Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2003 06:04:15 GMT From: Blake Alexander Subject: Tales of the New Phoenix: Story Of The Birds Of Prey chapter 5 Enter the infamous legal disclaimer NOW: I do not own any of the following. I wish I did. OH how I wish I did. Do you know how much money some of these bring in? But alas, I am but a meager college student working towards a teaching degree. That's right; I am in college, and going to be a teacher. Going from no money at all (college student) to no money at all (teacher). Please don't sue. You'll get a crappy pen set that I got from my brother many moons ago. Now, onto everything I do not own. Repeat. Don't own. I don't know sexual orientations or personalities either. DON'T OWN, DON'T KNOW! Nsync, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Pink, Christina Aguilera, The Wallflowers, and any other celebrities. I also know nothing of their sexual orientations. Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and all related characters. The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book series by Laurell K. Hamilton. The Vampire Chronicles, Tales Of The New Vampires, The Mayfair Witches, all series and characters written by Anne Rice. Buffy & Angel television series. Birds Of Prey television series. Star Wars Star Trek, Star Trek TNG, Star Trek DS9, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek The New Frontier, Enterprise television series, movies, and novels. Ok, now that that is taken care of, a little publicity for my co-authors. Go read these four stories in the Boy Bands, and Celebrity sections: Tales Of A Real Dark Night (The series that started it all.) celebrity/boy-bands/tales-of-a-real-dark-knight/ Marvel Knights celebrity/marvel-knights/ Tales Of A Super Hero Band celebrity/boy-bands/tales-of-a-superhero-band/ Tales Of A Young Mutant celebrity/tales-of-a-young-mutant/ There may also be a new writer up and coming. Good luck! I love the storyline I've seen so far dude! Keep writing! Finally, this is it I promise, we are entering into a section of the story where 4 stories converge. I am hoping that this is not confusing, but exciting for you all. So, enjoy! The Story of the Birds Of Prey Chapter 5: Into the fray "What?" Josh asked as I stared at him. "I missed you." I said with a smile. "You have no idea how much." "Ditto." He said turning towards me and sitting on the bed. Andrea just looked at us, making gagging noises. "Seriously, I'd tell you two to get a room, but you already have one. So it's my duty to remind you that you SHARE a room with me. Now pack, we have fifteen minutes." Josh and I kissed real quick and separated. "So, what can I do to help in Egypt?" Josh asked, pushing some clothes into his bag. Thinking that we would be here a while he had unpacked the previous night. He moved so quickly getting packed it was surprising. Touring with Nsync must have trained him. "Well... you can stay away from all forms of trouble." I told him. "Don't worry about him so much Blake, he's a grown up." Andrea told me, zipping her makeup bag. "He doesn't have any way to protect himself." I said, and then there was a knock on the door. I walked over and opened it to discover Ororo standing there in a white outfit. "Hello. I came to give these to JC. This," She said holding up a folded black suit, "is a standard uniform. I decided to go with something that the graduates get rather than students. They wear spandex." Josh walked over and took the suit. Unfolding it we saw a black leather ribbed outfit. There were no markings on it. "Thank you Ororo, but why are you giving me this?" Josh asked. "We may be in hostile situations. The suit can help to protect your identity. It is also lightweight armor. You will be more protected in it than your street wear." She responded. "I also spoke with Bishop, and he gave me this to give to you for our mission." She handed Josh a small case. He unclipped it and found a silver gun inside. "It is a pulse blaster. The energy core will recharge between blasts, but in case it doesn't there are two extra clips. There is a holster built into your suit." "Is this really necessary? I mean, he won't be in any of the battles." I said. I didn't like the idea of Josh getting caught up in any of the action. "We have to be realistic Blake." Andrea said walking to the doorway to join us. "If something goes down, we might not be there to keep Josh safe. This will allow him to protect himself." "JC, do you know how to shoot guns?" Ororo asked. "Yeah. My body guard taught me and Joey on tour. We were curious, and he was willing. I'm actually pretty good. Hopefully I won't have to use this thing though." Josh said walking over to lay everything out. "Ok." I had to resign myself to the fact that Josh would be in this with us. I knew it, but I never really thought of what that fact meant. "Should we be in uniform for the trip over?" "Yes. It is best if we are. I have one last thing to give to each of you." She held up a small case and opened it. Inside were three sets of red glasses. "These are communicator computers. They are directly linked to Cerebro, our central computer, and will allow us to access any information we might need at any given moment. You may also change the color of the lenses to whatever shade you wish." We each took a pair. I slipped them on and looked through them. "I don't see anything." I said. "They require thought to activate. They monitor your brain waves. I will train you more on their use when we get to Egypt. I must go see the professor before we leave." With a nod, she left. "Well, I better change." Josh quickly disrobed, and received a cat call from Andrea. We all laughed as we finished getting packed, then Andy and I changed. I took a moment to look at us, my eyes still normal and unlit, and thought of how weird this was. "You do know we are all dressed up as super heroes, right?" I asked. "Yeah, and I'm the only one not a hero." Josh said picking up his new weapon. He looked at it for a moment, pressed a power switch and we say three lights on the gun glow deep blue. "But that won't stop me from kicking some ass if I have to." He pressed a button then placed it into the holster on his right thigh. He then slipped the extra energy clips into a cargo pouch. "Ok guys, I have some stakes to hand out." Andrea said opening a small back pack. "Also some holy water." I looked at my legs and formed some holsters for the stakes on each thigh. I took two wood, and two silver-steel hybrids and hooked them on. "I have no where to put these." Josh said taking two of each. "Come here." I said, waving him over. I kneeled down and created a set of holsters on his left thigh and stood up. I then created one on each fore arm. "Thanks." He said putting them in place. "Not done." I said. I looked at his hair. "Even with the glasses and the uniform you'll be recognizable. So..." I waved my hands over his hair. I changed his hair to jet black, matching my own when I'm not all Phoenixy, and straightened it. "I'll change it back." I smiled, looking at him. I would miss the curls, but he looked as beautiful as ever. "Thank you." He said grabbing a rubber band from a pouch in his bag. He pulled his hair back and made a pony tail, then put on his glasses. He stood for a moment, and then we saw the glasses turn deep blue. "I think I'm getting the hang of these things." He said laughing. I took a moment to take in what he was wearing. In the suit, with the silver pistol, and the stakes, he looked incredible. "Damn you look sexy." I said smiling. It couldn't be seen with my mouth covered, but I knew he could tell I was. "You know, with your mask like this you'll look weird with the glasses." He walked over. "Make these changes." He started bellow my mouth with his index finger, and then trailed above my eyes. I stood back and dematerialize the face of my mask, leaving only my neck, the side of my head, and my forehead covered. "Now your ears." I nodded and uncovered them. He picked up my set of glasses and slipped them on. I left them red and smiled. "Thank you." I said smiling. "Aw... I really just wanted to be able to do this." He pulled me into a hug and we kissed. We would have probably stayed like that if it weren't for Andy. "It's time love birds." She said laughing. We looked at her, grabbed our stuff, and left the room. "We need to call you something other than Josh or JC. They're too recognizable with you." I said. Josh nodded and thought for a moment. "Just call me C. It's another once of my nick names." "C it is." Andy said. "But remember to only call Blake and me by our code names. The same goes for everyone else." Josh nodded and we got into the lift heading for the flight deck. `This is it.' I thought as the doors shut behind us. We entered the underground hanger and stopped to just look. It was adjacent to a take off strip that ended in a huge metal door. I had to think about the strangeness of the situation. Josh standing in his leather suit, Andy standing in her black body suit with green cloak, and me standing in my black suit sporting my glasses. Andrea had formed her emerald mask around her glasses and changed them to green. I wanted to say she looked like a bug but was worried about her response. We spotted Jean and Rogue standing at a pair of mini-jets and walked over. We dropped our gear and I took in their uniforms. Jean was sporting a yellow body suit with blue shoulder guards, wrist guards, blue utility pockets on her thighs, and a blue stripe that went from a mask that looked like mine all the way down her torso. Her belt was also blue and had a black on red X as the buckle. Rogue was wearing a similar yet different suit. Hers was yellow in the center from her thighs up, green on the outside, and a pair of yellow boots that went above her knees and yellow gloves. She also had a leather vest on over her suit. "Nice suits ladies." I said. "Thanks. Nice suits back." Rogue said with her southern drawl. I could feel her eyes on me. "Sorry little one, he's mine. Hands off." Josh said with a grin. Rogue laughed and slipped her sunglasses on. "Starting warm up sequence on the jets Marvel Girl." Rogue said, picking our stuff up off the ground and setting it into different cargo holds. "Alright." Jean said putting her black sunglasses on. "Marvel Girl to Storm. We're loading up." She looked away from us for a moment. "Ok." She looked back to us. "We take off in 10. We have a long flight ahead of us." She said smiling. "So, here's the seating. Rogue is with Storm and Green Falcon. I'm flying with you two guys. JC, you look ready to go into the fray, you using any sort of code name?" "Just C. And I hope to just stay off to the side." He said looking a little nervous. "Understandable." Jean said. "My code name is Marvel Girl, and Rogue's is, well, Rogue. As you know Ororo is Storm." Just then Cyclops came walking in, in a blue uniform with his visor on. "Hey. We leave soon, I just wanted to with you luck." He said walking up to Jean. She smiled as they pulled each other into a deep kiss, and separated. Everyone broke off to chat while awaiting Storm. The sound of the Engines warming on the two small craft made me nervous. "They look fast." Josh said taking in the craft. They were triangular in shape, with two large engines close into the bodies. On the underside of the craft were nestled lift thrusters that would push the craft into a hover. They were nicely designed. The cockpits looked able to hold three comfortably. "Yeah. I'm noticing that these guys have a good budget for nice toys." I said with a smile. We were about to start kissing again when Storm walked in. She was still in her white uniform, and looked elegant as ever. Her uniform had this cape that connected to the wrists of her uniform. There was a breeze that was playing with the material. She carried her two duffel bags to the mini jet and loaded them. "Are we ready to go?" she asked. "Affirmative. All systems are optimal onboard." Rogue came around and smiled. "As they say in the movies, `let's kick the tires and light the fires.'" We all laughed and started climbing in. I strapped myself in and took Josh's hand as he finished. Jean pressed a button in the seat in front of us and the canopy came down. She pressed another and waited a moment. Suddenly a hologram popped up in front of her seeming to float outside the window. "Beast, requesting clearance to depart." "Clearance granted Marvel Girl, good luck. Beast out." Jean pressed the controls and I felt the thrusters come to life beneath us as we lifted into the air. Jean maneuvered us onto the runway and we all looked to see Scott waving at us sadly. Jean blew him a kiss and pressed the controls forward. Ahead of us the hanger door slid open revealing a rock wall. We quickly began to pick up speed, and my heart stopped when we got close to the wall. I was about to yell when we safely slipped through. "Hologram." Jean said with a grin. "Thanks for the warning." Josh said with a sigh. "Where's the fun in that?" Jean asked laughing. We looked out the side of the aircraft and saw the others pulling up beside us. The rest of the flight was quiet. "I said break it!" Sanswah stood there waiting for the vampire to obey his order. "But sir..." Sanswah held his hand up and a white flame appeared. "This will not kill you, and you will feel its pain for all eternity. Do as I say." The vampire simply nodded. From the other side of the room Sanswah watched as the lesser vampire lifted the mystical hammer and slammed it against the seal. It shattered as if it were made of clay. The acid spewed out and began to eat away at the vampire instantly. He shrieked and ran towards the crew awaiting his deformed body. He fell to the ground whimpering as they covered him in powder that would counter act the acids effect. Sanswah walked across the acid soaked floor and peered into the open cavity in the wall. "Very good." He said smiling. "Enkil did a very good job hiding this from history. But we have found it." He motioned for the clean up crew to come over. The poured the powder onto the sword making it safe to hold. Sanswah lifted it off the stand it had rested on for all those ages. The swords blade was four feet long and clearly not of Egyptian making. "Born from a star, lost from the light. Slipped through the darkness into the night. Found by our God, born from the heavens. It is out treasure, and the defeater of all weapons." Sanswah recited from memory. He had long heard of Enkil receiving a weapon from Set. Stolen from Horus who had received it from a God born in the time after time. After Set stole it and gave it to Enkil the Gods, in fear of what it might do, erased its existence from Lore and from History. Enkil, fearful of its power, hid it as best as he could. "Foolish lower being. This weapon is a gift." Sanswah said rinsing it with a pitcher of water. He looked at its long straight blade. The grip was some sort of yielding yet incredibly tough substance. The cross a bird with outstretched wings. The blade had an unreadable language written on it. The blade was a shining black, while the cross was silver and grip black. "This weapon is truly made by the gods." He turned back to the cavity it had been in and saw the sheath resting at the bottom of the space. He carefully retrieved it and let his followers clean it. When they had finished it and had rinsed it he took the sheath and studied it. It too had an unknown language engraved on it. The sheath was also all black, accented with silver colored metal. The image of the bird was present here too. He slid the blade into the sheath and turned to leave. "Be ready to destroy this site within the hour." He was about to leave the underground crypt when he noticed an engraving hidden behind a statue. He looked closer and found a seam. He pressed it forward and heard a mechanism click. The statue lifted an inch into the air then toppled to the floor with a crash. Inside was a scroll. Sanswah lifted it from the hidden compartment and carefully unrolled it. After quickly digesting the contents he began to laugh. "With these, we shall be unstoppable." He laughed. He turned and walked out of the long lost crypt hidden far into the Sahara. He turned and looked at the opening. He pulled the sword out of the sheath and pointed its tip directly at the entrance. He willed his power into the weapon and saw it focusing at the tip. A great point of energy formed and then launched itself at the lost crypt, causing a blinding explosion to fill the dark quiet night. He sheathed the sword again, the lifted into the air to return to his Egyptian Base.