Author's note: Let me give my sister a co-author credit of this chapter before she kicks my butt. And thank her for the proofreading of my use of the word "of."
Chapter Fourteen:
Mary was up early the next morning, before sunrise. She had not slept much the night before, her mind awake with curiosity following her conversation with Professor Xavier. The book he had lent her sat unopened on her desk until about five o'clock a.m., her restlessness to study it enticing her to begin reading. However, Mary had a strange feeling that some things in the text may be safer to study in the daylight.
So, Mary waited until she heard the first morning birds chirping before she picked up the old book and headed downstairs. She moved as quietly as she could through the halls and down the front staircase. She reached the kitchen, which was still very dark and shadowy, and decided to sit outside in the growing morning light.
The sun had not yet appeared over the horizon, but the sky was slowly melting from darkness to a soft blue. The line of trees surrounding the school grounds prevented her from watching the sun crest over the horizon, and she felt a pang of home sickness for the wide open desert of her town.
Her sense of being alone had only seemed to grow since coming to be among so many people. Even though they were all friendly, all honestly trying to help her, she still had the feeling of being different...being apart.
Mary sat cross-legged on a stone bench, and opened the cover of the book slowly. The gold text of the title page glimmered slightly in the dim light, and Mary studied each word again carefully.
Of Demons and Other Beings, Volume 49 – 1900 to 1950
A compilation by Gertrude Giles, Council of Watchers
Volume 49? Mary thought, and stared at the dates with a frown, If this is volume 49...and each volume covers a fifty year space of time...does that mean these books have been written for over two thousand years?
The idea of anything lasting for so long was almost too much to imagine. The Council did not just count in centuries...it counted in millennia. The Christian religion had not even existed for that long. Was it possible for an organization like this to continue for so long in secret? Even the oldest texts the university had never made mention of the Watchers or the Council? Who exactly have they been watching for all that time?
As she paged through the old text, Mary scanned the words and pictures quickly. She would read it in more depth later. Right now she was looking for a few specific things.
Finally, about a quarter of the way through the book, her eyes fell upon one word.
Angels, the title of the page said, written in a delicate and beautiful script. Below the word was a beautifully drawn image of angelic beings among the clouds. Some were typical pictures, wings and harps and long white robes, but two in particular caught her eye, one with a sword...and one with a trumpet.
Mary shivered and continued reading. There was really nothing here she did not already know. A brief history of angelic beings drawn from religious texts, though specific angels were never named. She turned the page, and another word caught her attention.
Phoenix, she read and drew in a sharp breath as a voice echoed in her head.
Not yet, the voice said, Soon...but not yet.
Mary stared down at the image below the words, a drawing of a large winged creature, shaped like a bird, but surrounded by fire. As the morning sun began to filter through the trees, the light, for a moment, was blinding...
This was what she had seen before...
A figure, enveloped in flame, soaring into the sky above the mansion...
The picture in the book was the same...
A fiery bird, hovering a moment, before it plunged into the school itself...
Get them out, Mary thought, The children are still inside...get them out...
Then, the fire around her disappeared...and the vision changed...
As the heat left, the cold grew...ice...snow...everywhere around her...
Ice so cold it burned painfully against her feet...
Just like in the hanger...
You're needed here, the voice said, World of work ahead of you...
Mary gasped as her vision cleared. She slammed the book shut, and stared forward.
She took a few deep breaths and ground her teeth together in frustration.
She was needed here...that is what the vision said. For what? To fend off the creature from the hanger if it returns? She did not even know what she did to fight it off. And what about the fire? Who was responsible for that?
The visions gave her no answers. How exactly was she supposed to help people if she had no idea how to do it?
Mary jumped in surprise as a noise echoed from the kitchen. It was still very early, and she wondered who else was up at this hour...besides maybe Blink. She stood from the bench and walked into the mansion.
***
Scott turned on the faucet off the kitchen sink, and placed the glass coffee pot underneath the stream of water. After it was about half full, he poured it into the coffee maker and switched the machine on. It was still fairly early, even for him, but he wanted to get started on work in the labs right away. He had materials to examine, and details of their experiences of the past few days he wanted to document before he forgot them.
Maybe he would schedule a meeting for the active X-Men for later on this afternoon, to discuss what had happened again, so no piece of information was missed. So they would be better prepared next time...
He kept his mind occupied with these things...so he did not think about the empty spot next to him when he awoke this morning. He had fallen asleep thinking of his duties of the next day. After the alarm chimed, he had reached for his glasses...and almost asked Jean if she wanted to sleep in for a while longer...
Then, he opened his eyes, and through the red lenses saw that empty place next to him.
He really tried not to think about it. Alone would not be strong enough of a word to describe it.
Scott (not yet Cyclops this morning) sat down and clicked on the kitchen television as he waited for the coffee to brew. It was too early for the local news yet, and he surfed through the channels to find something relevant.
He stared at the television, and did not really see what was on the screen. He was clicking too fast to really tell what was on each station. Jean hated when he did that...
Scott dropped the remote control on the table and rubbed his temples wearily.
Alone...really was not enough to describe it. But, he did his best to ignore it.
He remembered when his parents had found out he was a mutant. Kind of hard to ignore that he destroyed things just by looking at them. They had not kicked him out, not technically, but they did very quickly find Xavier's School for the Gifted and sent him away.
Scott remembered staring back at his family as the taxi took him to the airport. His parents and his younger brother, Alex, who thought Scott was going to a prep school. That is what his parents had told the rest of the family, too. His cousins from Los Angeles had driven out for his 'going away' party. They all looked so happy for him, so proud, and all Scott could do was smile, stare out of his ruby lenses, and go along with his parents' small lie.
He had felt alone then, among his relatives, the Summers family. And then as he was driven away from that family. He really thought he knew what it was like to be alone.
But then, Scott met the Professor, and began to make friends at the School for the Gifted. Others like himself, not freaks or outcasts...just others like him, who needed help. Suddenly, alone was a lot less frightening...
But then, his family had died, a plane crash taking his parents and brother away from him. At the funeral, those same relatives who had wished him good luck were there to say goodbye again. He remembered his Aunt Joyce holding his hand in the church; his two cousins had been so little, not even in grade school yet...
Suddenly, alone had a whole new meaning.
But, someone else had been there too. His friends from school, and the Professor of course, but it was Jean who held his other hand. It had been Jean who had hugged him as he cried. He had hated the School for the Gifted when his parents forced him to go. But, then Jean had held his hand. Suddenly, alone was a lot less permanent...
Scott heard the coffee pot bubbling and shut off the television. He poured himself a cup of the warming liquid, but the feeling of cold would not leave him.
He thought he knew alone. But, then Jean got off of the jet...then Jean told him goodbye...
Scott Summers thought he knew about being alone...
In one icy moment, alone was not enough to describe it...
"Mr. Summers?" a voice said quietly and Scott jumped as he was drawn out of his thoughts.
Mary stepped into the kitchen from the outside deck and Scott smiled, with effort.
"Hi," he said, his voice straining to be cheerful, as his student entered the room, "You're up pretty early..."
"Couldn't sleep," Mary said, and sat down. She put the book she was holding on the table.
Scott sat down next to her with his coffee and glanced at the cover.
"I was wondering if the Professor was going to give you that," he said, "No wonder you couldn't sleep..."
"You know about it?" she asked with surprise, "I mean... you know about the Council."
Scott gave her an honest smile, "Well, let's just say my family is very involved with the Council."
Mary shook her head, "For people who don't like to be connected to mutants, they sure do a bad job."
"My cousins aren't mutants," Scott explained, "At least, not that we know of. I was...actually just thinking about them. The Council watches them for different reasons."
"Like what?" Mary asked and Scott tapped the book.
"Read this," he said, "And then we'll explain. My aunt Joyce and her daughters visit sometimes over the summer. By the time you're done reading that, it should probably be June or July..."
Mary chuckled, and glanced down at the formidable volume. That probably was not far from the truth.
"Storm was worried about you yesterday," Scott said, "But she was glad you went to mass with Kurt. She worries about him a lot, too, considering hate crimes against mutants have increased since...the attacks..."
"She didn't want him to be alone," Mary said softly, and Scott started slightly at the last word.
"Yeah, I guess so," Scott said slowly, but Mary was oblivious to his discomfort. She was frowning deeply in thought.
"Mr. Summers..." she began and then glanced up at him, "Have you ever heard of the Phoenix?"
Scott frowned, "It's from ancient mythologies...a bird of fire...that phoenix?"
Mary nodded, "There was a picture of one in this book. Just caught my attention."
"Oh," Scott said, "What did it say about it?"
"Just that, only one existed at a time, and when it died, a new one would rise out of the ashes..." Mary said, "It knows when it's time to die has come, and it builds its own funeral pyre. She takes her own life so that new life can continue. Then, she rises from the waters and is born again."
Scott stared at her as she spoke and his hands shook around his coffee mug. Mary was staring down at the book still, and Scott struggled to keep his composure.
Mary glanced up at him and shrugged, "That's all. I was really looking up stuff on angels but that just caught my eye. I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions about the creatures in this book," Mary laughed, "and I'm sure I don't want to know a lot of it either, but...Mr. Summers...are you alright?"
Scott was looking down at his coffee cup silently.
She takes her own life, echoed in his mind, She rises from the waters...did Mary know she said waters and not ashes...
He took one long breath and looked up at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Mary," he said, "It's...just been a trying few days. I didn't sleep too well last night either...and I think I need a few more cups of caffinated beverage before I'm myself..."
Mary nodded and smiled, but she looked at him with concern.
"Do you know what I really want to learn from this book?" she asked him and Scott shook his head, "I want to find out what I did in the hanger. I want to find out what that creature was and how I stopped it. I want to learn more about my powers, if there is something more than my visions."
Now, Scott was able to smile again, drawn back to his duties. He was Cyclops, he was an X-Man, and this student, all his students, needed him to teach them.
"That's why you're here," Cyclops said, "And that's why you need to learn all about this stuff," he tapped the book again, "Even if you don't want to know about it. And if that creature or those new powers appear again, you'll be ready for them."
Mary grinned and nodded, "Thanks, Mr. Summers. It's good to be some place where I'm not alone when my powers appear."
Alone, he thought, There's that word again...
"Well, you get reading," Cyclops said to his student, "And I'm going to take another cup of coffee with me to the labs."
Mary opened the cover of the book and began to read again as Cyclops left the kitchen.
As Scott headed toward the elevator, his face fell again as he thought on Mary's words.
She was a precognitive, but he wondered if she was a little telepathic too. Or was he seeing coincidences as more than what they were?
Alone... he thought, She takes her own life...well, that much was true...so life can continue...and some did continue...though his life ended in many ways when Jean disappeared under the waters of Alkalai Lake... and she didn't rise from those waters... she never would...
Scott entered the elevator, and removed his ruby glasses so he could wear his visor. The door hissed shut, and he was alone again...
No, alone definitely could not describe it...
***
Author's note: Ok, I don't know much about Cyclops childhood from the comics or otherwise so I'm just going with the few facts I know. Hopefully, it still makes sense to the story line. (So much for trying to make every chapter 'lighthearted'.) At least he still has his extended family in Los Angeles, but I heard his Aunt Joyce and two cousins moved somewhere called Sunnydale. I'll have to check up on that. ;-)