1Title: Power Behind the Throne Part 11

Author: Ethiercn

Rating: MA

Disclaimer: I don't own them and I am making no profit.

"You are late," the voice dripped with displeasure.

"I've been busy," Thomas replied as he paced the length of the pool and watched Ralph get into a car and drive into town. "We're going tonight."

"The place?"

"The old romantic getaway. We are meeting Linton."

"I'll make sure to leave a surprise."

"Not too big of one, " Thomas countered.

"Worried about your skin? Don't be. It's almost time."

Vance entered the small diner and looked around. No Hellfire guards. He relaxed slightly. He took a seat with a good view of the door. A few minutes later, Rich, dressed in dark sunglasses and a baseball hat, entered. The Human Rocket took a seat in the booth. Both men quickly ordered.

"How's Red?" Rich asked stirring sugar into his coffee.

Vance shook his head, "How do you think she is? Any word about her father?"

"Thrash is keeping tabs on the investigation, but it just seems to be an accident," Rich frowned down at his coffee. "He says he'll arrange for . . . things," Rich finished lamely. "You know the house, the will and everything. Nita and I got the cat. It keeps looking at Nita like she's a fish dinner."

"That's not going to make her feel better," Vance looked around. "She almost lost it yesterday."

Rich put down his coffee with a muffled curse, "Red? What happened?"

"She's angry and hurt, and Thomas, Shaw's man; he's too touchy. He pushes her. It's like the bastard is trying to hit on her." His hand tightened on the cup.

Rich studied his friend, "And you don't like it. How are you handling it?"

Vance shrugged, "This meeting is dangerous."

But this meeting will be worth it." He pulled something out of his pocket and lay on the table.

Vance reached up and palmed it.

Rich waited for the waitress to drop off their order and then said, "You need to insert into the computer, the one that controls the feed of our families. It'll allow us to gain control of the computers."

"You found the other teams then?"

Rich nodded. "Thrash says soon. Call when you get it in." He started to shove food into his mouth. "Tell Red, we're thinking of her." He paused. "You too."

Vance entered Angel's suite and paused. Unmoving, she sat curled up on a chair by the window. Concerned, he knelt in front of her, "Ang," he said softly, gently touching her arm.

She jerked awake and almost jumped out of her seat. "You shouldn't be here; it's too dangerous." She rubbed her eyes.

"Thomas is busy," he said quickly, brushing her hair away from her eyes, frowning slightly at how wasted she looked. His thumb wiped away a tear. "After we get back tonight, I need you to distract Thomas. Thrash has found a way to control the cameras."

Her eyes flashed as she nodded.

Dressed in his guardsman's uniform, Vance got of the SUV and opened the door for Angel. As she got out, Angel drew the dark cape more tightly over the revealing costume that she wore. She raised her eyes to look at the Chalet. The building was lit up and looked almost warm and inviting. Beautiful. For a brief second, she smiled, but then a wave of guilt washed over her, and she looked quickly down. She shouldn't be thinking such thought after what happened to her father. She swallowed and looked up to briefly met Vance's eyes.

On the other side of the SUV, Shaw stepped out in Thomas' wake. The rotund man coughed and lightly squeezed Thomas' shoulder for support. A private signal, Angel wondered. The two heads bent together as Shaw said something. She felt a knot of anger in her stomach.

Vance watched as Angel's hands curled into fists briefly and noticed the subtle change in her posture. Too damn public to give her any sign or hint of comfort, he thought with a mixture of disgust and anger. He closed the door with an audible noise, drawing not only Angel's startled look but a frown from Thomas.

Shaw coughed and gestured for Angel to join him. "Come, my dear; it is time to make our entrance."

Angel took his arm, trying to ignore the crawling feeling on her flesh. As they walked up toward the house, they need to stop twice of Shaw's coughing fits. Thomas and Vance took point. "Is there a problem?" Thomas began when the chalet exploded.

The blast forced everyone to the ground. Without thinking, Vance raised his telekinetic shield. The raining debris hit something and fell away before reaching his shield. Vance risked a look at Thomas. The man was focusing, a familiar uncomfortable look on his face. Vance felt the subtle pressure of another and weaker telekinetic. He toned down his own shield as much as he could and hoped that Thomas hadn't noticed.

Behind him, Angel rose quickly to her feet as Shaw struggled into a sitting position while suffering yet another coughing fit. She looked towards the ruins of the chalet and saw a figure move away from the building. Taking to the air, she went to intercept it.

Thomas lowered his shield; he turned to Vance. "Follow . . ." he began and then his eyes widened as he took in Shaw who had now collapsed on the ground. Vance looked. Shaw seemed to be in the grips of some type of seizure. His body was shaking, he moaned about cold, and he clutched his head. Thomas and Felix, the other guardsman, hurried to him. "Follow Firestar," Thomas repeated. "Stop staring!" He gave Vance a mental shove.

As Firestar closed in on the mysterious mutant, she made out a body formed entirely of ice. For an irrational moment, she thought he was Iceman, but she had worked with the X-Man before. And this mutant had ice spikes decorating his back and his hands. The mutant looked up, noticed her, and let lose with a large blast. Firestar's microwave blast slammed into it with a hiss. Firestar rose above the resulting steam and melted the mutant's ice slide. The mutant tumbled though the air before recovering quickly and starting his ice slide once more. Ice surrounded her. The air cooled in her lungs, she could feel icicles form on her eyelashes, her body began to shake; she could feel the cold in her bones. Anger flooded though her. Her power coiled inside of her. She let her anger and power out. It met the ice, dissolved as Firestar flew though the air, heading straight for the mystery mutant.

The mutant met her head on. Ice cold hands grabbed hers. Her fire licked at them. Stream rose as they grappled. Despite the intense heat she put out, the ice man drew her closer for a second.

"You've progressed, child," he said. "You were my special student, after all."

Firestar's eyes widen. Then he melted, dissolved, though she had not done it. The drops of water falling into the pond below.

She landed by the pond. "Are you okay?" Vance asked as he came up.

"He sounded like Frost," she said.

"What? How?"

"The mutant sounded like Frost," she repeated, meeting his eyes before they both looked back at the pond until a worried Thomas called them back.