Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 01:04:46 -0400
From: Dash Jarrod <djminf@hotmail.com>
Subject: Force Of One 15

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.



	One night, I was having a really weird dream.  The dream entailed me flying
through the air completely covered in flames.  Nothing could even get close
to me because as soon as I sensed something within a couple of feet of me, I
pushed it away telekinetically.

	When I finally woke upp, I found Bobby on the other side of the room
fighting against an invisible barrier.  It was obvious that he tried to get
through it using his power, but all it did was hit the barrier and then
slide down to the floor.

	As I came to be fully awake, I noticed that I wasn't quite lying in bed
anymore.  I was, in fact, floating about an inch or two above it.  It was at
this point that I also realized that my body was completely covered in small
flames, just like in my dream.  Once this realization came to me, I let down
my telekinetic barrier.  When it was down, Bobby visibly relaxed and I flew
out of the room.  I just couldn't be in the room with Bobby after what I had
done.

	With the flames still covering my body, I blazed out of the residential
wing and right out the front door.  I didn't even have to touch the door
handle because it opened with just a single thought.  Once outside, I went
to the roof and sat down.  While I was sitting down, I concentrated on the
flames and made them disappear.  I definitely didn't like how my powers
activated without my knowing it.  Although, I did have that dream.

	Now that I was calmed down and had all of my powers under my control again,
I decided to contact Professor Xavier.  I, of course, did this using my
mind.  I am very curious to see what he has to say about what happened.

	As it turned out, Professor X. already knew about what happened.  And, he
was very anxious to talk to me about it.  We agreed to meet in his office in
five minutes.  We agreed on the timing because I had to get down from the
roof and then inside the building and to his office.

	For some reason, ever since my coma, my mind has been using my telekinesis
to do everything for me, like opening doors and floating instead of walking.
  Now, I haven't been floating very far off of the ground, just far enough
that I don't actually have to take any steps.  And, on the way to his
office, my mind opened both doors for me again.

	Once I was in the professor's office and seated, he told me how he already
knew about what happened.  It turns out that as soon as I blazed out of the
room, Bobby rushed down to talk to him.  I was not surprised to hear this
because I know how much he loves me.  I am truly lucky to have him as my
fiancé.

	The first thing the professor asked was, "Have your powers ever done
something like this before?"

	"No, this is the first time this has ever happened."

	"Ok, tell me exactly what happened."

	"Well, I was having a dream and in this dream, I was flying through the air
with my body completely covered in flames.  Not only that, but whenever I
felt something come within a certain distance of myself, I would push them
away telekinetically.  I wasn't doing anything but those two things and then
I started to wake up.  When I was slightly awake, I noticed that Bobby was
on the other side of the room from me and that he seemed to be stuck there
by some invisible barrier.  Even in this slightly awake state, I noticed
that he had tried to get through the barrier using his power but it didn't
work.  When I was fully awake, I realized that I wasn't really lying in bed
but floating a few inches above it and I was completely covered in small
flames.  As realization struck me about the dream and reality, I lowered my
telekinetic barrier.  When it was down, Bobby relaxed and I flew out of the
room."

	"When you flew out of the room, were you still covered in the flames?"

	"Yes, I was.  They didn't go away until I made them.  I concentrated on the
flames disappearing right before I sat down on the roof."

	"There are two possible explanations for what happened, but I would like to
have Hank run some tests on you. Do you mind?"

	"No, I don't mind at all.  I am very eager to get to the bottom of this."

	With that over with, we discussed how I have been feeling lately.  Each
day, I grow less and less tired.  This is especially good because then I
will be able to use all of my powers fully without mentally taxing myself.
It was also at this point that I told Professor Xavier about how my mind was
using my telekinesis a lot.

	He then asked, "What exactly do you mean by a lot?"

	"I mean that I haven't really been walking anywhere anymore.  I have, in
fact, been floating about two inches above the ground and moving that way.
I also haven't had to touch a single doorknob.  Whenever I come upon a door,
all it takes to open it is a single thought.  Does this mean anything?"

	"Well, it could mean that your power has gotten stronger.  It could also
mean that since you were comatose, your mind has put your telekinesis in the
forefront.  You will probably have to concentrate on doing those tasks
physically instead of mentally for a while until your body gets used to it
again.  Although, you don't really have to worry about it until you have to
leave school property."

	"Well, thank you for your advice and your time.  You will have to let me
know I am schedule for my tests.  But, right now, I am going to go do some
training."

	With that, I got up and actually walked out of his office.  Once outside, I
made my way down to the danger room.  Of course, I didn't use my powers
again until I got into the room.

	Once, I got into the room, I had the computer run through some of my
favorite programs.  I really needed this workout to get totally back on my
feet. Before I finished in the danger room, I sent out a question to Jean.

	I asked, "Would you like to join me for a run at the maze program?"

	She replied with, "I would love to, just give me ten minutes to get ready
and down there."

	"Ok."

	With those ten minutes, I decided to do some meditation.  I did this for a
couple of reasons.  One was to relax after my workout, and another was to
gather energy into myself for the upcoming competition.

	When Jean walked into the room, I was just finishing up my meditation.  As
soon as she saw this, she said that she didn't want to interrupt.  It was
then that I turned to her with electricity visible around my eyes and said,
"Lets do this."

	With that, we started the program and got into our starting positions.
When we were both ready, I pulled a car out of my pocket and charged it
pyrokinetically.  Once it was fully charged and ready to blow, I let it fly
over the maze to signal that we should begin.

	Once the explosion was finished, I concentrated on my control of the
weather for a second ad covered the entire maze in fog.  With that done, I
made my hand become covered in flames.  I did this so that I could see a
little better.  Although, after I thought about it, I doused the flame just
in case Jean could see it.  We both ended up relying solely on our telepathy
to let us know when something was coming at us.  Since I wanted to be fair,
I decided against using anything except for my telepathy and telekinesis
because those are the only two powers Jean has.  I also decided not to send
out my wave of fear because she would be expecting it.

	It took us a little while to get to each other because I made sure the maze
was bigger than last time.  The reason I did this was because it didn't take
long for the exercise to be over last time.  I tried to do something that
would have been awesome, but her mental barriers were a lot thicker this
time.  And in order to have pulled it off, she would have sensed me in her
mind.  Of course, that would completely defeat the purpose of what I was
trying to do.  What I was in fact trying to do was make it so that Jean
couldn't sense me coming or actually see me.  Now, it's not that I would
have rendered her completely blind; she just wouldn't be able to see me.  I
will have to ask her or Professor Xavier if I can try that out on them
later.

	Anyway, once we could sense each other, a literal battle of the minds
began.  As we were each trying to get an attack into the other person's
mind, we were still advancing towards where the other was.  At one point in
time, I stopped moving and lay in wait with a combined telepathic and
telekinetic attack.  Of course, I didn't stop attacking her while she was
still coming at me.  I did this because if I stopped attacking all together,
she would have known that I was planning a trap for her.

	As she got closer, her attacks got stronger.  And, of course, since she has
had a lot more experience at doing mental attacks, she was better at it than
I was.  It was then that I decided to stop attacking and reinforce my
telepathic barriers.

	While reinforcing my barrier, Jean came around the last corner of the maze
that separated us.  As soon as she was within my sight, I attacked.  I flung
out with a strong telekinetic blast that knocked her into one of the walls
of the maze.  At the same time, I attacked with a powerful telepathic spike.
  I know for a fact that it wasn't' strong enough to hurt her at all because
I made it just strong a little bit stronger than my strongest attack
earlier.

	As soon as my attack connected, I heard her grunt.  Although, I didn't know
right away whether it was just from me pinning her against the maze wall or
because my spike made it through her barrier.  When I was preparing to fire
another spike, she spoke and told me the exercise was over.  Right away, I
told the computer to disengage the program.

	When the room reverted to its normal state, I ran over to Jean to make sure
I didn't hurt her.  She said, "I will probably have a bruise from my impact
with the wall and I also have a slight headache.  Now, don't you worry about
what you did causing me to get hurt.  Everyone gets slightly hurt in here
now and then.  Even you will eventually get hurt by someone here at the
school while using your powers.  Although, you have an advantage over most
everyone else because you have a healing factor."

	"Thank you for the workout, I really needed it after what happened this
morning."

	"You're quite welcome for the workout, but what happened?"

	I then relayed the dream and the results of the dream to Jean.  I also
said, "Now I am going to go apologize to Bobby for what I did."

	"I am sure he understands that you had no control over what happened.  But
before youu go, will you cover yourself in flames like you were when you
woke up for me?"

	"Sure, I guess I could try to do it.  Although, I make no guarantees that I
will be able to pull it off."

	I then concentrated on my pyrokinesis for a second.  After I was done
concentrating, my hands were covered in flames.  Then I concentrated more
and I heard Jean gasp.  The reason she gasped is because she saw the flames
slowly spread up my arms and then to the rest of my body.  When I opened my
eyes again, I looked over my body and it was once again completely covered
in flames.  I also noticed that I was once again floating in the air.

	"Jean, when did I start to float?"

	"You started to float as soon as I gasped.  I gasped for that reason and
because I saw the flames spread.  As soon as your body was mostly covered in
flames, you lifted off the ground.  And when your whole body was covered,
and that includes your head, you flew up to where you are now.  I think
because you are completely covered in flames you sort of become weightless
like the human torch."

	"Interesting.  The professor is making me an appointment with Hank to
figure out why I can do this.  I am sure that I will have to do this for
them as well."

	"You will most definitely have to demonstrate this for them.  But now that
you know you can do it, it won't take you as long and you won't have to
concentrate as much."

	"Thanks but I should head back to Bobby."

	"Once again, you are quite welcome."

	With that, I concentrated on landing.  And as soon as I landed, the flames
went away.  Then, I walked out of the room and into the locker room.  I did
this because I needed a change of clothes.  Once I was changed, I did a
mental search for Bobby and then went to where he was.  It took me a total
of like two seconds to locate him.

	As soon as I exited the locker room, I sent Bobby a message saying that I
was coming to see him.  Once I was done sending that message, I walked to
where he was.  When I saw him, I ran over to him and gave him a gigantic
hug.

	Once we broke from our embrace, I bade him to sit down so that I could
apologize.  When we were both seated, I began to speak when he interrupted
me.  He then said, "Matt, there is no need to apologize for something you
had no control over."

	"But I could have hurt you."

	"Yeah, you could have but eve if you did, I wouldn't' blame you.  Your
powers activated for some unknown reason and it isn't your fault that they
did.  And anyway, because of my specific mutation, I have a resistance to
fire and flames that other people don't."

	His understanding is just one of the many reasons why I love him.  We then
hung out until I decided to go see Professor X. about something I thought of
earlier.  Before I left though, I made sure that the professor wasn't busy
at the moment.  Right before I walked out of the room to go see the
professor, I gave Bobby a very passionate kiss.  After that, I flew down to
see Professor Xavier.

	When I got the room we were supposed to meet, I headed right in to see a
waiting professor.  As soon as I was in, I asked, "Is it possible to block
yourself completely from another person's senses?"

	"It is actually.  Do you want to try it out?"

	"Yes, but first will you explain to me how exactly to do it.  I mean, I
have an idea on how to do it but nothing more."

	"Well, first you have to get into the person's mind who you want to block
yourself from.  Second, if it is a telepath, which it most likely will be,
you have to find that person's memories of yourself and put a mental barrier
around them.  Once you do this, it should block him or her from being able
to sense you.  Of course, you also have to have a rather thick mental
barrier around your own mind otherwise that person will still sense someone.
  Now as to blocking yourself visibly, you have to go into their visual
memories and block yours from active recollection.  And, once again, you
have to have your own mind protected."

	"May I try my hand at it now?"

At this he nodded.  With that, I started to get through his powerful
barriers.  Once in, I did a quick search for his memories of myself.  When I
found them, I put a kind of strong barrier around them.  Then I went in
search of his visual memory bank.  Once there, I put another barrier around
those of me.  Then I backed out of his mind.

	As soon as I was out, I started to move around the room.  While I was doing
this, Professor Xavier kept looking right ahead.  When I stood right in
front of him, he didn't even notice.  I then quickly re-entered his mind and
took down my barriers and then exited.

	"Were you actually not able to sense me or was it just an act?"

	"Trust me, it was no act.  One second you were in the room with me and then
you disappeared.  Did you enjoy that experience?"

	"That was totally awesome."

	"Since I have you here, would you mind covering yourself in flames like you
were this morning?"

	"Not at all."

	With that, I did exactly what I did for Jean.  Except this time I didn't
have to concentrate twice.  When I felt the flames spread, I heard him gasp.
  As I was expecting this, I didn't open my eyes until I could feel the
flames all over my body.

	Once that was done, I opened my eyes and saw the awe on his face.  I was
expecting his as well, so it didn't surprise me either.  What did surprise
me was how easy it was for me to cover myself that time.

	"That basically tells me how you were able to do that.  But I still want
you to go to your appointment tomorrow with Hank.  I want you to do this to
confirm my suspicions."

	"Ok Professor, I will still keep my appointment.  Now, what time is the
appointment?"

	"Oh, yeah, sorry.  It is at one, right after lunch."

	"Thanks."

	With that, I left the room and went to dinner.  Now, after dinner, I ended
up hanging out with my team for the rest of the evening.

	That night, I had a dreamless sleep.  I am very glad about this because
when I do dream, something always comes of it.  And that something is almost
always bad.

	Anyway, my morning was finally back to normal.  I am so glad to have a
normal schedule again.  All of my teachers expressed their gladness at
having me back in class.  It's good to be missed.

	After my classes were over, I ran down to the danger room for a quick
workout before lunch.  However, when I got down there, someone was already
running a program.  So, when I noticed this, I went up to the control room
to watch whomever it was.

	As it turns out, it was Jake who was working out.  I was kind of glad for
this because then it was someone I knew.  This was a good thing because then
I can maybe join in the workout with him.

	When the computer was about to start a new level, I paused the program.  As
soon as I did this, Jake looked up to the control room where I was.  He
couldn't make out who had paused the program though because of the odd angle
he was looking from.  Once I realized this, I sent him a telepathic message
saying, "Hey Jake, it's me Matt.  I was wondering if I could join you for a
quick workout."

	"Sure you can.  This program was beginning to get boring anyway."

	With that, I floated down to the danger room floor.  Once down there, we
discussed what type of program we wanted to run.  We ended up going with a
general program.  Our workout was very physically demanding of us but we
both thoroughly enjoyed it.  And we worked out for about half an hour.

	As it turned out, Jake's powers had advanced since the last time I saw him
use them.  He can now slow down time over a greater area of space.  Also, he
can now increase other people's mental and physical processes.

	It was fun working out  with him.  I am kind of glad that I worked out with
someone other than Jean, not that I have anything against her.  It was just
nice to have a change.  I really should organize another team workout
because we haven't done anything as a team since the last mission.

	I really don't have a problem talking about the mission, although everyone
avoids it around me.  When next I hang out with all the members of my team,
I will have to bring it up.  It should be interesting to see what they have
to say about it.

	After my workout with Jake, I had to go to the medical bay for my
appointment with Dr. McCoy.  Since I only had a few minutes to get there, I
decided to fly.  I did this because I go faster that way.

	Once there, Hank had me siit down on one of the beds in there while he
asked me some questions.  He asked, "Have you ever lost control of your
powers before?"

	"No, I haven't.  Although, powers I didn't know I had activated that one
time when I was really pissed."

	"I remember that incident.  This isn't the same though.  Now, could you
tell me exactly what happened yesterday morning in your own words?"

	"Well, I was having a dream, which isn't that uncommon for me anymore.  In
this ream, I was flying through the air completely covered in flames.  I
also wouldn't let anything within a certain distance of myself because I
would push away anything I sensed telekinetically.  Although, when I woke
up, I found out that I also had a telekinetic barrier erected.  I only knew
that because I had Bobby trapped on the other side of the room from me
behind one.  Once I was fully awake, I realized that I wasn't lying in bed
but floating above it.  I also noticed that I actually was covered in flames
like in my dream.  When I noticed all of this, I lowered my barrier and flew
out of the room."

	"Interesting.  Now, Professor X. told me that you were still covered in
those flames when you exited the room and then the building.  Is this true?
Also, can you cover yourself in flames for me to see?"

	"Yes, I was still covered in flames when I exited.  Sure, I can definitely
do that for you.  You aren't the first person that has asked me to do that,
in fact you are the third."

	With that, I brought flames to my hands like I have done a few other times.
  But this time, the flames didn't' just stay on my hands.  Instead, they
spread to the rest of my body.  Every time I do this, it gets easier and
easier.  I have a feeling that if I do it often enough, I will be able to
just cover my entire body in flames right away.

	Anyway, once I was completely covered in my flames and floating in the air,
Hank said, "Well, that explains how you are able to do this.  It is another
aspect of your pyrokinesis.  But, I have a thought that I want to check out.
  I do not want to scare you with this thought so I will not vocalize it,
but do you mind if I draw some more of your blood to run some tests on it to
see if my thought is correct or not?"

	"No, I do not mind at all.  You should know by now that I will always let
you take some of my blood for tests."

	"Thanks, I will get to work right away.  Will you come back down here right
after dinner tonight to find out the results?"

	"You know I will be there."

	With that, he started to run the tests he was talking about.  As soon as I
saw this, I left to go do something else.  When I was out of the room, Hank
made a call to Professor Xavier's office.

	After their brief conversation, Professor X. headed right down to the
medical lab.  While Dr. McCoy was running the tests, he waited.  See, he was
called down there to discuss the current Matthew situation.  Hank said,
"Professor, the reason Matt is able to completely cover himself in flame is
because of his pyrokinesis."

	Professor Xavier responded with, "I thought so, when he covered himself in
flame for me, it showed that that was where it was coming from."

	"However, ordinary pyrokinesis and even his pyrokinesis shouldn't be able
to do that.  That's why I am running tests on his blood.  I want to see if
he has mutated farther.  I am afraid that he has."

	"I am quite sure that everything will be fine even if he has mutated
farther."

	"We will just have to wwait for the blood work to be done to find out."

	With that, they sat talking idly until the tests were completed.  As it
turned out, they sat there for the better part of an hour.  Although, once
the tests were completed, Hank went right to work deciphering the results
and then telling them to Professor Xavier.

	He said, "It is as I feared.  He has mutated even farther.  If his
pyrokinesis doesn't stop mutating, it could kill him."

	"How could it kill him?"

	"Pyrokinesis is one of the most unstable powers.  Matt has been lucky that
his body has adjusted to it so well.  Also, he is lucky that he can control
it so thoroughly."

	"So, what you are saying is that if his power continues to evolve, it could
get beyond his control.  Either that or his body might not be able to handle
one of the evolutions.  In other words, he might combust."

	"That's right. Now, all we have to figure out is whether or not to tell him
all of this.  We have till the end of dinner to figure it out."

	With that, Professor X. called a meeting of the entire staff to figure out
the most appropriate course of action.  They discussed the situation from
about half an hour before dinner straight on through.  By the end of dinner
though, they had reached their decision.

	As soon as dinner was over, Matt headed down to the medical lab to find out
the results of the tests that were run o his blood.  What he didn't expect
to find when he got here was a very grave looking Jean.  She had been
brought in because they figured that she was probably his most trusted
faculty member.  As soon as he entered, she motioned for him to sit down.

	She then said, "Matt, I have some bad news.  Your pyrokinesis has mutated
farther.  If it doesn't stop mutating, you could possibly die."

	I just sat there with my mouth open and not believing
a word she said.  I didn't want to die, especially after knocking at death's
door.

	Jean continued with, "There are two possible ways for you to die.  Your
body will either not be able to handle one of the mutations or you will not
be able to control it anymore.  In other words, you will basically combust
and turn into nothing but dust if you do pass away."

	I sat there unmoving for the longest time after hearing that bit of news.
Finally, I was able to speak.  When I could, I asked, "So, how long do you
think I have?"

	Hank said, "The way your body is adapting to your new amount of power makes
it hard to tell.  It gives us a good indication that it will most likely be
a while if at all.  We are only telling you one possibility that could
happen.  For all we know, your body might just continually adjust to any
change that happens.  But, if you start to feel burnt out, let me know right
away."

	"Sure, no problem."

	With that, I got up and walked back to my room in complete silence.  As
soon as I entered, I just sat down on my bed.


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.