Legend: Thoughts = <>
Stray thoughts = ()
Ok, guys, All the disclaimers apply, that means all thanks goes to Marvel for the X-Men, I'm just making the story. And I do read all the other stories, and they're great, keep up the good work. They inspire me!
Chapter 23: It never happened
" Get up!" came a voice. I raised my head to see Scott's visor staring furiously at me.
" I can't..." Scott said, frustrated.
I rolled oved, " Leave me alone." I groaned.
" What the Fu...!" Scott said jumping backwards.
" You're not my father...You're..." I paused, I had gone through this already...hadn't I, " why am I in the Med lab?" I asked, noticing I wasn't in Peter Parker's house.
" Something has happened." Scott said impatiently.
I turned to him, " What's wrong?" I asked, getting up.
" Things are happening." Scott said.
I rubbed my eyes in shock, " Wait, this happened...or...Is it Professor?" I asked.
Scott looked at me sternly, " Yes." he said.
" What? He's gone, isn't he?" I asked.
Scott nodded.
" Shi'ar?" I asked.
" No." Scott said, " Me." he said, staring at me.
" Please tell me what that means." I asked, backing away.
" I told him to leave." Scott said.
" Leave?" I asked, " Why?"
" Before we were his team, he had another. that team died. He left them in exchage for us." Scott said slowly, " I know this is especially hard on you...."
" I don't understand. Why on me?" I asked, staring through him.
Scott sighed, " I was hopping you knew, or he had told you." he said sadly, " He's your grandfather."
I chuckled, " You're..." I paused, " Not kidding."
" No, We all told him that he should tell you." Scott confessed.
" YOu knew?" I asked, " YOU all knew?! Of course you did. The secret. What you didn't want to tell me, that's it, huh." I asked.
" He wiped things from our minds, things he didn't want us to know." Scott frowned, " He even put psychic barriers in some people's minds."
Until then, I was looking at the floor, but my eyes slowly came up to him, " Are some people me?" I asked.
Scott nodded, " That's not all. We stopped the other team, including my brother, Vulcan. He took off into outer space. Ororo left to Africa...the mansion is..." but he stopped.
" Hell." I said.
" Scarlett Witch, your Aunt, went insane and mutants lost their powers." Scott said.
" How long have I been..." I asked, but I looked at the calender and it wasn't 2006. I grabbed my head and spun around, " The voices." I said, hearing thoughts from upstairs, " Mutants lost their powers, right? Xavier lost his too?" I asked.
Scott nodded, " But that wouldn't affect the mental blocks." he said, confused.
" It would if he had a constant block." I said, " Oh, god. There's a bus. Kids. They're dead." I said.
" It happened already." he said, trying to calm me.
" Storm's getting married...Jean." I said, looking at Scott, " NO!" I screamed, falling to my knees, " What happened to me? Why'd I..."
" We don't know." Scott said, kneeling beside me, " We think that you were in some sort of psychic trance when your powers were tested by Scarlett Witch and..."
" Bobby? Piotr? Rogue? Kitty?" I asked, trying to reach through the mansion and finding their thoughts, " Emma.Frost." I said angrily.
" She's headmistress." Scott said.
I looked into his eyes. His real eyes, " Your eyes." I said.
" And I'm headmaster." Scott said.
" Emma did this." I said.
" We're together." he said.
I stopped and tried to process this info, " I don't care." I said simply, " The world is about to go to hell."
" Let's get you to a room upstairs." Scott said, helping me out of the med bay. As we passed the Danger Room, I stopped and watched a totally new set of kids training.
" Who are they?" I asked.
Scott told me that they were Josh Foley(Elixir), Noriko Ashida(Surge), Sooraya Qadir(Dust), Cessily Kincaid(Mercury), Santo Vaccaro(Rockslide), and many others, like Anole and the Stepford Cuckoos. I was shocked when I saw the leader of one of the teams.
" Julian Keller?" I asked, watching the fight go on. As I watched, the glass to the Danger Room began to crack, " Where's the other Jr.s?" I asked.
" They're either gone, on the X-Men, or...dead." Scott explained.
I nodded and we continued our trek to the upper level.
The trip upstairs was a bit much for me. I mulled over the thought of having my full powers blocked, but shook it out of my mind, then stopped at the thought of Scott and Emma. I was shocked when the door to see nothing but blue fur!
" ...Stars and Garters..." Beast said, looking me over.
I looked into his eyes and saw myself. I wasn't the same. I guess I was, I looked the same except that my hair was miles longer, which bunched up in an awkward afro and in his eyes, I saw mine. They were cold and lifeless.
" Beast!" I said, throwing my arms around him, " It's been forever."
Beast felt nervous and I could feel it and I broke the hug, " Yes, it has, friend. When did you awake?" he asked.
" I didn't look at the clock." I said, glaring back at Scott, " Why are you nervous?" I asked.
" I have to admit that this is quite a shock, your awakening has come at a curious time." Beast said uncertainly.
" And, why is that?" I asked.
Beast looked at Scott, " Magneto has been captured and the senate is pressing the issue of the Mutant Registration Act." he said with concern.
I smiled, " Where are my friends? Bobby, Jubilee, Amara, Ray...Jaime, even?" I asked.
" Bobby is on assignment at the moment, Jubilee is with another team, Amara is here, Ray is away, and Jaime is still here." Scott answered.
" Right." I said slowly, " I'm seventeen?"
Scott nodded.
" I..." I started, but I was interrupted by Hellion and his squad.
Julian and his squad hopped from the elevator and stood before me. Julian stared at me in awe and the others tried to figure out who I was, " Pane?" Julian said.
" Julian." I smiled, " No quip?" I asked, looking to his team. As I did, my eyes narrowed on a girl. She was a normal girl, but there was something about her...I sensed Logan in her. As I looked deeper, my mind wandered into hers and she began to pant and breath harder and I stopped, " I'm sorry, I..."
" It's okay, you just need rest." Scott said.
" Rest?" I asked, " Yeah, rest. It's just that...I don't feel right."
" I could heal you." a blonde guy said.
" Not hurt. Fragmented." I said, looking at their uniforms and giggling, " White with a yellow X?" I asked.
" Told you guys." a japanese girl said, wearing the uniform top and blue cargo pants with a belt with an X on it.
" I like yours." I said, " All we got was the black uniforms, which were...god, they fit just right." I said, starting to pant.
" Are you alright?" Julian asked.
I looked up at him and nodded, " I just need a minute." I smiled.
" You're the one..."
" With the Phoenix..."
" Aren't you?" three sisters asked.
I looked their way and saw it. A piece of something in the girls, sharing something. It felt like the Phoenix, but it was nowhere near as strong. I titled my head, " You're glowing." I said absentmindedly.
" I think we should get going." Scott said, grabbing me and pulling me away from the scene.
I sat in the shower, letting the hot water rain down on me. I didn't care, it felt nice. The only way I knew that the water was completely hot was that I had turned the hot water all the way up and it still didn't seem hot enough. This world was hell. Maybe this really was hell. Maybe I had died, maybe I died in my sleep and this was hell. I felt the energy around me and felt the and I stopped feeling the water. I looked up and the water stopped before it got to me and flowed around me, then stopped all together and turned to steam.
" You're there." I said.
the phoenix said.
<I was wondering when you'd show your...voice.>
<You really believe that you are in hell?>
<What would you call this?>
<What would you know about human life?>
<I know that the only reason you feel like this is because they've moved on. There is no place for you.>
< You're wrong.>
<Not here, not anymore.>
I looked down and noticed my hands become outlined with flames.
< If you want to know, follow your destiny. To find your place, you must...>
" Embrace myself." I said, raising to my feet. As I did, I felt the room shake and tumbled out of the shower! I got up and ran to the door, about to re-enter my room and I opened the door to see a familiar face!
" Come on, kid, One eye says I need to get you somewhere safe." Logan smiled.
I looked down and passed, looking out the window, " What's going on?" I asked.
" Dunno." Logan said, trying to pull me away from the window, " Some soldier guys. Come on, small fry."
I smirked, " Someone knows I'm awake." I said, feeling flames take over my whole body and suddenly I was dressed in a tight red leather X-Men uniform with a black belt, that had a red x on it. Around my upper body was a black jacket that cut off right at the center of my chest, " We should greet our visitors."
" Look, they say your weak..." Logan started.
" Do I look weak?" I asked.
" Nope, but it's not the first time you'd look different than you were and I'm not taking that chance." he frowned.
I moved closer and I felt something shift. I put my flamed hand to his face and it extinguished.
I said < is right in front of me.>
<Yes.> Phoenix said.
I leaned in and kissed Logan passionately, my tongued meeting his and he grabbed at my waist. I pushed him back against the wall and he groaned as he hit the wall, causing me to kiss him once again. As our lips locked passionately, I felt something take over me and I stopped it right away.
" What're ya doin?" Logan smiled.
I raised my hand and sent him through the wall, then moved the pieces back, " Saving the Mansion, again." I said, turning to the window. I cracked my neck and stared at the wall intensely, blowing the wall out and walking to the opening. I looked out onto the yard. There were so many people, all fighting and their thoughts echoed off my brain! Then there was the helicopters and...and jets. I floated down below and moved through the fighting.
" You should be..." Julian started, then he fought off an attacker and shielded us, " Out here, it's dangerous!"
I smiled, not looking at him, " You have no idea." I said, raising my hands and two of five helicopters blew up and crashed to the ground. I looked back at Julian, who just stared, " It's all the same, X-Men. We go and we fight and most of us die. God, we really need a new plan." I said, raising my hands and mashing them together, causing them to violently slam into each other!
" I need to get you out of here!" Julian said.
" Why?" I asked.
" What?" Julian asked.
" WHy do you care?"I asked.
" Because, now get your ass out of here!" Julian said, reaching for me.
As he reached for me, he flew backwards, landing on his back, " Me and you weren't close. You tried to kill me in the Danger Room!" I said.
" Doesn't mean I hate you. Maybe I like you." Julian said, getting to his feet.
I walked on, then I levitated into the air, <You want me, here I am. Whoever wants me, come and get me!> I said in everyone's mind. Everyone, mutant or not, stopped and looked up at me, <It ends!> I said, raising my hand and it was as if an invisible force came through and knocked every soldier down! I knocked them down. I controlled my powers to knock out all soldiers and no one else and it felt fan-freakin-tastic! I felt my powers shift and clouds swirled over my head.
" Stop!" a lone voice shouted. I looked down to see a guy with an eyepatch. I knew him to be Nick Fury, " Under federal law, we have to take you in!"
" You can try." I said, landing in front of him, " If you can do it alone."
" We came to stop you." Fury said.
" And how would you know I was awake?" I asked.
(Xavier) Fury thought.
" ReallY?" I asked.
" You should read other's thoughts." Fury said, " I know you're better than this."
I smiled, " What can I say, the heart wants what it wants." I frowned, " You attacked me. You should leave and not come here again."
Fury chuckled nervously, " Or you'll kill me?" he smiled.
I looked down, then up at him, fire sparkling in my eyes, " Or, I'll torture you." I said, raising my hand and causing him to levitate, " YOu should be gone." I said, levitating opposite him.
I stood at the mirror once again, this time seeing only me. I smiled to myself and turned to my bags. Luckily most of my clothes fit. I honestly tried to think of a reason I should stay and all I kept coming up with was that I should go. I'm not dumb, I know it's the Phoenix with her shitty subliminal messages, but there was truth to what she said. I didn't have a place here anymore. It was home. Was. Now it was the Institute and I was done learning. I had already gotten enough credits to graduate early, so my senior year was basically an autopilot and of course, Scott would handle that. He protested, of course, but there was what I wanted. I felt like this was crazy. My 'dream' was the opposite of this, he was leaving and Jean was alive and Ororo was here and Bobby was here and I was relevant...
" Where you goin?" Scott asked from the door.
I smiled up at him, " To find my place." I said.
" How do you know here's not your place?" Scott asked.
" It might be, but I need to know." I said, " I have questions that you and Emma and everyone can't answer."
" So, this is about Emma and I?" Scott asked.
" No!" I said loudly, " This is about me."
" I still have..." Scott began.
" Don't. All I ask is that you don't have a baby with the sk...lady." I said through gritted teeth.
" Any E.T.A. on when you'll return?" he asked.
" No." I said, " Seen Logan? I kinda..."
" Licked his face?" Scott frowned.
" Threw him through a wall." I said, " And anything you say about the situation will so end with you and Emma."
" He's leaving when you do, going to see Ororo and her husband." Scott explained.
" I'm leaving stuff." I said, " So, when I come back, it'll always seem like home."
" It'll always be your home." Scott smiled.
I hugged him, " Don't tell my mother, but I'm going to see someone." I said, walking to the door.
" You're gonna walk around like that?" Scott asked, looking at my red leather suit.
" I'm not walking anywhere." I smirked, " Relax. With me gone, S.H.I.E.L.D. will have other things to worry about, namely me."
" What does that mean?" Scott asked.
" Just know that the X-Men's Legacy continues with me." I smiled and my eyes lit up with fire and I walked out of the door and straight into Bobby.
" Pane." Bobby said, throwing his arms around me.
" Oh, my goodess." I said, " Bobby."
" Erik, I was beginning to think you wouldn't show." Charles Xavier said in a calm voice. He smiled at Erik as he entered the clean pub. It was a meeting place that they had agreed to years ago and now was the time that they should meet with everything going on.
Magneto smiled, " I was held up by S.H.I.E.L.D, you remember them, don't you Charles." he said.
Charles chuckled, " I'd heard. I also heard about the X-Men. Ororo's wedding and a host of other situations, including the Mutant Registration Act." he said, suddenly frowning.
" And you had faith that they wouldn't, naive naive." Erik smiled.
Thunder crackled outside and both men turned to look back. Charles' eyebrow raised, " Sudden storm?" he asked.
Erik laughed, " Now, Charles, you know we would not get that lucky." he said, " Shall we step outside?"
Charles nodded and as they stood on the terrace of the pub, they looked out into the dark, turbulent sky and Erik chuckled, " You know, Charles, I couldn't have got out of that hellish place alone. I had some help." he smiled.
" Help?" Charles asked.
" From me." I said, descending onto the terrace, bathed in lightning, wind, and fire and still wearing my red leather catsuit.
This is the turning point in the story, this chapter will make this story different in the aspect that the setting will no longer be in one specific place. I will eventually take him back there, but for now, there are issues to deal with. If you like my story, please email me and tell me at Femtoka2@yahoo.com.
Thanks for reading.