that even she had never known she possessed.
Logan glared up at the two mutants behind the glass and opened his mouth to say something when Jean ran in front of him, and, glowing pale red took to the air, emerald eyes ablaze. "How dare you do this to us… to me!"
Roberto and Rahne didn't seem phased; in fact, they acted like they had been expecting this exact reaction from Jean. Shaking his head Roberto said, "My dear Mrs. Summers, do you honestly think that we weren't expecting this reaction from you? Well, you're seriously wrong." Roberto then took the envelope from Rahne's hands and, reaching inside pulled out another copy of the photograph that had made Jean faint earlier.
"We came prepared, Jean… and for anyone else down there who thinks that they can get out of this I thought that you would all like to know that Rahne and I have copies of all the pictures that you found this morning and throughout the day. We can give them to the professor at anytime if you don't serve us. So, what'll it be Jean?"
Jean glared; how dare these two… these two… damn, now she couldn't think of a good comeback! "…Fine," Jean relented, her voice still dripping in anger. "What'll it be, oh my dear master and mistress?"
Roberto and Rahne smirked at each other; phase three was complete.
Pool, Xavier Institute for the Gifted, Bayville, NY, USA—June 10, 10:00 AM
"I'm only saying, Professor, give my new invention a chance," Forge pleaded, wanting to show Xavier that his new invention was a working model.
Hank shook his head and commented dryly, "Yes, Forge, do show us your new invention so that it may tear down half of the mansion again." Forge glared at the scientist and doctor, not wanting to get into a fight before noon but obviously feeling like he didn't have a chance.
"That will be quite enough," Xavier said as he, Forge, Hank, Sean, and Moira approached the pool area, all wanting to relax in the sunlight that was beaming down from above. "Forge, I do not think that it is in the best interests of the school that you test out your invention at this time. I believe that Henry will be more than happy to help you make sure that your invention is safe enough to use. Now, if you will excuse me I think that we should go and find spots at the pool before the students make it their home." Xavier turned his eyes back to the stone path ahead of him, leaving Forge and Hank to glare at each other.
"Umm, Charles, Ay do nae think tha' there is a chance of the students nae bein' here," Moira pointed out, alerting Xavier's attention to the fact that screams could be heard in the air.
Sean groaned. "Well, Charles, it appears tha' there will be no swimmin' fer us today." He sighed; he had been looking forward to swimming without having to share the pool with any of the younger mutants for once.
"Sean, Moira; tell me what you see," Xavier said slowly, drawing the two instructors' attention to the pool. Sean and Moira stared in shock; in front of them they saw Roberto and Rahne lounging in pool chairs, with Ray, Sam, Alex, and Bobby, all of whom were in their swim trunks with frowns on their faces, were fanning Roberto. Rahne also had her own fanning committee, which consisted of Amara, Tabitha, Lorna, and Jubilee in their swimsuits with shorts and white tank tops over the suits, frowns marring their faces.
The instructors' attention was then drawn to laughter and they saw Kurt, Amanda, Piotr, Fred, Todd, and Jamie. The six of them – all of whom were guests of Roberto and Rahne – were also being fanned by a combination of Pietro, Lance, Evan, Lexie, Kitty, and Danielle with Todd and Fred making comments to their Brotherhood companions, earning them dirty looks in retaliation. After the comments, Todd and Fred would laugh, with Kurt and Jamie joining in while Amanda and Piotr remained silent, having been forced to relax and not to try and make their fanners' jobs easier by helping. The males were once more in swim trunks while the females had on shorts and white tanks over their swimsuits.
Meanwhile, the instructors, with Forge and Hank joining the audience, saw that Roberto's gold-colored Mustang and Rahne's dark green Jeep had been driven so that they were just up the hill from the pool area. They were covered in mud and it appeared like… no, it was clear that John, Remy, Wanda, and Rogue were cleaning Roberto's car while Scott and Jean were cleaning Rahne's jeep. All of them were dressed in what appeared to be shorts and tanks, with Rogue having a mesh over her tank and torn jeans instead of shorts, and… scuba gear? None of them looked happy, especially John, who was complaining about how stupid the fins were and Remy was yelling at him to shut up and continue working.
The instructors then looked back over to Roberto and Rahne and saw Warren in a butler's outfit and Betsy in a maid's outfit, both with a tray of food. They were clenching their teeth, not wanting to do the task that had been assigned to them but knowing that they had no choice.
Finally, the instructors saw to their complete and utter shock Logan and Ororo swimming in the pool, seemingly involved in the middle of a race. Although Logan appeared to be sinking a bit due to his metal skeleton, he was swimming vigorously against Ororo, who appeared to be winning. He pulled ahead but then Ororo managed to snag the lead and they fought against each other, all to the cheers of Roberto and Rahne as they rooted for their favorite instructor. Both Logan and Ororo had grimaces on their faces, both planning their revenge as soon as their sentence was done in thirty more days.
Sean turned to Xavier and said, "Charles, I think we've entered a parallel dimension where everyone is servin' Roberto and Rahne." Moira nodded in agreement, knowing for a fact that half the mutants down there were supposed to have left this morning but were still hanging around, serving "X-geeks".
Xavier placed his head in his hands, and, after a minute lifted it again and replied, "Well, my friends, I do believe that the time for trying to find out the identities of the blackmailers and thwarting their plans has passed. We have lost, and it seems like Roberto and Rahne have won this battle. Now, my only question is will this school lose its reputation as an educational institute or become the battlefield for what I like to call "blackmail city"? I truly do not know my friends… I don't know." Sean, Moira, Hank, and Forge gravely nodded and looked back down on the scene, all of them noticing that Roberto and Rahne had on and both were grinning at the success that they had earned through trickery, deceit, and clever planning. Phase four was complete.