Rahne Sinclair forced a brush through her short, fire-red hair as she stared glumly into the mirror. Frustrated, she let out a long sigh. She looked no different than she had twenty minutes ago. 'Why won't m'hair grow?' she thought. No matter how hard she wished, her hair always remained the same trim length it was when she first left her homeland of Scotland and came to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters with her adopted Mummy, Moira MacTaggert. That had been the beginning of Rahne's adventures with the novice group of mutant heroes housed at Xavier's, the New Mutants.

Leaving the brush on the dresser, Rahne sat and stared at the mirror, losing herself in her imagination. Soon, the young Scots girl was no longer looking at her own face, but at the image of a beatiful young princess whose hair, while the same bright shade as Rahne's, flowed down her shoulders in long waves. The friendly creatures of the forest surrounded the girl on all sides, jumping and climbing merrily. The young woman looking back at Rahne was her favorite imaginary character, Alystrea, who grinned and blinked her bright green eyes. Rahne answered with a small smile.

"Hey, Furtop! You almost ready?" The voice from behind surprised Rahne, and she jumped as she was jolted out of her daydream. She didn't have to turn to recognize the speaker as Danielle Moonstar, co-leader of The New Mutants, and Rahne's best friend.

"Dani! Och, Ye startled me." Rahne said as she turned to face her friend.

"Sorry, Kiddo, but you'd better finish getting ready. Magneto is downstairs waiting, and you know how much he hates it when we're late."

Rahne felt a small pang of envy as she took a close look at Dani, who was dressed in a stunning red evening gown. Her perfectly straight, jet-black hair hung down almost to her waist, and her Native American heritage was evident from the accessories she wore. Dani was a relatively tall girl, and could wear just about anything she wanted. Rahne, on the other hand, was much shorter, and couldn't help but look down at her own dress, green, conservative, and very plain. Rahne sighed again, and the thirteen year old couldn't help but wonder if she would grow to be as tall as Dani when she was 19.

"I still dinna understand why we must attend these parties, Dani. The Hellfire Club are the X-Men's enemies! And we are expected to mingle with those dreadful Hellions." Rahne got up from her chair, and took one last look at herself in the mirror.

"Easy, Rahne." Dani replied. "Magneto was also the X-Men's enemy once, and now he's our teacher. And he is a member of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle. We don't have to like it, kiddo, but we do have to put up with it." Dani paused as a small smile came to her face. "Besides, you might have some fun."

"Och, let's just get this o'er with." said Rahne, as she walked out into the hall. Dani smiled at her friend, and followed her down the stairs to where the others would be waiting.

Doug Ramsey slumped down onto the couch and began to search for the television's remote control. "Hey, what time is it?" He asked the crowd surrounding him. "We're gonna miss 'Growing Pains'...."

"Douglas, stop it." Magneto's stern voice chastised his student. "We are late as it is, and as soon as the others are ready, we will be on our way."

"That could take years," Doug cracked, and began to straighten his tuxedo jacket as he looked aorund the room.

It was obvious Magneto was getting impatient. The Master of Magnetism looked almost regal in his most formal tuxedo, his white hair a sharp contrast to the black tux and deep purple tie and cummerbund. As White King, it was Magneto's responsibility to be at these formal Hellfire Club gatherings, and Doug knew if the New Mutants were left behind, it looked like a lack of trust on Magneto's part.

The novice team's other co-leader Sam Guthrie leaned against the wall in the corner with his arms folded. The lanky Cumberland, Kentucky native looked a bit uncomfortable in the formal outift. Sam was more used to jeans and T-shirts than a bowtie.

If anybody looked more uncomfortable than Sam, it was Warlock. An alien techno-organic shapeshifter, Warlock had taken the human form of a tall boy with dark hair, though his smile was still a little too large. Doug had to stifle a chuckle when he realized 'Lock looked a bit like a gameshow host. It had taken the two of them almost twenty minutes to get Warlock's "tuxedo" to look just right, and Doug let out a soft sigh when he noticed that Warlock was wearing both a vest and cummerbund.

Two of the girls were already downstairs. Xi'an Coy Manh, better known as Shan to her friends, was the oldest of the group at 21. She looked the part, too, in a mature and sophisticated long yellow evening gown. Amara Aquilla, refugee from a hidden civilization that emulated ancient Rome, was the other. Amara was a high born back in Nova Roma, a Senator's daughter, and looked very accustomed to the formal attire she wore: a sheer white dress and abundant gold jewelry, most of it probably hundreds of years old.

Magneto glanced down at his watch just as one of the remaining students descended the stairs. Roberto DaCosta, a Brazilian mutant and the team's resident hothead, danced into the living room. "Hello, Amigos! You like?" 'Berto asked as he spun around to show off his stylish suit. His hair was perfect, and Doug smelled a hint of cologne. 'Well, Bobby does love to make an entrance.' he thought. Roberto waltzed right over to the girls, showering them both with compliments.

Just then Dani and Rahne emerged from the stairway. "'Bout time, Chief." Sam said. Dani smiled at him, and turned to her teacher, muttering a quick apology.

Magneto frowned at the girls and looked around at his students. "Thank you for being so prompt, Danielle," he said coldly, "Now, if we can..." Magneto's sentence trailed off as he glanced around the room. "Wait...Where is Illyana?"

Looks of bewilderment crossed the faces of the New Mutants, and then, as f on cue, a bright disc of purplish light appeared in mid-air. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the stepping disc was gone, leaving in its place a grinning Illyana Rasputin. The young Russian wore a sleek black dress, and her perfectly straight blond hair was brushed back.

"Sorry I'm late, folks, I had to pick this dress up in L.A." she quipped with a smile.

Doug shook his head and laughed to himself, "She was just in California,' he thought, 'Boy, being a demon sorceress definitely has its advantages.'

Magneto did not look pleased, "I trust nobody else has any important affairs they must attend to before we go?" Without giving any of his students time to answer, he continued, "Excellent....Magik, if you would be so kind?"

"You got it, teach!" Illyana answered, and raised her hands above her head to summon a large stepping disc. "Next stop, The Hellfire Club."

"Good move, 'Yana," said Sam. "Ya' brought us into one of the unoccupied rooms."

"I aim to please, Sammy," Illyana smiled.

"Watch yourselves, tonight, New Mutants," Magneto cautioned. "We want to attract no extra attention, and I expect you all to be on your best behavior. For once, let us have no problems." With that, Magneto left the library.

"You heard the man, kids," Sam echoed. "No funny business tonight."

"Or you answer to us," Dani agreed.

"Do not worry, Danielle," answered Amara. "We are here at this lovely mansion to enjoy ourselves. What could go wrong?"

"Famous last words." said Doug.

Dani took a sip of her drink as she looked around the ballroom. Hundreds of the most influential people in the world circulated around the room. Magneto was in one corner speaking with a couple members of the Hellfire Club she recognized. One was Sebastian Shaw, The Black King, a man whom she had never faced, but had heard was one of the most deadly mutants on the planet. The other was a woman Dani would never forget. Emma Frost, The Inner Circle's White Queen, was purely evil as far as Dani was concerned. She had given the X-Men all sorts of trouble, and the New Mutants had gotten a taste of her behavior first hand when they attempted to rescue Kitty Pryde from her clutches and wound up prisoners themselves. Nevermind the fact that she had helped cure her teammates after their encounter with the Beyonder, Dani would never trust her.

Everyone in the ballroom was dressed in exquisite clothes, and there were probably millions of dollars in rare jewelry in this room alone. The Hellfire Club's armed guards, dressed in their blue and purple uniforms, which came complete with those frightening robotic masks, stood at all the entrances. Dani felt a bit uncomfortable in such a setting, but she was not alone in that respect. Of all her teammates, only Amara was used to functions such as these, and of the others, Illyana was the only one who seemed to actually enjoy herself. Just as Dani took the first step away from the bar, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

"And how are we doing tonight, little Cheyenne?" Dani spun to see James Proudstar, leader of the White Queen's novice team of mutants, The Hellions.

"James. Hello." Dani acknowledged him coldly.

"What's with the attitude, Danielle?" James asked.

Dani ground her teeth. Jimmy's brother had been an X-Man, and died as one too. James had adopted his brother's codename, Thunderbird, and Dani knew that despite his strange allegiances, he was far from evil. Still, the New Mutants and Hellions had tangled before, and she didn't think any good could come from their associating right now.

"Nothing, Thunderbird, I was just on may way to get some air is all." Dani tried making up an excuse.

"Mind if I join you?"

She was caught now. "Free country," Dani shrugged, as the two walked toward the door.

Sam was trying hard to fit in, but it was just not working. He felt awkward at these functions, but as co-leader of the New Mutants, he felt like it was his responsibility to set an example for the others. He watched as Dani and Jimmy walked toward the door and outside into the cool fall night, and decided some air sounded like a good idea. Sam headed off after them, trying to make his way through the crowd. He didn't get very far before he collided with one of the guests, and sent her tumbling to the floor. Looking down, Sam recognized the girl by her long red hair.

"Marie-Ange, Tarot, Ah'm really sorry." Sam reached down and helped the girl back up to her feet.

"M'seur Guthrie?" Marie-Ange Colbert looked up at Sam and accepted his aid. "Forgive me, I must not have been watching where I was going."

"No...It was mah fault...." Before Sam could finish, two of Marie-Ange's teammates approached them.

"Watch where you're going, Guthrie." said Haroun ibn Sallah al-Rashid as he glared at Sam.

"Red-hair-smooth-skin fall down? Is okay, no?" Catseye approached her teammate and helped her to her feet.

Sam looked at the three Hellions facing him. Marie-Ange was a french mutant who was completely dependent on her deck of tarot cards. She was usually very quiet and reserved, and seemed embarrassed that Sam had run into her. Haroun was better known as Jetstream, and his power was similar to Sam's, though his abilities had been enhanced by the Hellfire Club's own cybernetics. Catseye was the most unique of the New Mutants' rival team. Sometimes called Sharon Smith, a name given her by the White Queen when Frost discovered her living in the streets, she actually beleived herself to be a cat who turns into a human.

"I'm fine Catseye," Marie-Ange said, then turned to Haroun, "Jetstream, c'est un'accidente. It was not Samuel's fault."

Haroun still looked at Sam with untrusting eyes. "We're watching you and your New Mutants, Guthrie. Best be careful." With that, Jetstream led the other Hellions away leaving a startled Sam Guthrie.

"Samuel, is everything in order?" Amara asked, walking over to Sam.

"Fine, Amy," Sam sighed. "Everyone's just all on edge, is all. Ah have a bad feeling about tonight."

Illyana took another bite of lobster and made a face at her teammates seated at the table with her. "What I wouldn't give for one of the burgers from Harry's right about now," she said after swallowing.

Shan laughed "At least Roberto is having fun." She gestured towards the dance floor, where 'Berto and one of the Club member's daughter were dancing close.

"Typical Bobby," Doug laughed.

"Self perceives self-friend-Cannonball-Sam to be disturbed" Warlock pointed out from his seat

"Looks like some of the Hellions are giving him a rough time," said Illyana.

"Are not entities designate Hellions enemies of self and self-friends-New-Mutants?" asked Warlock.

"Not really, pal." Doug answered. "Rivals is a more appropriate term."

"C'est vrai. Douglas is right, Warlock." Shan agreed. "They are not our enemies, but even still, I do not feel very comfortable around them, or their mentors."

"Let 'um try whatever they want, Shan," 'Yana spoke up comfortably. "Even the White Queen herself wouldn't fare so well once I teleported her off to Limbo and let S'ym and the other demons loose on them."

"Why do I get the feeling Emma Frost would fit right in there?" joked Doug.

"Fit in where, Senor Ramsey?" asked a voice with a slight spanish accent. The New Mutants looked up to see two members of the Hellions facing them. Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha, the arrogant high born spaniarrd known as Empath, and JennyStavros, called Roulette. Both were manipulators, he of emotions, she of luck.

Manuel looked at Douglas with that ever present smirk on his face. "If we suspected you of plotting against the Inner Cirlcle here in their own hall, we would be obligated to alert them, Douglas, and I'm afraid that would not bode well for any of you."

"Yeah," Jenny concurred, "That would sure be rotten luck."

"Self detects hostility present between self-friends New Mutants and entities designate Empath and Roulette." Warlock pointed out.

"Why don't you take your little tramp and be on your way, Manuel," Illyana challenged, "Before things get ugly around here." She smiled big at Manuel, daring him to try his power on her. She knew as well as he that his power would not work on her.

"Yeah, De la Rocha, get lost." Doug echoed. "We don't need any of you Hellions giving us crap tonight."

"Ahh, Douglas, you don't mean that do you?" Manuel's eyes glowed.

"Doug, watch it, he's using his stupid power!" Illyana tried to warn, but it was too late. Doug fell to his knees at Manuel's feet.

"Alarm!" Warlock yelled. "Self-soul-friend-Cypher-Doug, you must not be altered by Entity-Empath!"

"Manny, you..." Illyana threatened, but as she attempted to get to her feet, Roulette threw a black energy disc in her direction. Before Illyana could stand, one of the legs on her chair broke, and she toppled backwards. Shan jumped to her side.

"That's enough, you two," said Sam, rushing over to the group, Roberto, Rahne and Amara with him. "Empath, release him, or you'll answer to me."

Manuel smiled, and Doug, still on his knees, began to blink as Empath's released his hold on him. "You stinking bastard!" he yelled, and jumped on Empath, tackling him to the floor. Sam began to attempt to separate them as Jetstream, Tarot and Catseye rushed over.

"Ye' Spaleens!" cursed Rahne, as her emotions got the better of her. Before she realized it, she had changed to her transitional wolf form, and was snarling at the other Hellions.

Roberto and Amara ran to Rahne's side, calming the young girl, and finally getting her to transform back to normal before the entire party saw her. It took them a few minutes, but Sam and Jetstream managed to seperate the two fighting boys.

"You dare lay hands on a de la Rocha, Ramsey? You will regret this!" Manuel was threatening as Haroun held him in check.

"I should have let them finish you off last month when we had the chance," Doug threw back, waving Sam away from him.

"Spirit! What is going on here?" Dani Moonstar asked. She and James had come back into the party and were now standing in front of the two teams.

"Dani?" asked Roberto, "How did you...?"

"James and I were outside and I sensed Rahne shift to wolf form." Dani answered.

"Take one guess what happened, Dani," Illyana answered, rubbing her head. "Manuel started his crap again."

"Yeah," Jenny answered, "When Blondie jumped him!"

"Dammit, Proudstar," Dani spun to face James. "I knew something like this would happen...if you can't control your Hellions..."

"Watch it, Little Cheyenne....Your precious New Mutants are not blameless here."

"I think its time we settle this once and for all," Jetstream spoke up.

"You mean another challenge?" asked Sam.

"That's right. I would have beaten you easily last time, Guthrie, if we hadn't been interrupted." Jetstream challenged.

"The heck you would'a," answered Sam.

"Un moment, team, this isn't a good idea, if Magneto catches us..." Shan cautioned.

"If you mutants are scared, we understand," Roulette quipped.

"No way, the New Mutants don't back down from a challenge," Dani said with authority.

"That settles it then," James answered. "New Mutants vs. Hellions, may the best team win."

To Be Continued...