Flight of the Archangel
Disclaimer: "Whose gum is this?"
Chapter 3: Rebirth
Selene's Chamber
"Uhm…this isn't going to hurt, is it?" Jay blinked as he stood on the floor. He stood in the middle of a circle that was drawn on the stone floor in dust.
"It may. I haven't resurrected someone before." Selene told him as she lit a candle, one of four surrounding the circle. The candles were positioned as if they indicated the corners of a square. "I have brought people back as zombies, but I have never done a full-fledged resurrection before."
"…Great." Jay sighed. "And knowing mah luck, it'll get screwed up."
"You really have a lot of faith in me." Selene chuckled. "I suggest you relax, spirit. I found a spell that'll not only restore you to life, but make you better."
"Better?" Jay blinked. "…Better how?"
"I'm talking about improved powers, Joshua." Selene explained. "I figured on giving you some new talents. New wings that can never be removed, that kind of deal." She took a seat on her throne. "I saw your death in my scrying device."
"…Scrying device?" A puzzled Jay blinked.
"You mortals popularly refer to it as a crystal ball." Selene explained. "Your wings were cut off."
"Ah was also tortured." Jay remembered. "And Joelle smiled during the whole damn thing. She enjoyed it."
"Again spirit, I am not surprised." Selene shook her head. "Betrayal is par for the course in a mutant's life. The humans try everything they can to destroy us. But, it only delays the inevitable."
"Ah don't care about the politics." Jay grunted. "Ah just want to live again and crush some FoH heads."
"Indeed." Selene nodded, getting up. "The sooner you live again, the sooner we can help each other." She summoned her crystal ball. "Are you ready?"
"Ah've been ready since the moment Ah died." Jay narrowed his eyes.
"Very well." The immortal mutant sorceress nodded. She made several motions with her hands, the hands glowing with pink energy. Jay noticed the blue circle starting to glow. Selene started to chant in an ancient language, making motions with her hands.
Ah hope this doesn't hurt. Jay thought. He quickly shook his head. No! Ah can't think like that now! This is what Ah want! This woman is allowing me to live again! Ah can get back mah life! And Ah can get mah revenge! He watched a blue cylinder of light rise from the blue circle, surrounding him. He looked down at his hands, and they started to erupt with white light. Jay felt a strange sensation all over his body. It was like a slight feeling of heat. He arched his head back and screamed as his body erupted in a blaze of white light. Selene's chants stopped as the blue cylinder erupted in light.
The flash of light was very brief. The cylinder was gone, replaced by a plume of gray smoke. The smoke started to clear, revealing a kneeling figure, face obscured by longish hair.
"It was a success…" Selene grinned to herself proudly. The figure's eyes opened.
"I…I…" The figure looked at his hands, seeing not translucent spectral ectoplasm, but opaque pink flesh. The figure's face formed an expression of shock and delight. "I…I live. I live!" Tears of joy came down the figure's cheeks. "I LIVE! I LIVE AGAIN!"
Jay Guthrie was reborn. And he could not be happier. He started crying tears of joy.
"Well, I didn't do too badly for my first resurrection." Selene chuckled.
"I live!" Jay cried happily. "Selene, I can't believe this! I'm alive! I live again!"
"Yes. You now have a new body. One better and stronger than your old one." She smiled. She waved her hand, creating a brief flash of light. Jay looked at his hands, and suddenly, his arms briefly glowed. "And I also took the liberty of giving you a new outfit." When the glow disappeared, Jay found himself wearing a new outfit.
He was now clad in red boots, a pair of black leather pants with red flames running up the sides of the legs, being held up by a white studded belt. He had on a red t-shirt with a graphic on it of a black slanted halo. Over that, he had on a black leather jacket with red lapels and sleeves. The sleeves had silver flames running up the sides. The young mutant looked down at himself.
"Whoa."
"Take a look at yourself." Selene motioned to a mirror behind Jay. The young mutant immediately turned around and saw himself in the mirror. "You look quite handsome."
"Yeah." Jay smiled. "Ah do, but…" He noticed his hair was now black. And he had no wings. "Where are my wings? And why is my hair black?"
"Well, when I resurrected you, I had some…improvements made to you." Selene explained. "You still have your wings. They're just hidden. Concentrate on unsheathing them. I think you will be pleasantly surprised."
"Uhm…okay…" Jay blinked. He then closed his eyes.
"Think about your wings." Selene instructed. Jay did so, and he felt odd. He felt…something growing in his back. He grunted in slight pain. Suddenly, he arched his head back and screamed. He felt something pop out of his back, and the sounds of a sword unsheathing. He groaned. "The pain is only temporary. Your healing factor will take care of the rest." The panting Jay opened his eyes and looked at himself.
"My wings…" He whispered. His new wings were red, just like his old ones, only they were majorly different. Jay's wings now resembled his old bird-like wings, but now they looked like they were made of metal. "My hair…" He now noticed that his black hair turned red. "What's happened to me?"
"Icarus got a new pair of wings." Selene smirked. She tapped on them lightly. "Bio-mechanical. Made of adamantium. They cannot be removed. Not even by a laser. You never will have to worry about them getting cut off ever again." The sorceress smiled proudly at the wings. "You can shoot your feathers in flight, or you can pull a feather out and use it like a throwing knife."
"Whoa." Jay blinked. "But, my hair…"
"Camouflage." Selene told him simply. "When you withdraw your wings completely, your hair turns black. Nobody would expect what appears to be a black-haired human to be actually a redhead with wings. Go ahead. Try it out."
"Um…okay…" Jay nodded nervously. He tugged at one of his metallic feathers. The feather came off with the sound of a sword being unsheathed from its scabbard. "Huh?" He turned over the sharp feather, slowly examining it. The red feather shone in the light. The feather looked like a normal bird-like feather, but it was sharp-edged at the sides, like it could be used as a dagger or a throwing knife. "Uh…"
"Here." Selene conjured up a dartboard. "Try it out."
"But…I…I never did use things like throwing knives before. Heck, the only time I used knives at all was to cut my sandwiches!" Jay objected. Selene chuckled.
"Trust me, Jay. It's part of your new powers." The sorceress explained. "Just aim the feather and throw."
"Well, okay…" Jay stared at the center of the dartboard. He threw his feather nonchalantly at the board, but still looking at the center of the board. To his surprise, the feather hit dead center. A bullseye. The redhead's jaw dropped.
"Instinctive aiming." Selene explained. "You look at something, you can hit it with your feathers. It only works when you're throwing feathers, I'm afraid. And the feathers cannot home in on targets."
"It's still cool." Jay grinned. He then blinked and rubbed his ears. "Sorry. My eyes and ears have been feeling funny lately."
"Ah, you're experiencing another couple of your new abilities." Selene smiled. "Superhuman sight and hearing. I figured that since your original powers allowed you to fly like a bird, your new powers should allow you to become like a bird of prey."
"Like an eagle or something?" Jay blinked.
"But of course." Selene smiled. Not just a bird of prey, Joshua Guthrie. After you get me the Wand of Watoomb…You'll be my own personal little archangel.
Next: Test Flight Jay Guthrie learns more about his new abilities, and gets into a bar fight.
