A/N: These are side stories or fillers for the story Phoenix Rising by Ember Ice. I'll probably be posting on and off and they won't be long. I'm starting with how my own character, Alex/Rebirth, joined the X-men. If you have a character in Phoenix Rising you can go ahead and send me a message if you want me to do the same for your own character or have an idea.
Side Stories
Chapter 1
Homeless to Home
Three thousand calories, eight full hours of sleep, and no discernable illness or injury. The illness part could be debated however, being that it was rather hard to keep clean after two years of homelessness. Still, Alex couldn't ignore the urge. He supposed mutant powers were something like using a limb. One couldn't simply not move it at some point, tied or otherwise. And recently tied down was something that mutants were facing. In the metaphorical sense, of course. However, he didn't doubt that some of the non-mutated humans would attempt something like that.
He shook off that train of thought. He wasn't standing before a heap of trash at dawn to think about humanity and the current problems it faced. He was here to practice, something he had been putting off for far too long. It was, after all, quite difficult to do around those who were unused to such things.
He took a deep breath, attempting to focus on the task at hand. If he became too distracted, he might lose control and he'd rather not waste his energy. And it was a damnable task to get it back too when he had no money to speak of.
Hand raised, he began to transform the heap of trash into a living creature.
The mass shuddered and shifted, breaking down and recombining. Bones first, a calcium-based structure to work off of. Muscle and fat quickly covered the structure, giving the structure strength and freedom of movement. Finally skin and fur, covering the body and protecting it from the elements. Before him stood a hyaenodon, an ancient creature he had learned about from stolen books brought into the modern era. It stood silently, staring right back at him, waiting for something.
His own body shuddered, weakened by the drain. He had under estimated the amount of calories it would take. It was the not the creation itself, it was creation of a far more complex and self-sufficient being. I would not rely on him to tell it were exactly to move, how to breath, or other such things. A shared mind this was not. The creation of such a refined connection strained him. To put it in simple terms it was like taking a steel beam and thinning it out to the width of a hair.
He plucked at the string of connection, testing its strength. He could feel it vibrate along to the creation, whose ears twitched at the sensation. It was not aware of what it was, just that it was there and the teen before him was in control. Had the connection been any stronger he would have felt a duel sensation, all at once part of him and not. He enjoyed those connections more, it was a feeling he doubted he would ever get from another person. However, those creations had been fragile, unable to stay longer than a day if he was undistracted.
It seemed distance was the path to more substantial creations.
His eyes drifted away to the surrounding trees of the park he had decided to make his temporary home. The hyaenodon's gaze fallowed, ears swiveling and catching sounds and scent of local animals, plants, and people. Through this creation's better senses, the world both expanded and contracted. Nothing was perfect and the contrast was an agitation, however slight.
He took another deep breath and sat in a meditation pose. Now for a test, just how far could he push this. Eyes closed, he sent the prehistoric creature to walk about the park, hidden in the shadows of trees. From far away it would look like nothing more than a strange dog, thankfully.
Time passed as he mentally sorted through variations of species he had experimented with. A sort of library of what he could and could not do with his resources. It was thus far limited to creatures on the smaller size. However, perhaps with practice and refinement he'd be able to able to stretch those limited resources. It was doubtful but there was always a chance.
Something tugged at his thoughts and he was drawn back to his current connection. He guided its eyes to the sky, looking for an indication of time. If the suns position past the midpoint was any indication, he would have to say it must be about two o'clock. Surprising, several hours had passed and he had barely noticed. However, that was not the pressing matter. There were people nearby, through the animals ears he could hear the murmur of conversation.
"…strange animals around here…people gettin' scared…"
He advised the animal to keep it's distance, thus only catching snippets.
"…mutant maybe? …wouldn't doubt it…"
Alex felt his heart jump, what were they planning on doing? Who were they? Despite his fear he moved the hyenadon closer, cautious and behind them. Two men; one older, one younger. The older had a rifle; however, he suspected it had either blanks or tranquilizers due to the fact that they were wearing uniforms of a sort. Unfamiliar uniforms but uniforms none the less.
A twig snapped under foot, startling birds from their trees. The men spun about, spotting the hyenadon and shot at it with little hesitation.
In the clearing, Alex cried out eyes snapping open. The thin connection shuddered, nearly snapping under the stress the sudden pain caused. His hand went to his shoulder, feeling the burn of a bullet even though he had not the suffered the wound. He swallowed and breathed deeply trying to regain control.
He fallowed the line back to his creation. Good it already took off, instinct driving it instead of his instructions. Through the canine's sharp ears, he could hear the men fallowing after, giving chase. For a moment, he wondered why they were carrying bullets instead of rubber rounds or tranquilizers. He had thought that they were animal control.
However he had to let the musing slip as more rounds were let off, breaking the bark of trees around the ancient mammal. That was enough; he'd cut the connection and start fresh later. With a single thought the line was cut. But not before one more round pierced the hind leg of his creation.
"Sun'uva-!" The words muddled under gritted teeth and more pain. He grabbed his leg and messaged the muscle. It was the only thing about his power he could live without. Every time they got hurt, he got hurt too. Breathing deeply he stood up, legs wobbling underneath him as he snatched up his backpack. He had to move, get away from here before those men found him and decided to shoot him as well.
Pain faded as he focused his energy on running, finding a new place to hide took priority. Within minutes, he found himself back on the hiking trail that led out of the park. There was no sense in staying and from the sound of birds escaping through the canopy of the trees; those men were looking for him without really knowing who he was. Or something like that.
He couldn't think straight. All he knew was that here was not safe anymore.
Once back on the main road, hoping that those men would not somehow find him perhaps go the opposite way down the road, he trudged toward the nearest town hoping for some form of pity to befall him. It wasn't likely given the current state of human selfishness but sometimes there were those who did not see him as some homeless, disease infested outcast of society. They may not say it but as the saying goes, "All societies can be based on their treatment of those less fortunate." And modern society was not so kind.
Perhaps his self-imposed solitude was making him bitter, he didn't know. Two years on his own forced him to grow up quick, maybe that was it.
An hour or so later of trekking through thistle and weeds by a nearly empty highway found him in a town that could barely be called a town any more. Walking through it he found more abandoned houses than he thought possible. Hard times he supposed, or possibly abandoned in the wake of a mutant discovery. He wouldn't doubt that small places like this would think mutation was something you could catch despite evidence proving otherwise.
Whatever the case may be, at the very least he would have some place to sleep at night. First things first however. He needed food. Down the road, he spotted a dinky little diner and perhaps he had enough cash for something small.
Luckily there was a five dollar bill hidden inside one of his notebooks. Feeling a bit relieved he headed inside the diner and looked around. It wasn't crowded, but there were a few people and it generally looked like locals. Alright, he could deal with this. Just get some food, pay, and get out.
Picking a spot near the exit, cautious as ever, he waited for the waitress to come by. Which she did and handed him a menu. The conversation that fallowed was uneventful. Though she did attempt to pry about who he was and his state of dress. It was funny what things could slip your mind when it came to survival, clean clothes was not exactly on the top of the list. He remained vague about it and ordered his food. Cherry pie and water wasn't exactly the most nutritional choice, but it was higher in calories. Something he needed after such a drain. Thankfully the waitress didn't pry any more after that.
As he waited for his food to arrive he contemplated what had happened in the forest. Perhaps those two had been hunters of sorts, maybe men looking to protect their families or merely looking for deer to shoot. The second option seemed unlikely as the woods were protected from that kind of activity. As far as he knew anyway. Nevertheless, in either case, it seemed from what little evidence there was, that they were expecting what they saw or were going to look for a mutant as the source of the problem.
They weren't looking for a mutant. He frowned as the thought struck him. He had over reacted and those men likely saw his creation fall to pieces. Now they would definitely be looking for a mutant. Though on the bright side they hadn't seen him. So he could disappear from this area and not be suspected of anything.
He was pulled from his musings once again, though this time by a plate and a cup of water being placed in front of him. He gave a distracted thank you to the waitress, who frowned at him but walked off none the less.
With a small sigh he ate and drank as much as he could as fast as he could without looking like a hog. He may never come by here again but that didn't mean he had to be rude.
It was then that he felt eyes on him, an instinctual sense that made his skin crawl. Glancing around he spotted a young man sitting in a booth on the opposite side of the doors. The guy grinned at him in an uncomfortable way, as if he knew something secret about him. They held the stare for an agonizingly long moment before the man moved, grabbing his plate of food to sit across from him.
Swallowing down the mouthful of pie, Alex spoke first. "What do you want?" He hated the way his voice quivered. But he already had one encounter that had frightened him today, he didn't like the thought of another.
"Oh nothing much at all, really. I actually was looking for you. I have something to offer." the strangers voice was soft with, oddly enough, an Australian accent, but there was something disturbing about his tone.
"I don't know how you know me but whatever your offer is I don't want it." Taking an offer from a stranger was never a good idea and in this case even more so.
"Aren't you tired of running away Alex? I, we, can offer you a place to stay. Shelter, food, a family." It was like hearing a snake speak, all soft tones and promises. It wasn't right.
"Who's we? How do you know who I am?"Alex tried to play it off, as if un-phased by the words. This blond stranger would not get the better of him.
"The Brotherhood of course," the stranger stated taking a bite from the french-fry on his plate, "and as for how I know who you are. Well that's unimportant really, reports of strange creatures and a runaway mutant was enough. But what is important is what the Brotherhood can do for you."
At the word mutant, stares were drawn to them. The locals were listening now and the world seemed to compress and narrow, suffocating him. It wasn't right.
"And what's that exactly? Aside from the aforementioned." Alex asked, food forgotten now.
"The power to rule your life as you see fit. Think about it Alex, no more secrets, no more hiding, no more running from one backwater town to the next. You could be free."
He couldn't trust that voice, it was candy dipped in poison. There was more going on here and he didn't like it. It wasn't right.
"At what price?"Alex challenged. His body tensed, ready to jump up and run. He wanted to run now but panic only ever brought trouble. He had to remain in control.
"No price, I promise." the man grinned.
Those green eyes staring at him said something completely different. It wasn't right.
"No, I'm not buying it." he said slapping down his five dollar bill to pay for his food as he stood. As he attempted to walk past, the stranger grabbed his wrist.
That friendly grin was gone now, replaced by a harsh glare. "Don't do this Alex. You're missing an opportunity." As he spoke the stranger's grip grew tighter.
Alex winced, "Let go." He demanded, attempting to tug his wrist away.
In his peripheral the locals stared, but did not help.
"I promise you Alex, you walk away and you're going to regret it." The stranger practically snarled, grip nearly bruising him now.
"Let go!"Again he demanded, tugging harder in an attempt to get away. Why was nobody helping him?
"You need us Alex-!"
Panic; wild, blind, panic.
"Let go!" He had never punched anybody before but this first time was incredibly exhilarating.
The moment his hand was free, he raced out of the building. He didn't look back, even as he heard the stranger shout curses.
By the time he stopped running, he was exhausted but thankfully alone. He looked around, thinking about leaving this small town all together. However, the opportunity for shelter was better than sleeping in the dirt. With a deep breath to calm his thundering heart, he set about finding the right abandoned house to stay in for the night.
When dusk finally settled, the last bits of light peeking over trees, Alex had thankfully found the right place. The place he had chosen was boarded up just enough to keep the cold out but not so much that he couldn't get in. Using the light of a flashlight he set up next to the back door. It looked like the stranger did not know where to find him and it eased his worries.
Pulling the thin sheet from his backpack and around him, he turned off the flashlight. He sat in the dark, waiting and listening. There were the normal sounds that came with places like these. The creaking and groaning of wood and pipes, the whisper of wind through broken windows, and of course the scratching and squeaking of mice and rats. For others it might be disturbing but for him it was something familiar.
This familiarity lulled him to sleep unaware of the dangers that soon loomed.
Perhaps the crackle and snaps that first woke him or the thick smell of smoke. Whatever it was, he was soon aware that the house was burning. Jolted from his slumber by fire and a muffled voice laughing, Alex was quick to move.
Snatching up his backpack he ran out the door beside him, coughing on the way. Alex stumbled away from the blazing inferno, arm covering his mouth.
"There you are." A familiar voice snarled over the roar of the flames.
Looking over Alex was greeted by a very strange site. The stranger from earlier was standing there before him, this time in a very weird red and yellow costume. Though underneath the visor the stranger wore, he could see the bruise he had left on the blonds' face.
"Thought you might have left town, but here you are. All cozy in a house." the man chuckled.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Alex shouted, backing away further, readying himself to run again.
"Just smoking you out," the man smirked, "I'll give you the option again. You can join the Brotherhood or I take you by force." From the attachments on his arms the stranger morphed flames into a bird like shape. Like something from a nightmare the fiery beast screeched.
Alex was almost compelled to take the offer. Almost. "I said no!"he shouted drawing on his powers and using the dead foliage beneath the pyrokentic's feet to create a snake just long enough to the constrict the strangers feet, tripping him.
He turned to run but was soon met with a wall of fire. Looking behind him, he could see the stranger grinning. "That the best you can do mate? Ha!" the man laughed, using a small flame to cut through the snake as if it were rope. And Alex felt every bit of it, right through his gut and spine pain rang out.
Alex hadn't realized he had cried out or the way realization dawned on the young man. "You felt that didn't you?"he asked, a manic grin growing on his face, "I wonder how much more you could take!"
Flames consumed his vision and all he could do was draw up a wall of insects to protect himself. Even half formed he could feel their pain biting bone deep. It forced air from his lungs, filling them with smoke.
The ground soon came up to meet him and the sound of crazed laughter blanketed all else.
The laughter, however, was cut short fallowed by a smash. He was vaguely aware of shouting, orders being given. The police maybe, firefighters likely. Whoever it was he was grateful.
As consciousness slipped from him, these words fallowed him, "You're going to be okay."
And darkness consumed him.
Coming back to the world of the living, Alex found himself in a rather comfortable bed with the lights dimmed in the room. Well that was nice, nothing to strain his eyesight too badly. He wondered how long he had been out. However, the thought was brief as he caught sight of what could only be described as a blue guerilla with reading glasses and a book sitting next to his bed.
"Ah, you're awake. How are you feeling?"the blue beast asked in a surprisingly soft, intelligent voice. He almost expected something far more gravely and deep.
"Okay, I guess. Where am I? How long have I been out?"Alex asked as he sat up. He felt a bit sore but thankfully nothing was broken and his lungs didn't feel like he inhaled any smoke.
"You've been asleep for nearly a day. We had been afraid that you suffered worse injuries, thankfully you seem to be fine." The blue furred man said, "As for where you are, you're in the medical ward of the Xavier Institute. I'm a teacher here, Hank McCoy. Or you can call me Beast if you prefer."
Alex hesitated for a moment before replying, "Alex." "Just Alex?" Hank questioned corking a furry brow. "I don't know who you are. Can't be too careful." the younger said with a nervous undertone.
"After what you've been through I suppose not."Hank agreed with a nod, "If you don't find it too intrusive, could you tell me why Pyro was after you?"
"Pyro…that was pyrokentic, right?" he waited for a nod of confirmation before continuing, "I don't know exactly what he was after, but he wanted me to join this group called the Brotherhood. I walked away from the offer and I guess he didn't take it too well."
Alex watched curiously, as Mr. McCoy's forehead creased with thought and part of him reflexively tensed with worry. Something was wrong, that much was obvious. "Who or what is the Brotherhood?" he asked after a long beat of silence.
His voice seemed to jerk Beast out of thought. "What? Oh, it's nothing you need to worry about. Just get some rest."Hank said patting Alex's hand before standing to leave the room. "I'll let the other's know you're awake."
"Um, where's my stuff?"Alex asked sitting up.
"By your bed, we didn't take anything out of it."Hank said, almost dismissively as he walked out of the medical ward.
Alex watched him leave with frown and reached for his bag. It was untouched, like he had been told but he could shake the feeling that something was missing.
Over the next month or so Alex spent time between resting and meeting new people. He wanted to leave, every instinct shouting at him that the longer he stayed here the more attached he'd become and the more likely he'd be in danger. He attempted to leave several times in fact, but every time he stood before the threshold of the front door he couldn't.
It was comfortable here and safe and the people treated him right and he didn't have to worry about where his next meal might come from. Sure there were a few things he had to live with, Professor Xavier made it clear that he wanted him to go to school and attend training sessions for his powers if he was going to stay. It was a fair enough trade off.
However, he never got a full explanation as to why the Brotherhood sent that maniac after him, why the X-Men were recruiting young mutants, or how the Brotherhood had even found him in the first place.
Pieces of the puzzle were missing and he couldn't just leave it unfinished. So he stayed and waited for more parts to fall into place.