Hello again, y'all. I'm baaaack. Hehe. Exam's nearly over (two more practicals to go!) and boy oh boy, it really feels good to get my fingers back on the keyboard. Even better, it feels great to get back to my writings. Well, anyway, here's the next part of Dreams of an Angel. Don't know if it's too short or too long, but it'll have to do for now. Any comments and suggestions, well, my email addy is below so you know where to drop the note... and you're welcome to do so! And oh! Some of you had tried to contact us instantly through out yahoo messenger. Well, you guys are welcome to do so if you wanna leave some instant messages. Our yahoo ID is goldenknightuk. If one of us is online, we'll reply to you straightaway. If we're not, we'll reply to you as soon as we are online. And... of yeah, thanks for all the positive feedback guys and gals. You're the best, and I'll try to keep the show as enjoyable as possible :)
Anyway, onwards to the boring part! Legal matters! Hehehe. You can press 'fast-forward' now.
Well, first of all, this story, as you will certainly find out soon, is TOTALLY fictional. So! If any of you truly believe in it... dude, I'm worried about you. Secondly! None of the guys in the Backstreet Boys are gay! (No matter how hard I wished it :P). But nobody say we couldn't dream it, heh heh. Thirdly, Warren Worthington is actually a character from Marvel Comics, X-men known as Angel or recently Archangel. Okay fine, I admit it. I'm bored and I am making a pathetic attempt to make life a lil' bit interesting. Its not like I'm gonna publish it or something. What else to talk about hmm? Oh, there may be some adult gay scenes in this story. Unlike my brother, I don't mind writing naughty stuff ;) so! If you're underage, naughty, naughty! I can only ask you to go away, but I cannot do anything else to stop you from reading on anyway. Hell! I've been sneaking into the internet to watch gay porns since I was 13! So, if your parents or whoever responsible for you catch you, don't say I didn't warned you. However, if you're homophobic... well maybe I can seduce you enough to turn you around heh heh. I do so love a challenge ;)
Anyway, enough talk. Any comments or boos or suggestion or whatever, just sent it to the same address as in NNTs, goldenknightuk@yahoo.co.uk . Yeah, we shared the same address. Don't ask. Long story.
Okay then! On to the show. Now, don't be shy now. If you got any comments or suggestions, just drop me a note. You do the request, and I'll do the show.
Andy
"Sir."
"Nick, you're here! Good! Do have a seat. I trust Bobby has taken you on an interesting tour around the facilities?"
"Yeah, I did. Do you need me here, sir or do you want me to leave?" said Bobby from the door.
"Maybe it's better if you talk to Warren and Nick alone, sir." Said Jean as she stood up. "The less people around, the better."
"Indeed it is Jean." The professor agreed. "I will see you all tomorrow at breakfast then."
"Good night, sir. You too, Nick." Jean smiled as she patted Nick on the shoulder reassuringly. "Come along, Bobby. Maybe you can explain to me why you're staring at my husband's ass as we walk."
"Wha... how did you know??" Nick smiled as he heard Bobby's sputtering voice outside as they left.
"I am a telepath, Bobby." Jean replied as they walked on.
"Am I in trouble?" Nick whispered to Warren as he sat beside him.
Warren simply smiled mischievously.
"Oooh yeah! Big time!" He whispered conspiringly, though Nick could detect the humor from his mind. "You broke my mind."
"No, Nick, you're not in trouble. Stop making him nervous, Warren." The professor's reassuring smile actually reminds Nick of his own grandfather. "Anyway, he already detected the lie empathically."
"I should have known it's useless to lie to an empath. They're almost as bad as a telepath." Warren grumbled as Nick smirked at him.
"Indeed. You seem to be managing you ability very well on your own so far, Nick. I'm very pleased to see that." Said the professor.
"Jean taught me a little before leaving LA," said Nick. "So far, I've been able to detect someone's else emotions and ignoring any alien emotions that slipped into my own mind."
"And you've also manage to experience and identify different types of emotions like fear, bitterness, joy and others." The professor explained patiently. "That is good because at least you can identify and separate your own emotions and that of an external one that somehow slips into your mind. The reason why your mind experienced an emotional overload was because you didn't ignore all these excess emotions and identified it all as your own. This then lead to a great deal of confusion as your mind tries to deal with all these emotions at the same time. Eventually, the whirling emotions turned into an emotional storm and that is the cause of all those headaches and nausea you had in the past. If it occurs long enough, your mind will eventually shut down and that's why you fainted. By ignoring these external emotions, you will always maintain a normal emotional balance within your mind at the level where your brain can cope efficiently."
"However, there are still much that you must learn about your ability." The professor continued. "Empathy is a strange psionic ability, to be honest. Unlike telepathy and telekinesis, no one knows exactly the full extent of how far an empath can stretch him or herself. Maybe its because empathy is such a rarity that not many studies can be done to determine its true potential. Some experts argued that empathy is only limited to emotional manipulation, but a majority suspected, myself included, that they can do much more than that. It is a field worth studying."
"Now, first of all, let me assure you Nick, that you will not be treated like some experimental lab rats," The professor smiled at Nick's nervous expression. "I admit that I have some experience in dealing with empaths in the past. The last one that I met was one of Emma Frost's students at the Massachusetts Academy, Senor Manuel Alfonso De La Rocha; a very troubling young man because he has a bad habit of using his empathic talent to influence other people for his own gain. I sure hope I can influence you to not pick up such habit."
Nick smiled at that but kept his silence.
"But eventhough Manuel is a true empath like you, Nick, his empathic potential pales compared to yours. Your empathic potential is most extraordinary and you must forgive me if I ask you to undergo some tests to determine the full extent of your potential and abilities. I understand if you refuse to go through it and I respect your decision. Whatever tests we perform on you, it will be with your full permission."
"Are these tests gonna involve... you know... nasty stuff...?" Nick asked nervously.
"Well, it really depends on how you define what these 'nasty stuff' are." The professor chuckled. "It wouldn't be invasive, I can assure you of that. Some would involve a telepathic scan and Hank has a number of scanning equipments in his lab to measure psionic activities."
"Well, I guess you're gonna have a fun time here after all." Warren laughed.
"Well, as long as you teach me how to control this empathy and as long as you don't dissect me, I'm all yours." Nick smiled.
"Good! I'm glad to hear that." Said the professor. "Now, Warren told me that you've actually used your empathy to calm his mind this morning. Care to explain how you did that?"
Nick simply shrugged his shoulder in bewilderment.
"I... well... honestly... I have no idea what I did." Nick blushed. Warren placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. Nick's spirit returned as he gazed at the encouraging look in Warren's eyes. "I... I just let my mind runs free and allow my subconscious to guide me. I tried to remember what I did, but I just couldn't."
"Interesting." The professor murmured thoughtfully as he leaned back against his chair and crossed his fingers before him. "You mean you used your empathic ability without thinking? There have been cases where a mutant subconsciously use his or her abilities without thinking, but such cases are rare and most ended up with destructive consequences. You definitely chanced a great risk, Nick."
"I'm... sorry. I just couldn't..." Nick stammered but Warren interrupted him gently.
"The main thing is that it all turned out for the best, Professor." Warren explained calmly. "Nick was only trying to help me. It is obvious that subconsciously, he has some degree of control over his abilities. Jean did mention that he subconsciously created his own mental barrier in the past. Perhaps, by telepathically exploring these subconscious thoughts, we could help bring out this awareness."
"I held no reservation on what Nick did to me, however great the risk he took to do it." Warren continued on hurriedly before the professor could speak. "Everyone needs to do his or her own self-exploration over their abilities from time to time. Even you gained your telepathic skills without anyone guiding or teaching you. The same applied in my own case when I learned how to fly for the first time using my wings and Bobby creating a wall of ice to protect his ex-girlfriend. In our line of work, nothing is done without its own risk, to ourselves or to others. The main thing we must do right now is to learn from the experience and add it to our store of knowledge so that we can use it again properly in the future, and improve it if we can."
"Indeed, Warren. I didn't say what you did is wrong, Nick, and I'm certainly not angry with you. In fact, I don't think I could explain it any better than what you've just said, Warren." The professor replied patiently. "However, I must caution you, Nick, to always be careful when letting your control over your abilities off like that. Unlike all others psionic abilities, empathy is still, by large, a mysterious field. There are still a great deal about that particular field still unknown to any psionists. With other mutant abilities, one can define most of the abilities that can be done and what cannot be done. But with empathy, there are still many abilities that we are still uncertain of or even unknown to us. Should you perform an ability that we are familiar with, we can help you deal with it should something goes wrong. But if you do something that we know nothing about... well, maybe after some studies and tests, we could deal with it, but there are always some chances that we couldn't."
Nick nodded in understanding.
"I understand, sir. I'll assure you, I'll be careful in the future." Said Nick. "About this morning... is there any way you can find out what I did?"
"Of course. As a matter of fact, that's why I called you here. I need to telepathically examine Warren's and your mind, that is, if you permit me to do so. It shall be the same as to what Jean did to you yesterday, except that the mental scan that I will perform will be much more deeper and detailed than Jean's."
Warren leaned back and looked at Nick enquiringly.
"I'll have no problem with it." He said softly. "What about you, Nick?"
His reassuring voice definitely calmed Nick down. Warren will not let anything bad happen to him. He realized then that he trusted Warren as fully as he trusts his own family, maybe even more...
"I don't mind." Nick looked from Warren to the professor. "At least I'll know what I did."
"Good." Said the professor as he closed his eyes and frowned in concentration. "Just relax now, and open your mind. It may take some time and it may be exhausting for all of us, because I have to go through layers of your memories, both conscious and subconscious, bit by bit and also because I'll be sorting through the subconscious part of your mind. If you need rest, just let me know and I'll withdraw myself from your thoughts."
Warren and Nick nodded and leaned back against their chair. Soon enough, Nick felt the eerie feeling of an alien presence in his mind and unconsciously, his hand trailed aside to grasp Warren's. His body relaxed as he felt Warren grasped back reassuringly. His angel will be there to protect him...
"How... interesting."
Nick and Warren looked up at about three quarter of an hour later as they felt the professor's presence vanished from their mind. Warren let out a weary sigh even as Nick slumped wearily against his chair.
"What's interesting?" Nick murmured tiredly, his eyes half-closed as he struggled to keep it open. "God, the last time I felt this tired was when Fatima forced us to dance for five hours straight as a punishment for replacing her contraceptive pills with tic-tacs."
Despite their weary state, Warren chuckled softly at that.
"Did you find out what Nick did this morning?" asked Warren.
"Yes, and I must say it's very remarkable you were able to do it without the proper guidance or training." Said the professor. "You created an empathic link connecting your mind to Warren's, Nick, which I must point out, is a very complex procedure to perform."
"Empathic link? Is it something like a telepathic link Jean formed with Scott?" said Warren.
"Yes, it is the empathic equivalent of a telepathic link, with the difference in the fact that unlike telepathic link, it only allow emotions to pass through it rather than thoughts."
"But I wasn't aware of any of Nick's emotions in my mind." Said Warren. "What about you, Nick?"
Nick only shrugged helplessly.
"I've been aware of everyone's emotions since I became aware of the fact that I'm an empath. Whether it comes through the link or not, it makes no difference to me."
"Try to concentrate on your own mind, Warren. Ignore your thoughts but focus on your emotions. Try identifying your own emotions and those that are not."
Nick could only stare at Warren in nervous silence as Warren frowned in concentration. Several minutes of silence passed by and still Warren didn't say anything. After about 10 minutes, Warren nodded slowly.
"Nick, you're... nervous?" he asked softly as he smiled.
"You weren't aware of Nick's emotions before because you ignored them, assuming it as your own. It is not surprising, actually. You are more used to detecting unwanted telepathic presence rather than empathic. Thoughts are relatively more well-defined and easily identifiable compared to emotions." Said the professor.
"So... how do we get rid of it?" asked Nick, nervously looking at Warren. He didn't mean to intrude Warren's mind like that. But Warren simply looked at him reassuringly.
Professor Xavier shifted slightly in his seat, and Nick looked up immediately as he became aware of the professor hesitancy to answer the question.
"Professor?" asked Nick again.
"Well..." the professor began slowly, "to be honest, like a telepathic link... empathic link cannot be broken. Any attempt to do so would result in a disastrous consequence for both persons involved. That is why a psionist must be absolutely sure the other person is willing to be the recipient before forming a link..."
"Scott took several days to think about it when Jean proposed it to him..." Warren murmured thoughtfully.
"You mean it's permanent?" Nick asked, horrified.
"The only means to break a link is through the death on one of the person involved..." said the professor at last.
Nick threw his hands up resignedly.
'That's it! This is the LAST time I'm giving out charity to ANYONE!!' he groaned in his thought.
At the corner of his eyes, he dimly saw Warren holding a hand before his mouth to hide his smile. But empathically, Nick could feel amusement rolling off from Warren's mind in waves. He is AMUSED???
"Looks like we're gonna be stuck together forever," Warren spoke softly as he grinned when he caught Nick's eyes. Inwardly, Nick groaned louder. He got a huge crush on Warren and now he is empathically linked to him forever?? God! What EXACTLY did he do in the past to warrant this???!!
Nick threw himself onto his bed and closed his eyes tiredly as he stretched himself blissfully, fully enjoying the warmth and comfort. His session with Professor Xavier drained him of all his strength. Who'd have thought that having someone poking around his mind could be so tiring?
"You okay, Nick?"
Warren has followed him to his room. Nick smiled tiredly as he pulled his face from the pillow and turned to look at the winged man lazily, propping a hand to rest his head as he did.
"I just learned that I am empath and I accidentally linked your mind to mine permanently. What do you think?"
Warren grinned and jumped into the bed to join him. He lay prone on the bed beside Nick, his wings casually hanging in the air behind him.
"Well, I think it'd be fun!" Warren chuckled. "I can nose around your mind whenever your back is turned."
"Don't you dare, bird boy," Nick laughed at last.
"Bird boy? Wow! This is your first night here and you've already created a nickname for me? Bobby sure worked fast in corrupting you." Said Warren.
"Naah. I'd created it anyway with or without him. Frick and Frack, Bone, D, and now you, Bird Boy." Nick replied. "Wonder what are the guys doing right now?"
"You can call them right now if you want."
"Maybe later. What time is it anyway?"
"It's just past midnight. You probably want to sleep. Want me to go?"
"No, stay for a while. I'm tired but not ready for bed just yet." Said Nick, though he is silently enjoying Warren's warm body beside him. "The others asleep now?"
"I have no idea. They're probably still in the Danger Room. You don't know Scott that well yet, so let me warn you now. He's a total 100% slave driver with a sore tooth."
"Sounds like a certain Kevin that I know." Nick smiled. "If I can survive him, I think I can survive Scott."
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you." Warren smirked.
"Well, as stiff he is, Bobby sure enjoyed the view of his ass."
Warren choked and coughed on his own spit at that before starting laughing uncontrollably. Nick silently relished at the view of Warren's smiling face. His initial thoughts of Warren's lips were right. Warren does look more beautiful when that lips are smiling or pouting.
"Wait till I tell Remy about that." Said Warren at last as he wiped the tears from his cheek as the result of his laughter. "He won't let Bobby hear the end of it."
The two lay silently on the bed for a while, both enjoying each other's comforting presence quietly.
"What's Scott's power anyway?" Nick asked suddenly as turned his body around to rests on his back and stares at the ceiling above.
"Hmm? Oh, optic blast." Warren answered drowsily as he hugged the pillow beneath him tighter and rests his head lazily on it. "That's why he has to wear that red glasses, you see. It absorbs the optic ray. Without it, the blast could destroy everything he sees. It happened once back then while he was in the orphanage when his mutation kicked in. He actually woke up one morning, opened his eyes and ka-boom! there goes the ceiling."
Nick whistled in awe upon hearing that.
"Wow. And I only have to deal with my empathy." Nick spoke softly. "He must have freaked out royally."
"Yeah. When the professor found him, he was hiding amongst the sewer with his eyes blindfolded. Don't ask me how he survived in that state for months though, 'cause I haven't a clue."
"Looks like you and Jubilee were not the only one with a hard past." Nick murmured softly.
Warren remained silent for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah. To be honest, Nick, almost everyone here in this mansion has had a hard life in the past. Scott, Jubilee... Jean got turned into the Dark Phoenix once and then died. But then the essence of the Phoenix within her resurrected her again and she returned back to us. Rogue... well... you saw her just now. Beautiful but isolated. She cannot touch anyone without killing them. She was kissing her boyfriend when her mutation kicked in and the poor guy ended up in a coma. And Remy... well he had his own dark past back when he was in the Thieves Guild in New Orleans. Then there's Bobby. Well, I supposed you could say we're all a bunch of damaged goods here."
Nick punched Warren at the shoulder playfully at that last remark and smiled as Warren turned to face him, his eyes twinkling and his lips curved in a beautiful smile.
"Don't say that." Nick chuckled lightly. "My mom used to say that everyone makes mistake once a while. Nobody's perfect."
"You know what, your family sounds like a cool, open minded family." Said Warren.
"Yeah, we are. We started from the bottom of the ladder you see, before I started my singing career. So we're pretty much aware of all those silly prejudices that are going on in the world - like the rich against the poor, the whites against the blacks, straights against gays and countless others. When we started moving up the world, mom and dad worked hard to made sure we didn't become part of it." Nick replied.
"You're lucky." Warren murmured before fixing a stare at Nick's eyes. Suddenly, Nick became aware of the sadness rolling off from Warren's mind.
"Hey, you okay?" asked Nick softly.
Warren smiled sadly but didn't break his stare.
"How is it like to have a family, Nick?" He asked softly. "To have a caring mom, and brothers and sisters?"
"Oh," said Nick, suddenly feeling awkward, finally remembering that Warren didn't have anyone in his life but his teammates. Deep in his heart, he felt sorry for him. Not quite knowing what to say, Nick began to lick his lips nervously.
"Please, Nick?" Warren asked softly again and suddenly Nick finds himself looking into the eyes of sad little boy and that nearly tear his heart into pieces. "Tell me?"
"Well..." Nick began uncertainly. Should he make something up... something that wouldn't hurt his feelings... or should he be honest? To Nick, his family is the best thing he ever had in his life. Making his decision, Nick opt for being honest, though he may have to adjust it so that it wouldn't hurt Warren's feeling.
"Well... it's... cool. I mean... well... I wouldn't say it makes life perfect, because there are times when they can make your life a misery." Nick halted and smiled a moment, as he remembered how his sister used to run to his mom every time he and Aaron tried to do something that is remotely fun. "But I wouldn't trade it for the world. They're my... anchor, you see? I mean, the Backstreet Boys is my job, but my family is my life. They keep me grounded no matter how high I soar in my career. And every time I need someone to talk to, some one to turn to, I know they are always there for me. I mean, don't get me wrong! Brian and the rest will also be there for me but there are times when only your family can offer you the comfort that no one else can."
Nick watched Warren carefully as he talked; praying that he doesn't hurt Warren's feeling too much. How does it feels like to grow up as rich as anyone could wished for... but alone? Deep inside, Nick shivered at the thought. How does it feels like to grow up rich, alone and being a mutant?
"Warren? You okay? I... I didn't mean to hurt your feeling." Said Nick as he gazed into those sad blue eyes.
Warren smiled sadly and reached out to grasped Nick's hand, fingers entwined with each other.
"Yeah." He whispered softly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I was just... curious."
Even without his empathy, Nick could detect the lie in Warren's word. Warren is definitely not okay. Forcing himself to be brave, he tentatively reaches out into Warren's mind though their shared empathic link. Thinking of his family has always filled his mind with warmth and love. Using the link, he concentrates to project those emotions into Warren's mind, using it to banish the emptiness and loneliness and making the other man aware that he is not alone.
Warren's eyes widened in wonderment as he felt Nick's presence in his mind. His feeling of loneliness fled, only to be replaced with warmth and contentment.
"Nick?" he asked in wonder, but Nick softly hushed him by putting a finger over his lips.
"The fact that I have a family to make me happy doesn't mean that I cannot share the feeling with someone else, especially to someone who needs it." Nick smiled gently. "Now you don't have to feel lonely anymore."
Warren was speechless. For years he had always wondered how it'd feel to have a family and now... Looking at Nick smiling face, Warren felt like he is going to burst into tears. Nick has absolutely no idea how precious a gift he has just given to Warren, that na^Ëve, na^Ëve young man!
"Thanks, Nick." He whispered softly. "You have no idea what this means to me."
Nick smiled wider as he felt waves upon waves of joy and gratitude flowing into his mind.
"Hey, I am an empath, you know. I think I have a pretty good idea what it means to you."
At that moment, Warren realized exactly how far he has fallen in love with Nick. It took a huge amount of restrained on his part not to lean over and kiss Nick at that very moment. In about two days, Nick has given him more than any of his previous girlfriends had in the past. He felt complete just by being there with him.
Afraid he would do something that he'd regret, Warren pushed himself up and sit on the bed.
"I think I just head off to my room now and let you get your sleep." Said Warren. "Thanks, Nick, for... everything."
"Don't go, Warren." Nick spoke suddenly. Warren turned, slightly surprise. "The bed's large enough and you need company. Stay here for the night. I don't mind."
A grin appears on his lips as he remembered how he woke up beside the very naked Warren that morning.
"It wouldn't be the first time we slept on the same bed anyway. You have to keep your pants on this time though." Nick continues.
Warren blushed slightly before joining Nick's grin.
"I'll keep my pants on, but I'll be damn if I sleep with my shirt on." He spoke challengingly.
"Deal."
In moments, Nick switched off the light and slipped under the cover. Warren is already lying prone and half-asleep on the bed. His wings carefully tucked behind him, making Nick realized how difficult it must be for Warren to move around in his sleep. It must have taken him months to get used to sleeping with it, poor thing.
In the dark, Nick didn't even realize as one of the wings unfurled itself, reached out and some of the feathers tickled his face, causing him to sputter in surprise.
"What the...hey! Stop that!" Nick sputtered as he heard Warren laughing softly beside him. Taking his pillow, he hits Warren with it on the face, and the laughter grew louder.
"One more of that and you'll sleep on the floor. Now go to sleep." Nick huffed before losing himself to laughter. "Stupid bird boy."