Disclaimer: I don't own Gatchaman. If I did, I would change nothing.

AN: And now the first, official chapter in the story! This pretty much continues off from the end of 'Owl Assemble'

"Blah blah" in double-quotes is someone speaking

'blah blah' in single-quotes is mind speech

blah blah with no quotes is story text and Ryus thought

Previously...

Ryu was glancing back and forth in confusion, before shrugging. As the ramp descents, he takes one last look around, before Jean sighs. "I'll show you the jet later. Let's just get you settled in for now."

Ryu gives a grin before nodding his head in approval. As long as he comes back to see that jet! It looked highly impressive. Still not as nice as the God Phoenix, but a pretty distinct third place, after the Original God Phoenix and his new designs for the God Phoenix that Tony said he was going to build.

'Damn straight! Nothing compares to my old shell! Although the one you designed looks nice as well!'

Ryu gives a brief chuckle as he walks down the hallway with Jean, eliciting a strange look. "Heh, me and GP really are similar."

Jean blinks again. "I know GP is friendly but that friendly?" She suddenly gives a weirded out expression. "And now my Phoenix is trying to copy that." They head up in the lift, both communicating with their Phoenix's, one chatting aimlessly about what improvements the God Phoenix could try while the other trying to get used to a more 'friendly' Phoenix Force.

It was when the door opens to a wall of blue fur that has them both snap out of it. "Oh, my apologies Jean. I was just, who's this?" The blue furry guy just spots Ryu and gives an inquiring expression.

"Ah, this is Ryu. He's going to be a new student Hank. Ryu, this is Doctor Hank McCoy, codenamed Beast."

Ryu looks up at Hank. He's seen orange rock people, green giants, scaled monsters and now a blue, fuzzy guy? Well, at least this world was keeping him on his toes. "Erm... Hi?"

"I'm going to be teaching him on how to control his powers." Jean started explaining.

"Really? Similar powers I assume?" Hank adopts a thoughtful expression as he steps in and the door closes. The three shuffle around a bit to get comfortable, with Hank standing between the two Phoenix Force wielders.

"Really similar. Ryu is also known as the Horned Owl. I'm sure you can guess why he's here?" Jean gives a grin.

Hank suddenly widens his eyes and looks down at him, remembering the events that was broadcast on national Television, who was slowly getting more and more flush for unknown reasons. At least, to them.

To him, he had a good reason to be so embarrassed.

'So soft...' That was when he started to go red as he could feel his shoulder brush up against Beast's arm. 'GP!' A Mental shout, feeling a little embarrassed 'What? He is! Don't deny it!' He was getting even more red in the face. 'Can... Can you feel things I feel?' Was his response, avoiding the question. 'Yup! And I say he feels soft! He takes good care of his fur! I can tell you that much! Give him a hug! I wanna feel if he is that soft!'

Hank's exclamation breaks his mental connection. "You mean you're the other wielder of the Phoenix Force!?" He looks quite alarmed at that. No doubt wondering how safe it was being in a small cramped, metal box with two people with powerful psionic power's at their disposal. 'Come on! Hug him!' If only he knew what GP was like. Ryu was doing his best to resist... He really was. ...

"... She thinks your fur is soft..." 'There, was that good enough?' He suddenly got the image of her pouting. 'No... I said hug him! not tell him I think his fur is soft!'

"..." He now looks dumbfounded at that. His expression going from 'I may be in trouble' to 'say wha'?

Jean suddenly bursts into laughter. "Oh Hank. I don't think the Phoenix's will be blowing up the mansion any-time soon. For one, his Phoenix is really friendly, or maybe a bit too friendly in this case. To the point where mine is trying to be friendly as well. So don't worry so much." He looked confused. Still unsure how to process this. The idea of a Phoenix Force not about to destroy them all was almost unable to be processed. "But I'm going to be calling the others for a meeting in the study later on. I'll explain then."

The doors open and the pair steps out. Ryu gives a shy wave to the Beast as the doors close and heads down to his labs. As they walk down the hall, Ryu focuses on Jean, before giving a slight, mental nudge. 'Jean...'

She blinks and glances is way. 'Yes?'

'Is it wrong that GP wanted me to hug Mr McCoy?'

She pauses. Unsure how to respond to that. 'I'm... not the person you should ask about that...'

'Although his fur IS that soft!' Her Phoenix interjects. The pair of them flush red as giggles from the twin Phoenix's echoes in their minds. "Let's... Just continue on..." She continues on, trying to control the blood rushing to her cheeks. Ryu hastily follows.

They were both a little weirded out about that. Once they reach the end of the corridor, Jean opens the door that leads to the study. It was a fairly plain one, well looked after, if a bit new. Bookcases lined the wall and a wooden desk was situated in the middle. It looked a little custom, like a special need? She writes down something in a book, before putting that away. "Just a record of the newest student and to see what rooms are available was her response to his questioning expression She then goes back through the door. Ryu follows loyally, since she knew the place and he didn't. Ascending some steps, some twists and turns and she pauses by a door.

As she opens it, she begins explaining. "This will be your room. You're only down the hall from me, just encase."

He gives a cheeky grin. "Encase I go fwoosh?"

She chuckles "Something like that". He blinks and stares at the room, since it was now open. "Anyway, this is your room for now. It's a bit Spartan but it's unoccupied. Still, bigger than those dorms right?"

Ryu was just gaping, before gaining enough wit to comment. "How.. rich is this Xavier guy?"

She gives him a grin, before looking around. "Is there anything at the mansion that you want shipped over?"

He blinks, frowns as he thinks of what was in his room before his eyes widen. "Um... Apart from my clothing... There is a, uniform I used to wear. Is, it possible to have it brought here?"

She blinks, and then her eyes soften some more. "I don't see why not. I'll give a call to the mansion later on and ask someone to bring it over. anyway, I'll be back in 10 minutes or so. Got to do a bit of admin work before accepting you completely as well as let everyone know to meet up in the living room so I can introduce you to everyone." Giving a brief wave, she leaves through the door and continues down the hall.

Ryu gives a sigh, and slowly turns around, committing the entire room to memory. He then begins looking around, peeking into drawers and turning on the TV in the room. Latest story about the after effects from the battle was being shown as well as clips of the battle itself. He winces as he catches himself torturing the Abomination, before uttering a brief apology and a prayer.

'He deserved it...' He shakes his head. 'No one deserves torture GP...' Her huff made him sigh. 'Your life is more important to me than anyone else's...'

He blinks, before his own eyes soften. He closes his eyes and he could almost feel the heat she generated hold him from behind. 'Thanks for that... But I still don't approve of you torturing someone. Maybe throw them away somewhere instead? The bins were like, down the street. Could have just dumped him in there a few dozen times?' He feels her giggle and he grins triumphantly. 'Ok, no more torture. Just bin dipping. Kay?' He gives a smile. 'Kay...'

Opening his eyes, he looks at the mirror, catching the brief flicker of fire coming from his eyes and around him. Giving a content sigh, he peeks around the room, before back-flipping onto the bed. He bounces on it a few times, testing it's bounciness in a way only children can. Although almost a fully grown man, it was still a strong temptation and he just wanted to relax. 'Not too relaxed though! You don't want to wake up floating near the ceiling!' He gives a chuckle and then somersaults off.

Satisfied with the bed, he starts opening and closing drawers, checking things out. Once his curiosity was fully sated, he peeks out into the hallway, before spotting the sign that said bathroom across the hall. He sneaks over and takes a peek inside, whistling in appreciation. This IS nice! He could feel that GP was impressed as well. 'Yeah. This room looks relaxing.' Ryu suddenly pauses, as a thought bubbles up in his head. 'Yes, the answer to that question is yes.' GP gave a giggle, having heard the unasked question as it bubbled in his mind. Ryu, just goes red. 'But if you're that uncomfortable, I suppose I can take a brief nap during your 'private time' It's not like I haven't seen you naked before.' He could feel her roll her eyes, but he simple squeaks out a thanks before heading back into his room.

As he approaches his room, Jean rounds the corner and blinks. She then shrugs. "Come on, everyone is gathering downstairs. Let's go introduce the pair of you." She gives a smirk as he grins. He then jogs up to her as he is led through a few corridors and down the steps. He looks at the assembled group there. Scott and Logan he recognised, as well as Hank. But the others were all new. He shifts a bit, feeling suddenly awkward. Halfway down the steps, Jean pauses, before clearing her throat.

"Everyone, allow me to introduce you to our newest student to the institute. Ryu Nakanishi. Ryu, this is the X-men." A brief bout of hellos were exchanged, with him getting introduced to various members of the team. "Ryu's powers are similar to mine. Telekinesis and Telepathy, so I'm going to be spending some time doing one-on-one sessions with him in the danger room." She gives a glance to him where he chuckles and rubs the back of his head. "So I expect you all to not torment him if possible. And I'm looking at you guys in particular." The two guys she suddenly looked at give an offended look, but her grin shows that she was teasing mainly. She comments to him quietly "Not everyone is here at the moment, but I'll introduce you once they do come back."

Ryu rubs the back of his head, unsure about what to say. "Hiya?" Maybe he should open up with a joke or something? He jumps when the area next to him seems to explode and a blue guy steps out from the smoke. "Welcome to the institute! I'm Nightcrawler, or Kurt Wagner! Nice to meet you Ryu!" He holds his three fingered hand out, a grin on his face.

Well, after giant Green powerhouses, orange rock guys, fuzzy blue guys And don't forget cuddly And red faces, really, was another blue guy going to be surprising? Ryu takes his hand and chuckles. "Thanks Nightcrawler."

He was suddenly distracted when a girl reaches them and moves through Kurt. "Hi! I'm Kitty, codename Shadowcat!" She takes his other hand and shakes it.

"Kitty! You're invading my personal space again!" "Sorry!"

He chuckles at the pair, before starting to go down the stairs. Best to do all these introductions off the steps right? "Names Bobby but you can call me Iceman!" Ryu glances at this guy with a bit of confusion, where he promptly turned into Ice. Well, he was the opposite to Johnny Storm then.

Then his eyes caught the white haired, dark skinned woman. "I am Ororo, but everyone calls me Storm. My powers allow me to control the weather which isn't entirely indoor friendly." Ryu blinks. "Kinda like how Thor control thunder?" She smiles. "Similar. Wind and Rain, Thunder and ice. All the weather is my domain."

Well, that sounded powerful. How does one fight the weather itself? 'By altering reality?' ... That works he supposes. 'Thanks,' was the mental chirp from GP. Wondering if that was it, he blinks when another guy comes in with Beast. The guy gives a smile and approaches. "I was told by Beast and by Jean that you're the new guy. Names Forge. Need anything technical, then I'm your man!"

A quick shake and then he was off, commenting about a project being under-way. Beast shifts a bit, possibly uncomfortable after his last comments. 'And what way to calm someone down with a hug! Go on!' He resists. somehow. "Hi there Mr McCoy. Sorry about her comments, but, well, she has quite the personality." 'I'm not sure if I should be annoyed or confused...'

'Be neither? It means you're not boring?' Was his reply. 'In that case, neat!' There we go. Crisis averted.

Beast just shakes his head. "It's Ok. I'm, just a little overwhelmed at all these realisations. I mean, we didn't have the best introduction to Jean's friend the first two times she came around, and now an almost 180 turn? It's just a bit strong." 'Hug him! Hug! Hug! Hug!'

"Believe me Mr McCoy, you should be grateful you don't have any extra visitors in you're head. I'm still getting used to it, despite this feeling, right?" 'Right? I'm just a, Right feeling to you?' He frowns, wondering if he used the right word. 'Right... I think, that is the right word. Kinda like how Peanut butter and Jelly is right together, or bread and butter. It's just right, like nothing else matches up to it.' A chirp in his head sounded a lot more pleasant. 'I see! So It's like Peanut Butter and Jelly. On their own they're nice but combine them together and they make the best thing ever!'

"I don't really have any experience with what you're dealing with, but no matter what, you'll have our support." He rests a hand on his shoulder and he feels a feeling of elation bubble up within him. 'I was right! He IS Soft!' His entire body shudders for a moment before his body gives off a soft glow. Then, before he could control himself, he had his arms around the Beast as he gave him a bear hug, rubbing his cheek against his chest. After a second, he pulled away, completely red as he looks around briefly to see if anyone saw, the glow promptly going away. He catches the eye of Jean and Scott, but luckily everyone else was busy looking elsewhere. 'I TOLD you! He IS Soft! Kinda wish you had his fur now...' 'Maybe...' He shakes his head, unable to look Beast in the eye. 'Ryu?' A tentative mental nudge, from GP or Jean, he wasn't sure. 'Erm... Sorry. But I REALLY wanted to see if he was soft and fluffy. Did... I do something wrong?'

Hank finally gathers his senses and pats him on the head awkwardly. "Next time... Just ask please. Both of you." Ryu nods and he could feel GP doing the same. "Jean just explained to me, so don't worry. I'll be in the lab if you need me for anything but hugging. I'll need to take a blood sample later on anyway so come on down once you have some time" He gives a wink as he marches off down the corridor.

Ryu makes his way back to Jean, still red in the face. Kitty notices and edges herself closer, nudging him slightly to get his attention. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened!" Ryu's response was a snap response. Although the way she creped up and nudged him... 'Just like a Kitten, I might add'. The burst of laughter in his mind and Jean suddenly doubling over in laughter was met with confused expressions. A moment later, she straightens up quickly, an expression of seriousness on her face. Scott suddenly asks Kitty a question about Lockheed as Jean grabs his hand and literally drags him down the steps and into a corridor. Once away from prying eyes, she stares at him and waits. Confused, he blinks once he realises something was wrong. 'Um... Oppsie...' Oppsie? He looks at his hands, then his arms, before looking down. "Oh..." Faint flickers of fire was licking his feet, giving them a fairly interesting design AND experience.

"Embarrassment is an emotion it seems." She gives a sigh, before grinning and placing a hand on her hip. "So let's start one of your lessons now then, since you're already 'on'." Taking his hand, she takes him back to the lift and they head back down. Back in that metallic corridor, he is lead through several passages before entering a doorway. He pauses as he looks into the large, dome-like room. If he didn't know better, this looked a lot like the old training centre Nambu had the team practice in, albeit, with less stuff in it.

Looking up, he spotted the observation room and blinks. "This, Ryu, is the Danger Room." She floats up, moving towards the observation room and focussed. The floor suddenly opened up and large blocks appeared. Giving a nod, she settled herself down and sat down near them, gesturing him to do the same. Upon sitting, she began explaining. "This exercise is one of the things I did to help control my telekinetic power. Since we're advancing to these rather than small blocks, you may have a few problems working it. So just take your time and just get a feel for them for now. I'm going to lower the barrier so your powers can expand."

Ryu gives a nod, before staring at one of them. After a moment of nothing happening, he begins frowning. "Patience is key here. Try to keep your focus on the block." 'Try closing your eyes! That may help?' "Yes, that probably would GP..." 'No problem!' Sighing, Ryu closed his eyes and pictured the block infront of him. A few minutes more of nothing, and then he felt it. He could see the block again, with his eyes closed! "That's it Ryu. Focus on it, keep that image clear in your mind. Once you can picture it clearly, start expanding your senses to the other blocks." He tries to do so, but the moment his focus wasn't on the block, then his head suddenly exploded with noise. Crying out, he slams his palms against his ears as he falls to his side, unprepared for the sudden burst of noise and unable to block it out.

The noise starts quieting but it was still an incessant chattering in the back of his head, like Jinpei was high on sugar and was strapped to the rear of the God Phoenix. It wasn't loud enough to hurt his head any more, but the sound was still there and annoying. "Ryu!" 'Ryu!'

He opens his eyes, squinting at her as his head was slightly throbbing. Jean was hovering over him, speaking yet not heard. After a moment, sound started to come back, almost mutable but he could hear Jean talking. "-trate, just focus on ... voice ... it, look at me." He takes a deep, shuddering breath, before starting to rise up. 'Ryu? Are you ok?'

He shivers. "What was that?"

Jean gives a sigh of relief. "That was your telepathy, reaching out and catching the thoughts of a lot of people, at once. Maybe we should focus on that at first?" A loud boom form behind them had the pair jump, the block from earlier landing there. Looking up, Jean quickly throws her arm forwards, sending the blocks scattering away from their position above them. She then sighs. "This is going to be tough... I had my telekinesis mostly under control when I gained my telepathy. You have both awaken at the same time..."

Ryu just rubs his temples. "I can still hear voices in my head... That, totally didn't sound right."

Jean sighs, and rests a hand on his back. "That's alright, Let's just focus on telepathy for the moment. We can't have you lose control of your telekinesis when you get distracted like that."

"But what If I hurt someone?" 'Worry wort.'

Jean puts her hand on her hips and says, almost casually. "With both me and GP trying to prevent that, you shouldn't hurt anyone."

"Oh... Ok, I can dig that."He blinks at Jean's posture, before deflating somewhat. "I know. I know. Get with the times. Geesh."He crosses his arms and huffs in exaggeration. "Can't I just learn them both at once?"

"Can you rub your belly with your left hand while pat your head with your right, whilst reciting the alphabet and hopping on one foot?" He blinks, tilts his head in confusion, before shrugging. He then attempts to, key word, attempts. He ends up patting both his head and belly whilst speaking the alphabet, before stumbling and falling down. "Learning Telekinesis requires a lot of practice and control, Telepathy requires focus and an aim. Learning both at the same time will confuse you, I can guarantee that. Doing one at a time will help your mind grasp the needed information to control the powers."

He looks down. "Oh... Well, I suppose I should get started on that then. Heh."

They both sit down as she begins explaining how her telepathy works, or at least, tries to explain it. After several minutes of almost round-about talking, she finally just sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose. "Maybe it'll be better if we just break you in slowly. I'll lower the blockage slightly and you can work out how it comes in, then stop it."

He gives a hesitant nod. Closing their eyes, the incessant chattering in the back of his mind get's partially louder. 'Now Ryu, try to visualise a door where this noise is coming from.' He clenches his eyes as he focusses, trying to picture a door over the noise. Now, close the door. Close it? Well, may as well try. He tried closing the door, but before it could close properly, it swung back open and the noise picked up again. 'Keep your focus Ryu! Keep trying to close that door.' He grits his teeth, focussing on the door and trying to shove it close. He was getting frustrated at how stubborn the door was. 'Ryu! Focus! Stop trying to shove it close and just imagine it closed!'

He takes a deep breath, letting the door swing back open and bringing the noise back, but he wanted to regain his focus before attempting it again. Once done, he starts trying to imagine the door closing. He could feel it slowly do so, but those last few inches just wouldn't close.' Don't get frustrated Ryu! Keep yourself calm.' He tried to keep his breath steady, before shifting into a meditative stance. Taking care to keep his mind focussed and his breathing steady, he clears his mind before nudging the door closed. It was working, the door was gradually closing, but that last inch was refusing to give.

He then feels his mind fill with warmth and the door slams shut suddenly. 'There! all better!' came the familiar chirp. 'GP! Ryu needed to do that on his own!' Came the reprimand from Jean. 'Psh, he didn't know how to close it fully, his mind isn't quite capable of it yet.' Wha? Was that an insult?' That doesn't mean you should of done that. How is he supposed to control his powers if you do it for him?' Jean's reasoning was sound, but GP gives a scoff. 'Jeannie. He doesn't know how to close it. He hasn't done that before. But now he's seen how it is supposed to close. He'll be able to replicate that effect a bit more easier now.'

Was she right? He let the door open again, feeling the world erupt into quiet noise again. He then focusses on closing it again, finding it surprisingly easier to get it to the last few inches again. 'See? He learns by experience and practice. Telling him how to do it is good and all, but he needs to get a feel for it to learn it properly. Or, you can try describing it like it's a plane. He'll work it out that way too.' That last inch again, but this time he felt it giving way. He grins, before bending his knees down infront of the door and resting both hands on his kneecaps. 'This time, I'll close you for sure!' He suddenly pushes at the door hard, a cry of effort reverberating in his head as the door finally closes.

He gives a triumphant grin, before his eyes roll to the back of his head and he faints. Outside, in the physical world, his body slumps over suddenly. Jean comes out of his mind a moment later and manages to prevent him from thumping on the floor. She gives a sigh, before levitating him up. "Your powers are putting a lot of strain on you if closing one door causes you to faint like that..."

A few moments later, Hank McCoy appears in the doorway. A quick glance at the unconscious teen and he gives a nod. "I need to take some blood tests from him anyway. So you may as well bring him to the infirmary."

"Why don't you take him down?" Was her reply.

"Well, for one thing, I'm not capable of suppressing his powers yet, so if anything happens I won't be able to respond. Another thing, I'm sure he'll feel more comfortable if you were around to do so..."

"And you're afraid he'll hug you again in his sleep?" Her grin was pretty big.

"... That too." Was his honest reply.

"Fine. Lead the way Hank."

A few minutes later, the threesome was in the infirmary. Hank was just drawing a blood sample as Ryu slept. As the needle came out, they both turned to the spot as it sizzled, a bit of steam coming form the blood mark as the hole slowly sealed up. They both blink at each other. "Regeneration as well? He's a big ball of tricks."

"I, don't recall that happening before..." 'Jeannie?' She blinked. 'Why did I have to suddenly heal Ryu?'

Ah, that made sense now. 'Hank was just taking a blood sample.' The reply came back, full of curiousness. 'Why would he need a blood sample? I can heal him fine by myself!'

"It's not regeneration Hank, it's GP healing him."

"Fascinating! I suppose Phoenix's in legend were known for their healing and re-birthing abilities."

'Jean? GP?' Jean blinks, hearing her Phoenix finally comment since her earlier attempts at being friendly was both awkward and reassuring at the same time. 'Why are we all in Jean's mind?' Was the curious question from her Phoenix. 'I was curious about why Ryu suddenly gained a small, minor injury. At least he's not hurt.' A sigh from her Phoenix, before GP decides to take advantage of the location. 'So what was it like before I came here?' Jean gives a sigh. "And now they're both chatting away in my head..."

A boisterous laugh from the Beast. "Better you than me!"

Jean gives a sly smirk. "I suppose. At least they can have a conversation. They'll probably be too busy bundled against you to talk." His reddening face had her burst into laughter. "Oh Hank! I don't think my Phoenix is like that!" 'How do you know! Maybe I want to try! GP says he's fluffy like a kitten!'

He was about to join in her laughter when he realises she was frozen still, a bit of red on her cheeks. "Jean?"

"Never mind... I think GP is a bad influence on mine..." 'Am not!' Was her defensive exclamation. 'I didn't cause any explosion! did I? No! No I didn't!' Phoenix interjects here, 'Hey! That was a one, no, two-time thing! Both times I was under attack! It was self-defense!' Jean just sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "And by bad influence, I mean, they make them behave like Kitty used to when she was younger."

Hank winces at that. "Pre or Post X-men bad?"

"Pre..." Was her response. Hank gives another wince and a consoling hand on the shoulder. Jean promptly freezes at that. 'WHOA! You didn't tell me it was THAT fluffy!' The response came back, almost teasingly. 'I so did!' Jean just groans and slumps in a seat, now rubbing her temples. 'Can you both PLEASE stop being so loud? If you're going to be talking like that, do it quietly where I can't hear you!' Mental rant done, she gives a sigh when everything goes quiet. 'Sorry...' Came from both of them.

Ryu gives a groan a moment later, struggling to sit up right as he rubs his eyes. "Why does it feel like I just had a jack hammer rammed into my head and was left there for the past year?"

"Your mind is still adapting to your powers. Give it some time and you'll recover..." Was Jean's response. 'GP... Could you return to Ryu. He's going to need some rest and someone that isn't me needs to keep his powers under control.' The confirmation she received made her sigh in relief. She then stands up and stretches. "Despite not doing much, I'm feeling tired. So I'll leave you down here. GP said she'll cover for me, so try not to get to emotional. Kay?"

Ryu gives a nod of his head, hisses and then gratefully takes the pill and water that Hank gave him. "Get some rest, you've had a tiring day and if I recall, you only got out of the hospital today."

Ryu gives a grateful nod, settles down and closes his eyes.

Moments later, he was snoring away.

A/N: Welcome to the first actual chapter of the Owl and the Phoenix. The full extent of Ryu's control over his powers was shown here. Which isn't much. His telekinesis when he's not in his Hinotori form is virtually unusable a slight distraction and hell breaks loose. His telepathy is only slightly better. He knows how to block off a few, filtered voices (and faints afterwards apparently).

GP and Jean are really babying him with powers, but GP is doing so because she's worried about his control whilst Jean is worried that he'll do what she did and blow up from the overload. So baby steps at first.

Again, please critique honestly, I want to know of any mistakes I've made whether it's spelling or grammar mistakes. Expect the next fic to crop up in a few weeks while I shuffle ahead with the drafts.