Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I do not read the X-Men comics. I have borrowed a few names and that's it. I do not know if this is the history behind the Hellfire Club (I doubt it), nor do I particularly care how accurate it is. That's why it's an AU, people. It fits for my purposes.
ALSO! Shameless plugging: My new Lancitty story, Shades of Grey, completely unrelated to this series, is now posted. There is also a not-so-new oneshot called Never Again, which features Lance and Liam after he wakes up out of the coma. According to , 200 people have read it, but no one's reviewed it, so please, please just drop me a note over there!
Chapter Twelve
April 2000
Jean's revelation didn't have quite the effect she was hoping for.
The other three women stared at each other for a few minutes, before Kitty finally took the initiative. "Who?"
Jean sighed. "The Hellfire Club." She repeated.
Lexa rolled her eyes. "I think when Kitty said 'who', she meant 'we don't know who that is'. Believe it or not, Jeannie, just repeating it isn't going to suddenly make us understand."
Jean pulled a face at her. "If you'd let me finish. It's a really elite social club, spread all over the world."
"Social club?" Anna repeated. "As in expensive suits, ridiculously overpriced dresses and gatherings where not having a title makes you scum? First of all, why would they care? Second of all, how did they do it?"
Jean took a deep breath. "Let me start with a history lesson. The Hellfire Club originated in England over a thousand years ago. Although it existed before, according to legend, its current form actually started after the fight between King Arthur and his half-sister Morgan Le Fey."
"Wait a second, Jean," Kitty frowned, "that's just a myth, everyone knows that."
Jean shrugged. "Like I said, that's just what the legend says. It was around before then, but the story goes that the 'Inner Circle', or the people who ran the club, split into two factions: the Black side, which supported Arthur, and the White side, which supported Morgana."
"Black and White?" Lexa questioned.
Jean nodded. "The Inner Circle comprised of the King, Queen, two knights, two clergymen and two advisors. Originally, of course, that was Arthur, Guinevere and six others …"
"So the Hellfire Club was the Royal court then." Kitty concluded. "If that was a true story, which it isn't because Arthur and Camelot never existed."
Jean rolled her eyes, but Anna stopped a retort before it could begin. "Hang on. King, queen, knights, clergy and advisors … It's like a chess game. That's where the Black and White factions come from."
Jean nodded. "Exactly. The Black side has continued through inheritance."
"So the Black Queen is the current queen of England?" Lexa asked.
"No, because Arthur wasn't actually the king of England." Kitty answered. "Even if he did exist, that was a time when England wasn't united under one monarchy. He allegedly ruled Camelot, which English historians say was probably in the mid-south of the country. His descendants would have lost any claim around the time of Alfred the Great."
Lexa sighed. "It's all very complicated."
Kitty smiled. "I've got a copy of King Arthur somewhere you can borrow. Go on, Jean. What about the White side?"
"Well, that should pass down through inheritance as well …" Jean began.
"But given that it was supposedly in support of Morgan Le Fey, I doubt they put too much emphasis on inheritance." Anna finished.
Jean chuckled. "Exactly. It's more a 'survival of the fittest' thing."
Kitty sighed. "Okay, how is this relevant now? Even if all that stuff about Arthur is true, and I find it incrediblyhard to believe, his descendants would have lost any connection to the Royals centuries ago."
"Obviously, nowadays, the Inner Circle has no bearings on the Royal court." Jean conceded. "However, what they do have are the ears of their very important clients. Anyone who's anyone is a member of the Hellfire Club, even if just officially, including most of the world leaders."
Lexa sank onto the couch, rubbing her temples. "Okay, Jean. None of this explains why or how they were behind those power surges. Just that it's probably the Whiteside that's behind it."
"Well, like I said, the Inner Circle has a great deal of political clout." Jean explained patiently. "Unfortunately for them, so do we."
Anna frowned. "What? No we don't."
Jean shrugged. "We're starting to. We took a call from the USMC the other day, asking if they could run some of their Special Ops teams through the Danger Room."
"Well, we have the technology." Kitty commented.
"We can rebuild him." Jean finished in a sombre voice.
"That would be interesting." Lexa remarked.
Jean groaned. "Oh, God." She turned to Kitty and Anna. "We do not let her anywhere near Wolverine until they've both got the Marine out of their systems. With back-up, our training sessions may just go overboard."
"Okay, so we're starting to get more political clout." Lexa said, chuckling at the twin looks of horror her comment had evoked. "Why would the Inner Circle care?"
"Politics." A new voice concluded from the door, making them all jump. "Sorry," Amara smiled apologetically, pushing the living room door closed. "I couldn't help overhearing. It seems like this 'Inner Circle' likes the status quo the way it is, where they can influence world events to their own agenda, whatever that may be."
"So that's why they were behind all the power surges." Kitty concluded, effectively filling Amara in at the same time. "How?"
"Well, I'm still working on the Black side." Jean admitted. "But like Lexa said, it's unlikely to be them. History has shown that they're not quite as …"
"Evil?" Anna suggested.
"Vocal." Jean corrected. "Most of the White side is in the wind but the 'King' and 'Queen' are, I believe, Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost, both of whom are mutant."
Lexa frowned. "Sebastian Shaw … I know that name …"
"HYDRA?" Anna asked.
Lexa shook her head. "No … I think Pietro mentioned it in passing. Hang on, Jean, if the White side succeed through usurping each other and the Black side succeed through inheritance, wouldn't it be easier to track inheritance?"
"It would." Jean agreed. "Except mutants automatically succeed."
"Then how haven't mutants been exposed before now?" Kitty asked.
"Because the only people who know about the true nature of the Inner Circle are those within it." Jean explained. "The social club, nowadays, is just a front."
"First rule of Fight Club …" Anna murmured. "What are their powers?"
"Shaw's telekinetic." Jean answered. "With quite a lot on the side, but it doesn't really matter in this case. Emma Frost is a telepath to rival Mastermind and Mesmero."
"Both of them?" Anna winced. "That's illusions and mind-control."
"And enough power to prompt our power surges without even being near us." Kitty finished quietly. "Why Lance? I mean," she continued, when she received four blank looks in response, "Jean, I can understand. You're one of our public faces; I can see why she'd want you out the way. I had a ridiculous amount of power back then. But why Lance?"
"Leader of the Brotherhood?" Lexa suggested, but even as she said it she was shaking her head. "No, that wouldn't be enough."
"Difficult to manipulate?" Anna asked. "He was the only non-telepath that stayed on their feet when Kitty had hers."
"But that might have had something to do with the fact that it was me." Kitty pointed out, smiling as a gentle waft of love floated into her head, like a kiss blown on the breeze.
"Maybe …" Jean trailed off. "Oh my God, Anna, is that your dress?"
Anna followed her gaze to the dress hanging from the bathroom door and rolled her eyes. "No, it's Lorelai's new security blanket. Of course it's my dress!"
"It's gorgeous!" Jean told her, ignoring the sarcasm. "I was wondering what you were going to do about it. I mean, no offence, but you're not exactly a dress person, are you?"
Anna snorted. "You got that right. I wasn't planning on going with cream at all, but Kitty made me try some on. And I'm glad she did."
"Yeah, I would be." Jean agreed. "If that was the result …"
"Hey!" Lexa interrupted. "As lovely as Anna's dress is, what are we going to do about the Hellfire Club?"
Jean sighed. "Unfortunately, Lexa, there's nothing we can do about them, except keep a very, very close eye on them. I don't know enough about them to be comfortable tipping our hand just yet."
"We could expose her." Lexa suggested. "There's probably loads of people she's manipulated using telepathy …"
"And then what happens to the rest of us?" Kitty asked dryly.
Lexa sighed. "Oh yeah."
Amara frowned. "Why though?"
"Well, humans have always feared what they …" Jean began.
"No, not that." Amara interrupted. "Why the sphinx? I assume you were talking about that power surge as well."
"We were." Jean confirmed. "I assume it was to lure us away from the mansion."
"To do what?" Amara asked pointedly. "Unless they broke in while we were away."
"They didn't." Lexa stated. "There was always at least one person here. There's no way they could get through the security without alerting us."
"If they could, they wouldn't have bothered." Kitty agreed. "It makes no sense …"
"Unless they messed up." Lexa suggested. "They may have meant Lance's power surge to be closer to yours and Jean's, but underestimated the strength of his powers …"
"And the effect of the headaches." Kitty finished quietly. "When they kick in, it's like a vicious circle. His powers make the headaches worse, but the headaches make controlling his powers harder."
Lexa nodded. "It hit him early, unluckily for them, because their plan would have worked if it didn't."
"But because Lance was in a coma, the Institute wasn't empty." Jean concluded, before frowning. "So why not just attack. That kind of telepathic power would have been no match for just the three of you."
"Unless …" Amara said tentatively. "Unless this woman isn't the devil incarnate and didn't want to attack a pregnant woman or a new-born."
The other three exchanged a glance. Whilst it would be nice if that were the reason, that would mean that Emma Frost had a conscience, which would be extremely helpful. Unfortunately, it would also be a stroke of good luck, and none of the women felt comfortable enough to hope for that right now.
In silent agreement, though no telepathic exchange was made, the discussion was abandoned, though not forgotten, and Jean glanced around. "Where's Lorelai?"
"With Remy." Anna answered with a slight smile. "Drawing him a picture."
Jean chuckled. "Yeah, the twins just hit that phase. Something tells me we need to stock up on crayons."
"Hey, don't complain." Kitty told her. "If they're doing that, they're not levitating things out the window."
"Or blowing them up." Amara added.
"They're not that bad!" Jean protested, just to be met with four eye-rolls. "They'll get better."
"Didn't say they wouldn't, Jeannie." Lexa commented almost lazily, as she sank back onto the couch. If she was still worrying about the Hellfire Club, there was nothing to show it. "So how's the house-hunting going? Not that we want you to move out of course."
"Just the terror twins." Amara added jokingly.
"No, just Scott." Kitty corrected, only half joking.
Jean aimed a cushion at Amara, who ducked with a giggle. "That's my children you're talking about." She sighed heavily. "Honestly, it's going terribly. I know we wanted to move out, but we don't want to move away. There are no houses in Bayville, you know that? None! And we want a house, not an apartment, so the city's out, unless it's out of our price range. At this rate, we'll be moving to the other side of the city, maybe even to the other side of the state."
"Well …" Kitty said slowly. "I suppose Scott wouldn't be able to run four am Danger Room sessions anymore."
Despite herself, Jean chuckled. "Oh, very funny."
May 2000
The grounds of the Institute weren't small by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, even 'big' was an understatement.
So trying to find someone who didn't want to be found was never going to be easy.
Therefore, it was for this reason that Lance found himself standing outside the mansion, wondering where his girlfriend had disappeared to.
Liam, he knew, was with her, because he'd been woken from his morning nap by the phone ringing, and she had picked him up when she answered it.
Two hours later, they were nowhere to be seen.
Only the constant presence in his head kept him from worrying, but while it assured him that she was alright, it was duller than usual, as though something was blocking the bond between them.
No one could explain the telepathic connection between them, though it had persisted since January. Neither was telepathic and neither could communicate with anyone else.
Nothing had changed between them, however, which made him wonder if it had always been there, explaining how he could always predict what she was feeling and what she was thinking and vice versa.
His eyes scanned the edge of the woodland, but he didn't bother searching any deeper. There were some interesting things happening amidst those trees and he knew that, had Kitty been there, he'd know about it by now. Instead, he turned in the opposite direction towards the cliffs, mentally counting down the least likely places for Kitty to go if she was upset.
Then he stopped.
Kitty knew him better than he knew himself – if she wanted him to find her, she'd have answered when he called telepathically.
And, if she didn't want him to find her, she wouldn't go to the last place he'd expect, because she'd know that was the first place he'd look.
Bypassing every location he'd just considered, Lance turned on his heel and went back inside, heading for the most likely place for her to go.
Sure enough, he found her on the roof, lying on her back on a blanket, holding Liam above her. She brought him down to her face to blow a raspberry on his stomach and he let out a delighted giggle as he rose up again.
As Lance approached, his son caught sight of him and his giggles increased, interspersed with a squeal of delight. Lance couldn't help the way his heart warmed at the sound of his son's laughter and he scooped him up as the boy held his arms out.
"How'd you find me?" Kitty asked softly, as Lance dropped onto the blanket beside her and settled Liam in his lap.
"I know you too well." Lance reminded her, tilting Liam back so he was almost upside down, making the boy shriek with laughter. "Anna's having another wedding panic and she needs her maid of honour. Why are you hiding?"
"It's my mother." Kitty sighed. "She wants to give me a Mercedes."
Lance waited. When she said nothing else, he rolled his eyes. "The nerve of that woman!" When the corners of her mouth tugged into a small smile, he knew that she realised the oddity of her statement, but she didn't laugh and his heart gave a lurch. "What?"
"It's a Mercedes if I move back home and pretend none of this ever happened." Kitty elaborated, her voice flat.
Lance knew that Kitty would never agree to something like that, but that didn't stop his heart freezing at the thought of losing her. "What about Liam? I mean, I know they've never liked me, but he's their grandson!"
"Well, they seem to have decided that Liam doesn't exist." Kitty wiped her eyes. "I know they can't make me do anything, Lance, but they're trying to bribe me into abandoning my baby."
"Kitty …" Lance began, but his attention was diverted when Liam grabbed his arm and pulled, almost making it to his feet before falling on to his bottom with a bump, which sent the eight-month-old into hysterics.
Apparently, there was something very funny about falling over.
"Did he just try to stand up?" Kitty asked, sitting up, forgetting about her own problem momentarily.
"I don't know." Experimentally, Lance lifted Liam up and set him on his feet, pulling his hands away just far enough to balance on his own.
With a big smile, Liam toddled forwards a few steps and fell into Kitty's lap, rolling over to beam up at her.
"Liam, you clever boy!" Kitty laughed with her son, lifting him into the air and kissing his nose, and Lance took the opportunity to pull both of them into his arms. She leaned back into his chest, sighing deeply. "How can they expect me to give this up?"
Lance didn't answer, settling for pressing a kiss to her hair. He knew that Kitty's parents hadn't taken her mutation well, had long-since mapped out her life for her, and were unwilling to accommodate any changes to that. He also knew that they had suggested she come home before, but had assumed, perhaps naively that Liam's birth would have changed that. "Did she give you the 'you're not up to this' thing again?"
That, he knew, had been Melinda Pryde's argument during the calls before Liam's birth; that Kitty would never cope living 'on her own' and that she might want to consider returning to her parents.
Kitty nodded, pulling a face. "Actually, this time I got the extended disco version with three choruses of 'You'll never make it on your own'."
"Do you think she's serious?" Lance asked. "We could use a Mercedes."
Kitty tilted her head back, giving him an incredulous look. "What are you suggesting? That I move home, get the car, tell them where to shove it and drive back?" She paused. "That's actually not a bad idea."
"I was kidding, Kitten." Lance pulled her closer, resting his head on hers. "I want you both to stay right here."
"And we will." Kitty finished with certainty. "I just … they're my parents. And I know they've treated me like crap, and I know they've been hell to deal with, but they're still my parents. And they're Liam's grandparents. I can't believe they'd just write him off like that! Not once, not once did she mention him!"
As tears began to cascade down her cheeks, Lance tightened his arms around her waist, trying to think of an appropriate response. Kitty rarely cried, not like this, and this was hardly the time for "There, there; it'll be alright".
In the end, though, their son beat him to it. Using her shirt as leverage, Liam pulled himself to his feet in Kitty's lap, blinking bewilderedly at her tears. "Mama?"
Kitty froze, her tears stopping. "Oh my God … Lance, did you hear that?"
"Mama?" Liam repeated, patting his mother's cheek. There was a definite wobble to his lower lip now, as he tried to figure out why Mommy was crying – surely that was his role in the proceedings.
"I did." Lance rubbed his son's back with his spare hand. "It's alright, Liam; Mommy's alright."
Kitty wiped her eyes and smiled shakily. "See? All better?"
Reassured, Liam let go of her shirt and fell back on to his bottom with a bump, falling into yet another set of giggles.
"Bit of a masochist, isn't he?" Lance commented, tickling his son's stomach, prolonging the current laughing fit.
Kitty giggled as well. "I suppose you have to be to do what we do. Ninety per cent of the bruises I get are thanks to the Danger Room."
"Are you alright?" Lance asked in a low voice.
"No." Kitty sighed. "But I will be."
Her need for a subject change was left unspoken, but Lance heard it anyway. "Your birthday's coming up."
A smile crossed her face. "It is. Not for another few months though."
"Yeah, but I missed last year." Lance reminded her softly.
Kitty tilted her head back to press a kiss to his cheek. "Not your fault, hon. You were in a coma, remember?"
"Not as well as you." Lance couldn't help the lump that formed in his throat at the reminder that she had given birth to their son without him. He was forever grateful to Pietro for being there for his family when he couldn't, but it still hurt. "Is there anything you want?" He had a feeling he knew what she was going to say though.
Kitty was quiet for a second, bouncing Liam in her lap. "No. No, I have everything I need right here."
Now why doesn't that surprise me? Lance smiled to himself. He knew that a lot of their friends were expecting him to use the occasion to propose to her, and he'd be lying if he said the thought hadn't crossed his mind. Unfortunately for him, his girlfriend was incredibly intelligent and she would know what he was planning, probably even before he did.
No, to keep something like that a surprise, he would need to catch her off guard.
"I didn't ask that." He reminded her lightly. "I asked if there's anything you want."
Again, Kitty gave herself a moment to think. "Well … my parents to get over themselves would be nice."
"Alright." Lance conceded with a chuckle. "Anything I can get at the mall?"
Kitty laughed. "Don't worry; I'm not expecting miracles." She sighed. "Oh, I don't know. Surprise me."
"Easier said than done that." Lance muttered, making a mental note to wait until Kitty was well and truly distracted before making that decision. "Well, how does dinner sound? Just the two of us."
"Wonderful." Kitty commented with a soft sigh. "It's been so long since it was 'just the two of us'. Not that I'm complaining, of course." She added, dropping a kiss on her son's head.
"Me neither." Lance agreed, ruffling Liam's hair. "We can always get Jean to baby-sit."
"Or Lexa." Kitty added. "She's his godmother, after all. And she doesn't have to deal with Monica and Joey at the same time."
"True." Lance conceded. "That probably would make more sense." He wrapped a strand of her hair around his finger lightly, then let it drop. "Listen, Kitten, I know you want to be alone right now, but Anna's panicking about seating plans."
Kitty chuckled. "Never took her to be the type. How did you find me, by the way?"
"Like I said, I know you too well." Lance repeated. "You came up here, because you knew that I'd go to the least likely places first, right?"
Kitty grimaced. "You do know me too well."
Lance helped to her feet. "Like I said, I'd have left you to it if Anna …"
But Kitty was shaking her head, swinging Liam into her arms, making him giggle. "Even if I don't think I want to be found, I'm glad you know me well enough to find me."
AN: Few notes: First of all, Camelot: I currently live in Winchester, in the UK, which is sort of just above Southampton, closer to South-West than South-East, but generally in the middle, just up from the coast. We're home to the Great Hall, which, in turn, is home to the round table, where Arthur sat with his knights. We, basically, are supposedly Camelot. We're also the medieval capital of England.
Second of all: virtual brownies for anyone who picked up the rather obscure sci-fi quote in this chapter.
Third of all: Review please!