Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2006 13:20:47 -0800 (PST)
From: Mark <rahvin747@yahoo.com>
Subject: Fire and Ice - chapter 3

Disclaimer : The X-men are property of Marvel and this is a work of
fiction.

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

Chapter 3

Kevin walked through the grounds of the X-mansion. The air was cool, and
the birds took flight as he neared their feeding ground. The lake was
beautiful today, crystal and sublime. He saw Bobby standing at the edge of
the water, staring blankly at the water as if trying to see something
beyond it. Bobby seemed to hear Kevin's approach and shook his head as if
shaking off his thoughts. Kevin smiled at Bobby but the smile was not
returned, and he felt something inside him sink. Something was amiss, but
what? Bobby went back to studying the water but his fist seemed to clench,
and his anger was unmistakable.

Kevin approached with trepidation, his heart in his throat and the air
around him crackling with tension. At the last moment he hardened his
spirits and snarled with frustration. He would sort this problem out,
whatever it was. He placed his hand on Bobby's shoulder.

"Bobby, wha..." he began, but cut off as Bobby swung around, his faced
contorted with rage.

"Deceiver," Bobby shouted, and tears of anger glistened in his eyes.

In a swift action Bobby had clasped his hand around Kevin's throat, and in
that instant of paralytic shock where he tried to decipher what had caused
this outburst, he felt his throat freeze. Gasping in agony, he fell to his
knees and grabbed his own throat, and felt his skin as cold as the deepest
winter, and as hard as concrete. His throat was frozen, his arteries and
veins blocked with clotted blood, his windpipe clogged with pieces of
ice. Air, he needed air. He lashed out with his powers but he didn't know
how to fix what Bobby had done to him. The grass around him caught fire,
the water on the lack rippled, but the ice inside of him sat with
comfortable malice. He looked to Bobby with pleading eyes. Please Bobby, he
thought - but he could not speak it.  His vision was darkening, a cloud of
dizziness starting to fog his thoughts. Bobby snarled and stepped forward,
the burning grass snuffed out with icy steam. He grasped Kevin's hair in
his hand, and pulled his head back roughly. He felt the icy skin of his
neck crack and break at Bobby's rough treatment. He wanted to scream in
pain, but he couldn't even breathe.

"Die for your crimes, Kevin. I want you to die!" Bobby said. His eyes were
blue and vapid, and covered in icicles. The hatred in Bobby's eyes was so
powerful that Kevin felt his own eyes freezing under that terrible
gaze. Kevin's lips twitched in one final effort, one last push to cry out
Bobby's name, but the water blocking his windpipe mocked him. The sun set
on his vision, and he felt himself collapse, felt the slowing of his heart
and the end of his life. He felt himself die.

Kevin shot up in his bed, and cried out. The windows of his room exploded
out with a shriek as the glass launched outwards and landed on the soft
gravel two stories below.  He was panting, and sweating with anxiety and he
immediately felt his throat, desperate to claw the ice off of his
skin. There was nothing, his skin was warm. He wanted to weep, but he was
breathing with hunger - just to get that air which the dream had deprived
him of. Bobby would never hurt him! He wouldn't! He started to climb out of
bed. He had to make sure that glass hadn't landed on anybody.

Suddenly the door to his room burst open and an older good looking guy
burst in. The door fell of its hinges, and Kevin's eyes widened in
fear. The man had wild dark hair, and crazy untamed sideburns. He was well
built, but aggressive and carnal. "What the fuck is going on in here?" the
guy almost growled, and in an instant a set of huge metal claws extended
out from his hands with a metallic whine.

Kevin cried out in fear. "I won't let you hurt me!" he almost screamed, and
immediately stuck out his hand in desperation. The strong guy had only a
moment to register confusion on his face before he was gripped by Kevin's
powers and slammed into the opposite wall. He cried out in pain as he
collided with the wooden wall panel which shattered into splinters. He fell
down unconscious, surely seriously injured from the force of the impact -
but at least unable to harm him. He heard footsteps and his eyes widened in
terror. He lifted his hand in readiness. He would tear this whole place
down if people tried to harm him. Professor Xavier appeared in the doorway
and was sweating with exertion. He hesitated. Storm and Rogue appeared
behind him, but he held them back with his outstretched arm. The Professor
examined him warily.

"Kevin... are you okay?" he said slowly. This time there could be no
mistaking the apprehension in his voice.

"I won't let you hurt me," Kevin said in an exhausted voice.

The Professor looked at him sharply, and Kevin could feel the heavy mantle
of the Xavier's powers settling on his mind, uselessly trying to bypass his
superior defences.  He held the Professor off. Get out of my mind! he
thought, and suddenly felt the presence rapidly back away.

"Kevin, look at me," he said. "Look at me!" he shouted when Kevin's eyes
settled on the injured man who amazingly seemed to still be
breathing. Kevin's eyes shot back to the Professor's, and he stared at
him. He was so frightened. What did he do to make these people want to harm
him? The Professor started to speak slowly and very clearly, and Kevin
listened. "Kevin, no one wants to hurt you. This is a misunderstanding. Let
me into your mind, and I promise to help what is ailing you.  You know that
we are your friends."

Doubt ran across Kevin's mind, and the barriers around his mind
strengthened to near invincible levels, and the Professor's eyes widened
slightly. These were his friends.  Someone wanted to hurt him, but not
Bobby. Never Bobby. He felt confused, and sad.  So very sad. He couldn't
think. It was as if a cog was missing in the machinery of his
mind. Something was blocking his thoughts, but not Xavier. He looked to the
Professor and his lips trembled. "Help me Professor," he said sadly, and
looked to the ground in shame. In a single action he removed the barriers
which guarded his mind, and he felt the Professor invade without
delay. Sleep came over him. He was so tired.  He needed to
sleep... sleep... sleep.

Later...

Kevin knew he had been asleep for a very long time, but he didn't know for
how long.  He didn't even know how he knew, except immediately he knew that
his powers granted him a true sense of time. The white light before his
eyelids parted as he opened his eyes. He felt at peace, and wondered what
he would see. The incident a few days previously jumped to the forefront of
his memory, and he sighed with despair. The white light of his vision
became blue. He was in a blue room. Blue panels everywhere. The air was
cool and he could feel the artificial breeze of the air conditioning. There
was an ominous silence, and he became aware of how hard the bed or platform
was which he was sleeping on. His chest felt cold, and he realised he was
shirtless. Damn those people, why did they have to remove my shirt to help
my mind? He heard movement from inside the room, and he froze - utterly
terrified to confront another assailant at this time. Suddenly Bobby's
perfect face appeared in his vision with a light smile. With a cry Kevin
jumped up, and fell to the floor. He'd been on some sort of examination
bed. He ran to the corner of the room and turned to face Bobby. He was
cornered.

"Please don't hurt me, Bobby," he said desperately. Please, anyone but
this! He could never harm Bobby with his powers. If only he could be
certain of the opposite.

Bobby seemed as shocked as him. He appeared stunned and raised his arms
pleadingly as he slowly approached Kevin. "Kevin, it's me. You know I won't
hurt you," he said, and it sounded as if he was devastated to have to try
and convince him of this.

"I know," Kevin said sadly. "But don't come any closer!" he said when he
saw Bobby approaching. The paradox of his statement made him seem like an
idiot, yet he still felt so confused. Shit, what was happening to him? Was
he going insane?

He felt his legs weaken, and he crouched in the corner of the room with his
head resting on the wall. He felt so alone. Something was seriously wrong
with him! He was shaking with uncertainty. He wanted to curl up into a
little ball and disappear, just vanish. Suddenly he felt an arm on his
shoulder and another arm hugging him tightly, and he almost lashed out. Yet
... he didn't. It felt so warm, so caring.

"It's okay," he heard Bobby whisper softly into his ear.

And with that small statement, he broke. He started to weep. He had come to
this place looking for a new beginning, but a terrible transformation was
occurring in him and just like the Professor had predicted, people were
getting hurt. He wanted to make a good impression with the Professor, the
students and especially with Bobby, but everything was ruined... ruined!
The tears ran down his eyes and he leaned into Bobby's embrace, which
tightened. He cried openly until his soul seemed dry, and still Bobby sat
there in silence with his supportive embrace.

"Thanks," Kevin said finally in a cracked voice. It was an foolish sign of
gratitude for a special act, but it was all he could manage at the moment -
so there it was. He slowly tried to stand and felt Bobby lift him under his
arm supportively.

"No problem, man," Bobby said as if nothing had happened.

"What did the Professor do to me? And how long was I here?" he said slowly.

"Well I haven't seen you for three days, and believe me I tried," Bobby
said with a small grin. "I don't know what he did to you," he said
honestly.

Kevin nodded. He didn't really know what to do next. He was standing in a
room shirtless with the obsession of his life, and he'd just cried his eyes
out after sleeping for three days. The world makes sense again. He was
about to initiate a futile search for his shirt but Bobby took the choice
away from him. "Why don't you find your shirt, and your shoes - and we can
go sit by the lake for a while until you feel better?"  Bobby looked
optimistically at him, and his blue eyes tore at his emotions. The curve of
his smile was mischievous and sexy. He was so... hot!

"Sure," he said apathetically, but with no hint of rudeness. He wasn't
looking his best.  Actually he looked like shit, but he didn't feel like
reminding himself of that fact.

"I'll meet you there in ten," Bobby said. "I just need to find a
replacement to look after some of the students I need to baby-sit."

He play-punched Kevin's shoulder, and dashed from the room, but not before
he swept his eyes over Kevin's abs with a knowing smile. This was the
ultimate worst.  As if he had the world on his shoulders Kevin searched for
his shirt and found it in a storeroom two doors down the passage. While
putting his shirt back on, he heard voices from down the passage. Normally
he didn't care for listening to other people's conversations, but the
urgency of the tone made him curious. He approached a half closed door and
the conversation became clearer.

"... too dangerous, Professor," the female voice muttered angrily.

"That he is," the male voice replied, but it sounded like Professor X, and
the previous statement confirmed it. "But better to iron out the problems
of his powers here than let him loose on the public. Can you imagine what
magnitude of disaster that will yield?"

"Iron out?" the woman said with exasperation. "He isn't a mutant who can
merely lift chairs and beds, or who can walk through walls. He could level
this entire estate and perhaps further. And all it would take would be one
loss of his temper. That's all it took with Jean, unless you forgot."

"That's not fair, Rogue. It won't be the same. Since he arrived here I've
been placing..." the Professor continued.

"Like listening in on private conversations?" he heard behind him, and
swung round anxiously. It was that strong guy again, and he was leaning
against the wall with an amused look on his face. Kevin took an
involuntarily step back.

"I'm not going to hurt you, kid," the guy said, and walked towards him and
shook his hand. "And that was true for the first time we met," he added.

"Uh... who are you?" Kevin asked, and felt bad at his tactless address.

"Logan," he said simply. "Or Wolverine, whatever you want." He smiled as
Kevin's eyes widened at the second part. Everyone knew of the legend of
Wolverine.

"I'm Kevin," he said even more plainly, but with a hopeful friendly smile
on his face.  He could turn this nightmare around if he tried, unless the
higher powers hated him totally.

"Yeah, I know," he said while looking at Kevin with interest. "I hear you
have similar powers to a friend I once had." It was not a question.

"You knew Jean Grey?" Kevin said before he could stop himself. If he could
find any sense of recurrence or similarity to his present circumstances, it
would be a relief.

Wolverine looked away quickly, and anguish crossed his face for less than a
second.  "I'm sorry. It's not my business," Kevin added quickly.

"It's not your fault, kid," he said, but he didn't elaborate.

"I'm really sorry I hurt you, Logan. I had experienced a nightmare where
someone was trying to kill me, and I when I woke up I lost control of my
powers. And then you burst in, and I thought you wanted to hurt me when I
saw your claw things... and..."

He was fumbling for words, or at least trying to formulate the worst
apology ever.  Wolverine held up his hand. "Easy boy," he said
softly. "I've heard all of this already today. I came down here to make
sure I hadn't scared you too badly, but you were sleeping. Then I ran into
Iceman who was jumping around here like some damn rabid coyote trying to
visit you. He thought I was here to gut you like I do to everyone else who
throws me through walls. And then he went off on a long monolog about how
amazing you are, and how Kevin wouldn't hurt a fly. And that Kevin this,
and Kevin that... I nearly made an ice sculpture out of the guy just to
give my ears some rest."

Kevin laughed behind his hand. He liked Wolverine. He was a virile and
untamed spirit, and not vague about his opinions in life. He appreciated
someone without hidden agendas. The guy was built too, and seriously good
looking - but in a contest with Bobby this guy was several laps behind, and
not a contender for a medal. He chuckled to himself, and said goodbye to
Wolverine. He was suddenly in a good mood, and he'd forgotten about the
conversation he'd heard only minutes before. He climbed into the elevator
which would take him to the ground floor of the mansion.  He assumed he was
underground somewhere, but if Bobby hadn't arranged to meet him in fifteen
minutes, he could have been on the Moon if he didn't know any better.  He
scratched his itchy cheek and felt the roughness which had formed over the
past three days. Maybe they could heal his broken mind, but as grooming
staff they were fucking useless. He looked at his watch and angrily saw
that he had five minutes to get to the lake, and no time for a shower and a
shave. And he'd be damned if he had to spend his time with Bobby like
this. It was bad enough that Bobby had seen him like this in the first
place. He focussed his mind to a razor edge, and the dirt on his body
flaked off and formed a swirling and coalescing ball a few inches to the
left of his face. The best shower in the world wasn't as efficient as his
skills, and he could sense how clean he was. Still rough though. His eyes
narrowed and he felt the energy of his powers remove the stubble from his
face, sharper than any blade, softer than satin. He rubbed his face which
was smooth and he formed himself a decent hairstyle with a flick of
energy. His powers were becoming greater. Great power was not about
magnitude. Only an elephant could push over a tree, but it was the small
honeybee which could form a perfectly symmetrical honeycomb who was the
true master. His eyes glanced to the left and he saw the swirling globe of
dirt and sweat mixed with the rough remnants of his beard orbiting like a
layered planet in the middle of nowhere.  He thought it would be a neat
joke to launch the thing at the back of some unsuspecting victim's head,
but mentally slapped himself for his infantile idea.  Instead the ball
swirled red and yellow and purple and glowed intensely and suddenly was a
butterfly which flapped its wings twice and landed on his shoulder, and
looked at him quizzically, its antennae trying to read the situation.

"Welcome to my world," he said cynically to the butterfly. At that moment
the door of the elevator opened and the small creature took flight into the
mansion. He walked down the passage of the mansion and past more than one
group of gossiping students, many of whom stopped their conversations or
changed direction as soon as he approached. Gossip away, you scared little
shits. You're as bad as people who are scared of mutants, and you don't
even realise it. He was glad to get out of the mansion. He could feel the
whole place judging him. They were scared of what they didn't understand,
and they understood less than a tenth of it.

He walked towards the lake which was perhaps a mile from the mansion,
towards the only person in the whole world for whom he had time. He saw him
lying on a propped up elbow on a blanket facing the lake. He breathed a
sigh of relief. He knew that Bobby would never hurt him, but he would have
felt anxious if he'd approached a scenario where he was staring blankly
into the water. Luckily the situation was different. He approached the
water and squinted his eyes as he saw something glistening above Bobby's
head. He smiled, and then laughed. He'd made an icy gazebo over his
head. It looked as if it was made of an opaque glass as it arced above him,
and blunted the harsh summer sun. He stepped on to the blanket, and Bobby
looked up and saw him, his face brightening and opening into a wide smile.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey man," Kevin replied, "I like your little creation."

"Little?" he said with mock injury, but he was all smiles a few seconds
later. "Thanks for coming."

"Uh... It never crossed my mind not to," he said honestly. He sat on the
blanket and looked at the water. It was darkly blue, and the sun reflected
brightly on the surface.  A light breeze disturbed his fringe, and he
corrected it with his hand and a mutter of irritation.

"So what's up?" Bobby asked suddenly, and with a chuckle. It sounded like a
broad inquiry, but he knew it wasn't. It was a focussed question, and it
would be immature to pretend otherwise.

"I had a dream," he said. If he wanted the truth, he better be ready for
it. He would try to blunt the crux of the story. "I approached you and you
killed me." Well, tact had never been his strong point.

There was silence next to him. It stretched until Kevin turned to see if
Bobby was still next to him. He was, but he was staring at him with pained
eyes. "It was only a dream, Bobby. I'm sorry I told you, but you asked. I'm
sorry..."

"I would never hurt you," he said softly, but there was so much conviction
in it he might as well have shouted it from the hilltops.

He turned to face Bobby, and he fixed him with a determined stare. "I know
that, Bobby. That's exactly why the dream upset me. Because it was the
world gone wrong - the world as if it was upside down."

"Yeah," Bobby said, in deep thought as he looked at the water which
reflected inside his eyes. "I just want you to know it from me so that you
can put it out of your mind."

"I knew it before you told me," Kevin said warmly. "I'd rather destroy
myself than harm you either. It's just not a possibility. Can we move on
then?"

"Sure," Bobby said with a weak smile. The pain on his face lingered for a
moment longer, but then melted away and Kevin was certain that it was
ancient history. "Tell me why you came here."

"Uh... okay," Kevin said. This was a sore subject but much better than the
alternative.  "I was about to complete a degree in physics, but I had a
fall-out with my parents and they disowned me. I needed to find a place of
refuge, and I found this place."

Bobby shook his head sadly. "I had the same problem with my parents. When
they discovered I had powers they cut off contact with me. So I know how
you feel, if it helps."

"It helps," Kevin said, and decided to let the lie linger. It was
irrelevant whether the conflict stemmed from mutant powers or his affinity
for guys - either way, it had altered the relationship with his
parents. "I'm happy here. I've found friends and people I care for. A lot."
He looked at the lake, and didn't dare look at Bobby. It would be a brazen
revelation, and perhaps Bobby wasn't ready for it. He might be straight, or
in a relationship. He didn't really know anything about him and had met him
only a few days ago, or perhaps almost two weeks ago if you count stalking
and masterful avoidance...

"Well I think you're fucking hot, and I just know we were meant to be
together," he said suddenly.

Kevin's world lurched, and reality resonated as if the whole cosmos was a
giant gong which had just been struck by a mighty hammer. His head seemed
to spin and he instantly felt as if he was about to faint. Could he
actually comprehend what he had just heard? Had he heard it, or was his
mind trying to fabricate what he wanted to hear? He fell back on the
blanket, dizzy and delirious. A trickle of sweat ran down the side of his
head and followed his sideburn, and he could feel heat coming off him in
huge amounts. He was on fire, burning lava flowing through his veins, his
heart so overwhelmed it wanted to launch out of his chest, his muscles
paralysed and trembling with the gravity of the situation. His breath was
heated and strained. He looked up at the icy gazebo, and wondered how real
the situation was. He heard Bobby move next to him, and as he turned his
neck he saw Bobby's face inches from his, serious and sexually charged. He
was a wolf who had spotted his prey and his eyes locked Kevin's in a spell,
but they scanned his face as if they were ravenously hungry for what they
saw. He could feel the heat coming off Bobby's face, could see the
perfection of his features, and a surge in his emotions that he thought
would make him cry out in ecstasy.

Bobby leaned forward and his lips settled on Kevin's, soft and gentle, and
Kevin's feelings and emotions rose up like all the fires of the world in a
tempest, and he was certain he would ignite at any moment. His eyes were
closed, and he could sense that Bobby's were too. The kiss became more
forceful, and he could feel Bobby trying to slowly release a dam which was
in peril of rupturing, with various degrees of success.  He himself tried
to hold his own emotions back. He thought if he let his feelings show at
this point, he would go mad, or perhaps die from the sheer joy of it. He
felt Bobby's tongue part his lips and they both groaned as the immensity of
the moment settled on them. Bobby's hands ran over his chest, and he was
panting as heavily as Kevin was. Kevin held the back of Bobby's head with
one hand, furious that the moment would have to end at some stage when all
he wanted to do was stretch it to an eternity. Eventually they broke off
the kiss, and Bobby rested his forehead against Kevin's, his eyes closed
and pained as air tried to move rapidly through his nostrils.

"That was what I've wanted since I saw you in that passage," Kevin said.

"Ditto," Bobby said, breathlessly. "You're so hot I can't take it."

Kevin strengthened his embrace and smiled. "I love you Iceman. I know it in
my heart."

Bobby smiled in a content way, and relief was plain on his face. "I love
you too, Kevin. You have a mutant name yet?"

Kevin stroked Bobby's hair as his head rested on Kevin's chest. A drop of
water landed on his forehead, and he blinked. "Your gazebo is melting onto
us, Bobby," he said with amusement.

"The sun above, the hottest guy ever below - what do you expect? I can make
ice, not tungsten."

Kevin laughed and stroked Bobby's cheek. "Can I get rid of your creation? I
want to show you something."

"Sure babe," Bobby said, but he sounded exhausted, and Kevin thought he
might fall asleep on his chest.

Kevin raised his hand and the gazebo boiled and disintegrated. The sun's
rays immediately started beating down on them, and Bobby groaned with
discomfort.  Kevin sat up and Bobby joined him with some resistance. He
hugged Kevin with one arm and put their heads together. He seemed loathe to
break contact with him.

"What you want to show me, Kev?" Bobby said.

With a silent smile, Kevin stood and started walking towards the water,
which was a little over a hundred feet away. He heard Bobby follow him with
interest. Kevin stared at the water for a moment longer, and he could feel
Bobby's presence near to him. He'd been waiting for this for a long time.

"My mutant name is... Kronus," he said finally, and his name was carved in
the sky in fire, the burning letters above the lake roaring like an
inferno. He could sense Bobby's curiosity.

"According to mythology, there was once an Age where gods with unique
powers ruled the universe."

He stretched out his hands and the water of the lake shot up from all
directions, lifting higher and higher into the sky. It continued unabated,
an immense torrent of water rising up as if a giant mass of moisture was
being emptied into the heavens. "These gods were known as the Titans, for
their powers were colossal, and none could stand before them or compare to
them." The water was still rising, and half the lake sat in the sky -
thousands of tons of water suspended hundreds of feet in the air in huge
columns of water. Kevin felt no fatigue. He could feel a wall approaching,
but he didn't know how to interpret it. Suddenly he ran into it, and
struggled and couldn't lift any more water. Yet inside he knew his
potential was greater, and a deep and buried fury rose in him, and the wall
began to bend. It strained under the mass of his power, resisted and
groaned. And with one final livid push, Kevin tore the wall to pieces and
the water resumed its climb to the heavens. It was then that Kevin realised
the immensity of his powers, and he looked upwards and saw the gargantuan
lake floating two hundred feet above his head - possibly the greatest mass
ever lifted. A huge crater half a mile deep marked where the water had once
been. Kevin called upon the energy in the sky and clouds darkened the
skies, lightning forking wildly in every direction - hundreds of bolts
every second, the roar eclipsing the groan of the mass of the lake.

"Kronus was the greatest of the Titans, and also the youngest. His power
was unmatchable, and when he realised his full strength the universe
settled into the Golden Age, because there was nothing he couldn't do. His
powers advanced the universe into a period of prosperity unheard of, and
even when Zeus and all the hosts of Olympus managed to overwhelm him out of
spite, they couldn't destroy him. He was too powerful. Instead, Zeus
imprisoned him and his peers - but Cronus waits... a latent power waiting
for release."

He sensed Bobby move next to him, and he smiled at him. Bobby was stunned
at Kevin's strength, his mouth open in awe. With a slight crane of his
neck, Kevin caused the waters of the lake to reform, and they roared like
the great oceans in anger.  Kevin looked to the water, but knew what he
would see. The water was shaped like an eagle, and suddenly it opened it's
wings which covered the sky, the wingspan thousands of feet across. The sky
rained lightning as the bird proudly displayed its self, and the thunder
from those crashes caused the ground to shake. Bobby started to lose his
footing, but Kevin caught him and held him tight. He looked into his eyes,
and he didn't see fear, which was perhaps the greatest gift of all. He saw
awe and admiration. Bobby smiled at him.

"Cool," Bobby said, but his words were muted by the tempest around them. He
knew then that Bobby trusted him implicitly. With a mass of water riding
above their heads, and the most deadly display of lightning ever witnessed,
this guy seemed content with his situation.

He leaned forward to kiss Kevin, and they kissed passionately as their feet
rose from the ground. Suspended two feet above the ground, Kevin sent out
rings of fire from under them which spread out for a hundred feet before
dying out. Pillars of fire started climbing towards the sky, and as they
reached their peak a thousand feet above they started to circle him and
Bobby. Eventually the fire spiralled around them rapidly, until a tornado
of fire was circling them, three hundred feet across and hot enough to melt
iron. They stood in the eye kissing passionately, and when they broke off
the hug they floated there embracing one another as nature went into chaos
around them.  Kevin opened his eyes, and looked at the firestorm encircling
them, and the shield he had which protected him and Bobby from the
unbelievable heat it generated. He looked more closely and saw lines of
blue in the tornado, and smiled to himself when he realised what it
was. Lines of ice circling with the fire, as terrible in their own way but
working together to create a miracle of nature never before seen in the
world. He hugged Bobby tightly.

A few minutes later they sank back to the earth, and he spent the next hour
repairing the damage to the environment, but it could hardly be called a
problem. He could sense Storm in the distance hysterically trying to
rectify the weather, even though he could have done it himself. He sensed a
powerful retribution for his act today, but he didn't care. He had Bobby -
and he could face the world if he lost everything else.

As they started walking back to the mansion, he shared some hungry glances
with Bobby, but also thought on his situation. Those walls in his
mind. Someone was tampering with his powers. He was beginning to suspect
who, and he thought he had enough evidence to be certain of his
hypothesis. He would do nothing... yet. But if Zeus thought he could
control the power of Kronus, he was sadly mistaken - and had a destiny
written with death.

End of Chapter 3

Thanks for all the comments guys. I've had some really inspiring feedback,
and I always appreciate any comments. Sorry for misspelling Storm's name in
the previous chapter. I shall be more responsible from now on ;)
rahvin747@yahoo.com