Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2007 17:23:28 -0800 (PST)
From: P G <phoenixfire543@yahoo.com>
Subject: Mutation: Chapter 11

Disclaimer*
I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this story, and make
no claims to the artistic visions of the marvel universe.  I know nothing
of the sexuality of any of the creators, actors, or characters involved
in the Marvel universe.  Similarly, this story contains graphic
descriptions of gay male sex.  If you don't like that, they you should
probably avert your eyes.

This story takes place in an alternate X-Men universe from the one in
which the X3 movie took place.  Certain events occurred after X2 which
changed the timeline.  The specifics of the timeline changes will be made
apparent as the story progresses.

Chapter 11 -- "Annihilation"

***Ok guys, I cannot apologize enough for how long this chapter has taken
to come out.  As I have said before, I am in grad school and free time is
extremely limited.  But that being said, I promise that it will never
take me this long to post again.  I hope that you do not hold it against
me.  Without further delay, please enjoy the story.***


The Phoenix stood atop one of the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge in San
Francisco Bay.  She had a beautiful view of a beautiful city, with the
warm sun in her face, and a gentle, refreshing breeze blowing in her long
red hair.  She cared for none of that however.  She looked out over the
bay toward Alcatraz Island, the site of the Worthington Lab's production
facility for the mutant `cure'.  How she loathed that place, a monument
to human stupidity.  The audacity of the human attempt to eradicate
mutant kind made her blood boil.  Mutants were the future, the
superior.   Inside that facility was a unique and dangerous mutant.  This
mutant had a chemical in his blood which neutralized the powers of other
mutants.  Normally speaking, he would be a powerful ally (so long as he
stayed far away from her), but that would not be young Leech's fate.
Leech's unique chemical was being extracted and used to strip the powers
from mutants deemed `dangerous', and to turn self hating mutants
`normal'.

It was disgusting.  The fact that a mutant's gifts were being used to
destroy others like him was a travesty, a bastardization of the
evolutionary process.  But all of that would be put to an end, and so
would the source of the `cure'.

It would have to be subtle though.  The Phoenix hated that fact, wanted
to go in on wings of fire, showing her great and glorious powers, and
showing the human world what terrible mistakes it had made.  But no, this
had to be a very precise move, one which sowed doubt and suspicion, but
no clear evidence.

The vast telekinetic powers of The Phoenix reached out toward Alcatraz
Island.  She ignored the annoying sphere of space around the young mutant
Leech where her powers could not penetrate.  She focused her powers on
the tiny electrons within the electric power plant of the island.
Several times she slipped up, struggling with the more precise, detailed
control necessary for her work.  Always the Phoenix personality had used
the greater, vaster powers of her body; it was the Jean Gray personality
who knew control.

But nothing was beyond The Phoenix Force, she reminded herself.  She
channeled the electricity of the power plant, disrupting the natural
flow.  She broke the devices which grounded the station, blocking the
plant's ability to diffuse excess power into the earth.  The power built
and built within the system as technicians ran around frantically trying
to identify the problem.  Of course, this problem was beyond any of
them.  Within minutes the red alert sirens were blaring, warning all
personnel to abandon the island.  Before a single boat could disembark,
or a single helicopter could lift off, the generator blew.  The explosion
vaporized everyone in the generator building instantly, and the walls
blew out like they were paper.  The force of the explosion encompassed
the entire small island, causing numerous secondary explosions on
everything the least bit flammable.  The primary research and production
building, being directly next to the generator building, was torn apart,
killing almost everyone instantly.  The fires burned high and hot (given
a bit of extra fuel from the Phoenix's rage, and soon consumed every
burnable substance on the island.

The Phoenix smiled like she had rarely smiled before.  She felt a
glorious satisfaction when she felt the bubble of emptiness around Leech
collapse, knowing that he was dead and his body burned beyond any
possible research.  The threat of the cure was no more, its source
destroyed.  Furthermore, the resulting uproar and fear would be just the
springboard she needed to bring her plans to life.

The Phoenix laughed loudly and heartily as she turned red and vanished
like dust in the wind.

                         ******************************


"Please try again," Echo pleaded.  He looked over at his friend
Hydrogue, who looked just as miserably depressed as he had been since he
woke from his coma.  The two sat in the sand on the shore of the lake
opposite the mansion.  Hydrogue sat with his legs folded under him, hands
on his knees, and wearing only a trunk-style bathing suit.  The color was
blue, though this was unknown to Echo, who could not see colors.  The
only other adornment on Alex was a sapphire colored blindfold tied around
his eyes, which he could no longer use.  Echo felt a pang on sympathy as
he considered this, and he understood that Alex wore the blindfold for
the same reason that he wore his sunglasses all the time: blind eyes are
disturbing to look at.  He had heard from his friends their dismay at not
seeing Alex's eyes, as they were strikingly beautiful, but this was
unimportant to Echo, who again, could not see them.  Through the sound
waves being generated by the gentle breeze, he could `see' the face and
body of his dear friend, which were unchanged and just as beautiful as
they had been before the attack, though now sadness permeated his being.

"This isn't as easy for me as it is for you" Alex commented back,
being ruder than he really wanted to be.  Echo ignored the tone, knowing
his friend was not angry with him.

"It took me time to do this too.  But I learned how, because I had to.
And now you have to."

Echo was trying to teach Alex to use his water sensing powers as a new
form of sight, the same way that he himself used his echolocation
ability.  He had talked with The Professor, who applauded the effort.

"A lot of mutants have to learn how to keep their powers on in the
background at all times, to learn how to deal with the sensory input on a
constant basis, without thinking about it, and without overdoing it.  For
example, many telepaths learn to keep a constant, low-grade sensory
network up around themselves, which tells them when people are near, and
a general sense of their emotional state, without intruding into their
minds or overwhelming their senses.  I know that you can do the same,
you're making great progress."  Echo smiled, but then realized that
Hydrogue couldn't see it.  Instead he rested his hand on his friend's
knee and squeezed it gently.  "I know you are accustomed to learning
things fast because you are Class 5, but this is a subtle, highly
controlled exercise, it will take time, but you CAN do it."  He thought
he saw a weak attempt at a smile from Alex, and it made him happy to see
it.

Once again, Alex easily reached out with his powers, and instantly could
`see' again.  He knew exactly where he was, could see the details of
his friend's face with each minute water molecule in his skin, could see
the trees and the ground and the lake and the clouds in the sky.  He
could even `see' the air itself, watch the air currents move as they
blew water molecules around.  This sensory state was very easy for him to
attain, but that wasn't the trick of it all.  The hard part was to
continue about his life while keeping his senses up, allowing him to see
the world around him.

Once the sensory state was well established, Hydrogue stood up, and began
to walk around.  He and Echo walked around and talked, and this time, the
water sense stayed active for several minutes before Hydrogue's mind
became too preoccupied.  At this point he stopped walking and held out
his hand to Echo, who took it and led him back to the lake safely.

"See?  That was better" Echo praised, truly happy that his friend was
improving.  He was concerned though, because there was obviously
something brewing in the world, and he knew that Alex would be in the
middle of it.  Not because Alex was a champion, not because he was
impassioned toward a cause, but simply because he was a Class 5 mutant, a
fact he could not in the least control, he would be involved.  That being
the case, Echo NEEDED to help his friend, to make him able to fight
again.  And if Alex ever regained his sight, he would find his senses
increased by this exercise, would find it useful and empowering.

It was then that Echo's own background senses kicked in.  His
extraordinary hearing picked up an alarming statement.  He looked over
across the lake to where the Xavier Mansion stood, and knew that they
needed to get inside right away, but the walk around the lake would take
far too long.

"Hydrogue, remember when you teleported us all back to the mansion from
downtown?"

"Yes" he answered, sounding confused.

"Can you do it again?  We need to be in the main lounge."  Hydrogue
smiled a real smile this time.  At last, a task he could do.  Even though
he had only performed this feat once before, and under extreme duress, he
felt confident that he could do it again.  He opened his mind to the
powers within him.  He keenly felt his own form through the water
molecules which made it up, and he then added to that the molecules of
Echo's body.  He pulled both bodies apart, dissolving the non-water
molecules in with the water, and moved them both into the mansion at the
speed of thought.  Sensing the locations of the other students and the
furniture within the lounge on the main floor of the mansion, Hydrogue
reformed them both next to Psionic, who glanced over in greeting.  The
other students saw a watery globe seem to form from nowhere, growing
larger and larger, and then splitting in two.  The two forms took on the
shapes of Hydrogue and Echo, and then re-solidified into their normal
bodies.  Psionic Quickly linked both Echo and Hydrogue to the low-level
group meld shared by the friends, allowing both of the blind men to see
through his eyes and watch what was on the television.

The news reporter was giving a breaking story.

"Just hours ago, a large explosion took place at the Worthington Lab's
facility located on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay.  The
explosion had obliterated the facility, killing most of the personnel,
though there are survivors.  The explosion is believed to have been
caused by an overload in the power generator, which has not yet been
confirmed.  Due to the fact that this lab was the only production
facility of the new Mutant Cure developed by Worthington Lab's, a mutant
terrorist attack is suspected by many.  In the wake of a string of
bombings of Mutant Registration facilities and an assault on a military
task force, could this be the latest in a growing series of attack from
organized pro-mutant groups such as The Brotherhood of Mutants or The
X-Men?  There is no evidence yet, but we at channel 14 are certain that
this is one theory that will be looked at once the rescue work is
completed.  We well bring you any further developments as they happen,
but for now, back to John in the studio."

The screen switched scenes to the Channel 14 news room, where a young but
pompous looking male reporter took up the story.

"Despite the short time that has passed, and the lack of time to compile
or consider evidence, many citizens have already drawn their own
conclusions about who is to blame for the Alcatraz Explosion.  There are
reports of anti-mutant riots in the streets of several major cities, the
largest, naturally, in San Francisco.  The police are on the scene to
prevent any injuries or property damage, but there seems to be no
stopping these citizens from voicing their opinions.  No word of response
yet from the Federal Government as to how they will respond to the
explosion, or to the demands of the enraged citizens."

The story continued on, but the room exploded into protest and angry
discussion, drowning out any attempts to hear more of the news.

<We are all royally fucked> thought Psionic into the meld.  The others
couldn't help but agree.

                     *************************************


 Pyro usually hated every minute of the meetings he had to attend as one
of the higher-ups in The Brotherhood.  However, today was different.
Today, they were actually PLANNING the events that they had only talked
and dreamed about before.  The majority of the small, subtle plans did
not interest him, but the talks of fights and battles and using their
powers to destroy intrigued him to no end.  He admired this new addition
to The Brotherhood, Phoenix.  He had lived in the Xavier Mansion for
several years had had Jean Gray as a teacher for 2 classes, and yet had
never know that she had such fire, such power, within her.  What a waste,
he thought.  The Phoenix had told them little, but he knew that she had
been trapped within Jean's mind since childhood, had grown in power and
rage over the years, and that she was the mastermind behind everything
that was happening.  She had been using her telepathy in secret to
influence many weak-minded humans, slowly maneuvering the situation to
this point.  It was surprising; really, that such a rage-filled being
could actually come up with a slow, detailed plan like hers.  But, he
supposed, when you are trapped within your own head for your entire life,
you must have time to think.

As the meeting ended, various leaders went to pursue their various tasks,
and Pyro followed Magneto, Mystique, and The Phoenix out of the room.
The Phoenix led them down a hallway which was known to only a few.  This
hallway led to some of the more secret research facilities on Superior
Island, and also led to their detention center.  At first Pyro believed
that they were heading to Doppelganger's cell, so that The Phoenix could
re-absorb his DNA morphing ability.  She had to do this periodically,
because apparently even she had not yet learned how to use Rogue's
powers indefinitely.  Pyro looked at Doppelganger's cell and remembered
his frequent trips there in the night hours for sexual trysts with the
shape shifter.  Doppelganger had the DNA imprints of many of Pyro's
former classmates form the X-Mansion, and he liked to play with them
all.  But when they passed by the detention center, Pyro knew something
interesting was about to happen.  The small group traveled into the
rear-most door and entered through a magnetic lock that only Magneto (and
presumably The Phoenix) could unlock.  The room beyond was filled with
glass-enclosed rooms which resembled hospital rooms.  Almost every room
was inhabited, and most of those people lay in the gurney-like bed.  Some
seemed completely normal, and some had the strange disfigurations from
having unfortunate mutations such as third eyes, discolored skin, or in
one case, transparent skin.  A small number of the patients had horrible
disfigurations, appearing more at home in a side-show or medical show
than in their current location.  A relatively small number of mutants
were walking around in white lab coats, some taking notes, some checking
readings, and others injecting the patients with a strange yellowish
liquid.  The Phoenix smirked just a bit when she looked around, but
quickly returned to her usual emotionless expression.

The door at the far end of the room opened before the group got to it,
whether by Magneto's or The Phoenix's powers Pyro did not know or
care.  By now he was absentmindedly playing with a small ball of fire he
had conjured from his wrist-lighters.  The next room was much smaller,
and contained a dozen or so tall transparent tubes.  The tubes contained
what appeared to be sleeping people of various ages.  The youngest people
were in a tube full of some clear fluid, but the adults were simply
laying there in slightly-less-than-vertical beds.  Pyro eyes one tube
curiously, where a young girl with long white hair floated slightly in
her fluid.  He did not entirely understand the need for this particular
pet project of the Phoenix's, but he would not argue.  He tried to stay
out of the scientific parts of the planning, as they bored him.  Finally,
the last door opened, and on the other side was a very small room no
larger than a closet.  This small room contained one last tube, which was
fogged, and the contents hidden.

The Phoenix stopped beside this final, fogged container, and faced the
others.  As they all watched, her shape began to change.  Her face filled
out, her cheeks less sunken and more full.  Her skin grew paler, and her
hair grew darker, the vibrant red vanishing into soft brown, except for a
streak of white in the very front.  She shrank a few inches, and at last
fully reassumed the form of Rogue.  She spoke then with the strange
two-layered voice she always spoke with when in Rogue's form.

"As you all know, I have periodically needed to re-absorb the morphing
powers of the mutant Doppelganger in order to retain my natural powers.
This is a weakness, a flaw for which I was not designed.  My powers are
infinite, and this fact has repeatedly gotten in my way.  But no more."
The Phoenix hit a switch on one side of the cylinder, and several lights
turned green.  The cylinder shuddered slightly, and steam hissed out the
sides as the seal broke.  The front of the cylinder slid aside, finally
revealing the contents.  As the fog inside the tube cleared, Pyro
realized what was inside.

"Behold, a perfect, flawless clone of my true body" spoke the Phoenix,
her tone for of unflappable pride.  "This body with grant me access to
my full powers without restraint or weakness of any kind, and I will be
invincible again.  And best of all, the insufferable Jean Grey will have
no presence in this body to slow me down."

The others watched as the Phoenix closed her eyes, focusing her powers.
Even though she was outside of her normal body, the Phoenix was at her
very core a telepathic being, a creature of thought and willpower.  She
reached out with all of her mind, leaving behind the useful but limited
body she had used for the past month, and entered into her brand new
home.  As she melded with this new body, she could feel how PERFECT it
was, every inch, every cell, and every molecule.  She solidified her hold
in this body in a way she never had in Rogue's taking it fully as her
new home.  As her consciousness left, Rogue's body slumped unconscious
to the ground.

All was still for a moment, as nothing happened.  But then the eyes of
the Jean clone opened, and they glowed red with passion and power.  The
Phoenix stood before her lieutenants restored, complete.  Her glory was
unsurpassed, and her joy was of manic proportions.

Pyro couldn't help but smile.  This was going to be so much fun.




                      ***********************************



Alex knocked on the Professor's office door, wondering what he had been
called in for.  It had taken him 3 times as long to get to the office as
usual, as he did not want to have o ask anyone to bring him there.
Therefore, he had stumbled his way along, using his thus far unreliable
water sense to guide him.

"Come in Alexander" he heard from within, and he opened the door.  The
room, so far as he could tell, was empty except for the Professor, who
sat beside the large window behind his desk.  The Professor granted Alex
the mercy of not asking if he needed any help, and instead waited for him
to find his way to the chair in front of the desk.

"I am glad you came" the Professor offered, smiling.

"Thanks for having me, though I'm not sure why I'm here."

"That is fair.  I asked you here because of your little project with
Kyle.  I believe I can help you."

"Ok" Alex answered, sounding doubtful.  The Professor ignored it.

"I believe you two have been taking the wrong approach.  You are
attempting to PUT UP a sensory network, when in fact I believe you
already have it there, and are filtering it out"

"What?"

"You see, people with vast amount of sensory power, such as you and I,
often need to build up a way of ignoring some of that information, or it
would drive us mad.  I, for example, do my best to not hear the thoughts
of the hundreds of people in the building all at once.  My mind has
unconsciously learned to filter that information out, keeping only a
small range open to sensing, but still allowing me to hear anything of
critical importance.  If I needed to, I could lower this filter, and
immerse myself in the thoughts and minds of everyone within several
miles."

"Ok, but what does that have to do with me?"

"Well, I believe your mind does the same thing for you.  I believe that
you have a constant ability to sense all of the water around you for a
considerable distance, but since all of that information would be too
much for you to handle on a daily basis, your mind filters it."

"But I've always had to actively try to feel water in other people and
objects before."  Alex still sounded doubtful, but hope was beginning to
tug at his self-depression.

"Have you?"  Alex stammered at this question.  When had he ever sensed
anything without trying to?

"The fire" he said.  The words slipped out of his mouth without him
really thinking about them, for he was too busy remembering that night
when the Mutant Registration building had been destroyed.  He had been
quite occupied at the time, but after the explosion went off, he
instantly sensed where it came from, though he had not summoned his water
sense consciously.  Instead, it had just supplied him with information
when the explosion put him at the ready.  Furthermore, he remembered his
duels with Cyclops and Holy, recalling how he could sense them, every
molecule of them, without trying.  He had assumed that this was because
his body activated his senses automatically when the 'fight or flight'
reflex was activated, but perhaps it was as the Professor said.  Perhaps
he had actually LOWERED his guard instead.

The Professor could see the dawning of realization in the young man's
face, despite the cloth covering his eyes.

"Are you ready to try again?"

                         *****************************



Echo was really not looking for trouble.  He was in the main dining room
on the bottom floor of the mansion eating lunch quietly, alone as was his
custom.  He was really never bored, as his exponentially heightened
hearing allowed him to overhear many interesting conversations.  He did
not choose to eavesdrop, but as he could not prevent himself from hearing
at least some of the conversations, he had stopped feeling guilty about
it a long time prior.

As he ate, he heard far in the background, a click of a door shutting.
This was not the ordinary sound of a door shutting; this was the very
distinctive sound of the hidden door to the basement headquarters for the
X-Men.  Echo thought this was odd, as all the casualties from the fight
with the Brotherhood were recovered, and the only person still being
tended was Jean Grey, who still lay in a coma.  Furthermore, as a junior
member of the X-Men, Echo would have expected to be privy to any
activities going on today.

Not really suspecting foul play, Echo consciously heightened his hearing
further, and his ability to `see' sounds allowed him to all but see
through walls.  He could faintly detect someone standing outside the door
to the basement, looking around to see if anyone had noticed the door
being opened.  The hallway which housed this door was all but unused, and
rarely had traffic, and thus he was alone in the hallway.  Echo got a
slightly better image of this individual as he began to walk, the faint
sounds of feet against the tile was more than enough to give Echo an
overall impression of their appearance.  The individual was male, and
young, in his early 20's at the latest.  He was dressed oddly, with a
cloak covering form-fitting chest armor of some smooth material.  He also
had a strange helmet on his head, which seemed out of place.  He reminded
Echo of someone, but the guy was too far away and too quiet for him to
clearly see his face.  He decided to investigate.

As Echo left the cafeteria, the stranger began to move towards the front
of the mansion, bringing him in Echo's general direction.  Thus, Echo
was quickly able to catch up with him.  The stranger walked very quietly,
but not nearly quietly enough to elude the sound mutant, who dampened his
own noises completely.

As Echo fell into step behind this man, whom he was now certain was not a
student at the school.  He watched and observed that none of the students
walking in the hallway seemed to notice the intruder, as though he was
invisible to them.

Invisible, of course.  Echo realized who this mutant was, recognized him
immediately now that he stopped to think about it.  This intruder was
Holy, the light-bending member of the Brotherhood!  He had apparently
learned to use his light powers to render himself invisible, and was now
spying on the X-Men!

But wait, Echo thought, wouldn't the Professor have sensed the intruder
with his powers?  Then he recognized the helmet, it was of the same
design as the one that Magneto wore, which was somehow able to block
telepathic powers.

I need to stop him from leaving with whatever information he gained in
the mansion, Echo thought.

And so he followed.

                         *****************************


Dr. Halden could hear the blood pounding in his ears.  He was taking a
big risk, a huge risk.  He walked through the halls of the medical
headquarters for the Department of Defense.  This was the heart of the
beast, the den of the dragon.  Only a month ago, Dr. Halden had left from
this location, which was disguised as an office building in the center of
New York City, and headed towards the Xavier Mansion as part of the
registration team. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

He greeted a couple of other personnel who recognized him, but did not
exchange more than nods or hellos.  He could not afford to be distracted,
and even more could not afford to have anyone realize that a doctor who
had been missing for a month had finally returned with no explanation for
his absence.  He only had one shot at this.  As a human, there were few
things that he could do to help the whole of mutant kind, but this was
his opportunity.

Dr. Halden took a deep breath and entered the anteroom which guarded his
real goal.  He nodded to the secretary who vaguely recognized him, but
didn't know him well enough to realize that he had been gone so long.
He swiped his ID badge, and placed his thumb on the scanner for
confirmation.  The door hissed, and slid open, revealing a smaller
closet-sized room.  He stepped into this closet, and once the door had
closed securely behind him, the wall in front of him opened.

Security is a bit high considering this guy's ability, he thought.  For
once the 2nd door opened, Dr. Halden stepped into a small but sparce
living quarters, the secret cell of a very secret mutant.

"Hello Mike, long time no see" he was greeted by a friendly voice.
"Where have you been?"  Dr. Halden looked long and hard at the man in
front of him, considering his words carefully.  He had developed a
rapport with this man, was always kind to him when the others had been so
cruel.  He hadn't thought until that moment what a difference his
disappearance would have made in this mutant's life.  Michael had always
been the one to deal with this patient, because the patient responded to
him, and because he was the only one who wanted to be anywhere near the
guy.

"Hello Elixir.  How have you been?"  The young mutant smiled, his
golden skin reflecting the lights slightly as it moved.  His white
clothes only increased the intense glare of the young man under the
bright lights.

"Well," he said, running a hand through his golden hair, "I've been
kind of shitty.  I sit here, day after day, and the shitty doctors and
their shitty assistance and their shitty guards come and harass me, poke
me, and prod me.  They force me to take part in their experiments, and
the one person who was actually nice to me, the one person who actually
treated me like a person, stopped showing up."  Mike winced at this,
knowing it was all true.  He had not fully considered the implications
that his absence would have for Elixir.

"I'm sorry" he said, meaning it deep in his heart.  "But I have come
on an errand that I hope will make it up to you."

"And why should I trust you?  You're one of THEM."

"I had nothing to do with your capture 2 years ago, or your imprisonment
since then.  I have only been a part of this project for the past 6
months, and I have tried to do what I could for you in that time.  But
now I know that it has not been enough.  I know that what this government
is doing is wrong, and that if the world is to ever exist in peace,
mutants and humans need to work together toward that goal."

The golden boy Elixir looked up at this, clearly intrigued.  He stood up
and cleared the room quickly, putting his hands on Dr. Halden's
shoulders.

"Do you know what they've been having me do lately?"  Elixir's blue
eyes were wide with alarm.

"I have an idea.  You've had to use your ability to alter organic
matter to create a certain chemical for them haven't you?"  Elixir's
mouth opened slightly in surprise.  "I've been doing some searching
through the files that I am privy to (for now), and I know what they are
doing.  You have been manufacturing the Mutant Cure."

"The what?"

"The Mutant Cure.  It's a chemical which blocks all mutant powers
within a certain radius around it.  Up until now, the source has been a
young mutant codenamed Leech, but they have been using your abilities to
create the compound independently of him.  The chemical is too complex to
synthetically create, but the government needs more of it now.  They are
using you to double production, and they are stockpiling it.  But this
morning the primary facility was destroyed, and the mutant Leech is
dead.  You are the only remaining source of the Cure."

"But why?"

"For a war against mutants.  They are afraid that the Brotherhood of
Mutants is escalating events towards a full scale conflict, and they need
all the firepower they can get.  In the meantime, they will continue to
`cure' as many mutants as they can to prevent them from joining the
fight once it begins."  Elixir looked dismayed, as if his worst dreams
had come true.

"What can we do?"

                          ***************************



Echo stalked the intruder Holy all throughout the main floor of the
mansion.  He stayed out of sight by staying around the corner at all
times.  His echolocation allowed him to still `see' Holy despite not
being in true line of sight.  Holy stopped only during this period,
glancing into the main lounge for just a minute.  The news was still on,
and a crowd of mutants were standing and sitting around, keeping up to
date with the anti-mutant surge.  Mobs were forming in the streets of
most major cities, and in more that one instance the mobs were met with
smaller mobs of mutants and mutant supporters.  For now the situations
had remained non-violent, but things were getting worse instead of
better.  The government was calling an emergency session to decide on a
course of action.  As of yet, none of the evidence from the explosion at
Alcatraz Island was released to the public.

Echo thought he saw Holy smirk after catching the most recent news.  He
turned away then, and headed not towards the exit as Echo expected, but
deeper into the mansion.  When Echo caught up, he saw Holy pressed up
against a doorway on one wall of a large open area, his ear pressed
close.  He had on his ear some sort of device, presumably helping him to
hear.  Echo was a bit confused by this, but then he used his echolocation
to see inside the room, and saw that inside were The Professor and Alex.
They were discussing Alex's injury, and ways to overcome it.  Right now
the Professor was sharing with him tips on how to split his mental focus
to pay attention to multiple things at once.

I can't allow this, Echo thought to himself.  Hydrogue's condition
needs to be kept secret, especially from the Brotherhood.  His friend was
weakened right now, and needed to be protected.

Echo came around the corner, his body making the decision before his mind
had finished thinking it through.  Holy was directly ahead about 20 feet,
with his back to Echo.  He formed his words carefully, altering the sound
with his powers so that it seemed to Holy that he had whispered quietly
into his ear from right behind him.

"I see you."

Holy whipped around suddenly, his eyes wide with alarm.  There were
several people in the hall around and behind him, but none should be able
to see him, as he had wrapped the light around himself so tightly that
his invisibility should be complete.  But as he came around, his spotter
was clear.  Echo thrust out his hands before him, loosing a pulse of
sonic energy directly at Holy.  The pulse took him totally off guard,
having not recovered from the shock of being spotted.  Holy was struck in
the chest, the force of the pulse driving him backward, smashing through
the thick wood door of the Professor's office.

The door shattered as Holy flew through it, landing in a heap on the
floor inside the Professor's office.  The Professor stopped
mid-sentence, legitimately surprised for once.  Hydrogue stood up slowly,
his blindfolded eyes trained straight at Holy.  His water sense flowed
into him, like it had been there all along.  He knew exactly who it was,
would never mistake the water profile of a person who had hurt him so
much.

The Professor could feel the deeply rooted pain and hatred welling up
within his student.  It grew until it loomed within his mind like a tidal
wave.  The Professor extended a tendril of calming thought toward
Hydrogue, but it was thrown aside by a wall of red rage.

Hydrogue was pissed.

                         *****************************



Dr. Mike Halden had never been so anxious.  As the outer door to
Elixir's cell opened before him, the two guards in the anteroom came
into view.  As he stepped out, he lifted his right arm, and as the cuff
pulled back it revealed a high-tech stun weapon that had been developed
by the Department of Defense for the capturing of mutants unharmed.  Dr.
Halden had been given one of these weapons before the incident at the
Xavier Mansion, and had thought it the perfect tool for his heist.

Three times he squeezed the palm trigger, sending a small blue ball of
energy into each guard and the flabbergasted female secretary.  All three
slumped to the ground, quietly and unharmed.  Once he checked to be sure
that all three were fully unconscious but in no danger from the
not-fully-tested weapon, Mike started to breathe again.  He used his ID
badge on the door again, and tossed the ID into the small room between
the double doors of Elixir's cell.  Elixir emerged a minute later,
having used the ID to get out of the cell.

"Well, I never thought I would see the outside of that room again.  I
can't thank you enough for this.'

"Consider it a small part of my debt paid for being a part of this
business for so long.  Besides, we aren't nearly out of the woods yet.
We're still 30 levels up."

"Well then we have some work to do."  Elixir donned the wrist stun
weapon from one of the guards, while Mike took a second for himself,
giving him one on each arm.  They left the more deadly weapons on the
ground.  No reason to sink to their level.  Elixir then donned the black
uniform and light armor vest of the smaller of the security guards,
though that would not stand up to much scrutiny.  After all, he did have
bright golden skin.

The two partners in crime exited the anteroom into the main hallway of
the security sector.  They walked swiftly past doors to other anterooms
on their way to the only exit from the high-security area.  Mike wished
deeply that he could set free the other mutants who were here (only a
couple of the rooms were occupied), but that was not in the cards today.
They did not have enough time or manpower for the job, and Elixir's
powers were not offensive in nature, though he claimed he could
theoretically use them for such a purpose.

There were 4 guards, 2 on each side of the large security door at the end
of the hall.  Then, there were 4 unconscious bodies, as the renegades
opened fire without warning.  Dr. Halden's ID worked one last time to
open this door, but as they passed into the main hallway of the facility
on the way to the exit, the security scanners registered the weapon's
fire, and the alarm sounded.

The pair broke into a full sprint down the main hall, the exit elevator
in sight.  A trio of security personnel came at them from a side
corridor, but the pair took down two before they brought any arms to
bear.  The third guard fired his pistol, catching Mike in the left
deltoid.  The young doctor spun form the hit, but remained standing.  The
pain was intense, and he lost most control of the arm.  Elixir raised an
arm toward the guard, who was now very close to them.  The guard stopped
and clutched at his chest, where his heart pounded like it was going to
explode.  He dropped his weapon to the floor as he slumped down.  Elixir
released his hold over the man, and stunned him.  He then grabbed Mike's
good arm and continued running.  Mike looked up in surprise at the young
mutant, his skin had turned black.

The elevator arrived with a `ding' onto to floor, but as the doors
parted, the pair saw half a dozen guards with their weapons trained
directly on them.

Elixir didn't wait for them to fire.  He reached with his powers into
the men, who were close enough to him for him to affect.  All 6 of the
men screamed in pain as their hands went to their heads.  It felt as
though their skulls were splitting open, the pain was so bad.  Elixir had
activated all the pain receptors in the brains of the guards, giving them
the sensation that a bomb had gone off within their skulls.  As the guard
fell to the ground, Elixir pulled the guards into the elevator and hit
the button for the bottom floor.  The six guards had all passed out on
the floor from the pain.

It was a tense minute while the elevator raced down, all the while both
men expected to hear the emergency breaks starting.  But the security
office could not stop the elevator in time, and they escaped onto the
bottom floor.  When they stepped into the foyer, they saw that an immense
blast door had been lowered, blocking exit onto the street.  They heard
the thundering sounds of dozens of guards coming down the stairs, but for
the moment they were alone.  Elixir had to help Mike to the door, as he
was now bleeding copiously from his bullet wound.

Elixir activated the last-ditch plan of Mike's.  He had brought with him
a small sample of an extremely corrosive organic acid, which Elixir had
examined with his powers.  The acid was now in a dormant form within
Elixir's sweat glands, and he activated it now, as he pressed his hands
to the blast door.  The metal only sizzled at first, but very quickly it
began to break down, and by moving his hands around, Elixir burned a hole
large enough for the men to escape through.

They were home free.  The two sprinted onto the street, where they knew
the soldiers would not follow them. They received many stares, a black
skinned mutant and a bleeding doctor, but they ran too fast to be
stopped.  Dr. Halden had parked his car one black down, and they drove
away with all due haste.  Elixir slumped into the passenger seat, more
exhausted than he had ever been.

                          ****************************


There was a loud cracking, shattering sound erupted as Holy came hurtling
back into the hallway.  He came not through the broken door, but straight
through the wall of the Professor's office, propelled by a force
unknown.  Students screamed as splinters flew, and all gasped as the
invisible form of Holy rippled and came into full view.  He stood up very
quickly considering that he had just smashed through a wall, but he was
still too slow.

Hydrogue appeared in front of Holy as if out of thin air, his form
familiar and yet terribly different.  The blue blindfold was gone, but
the eyes that were usually bright and brilliant blue had turned to a pale
silver.  His skin was pale like death, and frost was on it.  His hair
appeared black, but was in truth wet with glacier-cold water.  His
expression was blank, but with an underlying malice the belied a deep,
cold fury the likes of which few had seen.

Holy's eyes widened in fear and horror of what he had awakened within
the powerful mutant.  He drew a long sword, a replacement for the one
that Demon had snapped.  The blade grew cold in his hands, so cold that
he could not hold it.  He dropped the sword to the ground, where it
shattered into a thousand pieces.  He lifted his hands and a brilliant
white light erupted, a light too bright to look upon.

But Hydrogue could no longer see the way others did.  He saw through his
eyes only the brilliant blue pinpoints that denoted each and every water
molecule around him.  The light hindered him not, and he came forward.
He moved impossibly fast, and gripping Holy by the neck, lifted his
opponent up.  The skin of the water mutant was as cold as glacier water,
deathly cold.  Holy felt his skin freezing, his throat closing.  The
fingers of Hydrogue's hands ended in sharp animal-like claws made of
hardest ice, which dug into Holy's flesh, chilling his blood.  With
incredible ease, Hydrogue threw his nemesis to the side, easily 20 feet,
into the far wall.  Holy smashed into the wood and fell to the ground,
leaving a broken and dented portion of wall above him.  He rolled on
impact, and came to his feet.  Once standing, Holy launched at Hydrogue a
ball of photonic energy.  The ball flew at high speed at Hydrogue, but
impacted a protective sphere of hardened water.  The explosion flashed
brightly, blocking all view, but when it subsided, Hydrogue stood exactly
where he had before, completely unharmed.

 Hydrogue appeared suddenly in front of Holy and slashed once, twice with
his clawed fingers.  In this moment, Holy's life was saved by the
silvery armor across his chest, which bore the brunt of the attacks.  The
armor was torn through, and blood poured from the cuts beneath.  Hydrogue
grasped him by the throat and threw him again, but this time straight up,
his strength supplemented by his rage and power.  Holy crashed through
floor after floor, and emerged through the roof of the mansion and
hurtled high into the air above.  Hydrogue rose straight up into the air,
lifting his water molecules in order to fly out the hole he had just
created.

Hydrogue rose high into the air, hovering above the mansion.  In the sky
above him spun a great disk of dark clouds, with the eye directly over
him.  Snow and hail fell from the clouds, and they lit from within with
lightning.  The temperature outside had plummeted, and the ground was
thickening with snow.  The wind whipped wildly, chilling

Holy took in the incredible scene in the blink of an eye as he spun
wildly, nearing the arc of his flight.  Just as he felt himself start to
fall back to earth, he was suddenly seized by the arms, and stopped in
mid fall.  Long tendrils of icy water had reached up from the lake and
grasped him, holding him fast before Hydrogue.  He looked up and saw the
enraged mutant, looking terrible and godly against the backdrop of his
arctic hurricane.

The scene was still for a moment, as if frozen in time.  By this point, a
large number of students and the majority of the X-Men had come outside
onto either the lawn or the various roofs of the mansion.  Angel
attempted to take flight, but the winds proved too much for him. Hydrogue
could feel the will of Storm straining to tame his thundercloud, but even
the considerable abilities of Ororo Munroe could not slow the unstoppable
force of Hydrogue's anger.  The storm raged on.

Hydrogue looked down on his foe, which he had trapped and terrified.  He
spoke now for the first time since he had seen Holy.

"I owe you pain."  With that, the water tentacles coursed with inner
electricity, which tore through Holy's body and lit every nerve on
fire.  He screamed in agony, the sound tore through the previous silence
like a blunt knife.  The students below cringed, some ran inside.

"Please!" Holy yelled, begging Hydrogue to stop.  Before he could speak
again, another shock tore through him, longer than the one before.  The
voltage was not enough to kill him, but Holy dearly wished that it was.

"Why are you here?"  Hydrogue asked, his cold, emotionless voice
surprisingly loud.  He punctuated his question with another excruciating
jolt.

"STOP!!"  A voice rang out, loud and commanding.  Hydrogue let the jolt
stop, though was unable to discern why.  He looked to the rooftop, where
Will stood, looking up sternly.  His seafoam green eyes were bright and
compelling.

Will's strength was considerable, his command compelling.  But the anger
and willpower of Hydrogue was too great to be more than distracted by
Will's powers.  He turned back to his helpless enemy.

The blast of energy was stronger this time, and did not relent.  Holy
screamed and screamed, his golden eyes were wide in terror.  His skin
began to blacken in places, his clothing caught fire.  His back arched
involuntarily, as his muscles all seized at once.

"Alex, please stop!"  Hydrogue glanced to the side and saw his dear
friend Demon standing beside Will and Barrier on the rooftop.  The large
red skinned man was crying, a very uncharacteristic thing.

"Why should I stop?" answered the chilly voice of Hydrogue.

"Because what you're doing is no better than what he did to you.
You're a good man; you don't torture and maim people.  Please stop, I
can't watch my best friend turn into a monster."

As they watched, color flooded back into Hydrogue's skin.  His eyes
turned from slivery back to their normal sapphire color.  His hair dried,
and the frost drifted from it.  The storm's spin slowed, and then
stopped altogether.  The temperature rose quickly, as nature reasserted
itself.  Alex blinked, as if he had just come out of some kind of spell.

"Oh my god," he said to himself in a whisper.

As the sun began to peak out again, Hydrogue flew to the rooftop, and
Holy's unconscious body landed beside him.  As Beast came over to tend
to Holy's wounds, his body suddenly glowed red, and blew away like
dust.  The Phoenix had summoned him back.

Alex's gaze was downward, his shame unbearable.  Demon went to him, and
enfolded him in his large arms.  Alex buried his face in Demon's shirt
and began to cry softly, unable to accept what he had done, and what he
had wanted to do.  Demon ran his hands through the smaller man's dark
hair, but said no words.  The others departed the roof, leaving only Alex
and his close friends.

Hydrogue pulled his face from Demon's chest and looked up at the larger
man.  The blue eyes met the red, and Demon could tell instantly.  Alex
had fallen so deeply into his powers that he had made himself flawless.
Hydrogue could see again.

                             **********************


The President of the United States had rarely felt so anxious.  He had
spoken before these people dozens of times in his 5 years as president,
but this time it was different.  This emergency meeting of the government
was a rare instance, brought on by the huge unrest within the U.S.
population which was pushing them all toward a civil war.

The entire U.S. Congress was together, the House and the Senate.  Nearly
every member of the Legislative and Executive branches of the U.S
government had met to decide how to proceed.  Should they arrest mutants
by the thousand?  Should they support a seemingly dangerous minority?
The government could not come across as cruel or unjust, but could also
not bow to terrorism.

President Richardson was only a man.  He was a rich, powerful, driven
man, but a man nonetheless.  How could he decide the course of the human
race?  Other countries had yet to have the situation come to this point,
but they were on their way.  Mutant unrest was growing all over the
world, and humans were fearful of the fact that there were so many more
mutants than they had previously thought.  He was the first world leader
to have to make these decisions, and he knew that the decisions would set
the tone for the next decade, if not the next century.

He got an approving nod from his Vice President, a good, competent man
who had unflappable faith in him.  He stepped up to the podium to address
the Congress.

He never got a single word of his prepared speech out.  As his mouth
opened to begin, a piercing sound breached the silence.  In the center of
the room, between the podium and the first row of tables, a great flame
erupted from nothing.  The flame took the shape of a great bird, which
spread its flaming wings, and opened its mouth and cried out again.  The
Phoenix's song was hauntingly beautiful, but terrible all the same.  The
heat of the fire could be felt from a hundred feet away.  In the center
of the flames could be seen the tall, slender silhouette of a woman.
With the same suddenness as the flames appeared, they vanished, leaving
behind a tall, beautiful woman with long, vibrant red hair.  She was
dressed all in red and black, and on her shoulders was a long trench coat
of red leather, which billowed about as with wind.  Her eyes were dark,
but showed a deep intelligence and a powerful mind.  Her face was lit
with a humorless smile.

"Who are you?" the Secretary of Defense demanded.

"I am The Phoenix" she replied evenly, her voice echoing in the large
room.  "I am the beginning and the end, the source of all life and all
death, I am the Alpha and the omega.  And I am your doom."  The words
echoed in the silence that followed.

"The human race has reached the end of its usefulness.  Your purpose was
solely to bring about the next stage in evolution, the race of homo
superior.  That race has arrived, and has become plentiful and powerful.
Humans treat us with fear and hatred, when they should look upon is as
their betters.  You have oppressed mutants long enough, and have proven
that your rule is insufficient.  Therefore, your rule will be ended."

She held out her hand, and hovering above that hand was a small grayish
orb, surrounded by a shimmering field.

"Do any of you know what this is?"  The assembly seemed confused by the
sudden question.  "This is antimatter" she answered herself.  "Now, do
any of you know what THAT is?"  One of the President's scientific
advisors answered.

"Antimatter is the polar opposite of regular matter, its exact reverse.
An antimatter electron is called a positron, and is positively charged
instead of negative."

"Very good" The Phoenix replied condescendingly.  "Now, I take it from
the look on your face that you know what happens when matter and
antimatter come into contact with each other?"

"Annihilation."

"Correct, annihilation.  This is when the matter and antimatter cancel
each other out, and all of the contained energy within each is released,
causing a tremendous explosion with only a small amount of matter.  The
up side to this is that where nuclear weapons leave behind radiation and
render a place uninhabitable, this will instead destroy you all and leave
Washington D.C. useful to its rightful owners."

The Secretary of Defense gestured to the nearby guards, who opened fire
immediately on The Phoenix.  The bullets never reached her, but dissolved
in midair, disassembled on the atomic level.  The Phoenix glared at the
soldiers, who then burst into flames and were consumed in moments.

"And now for a demonstration."  With that, The Phoenix released the
field protecting her small orb of antimatter.

As soon as the field went down, the process began.  In less than a
second, the antimatter came into contact with the matter in the air, and
annihilation occurred.  The energy released was incalculable, and
expanded violently in all directions.  The blast radiated out from the
Capital building in all directions for over 5 miles, eliminating the
heart of Washington D.C.  The Capital Building was atomized, as was the
nearby White House.  The Pentagon was mere miles away, and was shredded
by the outer waves of the explosion.  In only an instant, the head of the
United States government was obliterated.

The Phoenix stood alone in the center of the crater, surveying all that
remained.  The ground about her was bare, not a sign remained of the
building she had been standing in only seconds prior.  As she laughed,
The Phoenix rose into the air, her body wreathed in flame.  She spread
her arms wide, and the shape of a firebird shown behind her.  Her eyes
blazed with fire, and the echoes of her laughter could be heard for
miles, and those who heard knew that the doom of humanity had come.

-----------------------------------------------

Ok everyone, Chapter 11 at last.  Once more I apologize for the extreme
delay.  Please email me at phoenixfire543@yahoo.com with any
questions/comments/suggestions you may have, I am always willing to
answer mail.  I hope to post again soon!

                    -Matt