Logan sat back in his faded, old recliner with one arm resting behind his head, and his other hand cupped around a beer. An old Clint Eastwood movie was on. He really didn't care which one; they all ran together in his mind anyway. Despite his lack in interest in the movie, he had even less interest in the news report that broke in the middle of a decent gun fight. He slumped in his chair and chugged back a beer. As he brought the beer back down, an image on the screen caught his attention and he spat beer across the room. The newscaster's voice broke in.
"A giant fiery bird has been seen over New York Harbor. Experts believe this firebird to be the same that terrorized New York nearly twenty years ago, the Phoenix."
Logan muttered, "Shit…" and bolted out of the room towards Xavier's office.
----------********----------
"No. Not the Phoenix. I would have felt something, Jean would have felt something." Xavier leaned forward in his chair, his hand on his brow, worry etched on his face.
"Then perhaps this is a trap by one of our enemies, Charles. Mastermind, perhaps?" Ororo paced around Xavier's office. The initial shock had passed but the image of the Phoenix has haunted her for many years, as it has the other X-Men.
Logan stood alone in the corner of the room. A low growl escaped him as the name was mentioned and memories flashed in his head.
"We know it's not really the Phoenix, otherwise every telepath in the universe would know about it." Scott stood in the center of the room with his arms crossed. Jean stood near the window, a blank expression on her face. Xavier glanced at her, then back to Ororo and Scott, then finally Logan.
"I'd like to send out Dinah and her team, along with a few X-Men." Charles leaned back in his chair.
"Is that wise? We're not entirely sure who we're dealing with." Jean finally looked away from the window and addressed her friends.
Xavier was about to reply when a knock at the large oak door cut him off. He tried to sense who it was, but found it more difficult than usual. He finally realized it was Touch.
"Please, come in, Touch."
Scott raised an eyebrow and turned towards the door as Touch calmly walked in the room.
"How can I help you?"
"More like how I can help you." Touch looked sideways at Scott.
Scott moved towards him. "Excuse me?"
"The news is making a pretty big deal out of this. I can help you with this little dilemma."
"We were planning on sending out the X-Tremes and possibly some available X-Men." Scott took up the tone of a leader as he was so used to.
"No. Don't send out a bunch of kids."
"Is there a legitimate reason why?"
"Scott, please." Xavier quieted him. "What makes you think this, Touch?"
" I know who this is. It is not the Phoenix, but she's just as dangerous."
"Who?" Xavier leaned forward in his chair again, and suddenly all attention was on Touch. He never blinked.
"Dysis."
"I am not familiar with…"
Touch cut Xavier off.
"Don't worry, you will be. If she's making an attack like this, she knows it hits you all close to home and that's exactly what she wants. Dysis is very powerful and very intelligent mutant. She is deeply involved in genetics and will stop at nothing to further her studies and gain power. This is nothing compared to what she can do." He locked eyes with Xavier.
"What she will do."
Scott shook his head and looked away. Logan pulled out a cigar and calmly lit it, taking in a long drag. Jean walked away from the window and over to Touch.
"I believe him and I believe the threat is great."
Touch looked at Jean and gave a slight nod. Xavier sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Scott, ready the blackbird and assemble the X-Men."
----------********----------
Dysis soared above New York City laughing to herself as thousands ran in fear away from the huge firebird. Her men were split into several groups that were spread all over the city, setting fire to and bombing several buildings. She waved her arm with little effort and a ball of fire punched into the ground below.
She turned slightly as she heard a rumbling sound behind her. She squinted slightly then laughed as her plan continued as she thought it would. The X-Jet streaked across the sky towards the city.
"Oh how I love the fresh air and exercise." She smirked as she sent another fireball towards the Statue of Liberty, setting the torch ablaze.
The jet drew closer and Dysis turned to face it.
"What were those famous words that echo in your nightmares, X-Men? I am life incarnate, I am fire made flesh…my pleasure to meet you."
----------********----------
Simon looked at his watch.
Hmm…she must be having a pretty good time right about now.
He smirked as he looked back up at Liz; she had his back to him. The smirk faded into a simple smile. She turned back around and sighed as she rested her hand on her forehead.
"Something wrong?" Simon leaned forward in his stool slightly.
"That was Dinah over the communicator. I guess there's something big happening in the city. We were on call, but the Professor decided to send out the big guns instead." Liz sat heavily back in her stool.
"Hm. Any idea what it was?" Simon looked interested.
"Big firebird." Liz looked scared. "Look, I'm gonna take you to the study and let you settle in a little bit. I've got some work to do, and I'll make sure that Xavier gets the message that you're here."
Simon nodded. "Sounds fine to me."
Within a half hour, Liz had left Simon in the study and had gone down to the Danger Room to release some energy. She set up security protocols, to keep Simon out of the more important areas of the mansion. He still could roam throughout the upper levels, and down to the medical lab. She couldn't help but feel that something that made him different from the other students. Despite his past with the X-Men, she felt it best to keep him somewhat restricted when he was alone.
Simon didn't let this minor setback hold him back. After getting an idea where the X-Men and X-Tremes were, he wandered down to the lower levels of the mansion. He was only granted access into the med lab, which happened to be all he needed. The strong smell of antiseptic and cleaner made him wrinkle his nose and snort. He wandered around for a few minutes, getting a feel for the place. He found a locked door and easily picked it open by elongating one of his fingers into a slender, pointed claw. He pushed the door open and walked in. Immediately he wrinkled his nose in disgust. The stink of death was strong in the room. Eyeing the corpse, Simon walked over to the bed and leaned forward over it.
"Nice to finally meet you, Touch. Hard to believe that you're the old guy that gave big, bad Dysis so much trouble."
A sound from behind him in the next room caught his attention. He backed up slowly without making a sound away from view of the door. His mistake had been leaving the door open. A tall young woman peered in the doorway and stuck her head in. She sensed another presence and quickly spotted Simon.
"Explain who you are and what you're doing here in the next five seconds." Ziska hid any emotion and spoke like she was in charge. Simon smirked as he stared her down.
"Taking my friend here home."
"A giant fiery bird has been seen over New York Harbor. Experts believe this firebird to be the same that terrorized New York nearly twenty years ago, the Phoenix."
Logan muttered, "Shit…" and bolted out of the room towards Xavier's office.
----------********----------
"No. Not the Phoenix. I would have felt something, Jean would have felt something." Xavier leaned forward in his chair, his hand on his brow, worry etched on his face.
"Then perhaps this is a trap by one of our enemies, Charles. Mastermind, perhaps?" Ororo paced around Xavier's office. The initial shock had passed but the image of the Phoenix has haunted her for many years, as it has the other X-Men.
Logan stood alone in the corner of the room. A low growl escaped him as the name was mentioned and memories flashed in his head.
"We know it's not really the Phoenix, otherwise every telepath in the universe would know about it." Scott stood in the center of the room with his arms crossed. Jean stood near the window, a blank expression on her face. Xavier glanced at her, then back to Ororo and Scott, then finally Logan.
"I'd like to send out Dinah and her team, along with a few X-Men." Charles leaned back in his chair.
"Is that wise? We're not entirely sure who we're dealing with." Jean finally looked away from the window and addressed her friends.
Xavier was about to reply when a knock at the large oak door cut him off. He tried to sense who it was, but found it more difficult than usual. He finally realized it was Touch.
"Please, come in, Touch."
Scott raised an eyebrow and turned towards the door as Touch calmly walked in the room.
"How can I help you?"
"More like how I can help you." Touch looked sideways at Scott.
Scott moved towards him. "Excuse me?"
"The news is making a pretty big deal out of this. I can help you with this little dilemma."
"We were planning on sending out the X-Tremes and possibly some available X-Men." Scott took up the tone of a leader as he was so used to.
"No. Don't send out a bunch of kids."
"Is there a legitimate reason why?"
"Scott, please." Xavier quieted him. "What makes you think this, Touch?"
" I know who this is. It is not the Phoenix, but she's just as dangerous."
"Who?" Xavier leaned forward in his chair again, and suddenly all attention was on Touch. He never blinked.
"Dysis."
"I am not familiar with…"
Touch cut Xavier off.
"Don't worry, you will be. If she's making an attack like this, she knows it hits you all close to home and that's exactly what she wants. Dysis is very powerful and very intelligent mutant. She is deeply involved in genetics and will stop at nothing to further her studies and gain power. This is nothing compared to what she can do." He locked eyes with Xavier.
"What she will do."
Scott shook his head and looked away. Logan pulled out a cigar and calmly lit it, taking in a long drag. Jean walked away from the window and over to Touch.
"I believe him and I believe the threat is great."
Touch looked at Jean and gave a slight nod. Xavier sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Scott, ready the blackbird and assemble the X-Men."
----------********----------
Dysis soared above New York City laughing to herself as thousands ran in fear away from the huge firebird. Her men were split into several groups that were spread all over the city, setting fire to and bombing several buildings. She waved her arm with little effort and a ball of fire punched into the ground below.
She turned slightly as she heard a rumbling sound behind her. She squinted slightly then laughed as her plan continued as she thought it would. The X-Jet streaked across the sky towards the city.
"Oh how I love the fresh air and exercise." She smirked as she sent another fireball towards the Statue of Liberty, setting the torch ablaze.
The jet drew closer and Dysis turned to face it.
"What were those famous words that echo in your nightmares, X-Men? I am life incarnate, I am fire made flesh…my pleasure to meet you."
----------********----------
Simon looked at his watch.
Hmm…she must be having a pretty good time right about now.
He smirked as he looked back up at Liz; she had his back to him. The smirk faded into a simple smile. She turned back around and sighed as she rested her hand on her forehead.
"Something wrong?" Simon leaned forward in his stool slightly.
"That was Dinah over the communicator. I guess there's something big happening in the city. We were on call, but the Professor decided to send out the big guns instead." Liz sat heavily back in her stool.
"Hm. Any idea what it was?" Simon looked interested.
"Big firebird." Liz looked scared. "Look, I'm gonna take you to the study and let you settle in a little bit. I've got some work to do, and I'll make sure that Xavier gets the message that you're here."
Simon nodded. "Sounds fine to me."
Within a half hour, Liz had left Simon in the study and had gone down to the Danger Room to release some energy. She set up security protocols, to keep Simon out of the more important areas of the mansion. He still could roam throughout the upper levels, and down to the medical lab. She couldn't help but feel that something that made him different from the other students. Despite his past with the X-Men, she felt it best to keep him somewhat restricted when he was alone.
Simon didn't let this minor setback hold him back. After getting an idea where the X-Men and X-Tremes were, he wandered down to the lower levels of the mansion. He was only granted access into the med lab, which happened to be all he needed. The strong smell of antiseptic and cleaner made him wrinkle his nose and snort. He wandered around for a few minutes, getting a feel for the place. He found a locked door and easily picked it open by elongating one of his fingers into a slender, pointed claw. He pushed the door open and walked in. Immediately he wrinkled his nose in disgust. The stink of death was strong in the room. Eyeing the corpse, Simon walked over to the bed and leaned forward over it.
"Nice to finally meet you, Touch. Hard to believe that you're the old guy that gave big, bad Dysis so much trouble."
A sound from behind him in the next room caught his attention. He backed up slowly without making a sound away from view of the door. His mistake had been leaving the door open. A tall young woman peered in the doorway and stuck her head in. She sensed another presence and quickly spotted Simon.
"Explain who you are and what you're doing here in the next five seconds." Ziska hid any emotion and spoke like she was in charge. Simon smirked as he stared her down.
"Taking my friend here home."