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“I think we’ve finally made a breakthrough, sire.”

“Damian, you know you and I are beyond such formalities. Please, address me as Theos, Lord and Master.”

Rolling his eyes, Damian fought the urge to throw himself from the penthouse balcony.

Really, how can one be so vain and the Gods not punish him? He thought briefly, then recalled the answer. Right, because he slew them all first.

Currently, Damian and his Lord and Master were discussing results of his latest attempt at Ororo’s affections while enjoying fine wine and the view from his upper Westside penthouse building. As usual, Damian relayed the recent events while Theos interjected on occasion to remind them both of his greatness and immense power.

“So, tell me, Damian…do you still desire this female for yourself?”

The question caught Damian off-guard and as a result, he ended up choking on his sip of wine. As he fought to regain his composure, Theos looked on with bored interest.

“I shall take that as a ‘yes.’ She must truly be…how do you say, ‘all this and then some of that.’”

Damian shook his head as he was finally able to clear his throat. “It’s ‘all that and then some,’ sire.”

“So it would seem.” Theos eyed him suspiciously.

“I can assure you, sire, that I do not desire this female as you believe. I merely believe she will be the one to end your search. A true Queen befitting of you.”

Theos raised an interested brow at this. “Then perhaps it is time I address her personally and make my intentions fully known.”

“No!” Damian spoke quickly. Too quickly. “ W-w-what I mean, sire, is this is a fine dance we are orchestrating and we are so close to our goal. I would hate for her to flee before you are given the chance to fully enjoy her. I mean, how could she not be intimidated by your omnipotence?” He inclined his head to show his respect, hoping to win Theos over by once again reminding him of how great he truly was.

Theos seemed placated enough by this as he responded by shrugging his shoulders and returning his attention to his wine goblet. In all truth, Damian had grown to admire the snow-haired beauty that invaded his dreams on a nightly basis. As his pursuit wore on, he had come to realize that in all the years of servitude to his lord, he had never once taken any treasures for his own. Never. Ororo was a woman of great power. Although he had only one small glimpse into her mind, it was enough to convince him that this woman was special. Even with her superior psychic shields, Damian could see the waves of energy flowing around her, her aura exuded power. Power so great that, combined with his own abilities, he might be able to break the life bond with Theos and overthrow him. Freedom. Finally.

“So, there have been no complications, I take it?”

“None thus far, sire. She does have a constant companion, but he seems harmless enough. I do not sense any exceptionally strong bond between them.”

“Never underestimate an unknown foe, Damian. I have found over the centuries that it is always those who defeat you in the end.”

“Certainly, sire, certainly. At any rate, I have already revealed that I am aware of her true identity. If she is half as wise as I believe, she will not refuse my next request.”

“Very well, then. I bid you good fortune and hope the next time we speak that my Queen will be in tow.”

Damian again inclined his head as a show of respect and then turned to leave.

“Oh, and Damian?” Theos’ voice halted his progression.

“Yes, sire?”

“Take Ios and Deos with you, for your own safety, of course.”

“Sire, certainly I can handle any threat myself.”

“This is not for debate, Damian.” Theos indicated his ire with a hard glare.

“As you wish.”

Theos narrowed his eyes as he watched Damian’s form leave his sight. He had begun to have suspicions about his most trusted servant’s loyalties as this particular pursuit drew on. Never before had Damian taken this long to bring him a female. As a precaution he contacted his old friend, Morpheus, to conduct some research. Morpheus, the god of sleep from the Greek Pantheon, could enter the dreams of any and discover their deepest secrets. He would not dare to say the information Morpheus relayed to him was surprising. However, he was intrigued at how Damian kept his thoughts so cleverly concealed. Given the life-bond he shared with Damian, he was always privy to his deepest thoughts and emotions. It appeared the man was truly infatuated with Ororo; not that he blamed him, though. From the images he pulled from Damian’s memories, she was a truly astonishing sight to behold. He purposely instructed Damian to include Ios and Deos from here on out as he knew they would be his downfall. Their loyalties to him were made nearly indestructible through fear; they would reveal Damian’s duplicity to save their own skins. He smiled evilly and raised his wine glass in a grand gesture before drinking.

“As I said Damian, know thy enemy.”


Meanwhile…

“So, how do you all wanna do this?”

“Well, I could always start with nightmares and see how it plays out.”

“Nah, the ol’ ‘claws in yer face’ might work better.”

“Jean! Logan! Stop. I will wake them and then we will decide how to torture them.”

Ororo approached the mass of teenagers that currently occupied her loft floor. She gracefully lifted her arms to the air and allowed her mutation to slip. As her eyes began to glow faint white, rain began to fall inside her loft over the teens. She gradually increased the pressure to a small rainstorm in the concentrated area. Marie, Jubilee, and Alison began to stir slightly, but their eyes still remained closed. Ororo narrowed her eyes and cocked her head slightly to the right. It was obvious she would need to step it up a bit.

“Uh-oh, One Eye, you an’ Jeanie better cover your ears. Fast.”

Scott and Jean did as told and seconds later were glad for it. Ororo had created a full blown thunderstorm within the five by five area the teens’ forms occupied, followed by a thunderclap so loud it shook the windows.

“Wha--!”

“Aack!”

“Sonuva--!”

Ororo gave a small smile as she finally received the response she was seeking. Following the thunderous boom, all six teens scrambled to escape the perceived threat. The sight was quite comical, seeing the teens slip over and over again in the wet mess on the floor, grunting as they continuously bumped into each other. After Ororo felt that they had suffered enough, the impromptu storm ended and she buffeted them with warm wind gusts to calm them, as well as dry the area. The four adults stood shoulder to shoulder and cast hard glares in the general direction of their guests. Having regained some of their composure, the teens gave their best effort to look their mentors in the eye. Scott was the first to speak.

“Good, you’re all awake. Now, sit and talk.”

Bobby could be heard clearing his throat in preparation to speak. He stepped forward to address the adults.

“Can it, Cream-sicle,” Logan growled.

“But I can explain”“ Bobby began.

“Don’ need ta, bub. The only words you seem ta know are ‘girls’, ‘cool’, and ‘girls.’ None’o’ that’ll help ya now.”

Bobby made a zipping motion with a hand over his mouth as he resumed his previous spot in their impromptu line-up. Dang, all I was gonna say was the girls had this really cool idea and here we are, he thought.

“Perhaps someone else would care to proffer this information.” Ororo spoke with all the authority the co-leader of the X-Men would have, accentuated with folded arms and a raised brow. Jean followed suit beside her. Logan appeared relaxed, but his eyes said he was anything but. Scott stood by Logan, his face stoic and intimidating as ever behind his quartz shades.

Silence.

“I don’t think Ms. Munroe meant speaking was an option, more like an order,” Jean added, her voice laced with authority, as well.

“Wolvie, sir, if I may”“

“Not you, either, Bubble-pop. With all your mallrat lingo, we’d never understand ya. And what’d I say about calling me ‘Wolvie’?”

Proverbial bubble popped, Jubilee stepped back in line, “Yessir, Wolv”er, Mr. Logan.”

Kitty peered from her position on the far right of the lineup all the way down to Marie, who stood on the opposite end. Marie gave a slight shake of her head to indicate she would most definitely not be the one talking. She gave a deep sigh before raising her right hand.

“Permission to speak, please.”

All four adults acknowledged her request with a nod of their heads.

“See, all of us…see, we had, um…” she stammered.

“Katherine, this is not a test, so stop your stammering and stalling,” Ororo reprimanded.
“And stand up straight.”

Standing to her full five foot five height, Kitty stuck out her chin and breathed evenly, calming herself.

“Well, to be honest, we were all wondering what kind of mission would require you all to be away so long. We asked the Professor on several occasions, but he never told us. He always said it was ‘confidential X-Men business,’” she accentuated with air quotes. “We’re X-Men, too, and we miss you guys. Sure, every now and then Mr. Summers or Mr. Logan stop by, but it’s not the same as having you and Miss Grey there, Miss Munroe.”

“Yeah, an’ tha mansion ain’t quite home without all of ya guys there, at tha same time,” Marie added.

“And we miss seeing you guys. Even you, Mr. Crabby-pants.” Alison regarded Logan with head nod in his direction.

The four adults were, in a word, stunned. These were not the responses they were expecting to hear.

“So, as you can see, homes, we jus’ be missin’ y’all an’ came out ’o concern,” Remy added, his red eyes faintly glowing.

“Yo, Gumbo, we get the point, no need fer yer empathy mumbo-jumbo.”

“Eh, perdon,” Remy replied with a coy smile, his eyes ceasing to glow. “Sorry, mon frère, force o’ habit.”

“Well, not quite the answer I thought I’d hear, but I can understand. It has been a while since we’ve all been back at the mansion.” Jean’s voice softened as she spoke.

”Yes, and I apologize children if you feel as we”me especially”have abandoned you. But, we are on a mission and you could not only have compromised that, but also placed yourself in harm’s way.” While Ororo sympathized, she did not waiver in her reprimand.

“And we’re really sorry for that, Miss Munroe, but we just missed you guys and we also wanted to help out,” Kitty rebutted.

“And we read the mission file, so we can help you guys out, too. We’re ready, trust me.” Alison’s eyes shone brightly as she spoke.

“’Helping out’ would have meant staying at the mansion with the Professor. You guys are the oldest ones there and our next line of defense when we aren’t available. That would have been the responsible thing to do.” Scott spoke from behind his glasses, arms still folded across his chest.

The teens all responded by lowering their heads in defeat, feeling thoroughly scolded.

“But,” Jean’s voice rang clear, “they are here now, and appear to know about our mission”“ she gave a pointed glance in Kitty’s direction. “So, we may as well assess our options at this point.”

The teens’ relief was palpable. Peter and Bobby’s shoulders relaxed for the first time since Ororo awakened them .

“Jean, you can’t be serious. They’re kids.”

“They are also X-Men, Scott. You needn’t forget that. Whether we like it or not, their presence here has changed things,” Ororo reasoned.

“Yeah, Scooter. ‘Ro’s bein’ watched all the time, this creep’s probably already been told the rugrats are here.”

Sighing in defeat, Scott nodded. “I guess you’re right.”

“Um, sorry to sound slow, but if Miss Munroe is being watched, wouldn’t all the commotion on the rooftop blow her cover?” Jubilee questioned.

“Nope. All that was in your minds.” Jean replied.

“What? No way!” Bobby chimed in.

Jean gave Bobby an ‘are you kidding me’ look.

“Oh, right. ‘Miss Grey, master telepath.’ Sorry.”

“So what’s the plan?” Kitty and Alison both asked in unison.

“Well, no time like tha present ta take a vacation, I say,” Logan replied nonchalantly.





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