Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 11:50:51 -0400
From: Dash Jarrod <djminf@hotmail.com>
Subject: Force of One 13

Disclaimer: The characters of the X-men belong to Marvel comics.  I do not
know the sexual preferences of any of the characters herein except for those
I made up.  This story is complete fiction; any resemblance to real life is
sheer coincidence.  I do not know any celebrity that may be included in this
story may or may not be gay.  I also do not personally know any of the
celebrities.  If you are under 18, please don't read any further.

I thank my friends Dustin and Alex for allowing me to make them into
characters.  Also thanks to all of you who have written me about my story.
I have enjoyed writing it; I just hope that you have enjoyed reading it as
much.

I am sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out.  I had to wait for
inspiration to come to me.  I hope you enjoy it.


	One day, the professor called both teams down to his office.  He did this
by contacting both leaders and then having them get their teams together and
to his office by the designated time.  When everyone was there. He began to
explain that he had a mission for all of us.
	He said that there was this really powerful mutant holding out on an island
in the Pacific.  This specific mutants power is exactly like Storm's, except
that he is even more powerful than she is.  He is so powerful that he can
even change the direction of the waves around his island with a bit of
concentration.  His power makes this island the perfect hideout for him
because he can affect all of the water and weather around it.
	Because the guy is such a threat to the entire world, Professor X. wants us
to take the guy out.  Now by take him out, he means we should stop him and
capture him.  We are then supposed to transport him back to the mansion.
	At this point, I was a bit curious as to why my team was called down with
the other.  I grew to be so curious that I couldn't keep my mouth shut
anymore.  I had to ask, "Professor, why was my team called down as well
because it seems like the original team should be able to handle it."
	He answered, "This mission will probably require both teams to overcome
him.  Oh, and just so everyone knows, you will be picking up some people in
California to help out."
	"Oh, ok."
	Now he diagrammed what exactly we were going to do.  We are to fly out to
California and pick up our guests.  But when we do, there is going to be a
change in who pilots the jet.  The reason we are doing this is because one
of our guests is a teleporter.  He will be able to fly the plane back to the
mainland and then teleport out to help.  Once we switch pilots, we are to
fly out to within a mile of the island.  We were to do this so that we could
possibly sneak up on the island.  The original, more experienced group will
be dropped off at the front of the island while my team attacks from the
back.
	As soon as the plan was laid out for everyone, all but Scott and I were
excused.  When we were alone with Professor Xavier, he told us who the
guests were going to be.  They are going to be the celebrities who are also
mutants.  He went on to tell us that he thought the celebrities should join
my team for this mission because we have less people.
	This suited both of us just fine.  Scott didn't mind because that means he
didn't have to worry about more people.  I didn't mind because then I would
hang out with a few celebrities and see how well they control their
respective powers.  Not to mention the fact that I will learn what their
powers are.
	When we were dismissed this time, I stuck around so that I could talk with
the professor alone.  As soon as Scott left the room, I started talking with
Professor X. telepathically.
	I said, "This is probably just first mission nerves working here, but I am
worried about how my team will fare."
	"I am sure your team will fare just fine.  Your team is very talented, plus
the people joining you for the mission are also extremely talented."
	"Why won't you just tell me what their powers are?"
	"It's not for me to tell.  The only reason you know who they are is because
they said I could tell you."
	"I guess I should thank them when I finally meet them."
	"That would be very nice of you Matthew."
	After our conversation, I didn't feel nearly as worried about the mission.
I also now understood why he never told me what the power of each celebrity
is.  I respect him even more for being respectful of their privacy.  If I
were a celebrity, I would value my privacy very highly.
	Since we still had a couple of days before the mission was to take place,
life sort of returned to normal.  The next day I awoke early and left a note
for Bobby so that he knew where I was and wouldn't worry about me.  That
morning, I decided to work out with the power I would most likely be using
the most during the mission.  So, I went down to the danger room and had it
start one of the workout programs for telekinetics.  I, of course, had it
start out at a higher level because I needed the practice and the harder I
work out with it, the easier it will be for me to control my power to the
fullest.
	As the levels got progressively higher and higher, I was having more
trouble blocking, crushing, and deflecting the projectiles and lasers.  At
one point, I had to just put myself into a protective bubble of telekinetic
energy.
As I was floating in the middle of the room getting bombarded by everything
that was being fired at me, I got a telepathic message form Jean.  She asked
I wanted her to shut down the program.  Of course, I didn't want her to do
any such thing.  In fact, I asked her to stick around until I did something
about my situation.  Since I had been floating there getting hit by
everything, although my bubble was withstanding all of the shots, it started
to get old.  When this happened, I slowly started to expand my protective
shell.  I did this until it was right up to all of the guns.  Since the
projectiles and lasers had no place to go, the guns they were being fired
from exploded.
	As soon as all of the guns were taken out, I told the computer to quit the
program.  When I did this, Jean floated down from the control booth to talk
with me.  Since we both figured we should also work on our telepathy, we
spoke using it.
	"Matt, that was really impressive.  Not only how you handled the situation
you were in, but also the level you were at.  Good job."
	"Thanks.  I figured you would like how I handled that.  But, honestly, I
have no clue what level I was at.  All I know is that it was the furthest I
have ever gotten."
	"You were at level forty.  That is quite impressive because there are only
fifty levels.  That and how new you are to your power."
	"I had no clue about either of those facts.  I am quite proud of myself."
	"You should be.  Now it's my turn to run through some programs.  If you
want to run through some with me later, come back down here right after
lunch."
	"I would love that, so I will see you then.  Enjoy your workout."
	With that, I walked out of the danger room.  After a workout like that, the
only thing on my mind was a shower.  Because of the extent of my workout, I
decided to take my time walking back to my room to get ready for that
shower.
	When I got to the room, it was empty.  Bobby had already gotten up and left
for the morning.  It was then that I decided to quickly shower and then
contact Bobby telepathically.
	After my workout in the danger room, the hot water gently flowing over my
body felt really good.  Any idea I had for a quick shower left my head as
soon as the water hit me.  I just totally relaxed and let ever thought leave
my mind.
	As soon as I finally got out of the shower, I started searching for Bobby.
It took me only a couple of seconds till I located him.  When I located him,
I started searching for the other two members of my team.  And as I
suspected, they were the other two minds I sensed with Bobby.  Since I knew
where everyone of them was, I decided to contact all of them at once.  The
reason I did this was because I wanted to have a meeting to discuss what
everyone thought about the upcoming mission.
	They all quickly agreed that a meeting was a good idea considering this
will be our first real mission.  As soon as everyone agreed, we had to find
out when everyone wanted to meet.  The consensus was to just have it right
now since everyone was free anyway.  With that decided, I told them to give
me a few moments to get properly dressed.
	When the meeting got underway, everyone said how surprised they were to all
hear my voice inside their heads.  They know they all heard the exact same
thing at the same time because they discussed it on their way here.
Everyone, except Aaron, was surprised at how easily I was able to contact
all three of them at the same time.
	As soon as they finished expressing their awe, I asked, "What do you guys
think about our upcoming mission?"
	Jake answered, "I am a bit surprised that we were asked to help out on it.
I mean, I know that when the main team needs help that we will be there to
provide it, but I didn't think it was going to happen so soon."
	The other two nodded their heads in agreement with his statement.
	"I think the reason we are being involved so soon is because of how we
handled the sentinels the other day"
	Bobby then spoke up.  He said, "This might just be me, but I am sort of
scared to be going on such a major mission."
	To this I had to respond with, "I am pretty sure that all of us are scared
to be going on this mission.  The only thing I can say that might be of some
help for that, is that fear is a natural reaction to this sort of thing.
Also, that it will pass a little with each new mission we go on."
	My statements seemed to make everyone a little bit calmer.  Also, they each
thanked me for hat bit of insight.  With that over with, we spent the rest
of the morning just lounging about the room.
	Right before I headed to lunch, I changed into some sweatpants.  I did this
so that I would be ready to head right down to the danger room to run some
programs with Jean right after lunch is over.  That should prove to be
interesting.  I say this because the only other people I have run programs
with have been my teammates.
	During lunch, I explained what I did that morning and how I got out of the
situation I was in.  I also told them that I had asked Jean to stick around
to see how I handled my predicament.  I finally told them that she had asked
if I would want to run through some programs with her.
	That last statement brought a look of shock to their faces.  Although, the
shock didn't last very long.  The shock was replaced with understanding.
	Aaron then said, "I can understand why she asked you to join her for some
programs, what with how you handled your situation.  The only reason we were
all visibly shocked is because a teacher hardly ever asks a student to run
through some exercises with them unless it is to teach them something."
	"You never know, this could just be a learning experience for me.  But
there is also the possibility that we will be working as equals."
	With that, lunch was over and it was time for me to head down to the danger
room.  But, before I left, I had to give Bobby a good-bye kiss.  After that,
I was on my way.  While on the way down there, I was thinking of what
exactly she said about the programs.  By the time I had gotten down there, I
had decided that this wasn't going to be a learning session.
	When I got down to the danger room, I just went right in.  As it turned
out, Jean had gotten down there early and already had the program set up.
She set up the program I was running that morning, except that she had it
set for level thirty-five instead of where I started it.
	Once I got ready, and Jean was ready, she had the computer start the
program.  We started out away from each other, just each doing our own
thing.  Then I had a thought.
	"Jean, why don't we go back to back so that we both have less to worry
about."
	I had to say that telepathically because it was pretty loud in there.
	"That's a really good idea because then all we have to worry about is what
is in our field of vision."
	With that, we backed up until our backs were touching.  This proved to be
very effective.  But, eventually, we ended up lifting ourselves up into the
air for a better vantage point.  Actually only one of us lifted up both of
us.  And that person was I, no that it was a problem to do that.
	It took us maybe fifteen minutes to finish all of the levels that we had to
do for that program.  Jean had this all planned out because as soon as we
had beaten the top level, another program started.  This program I had never
seen before.  We were in this giant maze.  Of course, I couldn't see her but
I felt her.  It was at this point that she contacted me saying, "The purpose
of this exercise is to take the other person out before you are taken out."
	"Are there any restrictions for this one?"
	"Yes, I would like you to only use your telepathy.
	The reason for this is, so you can get used to using it in combat
situations."
	"Ok."
	As soon as we were dong talking, the computer told us to go.  I don't know
how well I will fare but I will give it my best shot.
	The first thing I did was to send out a very strong telepathic wave of
fear.  I should have made it strong enough to make it through her mental
barriers.  Her reaction to it should prove to be interesting.  As soon as I
released it, I felt for how close she was to me and then started off toward
her.  Considering the fact that we were in a maze, it took me a while to get
even remotely close to her.  By the time I was close to her, I could tell
that my first attack had worn off because she was up and moving toward me.
I didn't realize how close I actually was to her because when I turned the
next corner, she was there.  Now it was own to a battle of the minds.  She's
more experienced but I am more powerful.  She got the first attack in but my
barrier held fast.  Then it was my turn.  I put just enough power behind my
spike to make it through her barrier and it worked.  When I fired it, she
let out a little yelp of pain but was ootherwise ok.  And this ended that
exercise.
	When the room was back to normal, she said, "Great job.  That exercise is
usually only used for more experienced people, but after this mornings show
of power and control, I thought you were ready.  I am just wondering but
what was that thing you sent off at the beginning of the match?"
	"That was a strong telepathic wave of fear.  I am glad I am able to control
what direction I send that in because I don't think this room keeps
telepathy in."
	"You are right in thinking that this room doesn't keep in telepathy.  If
you couldn't have controlled the direction, it probably would have affected
anyone else on this floor."
	"The thing is that when you only want to affect one person, it isn't hard
to send it right to that person's mind.  But, if you are trying to affect
more than one person, you can't just send it in one direction unless they
are all in one spot.  Do you know what I mean?"
	"Yeah, I think I do know what you mean.  One question before we change the
subject, how did you do that?"
	"I thought of the scariest possible image I could and amplified it with my
telepathy.  I also coupled it with a subtle telepathic message saying hat
the person I was attacking was going to be scared."
	"Interesting.  Do you mind if I use that?"
	"I don't mind at all.  Although, I don't think I am the first telepath to
do something like that."
	"Actually, I think you are.  But I will check with the professor to double
check.  To change the subject, your mental barriers have gotten quite a bit
stronger since I stopped teaching you."
	"Yeah, they have.  Do you remember my one training session down here when I
was trying to figure out if I had control over all of my powers?"
	"Sure, what about it?"
	"Well, I asked the professor to block my telekinesis for that exercise, but
he couldn't get through my barriers.  Although, I suspect that if he could
have put sufficient power behind it, he could have gotten through."
	"That is surprising.  I would have to agree with you on the last thing.
Although, I think if he asked you to lower your barriers that the only way
to get in would have probably hurt you."
	"Well, then I am glad he asked me to lower them."
	The conversation continued along those lines until it was time for dinner.
Of course, at dinner everyone wanted to know what we did all afternoon.  I
felt obligated to tell them too.
	The next day, everyone who was to go on the mission was to rest up and
reserve all the energy they possibly can.  We were told to do this so then
everyone would be ready to leave bright and early the next morning for the
west coast.  I spent all day with Bobby soaking up the sunlight and heat.
	I noticed that the day before a mission, everyone is much more somber than
usual.  I think the reason for this is because everyone is preparing
themselves mentally for the battle.  I, of course, was doing the exact same
thing.
	I also noticed that all of the team members were extremely well fed the day
before as well.  This is to give everyone a lot of energy for the mission.
It's not that we aren't given proper food to eat everyday; it's just that we
got special food that day.
	That night, everyone I know that was going the next day went to bed early.
We all did this so that we wouldn't be tired and do something to jeopardize
everyone of our teammates.  After the good nights sleep I got, I was as
ready for the mission as I would get.
	We all met down in the hangar.  We took the only plane that fit all of us,
the Blackbird.  It is such a cool plane.
	Since the trip to California was a couple of hours long, I decided to do
some meditation.  It's weird when I do meditation now because of my powers.
When I sat down and got started, a stream of telepathic energy started
flowing in a triangle between my two hands and my forehead.  I also started
to float a couple of inches off the ground.  I didn't realize this until I
opened my eyes, but I had drawn a little crowd.  After I had opened my eyes,
I floated back down to the floor and then stood up and retook my seat.  The
rest of the trip to California was uneventful.
	Once we landed and our guests boarded the plan, my teammates and I got very
quiet.  None of us have met the celebrities who just boarded.  The original
team started talking with them as if they were old friends, which they
probably are.
	When we were in the air again, Scott came over and introduced the
celebrities one by one.  All of them were extremely nice and down to earth.
After a couple of minutes, we were also talking as if we were old friends.
	Of course, I couldn't go too long without saying, "Thanks for letting me
know who you guys were so early in my training at the school."
	They all said, "You are quite welcome for that."
	"Now, I have to ask, what are all of your powers?"
	Nick Carter said, "I am a shape shifter, which means I can make my
molecules form into anything I want."
	Avril Lavigne stated, "I am what is known as a siren.  I can emit a very
loud scream when I need to."
	Forbes March said, "I am able to turn myself intangible as well as being
able to put a very hard shell around my body for a short period of time."
	Hayden Christensen stated, "I have one of your powers.  I am a telekinetic.
  And as you can guess, Ryan Merriman, who is piloting at the moment, is the
teleporter you heard about the other day."
	We continued talking until it was time for us to get dropped off.  Ryan is
a very talented pilot, he got down to within ten feet of the water for us to
jump or do whatever we were going to do to get down.  Hayden and I lowered
everyone except Nick.
	Once we were down, the plane quickly disappeared.  Because of the range of
the communicators, I was bale to get everyone, including Ryan, to check in.
Now, all we had to do was wait for Ryan to get back.  When he did, we slowly
started to make our way towards the island.
	Since I was in contact with Jean, I know that the other team had started
advancing toward the island as soon as everyone was in the water.  At this
point, I was hoping that the guy we were after was busy with the other team.
But, unfortunately, I was wrong.
	As soon as we got within sight of the island, we were met with a gigantic
wave coming towards us.  When it got close to us, Hayden and I put up a huge
wall of telekinetic energy.  A couple of seconds later and the wave was
right on top of our protective wall.  With it there, I had to make a
decision.  I decided that Hayden and Ryan were to get everyone to the other
side of the wave.  As they did this, I expanded my portion of the wall to
cover Hayden's.
Unfortunately, as the last people got over the wave, it came crashing down
over the tope of my wall.  As it did this, I took the full weight of the
water on myself.  As I went unconscious, my wall disintegrated in front of
everyone's eyes.


Well, that is it for another chapter.  I would appreciate some feedback from
you this time, so please send me some emails.  The more emails I get, the
sooner the next chapter will be written and posted.  You can send criticism
or praise, either is acceptable to me.  My email address is
djminf@hotmail.com.  Also, my screen name for AIM is spdyeagl.  If you want
to give me feedback that way, I am all for that.  Thanks.