Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:14:27 +0000
From: Adam McDonald <ender2155@gmail.com>
Subject: Phoenix Reborn part 12

Did you ever read the Harry Potter books?  Remember the first one where he
finds out he is NOT just a normal human, and that the weird stuff happening
to him is because he is a wizard and has magic powers, and how amazed he is
when he attends Hogwarts and learns magic?  Well, that was how the next few
weeks were for me!

Suddenly, all this stuff that had been going on in my life, the dreams, the
voices, strange happenings, were falling into place, and I was finally
making sense of it all!  I was a mutant, and Erik was teaching me how to
deal with and control my powers.

At first, it was simple stuff, like levitate a cup or shield my mind from
psychic attacks; but as time went on, we moved onto bigger things like
telekinetic attacks, hovering and even flying.  Let me be the first to say
that being able to fly, without the aid of a plane or helicopter, is one of
the coolest things you can ever do.  I also learned how to attack an
opponents mind and leave them sitting there stunned and stupified (mind you,
it was never permanent, only a temporary handicap).

Liz was the most helpful with the mental attacks, as I learned her mutant
abilities were completely telepathic.  She could do AMAZING things in
another's mind, but had no control over actual physical objects -- while the
exact opposite came natural to me.  I could easily lift a car 100 feet in
the air before I was able to even read a person's mind and learn their
memories.

Everytime I worked with Erik and Liz on my telepathic powers, he always wore
this strange helmet that he claimed would protect him from our sparring in
case we misdirected our intentions.  Sure enough, even after I
finally became quite competent at getting into someone's head, I was
completely unable to make it through his shield.  I made it my unsaid goal
to make it through his defenses.

Overall, I was pretty happy.  Erik's Brotherhood of Mutants were all
relatively nice (even if there were some weird and abrupt ones I didn't
quite get, like that strange Toad, or incredibly fat Blob).  For the first
time since I had first come out and gone to my first gay club, I finally
felt like I was at home.

Occasionally, I thought of Charles and the X-Men, and while I was annoyed
that he only wanted to limit my possibilities, and I was still upset with
Nick for spying on me and pretty much lying about his connection with the
X-Men, I was too caught up in my training to bear them much ill will, and
just realized they were fighting for the same reasons we were: equal rights
for all people, including mutants.

Which is why I was caught off guard one day when Erik approached me and
asked if I would take part in a strange mission.

"Ryan, I am sending the Brotherhood to do some urgent work, and I want you
to go with them to make sure they accomplish their goal."

"Erik, I'm not sure I'm ready to do this, I mean, I'm still learning how to
manage my powers.  What makes you think I can even help them do this?
They're the experts; I'm still just a student."

Erik smiled and said, "My boy, you are quite ready for your first test in
the field.  In fact, I think it's high time we put you to your first true
test of your abilities.  Do you think you can handle this challenge?"

I really didn't know what to say.  I mean, I had learned a lot, and was
getting better with my abilites, but I had no clue what kind of real life
test Erik had planned for me, and I certainly didn't want to let him, or my
friends, down in a real life challenge.

"Well," I began, "I'm not sure what to say here ... do YOU think I'm ready?"

Erik smiled, slightly, and responded, "My boy, you've grown in leaps in
bounds in the short time I've known you.  I feel very confident you will be
MORE than able to support our team in this trivial matter I have planned for
you."

I smiled, and blushed, at his compliment and said, "Well, if you have faith
in me, then I'm ready.  What are we doing,exactly?"

Erik nodded at Liz, who had suddenly appeared in the room, and she typed a
few commands into a computer, and images began to pop up on the screens
behind Erik.

He turned and began talking as schematics and blueprints begain to appear on
them.

"There is an anti-mutant group that is planning on disrupting a wedding
party between a mutant and a non-mutant, at this location tomorrow in Utah.
We want you, and a few others, to travel there and keep any violence from
happening.  Liz has analyzed these schematics, and has pinpointed where we
think the group would look to strike, if given the chance, as shown here."

Certain sections of the blueprint flashed red, and I could easily see many
of them included windows that faced the street, or other somewhat secluded
places, where assailants could enter unnoticed.

"What should we do, if we face these people?" I asked.

"Well, we don't want to hurt them, of course, so just do what you can to
disable or disrupt their plans, should they get so far as to possibly harm
the people at the wedding party," Erik stopped a moment, before turning back
to me and smiling, "However, since this is a blessed day between two people,
I hope that you and your team, will keep them from even interrupting the
event, and I have faith that the day will proceed as planned with no
problems."

His implication did not miss me.

"Me and MY team?!" I wondered.

"Yes," Erik replied, "You, among all of us, have had more experience lately
in the homosapien world, so you will be leading the team.  Mystique, though,
will be right with you helping you out, won't you, my dear?"

As he said that, the beautiful blue-skinned woman entered the room, and
immediately morphed into a gorgeous tall woman in a most revealing, yet
tasteful formal dress.

"Yes," she cooed softly, "I'll be right there to help you out however you
need."

Erik smiled and said, "You have your orders, follow them through!  I will be
here to debrief you when you return.  Good luck, and my faith is with you,
my young child."

My breath caught in my throat for a moment as I revelled in the pride his
words gave me before responding, "Thank you, Erik, I won't let you down."  I
turned and left, flanked by my new friends who would accompany me on this
mission and immediately began talking with them about the strategy we would
use to keep the wedding party safe tomorrow.

......................................................

"He is gone?" Magneto demanded of Liz.

"Yes, he is beyond earshot, and my abilities will keep him out of my and
Mystique's head; you are safe to continue." Liz answered docily.

"Good!" Magneto began, "Tomorrow is the most important task we have faced
since bringing Ryan into our fold.  Tomorrow we work to unleash his true
talent.  Liz?!" Magneto asked as he turned sharply to face her, "Are you
ready for what must be done?"

Liz turned away and looked down.  She had dreaded this moment since Magneto
had asked her this favor, but she knew she had to fulfill her obligation
after what he had done for her.

"*I'm sorry, Ryan*," she thought sadly, "*but I have no choice in the
matter.  God forgive me!*
**
Copmosing herself, Liz turned back around and said, "Yes, I am ready."

Magneto smiled. "Good!  Tomorrow, the power of the Phoneix shall be ours,
and all homosapiens will bow to our mercy!"




I am REALLY sorry it took so long to get this chapter up!  I've just been so
busy with work, it seems all I do aside from that is sleep!

As always, feedback is welcome at ender2155@gmail.com ... thank you so much
for your continued support, and I promise the next chapter will not take
NEARLY as long to be posted!