Heartache And The Oncoming Storm

It's been three years since we last communicated. Farsight's message that he sent to the TARDIS was the last I heard of him until today, three years later, when he contacted me psychically.

Things have moved on since we last spoke. The European team has recruited many more members to the X-men and all of them are skilled, efficient members of the team.

Kyle Ready, also known as Hotshot, joined shortly after a mission to prevent the Brotherhood destroying all humans on England's side of the planet. He is able to move at superhuman speeds and generate fire at will. He is generally sensible but likes to joke about as much as Shadow does.

Connall Scott, known as Quake, joined after I, his cousin, told him about the team. He is able to control the ground beneath him and produce seismic waves powerful enough to sink a small island.

Atlanta Story, currently known as Vortex, is a young girl who was saved by the team when her house was attacked by a fleet of Sentinels. Her ability to partially manipulate the weather is the reason why Storm is so keen to train her. Her telepathic powers are also highly potent, and training from Jean Grey, Xavier and I are helping her gain mastery over her powers.

I'm also happy to tell you that the X-men now consider the TARDIS as a primary mode of transport. The X-jet is sometimes favoured though, as it experiences less turbulence.

I am also glad to tell you that Thomas Jenkinson, better known as Sub-zero, has maintained a happy relationship with Jubilee over the years, but he has yet to admit it to everyone else, despite the fact that everyone knows already.

Stephen Blanchard, aka Shadow, is now an experienced member of the team and enjoys spending time in the laboratory developing new upgrades for the Danger Room and various other gadgets. His jokes are still no better then they used to be.

Jessica Percival, aka Phantom, enjoys spending time in the library. Her powers have developed further then expected and she is arguably one of the most powerful members of the team, though she'll never admit it. She has become somewhat withdrawn, preferring solitude rather then joining in with others. Sometimes, she reminds me of myself.

As for me, Matthew, better known as Entity, I'm currently standing on a rooftop overlooking the south side of Long Island, New York, in the rain, at three o'clock in the morning. Why?

I'm waiting. Waiting for an apparently important message from an old ally, Farsight.

There was no moon that night, just thick clouds and the occasional star in the heavy blanket of darkness that fell over the city. The sound of sirens in the distance and the distant roar of traffic filled the air, along with the constant patter of raindrops that hammered down upon the roads, rooftops, trees, cars and any other surface that was exposed to the weather.

The yellows and whites that erupted from various windows cast strange shadows and reflected off puddles and damp ground in the streets. The lights cut through the dark like knives, allowing you to see them from miles away.

Entity stood silently in the pouring rain, his trench coat swirling out behind him with a mind of it's own. His eyes surveyed the city with no sign of emotion. His face bore no expression and the only thing that stood out was the glimmer of the silver 'X' on his belt.

His head turned slightly, as if something behind him had moved.

"It's been a while," he stated, turning his attention back to the city.

From the shadows behind him stepped a man clad in black leather. Multiple guns hung from his belt and his skin bore many scars. His piercing eyes glinted oddly in the dark and with a smooth, almost liquid precision, he spoke,

"It has. Time passes without much care for those who need it."

"True, but if one could pass through it, it's care is not required," Entity replied, a small smile playing about his lips.

"Also true," Farsight responded, drawing level with the other occupant of the rooftop.

"You have something to tell me?" Entity asked, pocketing his hands and raising his head slightly.

Farsight stood in silence for moments, considering what to say. The only sound was that of the city below and the thunderous rainstorm, but they faded into the background.

"I see the future in images... sometimes scrambled and with little meaning. Their importance and relevance can vanish in the blink of an eye, or melt away slowly, like the dream you begin to forget as soon as you wake up," Farsight began, his attention switching between the streets below and the young man stood next to him.

"The future is always in motion," Entity stated, as if he were reciting something that had been said before a thousand times, "It's never possible to predict with one-hundred percent accuracy what will happen within the course of history."

"Yes, I know, but the images I have seen... they keep visiting me. Every time I close my eyes, I see the future in thousands of ways and I know, I am certain, that something is coming. Something terrible," Farsight explained, closing his eyes as if recalling a distant event.

Entity looked at him, blankly. His eyes retained a look of curiosity, but his expression was un-readable as usual, "I know."

"Then also know this. I know you are keeping something from him. From all of them. I do not know what it is that you are so careful to hide but I know that, unless you have his help and the support of the team, you and this planet stand no chance. You have to tell him the truth," Farsight urged, staring at Entity with an almost fearful look.

"And what would he think of me?" Entity asked, glaring directly into the eyes of the other mutant, "What would they all think of me if they knew what I really was? What would they do if they knew where I was really from? What I did? What I still do? I can't just turn around and plunge them into the middle of something they could never understand!"

Entity turned sharply and walked to the other side of the rooftop, peering out across to the horizon where the golden sunlight was filtering over the city.

"They will never understand if you do not let them try. If you do not tell them the truth, all is lost for the humans, the mutants and you," Farsight warned, turning to face Entity but staying where he was.

Entity stood on the edge, his head hung in solemn thought,

"When the time is right, and when they are ready to know, I will tell them," he said, his voice filled with a dark sadness that sent a wave of sympathy through Farsight's mind.

Without another word shared between them, Entity dove from the rooftop and swooped into the silent night's sky, his coat rippling behind him like disturbed water. Farsight watched him go with a concerned look, ignoring the heavy rain that soaked his clothes and clouded his vision. Turning away from the gradually disappearing mutant, he too leapt from the roof and landed in the alley below, erasing himself from the sight of others by sinking into the shadows.

As the mansion drew closer and closer, Entity's mind began to race. Decisions and choices now lay ahead of him that he doubted his ability to make. The familiar glow of his dormitory window illuminated his pale, damp features. His short, dark brown hair was soaked through and was still dripping when he landed nimbly on the carpet of his room.

A brilliant flame surrounded him and engulfed his entire body. It swirled in hypnotic patterns and lapped at the ceiling before dispersing with a wave of his hand. His clothes were un-damaged, but were now dry and warm.

He sighed a comforted sigh and sat down neatly in his bed, thoughts jamming into his brain that made his entire body hurt. His brow furrowed and he tried to shut them out, but only half succeeded. It nearly drove him mad when the thoughts in his head were easily recognisable as not his, but belonging to the Negative Phoenix. So many urges and desires, it often forced him into an unconscious state for hours.

His multiple trains of thought were interrupted suddenly when the knocking on the door became apparent to him.

"Come in," he called, not loudly, but enough for the person to hear.

Into the room stepped Alison Crestmere, known amongst the X-men as Magma. Entity felt his heart begin to beat steadily faster as she closed the door behind her, not removing her attention from him.

"Hey Alison," he greeted, smiling ever-so-slightly.

She smiled warmly before waving, "Hey Matt."

"Ahem, having a bad night?" he asked, wondering why she was up so early.

"I was looking for you... Xavier wanted me to give you this," she explained, handing him a floppy disk labelled 'Symbiote Files'.

"I haven't seen this in years... what does he want me to do with it?" asked Entity, getting up to place the disk on his bedside cabinet.

"He said there was something in there that you ought to read," she said, grinning oddly.

"Are you okay?" Entity asked, turning to face her.

There was something in her tone that struck Matthew as odd... was she afraid?

"I wanted to ask you something... or, to tell you something, rather...," she began, stammering as her face flushed a deep shade of red.

Entity's breath caught in his throat. He began silently begging her not to ask what he assumed she was about to ask.

"What I want to say is... well... I wanted to know wether the rumour was true... because they said.. Well... do you... love me?" she asked, weakly, he eyes filled with an obvious hope and she gently bit her lip.

Behind them both, the window shuddered slightly and the small cupboard that stood at the end of Entity's bed collapsed suddenly. Entity's heart was racing faster by the second and it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

"I-... I... Alison I... I can't...," he struggled, his face bore a look of regret, but otherwise remained relatively calm.

Her shoulders relaxed and her face seemed to fall. She seemed understanding, but upset, nonetheless.

"My powers... I can't... love... it's dangerous," he explained, softly, looking anywhere but at the girl in front of him.

"I know... it was stupid of me to-... anyway, Xavier has something on that disk that he wants you to see, so make sure you look at it," she said, opening the door and giving a small smile before she left.

As soon as the door closed, Entity heard her sigh and knew that he had greatly upset her.

"... Sorry...," he whispered, staring at where she had been standing.

His heat relaxed and slowed it's pace. He remained sat there, thoughts streaming through his head once more, along with painful memories and words that he remembered all too well.

Shaking his head free of the depressed spiral he was on, he flicked open his laptop at the foot of his bed and loaded the disk. He browsed through the information with growing interest and as he reached Professor Xavier's added comments, his eyes widened and his mind ignited.

A normal life was possible after all...