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"Descent of the Phoenix" By: Wicked-Wytch

Disclaimer: It pains me to say it, but I don't own Xmen cartoons, movies, or comics. ?_?)

R/R(I luv feedback!) and Enjoy! (This is a special quick update b/c I luv my reviewers so much).

This chapter has a bit more going on in it than usual... hope everyone likes it!

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(The Sanctuary)

"You're a mutant," Logan muttered to Lita as she returned.

"Yeah... so are most of the people here." She cocked an eyebrow, "You got a problem with that?"

"No," Logan grinned and gave her a look. "Just a little surprised is all." The man took a sip from his half empty glass and sighed. Lita looked at him, curious. Something about that look he'd given her made her wonder. Maybe he was a mutant, too. But she wasn't able to ask him about it because of the growing noise in one of the corners of the bar. The woman turned to examine what was going on and was surprised to see the boy from earlier. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach.

~~~~~

John had slipped behind the girl without being noticed. She had short, black hair and a thin figure. She didn't look older than him and (he remembered from earlier) had the strangest turquoise eyes he'd ever seen. If they'd met under different circumstances, he would have found her attractive. But since she'd basically threatened him earlier, his anger overrode all other emotions.

A nicer person would have at least given her a warning... but John never claimed to be nice. Before she could turn, he kicked her hard in the lower back, sending her sprawling on the floor. The girl rose quickly and turned, rubbing her back and looking for her attacker.

"You!" She said, giving John a dirty look.

"Didn't think I'd come back?" John asked with a grin. With his left hand, he fished through his pocket, searching for his lighter. With a triumphant growl, he grasped it and showed it to the girl, who, realizing what he was about to do gave him a withering look.

"Don't do it!" The girl cried, watching wide-eyed as the flame in his palm grew.

"Just try and stop me..." he laughed evilly.

"Everybody out!" the girl shouted as loudly as she could. "Run!"

~~~~~

"Merci!" Lita cried, jumping over the counter and running over to the dark haired girl.

"What?" Logan muttered, looking over to the area where a girl had shouted. It was then that he spotted John. "Holy shit..." There was a dark look in Logan's eye. "Figures Pyro would go to a place like this." He rose from his seat and, taking a final swig of his drink, quickly tailed Lita.

~~~~~

People began to run out panicked as they saw the large fireball that continued to grow. John smiled at the girl who stood petrified in front of him. There was a scared look in her eyes and it gave John a great deal of satisfaction. He hadn't enjoyed himself so thoroughly since the incident at Bobby's parent's place.

When the fireball had grown to sufficient size, John gave the girl a last look of triumph.

"Shouldn't have fucked with me," he chuckled low, throwing the blaze at her.

The girl screamed and covered herself with her arms, praying that she'd survive.

~~~~~

(Canada)

The Phoenix was wrapped up in three heavy blankets, asleep on a thick mattress. Jason had examined her and found her to be fine (except for the hypothermia which he was taking care of). Making sure she was truly sleeping, he ran a hand over her pale cheek and kissed her forehead. She didn't move.

With a satisfied smile, Jason walked away from the bedroom and found his way into the tiny room that he considered a kitchen. He turned once, to make sure that he was alone. Then he picked up the phone that sat on the counter and dialed up a number. When he heard the familiar voice on the other end, he spoke softly and quickly.

"Emma," he smiled, "I've found her...Everything is going as planned, don't worry.... She'll be under our control soon enough." With that, he abruptly hung up the phone and walked out of the room, patiently waiting for his Phoenix to awaken.

~~~~~

Merci, since childhood, had had power over water, any liquid actually. And as she saw the red hot flame quickly approaching her face, she called on her powers to protect her. She could feel the cool water surround her, covering her skin and keeping her safe from the flame. The girl screamed and balled her hands into fists, forcing the liquid to remain there until the fire was gone.

The girl named Merci Stone could feel the heat envelope her as the fireball completely surrounded her body. It was a painful feeling, but she knew that if she kept her concentration, she wouldn't die.

It must have lasted less than a minute, but it felt like an eternity to the girl. Finally, though, the fire, light, and heat seemed to fade away and Merci was left only with the feeling of cold water on her skin.

She broke her concentration, letting the water fall onto the ground, and thanked the gods for her powers. Then she shot the boy who had sent the fire out an angry look.

"You son of a bitch! You tried to kill me!" She shouted furiously. Her fist was quickly making its way to his face when the front doors of the club opened and a number of men filed in. Their thunderous footsteps made the floor vibrate. "Fucking perfect!" The girl cried as she realized who the men were.

~~~~~

Bobby and Rogue looked up as the music stopped and the whole building seemed to shake. The boy shot Rogue a weary glance before linking hands with her and running off the dance floor (which was what many of the people around them were doing as well).

Rogue glanced around curiously as she caught a familiar scent in her nose. It was the smell of lighter fluid and smoke... it reminded her of John. *Oh God,* she thought as she saw the large fireball fly across the room, *It's him.*

"We've gotta find Logan!" Rogue cried.

"Yeah... I know," Bobby responded, scanning the room, "There he is! Come on!"

"Logan," Rogue cried as she caught up with the older man. "John's over there!"

"I know," he responded, grunting as a large man nearly pushed him onto the floor. "We have to-" Logan wasn't able to finish his sentence. Just then they spotted the large group of men who were quickly making their way into the bar.

~~~~~

"Oh shit..." Logan grunted, rolling his eyes heavenward, "The cops! That's all we need."

"What are we going to do?" Rogue muttered nervously.

"Not just cops," Lita said bitterly, "It's a new division. The Mutant Task Force [MTF]. They've been waiting for an excuse to shut this place down for months! God damn it!" The woman started to push harder through the crowd in an attempt to make her way over to Merci. It seemed that there was a large distance between them. Their eyes met and they shared a grim glance.

A large number of men in riot gear were running inside the building, pushing past those who were trying to escape. They were shouting for everyone to stay still, but because of their dress and manner (they looked ready to shoot whoever got in their way), Logan wasn't trusting them.

In a quick motion, Logan grasped Lita's wrist and pulled her along with him. He motioned for Rogue and Bobby to follow. The woman (Lita) struggled against him.

"Wait!" She cried, "I can't leave Merci behind!" The dark haired girl gave Lita an inquiring look, as if she was wondering what to do.

"There's nothing we can do now," Logan cried. "We have to go!"

"Damn it..." Lita yelled, giving the dark haired girl one final look and loudly shouting, "We'll meet back at the park... in an hour!" Merci nodded. Then Lita turned and ran alongside Logan, Bobby, and Rogue.

Bright lights suddenly filled the room and a loud, booming voice spoke. "Everyone freeze! Hands up and you won't be hurt!"

Some people did as told, but Logan was not foolish enough to do so. "To hell with that," he muttered softly, making sure the others were close behind him. Someway, somehow they were going to get the hell out of that place.

~~~~~

Merci looked around, somewhat panicked. Lita was leaving her behind and the number of places that she could hide was quickly dwindling. She looked back and forth, trying to find an escape.

The boy in front of her seemed to do the same. There was a stubborn look in his eye and it made Merci uneasy. She noticed how he flicked his lighter continuously and realized that he would cause even more trouble if he wasn't stopped.

It was then that an incredibly stupid (or possibly ingenious) idea hit her.

"You," Merci said to the boy, "If you want to get out of here alive and without a tag on your ear, listen to me."

This surprised him. John gave her an inspecting look and almost told her to go to hell when he saw the police quickly approaching. He couldn't believe what he was about to do... but he was quickly realizing that he had little choice. "What are you going to do?"

"Make a fireball and throw it toward the ceiling." Merci knew that this plan was dangerous, but she was desperate and was not willing to be captured by the police. When the boy hesitated, she shouted, "Do it!"

He obeyed, quickly shooting a large flame up. This distracted most of the officers enough that they stopped looking at the mutants. Merci saw this opportunity and grabbed the boy, started to run, and pulled him along with her.

"What the hell are you doing," he asked brusquely.

"Getting us outta here! So shut up!" She responded, quickly running across the room.

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Hehehe... this chappy was so much fun!!! So many things left open... what will happen??? *evil laughter* The next chappy will be up quick, promise (don't want to leave you all waiting for too long).

Reviewers: Thank yooooou!!! ^_^) Reviews make me happy-happy.

*Dark Angel*- Thanks so much. I hoped you enjoyed Pyro in this chappy.

*Anne*- Thanks

*limona *- sorry for confusing you... i'll try to fix that up from now on. Sorry, that's sorta how I write but I'll try to not do it again. (and if it happen again just give me a small note and i'll fix it up)

*x-girl*- hehe... here's the thing about this fic: Logan is no over Jean yet he's still madly in love with her (my poor foolish wolvie). He still thinks about her... in fact in later chapters we will get into his emotions and such (I just didn't want to get too heavy into that right away). And even though he likes the bartender (likes... not loves), doesn't mean that his feelings for her will cancel out his feelings for Jean. (You know.. in the comic he moves on and gets with other women besides the fluffy red head.) *chuckle chuckle* I'm getting carried away... anyway thanks for the review (your reviews always get me thinking). O and btw not *all* bartenders are evil, haven't you seen Coyote Ugly? (hehe).

*Superwoman007*- chuckle...Thanks. I still say you're going to be better w/i a lil while. Guess we'll see soon.

Til the next chapter ~Wicked