Roberto shuddered as the final jaunt came to an end. He looked around as Magik's stepping disc dissipated and realized Illyana had deposited them on the Danger room floor. The room was strangely quiet and barren, looking like a giant gymnasium with nothing but four walls, a high ceiling, and plain floor. This was the room's appearance when it wasn't in use, but Roberto knew that with a combination of holograms and robotics enhanced by the alien Shi'ar's technology, the Danger Room could be much more. 'Berto glanced at his teammates around him. All wore the "Killer Bee" uniforms they had changed into during a brief stopover in their respective rooms.

Just as suddenly as the team had appeared, Magik was gone again, only to appear seconds later with the Hellions in tow. Each member of the rival team was dressed in their usual purple and black costumes. Roberto thought back to their first encounter with the Hellions, when the New Mutants had been attempting to rescue Kitty Pryde from the White Queen. Then, the Hellions had taken the team by surprise, and their numbers were a bit more even. Now, with Shan back, Illyana a full fledged member of the team, and the addition of Doug and Warlock, the Mutants seemed to have a bit of a numbers advantage, making Roberto feel very confident. A smile crossed his face. 'These hombres deserve whatever they get.' he thought.

Outmanned, but no less confident, the six Hellions stood opposing the nine New Mutants. Their leader, Thunderbird, stepped forward. Placing his hands on his hips, he examined their surroundings then looked directly at Dani, "Your home field, Mirage?"

"Only fair," Dani replied, matching his stare. "When Sam and Jetstream went at it, it was in your arena, now we get a return bout. Besides, this is the best equipped place possible."

James merely nodded, "Rules?"

"The usual," Sam answered. "The room'll do its best to prevent any serious injuries, but if'n someone acts way out of line, there isn't much that can be done to stop 'em. So, any actions that could cause major bodily harm are out. Other than that, pretty much anything goes."

"When a whole team has been eliminated, they lose." Dani added simply.

"Fine," Jetstream threw in, "And when a member of a team yields, they are out, so to speak."

"Like last time, Haroun?" Sam looked angry, "Ah had you beat by all rights, but y'allwould rather die than yield."

"Your New Mutants have similar tempers, Sam," James answered calmly. "I will speak for my team. If someone is beaten and has not the integrity to admit it, I will speak for them. I ask only, Mirage and Cannonball, that you agree to do the same for your team."

"Never!" Roberto objected. "That is insane. I will never yield to you or any of your..."

"Sunspot!" Dani cut him off, then turned back to face James. "Your point is taken, Thunderbird, and agreed," she glared back at Roberto with the last word, silently daring him to object. 'Berto looked upset, but nevertheless remained quiet.

"Okay, folks," Doug's voice boomed over the loudspeaker. He and Illyana had teleported up to the Danger Room's control center, and were visible only through a small glass window inset near the top of one of the walls. "Time to decide on our setting..."

Suddenly the room twisted, as blurs of color seemed to swirl around the groups. James, who was in the Danger Room for the first time, as were all the Hellions, gulped as realized the disorienting effect was making him dizzy. Finally the images settled and took the form of an ancient ruined city. Crumbling walls and rock formations covered with runes surrounded the groups. Looking up, James saw not the bare gray ceiling of the Danger Room, but a perfect night sky with bright stars that actually twinkled.

"These are the remains of an old city in the Blue Area of the moon," Doug explained. "It's where the X-Men fought the Shi'ar imperial guard for Phoenix's life."

"Too cosmic, Doug," Sam objected.

"Allrite..." Doug began to fiddle with the controls some more, the images swirled again, and when they settled, the room had the look of the throne room of an old stone castle. Chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, and candles seemed to burn in the corner, giving the room a strange glow. James sniffed and realized the room even smelled damp and dank. "Loki's throne room, from Asgard." Doug explained nonchalantly. "I programmed this one myself."

"Stop showing off, Cypher! You mutants have been here." Jetstream shouted, gesturing around the medieval room. "That's way too much advantage!"

"Okay, Hang on." One more time, Doug typed frantically on a control panel, and once more the odd twisting effect occurred. When it passed, the scene had shifted from a dark, dank castle to a bright sunny day. The teams were standing outside, in a field of tall grass. A wooded area was off to one side, and a large hill stood on the other. The sun beamed down on them out of a clear sky, and the sound of distant birds and insects filled the room.

"What's this supposed to be, Ramsey?" Thunderbird asked as he looked around the room.

"The Savage Land. It's a tropical site hidden among the polar ice caps. We've never been here, its from the X-Men's archives."

"This okay by you, Thunderbird?" Dani asked.

James looked around at his team, and seeing no objections, turned to Mirage and nodded.

"Fine, this settles it then," Sam said. "Doug, start the timer."

"Okay, Sam. Everybody ready?" Seeing no objections, Doug hit a button on the control panel. "Start......NOW!"

There was a blinding flash of light as Illyana and Doug teleported down to the grassy floor of the Danger Room, and for a split second the two teams stood and faced each other.

"Okay!" It was Thunderbird who acted first, screaming orders to the Hellions. "Jetstream, Roulette...Provide cover! The rest of you, follow me!" With that he took off, running for the woods. Catseye transformed to a full feline form and followed, as did Tarot and Empath.

'He's smart,' Dani thought. 'He knows they're outnumbered, and they don't have the firepower to match our big guns like Illyana and Amara. He's going to try to get into the woods and make us hunt them down. We can't let that happen.' "Don't let them reach the trees!" she yelled.

Following orders, Cannonball blasted into the air, flying on a crash course for Proudstar. 'If Ah can take Thunderbird down, the others will unravel like bees without a queen.' he thought. Suddenly Sam was hit by something that had the force of a freight train. Luckily, he was invulnerable when "blasting," because the collision could have felled an oak tree.

"Where do you think you are going, Guthrie?" Jetstream asked, his shoulder still imbedded in Sam's stomach. The two were falling hard out of the sky and the ground was approaching fast.

"Nowhere with you, that's for darn sure!" Sam said, and ignited again, blasting his way out of the tangle of arms and legs. Sam was sure Jetstream would not have enough time to pull up out of the dive before hitting the ground, but the Arab surprised him. His cybernetic implants gave Jetstream much more maneuverability than Cannonball had with his mutant power alone, and the Hellion was able to adjust his flight path before he hit the floor, soaring again into the air.

Sunspot and Wolfsbane, meanwhile, were giving chase into the woods, while Magma had transformed into her battle form, a figure that seemed alive with molten lava. She was also hurling fiery blasts at the fleeing Hellions, but Empath and Tarot had already reached the safety of the woods, and Thunderbird and Catseye were dodging them with ease.

'You may be able to elude Magma's blasts," Amara said out loud. "But you cannot escape mother Earth herself!" With that, Magma waved her hand, utilizing her mutant power to control the earth. A chasm in the ground opened with a loud rumble, splitting the Hellions up. Each dove for cover, evading the rift in the ground.

Roulette had an evil smirk on her face as she watched Wolfsbane, who had outdistanced Sunspot in pursuit of the Hellions. Agile in her lupine form, Rahne was easily eluding the parting chasm created by Magma, even leaping back and forth over it rather than change the course of her hunt. Roulette waited until Wolfsbane was almost to her, then tossed one of her black probability-altering discs in Rahne's path. The she-wolf's leg suddenly gave out in an unfortunate stroke of bad luck, and Wolfsbane gave a yelp as she tumbled into her own teammate's trap.

Dani, joined to Wolfsbane through their psi-link, felt Rahne fall into the opening pit, and directly into the safety cushions provided by the Danger Room. Sighing, Dani realized her friend was unharmed, but beaten, and staying true to the rules of the challenge, she recognized defeat for her friend, "Wolfsbane's down." she called out loudly for the entire room to hear.

Roberto watched Rahne fall, and shifted his course to stay as far from the chasm as possible. 'I must stay away from Roulette,' he thought. 'Her power always seems to make the worst occur.' As he reached the small grove of trees in one corner of the room, Roberto looked closely into the trees. None of the Hellions were visible, but he definitely saw some movement, though he could not make out quite what it was.

Suddenly, walking out of the grove of trees, came figures that seemed to walk directly from Roberto's nightmares. "Madonna...." He cursed quietly, his eyes widening in horror. There were more than a dozen of them. Skeletons, armed with swords and shields, and walking quietly and patiently toward him. Their hideous faces had a look that made Roberto shudder. "Tarot's cursed power," he sneered to Cypher and Warlock, as they ran up behind him.

"Warning: Decomposed Human Remains intend harm to self and self-friends." Warlock noted. "Conclusion: Self will protect self-soul-friend-Cypher-Doug." Before Doug could object, Warlock surrounded him, his circuits changing shape until he had transformed himself into a suit of plate mail armor, complete with helmet and mechanical sword and shield. Two little eyes and a mouth were apparent on the left shoulder of the "suit" now being worn by Cypher.

"Good work, pal," Doug exclaimed. "I knew it wasn't a waste of time to teach you how to play Dungeons & Dragons!"

Sunspot powered up until his whole body, including his uniform, had turned to midnight black. Small dark spots, a sign that his body was charged up with energy from the sun, floated around him. He took a swing at one of the skeletons and was able to shatter the figure into a mess of loose bones. To his left, Doug and Warlock were crossing swords with another of the creatures.

Roberto fought valiantly, but Tarot seemed to have an endless army that kept pouring out of the woods to attack the mutants. Eventually, Sunspot was surrounded, and for every skeleton he defeated, another two took its place. He had been separated from Doug and Warlock, who were also still fighting the creatures, when Cannonball zoomed in from above. Grabbing two of the creatures, he continued his flight path, throwing the two against a tree where they shattered like the others.

"Sam, help!" Roberto shouted. Sam looked over and noticed his best friend being overrun by the skeletons. Soon, Sunspot was not even visible under a pile of bones.

"'Berto!" Sam shouted. Knowing his friend was beaten, Cannonball sighed and looked into the woods. 'That's two down,' he thought to himself. 'The odds are getting worse.'

Marie-Ange watched the action from behind a tree, her ever present deck of cards in her hand. The skeletons had overrun Sunspot, and would soon do the same to Warlock and Cypher. A smile graced the young French woman's face.

"You like the paranormal, huh, Tarot?" said a voice from behind. Marie-Ange turned quickly to see Magik staring at her, a grin on the blond girl's face. Tarot didn't answer, but her eyes grew wide.

"Why don't you let me show you some real demons," Magik smiled too sweetly. Before Marie-Ange could do anything, she disappeared in a flash of light, whisked away to Magik's interdimensional realm of Limbo. A split second later she reappeared bound in chains, and gagged, courtesy of Illyana's "pet" demons.

Magik smiled down at Tarot, admiring her handiwork. She never saw the purple furred feline figure that dropped down on her from the tree limb above. The weight of Catseye's body forced Illyana hard to the ground, knocking the wind out of the sorceress. "Sneaky magic girl no match for Catseye," she purred happily.

Jetstream soared through the air, and smiled slyly. There was Dani Moonstar, so involved with chasing down Roulette while avoiding the Hellions' energy discs, that she didn't notice Jetstream coming from behind. He would simply zoom in and pick her up, then take off. Once in the air, she would have to yield, and then the New Mutants would be without their field leader.

Suddenly, Jetstream was hit from the side. "You outta pay better attention, Haroun," Sam said as he changed direction, and headed right toward the large hill protruding from the Danger Room floor.

Jetstream tried to use his power to change their direction, but Cannonball had momentum on his side. Getting desperate, Haroun tried to wiggle out of Sam's grip, but Cannonball's long arms were wrapped tight around his torso. Jetstream looked at the mound of earth rapidly approaching. He knew Sam was invulnerable while he was flying, but Haroun was not. A collision would not hurt Cannonball, but it could injure or kill Jetstream. "Sam, please....I yield." he pleaded quietly, his eyes fixed to the hill.

The two hurtling bodies collided with a large cushion. Jetstream blinked. The hill was soft and fluffy. 'Of course,' he thought. 'Their Danger Room. It looks so real that I almost forgot it had safety features.' He looked up at Sam who was blasting his way back to the fight. "Damnit, Guthrie, You tricked me!" he screamed.

"Home field advantage," Sam smiled, and soared away.

Doug, still encased in his Warlock armor, watched Catseye disappear among the trees. He stopped and looked around, but there was no sign of the Hellion.

"'Lock, which way did she go? Can you tell?" he asked.

A small radar grew out of the right elbow of Cypher's suit, and began to rotate, scanning the area. Lock's small face extended out of the shoulder. "Entity designate Catseye has departed in a Northeasterly direction." Warlock smiled. The suit separated from Doug's body and the familiar figure of Warlock, tall, thin and completely techno-organic, stood next to Doug. "Self will lead self-soul-friend to her," he said as he pointed.

Suddenly, Doug caught a blur of purple from behind a nearby tree, and before he realized it, strong arms had wrapped around his neck from behind. He tried to pry them loose, but it was no use.

"Alarm! Alarm!" Warlock exclaimed in a flurry of whirs of gears. "Entity designate Thunderbird has apprehended self-soul-friend-Cypher-Doug!"

"Warlock, yield, or I'll kill him." Thunderbird threatened. "I'll break his neck."

Warlock's eyes grew huge, and he screamed. His form slunk down to the ground and began to discorporate.

"'Lock, pull yourself together!" Cypher yelled. "He's only blu....." Thunderbird wrapped a hand over Doug's mouth, keeping him silent.

"WarningDangerAlarmHazardPitfallJeopardyPeril," Warlock began to mumble his words. "Self must protect life of self-soul-friend. Self will yield."

James smiled and let Doug go. Cypher turned and shoved James, "You jerk!" he exclaimed. "He doesn't know you were bluffing! He thinks it's real!" Doug dropped to his knees to comfort Warlock.

"Exactly as I figured it, Cypher," James answered. "But you're both beaten, nonetheless." Thunderbird tuned his back on the duo and ran off to join the fight. Doug stared after him for a second, disgust on his face, then turned to help his friend.

Dani and Shan ran across the plain with Roulette just ahead of them. The two New Mutants had flushed the Hellion from her hiding place in the tall grass, and were closing in on her. Sensing her pursuers were getting close, Roulette formed a black energy disc in her hand and turned to toss it at her hunters. Before she could let it go, however, she was caught by Karma's power.

"I have her, Mirage," Shan said, a look of concentration on her face. The two girls came to a stop in front of Roulette. The blond Hellion, possessed entirely by Karma, walked up to Shan and bowed her head in defeat.

"Good work, Karma." Dani answered.

"Yes, good work indeed," said Empath, approaching the girls calmly from behind. "You think you caught Roulette, but instead you fell right into our trap. She led you directly to me. Now, let's see how you fare against a De la Rocha." Manuel's arrogant attitude was prevalent as usual, as he focused first on Shan.

"You love me, do you not, Karma?" he asked, eyes glowing with a faint pink light. Shan's face glazed over as Dani shouted at her, trying to break his spell. Roulette, freed from Karma' control, quietly tried to shake the spiderwebs from her head.

"I....I....do," Shan said, her attempts at resistance finally subsiding.

"Enough to do anything I ask?" Empath asked, smiling.

"Of course," Shan smiled under his trance.

"This contest means nothing to you, compared to my love. You will yield for me."

"Shan, No!" Dani tried to shake her friend.

"Of course, Manuel, Je t'aime. I yield happily. Just promise you will never leave me!" Shan begged.

Manuel let out an evil laugh, then turned to Dani, "And now, you, my pretty Brave..."

"No way, Empath!" Dani shouted in defiance, and reached out with her power just as she felt Empath's will begin to affect her. Entering Manuel's head, Dani pulled out an image of the Spaniard's greatest fear. Materializing for all to see in the room was a huge, though eerily lifelike, image of Emma Frost, The White Queen. Emma's face had an evil smile and her blue eyes seemed to look right into Empath's head.

Manuel's face turned white as a sheet as he stared up at the illusion "No...." he breathed, obviously terrified.

"That's enough, Mirage." Thunderbird said, walking over to the group. Catseye, in her completely feline form, curled around his leg, hissing at Danielle.

"No less'n he deserves, Jimmy." Cannonball answered, lowering himself to the ground, Magma in his arms. The five undefeated mutants stared at each other for a minute, sizing up the situation. Finally, it was Thunderbird who spoke.

"Maybe so, Cannonball, but like you New Mutants, we Hellions look after our...." James was interrupted by an incredible burst of pain in his head. He screamed as his whole body felt the agony. Looking around the room, he saw that everybody, both New Mutants and Hellions alike, had been affected in the same way.

"What in the world are you doing?" An angry female voice echoed through all their heads. Even the defeated members of both teams, gathered in separate corners of the room, heard the question and seemed to be in agony. Dani recognized the voice in an instant: The White Queen.

'This is no illusion,' Mirage thought, then sunk to a knee as another burst of pain exploded in her head.

"Did you Hellions and New Mutants not think I would find you?" she asked. Now, an astral projection of the Queen was floating above the Danger Room, speaking directly into the teams' minds.

"Headmistress...." James tried, then gripped his head in agony.

"How dare you leave this function and engage your powers?" Frost asked. "Do you realize the trouble you have caused?"

"Leave them alone, Frost!" Illyana screamed at the image of the White Queen. Illyana, unaffected by the White Queen's power, was attempting to stand up to her.

"Ah, Magik," Emma smiled arrogantly, "As always, so confident that you cannot be hurt by a telepath. Well, my dear, with Cyberiad enhancing my own formidable abilities, even your magically shielded mind is an open book to the White Queen."

Illyana looked scared. She knew that Cyberiad was the Hellfire Club's version of Cerebro, Professor Xavier's own device capable of enhancing his mental powers. She had seen what Professor X could do with the aid of Cerebro, perhaps it was possible for Emma to bypass her defenses with the aid of Cyberiad. Suddenly, Magik got her answer, as a burst of white hot pain shot through her head. Affecting Magik's warded mind was no small feat, however, and the strain was evident on the apparition of the White Queen.

'I won't stay here and let her play with my mind!' Illyana thought through the dizzying pain. 'If I can just concentrate enough to get us all out of here and to Limbo...'

Frost grunted under the strain, "I have you, Magik, I will not let you get away!"

Dani, now free of the White Queen's mental punishments, watched as Emma Frost used all her strength to try to keep Illyana from creating a stepping disc and escaping to Limbo. The struggle went on for a few long moments, as members of both teams attempted to recover from the painful mental attacks.

Suddenly, Magik let out a loud wail, and her signature stepping discs began to appear all around the room swallowing up both the New Mutants and Hellions.

Dani watched as the rival teams began to disappear and she noticed the disappointment on the face of Emma Frost. 'Serves you right, Witch!' she thought, right before she was swallowed up by the shimmering purple light.

To be continued...