Disclaimers: The story below may contain scenes, language and situations not suitable to minors and is intended for mature reading only. This will also depict homosexual interactions between consenting male adults. If you are offended by the content of this story or under legal age, you are kindly asked not to bother reading further. Oh, and this story is pure fiction, a large fragment of my imagination. This story is going to be quite a mix of every kind of superheroes and super villains a person can think of. The characters I kindly "borrowed" will be from comics, literature and even computer games. Some characters will be celebrities too. I don't have the slightest idea of their sexualities and I don't aim to theorize. X-Men, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four and company are all the property of Marvel Comics.
The Justice League, The Birds of Prey and so on are the property of DC Comics.
Charmed is owned by Warner Brothers.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox.
Vampire: The Masquerade is PC game property of White Wolf Studios.
Bloodrayne is property of Terminal Reality.
Soul Calibur and all of its sequels are property of Namco.
Dead or Alive and all its equals are property of Tecmo.
Prince of
Guild Wars is property of NCsoft.
Warcraft and World of Warcraft are property of Blizzard.
I don't really know which elements I'll be using or when, but eventually I'll find a place for all. If I get to finish the story, that is. I plan for this to go on a long while, but who knows.
By the way the story is about a 17 year old mage that later also becomes a mutant. His name is Phillip Markov and has a pretty messed up life, that doesn't seem to improve.
"_" -- indicates normal speech
"word" -- indicates telepathy conversations
`_' -- indicates personal thoughts
<_> - indicates conversations over phones and intercoms
Underlined text stands for stating the importance of a word or a sentence.
If you have feedback, ideas and critics or feel like saying something e-mail me at likenion@gmail.com
Chapter 5
Haunted
It was now Sunday morning around 10
o'clock. I opened my eyes with difficulty and barely made it out of the bed.
With a great yawn I brought myself to the shower in the bathroom and had a long
cold shower to wake me up. The icy cold water was burning my warm skin with its
frosted touch and soon I was wide awake shaking the last remnants of sleep.
Then my mind wandered on the events of the day before. If this was a mission
then it would have been a complete disaster. The image of an innocent student
was all so impossible to recreate. Logan and Xavier already knew that there was
a whole lot more to me than the eye meets. My observations about the professor
were correct, but there was a shaky truce between us.
As I dried myself off I contemplated on these macabre omens that I kept receiving including my own unnatural mood swings. This whole situation was a total mess; I was a total mess and didn't know what to do to stop this. All my life, I'd been learning how to control my power, now I was loosing all the years of hard work keeping it under control and was scared about how I would react and what I would do next. Now to screw things even more, this prophetic dream came all of a sudden and this feeling of inevitable doom was chasing me. Not to mention that my empathy was running wild again acting like a magnet to everybody's emotions and I was even feeling nature around me, which drove me crazy very fast and I realized that accepting a bond with the world was no easy feat.
Then another thought hit me. What if this repeats itself again during the other rituals? I couldn't survive another four bonds to the remaining kingdoms of the magical world. A new ghastly dilemma stood in front of me. Risk receiving the godly acknowledgement of the other four kingdoms that would be the end of me or risk suffering from elemental misbalance, which would be again the end of me. Both ways I'm dead, so why not die acknowledged by the gods. I braced myself for what might come and prepared for my second ritual; the air ritual. I took another specially sewn robe for this one. It was silvery white silk with lots of embroidery of birds flapping their wings wildly on my sleeves and around the legs, while on the back was pictured a griffin. Another item was a simple necklace resembling trinket made of a long white leather thread richly ornate with blue beans, long white feathers and some runes. I also put an aromatherapy stick and a lighter just in case I couldn't get things get going today. But the most important thing I needed was my wind dagger. It was standard very crude made dagger resembling a T. The wooden handle was written out in runes and that was all to it really. I packed the things in a small leather pouch that hung right below my waste. It was very stylish.
I wasn't up for a very early ritual and put on a pair of blue jeans and a thin long sleeved baggy blue shirt that resembled the usual tunics and robes I wore. I always had this liking towards wide clothes that allowed free movement, but in the mean time I couldn't resist wearing skin tight and exposing clothing. Sometimes even I couldn't understand myself and the drastic difference in my tastes.
With my headphones in my ears and my mp3 player turned as loud as I could bear without pain for my ears I headed to get breakfast in the kitchen listening to Rammstein and their song "Sonne". They are a cool German industrial rock band with awesome texts and fantastic, rough, chaotic music. My body was operating on autopilot while my mind was lost in the text of the song.
"Die Sonne scheint mir aus den Händen, kann verbrennen, kann dich blenden. Wenn sie aus dem Feußtem bricht, legt sie langsam auf dein Gesicht, legt sie schmerzsam auf der Brust, das Gleichgewicht wird zum Verlust./The sun shines from my hands. It can burn you, it can make you blind. When it rises from the wetness, it lies quietly on your face, it lies painfully on your chest and the balance is lost." I didn't notice when I began to sing alongside the male singer, which explained the weird looks I got from the students that were walking near me. For all of you that don't know any German I would be glad to translate. It isn't so melodic when translated, but with the kick ass music and the original language it's simply fantastic.
I was somewhere in the middle of the next song when my eyes caught a very fast movement in front of me that scared the shit out of me, because I was so light headed at the moment. The scream I gave was pretty high pitched and embarrassing as I fell back knocking a small table with a vase in the hall way. The vase and table were beyond repair and well my dignity was also hurt to say the least. It was a blue furred man that resembled a demon very much. In the heat of the moment I acted out of pure instinct. I felt the rage and hatred emanating from me stronger than anything before. I hated these creatures now more than anything in my life and I swore that every one of them must fall dead before me so that I could find peace.
"In lapidem converto ere!" I shouted in Latin, which was perfect for casting minor spells. This was a simple petrifaction spell and all I did was to shout "petrify" in Latin to do the job. It wasn't a very powerful spell, but the way I charged it through my empathy it even rivaled the ancient ones. For once I was glad that my gifts were acting on their own. With a wicked grin I approached the petrified man.
"Aduro provincia!" was my next attack. In my right hand erupted a pulsating sphere of bright light, which hit its target right in the chest hurling him at the wall. That cancelled the effect of the first spell and the man was pretty much confused and dazed from the sudden attack. But that didn't satisfy me at all. I needed his pain and agony and I wouldn't stop until he was down on his knees begging for me to kill him.
"Castificare!" I shouted once again trying to purify the supposed to be demon. A bright circle of light appeared around him and a beam of light erupted from beneath him, but that was all it did. I cast that spell with so much fervor that it should have destroyed him in a very slow and painful way, but I heard no screams and didn't see any signs of disfigurement. Then realization struck. He wasn't a demon. It was Kurt Wagner, the teleporting blue demon looking guy. We weren't properly introduced, but that didn't mean that I didn't know him already. This very instant I was released from this thirst for pain and hunger for agony. Fear overwhelmed me as I approached the man again. What was happening to me? How could I mess up things more in this mansion?
"You are not a demon! Oh my god what did I do?! I'm so very sorry mister." I began mumbling uncontrollably and reached down to help him stand up. He was a bit disorientated, but unharmed in general. He looked up at me and I saw that all was forgiven. I could see in his eyes that he had a good soul, which made feel even guiltier.
"Don't worry I get that a lot really. I look a bit intimidating to tell the truth and I'm used to the frightful looks, but I have never been attacked before. I guess it's my fault anyways. I shouldn't have appeared so fast and startle you." He said as he stood up on his feet and dusted himself off.
"Yeah and how does that justify my act of violence? I keep forgetting that there are no demons here. I kind of acted on instinct. No hard feeling I suppose. Look at the mess I made." I apologized and went back to the broken table and whispered "condigo".
"It is not so bad. We can get another one in no..." he started but just went silent at the sight of my spell. It was a most simple repair spell I chanted, while the music from my mp3 player was booming. The broken peaces put themselves back together glowing reddish and it seemed as though nothing happened. "I forget that you are not a mutant." he stated bluntly in his heavy German accent that was very distinguishable. "Am I scaring you?" came all of a sudden.
"No, not one bit. I've actually seen worse. The problem is that my kind actually tends to kill things that you so much resemble. What I find difficult to cope with is the contrast between your looks and your character." I tried to reassure him and couldn't help but smile at his utter confusion. "Everything I say must sound like total none sense to you now, doesn't it?"
"Well yes. I don't know anything about mages, so it is confusing. I just heard someone sing so well in German that I had to see who it was. Where are you headed to? May be we can walk and talk a bit? I have nothing better to do anyways."
"Sure. I'm off to the kitchen." I said in a matter-of-fact kind of way and turned down the volume of my mp3 player. I guess he heard his native language, because he asked, whether I knew any German. As a matter of fact I knew so we switched into German.
"Also es muss bestimmt seltsam sein hier mit so vielen Mutanten zu wohnen, wenn du der Einzigste bist, der nicht ein Mutant ist/ It must be very strange to live here with everyone being mutant except you.." he started and enjoyed talking in his mother language, because of the fervor, in which se spoke.
"Ich habe genug seltsame Sachen gesehen, wenn du das meinst. Eigentlich ich fühle mich wie in Mutant unter den Mutanten. Es wird lange dauern bis ich mich daran passen werde/ I have seen enough strange things, if you mean that. To be honest I feel like a mutant between mutants. It will take lots of time until I'm adjusted." was my quick response as I adjusted my pouch and strode down the stairs. I felt very uncomfortable having this conversation. His looks represented the things I most resented and even though he was human seeing his face brought back so much bad memories.
"Es ist so schön meine Muttersprache widerzusprechen. Hier gab es
niemand, mit dem ich sprechen konnte./It is wonderful
to speak again in my native language. There
was no one here that I could speak with." he grinned at me with that kind
smile, but the fangs and the swirly tail befind his back froze my blood. I was a nervous wreck since
my last mission and now even the concept of this man with his looks crawling
around the mansion and teleporting wherever he wished, made me tremble in fear
and disgust. I hated these creatures, despised them and needed to avoid the
mere thought about them. Especially after what happened before I even moved to
"Vielen Dank für der Kompliment, aber leider ich muss jetzt schnell Frühstuck haben und dann muss ich einige Sachen tun. Also bis später/ Thank you for the compliment, but I have to get breakfast fast and then I have some things to take care of. See you later." I barely could take out the words from my mouth and with that ran like something was chasing me leaving him in the hallway rejected. I entered the kitchen with a loss of appetite.
I wanted to be alone and get things in my head straightened out. I finally got the hang of suppressing my memories up till now, but Kurt had to show up me bringing the horror I had to bear six months ago. Pain and disgust rose in me and I broke in tears. It was a violent burst that seemed to have no end and I prepared a sandwich still sobbing, ate it still crying and the tears seized when I sat down to have a cup of coffee. I was so glad that there was no one seeing me. How did I manage to look so weak and helpless even though I had an impressive body built and powers I didn't know for sure? But I thanked my luck once again for not revealing the weakness in my character.
But every good thing just had to have an
end and in the kitchen walked
"Why did you stop? I don't mind a bit of music." he said as I jumped from my chair and went to wash my glass. I didn't want him to see my teary red eyes.
"I don't sing." I almost whispered in a low pained voice. I hoped with that to end the conversation and tried to get out of the room avoiding his look. However he stepped in my way and stopped me with his arm stretched out as a barrier.
"You look like shit. Are you feeling alright? Have you been crying?" he asked as he made me look at him. I wanted to run away to prevent the outburst that was about to happen, so that no one would see. It was too late.
"Why, the fuck, do you all want to know if I'm alright? I ain't made out of glass." I growled with annoyance. All this care and concern was getting my nerves. I wanted to be left alone, like I always was. It was the best for me, the best that the world could offer to ease my agony. Now why was everything revolving around me?
"Calm down, we just want to help you. What happened to the boy we met? It certainly can't be healthy to be this pale."
"Trust me you don't want to see that part of me up close and stop pretending like you would care. Now if you excuse me I'll be on my own." I almost hissed. It might have been even sinister, when I remember the scene. At that moment I have lost my cool and was on the emotional roller coaster. I violently pushed aside his hand and stormed out of the room trying to find a secluded place to relax and meditate before even doing something that was not involving magic.
What a wonderful Sunday morning it was. No need to get up early and have to go teach teenagers or train them. The only day I was free and had time to relax. I was ready to enjoy it every way possible or that what was at least my intention, until I had gone into the kitchen to make myself some breakfast. Even before reaching the door I heard in the hallway someone singing in the kitchen. It was a crappy pop song, but the person singing it had a very melodious and tender voice. I thought it was a girl, but as I entered the room I only saw the new boy Phillip sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in his hand.
He had this spaced out expression and judging by his red and swollen eyes he had been crying. He was very pale and sick looking today as if his life was drained from him. He was startled when I entered and sprang to his feet going to the sink. I couldn't believe at the drastic change in him. The other night I met a very self-confident and provocative young man. That's right, even though I didn't quite accept the arrogance in his behavior I couldn't deny the fact that he wasn't a normal teenager like everyone else. Now I saw the total opposite. It was obvious that something was troubling him very much.
I tried to make him comfortable enough to tell me. That failed miserably!!! I was curious to learn what could have caused his sudden mood swing, but Phillip just cut me off and stormed out of the room. Well I was sure he was groggy, but to be so offensive, was not good. To have a storm of emotions in oneself is just a recipe for a disaster even if the person was not a mutant. As soon as I devoured my sandwich I set off to find him and had luck.
He was sitting on the marble railing of
the terrace on the back side of the whole mansion. His mp3 player was off and
he was just sitting there motionless staring at the forest. I neared him from
the back and tried to engage into a friendly soothing conversation. He didn't
respond at all so I took hold of his shoulder and shook him slightly. As I met
his empty eyes I felt horrified and was ready to carry him to the
"God, what the hell you think you are doing, touching me while I'm meditating? Why are you even following me? Didn't I make it perfectly clear that I wanna be left alone?" he was now being hysterical. He was panting and there was this strange mixture of emotions around him that I couldn't quite define. He was angry, pained, despaired and scared for some reason and full of so many other negative emotions that I didn't quite know how to deal with him, he could go ballistic without a reason and from what I heard from Jean and Scott about Phillip, I sure didn't want to see him using his powers at their peak. God, I was never good at this, but here I go.
"Now, Phillip, try and calm down. Please tell me, what the matter is. We are here to help you." It was certainly a great cliché, but most of the time it worked on distressed teenagers, but I seemed to have encountered a worthy opponent. His face broadened into a very sarcastic grin and he laughed at what I said.
"Don't try that crap on me. It may be true that you help your kind to have a better life, but don't you just try and convince me that you tend to the whims and problems of every mutant in this mansion!!" I didn't quite like how he spoke about mutants, but he really wasn't a mutant. He was a human.
"That's not true and you know that. We care about every student in this school body." It was a very solid argument, but once again the kid passed through my defenses.
"Come on and drop it already! I highly doubt that every one of the seniors here run from student to student and constantly keep asking whether they were okay. Don't you try to fool me! This special attention everyone seems to give me is because of my powers now, isn't it? You all scared shitless when some of the more powerful mutants get emotionally unstable and their powers go wild and try to prevent that." He was extremely bright and figured out everything. Every single word was true and I couldn't deny it. Even though it was a bit immoral to pay attention on the more powerful mutants so that they don't start blowing up the school or something, it was the best way to maintain order. I couldn't reply.
"I am sure that Jean and Scott have been spreading rumors about my power levels and the Professor surely must have informed all the seniors that I can block even him, the greatest telepath in the world. And now after yesterday's incident everyone here is on their toes waiting for my next move or trying to prevent it." again he hit the bull's eye. Jean couldn't stop boasting about the way he knocked out the brotherhood one by one without any effort. I was really anxious to see him in action myself, but was a bit afraid to confirm the words of the professor and Logan about his power display.
He came near me and stood several inches from my face still boiling with these emotions. I could sense that he was not in control of himself. I couldn't even move. I was embarrassed, because I couldn't win an argument from a seventeen year-old. It was kind of intimidating the way he just stared in my eyes.
"I am going through something here. Something none of you mutants could ever bear. Your powers might be emotionally bound, but mine aren't. So there is no risk for you and your precious school to get harmed by me going insane. So just cut it with the fake ..." he began shouting again, but he stopped in the middle of his sentence. He had run out of air and energy. He let his head fall on my shoulder and started crying hitting me with his fist on the chest. All I could do to prove him wrong was to hold him tight in a protective hug. From the way he acted I knew that he never received much affection during his childhood. Soon his crying diminished and he pulled himself away from me.
"I'm fine now. I just needed that so much. I can't explain how long I needed to do this." he was now calm and rational. It was so weird and unexplainable that the only thing I could do was to follow him to the railing where he sat on the floor leaning on the railing.
"Are you ok?" his eyebrow shot up in indignation, which was a more than obvious answer the he was not doing well. "What are you going through? It will be so much easier for you if you just let it all out and share with somebody." I asked sitting on the railing above him to spread my wings. They always got in the way, so it was hard for me to sit wherever I wanted.
He was silent and dark. His look worsened by the second. I couldn't believe that a so healthy teenager with perfect swimmer built to look so skinny and frail.
"You gotta understand that we are not doing this special treatment thing, because we want these mutants desperately at our side as you might end up thinking. We try to help these kids to get back on their feet so that they can grow up to be something. I got worried because you changed so fast for the worse and even you were not powerful we would have done something." I tried to calm him down. What he said was essentially true, but the motives behind our actions were not clear to him. The way I saw it he thought we were manipulating the students with greater powers.
"I can't tell
"Don't worry I won't. It will be our secret. Every now and then everyone needs to let their anger out. Don't be scared to tell someone though. It can't be healthy for you to hold everything inside. If you want to talk I'll be always available." he just sighed and stood up facing me. His eyes were so sad that I knew that would never happen. I heard another sigh from him as he got over the railing and headed to the forest.
"Where are you going?" I asked and followed him still worried that he might do something stupid.
"I'm off doing my ritual."
"You can't be serious. You can't go and do whatever you do in this state. Go to the mansion. That's an order." I hoped that it would work on him. He was so wrapped up in mystery that I got the goose bumps when I was around him. Ever since I saw him in the Rec Room Friday night, I was sure that with a person like him everything could happen.
"That wouldn't be wise. If I don't do it today the balance would be broken and this as a consequence would lead to serious problems on my behalf." he said calmly still strolling. His voice was steady and I couldn't believe the drastic change in him again.
"Don't think I am letting you do this alone in this state you are in. I'm coming with you. You changed your whole attitude again. In my eyes this is freaky." I sounded like a ten year old. I felt utterly stupid. Here I was a 27 year old man using words a child would use, whereas this 17 year-old used the language of a professor with a major in philosophy.
"Suit yourself, but I have to do this today before noon so we have to hurry. It's not going to take much time. May be a hour." he said as we entered the woods and headed east as far as I could tell. He looked better by the minute. I guess being around nature charged him up, because his skin returned its healthy tanned peach color and his gait filled with vigor.
Finally we reached the end of the mansion grounds, which was a high cliff above the ocean. He seemed satisfied by the location and sat on the ground emptying his pouch. He formed a circle on the ground with a pocked knife and set a small aromatherapy stick in the ground. Phillip then took his ritual cloth and started undressing. His shirt fell on the ground exposing his perfect formed muscles. I wasn't gay and never had these thoughts in my head, but I had to admit that his muscles surpassed those of the most athletes. They were enough powerful to allow him to stay his ground and were not that bulky to make him look lumbering. Overall he was slim and athletic. He put his robe on and then took his pants down and tossed them aside.
"You don't mind if I do this naked. I have to striped down from all daily things." He explained as he was wrapping his arm in a feathered necklace.
"As long as you don't start striping down and dancing naked I'm fine with everything you do." I replied and sat down leaning on one of the trees watching him now light the stick and waving the smoke away.
"Okay. It can get pretty freaky for you, but you have to be warned not to touch me. It is a number one rule. Never touch someone who is casting." I just nodded and watched the show of my life.
Phillip began chanting the words for his ritual. His voice was melodic but so low that I couldn't catch any of the words, not that that would matter anyways, because it was some ancient language that I couldn't figure out. He was sitting on his knees facing the ocean his back towards me so I could only see his hands and head moving, but with no view of his face. As his voice rose in a lilting shout a gust of winds hit his chest and the silver smoke from the stick spread like a mist getting thicker seemingly alive having a mind on its own. It crawled everywhere the dagger, which Phillip was holding, directed it. Soon the whole area was sunk in the heavy fog. The ocean and the forest were hidden from the eyesight and the only light came from Phillip himself. I could distinguish some currents of white ghostly light circling around him lifting him from the ground.
I remained breathless at what I saw. It was so unreal and unearthly beautiful. He was dancing in the air free and light as the feathers in his left hand, which rustled slightly at every movement. He looked like an apparition, like a ghostly figure, a part of the mist. His face was calm and even seemed serine, his eyes now with silver irises and his lips curled in a soft smile. The whole picture was too beautiful to be true. I was a straight guy with a hot Asian woman and still couldn't take my eyes of him even though he was male. But know he was so androgynous with that long hair of his and the grace in his movements. And then everything went to hell.
The light flowed in him and it his whole body glowed in this color and just about he was going to land and dispel the mind a shadowy figure appeared all of a sudden. It was massive man. I couldn't see his face in detail, but he had long jet black hair and sparkling sapphire eyes. I though it must be someone from the school, but I remembered no one with that description and Phillip's reaction was horrifying.
"No, no, no." he began in trembling whisper backing away. Then the whispering turned into violent sobs and cries as the shadow seemed to take out some kind of a weapon. "You can't be here! Leave me alone! Why are you coming back in this way?!" he was shouting now and seemed helpless in the situation. I tried to get up, but I found myself petrified. My body was frozen and didn't even budge. "Please go away, Tristan! Wasn't it painful enough the way you went?" he was now pleading, but the figure continued its way towards Phillip raising its weapon high above his head. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, but I have no other choice." his voice sounded cold and devout of any kind of emotion.
I watched in fear as powerful winds started blowing around the whole place pushing the figure back, but only barely. Orbs of winds and light formed around Phillip's fists and exploded loudly when he threw them at the man. With a violent shout of anguish and anger Phillip blew the whole fog in an instant dispelling the shadowy figure as well. We were on the cliff. It was sunny and everything seemed normal. I could move, but Phillip was on the ground crying rolled up in a bundle. This was how a supposed to be great day crashed and burned.
Jean's Perspective:
It was about nightfall when all the
seniors without the professor could gather and talk about Phillip. I felt that
Angel was hiding something, about why Phillip was as white as a ghost, but I
helped him with telepathy to hide it. I knew that if he lied to Xavier than it
would be better if he really didn't learn about it. We were in our kind of Rec
Room right next to the library. This was a very private conversation and there
were just a small party of the seniors. I and Scott were there of course
alongside
"So what is so important that you want to see us in private without the professor knowing?" asked my husband Scott. He really wasn't all that comfortable lying to Xavier, on account of spending almost his whole life here. He was so loyal that in certain moments it was annoying. I on the other hand liked getting involved into such mysterious and secluded gatherings.
"It is about Phillip and the way he is
now." began
"Come on, baby. Say what you have to say.
You are beginning to scare
"He didn't get sick as we both said after the ritual. He was attacked by a monster. I tried to help him, but my body was paralyzed for some reason. It was like he knew who the attacker was and didn't want to fight back, but in the end he got rid of it." he shot everything like a machine gun. It was too much information for everyone to process and we all looked dumbfounded in utter surprise. An attack in the school? This was beyond the possible, but it happened. No one could say anything.
"What the hell are you talking about? You
mean that the kid was attacked and you go hiding it from everyone. "
"He pleaded me not to tell. He had a total
mental breakdown this morning. He is very troubled. Something happened to him
that must have made him this way. How could I let everyone know that? "
"This can actually explain his state right
now. Having to deal with traumatizing events from the past and now being
attacked are definitely the causes for his nervous break down. And this
arrogance and cockiness as Betsy had said earlier are just a self preservation
mechanism. He needs to isolate himself from potential harm by driving everyone
around him away." answered Hank deep in thought, which was correct of course. I
was major in psychology, but on account of being a genius he was faster than me
at making such deduction. No matter I still had the
"Fuck the boy must have been really
through hell. If he didn't tremble before Logan, who knows what he must have
seen. I mean he is the most intimidating man that I have ever seen." Betsy
commented at which
"What did the attacker look like?" was my
turn to ask. I was really curious to learn, because Phillip seemed to know him
from what
"It was man with a large built like Piotr or even bigger. He had square jaw from what I saw and long black hair and blue glowing eyes. But he didn't look like a normal human. His whole body was like made out of mist. I heard Phillip say that his name was Tristan. I tell you he wasn't human. He even had a weapon of some sort like a sword I think."
"I know this
"And how would you know him?" asked Storm
"You barely know the boy and like him. You were the one that ruined his mood and
joined forces with
"He has a photo of him in the hands of a
man with the same description. I saw it back in his house three days ago and
last night he had this nightmare. It was around
"That's insane Scott. You said that he got killed, how could he be the attacker? The last time I heard dead people don't attack." Storm cut in. This was the common belief that every normal human tried to accept, but we knew better.
"Storm, there is Moonbeam a.k.a Dead Girl.
You know the hippy child. She is a walking zombie you know. If mutants can come
from beyond their graves I'm sure mages can do the same."
"May be it was a lover's revenge. Scott said they were intimate on the photo and Phillip being gay. It is logical." said Betsy thoughtfully, at which everyone shot her a very confusing look. I on the other hand was very mad at her. She should dye her hair blond for obvious reasons.
"Betsy, can't you keep your mouth shut. Only you and I knew about that and swore to keep a secret. You should look up the word secret in a dictionary just to see that it means don't tell anyone!!!" I sighed in despair at her absent mind. Boy we were best friends, but these goof ups could drive even a monk mad. In front of Nightcrawler, homosexuality was a major taboo. Just as I knew it would happen, Kurt entered his preacher mode.
"He is gay!? I can't believe that he is in such violation with God's holy orders! And he has the nerve to attack me and claim that I was demon!" Kurt burst out in outrage swinging wildly tail. One thing I didn't understand was the attack he mentioned.
"Calm down Kurt. What on earth are you talking about? He attacked you?!" I asked in disbelief. This changed the whole situation. We had to keep his mouth shut in front of the professor or Phillip would be in lots of trouble. What got me scared that Phillip was willing to attack out of pure whim. I guess that the others felt the same way about the boy, because they all showed a serious expression on their faces.
"Yes, he did! He shouted like a mad man, petrified me with fear and hurled me at the wall with fiery balls of hellish fire and the induced most painful images of death upon me! I knew he would be trouble the second he came. He is a mage, a breed of unholy and sinful humans condemned to an eternity in hell! And he has the nerve to state that he hunts demons, the nerve to assume that I was a demon!" he began hissing in the way old school preachers in the ancient times would have. I only sensed that he was lying about the way Phillip attacked. He was exaggerating the whole situation, so that the seniors would take his side.
"Kurt, shut the hell up and stop lying!" I yelled. This outburst was a surprise even to me and surely silenced everyone in the room. "If there is one thing I hate most that is a liar. Don't forget that, as a telepath, I can sense whether you lie or not and you are lying right now. He attacked you. Yes and that makes everything more complicated, but I know he isn't evil or unholy. I heard tales from the professor about his Order. They really do kill demons and everyone from the order no matter gender or age is forced to hunt down and destroy these creatures. Now if you haven't looked recently in the mirror, I'm gonna tell you that look like a hellish creature!" I hissed back at him with even more passion than I have anticipated.
"Why are you defending him?! He is nothing more than a magnet for trouble. He is a witch and a dirty homosexual! Demons are hunting him down and even his own parents hate him as you said! He is going to be the end of us!" he countered me. I was furious.
"He is seventeen and looks like he is about to die! What kind of sadist are you to deny a little comfort to his tortured soul?! Isn't God all forgiving and loving! Isn't that what you preach?! Brotherly love and compassion. Does it matter whether he is gay or not, when he is suffering?! You are just a hypocrite!" I hit the bull's eye with that one. I made Kurt sit down defeated and angry. I knew he was going to give Phillip a hard time.
"Can we stop discussing his sexual life and get on with what we are going to do with the whole situation? If he doesn't calm down he could go insane and who knows what can happen." murmured annoyed Hank. There was something more to his voice that was all so suspicious. Damn I sometimes wished I had empathy just to learn juicy stuff about other peoples' affairs or at least have these telepathic prohibitions removed.
"We can't tell the professor that's sure.
He would get all freakishly manipulative about the safety of the others and he
would start tests and taking up some measures that won't be like by anyone. And
Kurt has to be all quiet about the incident in the hallway." whispered
"We can become the boy's best friends. He
seems to be more grown up and mature than the other teenagers and would need
some grown-ups to feel better." came
"I think he trusts me enough, so I could talk with him and try to learn more about this Tristan guy." I suggested not only because of the plan, but because I was really concerned about the boy. He was so powerful, I could sense it, but he didn't want this power. He wanted gentleness and safety as far as I could tell from his defensive behavior.
"Just be careful at how you approach. He
is not so easily deceived." warned her
"Don't worry. I'm a woman and a telepath. Making men do things I want is like a second nature to me." I grinned mischievously to enlighten the mood. Everyone had a good laugh may be except Hank. He seemed so spaced out and I couldn't quite make out the reasons behind his state. With that the meeting ended, but boy was I wrong. Phillip would prove to be the challenge of my life. I just didn't realize that at the moment.
Sean's Perspective:
This was going to be one hell of a weekend I thought to myself, when I received the message from Xavier Saturday night. It was about a pair of two very powerful mutants found. The degree and type of powers remained unknown, but the professor seemed excited and worried at the same time about these godsends. It somehow seemed too good to be true to have pinpointed the location of both of them and to have reached them first. I couldn't quite understand him myself. He was an honorable and noble man dedicated to the cause of bettering the life of young mutants, but was too enveloped in his attempts to protect them that the situation sometimes went out of hand. Not to mention his fear that his students could prove themselves even more powerful than him. Although I felt only deep respect towards this great man, I had the hunch that he would just get all hysterical about the new mutants and try and think a way to reduce their powers like he tried on several others of his students. Even though we knew the dreadful consequences of his actions, I and the other seniors on his team couldn't do anything to prevent further attempts at securing the life of his students.
I took off with a small team of the
"Dadddyyyyyyy!" she screamed like a little girl and threw herself at me hugging me to death. We haven't seen each other for may be half a year and it was a sort of tradition for her to act like this strangling me with her hands from love.
"How have you been my little girl? You mind letting go off me now. You are going to suffocate me right now." I said between gasps for air, but returning the warm affectionate hug. I couldn't help but laugh at the way she was rejoicing over my arrival.
"Love hurts, dad. Love hurts." Were her words of wisdom as she finally let go of me and resumed her adult mode. "It has been pretty normal even for us. Well until now. The professor sensed some new mutants that are quite a thing."
"Yeah so I heard. That's why I am here in the first place on such a short notice. I hope Xavier doesn't get too obsessed with controlling their development." I sighed as we went to his office in the higher levels of the mansion. We took a large elevator from the underground levels to reach the public part of the mansion. "By the way, why are so few from the seniors welcomed us at the landing-space.
"We have a situation with the mage in the
school.
"A mage? I don't follow Theresa. Since when do we have a mage in the school and what is he doing in the school if he is not a mutant?" I was really confused about what she was saying. I knew that they were huge magical societies around the whole world and even met some mages in my life, but I didn't think that Xavier would accept a mage in his school.
"He helped Jean and Scott while they were retrieving one of the new mutants discovered. They didn't want to scare her shitless so they didn't use so much power and were losing to the Brotherhood. Then swooped in this mage and knocked everyone from the Brotherhood with undue effort."
"So the professor accepted him in the school just for that. I must say it's great that we have a powerful ally, but he ain't exactly a mutant."
"He had no place to go. His parents kicked him out when they found that he helped mutants. It seemed that he had broken some code or something. He seems pretty nice and handsome, you know." She giggled at the last sentence.
"How old is he?" was my first question. I thought that he was quite an old person to have power to win against the Brotherhood, but his parents kicking him out. How old must he be? Twenty at most?
"He is seventeen. That's what I know at least. He may be younger or older. I really must introduce you two. He is a bit shy and timid, but he is a nice and humorous person." Those words really confused me. First off he was a teenager, then he was able to beat some of the most powerful and skilled mutants in the world and lastly he seemed to be shy. How was it possible for such so different in their nature characteristics even go together?
My mind drifted in several different directions and forgot all about the mysterious boy for now at least. We had a briefing with Xavier with all seniors on the team and discussed the new mutants. This Faith girl was now thoroughly examined and tested and her powers were fixed as far it was possible. She has manifested a potential to be an exceptionally powerful bruiser type of mutant with her extreme superhuman strength, durability and a healing factor so powerful that she was nearly indestructible. Alongside that she possessed a high potential to manifest invisibility and some mental gifts and the most powerful asset she possessed was the energy manipulation and its converting into other types of energy. Its extend was not yet explored but she had the potential to be with enough training an unstoppable force. I even had the honor of meeting her and was left very disappointed with what I saw. I expected to see a responsible young woman fully aware of the great gifts she was blessed with. Instead I saw a dumb blond with lack of tact and a big mouth that could count as her most annoying power. If she proved herself to be suitable for training I would definitely be frightened about the other students' safety.
I tried to relax the rest of the afternoon
until dinner. As soon as dinner came I was reminded of the mage Phillip.
Theresa showed me a slim and pale looking boy with long wavy green hair sitting
with the other teenagers, but he didn't seem to be talking much with them. He
shot nervous looks all around and stared long at
Phillip's Perspective:
This day went disastrous. I couldn't have
imagined more humiliating and dreadful way for this day to have passed. I got
ballistic with Warren, who was enough considerate to keep it a secret. Then I
was attacked during my second ritual. I didn't know for certain if it was
really Tristan or not, but I was quite sure that it would be him. The figure
had so much in common with him and I wouldn't be surprised if he was mad at me
after what happened six months ago, but I have never imagined that he would be
so aggressive and would chase me from beyond the grave. This was yet another
heavy blow on my almost shattered soul and psyche. Thank god I have already
finished the ritual or I would have had other problems as well, but I was a
complete mess after the attack. To top it all I was forced to lie that I was so
sick after my ritual that
I took the biggest of my tomes of magic from my room and set myself on the couch in the Rec Room away from the TV and near to the huge two storey windows. I pumped the volume on my mp3 player to the max and engulfed into learning about resurrection. It was serious and complicated enough to take my mind off the state I was and with the music my mind set off imagining how all the spells would work and look, how everything should work and noting every detail to it there was. I was so entranced by the beats pumping in my ears that I didn't even notice that Theresa was right beside me saying something until I felt her arm shaking me.
"Sorry. I was kind of deep in my study. You know how people can loose themselves in their light readings." I smiled at her, closing my book and tapping on it gently. Even though I looked like shit I tried to be funny and in good mood for her. I couldn't deny that Theresa was closer to me than anyone else in the mansion.
"May be it would be better if you read on lower music." She said her eyes widening at the massive size of the book. "By the way what sort of light reading are you involved into?" she asked observing the richly decorated leather bound cover.
"It's the book of light and spirits. I was just reading the chapter about resurrection. Something to pass time with." I answered grinning at her. We both knew that this was far from a book for leisure, but we got a kick of joking about it. "So what were you saying, while I was so concentrated on my study?"
"I just want you to meet someone. He is very special to me and I think you should..." she started, but all of a sudden was grabbed from behind by a big bulky kind of man, who hugged her wildly and kissed her gently on the forehead.
"Hey, baby girl, there you are!" he exclaimed with his deep husky voice with strong Irish accent like Theresa herself. It was the same guy that kept staring at me the whole time at dinner. Even though the pet name was rather strange I assumed that they were an item. He was surely something. He looked forty, but very well kept for his age with bulky muscles that looked hot. This man had the typical Irish appearance -- red curly hair, red fuzzy beard, white freckled skin and green eyes. Even though he looked old enough to be her father I couldn't deny that it was nice catch.
"Congratulations, Theresa. You have one sexy piece of hunk right there. He is even Irish like you are." I exclaimed and cheered at her luck. Theresa exploded into uncontrollable laughter at what I said, while the man sat on the couch quite embarrassed. I should have scanned him before I even noticed him, but today in this state I doubted that I could control any of my abilities.
"Hahahhahaha, that was hilarious Phillip, really. From everything I have heard in my life this was the killer." she continued to laugh as loud as she could, drawing all the attention to us once again.
"I managed to make a fool out of myself, haven't I?" I asked the man sitting next me, who looked at me and smiled somewhat strangely.
"It would seem so, lad. Ya see I'm Sean Cassidy, Theresa's dad. My teammates call me Banshee on missions." he introduced himself giving me his hand, which I took quite red with embarrassment myself. No wonder there was such strong resemblance between them. Boy I blew it this time.
"Hi, I'm Phillip Markov, the mage and it's nice to meet you. Sorry about what I said just now." I started a long row of excuses while clutching at my book raising it as a shield, a coward's move really.
"No problem. I could consider that as I compliment." He was really cool about the whole thing and I could really loosen up around him. There was the additional help from Theresa who couldn't pull herself together.
"Why are you called Banshee? What can you do? Turn into an apparition?" I eagerly asked without trying to learn that via my telepathy. It was more personal if you did it the normal way.
"No, actually my powers are connected to my vocal cords and I can produce ultrasonic screams and I can fly as well. My sweet Theresa here can do the same things. That's why we are so close as you saw right now, but we ain't an item I assure you." he explained vividly. It was nice to see family sticking close to one another for a change.
"That's cool. I have seen banshees and they can be pretty screechy sometimes when things don't go their way." I said laughing to my lame joke that left both of them into the dark of what I was talking about.
"You have seen real banshees? Don't they appear only during funerals?" Theresa asked curiously leaning on her father, who was also intrigued in what was I about to say.
"Yes that was when I saw them for the first time. It was on the funeral of a close friend of my teacher. Since we were mages they didn't feel so disturbed and appeared freely. My tutor then convinced one of them to be my teacher in their magic of mourning and screeching. I think I lost part of my hearing back then." I explained shortly seeing their shocked faces made me burst into laughter. "What is the matter? You look like struck with lightning."
"Well I am to say the least. You have had one extra ordinary childhood, Phillip. How old were you back then?" Theresa broke the silence.
"It was when I was fourteen, it was the spookiest experience that I have had. The mourning was one whole week and on the seventh day, they made me sing alongside the banshees. I bet it was humiliating for them as well as for me."
"If you excuse me, I have to go to the toilet and then I am off to bed. I am so damn tired from the flight." Sean said and stood up. He kissed his daughter for goodnight and left us both alone. It was very strange how he needed to go all of a sudden; I guess I had that effect on most people.
"So what was the whole thing with the sexy piece of hunk, Phillip?" Theresa came dangerously close to me giving me no chance for escape. She had that wicked grin on her face and I knew that yet another person knew about my homosexuality.
"Nothing. I just expressed my happiness that you had found yourself a nice man, but that was a very wrong deduction from my side." I made futile attempts to discourage her from thinking that I was hitting on her dad.
"Oh just admit it. You are gay, aren't you?" she whispered low so that nobody else could have heard. "The way you said the words convinced me and I am a woman. We have intuition about these things."
"Just don't tell anyone, okay?" I admitted my defeat with a great sigh at which she beamed with eternal happiness seeing that her intuition hadn't let her down.
"Your secret is safe with me. I won't let anyone know of your sexual orientation whatsoever. It won't cost you anything." She kept repeating the same things over and over again so I knew that she really wanted something in return.
"What is that you seek my lady?" I asked in my mystifying voice shrouded in the riddle that is magic. She starred amused and continued playing dumb.
"I don't know what you are talking about." she claimed still grinning wickedly.
"Yeah, right and I believe you. You want something very desperately and would blackmail me on the second if I don't accept your demands. I have learnt the ways of the treacherous creature known as woman."
"You read me like an open book. Either you have a great sense of intuition or you have been blackmailed all the time." she said chuckling at her own sense of humor, but her words were muffled by an irritable high pitched sound that coursed through my head. It caught me off guard and I gasped with pain. This sound was having its effects on my other sense as well. I went completely deaf for everything around me except the sound. My nose picked up the fresh sent of warm blood and then I went blind for a second. When my vision recovered I saw the most gruesome picture in my mind. Theresa was still sitting next to me, but her whole body was hacked into peaces that were sewn to her. She looked in lots of pain with her limbs wrongly attached and metal spikes coming out of her chest. Her head was decapitated and was put on a small stand attached to her shoulders. She twisted it towards me and shrieked.
"Phillip, Phillip, calm down! What happened to you?!" Theresa was shaking me by the shoulders looking scared as I was gasping for air normalizing my senses.
"I just couldn't breathe. I need to get outside, now." I answered and run out of the Rec Room through the glass door and got near the forest that was behind the mansion. I couldn't grasp anything that I saw. What an abomination was that? My head was paining me as if it would explode from the violent vision that came uninvited in my mind.
When would this all stop? Why did this have to begin right now, while I was so weak? Was my weakness giving strength to the others? I didn't want to know. I didn't want to even know how these people were involved in all that was to happen. There was only the immense pain in my temples and I needed to get rid of it or at least let my anguish be known. I opened my mouth to scream, but instead my mind did. It screamed as loud and dreadful it could. The pain seemed to subdue and radiate towards other living creatures. I saw how the trees around me started to wither; the grass turned dark brown and died. I finally collapsed on the dead ground and tried to remain calm.
"Phillip, what's happening?" Theresa whispered scared out of this world. She had followed me to the forest and heard me even scream. It had its effect on her. She had become weak and weary. I sighed and concentrated to replenish the strength of the forest and restore her vitality as well. I didn't think that would quite work on her, but since she was standing out in the wild my magic worked on her too. I was surprised at my own power display. I had become more and more the thing I have most feared, reached the point where chants were useless and the line between me and all the other mages was drawn. I was near my own potential and I felt scared.
"You know when you don't use your powers frequently enough they build up until they burst out themselves uncontrollably?" I asked hoping that she would buy the whole lie. She nodded trustingly. I was glad that no one understood anything about magic, because then I would be in trouble.
"This is what happened to me just right now. I haven't used my powers in a very long time and they have built up pretty much. I just had to let them out a bit." I continued lying trying to hide the part with the vision of her demonic rebirth. I couldn't tell her if it was the last thing in the world.
"It wasn't because I was trying to blackmail you right now, was it? I am so sorry if I caused it. You can understand, can't you?" she was worried and all so considerate. She was too good of a woman to die and I was sure that I would do everything in my power to prevent her death and further torture.
"No, I perfectly understood that you were joking and you needed just a favor. So tell me what you need." I urged her to share with me her wish to take her mind off the past event. It looked as she didn't need anything else but a slight nudge for her mind to redirect itself.
"Since you are into magic and know these things, can you get from somewhere a charm for my dad? He is always on missions and I feel so worried about him, so I was wanted him to have something lucky on his journeys. Can you do that for me?" she asked most innocently and looked as a small child wanting safety for her father. It was so hearth warming to see such a strong father-child bond. I even envied her in that particular moment of the relationship with her dad, but I needed to make her happy by making her dad happy.
"No problem, my lady. I have just the thing. It is even Celtic in its origins and your father is sure to love it. I just have to cast some spells so that it actually keeps him safe." I said grinning from ear to ear remembering that I had tons of such small jewels that could be transformed into charms.
"You are the greatest. You know that? I haven't met a teenager like you. I'm so glad that you are here." she said jumping up on her feet happy and energetic. I followed her and we both got into the house. Even though I remained joyful for the rest of the night and gossiped with Theresa and some of the girls training for the team of X-Men, I couldn't stop thinking about the upcoming death of this young woman. The vision was so violent in its nature that it would only mean that she would die soon.
END.
Okay, this has been yet another exciting chapter of the saga that will act out very soon. I hope all of you will enjoy this one just as I hope you enjoyed the others. Pretty soon some of the major questions that have been sprouting in your heads will be answered, but vaguely, so that I could keep you reading. JJJJ
What will happen to Theresa Cassidy? Will she end up dead?
Who is the mysterious Tristan and what is his deal in attacking my boy?
Who exactly is Phillip and what does he hide?
The answers will be found in the following chapters, on which I am working by the way.
So loyal and noble readers do share what is on your mind about the story. I appreciate the opinion from every each one of you, even if it's critics or just a good word. Keeps me motivated to write you know. Once again I thank you for sparing time to read my humble attempts at writing. J