April
By: Tim Schaeffer

Mutants- homo sapien superior, gifted with incredible abilities that set them apart from normal humans. Gathered by Professor Charles Xavier, they fight for peace and equality in the world.

The meeting hall of the Lords Cardinal of the Inner Circle. Five people sit at a table which resembles a semi-circle. They are the members of the Club's Inner Circle. Sebastion Shaw, the Black King, sits at the center, his gloved hands folded across his face. To his left sits Madelyne Pryor, the Black Rook, and to her left sits Selene, the Black Queen. To Shaw's left is Trevor Fitzroy, the White Rook. Next to Fitzroy is Donald Pierce, the White Bishop, who was invited to rejoin the Inner Circle on a provisional basis.

In front of the five of them sits Joseph, of the X-Men, bound and gagged. His head hangs against his chest.

Shaw looks at Pryor, and says, "Wake him."

Pryor sends a telepathic message to Joseph, which jolts him back into consciousness. Joseph's head swings back, and he moans in pain. He opens his eyes, and looks at Shaw and the rest. Joseph focuses on his mutant ability to control magnetic fields, but for some reason, he finds that his powers seem to be lost to him. Pryor smiles, and says: "Try as you may to use your powers, Magnus, you will not be able to. I am telepathically telling you that you don't know how to access your powers."

Shaw stands, and slowly walks over to Joseph. Shaw grabs him by the hair, and in one swift motion pulls Joseph's head back, causing his neck to crack slightly. Shaw bends down, and whispers in Joseph's ear. "So, Magneto. Why the deception?" Shaw pulls the gag from Joseph's mouth, and awaits an answer.

Between breaths, Joseph manages to say, "I don't understand what you mean."

Shaw's face becomes unsettled, and he steps back slightly. He turns away from Joseph, and says, "You sent us a letter, telling us that you wish to take up your role of White King once more. Why? And also, why are you seemingly deceiving the X-Men?"

Joseph says once more: "I don't understand."

Shaw spins around, and, with one mighty blow, kicks the back of the chair that Joseph is sitting in. Needless to say, Joseph is thrust forward, and falls to the ground. His face strikes the ground, and blood trickles down from his nose. The blindfold which was covering his face is loosened to the point where it falls off. Joseph looks over to the four other members of the Inner Circle, and seems to recognize one. "J . . . Jean? What are you doing . . . here?"

Madelyne sighs, and uses her telepathy to make Joseph sleep once more. She says: "It appears that he did not did not send the message consciously. Perhaps we should perform a scan of his*" Madelyne is interrupted by a crashing sound. Before any of the members of the Inner Circle can react, the ceiling above them is crashing to the ground beneath the weight of one of their agents.

He crashes to the ground, and lands on his back. The five members come to full attention, and look at the poor man, who seems to have some sort of bone shaft sticking from his neck. Blood spurts out as the man groans in pain. With a quick thought, Pryor ends his life painlessly. Shaw looks up, and sees a young girl making due with his Hellfire Club agents. In her hands, she wields two bones, which she is using as weapons. Shaw looks at the others, and they all nod.

Without much exertion, Shaw manages to leap through the hole in the ceiling. He turns towards the girl, and smiles. He jumps at her, and she responds with a quick kick to his jaw. He laughs, and lands a punch on her; a punch which knocks her to the wall. She grumbles, and stands. The girls leaps at Shaw, and lands on the ground about three feet from him. He goes at her with a punch, but she parries, and nails him in the shoulder with one of her bone shafts. He doesn't scream, but rather spins, and lands a punch right in her stomach, one which sends her flying again. Except this time, she goes flying through a window.

She smashes through the window, and lands on the pavement outside. She skids along the ground, finally stopping when she slams into a car. She stands, and runs off. Shaw watches from the window, smiling.

* * *

Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning, the present.

They all stand readily assembled. That is, the X-Men are ready to go into battle; to save their friend Joseph. Each one made sure to dress in inconspicuous clothing, because New Yorkers tend to get a little worried about people walking the streets in outlandish costumes.

Marrow stands next to Cannonball, Sam Guthrie, who stands, staring at Wolverine and Storm. In his mind, Sam thinks that Wolverine and Storm hate and distrust Marrow. In a sense, he is right, but there is nothing that he can honestly do about it at the present moment.

Cyclops stands with the help of Jean's telekinesis. He looks at those assembled: Maggot, Beast, Storm, Cannonball, Dr. Reyes, Marrow, Wolverine, Phoenix, and himself. He looks around, and says: "Okay, people. The members of the Hellfire Club are some of our deadliest enemies. They're not to be underestimated. Now, we're not going to go barging in there. That would be a bit rash on our part, and make us look even worse in the eyes of the public if the story of our attack leaked. Ororo and I will go up, and see if we can't get them to give Joseph back to us. If they refuse, we'll break in there, and take him."

Wolverine shakes his head no, and says: "C'mon, Cyke, you know they ain't gonna give the man back to us. We should go in full force, and take the man away from them."

Scott says: "We would, Logan. But, like it or not, the Hellfire Club is a very public group. If we go barging in, who knows what trouble we could get into."

Cecilia looks at Cyclops, and says: "So, what are we supposed to do while waiting for you and the sister?"

"You'll be broken into two groups. You, Logan, and Maggott will be in one group"

Logan breaks in: "Put Marrow in my group. I don't trust her with anyone else."

Sam goes to interrupt Logan, but stops once more when he sees Logan staring him down.

Cyclops says, "After what happened earlier today with you and Marrow? Never. And that's the end. The other group will be Marrow, Hank, Sam, and Jean. Logan's group will go through the back entrance should there be a problem. Jean's group will take the skylight entrance. Each group will have to find its own way of getting there. The last thing we need is for the nine of us to walk around together. Let's get a move on."

* * *

Hellfire, present hour minus four and a half.

Joseph sits on the ground, shackled and bleeding. Bruises cover his face, which grimaces in pain. With much trouble, he breathes through a broken nose. He looks up at his attacker, and, in a low toned voice, says, "w. . . why are you doing this?"

Sebastion Shaw leans over, and grabs a fistful of Joseph's hair. With a simple tug, he pulls Joseph from the floor, and brings him up to face level. "Because you left, and now want to return to us. Not just that, but you try to give us orders. US! The Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club."

"I . . . I don't know what you're talking about. I told y . . . you that."

"Of course you did. And, oddly enough, I don't believe you. So, Madelyne is going to Psi- scan you to see if you're telling the truth. For some reason, I doubt that you are."

"I . . .am!"

"We'll see," Shaw chimed.

With that, Pryor begins her telepathic scan. She starts on the outskirts of Joseph's mind, scanning his short-term memory. When she finds nothing of significance, she moves on. Next comes his long term memory. She uses her telepathy to burrow into his mind, and what she finds, is shocking. Madelyne throws her eyes wide open, and screams in pain. Her knees give out, and she falls to the ground, clutching her head. Shaw runs over to her, and grabs her by the arm. She sits there, shuddering in terror, obviously scared out of her wits by something.

Joseph hangs his head, and smiles. "Hh . . . bet you didn't see that coming."

Madelyne scurries away from Joseph as fast as she can. "N . . . no! Keep him away. The things that I saw . . . it was crazy . . .distorted. Who is . . . K . . ."

Joseph smiles again.

Hellfire Club, present hour.

Scott Summers slowly walks to the door of the prestigious club, a cane in hand due to his recent injury. Next to him walks Ororo Monroe, Storm. Scott stumbles somewhat on the cane, but manages to regain his balance.

Storm looks at him and says, "Scott, you should not be here. You are weak."

"No no, Ororo, I'm fine. Besides, they've taken one of our people, and I intend to get him back."

"But we could have done it without you."

"I realize that. But then, what kind of leader would I be?"

Scott knocks on the door, and waits for an answer. After a few seconds, the door creaks open, and a man garbed in clothes from the 18th century stands in the doorway. "May I help you, sir?"

Scott looks at the man, and says, "Yes, we're here to speak to Shaw."

"I'm sorry, sir. But Master Sebastion is not in at the moment. May I take a message.?"

"Yes, tell him that he kidnapped a close friend of ours, and that we want him back. And tell him that in this instance, we'll take what we want."

The man steps back from the door, and opens it. "You may enter."

"I thought so." Scott says as he enters the building. -*-We're in, Jean. Get ready for anything.-*-

-*-Roger that, Scott.-*- From the roof of the building, Jean Grey Summers answers her husbands telepathic message. -*-Logan, they're in, be ready to go in should we be needed.-*- From the back entrance to the building, Logan answers, -*-Gotcha, Jeanie.-*-

Cyclops and Storm stride gallantly through the hallways of the HellFire Club. They've been here before, and know quite well of the treachery of Sebastion Shaw. As they pass through, they notice a group of men fixing a hole in the floor. "so, what happened there?" Cyclops questions.

"Hrm . . . nothing really. Just some weakened floor boards."

"Judging by the blood stains, and the scratch marks, I'd gather that it was more than that."

"Well, then you'd be wrong."

"Of course I would."

The man leads them to a stair case, and tells them that Shaw is just down those steps. Cyclops raises an eyebrow, and walks down the steps anyway. Storm follows. After having walked only a few steps, Storm is kicked in the back by the servant. She tumbles into Cyclops, and the two fly down the stairs, landing on a wooden floor. The servant slams the door closed, locks it, and walks away.

Storm lifts herself up off of Cyclops, and stands. She reaches down, and helps him up.

"Tsk tsk, mister wonderful leader. You should have realized that something was up."

Cyclops runs his head, and says: "J . . . jean?"

"Oh, not quite . . . but close." A light flips on, revealing Madelyne Pryor and Sebastion Shaw. "Hi, sweetie."

Cyclops mumbles, "Madelyne."

"Been some time, eh?"

Shaw steps in, "enough! You shouldn't have come here, X-Men. It'll only cause trouble."

"You kidnapped Joseph. We want him back, Shaw." Storm stares sternly at Sebastion.

"Well, we have what we want from him anyway. You can have him."

Cyclops and Storm exchange looks. "Where is he?"

"Well, that's a completely different question. He's currently with a member of our Inner Circle."

"Where, Shaw?" Cyclops reaches for his glasses.

"You came here, you find him."

Cyclops pulls his glasses off, but nothing happens. "Wha-?"

"This is what I like to call a dead zone," Madelyne says. "Anyone who comes in finds that their subconscious thinks that they have no powers. That way, there won't be any harm done to myself, or to my love here." Pryor wraps her arms around Shaw. "And right now, I'm sending message to make your dear wife and friends think that there's some sort of trouble. Any minute now, they should break into the building. And because they're breaking and entering, we can make due with them."

"Why, Maddie?"

"Consider this my revenge, my LOVING husband. Heh."

* * *

The roof.

Jean Grey, Sam Guthrie, Hank McCoy, and Marrow stand next to the skylight, awaiting any trouble. Suddenly, a telepathic image enters Jean's mind, and she keels over in pain. "Scott! Stabbed . . . by someone."

"Then that would be our cue." Beast reaches down, and grabs Jean's hand. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Dante."

Sam goes into full blast mode, and shatters his way through the skylight. Jean stands, and carries Marrow and Hank down with her telekinesis. They land on the ground, and almost immediately find themselves being rained upon by gunfire. A bullet grazes Hank's leg, and he frowns in pain. Jean puts up a telekinetic shield, which successfully blocks the passing bullets. -*-Sam, take out the guards, now!-*-

"Ah hear ya, ma'am!" Sam blasts through the guards, knocking them to the ground and into the air. He spins around for another pass, but a portal seems to open right in front of him. He enters the portal, not by choice, and seemingly disappears.

Jean drops the shield, and screams, "Sam! What happened to Sam?"

"That would be me, " a voice resonates from the corner of the room. Trevor Fitzroy stands in the corner, smiling.

"Fitzroy, " Jean says, remembering the time in which Fitzroy murdered the Hellions.*

(*Back in UXM 280 ;)

"That's right." His 18th century replica clothes disappear, and are replaced with that of an omnium mesh bio armor. He laughs, and lifts his hand. A blast erupts from it, and heads straight for Marrow. She dodges it, and chucks two bones at Fitzroy. The bones impact on the chest plate of his suit, but do no damage. He laughs.

Fitzroy lifts the other arm, and prepares to fire blasts at all three X-Men. However, he doesn't quite get the chance, because Cannonball smashes through the wall behind Fitzroy, and grabs him by the waist. The two fly into the air, and out of the building. After a few seconds, the two come crashing down, and smash through the floor. Sam flies out, triumphant.

He lands on the ground next to Marrow, and places his hands on his hips. "Well, Ah reckon that ah did*" Sam is cut off in mid-sentence when a hand rips through the ground beneath him, and pulls him down.

Marrow looks down, and says, "don't worry, Hayseed. I'm on my way!" She jumps into the hole, leaving Beast and Jean alone.

Suddenly, there's a puff of smoke, and the two aren't so alone any more.

* * *

Back Entrance.

Logan receives a telepathic message from what seems to be Jean, and motions for Maggott and Reyes to follow him through the door. With one swift kick, he knocks it off its hinges, and enters. Wolverine's claws unsheathe, and he creeps through the hallway, followed by Reyes, and then Maggott. Suddenly, two arms reach through the wall behind Wolverine, grabbing both him and Reyes. The two are ripped through the wall by the arms; Maggott follows. When Maggott enters, he sees Wolverine get thrown across the room, and Reyes get her faced smashed into the floor. He jumps towards the attacker. The man grabs Maggott's shirt, and tosses him through a wall which leads outside. "Pathetic."

Wolverine stands up, and looks right at him. "Not so pathetic, Pierce." Wolverine lunges at Pierce, and slashes at his chest. Oddly, Wolverine's claws do no damage whatsoever. Pierce laughs.

"You see, savage. I am now more machine than man. You can't hurt me, especially not with those little bone claws of yours."

"The claws don't make the man, bub."

Wolverine brings his knee up to Pierce's face, causing blood to spurt from said face. "Appears you ain't all robot, bub." Wolverine spins, and kicks out Pierce's legs. As Pierce falls to the ground, Wolverine elbows him in the face, breaking Pierce's nose.

Pierce flips over, and jumps up. He grabs Wolverine by the head, and pulls him over. He smiles, and suddenly, a snap. Wolverine's body falls limp to the ground, landing right in front of Cecilia. She gasps, and slides away from Logan. Pierce looks over to Reyes, and smiles.

* * *

Outside.

Maggott smashes through the wall, and lands on the pavement outside, in an alleyway. He stands, and goes to run back in, but, his attention is diverted by something. He walks down the alley, until he comes to that which stole his attention. "So, he really isn't Magneto, eh? Well, I guess not, since you're him, maat. I suppose that I should get back inside to help them. What do you mean no?! Oh, you want to see how far that bloke has developed in his powers. So, who is he? I mean, he's not you . . . so who is he exactly? Pr . . . don't worry, I won't tell anyone. After all, I owe you much, maat."

* * *

Elsewhere.

Cyclops flips through the air, and slams down onto a table. Sebastion Shaw grabs him by the neck, and starts to squeeze. "Hurts, does it not?"

Cyclops reaches up, and slams Shaw's nose with his palm. Blood trickles from Shaw's nose, which only causes Shaw to squeeze harder. Shaw looks over his shoulder at Madelyne, and says: "How are you doing with the weather witch, love?"

Madelyne holds Storm up in a telekinetic field. "Just fine, dear." Madelyne smiles, and tightens the field. "How's that for your claustrophobia, Ororo?"

Storm gasps for air, and feels herself blacking out. She tries to struggle against the field, but finds that she can't.

* * *

One room over.

Trevor Fitzroy smacks Marrow in the face, causing her to fall to the ground. He fires a blast at Cannonball, which tears through Sam's shoulder. Marrow looks Fitzroy over, and sees one part of his body that is not covered by his bio-suit. She pulls her knees to her chest, and makes a swift kick right to Fitzroy's crotch. He keels over in pain, and Marrow laughs. She pulls two bones from her back, and slams them into Fitzroy's feet, pinning him to the ground. Marrow scurries away from Fitzroy, saying, "hit him, hayseed!"

Cannonball blasts towards Fitzroy, and slams into Fitzroy's chest with his shoulder. Needless to say, Fitzroy goes flying; in fact, he goes flying through the wall, and into the room in which Shaw and Pryor are holding Cyclops and Storm.

Fitzroy breaks through the wall, and slams into Pryor, causing her to lose her concentration. Storm falls, and both her and Cyclops regain their powers. Cyclops pulls his glasses from his face, and fires his optic blasts right into Shaw's eyes.

Shaw reels away, holding his face in pain. "Agh . . . damn you . . . you blinded me! I can't see."

Cyclops leans up. "Good." He pulls his glasses off again, and hits Shaw with a blast that knocks him into a wall.

Cyclops stands, and walks over to Shaw. He grabs Shaw by the shirt, and pulls him close.

"Now, Shaw. You'll tell me where Joseph is. No more of this bull about us having to find him. Because next time, my blasts'll do more than blind you."

"You won't get away with this. We have more than enough power to kill you all."

"Tell me, Shaw. NOW!"

* * *

Upstairs.

Phoenix and Beast were clouded by a puff of smoke. When the smoke disappeared, the one called Selene stood in front of the two X-Men. "Hello, X-Men." Selene smiles, and Phoenix and Beast become encircled by fire.

"Do I dare say, Jean, that we may be in some trouble?"

"Don't bother, Hank." With a simple wave of her hand, Jean snuffs out the fire. "We don't want to fight, Selene. We just want Joseph."

"That's just too bad." Selene blasts a stream of fire at the two, which is blocked by a tk shield. Jean fires a psi-bolt toward Selene, who blocks it with her own shield.

Beast flips forward, and and over Selene, when he passes her by, he nails her with a swift kick to the back. She stumbles forward, but turns, and lands a telekinetic blast on Beast, who goes flying ever farther. He slams into a wall, and falls to the floor. "All I feel I have to say, is ouch."

Selene then turns, and fires a psi-blast at Jean, who matches with her own. The two blasts meet with a crackling of energy, filling the room with a blinding light. The two blasts seem to be at a standstill; that is, until Selene causes the floor at Jean's feet to erupt in fire. When that happens, Jean gets distracted, and in doing so, loses the fight. The blast hits her in the head, almost like if she were to be hit with a baseball bat. Jean flies back, and slams onto the wooden floor.

Selene smiles, and turns towards Beast. Instead, she finds a giant blue blur flying at her. The blur nails her in the torso, and she flies flies back into a wall. Beast claps his hands, and says: "To paraphrase Homer Simpson: Beast, 1, HellFire, 8. Heheheh."

* * *

Downstairs.

Cecilia Reyes scurries across the floor, attempting to escape the cyborg called Pierce. "Don't run. It won't help." He reaches for her, and grabs her arm. Pierce pulls her in swiftly, and grabs her throat. He tries to squeeze, but finds that something is stopping him. "What?" Pierce takes Reyes, and flips her over, causing her to smash into the floor with a great force. Pierce smiles, expecting her face to be nothing more than a bloody pulp. When he lifts her up, he finds that there isn't a scratch on her. Pierce lifts an eyebrow, not sure what to think.

"It's called a force field. Maybe you've heard of it."

Pierce pulls her back, and chucks her across the room. She slams into a wall, and breaks through. She skids across the floor, and lands next to Joseph, who is sitting in a chair, bound and gagged. Cecilia kneels up to Joseph, and tries to plead to him.

"Please . . . J. . . Joseph. I need your help. He's going to kill me. Please . . .he's going to kill me . . .kill me . . .kill me . . .. kill me . .. " To Joseph, Cecilia's voice seems to trail off, and gruesome images flash across his mind. He sees men, women, and children being shot on the street, gassed, stabbed, and blown up. Voices run through his head, speaking words that he hadn't heard in years . . . and hadn't remembered hearing in months.

"Please, Erik, help me! They are going to kill me! Kill me . . . kill me . . . kill me!"

"He is going to kill me. The armored one is really going to kill me."

Sweat trickles down Joseph's brow.Energy surges around him, and the bindings holding him captive tear. Joseph stands, magnetic energy surging. "Murderer. You will kill no one today."

Pierce steps close to Joseph, but suddenly he feels his mind warping. Pierce falls to the floor, clutching his head.

Cecilia looks on questioningly. "You have magnetic powers. How are you doing that?"

Joseph puts his hands together into a fist. Then, just as quickly, he pulls them apart. Pierce shrieks in pain, and in a spurt of blood, oil, and robotics, he literally splits from his left shoulder to the center of his pelvis. He falls to the ground, blood running from his mouth. Joseph squeezes his fist, and Pierce curls up into a little ball, all the while screaming and bleeding profusely.

Joseph looks down at Pierce, and begins to walk away. He steps over to Wolverine, who is now beginning to heal, and picks him up."Come, my friend. Let's find the others, and go on home." Joseph floats into the air, and looks up. Nails and bolts rip from the floor above him, causing it to collapse. He takes Cecilia in his magnetic field, and the three lift up to the next level. As they rise, they see most of the other X-Men gathering themselves, and collecting the members of the Inner Circle into a pile. Cannonball throws Shaw and Fitzroy onto the ground. Cyclops throws Madelyne onto the ground next to Selene.

Cyclops says, "So, where is Joseph?"

"There is no more need to worry, my friends. I am here."

"Joseph. Thank God you're safe." Cyclops smiles somewhat at Joseph.

"Yes, I am quite all right. Thank you for coming to save me. Now, could we please go home?"

"Yes," Cyclops says. "We can. However, there is something I must attend to. Could you all start ahead of me."

They all nod, and walk out.

"Madelyne. I always wanted to tell you this."

"What is it? " Madelyne says scornfully.

"I'm sorry I abandoned you and Nathan . . . way back when. But I still can't forgive you for trying to sacrifice our son."

"I don't want your apologies, or your forgiveness. Just get out of our home." A tear trickles down Madelyne's cheek.

"Very well. And I wish you the best of luck in your relationship with Shaw."

Cyclops turns, and walks out.

As Cyclops meets up with the others, Maggott does the same. "Where were you?" Cyclops inquires.

"Sorry, maat. I got thrown through a bloody wall, and just woke up."

Jean's telepathy crackles, and, in a instant, the entire team is shielded from the view of people on the street. With that, they begin their travels home.

* * *

Epilogue 1.

The entire Inner Circle stands over Pierce's wretched form. Shaw sighs at it, and says, "If he's not Magneto, then what is he exactly?"

Madelyne says, "His mind is warped. He's not Magneto. But he thinks he is. In truth, his mind is a mesh of jumbled thoughts. I saw only two pictures in his mind. One was one a white, shiny blur punching him. And another was of a woman whom he seemed to scorn greatly."

"Then the question is, " Shaw says, "exactly where is the real Magneto? And what is he up to?"

"Either way, " Selene chimes in, "we'd best prepare."

* * *

Epilogue 2.

In a secret underground base, two men sit. One is the X-Cutioner, a man with advanced technology, who wishes to hunt down and kill mutant criminals. The other, is the X-Cutioner's protege, so to say. "I'm not quite sure if I'm up to this, sir."

"Do not worry. You've been training with this tech for quite some time, and I feel that you can handle it quite well."

"So, I have to find Xavier and his kidnapper, and . . .?"

"Kill . . .them both."

"And where will you be?"

"I have some business to attend to."

(Editor's Note: Read Thor to find out what that is ;)

"Very well, then, sir. I will find Xavier, and kill him."

"I'd expect you to do no less to an accomplice to mutant criminals."

"It is my job, sir."

"Of course it is. Now go find him. Go, Bounty."

To Be Continued.

Next Issue: Revelations of cruelty while fighting the Hellfire club places members of the team at ends with each other; specifically Storm and Marrow, and Cyclops and Joseph. Also, Doc Reyes does some digging to find out exactly what is up with Joseph's powers. Plus, a visitor.

In UXM 353: A strange journey through Psylocke's mind.