Chapter 19

The Boarding House...

The door to Alicia's room opens a crack and the blond teleporter peers out. She had slept in...more correctly she had slept in after spending a night with Gambit had left her thoroughly worn out. Problem is she slept in in some place other than her own bed. That all meant she hadn't been here and right now she is checking to see if anyone noticed her absence.

It is not like she doesn't have an excuse thought up. She has been doing this, sneaking around behind her mother's back, long enough to always take her jogging gear with her, so if anyone notices her absences her excuse is she was out on an early morning run, which is a perfectly plausible explanation considering she does do that very thing as part of her fitness routine.

Alicia's brow furrows slightly at how quiet it is. Too quiet for this place. She opens her door fully and steps out into the hallway. Her hands go to her hips. Ok something is definitely wrong she concludes.

Alicia moves from room to room and finds no-one. She tries her mother's last. She knocks and enters. "Mother?"

In the darkened room she spots Mystique still asleep in bed...which is really unusual. Her mother never sleeps in this late.

Alicia walks towards the bed. "Mother?" she queries again in a soft voice so as not to startle her mother.

Alicia reaches the bed and gently rocks Mystique's form. "Mother?" she repeats the query, now more than a little concerned.

"Mother," Alicia says with a stronger, voice. "Mother. Wake up!"

Mystique doesn't even stir in the slightest.

Fear starts to grip Alicia. What's wrong with her mother? Tears threaten to fall but Alicia pushes them back. Alicia gathers Mystique into her arms and the two vanish in a green mist as Alicia takes her mother to the only place she can think of for help.

One of Magneto's bases...

Many people consider coffee a vice but when you are trying to secure the future for an entire species Magneto had found it a necessity to cope with the little sleep he can afford himself.

After Charles had made his successful plea to Congress for peace, Magneto had been forced to reconsider and slow down his plans. In the end he had come to the conclusion Charles had done him a favour. It allowed him time to set up his underground organisation and prepare for the mutant revolution that was to come.

To ensure the success of the mutant uprising Magneto needed an edge over a human race that vastly outnumbered mutantkind. To that end he had dedicated himself to the discovery of the 3 stones of power mentioned in Lionel Luthor's journal that would supposedly grant someone ultimate power once united. That had been his number 1 priority lately.

Magneto sips on his coffee and looks down at the scattered papers on the desk in front of him that contain his research so far. It was an intriguing puzzle. It seemed to be that way on purpose as if whoever hid the stones wanted to ensure only the cleverest...the most worthy could find them.

Out of the corner of his eyes he spots the green mist that signals the arrival of Haze. He turns to that direction as she appears with an unconscious Mystique in her arms.

"Help me," Alicia pleads.

Magneto swiftly moves over and bends down. "What has happened?"

"I don't know. I just found her like this and I can't wake her up,"Alicia explains, almost close to panic.

Magneto presses his fingers to Mystique's neck and picks up a slow, steady pulse.

Just then the doors to this chamber open and in walks a 17 year old girl with brown skin and braided hair, dressed in a black leather sleeveless top, black leather pants and black boots. Magneto had named her Frenzy due to what happens when the girl loses her temper combined with the superstrength and durability she possesses. She was one of many recruits that had swelled the ranks of his followers since mutants went public, no longer feeling the need to hide themselves away.

"Speak," Magneto commands because he knows it must be serious for her to intrude. His standing orders are to not be interrupted unless urgent.

Frenzy briefly takes in the scene with puzzlement in her brown eyes before reporting what she came here to. "It's the Brotherhood."

"What about them?"

"They're on the news fighting the X-Men."

Magneto turns his head to look at Frenzy with a hard penetrating gaze. Frenzy and several others had been assigned to monitor many forms of media for anything mutant related. Magneto needed to keep up to date with whatever was transpiring in the world that affected his people.

Magneto then turns back to Mystique. "To summarise Mystique is in a mysterious coma and my Brotherhood are disobeying my direct command not to act." He then looks at Alicia for an explanation.

Alicia swallows. "Um...I was out jogging. I came back to find the house empty apart from Mother," she tries to explain without revealing her relationship with Gambit.

Magneto isn't quite believing that but what he can believe is the following. "I doubt this is a coincidence."

"What do we do?" Alicia asks.

"Frenzy, fetch me Sinister," he commands.

"Yes Magneto," she replies obediently before turning and departing.

"And the Brotherhood? What do we do about them?" Alicia asks.

"Until we know what is going on nothing. It is always unwise to go into a situation unprepared Haze. Surely Mystique has taught you that."

"She has," Alicia confirms, as she looks down at her mother, her stomach clenching with worry.

"The Brotherhood will be fine," Magneto says in what may be interpreted as an attempt to reassure Haze. "The X-Men will only incapacitate them. After all that's what heroes do."

"You admire them," Alicia draws from Magneto's tone.

Magneto smiles wryly. "Heroes are always worthy of admiration Haze. Even if they're foolish and misguided in fighting for a hopeless cause."

Alicia is too worried about her mother to really absorb that.

Magneto looks at Mystique with his own concerns for her. He is not an uncaring man. He is a man who understands that sacrifices must be made for the greater good. Something is going on. Mystique in a coma with the Brotherhood out causing mischief. It's as if someone wanted Mystique out of the way because she would put a stop to it. Magneto believes he can make that educated guess.

Magneto can also make the following educated guess. Someone is daring to use his mutants for an agenda.

They will learn quickly that crossing him is their first and last mistake.

Bayville...

"So really I got you arrested?" Spider-Man inquires of Neutron as he leaps off cars and streetlamps, avoiding being struck by Neutron's attacks as spheres of radiant energy get thrown at him. This is only a small part of the battle being fought in the streets of Bayville between the X-Men and the Brotherhood.

"Yes!" Neutron yells in anger.

"What was it for? Mugging an old lady? You do look like the type."

"Do you ever shut up!" Neutron screams as another thrown energy ball misses easily as Spider-Man somersaults over it, fires a webline to hit a streetlamp and swings into Neutron knocking him over before landing neatly on the ground.

Neutron rolls over backwards, not too hurt as he is quite durable. Spider-Man continues his talking. "You know I'm certain I would remember a guy who threw multicoloured energy balls around but then again I do have a tendency to lose track of stuff. The other day I went out webslinging without one of my boots. Boy was my face red! If you could have seen it that is..because you know I wear a mask...secret identity and all that."

Neutron almost pulls his hair out in frustration. "Shut up!" he shouts throwing another energy sphere at Spider-Man who arches backwards, at a near impossible angle, and it sails over him.

He stands up straight and point a finger at Neutron, waggling it slightly, as he talks. "That's terribly rude you know. Here I am trying to make polite chit chat and you just yell. My brow may just have become furrowed and believe you me you don't want that. A furrowed brow...oh boy that's trouble."

Neutron's fists clench as he charges at Spider-Man, who leaps over the charging boy as he throws a punch, delivering a kick to the back of Neutron's head as he does, sending Neutron down face first to the ground. Neutron punches the ground in frustration, cracking the road surface, giving Spider-Man a clear sense of just how strong this guy is. Neutron gets to his knees and rips out a large chunk of the road. If his energy attacks couldn't hit the wallcrawler he would try brute strength instead.

Neutron throws it. Spider-Man leaps on top of it and pushes off, firing weblines behind him and snaring the chunk. He lets the webs' natural elasticity do the work as they stretch before snapping back the chunk back at Neutron.

Neutron holds his hands out with a glowing wall of energy growing out of them which shatters the chunk into pieces upon impact. "That the best you got!" he shouts at Spider-Man who is swinging around Neutron off the surrounding buildings looking for the best opening.

"Depends. What day is it again? Because let me tell you I'm not a Monday person...or a Tuesday person. I'm more of a every other Wednesday type of person to be honest," Spider-Man kind of rambles.

"Argh!" Neutron shrieks.

"Dude you sound like a girl...which is probably going to be offensive to the person behind you."

"I'm not going to fall for that!" Neutron shouts.

"That's like too bad for you," a voice from directly behind Neutron states.

Neutron spins round as Shadowcat phases up from underneath the road. Neutron automatically tries to hit her, only for his arm to phase right through her, leaving him off balance for Spider-Man to smack right into him from behind.

Spider-Man lands next to Shadowcat as Neutron once more picks himself up. "Ok what does it take to get him to stay down?" Spider-Man asks.

Shadowcat scratches her head. "Not sure. Only fought him once and Superman did it by smacking his own attack back at him."

"Yeah we're not all invulnerable. I bruise easily," he jokily whines.

Kitty smiles and then takes him by his hand.

"What are you...?"

"Trust me," Kitty requests.

Looking into those honest blue eyes of hers Peter can only nod.

Neutron growls and throws another energy ball at them only for it to phase through both of them.

"Run," Shadowcat whispers at him as she breaks into one still holding his hand. Spider-Man runs with her. "Swing me round," she tells him.

Peter gets it and picks her up, swings her round and her foot connects with Neutron's face. He follows that up quickly with a few hard punches and a kick of his own for good measure knocking Neutron down. Neutron manages to throw another energy ball as he spins round toward the ground.

Peter grabs Kitty intending to protect her only she protects them by phasing once again.

Kitty tries to ignore how nice it is to be in Peter's arms...although it is nice...like it had been this morning when she woke up and found herself curled up atop of him...she blushes slightly at the memory.

Neutron growls loudly as he gets to his feet rather unsteadily, showing that last combo of blows did have an effect.

"Web him and swing him down head first. I got an idea," Kitty says.

Peter goes with it and shoots off some webs cocooning Neutron. Before he can break feet Spider-Man jerks the blond haired boy into the air and over his head so that he comes down head first. Kitty leaps up and grabs hold of Neutron on the way down.

She phases him head first into the ground up to his waist, leaving his hands pinned where he can't use them and his feet flailing helplessly in the air.

Kitty phases herself back up to ground level.

"Um...not to question your genius but will he be ok like that?" Spider-Man asks her.

Kitty waves off any concern. "Like totally. The sewer runs right under the street so while it may smell bad he can breath and I phased him so its him in the road and not the road inside him," she explains.

Peter gets it. The other way round would be fatal. This way it's only the road that is damaged...once they get him out of there. He almost has to laugh at how ridiculous Neutron looks with his legs sticking out of the ground with his feet wiggling in the air. "High five?" he suggests to Kitty to celebrate their victory.

Kitty smiles shyly and holds her hand up. Peter slaps it with the high five and to his surprise Kitty then hugs him. "We make a great team huh?" she says.

"Yep," Peter replies, agreeing with that.

Looking on, as they had been since the fight began, Isobel, Brianna and Madeleine cackle slightly at the chaos around them. Isobel spots the cosy moment Spider-Man and Shadowcat are having. She points at them. "Madeleine since they seem to like being stuck together lets really make them stuck shall we?" she suggests to her cohort who is wearing Wanda's face.

Madeleine smirks and reaches into this vessel's inherent power. A blue/black hex bolt emerges from her hand and hits Spider-Man causing one of his webshooters to explode and encase him and Shadowcat in a mass of white webbing.

A few moments later it falls to the ground as Spider-Man and Shadowcat phase away below, both realising a short retreat is in order.

The 3 girls cackle gleefully. They hadn't had this type of fun in centuries and were intending to enjoy it while they could before they set in motion their true agenda.

A stream of hardened puzzle pieces bounce off Jean's TK shield as she protects herself and Scott, who responds with an optic blast, striking what remains of Puzzler that hasn't been sent to attack them. The beam diffuses off Puzzler's almost indestructible form.

"How is she doing this?" Scott asks, amazed at the way the girl breaks off literal parts of herself. He had never seen a mutation like it before since this was the very first time they had faced off against Puzzler.

Jean tries to concentrate slightly, reaching out with her telepathy while also maintaining the TK shield. "It's some kind of psionic link between her individual components. In essence every part of her thinks. Her consciousness is diffused between the pieces," she reports from what she can sense.

"Can you break the link?" Scott asks, because if she can't talk to herself then Scott is theorising the pieces should become effectively inert.

"By myself? No."

"But she is not alone," the Professor's voice reaches into Scott's mind from close-by, still in the Velocity, with Lex.

Together Jean and the Professor attempt to create an psionic interference pattern to make it impossible for Puzzler's individual pieces to 'talk' to each other.

Scott lays down some covering fire as the concentration required means Jean can't maintain a shield around them. Scott rolls, dodges and fires at the silver jigsaw shaped pieces hoping to keep Puzzler focussed on him. A piece strikes him hard in the shoulder knocking him down. That's definitely going to leave a severe bruise Scott muses as he groans in pain on the ground because that really hurt. It was like getting hit by a cannon ball or something...or it felt like it to Scott.

He watches the pieces circle around, above him...like vultures waiting to strike.

Then suddenly the pieces rain down from the sky and make a plink-plonk sound as they strike the ground. Scott looks at where the bulk of Puzzler was standing to find a small pile of silver jigsaw shaped pieces.

"There. She's inert for now," Jean states as she holds her hand out to Scott to help him up.

Scott takes the hand and gets to his feet.

"Oh dear. Oh my. You've taken down one of my servants. Oh whatever shall I do," Isobel feigns fear, even going as far as placing her hands on her cheeks. A smirk soon starts to grow on her lips.

Scott and Jean frown as the 3 girls move to confront them.

"You could give up," Scott suggests.

"The mind-walker might swoon in your presence visor-boy but I've endured too much to be distracted by a pretty face," Isobel states in a cold tone.

"And hard, fit body," Brianna says appreciatively as she gazes over Cyclops. "Men did not look this good in our time."

A flash of jealousy strikes Jean at the way Scott is getting ogled.

Isobel rolls her eyes at her companion. She opens the leather bound book in her hand, turning it to the appropriate page, raises her hand in the direction of the pile that is Puzzler and speaks. "Surgere. Consurget. Sicut liquidum fluunt et mutatio usque a magna bestias legenda statet facit imperium."

Rise. Rise up. Like liquid flow and change until a great beast of legend stands and does my bidding.

Puzzler's pieces rise, glowing with a strange energy as they start to multiply and increase in number. High above they alter shape and slot together until a new form emerges. A large silver dragon. It lands before Scott and Jean, making the ground shake. It opens its elongated mouth and roars, shooting fire into the air.

"Uh...never saw that coming," Scott has to lamely say.

Jean's eyes are as wide as saucers. They had never seen power like this before. They were in BIG trouble.

Plastique had armed herself with a bundle of screws, nuts and bolts from a hardware store and was right now charging them before throwing them at Wolverine who was mostly dodging them because if they hit him they would explode. His costume already had enough holes in it that it was heading to be tossed out from before he figured out what it was she could do. In a couple of places his skin was still visibly healing over.

"How about showing a fellow Canadian a break lady?" Wolverine asks in his usual gruff tones as he dives out of way of a few exploding screws.

"Je ne suis pas Canadien. Je suis Québécoise," Plastique replies, sounding insulted at being called that, dismissing the notion she is Canadian. She's a Quebecian separatist like her father.

"So that mean you're not going to surrender?"

"Seulement quand je serai mort."

It's not the direct translation but Logan gets the gist of it to be 'Over my dead body'.

Logan sighs. "You had you're chance. Stormy! You're up!"

Storm descends from the sky and the wind rises up around Plastique with enough force to lift her. Several curses in French stream from her lips as she is spun round and round by a twister. She reaches into the back of the waistband of her purple costume and pulls out a gift she was given from a teacher who had been helping her with her power. A playing card. The Ace of Spades.

Plastique charges up the card and throws it in the general direction of Storm...or as best she can figure as she is spinning round and round. It explodes close enough for the force to knock Storm backwards and out of the air.

Logan sees this and sprints forward, dives and manages to catch Storm before she hits the ground.

This, of course, leaves Plastique in mid-air without anything holding her up. Another strong expletive in French escapes her at not thinking this through more before she plummets down and impacts hard upon a car roof.

Logan places Storm down for a moment, pops his claws and runs to where Plastique landed. He leaps atop the car and cuts into the roof before bending the thin metal around the dazed redhead tightly enough to ensure she isn't going anywhere.

That done he checks back up on Storm who is sitting up rubbing her head. "You alright?"

"I am fine," she says as Logan helps her to her feet. Storm looks at Plastique. "At least we know what her power is now," she comments as before the fight began they did not know what the girl was capable of. It would be why Logan volunteered to engage her first because whatever power she had he could take the impact better than almost anyone else.

A loud roar catches their attention and they look down the street at the large silver dragon that was Puzzler.

"By the Goddess," Storm remarks in prayer at the sight.

Logan sniffs the air. "You smell that?"

Storm looks at him with an arched eyebrow as if to say 'Of course not. I don't have an enhanced sense of smell.'

Logan sniffs the air again as that smell triggers a memory of something he has encountered before in his long life. "Can't be," he says, unable to believe it.

"Can't be what?"

Logan growls deeply. "Magic," he says with utter loathing. With a new grunt of determination he charges headlong towards the new threat as Storm lifts gracefully into the air to do the same.

Domino is learning first hand why every one of her students moans so much about Pietro. The guy was an obnoxious ass...and that's her carefully considered opinion by the way.

For the last...god knows how long he had been giving her and Spyke the run around...literally.

Quicksilver appears next to her. "So seriously I've got to know. Why is a babe as hot as you hanging out with this loser?" he asks as he jerks his thumb in Spyke's direction.

"As opposed to hanging out with someone who this loser has beaten what? A dozen times over by now?" Domino retorts.

"At least," Spyke says.

Pietro frowns. "You should think carefully about what side to choose. My Countess has promised me victory and so much more."

"Your Countess?" Domino queries, amused looking. "There's a joke there but I'm trying to cut down. I'm on the 12 step program to stop my compulsive joke making."

Pietro just looks at her confused.

"That...and why waste my good material on someone who is about as dangerous as a cuddly wuddly kitten."

Spyke snorts with laughter at Domino's mocking of Pietro.

Quicksilver is so flustered he struggles to find the words. In the end he exclaims, "Excuse me?"

"Sure. You're excused," Domino quips, making Spyke laugh more.

Quicksilver chokes with anger. "You and Daniels haven't come close to hitting me."

"Who says I've been trying?" she retorts. Ok she has and missing which is seriously starting to get on her nerves. She never misses but even her luck can't quite compensate for Pietro's speed of movement. However, by saying that she hasn't she can get on Pietro's nerves and make him do something stupid and get him exactly where she wants him. She's been working it out for the last 5 minutes what she needs to do.

Pietro's eyes narrow and his anger rises at feeling his pride has been insulted. "Ok I dare you to try!"

"Well if you insist," Dom says in a lazy manner. "How about I let you have a run up shorty?"

"Shorty?" Quicksilver mutters insulted. He isn't short. "Shorty? I'll show her shorty," he mutters to himself as he gives himself that run up.

Domino adjusts the settings on her pistols so they fire the correct intensity of energy blast she's going for. She'll have to remember to thank Forge once again for making these for her. "When I tell you make him turn left," she instructs Spyke. "And leave the rest to me."

Spyke didn't see what Domino could possibly be planning but brings spikes to the surface all along his arm ready to fire them off in front of Pietro.

Domino takes aim with one pistol and fires, knowing it will miss. Consider it the starting shot.

The silver streak that is Quicksilver approaches them as Domino fires off shots, subtly moving Pietro off course to where she desires.

"Now!" she yells at Spyke who unleashes a line of spikes driving them into the ground in a curved line that forces Pietro to turn sharp left and then a right as he runs along the sidewalk.

Behind her back Domino fires off a shot from her other pistol at a right angle. The energy blast strikes the base of a road sign which topples over into some power cables that pulls down a damaged pole which topples into a shop causing the shade above the window to unroll. Two quick blasts later at its supports and it is falling down on top of Quicksilver who, as Domino had perfectly timed it, is passing under. Tangled up he trips up head over heels.

Domino changes the setting on her pistol, aims at the complaining lump under the shade and fires, stunning Pietro into unconsciousness.

Spyke looks on with raised eyebrows. "That's impossible," he exclaims at what Domino just did.

"Not impossible. Just lucky," she pronounces with a grin.

A loud roar catches their attention and both turn to see the silver dragon that was Puzzler.

"And does luck apply to how we defeat that?" Evan asks, his tone full of dire foreboding about this.

Domino puts her hands to her hips and sighs loudly. "It's going to one of those days isn't it?" she asks, rhetorically. "Come on spiny. Lets go save the day!"

"Spiny?" Evan mutters as he follows Domino. "Spiny?" he repeats, incredulously. He would rather be called what Logan calls him; Porcupine.

Domino quietly sniggers at Spyke's mutterings. Some days it's just too easy.

Clark punches Blob hard, sending the mountainous teen smashing into the side of an already wrecked car.

Blob rubs his chin. "Huh. You hit harder," he remarks at how much more that seems to hurt than last time Clark punched him.

Clark is thinking he should have hit Fred harder just to get this over with so they can get back on trying to help the 3 girls. His nostrils flare slightly, his brow quirks and he spins round on the spot and unleashes his freeze-breath at one of Toad's slime balls, freezing the goopy, sticky green mucus solid where it promptly falls like a stone to the ground.

"How did you know?" Toad asks as in how did Clark know he spat one of his slime balls at him.

"Because I'm downwind of you," Clark says, wrinkling his nose at the unpleasant odour.

Toad leaps into the air and Clark blows out a superbreath sending Toad flying.

"Whoa! So not fair yoooooo!" Toad gripes as he sails off into the distance.

"RARGH!" Blob roars as he charges at Clark trying to get back at the alien teen for what he did to Toad.

"Fun science fact Fred," Clark starts to say as he sidesteps the attack. "A body in motion stays in motion..." Clark presses his hand to Blob's back as the large teen passes him and pushes. "...unless acted upon by another force." Blob's momentum increases substantially. Clark zips forward and pushes again. "If that force is applied in the same direction you get acceleration," he continues his physics lesson as he continues shoving Blob faster and faster to the point the boy with the mohawk is about to fall over at which point Clark puts all the force he can muster into it, essentially pushing Blob skyward and up and away and if Clark's done the maths right Fred should land in that nice vacant lot a few miles away and shouldn't be back any time soon.

Clark skids to a halt and turns round to be greeted by the sight of the silver dragon that was Puzzler. His eyebrows rise. "That's new," he remarks, before with renewed focus zipping off to help his friends...only he gets distracted by Avalanche, who since the fight started had seemingly been given the task of keeping the police back, raising up the streets as barricades.

One unlucky police car get tossed high into the air. With a quick change of direction Clark is running towards it. He deliberately side-swipes Lance on the way, knocking the ground-shaker down. Clark comes to a halt and waits for the car to come to him. He catches it and moves with it, bringing it to a not too abrupt stop. He places the car down, moves round the the driver's door and checks on the police officer inside. A young woman, with short blond hair.

"Are you alright Officer..." Clark checks the name badge. "...Sawyer?"

Maggie Sawyer rubs her neck thanks to the whiplash she just endured. Some job being a police officer in Bayville was turning out to be. She turns her gaze to the young man looking at her, through the window, in the red and blue. She knew who he was...or at least what the Bugle called him. You couldn't do your job as a police officer in Bayville these days without knowing about the man who use to be called the Bayville Blur and was now dubbed Superman. She gets out of the car. "Yeah I think so. Thanks," she says, genuinely grateful for his aid.

Clark checks her over quickly and can see she seems unhurt. "You're welcome," he replies politely.

Sawyer's eyes flicker on the large silver dragon and the many mutants now battling it. "That's crazy," she mumbles in disbelief at what her eyes are beholding.

"Welcome to my world," Superman mutters sarcastically.

Sawyer looks at him.

"Sorry," he apologises for his tone. "Bad day," he explains.

Sawyer's lips quirk upward slightly. It was kind of funny the way the kid looked humbled by her look. Then suddenly he snaps out if it and an air of authority rises up around him.

"My friends and I will deal with the dragon. I think it best if you and your colleagues concentrate on getting the civilians clear," Superman says.

Sawyer chews it over for a minute. The police did not have the firepower to deal with this. It had been a major issue of discussion these last few months about how to equip the police for handling mutants. No decision had been reached as of yet so it's really not a choice for her but to do what Superman is suggesting. "Alright. I'll trust you this time...but I'll add I really don't like vigilantes," she says with some hostility. It was the police's job to handle criminals in her mind. Pure and simple. On the other hand Superman just saved her life so she's cutting him some slack.

A pensive expression comes to Clark's face. The police in Bayville had never really liked what he did, labelling it vigilantism. "Thank you," is all Clark can think to say.

Sawyer nods and then her gaze turns to behind Superman.

Clark turns as the 3 girls advance toward him obviously settling up for a showdown. "Go," he tells Office Sawyer. "I'll deal with this."

Sawyer hesitates for one moment before running off. She spots a few colleagues taking cover, shouts at them to get up and they all move to try and pull innocent people out of the way.

Clark's attention turns to the 3 girls. Even though Scott had tried to reach them Clark feels he has to try again. "We don't have to do this. Whoever has control of you can be fought. You are stronger than they are."

Isobel chortles. "Poor foolish Clark." At his surprised expression that she knew it was him she adds, "Oh yes. I know it's you Clark. I can practically smell your power from here. It can't be hidden by a pair of glasses," she points out with an oddly gleeful tone.

Clark's expression hardens. "What is this about?" he asks, seeing if he can get any answers.

Isobel answers with a single word as she points directly at him. "You. This whole carnival was about luring you out." She points at the dragon fighting the X-Men. "My creation there is about keeping your friends busy leaving you and us. Now I give you the choice. Submit to our will or this shall get unpleasant," she warns.

"I don't know what is going on but this has to stop. People will get hurt," Clark says.

The 3 girls smile dangerously. "You're right. People shall get hurt. Starting with you!" Isobel promises him. She turns to her right. "Brianna," she instructs her companion.

Clark frowns. 'Brianna? What?' he asks himself in his head because as far as he can tell the girl in front of him is Rogue who is right now raising her right hand in the sign of the devil. "Rogue. Please don't do this," he asks of her, his voice taught with emotion at having to fight the girl he loves.

"Surgite!" Brianna says and a torn up piece of the road rises up with an odd purplish glow around it, before, with a gesture of her hand, she sends it flying at him.

'That's new,' Clark thinks to himself seeing Rogue do something he has never seen her do herself. He goes with just letting the the chunk hit him and smash to pieces. The pain that resonates through him when it does hit him quickly makes him regret it. To his complete surprise it hurts and sends him flying backwards. He lands on his back with a grunt, momentarily winded but is soon back to his feet.

"So you are as tough as I was told. So much the better. That will make this so much more fun," Isobel says, her eyes gleaming darkly as she seems to revel with joy at the idea of prolonging Clark's suffering.

Clark almost asks who told her but that could be anyone from Rogue or Wanda to the Brotherhood, all of whom seem to be under some kind of control, to whoever it is that is controlling them. He'll deal with it later. Save them first...from themselves it seems and then they can get answers.

"Madeleine," Isobel commands her other companion.

'Oh boy,' Clark worries to himself. Fighting Wanda is never fun because she can really hurt him if she can hit him.

Madeleine brings her two hands together in front of her, both in the sign of the devil. "Incede," she says. Several objects that litter the street rise up and she sends them at Clark.

Clark's eyes glow red and one after the other he shoots them out of the air. His eyes then narrow and he is puzzled by the surprised expression on the 3 girls' faces as if they didn't expect that...when they should. It doesn't add up...nor do these little tests because they should know better than most what it takes to stop him but they seem surprisingly ill-prepared.

Isobel frowns in annoyance. This was not going as hoped. "Serpentes ortum et cáperent!"

Serpents rise and ensnare!

Power cables smash out of the ground and wrap themselves around Clark's wrists and ankles.

"Fulgur!" Isobel shouts and a mass of electric current flows through the cables into Clark. The electricity is visible as it arcs over and through his body. He grunts as the current messes with his nervous system a little.

"Together. Quickly," Isobel commands her two companions seeing that it will take their combined power to put Clark down. All 3 girls bring their hands together in front of Isobel and a purple energy starts to glow in a twirling ball above their conjoined hands.

Clark snaps the cables, freeing himself, just as the 3 girls dispatch their attack and smash the ball into him. He cries out in pain as he goes flying, smashing through a wall into one of the many stores that line the street.

"We must hurry. Before he recovers," Isobel says as she and the other 2 dash after where they sent Clark.

Back with the X-Men the fight against the dragon was not going so well. In her silver form Puzzler is close to indestructible and being transformed into a dragon hadn't altered that any. None of the attacks the X-Men had attempted so far were working. They couldn't even scratch it.

The Puzzler dragon swings its tail around like a whip hitting Logan, who was trying to get in close, and sending him crashing through a store wall.

"Logan!" Storm cries out in worry and lets loose a twister which drives the altered mutant girl back a little, buying them all some breathing space.

"This isn't working!" Domino points out as she hits the creature repeatedly with her pistols, again with little to no effect on it, beyond aggravating it, it seemed.

Scott realises that. They only good thing so far of this fight was the police pulling people out of the way, freeing up what he can do without worrying about civilians getting caught in the crossfire. "We have to try and immobilise it! Nightcrawler! Go find as much cable as you can!" Cyclops shouts.

"On it!" Kurt replies as he teleports off.

Scott intends to try and tie it up.

The Puzzler dragon lets loose a bestial roar and unleashes a stream of fire from its mouth, blasting Storm's twister away and forcing Jean to raise a TK shield to protect everyone. She grits her teeth and groans at the effort.

Spider-Man, down to one webshooter, he's so suing, swings onto the back on the dragon, to distract it. It immediately tries to buck him off. "Whoa! Ride 'em Cowboy!" he rolls off the quip and his sticking ability gets tested to its limit.

Spider-Man's efforts buy the time for Nightcrawler to reappear, bundles of cables he scrounged up in hand.

Cyclops says grimly, "Kurt, Kitty...I think you know what I'm going to ask you to do."

Kurt and Kitty nod. With their powers they are the ones who have to get close and try and tie up the legs.

"We'll cover you," Cyclops promises. He turns to the rest. "Alright. Here's the plan. We get its attention and keep its attention off Shadowcat and Nightcrawler and do our best to protect them while they tie up its legs. Don't group together or stand still and give it an easy target for breathing fire at you. Everyone clear?"

There is a collective "Yep."

"Spyke. Domino. Storm. Lets get its attention," Cyclops orders. "Spider-Man! Get clear!" he yells.

Spider-Man jumps off the dragon as Cyclops fires his optic beam. Spyke fires off an array of bony projectiles. Storm sends lightning crashing into it. Domino fires off her pistols. They don't really hurt the dragon but they do get its attention. It roars in anger and stomps towards them unleashing a torrent of fire from its mouth forcing them to dive for cover.

By now Kurt has already teleported himself and Kitty to under the dragon. While their friends keep the dragon busy they loop the cable around the back right leg before Kurt teleports to the back left and Kitty throws him the line. Kurt loops it around the leg while Kitty runs to the front left. Kurt throws her the line and she loops it around while Kurt teleports to the front right. She throws him the line just as the leg moves and clocks her, knocking her down.

"Kitty!" Kurt shouts in panic which gets the Puzzler dragon's attention. Its head moves down to chomp on Kitty.

"Nightcrawler! Finish wrapping the leg up!" Cyclops orders as he desperately fires blasts at the head to try and get the dragon focussed back on him.

Kurt does as he is told while the dragon prepares to bite into Kitty.

"Not so fast there you overgrown gecko!" Spider-Man shouts as he leaps through the air and fires a large glob of webbing right into the eyes. He fires a line which sticks to the neck of the dragon and he swings down and picks the groggy Kitty up. "Fear not fair Maiden. Sir Spider of Man shall save you from the beast," he says in an impression of a knight of yore as he swings her to safety and lands on the roof of a car.

Kitty is in grip enough of her senses to giggle at that. "Thank you kind Knight," she says back playing along.

Peter smiles under his mask at that one.

"Hey webhead!"

Peter's head turns to see Logan, who is back from where the dragon sent him, now holding the end of the cable Kurt and Kitty had tied around the dragon's legs along with Cyclops and Spyke.

"We could use some extra muscle!" Logan explains that they need his superstrength to help pull the dragon down.

Spider-Man leaps and lands near the X-Men and turns Kitty over to Storm before grabbing the end of the line. "Ready whenever you are Wolvie old buddy," he says jovially.

A mental image flashes up in Logan's head of Spider-Man on the end of his claws and he doesn't even feel guilty about it. "Just shut up and pull!"

The 4 guys yank hard, pulling the cable taught. Jean uses her telepathy to add an extra restraining force while Domino fires blasts at the ground under its feet, tearing the street up, trying to destabilise its equilibrium further and as advertised the Puzzler dragon trips up and crashes down to the road tearing it up even more than it already was. It lays there motionless for the moment.

"So what now?" Evan asks, as in what do they do now.

"Jean," comes the Professor's telepathic voice into Jean's mind.

"Yes Professor," Jean replies.

"I've been trying to get into her mind but the primal instincts are too strong. I need a conduit. I need you to physically touch her for me."

Jean's expression is wary.

"Jean? What is it?" Scott asks at her expression.

Jean explains the situation.

"Ok that sound pretty nuts," Kitty offers her opinion, as she rubs her banged up head. There's so going to be a massive bump there. She just knows it.

"If we don't shut her down how long will that really hold her?" Domino points out.

Jean realises Domino is right. She needs to do this. She takes a breath and carefully walks up to the fallen silver dragon.

"Everyone stay sharp," Cyclops advises so that they move in an instant should the dragon do anything.

Jean reaches out with her hand and places it gently on the top of the head and closes her eyes as she allows the Professor to use her as a conduit.

Charles delves into the chaotic mindscape of Puzzler which has been twisted and bent by forces yet unknown to him. His astral form walks through a landscape which is literally full of structures of places Puzzler knows twisted beyond the realms of physical reality.

"You need to leave. The girl belongs to me."

Charles turns to find what looks like Lana Lang standing there. Only this woman looks older, her eyes darker, with much power, wisdom and evil in them. "I shall not," he declares. "You will return the girl to normal and leave," he orders.

The woman laughs wickedly. "You don't know who you are messing with mind-walker."

"No. It is you who does not who she is messing with...whoever you are because you are not Lana Lang are you?"

The not-Lana smirks. "I'm an echo. Left here to ensure the girl serves her purpose but yes the one who left me here is not Lana Lang. She's...not been around for awhile now."

Charles eye's narrow. If all this apparition is merely a psychic copy left behind then he should be able to disperse it completely without harming the real person. "I give you this chance to leave for in the battlefield of the mind you shall find me a formidable opponent," he warns.

"Don't threaten me old man," she hisses, any mask of civility faded away. A fencing sword appears in her hand and her appearances changes into one dressed for combat in fencing gear.

Charles' form changes too as he adopts the garb of a gladiator of old holding a sword of his own in his right hand and a small round shield in the other.

The not-Lana charges at him and strikes but he deflects the blow with his shield and counters with swiftness and strength his body could never manage but in this place it is one's strength of will that matters. He drives her back before knocking the sword from her hand and hits her in the face with the shield sending her tumbling over.

She rolls over, gets to her feet and a long spear manifests in her hands with which she jabs at him. Charles deflects her strikes with his shield. She jabs forward once more, he sidesteps it and using his sword cuts the spear. The metal tipped end drops to the ground. Charles charges forward and smashes his shield into the not-Lana once more before he turns, picks up the cut off spear end and transforms it into an arrow. A bow manifests in his hand. He loads the arrow and fires hitting the not-Lana in the heart.

She screams before disappearing. The apparition is gone.

Charles' form reverts to him in his suit walking this bizarre landscape. It is then he hears someone crying softly. He walks towards the sound and behind a twisted knoll of grass he finds a girl curled up into a ball. Charles bends down and strokes her head. "It's ok child."

The mental image of Valerie Van Haaften shivers. "Help me please," she pleads. "I can't control myself. I don't know...I can't stop. Please make it stop!" she begs.

Charles feels deep sympathy for her and deep anger at who did this. He pulls her into his arms and hold her close. "You need to help me. You need to let me into your mind fully and not fight me."

"I...I just want Uncle Erik!" she sobs.

'Uncle Erik?' Charles thinks to himself with some bemusement. What is Magneto's relation to this girl that she calls him uncle. "I'm a friend of Erik's," he tells her. "I can help you to see him again if you let me."

Valerie nods pathetically and Charles feels her mental barriers fall away. Once that is done he reaches into her mind, effectively becoming one with her and can feel the overwhelming animal instincts this transformation has brought about. No wonder she couldn't control herself. Luckily Charles' mind is stronger and he has experience helping those mutants whose transformation involves strong animal instincts.

He pushes the instincts away and accesses her powers. Charles soon finds the way to shut them off which he does and then he plants the suggestion in Valerie's head to sleep...although he hardly needs to. This transformation has strained her powers past the point of exhaustion only she still couldn't stop thanks to the not-Lana.

Valerie drifts off into unconsciousness and with that the Professor's mind snaps back to his place in the Velocity, with the portable Cerebro helmet on his head. He takes a moment to regather himself before inquiring after the guest they were forced to bring along. "Lex?"

No response.

Charles looks around and can see the helicopter is empty. Lex is gone in the process breaking his word that he would do as asked.

Back in the real world with the X-Men, they watch on as the dragon's form starts to dissolve into fine powder. It literally blows away in the breeze until all there is left is a 14 year old girl with brown hair lying naked in the street.

Storm quickly unfastens her cape and uses it to cover the girl.

Scott rushes over to Jean who is rubbing her head. "You ok?" he asks with concern for his girlfriend.

Jean smiles and nods. "I'm fine." She looks down at the girl on the ground. "She'll be out for awhile," she reports.

Domino blows some hair out of her face. "Remind to add dragon slaying to the training roster," she says in a tried sounding joke.

"I have like a question," Kitty raises. "Where's Superman?"

"Ja," Kurt says in agreement. "And vhere did zhe 3 girls go?" he adds on to the question because all 4 of those people are nowhere to be seen.

"So Supes is missing as are our 3 mind controlled girls," Spider-Man sums up the situation. "Does anyone else think this is bad?"

"Right there with ya dude," Spyke says in agreement.

Jean looks to Scott who looks to Logan. "Can you pick up their scent?" he asks.

Logan sniffs the air in several different directions before fixing in on one and pointing. "That way."

"I'll stay with the girl," Storm says since she is obviously in a bad way.

Scott nods his agreement. "Wolverine. Lead the way."

Logan takes off with the X-Men plus Spider-Man in pursuit.

After he was hit Clark found himself groaning in pain on the floor of the shop he crashed into. His entire body smarts like he was just on the receiving end of a blow from the Juggernaut and to his immense surprise he finds there are small cuts on his hands which aren't healing. Suddenly he finds himself rolled on to his back with his arms pinned out to the side as the 3 girls hold him down with Lana straddling his chest.

"Impressive," Isobel remarks, with a look of genuine admiration. "That curse would have killed a mortal man."

"What is he?" Madeleine, holding down the right arm, asks. "I can smell his power but he's not a mutant."

"Nor a sorcerer," Brianna also rules out, as she holds down the left arm.

"No. He's something very different," Isobel deduces. "We must act quickly before his powers revive him," she orders.

Isobel opens her book and lays it on Clark's chest. She summons up the power within herself and starts to chant. "Vestue Vines Chet. Potestas Genuras Genset."

A wind blows up around them and a great multicoloured stream of light starts to rise out of Clark's chest through the book. Isobel chants more. "Potestas Et Vellar Vis!"

And with those last words a huge surge of energy streams out. Clark cries out in pain. Isobel gasps in shock at the sheer amount of power she senses that is flowing over, around and through her. She breaths heavily, an almost orgasmic afterglow on her face as the last few whispers of energy vanish into the aether.

Clark's head lops to the side as he passes out.

Isobel takes a moment to gather herself before declaring, with satisfaction, "It is done. His powers are gone."

CLICK!

The sound of a gun being cocked.

Isobel remains perfectly calm. "Hello Alexander." She stands up and turns round to face Lex aiming a gun at her from a position behind the 3 girls.

Lex had left the helicopter when the Professor was busy and had witnessed Superman being hit into here followed by the 3 girls. He followed them because he needed to and that is all the explanation he requires to give. "You're not Lana," he declares with absolute certainty of that. "Where is she?" he demands to know.

Isobel laughs mockingly. "You still haven't worked it out have you. Even after you tested me...and yes I was aware of what you did. You think you're in charge don't you my dear Alexander but you're not. I'm the one who has been in charge from the moment I came into your life. That's why you will never live up to your namesake. Alexander the Great was master of all he saw in front of him and if he wasn't he conquered it. You...you are just a pathetic little rich boy trying to prove himself better than his daddy," she twists the knife in quite viciously with her verbal jabs.

Anger rises up inside Lex. "Where is Lana?" he asks the question again in a deadly serious tone.

"Right in front you...only she isn't running the show at the moment. Think of her as having a very long nap while I borrow her body. Permanently borrow."

"You're possessing her?" Lex queries in an uncertain tone because that's new even for him and everything he has seen.

"I am taking her body as my own forever!"

"Never!" Lex declares.

"Who's going to stop me? You?" she asks in a derisive tone with a terribly amused expression at Lex's gumption. "Him?" she asks, pointing at the unconscious figure of Superman. "You have no idea who I am Alexander. Nor the fact this conversation has only lasted as long as I wished it to." She snaps her open hand towards Lex. "Mea!" she yells and the gun flies out of Lex's hand into hers.

Before Lex can react Madeleine hexes Lex sending him flying into some shelves which topple over on top of him.

The 3 girls chuckle amused by it all.

"This way!" Logan's voice as he tracks them down.

Isobel utters a few old French curses. "Grab Alexander. I'm not done with him yet," she orders her two companions, now with haste in her tone for them to act quickly.

Madeleine moves but Brianna stays, her gaze suddenly distant.

"Brianna," Isobel hisses.

Brianna blinks her eyes. "Sorry? What?" she asks in confusion.

"Didn't you hear me?"

"No. Not above the other voices."

"Other voices? What are you prattling on about?" Isobel asks, looking at Brianna as if she has gone crazy...crazier than normal.

Brianna brow puckers in confusion. "You don't hear them?"

Isobel pinches the bridge of her nose. They don't have time for this. "Brianna. Snap out of it!" she barks. "And help get Alexander!"

Brianna seems to pull herself together. She and Madeleine pull Lex out from under the shelving and dump him next to Clark.

"We must leave," Isobel decides as she stands over the two bodies. Her book remains open on Clark's chest. She flicks it to the appropriate page, before she stands up straight and holds her hands out to either side. Brianna moves next to her and places one hand flat against Isobel's and hold the other out. Madeleine then completes the triangle placing her two hands flat against the two held out to her.

The 3 chant together. "Evanescunt in caligine solum ad redeo loco novo!"

Vanish into the mist only to reappear some place anew.

The X-Men burst in just as the 3 along with Lex and Clark vanish in a flash of purple light. They get a glimpse long enough of the 3 girls to see the smiles of triumph on their faces and an echoing laugh saying, "Too late!"

"Does anyone else get the feeling we were just played?" Domino asks because that's the vibe she is getting.

"Like this whole thing was a set-up to get Clark and Lex?" Jean asks Domino to clarify what she means.

"Yep."

"Ve're right zhere vith you," Kurt says, in a way speaking for all of them because they all are getting the same vibe as Domino.

Scott's face twists up in frustration and anger. Yet another trap they walked into. This is getting old and he is getting fed-up of being used in other people's games. "We're going to find them," he declares. "We're going to find them and we're going to find out who is behind this and put a stop to them," he says sounding certain to reassure the others. The only problem is he's lying because he doesn't have a clue where to begin.

For now Clark and Lex are on their own.

Author's Note: Yeah Isobel's aim was to get Clark and Lex only why did she need to go through so much effort? A hint not everything is quite going according to her plan. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Clark and Lex find themselves prisoner, at the whims of the 3 witches' tender mercies.