Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 21:56:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Aaron Jones <stoleyoursneakers@yahoo.com>
Subject: Becoming an X-man 2

Positive comments make me happy. Thanks for the wonderful comments, I
didn't really expect them! :-D

This is (obviously) a work of fiction. Any events even remotely resembling
real-life are purely co-incidental. If homosexual relationships aren't your
thing, then I suggest you turn back now. This story is (c)
stoleyoursneakers@yahoo.com. Take it bas your own and be plagued with
guilt.

"// \\" Denotes speech via telepathy.

The X-Men and all related characters are all (c) Marvel Comics.

Becoming an X-Man: Chapter Two

Light came into the large room and Aryk stirred. He sat up and rubbed his
eyes. Looking around, he saw that he was in a large room with a large oak
desk, a large chest of drawers and that he was lying in an oversized
bed. He started to panic, wondering if what happened earlier that morning
was a dream, and where he was.

//Aryk? Are you alright?\\

"Who's there? Where am I?" Aryk asked, looking around frantically.

//Clam down, Aryk. This is Professor Xavier. I'm using telepathy to talk to
you. Just concentrate and speak in your mind.\\

//Like this?\\ Aryk questioned.

//Precisely! Why don't you come down to my study? Someone should be by to
escort you shortly, so hurry and get dressed.\\

Aryk got out of bed and went over to the chest of drawers. All of his
clothes had been recently washed and they were all in the drawers for
him. He pulled out a pair of knee-length shorts and a matching sleeveless
top. A knock at the door startled him as he pulled in tank over his
head. "Just a second!" he said, his thick Australian accent seeming odd
after telepathically communicating with the Professor. He opened the door
and his heart skipped a beat. Standing in the doorway was the most
beautiful man Aryk had ever seen. He towered over Aryk by nearly a head and
was wearing a tight, black, short-sleeved shirt that accentuated his
perfectly sized muscles. He had what already looked like a day-old five
o'clock shadow, and a full head of dark brown hair. His strong arms had a
good coating of the hair up to his elbows. He grinned a dazzlingly white
smile and extended a strong hand.

"Aryk? I'm Wolverine. Er, that's my codename at least. Most people here
call me Logan." Aryk took his hand and gave it a good shake. The strength
and warmth in just the handshake made him feel weak in his knees. "Kid? You
alright?" Asked Logan, waving a hand in front of Aryk's face.

"Huh? Oh! ...yeah!" replied Aryk, shaking his eyes away from a large bulge
resting in Logan's tight jeans. "I uh... I just kinda expected a butler or
a maid or something, I guess." Aryk mentally slapped himself. Could he have
been any more idiotic? He closed the door and they started walking down the
hall.

"Nah, we don't have any butlers or maids here. All the students do the
housework and if the instructors feel especially nice about it, they help
in." Logan said with a slight grin. He pushed a small beige button and an
elevator opened in the wall. "The Professor's study is two levels below
us. The room you woke up in will be yours while you stay here. This is the
west wing of the third floor of the dormitory. The building itself is four
stories, and the first..." Logan went on to explain about boys and girls
wings, classrooms and other probably important aspects of the building, but
Aryk zoned out, simply watching Logan talk and listening to his incredibly
sexy, husky voice. "C'mon, the Prof's waiting."

They stepped out of the elevator and walked towards an ornately carved
wooden door at the end of the hall. Suddenly a young girl burst out of the
wall, ran across the hall and right into the woodwork of the opposite wall.

"What was that?!" shouted Aryk.

"That," Logan said. "Was Shadowcat. Her name is Kitty, and she can sorta
phase through solid objects. But don't let her do it through electrical
equipment, it goes berzerk when if she does." Aryk turned and saw her head
sticking out of the wall. He smiled and waved at her, trying to seem
friendly. Kitty looked shocked and blushed, quickly disappearing into the
wall.

"She must really like you," Logan said, laughing.

"What makes you say that?" Aryk asked cautiously.

"She's usually very friendly and not at all shy. Pretty soon all the girls
will know about you." Logan chuckled.

"Great!" Aryk said, feigning interest. He didn't care about the girls. He
was more excited to get back to the guy's wing and see the selection there.

When they reached the door, Logan didn't even knock, but rather he reached
for the knob and opened the door. Inside the room was Professor Xavier
sitting behind a huge cherry-wood desk. Sitting around the room were
several other people Aryk hadn't seen or met.

"Good evening, Aryk." Said the professor.

"Morning?" Aryk asked surprised.

"You fell asleep on the jet. Rather than wake you, I had Jean Grey here
bring you to your room." A beautiful red-haired woman gave him a smile and
a small wave. "She has strong psionic abilities. She has telepathy, like
me, and telekinesis. She is able to move things by focusing on them. Her
codename is Pheonix."

An attractive brown-hair man stood up and extended his hand. He had on
ruby-colored sunglasses and had very strong arms. "My name is Scott
Summer. My codename is Cyclops. I have the ability to emit powerful
laser-like beams from my eyes. Next to jean is Hank, codename Beast, and he
is the resident scientist. Ororo, codename Storm, is not here right now but
she should be arriving soon."

"It's very nice to meet all of you." Aryk said, breathlessly.

"You'll be starting classes on Monday with the rest of the
students. Tomorrow I've arranged for one of the students to show you around
and help you to get the feel of the buildings where you will be living and
learning."

There was a knock on the door and a tall, dark-skinned woman with a very
regal aura entered the room. He pushed a lock of her long white hair out of
her face. "Sorry I'm late. You must be Aryk." She smiled.

Aryk looked at her and quickly put his hands to his head. He flashed back
to the terrible night when the white-hair demon caused all of the
damage. He looked up with angry fire in his eyes and yelled at her.

"It was you! You were the one who tore up the house and almost killed me!"
Items on the professor's desk began to shake.

"Aryk!" the Professor said sternly. "Calm down, what do you mean she almost
killed you?"

"The night of the... the hurricane! There was a white-haired demon and you
were causing it!" He yelled, pointing a finger at Storm. He wheeled around
and stared at the professor. "You lured me here! You tricked me! I can't
believe I trusted you!!" He turned and began to run, but Logan stood in his
way.

"Kid, listen you've got it all..." His voice slowed down and his movement
towards the door nearly stopped. Without even realizing it, Aryk had slowed
down time around him. He looked back and saw Scott and Jean slowly getting
to their feet. He ran out of the door and headed for the nearest exit. He
ran for nearly fifteen minutes, trying to find a door out. He stopped near
a flight of stairs to catch his breath. He looked up and saw Kitty coming
down the stairs with another girl who was wearing long white gloves and had
two streaks of white hair tucked behind her ears. They barely had time to
notice him before he got up and ran up the stairs. Suddenly he felt as
though he had been hit by a brick and crumpled to the floor. The last thing
he saw was Kitty and the other girl dropping their bags and yelling for
help, all in normal speed.

Aryk was sitting in a small room. It looked familiar. The door opened and
Samantha and his Uncle John entered the room.

"Sammy! Uncle Johnny!!" He ran to hug them. Samantha gave him a small hug
and John just patted him on the back.

"You've got to run, Aryk." Said John. "These people are not your friends."
Aryk looked at Samantha.

"It's true, darling." She said, mock empathy on her face.

"Yes... yes, you're right... no! No! You're not Samantha! She never called
me darling! Who are you?" Aryk yelled. Before his eyes Samantha stood up
and started morphing and twisting until her skin changed to a dark blue and
her hair shortened and turned red.

"I told you, Magnus." The blue-skinned woman said to his uncle, who now had
white hair and a strange red suit on. "We got him too late, his telepathy
is too stro...."

"SAMANTHA!" yelled Aryk, rolling over in his sleep. He felt a hand grab his
shoulder. "GET OFF OF ME!!" he yelled, opening his eyes and jumping off of
the bed. Looking around frantically, all he saw was Logan sitting in a
small chair.

"Calm down, kid. No one wants to hurt you, I promise." He said soothingly.

"Oh yeah? Then why is that... that WITCH here?" he said, indicating Storm.

"She's one of us," he said. "She's fighting the good fight, kid. I promise
you." He got up and moved towards Aryk, who shifted himself so that it
would be a little easier to escape. Logan put a heavy hand on his
shoulder. "You don't have anything to worry about. Now let's go see if we
can sort this out." Aryk was cautious, but he knew that he could escape if
he needed to. He followed Wolverine out the door.

"Hey Logan!" yelled a young boy running down the hall at them. "I was
wondering if later... who's this?" He smiled at Aryk. The boy, more like a
young man, had a very boyish attractiveness to him. He had light dark brown
hair, olive skin and piercing blue eyes and was obviously in very good
shape. His muscles showed beneath the black wifebeater he had on.

"This is the new kid the Prof brought in last night. He's a little... well,
he's got first-day syndrome." Logan said gently.

"Ah!" the kid laughed. He looked at Aryk. "You've got nothing to worry
about, guy. My name's Roberto. Or Sunspot, whatever! You are...?"

"Uh, I'm Aryk. I don't really have a codename yet." He replied, shaking his
hand.

"Well, what's your power?" he asked quizzically.

"I can manipulate time, and I have some "fringe benefits". He laughed.

"Ah... hmm. I've got it! Are you into Greek mythology?"

"Yeah, a little bit." Aryk said, feeling weirdly excited.

"Then your new codename will be Chronos. He was the Greek god of time."
Roberto smiled.

"Hey, great! Thanks... I really like that! Chronos..." Aryk repeated the
name to himself. Roberto laughed and excused himself.

"Find me sometime later and I'll show you around, okay?"

"Sure thing!" Aryk replied, feeling much more at ease.

"See you later, Aussie! Bye Logan!" Roberto said as he ran off. Logan gave
a disapproving laugh.

"Always runnin' around. That kid has more energy than... well, than Kitty!"

//Logan? Aryk? Are you coming?\\

//Yeah, Prof. Sunspot caught up with us and offered to show Chronos here
around.\\

//Chronos?\\ asked the professor.

//Yeah, it's the name Roberto gave him, since he can manipulate time and
everything.\\

//Are you happy with it, Aryk?\\

"Yeah!" said Aryk, breaking the silence. "Whoops..." he blushed. //Yeah,
Professor, I like the name a lot.\\


The reached the door and entered the Professor's study again. This time is
was just the Professor, Aryk, Logan and Storm. Aryk tensed up, but Logan's
hand on his shoulder made him a little more at ease.

"Thank you Logan. Could you please go and check on..." started the
Professor.

"Actually, Prof, if you don't mind," he motioned to Storm and the
Professor, "and Aryk doesn't either, I'd like to stay." Aryk let go a
barely audible sigh of relief.

"I'm sure it won't be a problem, Logan. Now then, Aryk, please have a
seat. I believe that we have some explaining to do."

"Yeah, you do." Aryk said, sounding much more harsh than he had intended.

"Aryk, this is Ororo. She is one of the oldest members of the X-Men and is
one of the most reliable. I can safely say that she was not anywhere near
Sydney when the hurricane hit. Ororo, would you please?"

"Of course, Professor," Ororo said in a dignified, yet friendly
voice. "Aryk, I am not the only mutant with weather-controlling
capabilities. I have a younger brother who joined the ranks of a very evil
mutant named Magneto. His name was Gideon, and he nearly matched me in
control of the weather. We had very similar appearances, specifically the
white hair. I hope you will not bear any ill will against me for what my
brother has done, Aryk. And if it means anything, I wish to heartily
apologize for his actions." At this Aryk looked down and was silent.

After a few minutes he spoke. "I should apologize as well. I should not
have snapped out at you. I was just.."

Logan spoke. "We know kid. You were looking for someone to blame. A lot of
us have that search in our life." Logan massaged Aryk's shoulder
gently. The feeling was intense and relieving.

"Well." Said the Professor, "Now that we have that taken care of. Logan,
will you help Aryk find Roberto so that he can show him around?"

"Actually Professor," said Aryk. "I'm still very tired, and if it's alright
with you I would prefer to just go to sleep for the rest of the night."

"Of course, Aryk. You are fully capable of making your own decisions." The
professor smiled.


Logan brought Aryk back to his room. Aryk opened the door and entered
quickly, hoping Logan would follow. The chair Logan had been sitting in was
gone, and the only sitting area was the large bed.

"Need anything, kid?" Logan said, leaning in the doorway. Aryk opened his
mouth, but hesitated. Logan's feral instincts picked up on it. "What?"

"N-nothing. It's nothing. It's silly and..." Aryk stammered.

"C'mon. Whaddya need?" Logan asked, walking into the room and sitting down
on the bed next to Aryk.

"Well... earlier, when you were sitting in the chair, I felt like I could
sense you in my sleep." Aryk blushed. "And... well, it made me feel
safe. Like I was being protected." Logan chuckled.

"Sure kid, I'll stay here for the night. Just lemme go and grab a cot and
I'll be.."

"Um, well, I'm sure, uh.." Aryk started, perhaps a little fast. "I'm sure
that... that since the bed is so big, that, you know, two people could um,
sleep in it alright. Y'know, comfortably." Aryk was looking down at his
shoes. Logan put a strong arm around Aryk's shoulders and pulled him
towards him slightly.

"Sure thing, kid." Logan gave him a small kiss on the forehead and rose to
go the small bathroom that was right off of the room. Aryk's hands began to
sweat a little, and his heart began to beat faster. He quickly took of his
sandals and his shorts and slipped under the covers. Logan was in the
bathroom for nearly fifteen minutes and came out dripping wet from the
shower. Aryk tried to play asleep as convincingly as possible. He watched
Logan towel his hair dry, and noted how sexy he looked in his boxers with
wet hair. His chest and stomach had a layer of dark brown hair that only
made his torso that much more desirable. Logan made his way over to the bed
and slipped under the covers. He moved closer to Aryk and gently wrapped
his arms around the 18 year-old surfer from Australia. Trying not to make
it obvious that he was loving having Logan's arms around him, he breathed
gently.

"Goodnight, kid." Logan said, gently kissing the tip of Aryk's ear. Aryk
smiled to himself and noted how safe and warm he felt in Logan's arms. He
slipped into what was probably the first deep sleep in far too long.

______________________________________________________________________________

End of Chapter Two. Again, comments? Criticisms? And thank you for your
very positive e-mails.

stoleyoursneakers@yahoo.com