Title: Into The Heart Of Darkness - X-over with X-men

Parts: 2A B and C

Author: Stormy

Warnings: Angst, sap, battle

Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, Rogue/Remy ^_~

* * *

CHAPTER 2A

(Year: 195 Location: Former New York city)

Quatre's safehouses were not ordinary safehouses. Oh no. They were stately,

old-Victorian style mansions masquerading as safehouses.

Duo grinned widely as he stuck his head out the window of the vehicle like

some braided sheepdog as Heero carefully manouvered the huge transport truck

up the long winding driveway, trademark to nearly all the Winner residences.

Prior experiences, including multiple trees, gates, and busted fire hydrants

had taught Heero the value of NOT letting Duo drive.

Ahead, they could already see several members of the Winner family

mini-army; two members of the Maganac Corps were flagging him down,

indicating that Heero should follow a ramp they had uncovered, that led to

an underground hangar.

" Over there Heero!" Duo excitedly pointed out two large spaces that had

obviously been cleared away for them. Trowa's Heavyarms, Quatre's Sandrock,

and Wufei's Shenlong were already in their resting places; silent metal

sentries standing guard. More Maganacs scurried about the complex, doing

repairs, shouting out orders and seeming to have a wonderful time while

doing so. Raucus laughter rang throughout the underground base.

Backing up slowly, warning beeps and all, Heero stopped the rig at the base

of a slightly raised platform and cut the engines. Duo cackled and bounded

out of the truck's cab, rubbing his hands together. He flipped a switch on

the side of the truck and watched as the metal clamps unlocked. Taking hold

of the huge canvas, he cackled again, tugging it off in a grand gesture.

Well, that was his intention. Two Maganacs on either side had to help him

fling the heavy covering off.

" Shinigami LIVES!"

Glinting in the harsh lights of the compound, Deathscythe Hell and Wing Zero

lay in all their Gundanium splendour. Scrambling up to the hatch on

Deathscythe's chest, Duo punched in a pre-programmed code and then jumped to

the ground, grinning.

" I LOVE this part!"

The Maganacs burst into laughter as Deathscythe Hell rose to it's feet and

stalked over to its new resting place next to Shenlong, it's braided pilot

waving his arms around like some demented scientist crying, " It's ALIVE!

It's ALIVE!"

Heero shook his head in wry amusement as he activated his own Gundam to set

down beside Deathscythe. After making sure both Gundams were secured, he

turned back around in time to see Duo launch himself off the platform and

into a small, blond-haired man.

" Quatre!!" Duo yelped as he glomped the Arabian pilot, who staggered back

under the American's assult, giggling the whole time.

" Hello Duo!" Quatre hugged the American back, and then pulled away slightly

so he could see Heero. " And to you too, Heero!"

Heero nodded, watching with faint jealousy as Duo hugged Quatre one more

time before letting him go. " Quatre."

Duo was already prowling around the blond like a nervous cat, looking all

over the place. Finally he gave up and pointed at Quatre.

" So where is he?"

" Where's who?"

" The Unibanger!" Duo grinned. " Where is he? You keepin' him locked in your

closet Quat-man?"

" Actually, I keep him locked in mine," came a dry voice from behind him.

Duo spun around.

" TROWA!"

Trowa stoically endured one of Duo's patented spine-crushing hugs, but the

sparkle in his eye totally belied his bland expression. Duo pulled away and

grinned.

" I better stop before I make Quatre jealous, neh?" he teased. Quatre flamed

red to the roots of his blond hair.

" Duo!"

" Kidding! Kidding!" Duo yelped as Heero's hand snaked behind him and

delivered a sharp tug to his braid.

" ITAI! Yeesh, always with the hair!" Duo scowled and backed out of range,

petting the brown tail with an injured air. Heero ignored him as he

delivered his own greeting to Trowa.

" Where's Wufei?" he asked casually.

" I am here. " Wufei appeared in the doorway, absently smoothing a

non-existant wrinkle in his immaculate white pants. He eyed them all. "

Greetings."

" Wu-chan!" Duo crowed. Wufei's eyebrows twitched involuntarily, and he

automatically reached for his sword. It wasn't in it's usual place of honour

at his hip. _Damn_. Duo approached him at warp speed, barelling into the

chinese pilot. " Wu-chan!"

" Get OFF of me Maxwell!" Wufei growled out between gritted teeth. Duo

squeezed him once more before climbing off. Wufei got to his feet and

deliberated whether or not he wanted to smack the braided baka upside the

head. Looking at the American's obvious delight in seeing him however,

momentarily derailed his anger and he sighed once.[1] " Hello Maxwell.

Heero."

Heero grunted, hand half raised in greeting. Duo bounded back to his side

and Heero felt a small surge of....happiness?...at the pilot's apparently

automatic gesture. Then he shook his head. There would be time enough later

on to sit down and analyze his feelings. He looked at Quatre who was safely

esconced once again in Trowa's arms and felt another pang of jealousy. He

scowled blackly at his traitorous hormones. _ I said, LATER_!

" Is there a place where we can talk privately Quatre?" he asked, picking up

his duffel bag. Quatre nodded and then swatted Heero's hands off the bag.

" The main drawing room," Quatre nodded. " And leave your bags alone -

Rashid will get them. You know the rules!"

Duo chuckled. " You'd think we'd have learned our lessons last time."

Memories of Rashid looming over them threateningly made him giggle out loud.

Heero allowed a faint smirk on his face as he dug through the bag, pulling

out his laptop. Rashid then scooped up his and Duo's bag and preceeded them

into the house.

Quatre led the way into the drawing room as a servant darted forwards to

open the large bay windows. A light breeze off the nearby ocean swept into

the room, bringing with it the faint salty sea spray and ruffling the hair

of everyone in the room.

Duo flopped down on a large, wood-framed fouton with a thick white mattress,

sinking into it's depths with a sigh.

" Ummm..." he murmered, stretching his legs out and lacing his fingers

behind his head. " This is the life."

Heero snorted as he sat next to the American. Duo inwardly cheered with glee

when the Perfect Soldier joined him. _Maybe, just maybe_, he thought

wistfully. Quatre cleared his throat.

" Well, we all know why we're here, right?" he asked, not really expecting

anyone to reply in the negative.

" The base is approximately fifty miles from here," Heero stated from his

seated position. " We can be there in under twenty minutes."

" What kind of defences are we talking about? Trowa spoke up from where he

stood next to the window.

" The Maganacs reported mostly Leos and Aries. A few new test Scorpios, but

pretty much the norm," Quatre said. Wufei crossed his arms and nodded.

" What about data retrieval?"

Heero looked at Wufei. " Duo is the best at infiltration, and I can crack

any Oz security code they have. The two of us will go in and retrieve the

data."

Duo grinned at the compliment and didn't deny it. " Piece of cake, dude!" he

said in a thick surfer's accent, throwing them a thumb's up. Quatre laughed

and then quickly sobered.

" Does anyone else get the feeling something isn't quite right though?" he

asked unexpectedly.

Duo looked at the blond as though he'd grown a second head. " Since when has

anything we've done, ever been considered normal?"

" I know what you mean, " Heero interjected quietly. " I read the data Dr. J

sent - why would Oz be constructing black holes?"

" To quote you: 'That's what we're supposed to find out, baka!'" Duo

snickered at his partner.

" Whatever they're doing, my space heart is telling me

something...dangerous, is coming. " Quatre rubbed his chest absently. Trowa

looked at him in concern.

" Then we shall just take more care then usual," Wufei shrugged. He looked

at Duo. " Or in some cases, take care for the first time in their life?"

Duo stuck his tongue out. " Love ya too, Wu-chan!"

" Baka," Wufei muttered.

" I suggest we get some rest," Quatre said, clapping his hands together

briskly. As though it were an unspoken command, servants appeared and

scurried into the room, tyding it up and closing the windows. Rashid stood

patiently by the door to escort the young men to their respective rooms.

Quatre took one last look at the sky before the curtains were completely

closed.

_Something dangerous is coming_, he thought again as Trowa took his arm and

led him out of the room. _But what_?

* * * * * * * * * *

End Part 2A

* * * * * * * * * *

Part 2b

(Year: 2000 Location: Westchester, New York)

A somewhat feral looking man sat cross-legged in the middle of the huge lawn

in front of what appeared to be a large school. Somewhat shaded by the

branches of a large sycamore tree, the man sat, seemingly oblivious to the

sounds of nature and the world around him. The wind rustled once, warningly.

An ear twitched. Heightened senses caught the near inaudible sonic whine of

a Shi'ar engine. Getting to his feet in one smooth motion, the man known to

his friends as Logan, loped into the large mansion.

Through the decorative hallway, past the old paintings and marble busts on

their pedastals, towards the large room that served as the office of

Professor Xavier. Without bothering to knock, Logan pushed the door open.

" Cajun's back," he said simply in a low gutteral voice; then turned around

and headed for the elevator.

" Thank you Logan."

Professor Xavier's golden hoverchair, yet another gift of the

technologically advanced Shi'ar race, moved smoothly around the desk and he

joined Logan in the hallway. A faint 'whoosh indicated the arrival of the

elevator car and the metal doors slid open, allowing the two men to enter.

" Sub-Basement," Xavier spoke clearly. Logan merely sniffed and reached into

the pocket of the tattered, red flannel shirt he wore. Taking out a cigar,

he bit off the end, took out a light and proceeded to blow smoke rings into

the small room. The professor sighed as he activated the ventilation system.

" You do that deliberately."

" Yup." Teeth gleamed in a snarling smile that would have sent most men

running for the hills. Professor X merely returned the smile, albeit

somewhat ruefully.

The elevator slid to a halt and the computerized voice confirmed that they

were now indeed at the sub-basement level. The doors opened up to reveal a

brightly lit hallway, completely encased in metal. Logan's steel-toed cowboy

boots struck the floor with a metallic ring that nearly blocked out the soft

humming of the hoverchair. Various doorways branched off from the main

corridor but the two men continued in silence until they reached the far

end. Another set of doors opened at their approach, leading into an

extremely large, underground hangar.

Taking up the most space was a large black jet that gleamed. Sleek and

powerful, it stood there silently, waiting for it's next mission. To the one

side of it, a smaller, one-man jet that could have passed for the twin of

Remy's plane, had its side panels open, in the midst of an apparent upgrade.

Half a torso hung out of the guts of the plane. Logan snorted.

" Incoming, Cyke."

The torso revealed that it did have an upper half as a head popped up over

the panel.

" Remy?"

" Who else?" The sarcasm was not lost on anyone.

Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, [2] stepped away from the small jet and grabbed

a rag from the toolkit on the ground next to him. He nodded a greeting to

the Professor and Logan.

" Where's Jean?" the professor asked curiously. Scott smiled - the question

was a mere formality. If he so chose, Professor Xavier could have told Scott

the exact location of anyone in the X-mansion. One of the perks of being the

most powerful telepath on the planet.

But as he had learned from his experience with Onslaught, with great power

came great responsibility. Never one to indulge in psychic frivolity before,

the Professor now worked harder then ever to avoid intruding on other's

thoughts without their permission.

" She's in the war room," Scott answered. A powerfully built young man, he

had short brown hair but the color of his eyes were not immediately

apparent. Cyclops wore a red, ruby-quartz visor that turned everything he

saw into shades of red. the man who's looks could literally kill, Scott

Summers head housed powerful optic beams of monumetally destrcutive force.

The visor kept this power in check.

A warning alarm went off and across the vast room, a ramp opened up in the

wall, revealing its holographically hidden location in the mountain-side

adjacent to the Westchester school. Logan moved to one side and watched,

cigar dangling between his teeth loosely as the whines he heard from the

engine before, came back in full force.

The mini-jets engines all but purred as it glided down the runway, hovering

a few feet above the ground. Touching down softly, the hatch opened and Remy

Lebeau hopped out of the cockpit in one fluid motion. Remy flicked his

sunglasses off his nose to hang against his chest as he sauntered over to

the three men.

" A welcoming party for Remy?" he asked with a sly grin. " Ya shouldn't

have."

" S'why we didn't," grunted Logan. " Rogue fill ya in?"

" Somewhat," Remy shrugged. Anything else he would have said was cut off as

another side door opened and a young woman, clad neck to toe in tight green

material came through.

" Remy!"

Rogue flew through the air and crashed into the Cajun, hugging him tightly.

Remy returned the embrace.

" So you DID miss me, huh Chere?"

" Idiot," she muttered grinning. Placing her gloved hand over his mouth, she

kissed the back of it. Unable to touch anyone, skin to skin, she had to

improvise until she learned to control her power. And Remy didn't mind at

all. He winked at her and wrapped one arm securely around her waist.

Cyclops cleared his throat.

" You know who stole the space generator?"

Remy's eyes suddenly lost the joyed look and became hooded. " Yah.

Sinister." He spat out the word as though it tasted foul in his mouth. "

Everyone okay?"

" Fine," the Professor nodded. " I myself was out talking with various

mutant rights groups. Most of the others were out relaxing - Mr. Sinister

had been waiting for just such an opportunity."

" Yeah, he does that, doesn't he?" Remy mused darkly. " Defense no good?"

Wolverine snorted. " When it comes to Sinister and defences, nothing works

except the X-men themselves. Even the deadly stuff don't bother him - just

throws one his little cronies into the line of fire, knowing if it kills

them, he can always clone a new batch in the morning."

Rogue shook her head. " Dirty little rat," she growled. " And with the stuff

he stole...heck, Ah'm not sure Ah wanna know what he's up to."

" Got no choice, Chere - was in de job description when yah join de team."

Scott suddenly tilted his head to one side, seemingly listening intently.

Then he nodded and looked at the others.

" Jean's got a weak fix on where Sinister is."

" What?" Remy looked disbelivingly at his leader. " We could never find him

before - why now?"

" Combo tracking device and something about mutant residue," Logan said,

sucking in the evil-smelling smoke emanating from his cigar. He shook his

head. " Makes me think of something ya'd scrape off yer shoe or something."

" Residual energy left over from the tests we did on the machine using

Franklin's energy signature," the Professor elaborated. " The machine itself

tends to store up energy - not a good thing over a long period of time.

Build up of temporal energy - the kind Franklin's powers produced as a side

effect - tends to be extremely unstable, and registers quite high on normal

energy meters. Jean was using cerebro to track down the temporal energy

leftover from what we were experimenting with - and it sounds like she was

successful."

Scott nodded. Remy and Rogue exchanged a look. " Suuuuuurrrrrrre, " they

chorused. Scott rolled his eyes as he led his team to the door. Logan

followed behind, an amused smirk on his face.

* * * *

Jean looked up from the holographic map in the center of the room as the

quintet entered. Storm and Beast were already there, waiting patiently Scott

went immediately to his wife and greeted her quietly. Storm smiled when she

saw Remy.

" Welcome back Remy. I trust you took care of your business?"

" You betcha Stormy!"

The weather goddess's lips curled in a faint grimace. " Please do not call

me that."

Beast waved at them all jovially from where he was perched upside down, feet

clinging to the wide beams above his head. " Greetings and salutations all!

And Gambit, our travelling compatriot, back among the fold - you're just in

time for the expediat retrieval of our temporal matter converter and

generator that was stolen by the villainus cur, by possible virtue of power

displays and fisticuffs!"

" Huh?"

" We're gonna get back the stuff Sinster took in a big ol' brawl," Rogue

translated. She smirked at the Beast. " Ah know my share of ten dollar words

too!"

" I am in utter awe, Rogue."

" Ya should be, Fuzzy!"

" If we might cease this childish behaviour," the Professor said, a teasing

light in his eye. " I do believe Jean has something to share with us. If you

would, Jean?"

" Thank you sir." Jean indicated the large, three-dimensional map hovering

in front of them. " Using a modified version of cerebro, I managed to track

down the location of Sinister's latest laboratory. It's in what appears to

be an abandoned building, on the outskirts of New York City."

" Always in an abandoned building," Logan snorted. " Ya'd think these so

called supervillains get all the ideas from the same comic book or

something."

Remy snickered. The Professor looked at him in concern.

" I know dealing with Sinister isn't something you're looking forward to

Remy."

Remy eyed the professor somewhat suspiciously. " You snoopin' 'round my

mind, Prof?"

" Certainly not. But you're broadcasting - quite strongly, I might add. If

this bothers you, you do not have to be a part of this. No one would blame

you."

Remy weighed his words carefully, before finally settling on what to say. "

I'd blame me," he sighed. " Sinister's another one o' my messes I gotta help

clean up. 'Side's - you don't t'ink I'd back away from a fight, do ya?" He

shook his head, not waiting for an answer. " I be honest w'it ya - de

t'ought of seein' Sinster again freaks me right out. But I ain't gonna sit

'round, twiddlin' my t'umbs when I could be helpin'."

Cyclops nodded. He'd expected Gambit's answer to be along those lines. Jean

sent him a small smile and Rogue tightened her grip on his hand in a

silently supportive gesture. Wolverine looked bored.

" So when we leaving?" he asked casually. Cyclops straightened.

" Psylocke and Warren are unavailable right now. The team so far consists of

me, Jean, Beast, Storm, Gambit, Rogue and you Wolverine." [3]

" Seven, huh?" Remy brushed a lock of hair from his eyes. " I'd prefer de

whole team."

" So would I. But unfortunately we can't wait that long." Beast leaned

forward, placing his large hands on the console. " Think about the

implications of what Sinister could do with that equipment! Import soldiers,

warriors, foreign deseases, high technology - anything he wants from

millions of dimension. And he can do it too - he's a brilliant scientist,

regardless of how twisted he is."

" Agreed. " Cyclops looked piercingly at Remy. " We leave as soon as the

Blackbird is prepped. Are you in?"

Remy nodded once. His hand slipped out his pocket, holding a card. The Ace

of Spades. He concentrated and it burst into pinkish flame, yet the card

itself remained unburnt. He held it up and looked at it, looked at THEM. "

Let's do it," he said simply and tossed the card behind his shoulder. The

card exploded in a tiny puff of smoke as Gambit called the power back into

him before it could do any real damage. " De sooner we go, de sooner we

done."

Scott nodded. " Let's go."

* * * * * * * * *

Notes:

1. I am one of the ones that believes Wuei likes Duo as a friend a lot more

then he lets on. He may yell at him, but I think he truly values the

American as a close pal. *smirks* And even if he doesn't....*holds up piece

of paper* ...here's my creative license to do what I want! OOC be darned!

2. As you can plainly tell *grins*, this is done in a timeline where Scott

Summers is still alive. Again - I'm not following the continuity of either

universe to the letter!

3. I haven't completely decided on the full X-roster yet but it looks like

this may be it. I may throw in Cecilia Reese later on when we need medical

people....maybe Nightcrawler - I think him and Duo would get along....who

wants to see Wufei have a sparring match with ninja girl Kitty Pryde?? I'm

open to suggestions!

* * *

Part 2c

* * *

" AARRGH!!!" Quatre gritted his teeth as laser fire tore into his Gundam.

The thick armour wasn't pierced, but the resulting explosions rocked the

Gundam, throwing Quatre around in his harness. " That was close."

" 04! Are you all right?" Trowa's anxious voice came through the

communicator. Quatre chuckled grimly.

" I'm fine, 03. That Leo just took me by surprise!"

Teeth set, Quatre dove back into the fray. Bullets covered his back as

Heavyarms sprayed a wide range of fire, driving back the air-born Aries that

tried to attack from above. Activating his scimitars, Quatre let out a

surprisingly feral yell as he sliced and diced his way through the front

line. Decimated, the remaining Leos tried to retreat in order to regroup,

but a burst of orange fire swept through them. Quatre wiped the sweat out of

his eyes and grinned at the dragon Gundam.

" Thanks 05!"

" A pleasure," came Wufei's voice. " The Aries have regrouped."

" Let's go!" Sandrock leaped into the air, twin blades flashing as he first

sheared one flying mobile suit in half, and then thrust both scimitar into

the guts of another. Wufei let out a battle cry.

Trowa navigated his Gundam smoothly through two Scorpios that lashed out at

him with whip-like appendages of razor-sharpness. One scored a direct hit

and he felt the power die in his right arm.

" Damn!"

" 03?" Quatre's head snapped up. He saw the large red and gold Gundam

fighting the Scorpios with only his arm canon. Knowing the huge Gundam would

soon be out of bullets, he thumbed the communicator.

" 05! 03 needs some backup! Are you okay here?"

Wufei chuckled harshly as his dragon claw slammed into the chest plate of a

mobile suit foolish enough to try and sneak up on him.

" I will be fine. Help 03."

" Thank you!" Quatre breathed, and took off across the battlefield that had

sprung up out of what was once a laboratory parking lot. Wufei grunted as

more firepower struck the faceplate of his Gundam, nearly toppling him. He

growled, throwing a glance at the lab.

_Maxwell and Heero had better hurry_!

* * * * * *

" Shhhhhhhh!" Heero and Duo flattened themselves against the wall as they

heard the running footsteps of soldiers drawing closer. As the squadron

passed them, Duo breathed a sigh of relief and motioned for Heero to follow

him. Recalling the laboratory blueprints from memory, Duo made a sharp right

at the first intersection in the hallway they came across and found

themselves face-to-face with a solid metal door. Heero grunted and kept

watch as Duo inspected the lock.

" Can you get it open?"

Duo shook his head. " Not in the amount of time we need to. Give me an hour

and I'd have it - but we're gonna have to do something a little different."

Heero couldn't help but laugh at the look of pure maniacal glee on Duo's

face as he held out what looked like a lump of modelling clay. Duo attached

it to the wall, connecting the wires and arming the detonator. " Let's go."

The two of them sprinted down the hallway to the first doorway and leaned

against the wall again. Duo held up his fingers.

3....2....1....

A loud explosion rocked the hallway, sending bits of metal and debris

flying. Duo grinned. " Oh yeah."

The two of them raced back to the door and Duo noted with satisfaction that

he had guessed the correct amount of C4 needed and the exact location of the

inner lock. " I am So good."

Heero couldn't help but agree. Mischievious and playful the boy may be - but

he was a terrorist at heart. And no one was better then Duo when it came to

blowing things up. Except when it came to self-destructing - Heero still

held that record.

Once inside, Heero quickly counted only three scientists in the room. One of

them reached for a gun on the counter and Heero calmly put a bullet through

the man's heart. The other two froze. Duo scampered forwards and herded them

together while Heero went straight to the main computer. He began searching

the root directories, slipping a blank cd into the drive to save everything

he found. Duo looked up from where he had tied the scientists up - and

froze.

" Heero?" he asked in an odd tone. " What is THAT?"

Heero growled, annoyed at being pulled away from his computer search - until

he saw what Duo was looking at.

A metal spiderweb of tubes and cross pieces stood beyond the banks of

computer terminals. Interlocked pieces of metal gave it a circular framework

which was brought a spiderweb to Duo's mind. The center was black. Deep

black. Pulsing black - Duo stared harder. It looked like the damn thing had

a heartbeat!

Heero stared and turned back to the computer quickly, determined to find out

what it was. Duo decided to take the obvious approach. He waved his gun in

the face of the scientists.

" What IS that?" He casually kicked the body of the dead scientist at his

feet. " And don't bother acting tough, okay? Not if you want to live."

One man collapsed, and the other looked up fearfully.

" It's an experiment we're working on - one that was just recently

successful! You can't kill us now - it's the discovery of a century!" The

man looked about ready to cry.

Duo squatted down until he was looking directly into the man's eyes. " What

experiment?"

" A black hole!"

Duo abruptly straightened and looked back at the...thing. " That's a black

hole?"

" Well..." The scientist hedged.

" It's the same principle bit it's got different properties," Heero said,

appearing next to Duo, holding the cd in one hand. Duo gave him a blank

look. Heero motioned at the framework of metal. " Think of an energy

converter - and think of the way mobile suits are able to take existing

energy from space and use it to increase their speed. They're automatically

converting different energy into what they need." [1]

Duo nodded. " Go on."

" A black hole is nothing but energy - sort of. It doesn't convert anything,

it just is. At least, that's the way these guys were thinking."

" So that's a storage tank that changes energy. What's it change to?" Duo

asked, brows wrinkling in confusion.

" We're not sure yet," blurted out the scientist. " You see - this is all

unprecedented - we're using a piece of machinery that we found here - that

is made of a material we've never seen before!"

" Where'd it come from?" Duo asked him sharply. The man shook his head.

" Not from earth. At least, THIS earth."

Duo's eyes widened - and then narrowed. " Don't tell me you're thinking what

I think you're thinking."

The scientist nodded fractionally. " Teleportation. Or a version of it. But

not just from one PLACE to another--"

" From one WORLD to another?" Heero's face had lost the blank neutrality Duo

hated so much and now looked interested. The scientist nodded again.

" Exactly."

" Okay, yeah. Sure - tell ya what, how 'bout I go get my comic books 'cause

they'd make a whole lot more sense then you are right now!" Duo said, raking

a hand through his unruly banks. The scientist glowered.

" It's true! We were about to make history - and then YOU showed up!"

" Tough. " Duo shrugged. The man leaped to his feet and slammed his fist

into a console, striking a button that had been previously covered with

glass. So quickly did he move, that for once, both Heero and Duo were caught

off guard. Lights began to flash and alarms began going off all over the

base. Heero and Duo fired catching the man in the chest and the head with

pinpoint accuracy. the man was dead before his body hit the ground.

" SHIT!" Duo swore as he watched everything start exploding.

* * * *

(Interlude)

Sinister made a final modification on the black metal box, watching it pulse

and hum with energy. Threnody stood behind him calmly.

" It's ready," he murmered, splaying his fingers over the top. " I'll have

to remember to thank the dear Professor for doing such elegant work."

He turned away from the machine and went back to his computer. Pressing a

few buttons, he watched as a black swirling appeared in the small metal

gateway he'd constructed. Behind him, Threnody watched impassively.

" Threnody, my dear. We are about to make history," he chortled. " Do you

know what this is?"

" No, master," Threnody answered, staring at the machine with faint

interest.

" Professor Xavier, and the equally brilliant Dr. Henry McCoy were doing

some fascinating experiments with this machine," he said, stroking his chin

thoughtfully. " Using that child's mutanagenic signature to create a

dimensional portal - I never would have thought them capable of such a

feat." A faint scowl touched his face. " I'm almost ashamed of myself - I

should have thought of it first." He spared a glance at the vials of test

tubes that he knew were locked away in his laboratory. " Franklin Richards

is one of the few mutants of whom I do NOt have a sample of DNA."

Threnody looked at him quizzically.

" I don't have much time," Sinister said as he began imputting a sequence of

codes. " Over twenty-four hours have passed - I can safely assume that the

Professor and his X-men--" he hissed the words. "--are searching for me as

we speak. I can't even confirm this - THIS--" he waved at the machine. "--is

taking up every spare bit of power I have to maintain."

He pressed another button. " Riptide. Report to me at once."

A few seconds later, a side door opened, and a whirling dirvish entered the

room, a shock of wild hair and ripped clothing as the mutant cyclone known

as Riptide entered the room. Of course, this was not the original Riptide -

he was merely a clone, many times over, courtesy of Sinister's twisted

brilliance. " Yes, Master?"

" You will be the first test subject," Sinister said, smiling evilly. The

clone gulped - even if he died, he knew his brain waves were recorded and

would be transferred to another clone. Still - dying hurt like hell. If it

was all the same to anyone, he'd rather not. But you don't say that to

Sinister. Ever.

" Yes sir."

Riptide moved closer to the metal gate as Sinister turned the power on

full-blast.

* * * *

Duo and Heero burst out of the laboratory at a dead run, sprinting as deadly

fire blossomed and chased bafter them, nipping at their heels.

They hit the ground, rolling as the main doors exploded behind them. Duo

felt the wind shear past him and he unconsciously touched his braid, making

sure it was still there. " Damn that was close!"

Shenlong and Heaveyarms suddenly touched down, carrying Deathscythe and Wing

Zero. Duo blinked. " huh?"

" The remaining mobile suits fled as soon as the alarms went off," said

Sandrock as it appeared. " We'd better get out of here."

Duo and Heero raced up their Gundams, thanking profusely that the other

three remained to shield them from the intense heat surrounding them.

Suddenly Quatre's voice came over the speakers again.

" Uh...what's that?"

Duo froze in the middle of climbing into Deathscythe's cockpit. " Oh shit."

Heero, already in Zero's cockpit, watched as a final explosion brought forth

a wave of what looked like black fire power towards them. He had a split

second to realize it looked remarkably like the energy they had seen

floating within the center. He agreed with Duo.

Black thunder washed over them, blotting out the light. Heero had the

impression of falling and he heard the cries of his partners. Then there was

nothing.

* * * *

The Blackbird touched down at the side of the building Jean had directed

them too. The ramp slid down and Scott led the way. Rogue and Storm flew

overhead taking up their ariel positions while Gambit slunk into the shadows

next to the abandoned warehouse. Wolverine and Beast extended their

heightened senses, following behind Cyclops as he and Jean ran towards the

main doors. Suddenly, they felt the ground rumble and then, the world

exploded.

" Remy!" Rogue dove through the sky and scooped up the Cajun, pulling him

away from a falling piece of scaffolding. Jean erected a telekinetic shield

over herself, Cyclops and Beast. Storm generated a small whirlwind that

succeeded in keeping the debris from touching either herself or Logan. A few

minutes later, they all felt a surge of power and Jean automatically

tightened her shield. then everything stopped. Storm touched down, Rogue and

Gambit right behind her.

" Y'all get the impression we missed the party?" Rogue asked sarcastically.

Cyclops didn't bother to answer as he began plowing through the debris.

Suddenly, his optic beam was deflected off a shiny metal surface and

stopped.

" What the--" Not much could reflect his optic beams - they tended to

pulverize, not bounce off. " Storm?"

Storm nodded and rose into the air. " Mother Goddess of the earth, lend me

your strength," she murmered. Feeling the wispy connection between herself

and the planet strengthen, she smiled. Formerly blue eyes flashed

silvery-white and the winds began to pick up. Jean extended her shield to

cover everybody as the weather goddess raised her arms and let the winds

flow.

Dirt, wooden boards, metal beams, whole walls began to fly around in a

dizzying spral as Storm worked her mutant powers. Taxing as it was, Storm

nonetheless revelled in the feeling of nature's fury, whipping around her.

" And that's why we call her the weather witch," Beast smiled as he watched

his friend work. Finally, everything had been removed and there stood lay

five large...machines.

" Sacre bleu!" Gambit breathed as he looked at the metal monsters. "

Sentinals?"

" They don't look like any Sentinals [2] Ah've ever seen sugah," Rogue said

as she scratched her head thoughtfully. Beast bounded forwards, eyes bright

with unbridled excitement.

" Dear Gods....he did it!"

" Did what?" Cyclops snapped his head around to look at the bouncing

scientist. " Hank?"

Wolverine was already prowling around the machine, sniffing curiously. Then

he did a doubletake.

" There's something human in there!"

That snapped everyone back into place. Roge and Gambit went up to the first

one, made of red and gold metal. Rogue examined it carefully.

" Where's a can opener when ya need one?" she muttered. Gambit smiled.

" I t'ink the entrance is right here, chere." He pointed at the locking

mechanism on the chest plate. Rogue nodded and was about to rip the lock off

when Gambit stopped her and tapped a finger to the lock. A jolt of pinkish

flame and the lock died with a small explosion. Rogue pouted at the

unrepentant Remy.

" Showoff."

She pulled the hatch open and gasped. Hanging, unconscious inside a leather

harness, was a young boy, slender with long brown bangs that fell over his

eyes. Gambit reached past her and instantly felt the boy's neck, checking

for a pulse. " He's alive!"

" So's this one," grunted Wolverine as he hoisted a small blond boy over his

shoulder and climbing down off the sandy colored mecha. Storm and Beast were

prying open the hatch of a white Gundam with a dragon claw on the one hand.

" I think a feat of brute strength might be more prodigeous at this

juncture, rather then your usual elegance, my dear," Hank said as he grasped

the hatch and pulled it open, muscles flexing. Storm smiled at him.

" I would have to agree."

Inside, Storm gasped as she saw the limp form of a young chinese boy. "

Merciful Gaia," she breathed. Henry quickly examined the youth, and a

relieved smile crossed his fanged mouth.

" He's alive, merely 'cold-cocked' as our comrade Wolverine might say."

" Thank heavens," Storm murmered.

Jean telekinetically manipulated the locks of the black machine. While doing

so, she let her awareness brush inside the robot, searching for an active

mind. Finding none, she became worried and finally used her power to rip

open the hatch. Nothing. She searched the cockpit, noting the empty harness.

" There's no one here!" she called out to her teammates. Cyclops looked up

from where he was blasting open another white gundam. He looked down.

" Well, there's one in here! And he's awake!" Jean flew over and helped him

remove the semi-conscious boy from his confining harness. He struggled

weakly in their grasp and Jean tried to sooth him.

::Relax:: she sent telepathically. The boy froze and cobalt-blue eyes

pierced her own. Dazed they might be, but she could still recognize

hostility when she saw it.

" We're friends, " she said. " We're not going to hurt you."

She reinforced this idea with soothing thoughts and she felt him calm down

somewhat. He opened his mouth and tried to speak.

" wh...where's...m-my.."

Jean searched his mind and saw the images of the other three boys they had

found, as well as one they didn't find - one with a long brown braid. She

looked a little deeper and connected the boy with the braid, to the empty

black gundam she had searched.

" You're friends are okay," she assured him. " We're going to help you. Just

calm down."

" D-Duo?...where...h-has...braid...."

Again, the connection was made, and she bit her lip, unsure of what to tell

him. The boy sensed her uncertainty and his eyes flew open. Jean read his

mind again, wincing at the lack of diplomacy in regards to such use of her

powers, but knew it couldn't be helped. She picked out the names.

" Quatre, Trowa and Wufei will be fine." She then hesitated. The boy's eyes

pinned hers. " We can't find Duo."

" How..."

Jean lifted the boy carefully with her powers. Cyclops let them go by as he

began thinking of a way to transport the machines to the mansion. Jean

looked down at the boy as she moved.

" I'm a telepath," she said gently. " Now go to sleep. We'll find your

friend."

" Duo..."

His eyes slid shut as Jean mentally put him to sleep. She put him on the

last med-bed in the blackbird. The Beast was inspecting all of them.

" Shock, minor burns and some cuts and scrapes," he said cheerfully. "

Absolutely nothing life-threatening. A good night's rest and they'll be on

their feet."

" Good," Jean said with relief. Cyclops stuck his head in the door.

" I've got the first two tied to the Blackbird - she should be able to lift

them." The Beast nodded.

" The Blackbird's a tough old gal," he agreed. Rogue stood next to Gambit.

" Ah can carry one," she offered. " The mansion ain't that far and Ah've

carried two sentinals togther before."

Scott nodded. " Then that just leaves the last two - the Professor is

sending out Blackbird 2 on autopilot. It'll be here in a minute and we can

attach the other two to her."

Wolverine growled as he returned from his little search mission.

" I checked the whole area, Cyke. Sinister was here, with what smells like

Riptide. but he must have transported nearly everything."

" But how?"

" He's got members of the old Brotherhood [3] working for him," Wolverine

shrugged. " Wouldn't be surprised if he got that teleportin' freak chick

Fatale to move everything. I can smell it."

" Including a boy?" Jean's voice broke in. " One of them is missing."

" How do you--never mind," Rogue grinned sheepishly. " Dumb question."

" Why would the other four be inside their machines, and the fifth one not?"

Cyclops asked. Remy lit a cigarrette and taped the ash away as he joined the

conversation.

" Looks like you're gonna have t' wait until dey wake up den, non?"

* * * * * * *

Sinister growled as he stalked around his laboratory. Threnody flinched each

time he passed her but didn't stop from her work, organizing all the

misplaced papers that had spilled during the move. Riptide was noticeably

absent - destroyed by absorbing the brunt of the explosion. The beautiful

asian assassin Fatale stood by the doorway.

" May I take my leave now, Mr. Sinister," she asked him. Sinister flung his

arm at her and she nodded once. An implosion of air and she was gone, not to

return until Sinister bade her to. Sinister growled again.

" What happened....the calculations were exact. Such an explosion must have

been caused by outside forces. And instead of getting weapons or

warriors..." Sinister stopped pacing and stared up at the large tank and the

contents within. " I get THIS!"

" Still, it may be useful..." Sinister muttered as he replayed the scene

over again, walking out of the laboratory, Threnody right behind him,

slamming the door as they left.

And in the tank, a pair of violet, pain-hazed eyes opened slightly before

drifting shut again, a long brown braid floating behind him.

* * *

END 2C

* * *

Oh I'm so mean....But I don't mean to be! Duo's just fun to pick on!

Notes:

1. I don't pretend to be a scientist, but I do know black holes are aabout

energy and matter. I just twisted it aorund a bit for my own dark

purposes.Still, if anyone thinks this was a bit incoherent, let me know and

I'll revise it.

2. Sentinals are large robots that the government built as a method of

controlling mutants. They aren't used much in today's Marvel world but Rogue

was referring to back when they DID battle them.

3. The Brotherhood was a gang put together by Havok (Alex Summers), brother

to Scott Summers. Again - I just need Fatale to provide Sinister with an

escape - he does use them afterall - and the Brotherhood will not be making

an appearance.

C&C - PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP!!

Stormy