Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 07:49:28 GMT
From: Blake Alexander <writemeastory@juno.com>
Subject: Tales of the New Phoenix: Story Of The Birds Of Prey chapter 2

Enter the infamous legal disclaimer NOW:

I do not own any of the following. I wish I did. OH how I wish I did. Do
you know how much money some of these bring in? But alas, I am but a meager
college student working towards a teaching degree. That's right; I am in
college, and going to be a teacher. Going from no money at all (college
student) to no money at all (teacher). Please don't sue. You'll get a
crappy pen set that I got from my brother many moons ago. Now, onto
everything I do not own. Repeat. Don't own. I don't know sexual
orientations or personalities either. DON'T OWN, DON'T KNOW!

Nsync, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Pink, Christina Aguilera, The
Wallflowers, and any other celebrities. I also know nothing of their sexual
orientations.

Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and all related characters.

The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book series by Laurell K. Hamilton.

The Vampire Chronicles, Tales Of The New Vampires, The Mayfair Witches, all
series and characters written by Anne Rice.

Buffy & Angel television series.

Birds Of Prey television series.

Star Wars

Star Trek, Star Trek TNG, Star Trek DS9, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek The
New Frontier, Enterprise television series, movies, and novels.

Ok, now that that is taken care of, a little publicity for my co-authors.
Go read these four stories in the Boy Bands, and Celebrity sections:

Tales Of A Real Dark Night (The series that started it all.)
celebrity/boy-bands/tales-of-a-real-dark-knight/

Marvel Knights
celebrity/marvel-knights/

Tales Of A Super Hero Band
celebrity/boy-bands/tales-of-a-superhero-band/

Tales Of A Young Mutant
celebrity/tales-of-a-young-mutant/

There may also be a new writer up and coming. Good luck! I love the
storyline I've seen so far dude! Keep writing!

I am sorry it took me so long to get this up and posted, I have been very
busy. With what you may ask? I am president of my schools GLSBT Alliance,
am a member of the Student Teachers Association, and a Senator of my
schools ASB. Throw into that that I'm taking 14.5 units and getting ready
for a trip to Washington DC, I'm overwhelmed. So, I shall post once every
two weeks from now on. I will try and get the next chapter out sooner,
but... sorry. I'm busy busy little bee.

Finally, this is it I promise, we are entering into a section of the story
where 4 stories converge. I am hoping that this is not confusing, but
exciting for you all. So, enjoy!


The Story of the Birds Of Prey
Chapter 2: Out of the shadows and into the night

	I just laid there in my bead staring at the ceiling all night. I
thought about nothing and everything. It got to the point that my thoughts
would blend from one to another and I couldn't keep the least bit track of
them. Time seeped away in my state and before I knew it there was a knock
at my door. I stood, wearing nothing but my boxer briefs, and
answered. Jean stood there wearing a black leather one piece.
	"We have breakfast set up downstairs for those who want to go give
a hand at the site." She eyed me a bid, and smiled. "You may want to get
dressed before coming down. The girls, and some of the guys, might get
distracted and forget to eat." She turned and started down the hall.
	I went back in my room, grinning to myself from the compliment, and
grabbed my bag. I was about to unzip it when I stopped myself. I set it
down and went to stand in front of the mirror. I thought about the landing
at Lance and Eric's house, and simply making an outfit. I used my powers
and started fabricating clothes. I started by creating a pair of black
jeans, then created a blacks long sleeve that formed to my body. I floated
a few inches above the ground and made some basic black tennis shoes, and
finished off with a leather jacket.
	I stood before the mirror a bit amazed. I rubbed my hands along the
jacket and it felt real. The shirt felt like cotton, and the jeans felt
like denim. I smiled to myself, ruffled my hair with my fingers to make it
look messy, bed head always worked on me, and headed for the dining hall.

	After blindly wandering for a little bit I finally found the dining
hall. I walked in and looked around, realizing how alone I was on the East
Coast and was about to leave without eating before I noticed Eric and
Lance. Eric motioned for me to go and sit with them, so I went and grabbed
some food then joined them.
	I noticed a group of people near by that Lance seemed interested
in. I had to do a double take at them before I accepted what I say. I had
never seen auras like some of them were sporting. Three had auras like I
had seen the night before on the person called cloak. Two had orange and
green auras. And one was just green. I was looking, while avoiding looking
like I was looking, trying to figure it out.  "How did you sleep last
night?" Eric asked.
	I considered telling them the truth, but decided to avoid worrying
them. They were fast becoming friends. "Well. I miss Josh. And with all
that's happening... I want nothing more than to protect and hold
him. Also... my powers are acting weird. When I'm in Phoenix Form, I can
always see an aura around people, even Vampires. I'm seeing it with my
normal eyes as well. Mutants, Humans, Vampires, they all have a different
color." I leaned in to whisper to Eric. "And those people over there." I
motioned to the people at the other table. "They have a different color
than all the others. But I don't sense anything off about them. How did you
guy's sleep?"
	"I didn't sleep well," Eric said.  "Too many thoughts running
through my head.  I can't believe what happened.  I was on campus when the
first plane hit.  After I got home, Lance and I saw the towers fall.  Where
were you when the World Trade Center attacks happened?"
	"In bed. The east coast is three hours ahead of us. Andrea's mom,
my sorta surrogate, called me and Josh. We all got together... and when the
towers fell..." Thinking about it I started to hear them again. I couldn't
help wondering if it was the same for the psychics in the school. "I heard
their deaths." My end of the conversation dropped after that, and I just
ate.

	We all changed into our costumes and then headed out to the site
via van. Getting to the actual disaster area was hard since the entire area
was closed off. With some... encouragement... from the psychics we were
able to get to what had been dubbed Ground Zero. None of us were prepared
for what we saw. The area was still smoldering in parts, fire fighters
attempting to put out the flames, and there were so many dead.  Jean and I,
having psychic powers, started by scanning the rubble for
survivors. Everyone was holding on to hopes while watching us search with
our minds. When we finished we broke the news that there were no
survivors. Ororo then split us into teams to go to work. Scott, Jean, Cloak
who I had learned is named Ty, and I were sent to start clearing away
debris.
		"Phoenix. You control your powers very well. Doesn't the
personality overwhelm you?" Jean was using her powers to move the debris
aside.
	"From what the Mother Phoenix told me, my Phoenix has no actual
mind. The minds of the Phoenix are collective personalities and memories of
all the people they inhabit throughout the ages. I am basically going to
always exist as long as this Phoenix is alive." I lifted a large steel
pylon rose into the air. Cyclops was cutting them in the air and then I
would send them into the backs of waiting trucks.
	"Tell me more about the Phoenix. I know all about the mythical
creature, but what of the entity?" Cloak was creating black portals bellow
large chunks of debris that sent them into the trucks.
	"The Phoenix is an ageless entity. It was guardian of the Emcron
Crystal, an object of power coveted by the Shiar Empire. A mad dictator
that ruled the Empire sought to destroy all of existence by breaching the
crystal." Jean moved kept directing debris aside while telling the
story. "The Phoenix came to Earth along with Lilandra, the rightful heir to
the Empire, seeking aid in the battle to save all. The X-Men, including me,
were attempting to rescue people aboard a space station above the Earth at
the time. Phoenix was drawn to my psychic powers, and we became one. After
a lengthy battle we defeated the tyrant, and I took the crystal into the
heart of the sun."
	"We thought she was dead." Cyclops went to the next large chunk of
debris I was raising. I froze when a small form fell from the debris I had
lifted. I lowered it off to the side and walked towards the child.
	"Oh, God." I kept repeating it, praying that I was mistaken. When I
got to the child, a little girl that looked no more than 5, I fell to my
knees. One of her arms was missing, and the side of her face was
mangled. She was covered in blood. I started to weep. Her good eye was
still open, looking into the sky vacantly. I closed here eyes and lost
it. The Phoenix erupted out of me, screeching into the dust filled sky. I
regained my composure and pulled in the powers. I then rose and took the
child to the area that the Red Cross was keeping the dead. I used my powers
to dissipate the blood on my suit and went back to work. No one in our
group spoke much after that.

	When we got back to the institute I decided to go for a walk. I
ended up out on the basketball court. I looked around. So peaceful, so
quiet. I looked up at the stars, found the big dipper, followed the pointer
stars, and finally found the northern star.

	"Blake sweetie, if you're scared while at camp this summer, look up
at the sky. You see that?"
	"Yes mommy."
	"That's the North Star. It's always in the same place. You find it
by finding the Big Dipper. You follow the two stars in the front and they
point you right to it. Just look at the sky, look at that star, and I'll
look at it too. And we'll both be looking at the same star and we'll be
together."
	"I love you Mama."
	"I love you too Monkey. I love you always."

	I hadn't thought about that night with my mother in years. I looked
at the star and wondered if somewhere, somehow, she was looking too.
	"Say, I'm looking for a giant flaming canary. He's a wimp, and has
a sucky ass club, you seen him?" I turned and smiled seeing Jessica walking
towards me.
	"Hey. What are you doing here?" I pulled her into a hug.
	"Garret, my Watcher, found some information that the X-Men will
need. I brought it." The pleasure of seeing Jessica soon faded, thinking
over what brought me here, and back to the tattered form of that girl. She
must have seen the look cross my face because she frowned. "What's wrong?
What happened?"
	"Today... we went to help at Ground Zero. My team was helping move
debris. I had lifted a large steel column into the air to be cut when a
small girl's torn body fell from the debris. I lost it, and haven't really
found it yet." I looked back to the stars.
	"I'm so sorry Blake. That's horrible." I turned to her, trying to
get over the pain and fear.
	"I want him with me so badly. I want him, and I want my sister."
She looked at me and smiled.
	"So, why not bring them to you? She has the Green Lantern powers
from what I've heard. Your Watcher will have nothing against you her coming
to help. Devin is a powerful wizard and can take over patrol for a while."
She smiled.
	"Thank you Jessica." She turned and headed back for the Mansion. I
lifted my arm up and pressed the display of the watch. "Contact Owl." The
watch beeped and I waited for a response.
	"This is Owl, go ahead Phoenix."
	"Owl, the situation here is getting pretty big. How is there?" I
walked towards a bench to the side of the court.
	"Situation is pretty quiet Phoenix. I think all the Vampires are
awaiting some sort of word." He sighed on his end.
	"Owl, would you be able to hold down San Fran? Green Falcon would
be a great asset for us out here." I awaited his response.
	"I should be able to. I've had a lot of training in defense against
the dark arts, and should be able to hold down patrol. I'll contact her and
let her know." I smiled at his answer. They would be coming.
	"Thank you Owl." We signed off and I pulled my cell phone out of my
pocket. I dialed home and waited for Josh to answer.
	"Hello?"
	"Josh, this is Blake. I was wondering if you would come out here. I
don't know if I can do this without you." Josh sighed on the other end.
	"You don't know how badly I wanted to call and have you come get
me. I want to be there with you so bad. To make sure you're ok." I smiled,
he sounded so relieved.
	"Ok, pack up a bag, I'll call Andy and ask her to fly you. She's
coming out to lend a hand." I smiled, so relieved.
	"Ok. I love you Blake."
	"I love you too Josh. See you soon." We hung up and I dialed
Andrea. After a few minutes she answered. "Andy, can you pick up Josh on
the way? He and I both want him out here."
	"Sure. I wanted to try this thing out with the ring. I wanna see if
I can create jets and cars and stuff. I don't see a limit to this things
power. Well, I really need to go. Devin just told me to hurry up and get
out there. Can you call Serenity and tell them something? The club should
be able to run without us. Hiring another manager was a great idea." We
both laughed.
	"Ok, see you soon. Hurry." I hung up and dialed Serenity. After
tell the manager that Andrea and I would both be out of town on a family
emergency for a unknown amount of time, and to keep the club closed to the
public for another 3 days and then reopen, I started back in.

	It took me 15 minutes of searching, but I finally found Jean and
Scott in the dining hall sharing a meal.
	"Jean, Scott. I hope you don't mind but I have two people coming
it. Green Falcon, my partner in Frisco, and my fiancé. I know space is
limited so they can stay in my room."
	"It's no problem Blake." Jean smiled.
	"Yeah, we can use all the help we can get." Scott said.
	I thanked them and started back for my room when I heard an alarm
going off. I turned and saw Jean and Scott start running for the hall. I
ran after them. "What's going on?"
	"We have an injury coming in." I followed them into the lower
levels where they entered a silver control room.
	"Status?" Scott said looking to Ororo and a man covered in blue
hair. I think his name was Hank.
	"Professor Xavier is injured, Eric is bringing him in now. Magneto
attacked him with a Sentinel under his control." Hank said.
	Everyone was checking monitors, Scott looked at Ororo. "Storm, get
in the air and make sure that nothing comes near the school." She started
for the door.
	"I'll help Storm. Two eyes are better then one." Scott looked at
me. "Oh god, no insult intended I just... I'll go and help Storm watch for
Sentinels." I turned, blushing. And Saw Jean giving me a weak smile. Storm
and I ran through the corridors for the surface. When we got their I saw
her lift into the air in a gust of wind. "You take the south, I'll take the
north." She called down to me. I shifted into my Phoenix costume. I had
realized that when I did this, the Phoenix managed to somehow remember how
to reform things such as my cell phone, wallet, and keys when I changed
back to street clothes.
	I lifted into the air and flew a few hundred feet above the north
side of the campus. With my enhanced vision I could see the clear sky's
with perfect clarity. After a half hour Ororo flew up next to me, just
clear of the wings blossoming from The Phoenix. "Scott just radioed me, the
Professor wants to meet with us all."
	"So he's ok?" I asked.
	"That's hard to say. The Professor tends to ignore injuries and
fight on. We should head back. If anyone was going to attack, they would
have done so by now." I nodded and we headed back to the grounds.