Part 5 It hadn’t been a long flight for Dallas Green. Maybe it was because he was a bit excited to return back to the place of his origins: California. Not only was it California, it was San Fran which was only a bridge away from where he’d spent a lot of time in: Alameda. Or it was possible it was partly due to the fact that he'd sped up time around him; the flight seeming to go by almost in a few blinks of the eye. He’d plugged in his headphones and gotten lost in his tunes for most of the flight, until John had demanded to share the other ear and Dallas had reluctantly obliged before the two X-Men had both jammed along to the music in silence, blissfully staying away from dark thoughts. Soon the skyline of San Francisco loomed into view outside the small ocular window near where the two teens were seated. “There’s the Golden Gate Bridge.” Dallas said as he grabbed John’s shoulder and gave him a short jolt, waking up the scruffy mutant who had fallen asleep about thirty minutes ago. “Huh; what?” John rubbed his fists over dark blue eyes as he then looked over Dallas shoulder. “We’ll I’ll be. I always wanted to see this city.” He grunted. “Yeah, I still don’t know how I forgot the X-Men used to have a base here.” Dallas commented as Ric lowered their altitude and they swooped low over the bridge before dropping down lower, now only thirty feet or so above the water. Dallas felt the Blackbird go at a steady pace before it arced up over a rocky island, connected to the mainland only by a large bridge. “We’re here.” Hank announced, though it was pretty obvious as Ric landed the jet onto a concrete pad. Dallas unbuckled his seat and then bolted upright before grabbing his suitcase; he turned to see John right on his heels as he pushed through the crowed of students and X-Men alike so he could get up to the front. Dallas pressed the button on the panel and the door slid open as the ramp slid down to the ground. He then gracefully slid down the metal ramp, turning at the bottom as John jogged down it. He took in a deep breath of California air and exhaled with a smile on his face. Now he could be with his family and be at home at the same time. Nothing made Dallas happier. Ashley came out next before rushing towards Dallas, he caught her in his arms, doing a small twirl with the petite green-haired girl before setting her down with a chuckle. “Someone’s excited.” John grinned. “You bet your *** I am,” Dallas said as he leaned in and kissed Ashley on the cheek. “Brand new city, new nightlife, so much to show you guys.” Dallas said. He turned to see Beast and Alaric climb down the ramp next after then the students began to file out with their bags; stepping out onto the landing pad as they glanced around. Dallas turned and took his first good look at the new place. It was giant and square shaped and seemed to be made of metal. The island itself was almost all rocky terrain; he noticed a few metal towers in different strategic points of the island. "I can't wait to start a new garden here, this place needs some work." Ashley said still smiling from Dallas peck, the breeze catching her green hair and blowing it around her head like a willow's boughs. “Welcome children of the X, to Utopia.” Hank said as he spread his arms theatrically. Utopia… Dallas mused. I’m not sure if that’s what I would call it, but it sure is something. His empathy powers kicked into gear as everyone stood their gawking at their new home. He could feel a single emotion rising above the rest; the emotions everyone had been feeling since he’d arrived, sadness, loss, anger, confusion, worry were now fading into the background as this new emotion began to spread like wild-fire. This new emotion, one that was bright and if he had to describe it reminded him of a sun rising above the waves. He felt hope. **** His name was Christopher Marie, but sometimes he didn’t know who he was. The dark haired teen stood in front of a dusty mirror of his new room. He stared at his dark hair with green eyes burdened by dark bags; examining the white tuff of hair he’d inherited from his mother. He had identity problems sometimes because he could look like whoever he wanted. Sometimes he even heard their voices, the people he’d tapped and absorbed their powers, Ashlynn had helped to work to lock them away, but now she was gone. She'd had killed a lot of people. More people then Chris wanted to think about, including possibly the alternate version of himself from the Ultimate universe. Chris summoned his power and quickly morphed into a perfect replica of John Howlett. “Well I’m a ****’in ***hole.” He grinned as he mocked John before changing back to his normal self. He then turned into his sister, “Ah say Ah care about Chris but Ah don’t spend any time with him, ever. Too busy trying to get into Aleks pants.” He stifled a laugh before returning to his natural form. So this is what I’ve resorted too for entertainment. He thought bitterly. There had been times he wanted to leave. He felt like he could slip out any minute and wouldn’t be missed. He’d been about too when Vegas had been blown up. He couldn’t leave. Not now, not after so many people had died and Ashlynn was still out there unpunished. He turned around and abandoned the bathroom before walking into his new room. The rest of the surviving X-Men and Institute students were busy unpacking. The place sure was different then the school, it would take them all some getting used too. Not only that but it was covered in thick layers of dust. “Knock, knock,” Chris turned to see Christine and Aleks come into the room. “How you holding up? Is your room okay?” Christine said as she sat down on his bed. "Its fine, just going to take a while to clean." Chris shrugged. “I’ve still hadn’t had the chance to check out the ventilation systems here, still deciding if I should make a room up there or settle for a real room. What do you think Chris?” Aleks said as he began to browse Chris’ things. “I think you should do whatever you think is best,” Chris shook his head. He wasn’t sure what his sister saw in him sometimes, though he wasn’t an ***hole at least, she could do worse, he knew that. “You two dating now? I saw you kiss.” Chris said flatly. “Woah now,” Aleks looked alarmed. “I’m just happy to be alive right now; I almost bit it back there because of our blonde football enthusiast. I’m not in a hurry to put any labels on anything.” Christine looked slightly hurt, “Yeah what Aleks said.” She smiled, recovering quickly. “Ah’m just as happy as you are that you’re okay." she said to the Russian X-Man. Get a room, seriously. Christopher thought, sighing heavily. He wished that Christine would spend a few minutes alone, without Aleks around. “Hey Chris,” Christine said as she got to her feet. “Once we’re all settled in let’s go do something okay. Maybe grab a bite to eat, just you and me,” she winked at him as she headed for the door. Chris watched them go before dropping down onto his bed and staring up at the ceiling. **** Death was always the same. It was dark, and it came directly after being incinerated by Phoenix flames. Warren suddenly sat upright as he took his first breath as new life filled his lungs. He quickly glanced around; expecting to see nothing but devastation, but what he saw instead was the interior of a clean house. He was laying on an unfamiliar couch as he ran a hand through his golden hair, breaking out into a cold sweat when it all came back to him. He had been about to break Ashlynn’s neck; about to end her life, trading hers for millions of innocent people. But something had gone wrong. It had sensed his intentions. The Phoenix had taken control and she’d exploded. Fire everywhere, he knew so many people were gone because of him, because he’d failed. He allowed his face to press into his hands now, the burden of all the lives lost were now on his shoulders. That was when he noticed he was dressed in clean clothes. An old worn grey sweat-shirt that read Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning, and a pair of faded woman's jeans. “You did the best you could,” a familiar voice said. Warren froze. He hadn’t heard that voice in years. Not since the last Phoenix crisis where Jean had turned all his friends into ashes. It was like Jean knew what was going to happen when she named her daughter, irony my ***. He thought. The figure stepped into the light and Warren’s pulse picked up. “Kitty? Is that really you?” he asked as he stood up, his wings unfurling. She looked the same as he’d last seen her, small, brunette, cute, but at the same time strong. She’d always been strong. “It is me,” Kitty Pryde nodded her head. “I’m not that easy to kill, not when I can turn intangible, I don’t burn as easily as you Warren.” A small smile played across her lips. "You were in bad shape when I found you, there wasn't much left, but I knew that ring, and I knew those wings. So I brought you home, its taken you a while to come back." she explained. Warren ignored the parts about him being found, still in shock about seeing an old friend. “Why? Why didn’t you come back? Why did you hide all these years?” “Why did you?” Kitty shook her head. “I hid for the same reasons. Almost everyone was dead. I lost Pitor…” Warren could tell even after all these years she still missed him. “I wanted a life, a life where those I loved weren’t going to always be in danger of being burned up. I had a son, I made the life I wanted.” As she spoke now Warren could see that she had aged, they all had. “But I still couldn’t run from it. Look what she’s done now. Half a city gone, it’s almost worse than Jean. I can’t sit back anymore; I can’t look away as millions of lives are being wiped away by that thing. It’s taken too much from us already. I’m going to help you Warren, I’m going to help you kill her, and destroy the Phoenix for good.”
Part 5 It hadn’t been a long flight for Dallas Green. Maybe it was because he was a bit excited to return back to the place of his origins: California. Not only was it California, it was San Fran which was only a bridge away from where he’d spent a lot of time in: Alameda. Or it was possible it was partly due to the fact that he'd sped up time around him; the flight seeming to go by almost in a few blinks of the eye. He’d plugged in his headphones and gotten lost in his tunes for most of the flight, until John had demanded to share the other ear and Dallas had reluctantly obliged before the two X-Men had both jammed along to the music in silence, blissfully staying away from dark thoughts. Soon the skyline of San Francisco loomed into view outside the small ocular window near where the two teens were seated. “There’s the Golden Gate Bridge.” Dallas said as he grabbed John’s shoulder and gave him a short jolt, waking up the scruffy mutant who had fallen asleep about thirty minutes ago. “Huh; what?” John rubbed his fists over dark blue eyes as he then looked over Dallas shoulder. “We’ll I’ll be. I always wanted to see this city.” He grunted. “Yeah, I still don’t know how I forgot the X-Men used to have a base here.” Dallas commented as Ric lowered their altitude and they swooped low over the bridge before dropping down lower, now only thirty feet or so above the water. Dallas felt the Blackbird go at a steady pace before it arced up over a rocky island, connected to the mainland only by a large bridge. “We’re here.” Hank announced, though it was pretty obvious as Ric landed the jet onto a concrete pad. Dallas unbuckled his seat and then bolted upright before grabbing his suitcase; he turned to see John right on his heels as he pushed through the crowed of students and X-Men alike so he could get up to the front. Dallas pressed the button on the panel and the door slid open as the ramp slid down to the ground. He then gracefully slid down the metal ramp, turning at the bottom as John jogged down it. He took in a deep breath of California air and exhaled with a smile on his face. Now he could be with his family and be at home at the same time. Nothing made Dallas happier. Ashley came out next before rushing towards Dallas, he caught her in his arms, doing a small twirl with the petite green-haired girl before setting her down with a chuckle. “Someone’s excited.” John grinned. “You bet your *** I am,” Dallas said as he leaned in and kissed Ashley on the cheek. “Brand new city, new nightlife, so much to show you guys.” Dallas said. He turned to see Beast and Alaric climb down the ramp next after then the students began to file out with their bags; stepping out onto the landing pad as they glanced around. Dallas turned and took his first good look at the new place. It was giant and square shaped and seemed to be made of metal. The island itself was almost all rocky terrain; he noticed a few metal towers in different strategic points of the island. "I can't wait to start a new garden here, this place needs some work." Ashley said still smiling from Dallas peck, the breeze catching her green hair and blowing it around her head like a willow's boughs. “Welcome children of the X, to Utopia.” Hank said as he spread his arms theatrically. Utopia… Dallas mused. I’m not sure if that’s what I would call it, but it sure is something. His empathy powers kicked into gear as everyone stood their gawking at their new home. He could feel a single emotion rising above the rest; the emotions everyone had been feeling since he’d arrived, sadness, loss, anger, confusion, worry were now fading into the background as this new emotion began to spread like wild-fire. This new emotion, one that was bright and if he had to describe it reminded him of a sun rising above the waves. He felt hope. **** His name was Christopher Marie, but sometimes he didn’t know who he was. The dark haired teen stood in front of a dusty mirror of his new room. He stared at his dark hair with green eyes burdened by dark bags; examining the white tuff of hair he’d inherited from his mother. He had identity problems sometimes because he could look like whoever he wanted. Sometimes he even heard their voices, the people he’d tapped and absorbed their powers, Ashlynn had helped to work to lock them away, but now she was gone. She'd had killed a lot of people. More people then Chris wanted to think about, including possibly the alternate version of himself from the Ultimate universe. Chris summoned his power and quickly morphed into a perfect replica of John Howlett. “Well I’m a ****’in ***hole.” He grinned as he mocked John before changing back to his normal self. He then turned into his sister, “Ah say Ah care about Chris but Ah don’t spend any time with him, ever. Too busy trying to get into Aleks pants.” He stifled a laugh before returning to his natural form. So this is what I’ve resorted too for entertainment. He thought bitterly. There had been times he wanted to leave. He felt like he could slip out any minute and wouldn’t be missed. He’d been about too when Vegas had been blown up. He couldn’t leave. Not now, not after so many people had died and Ashlynn was still out there unpunished. He turned around and abandoned the bathroom before walking into his new room. The rest of the surviving X-Men and Institute students were busy unpacking. The place sure was different then the school, it would take them all some getting used too. Not only that but it was covered in thick layers of dust. “Knock, knock,” Chris turned to see Christine and Aleks come into the room. “How you holding up? Is your room okay?” Christine said as she sat down on his bed. "Its fine, just going to take a while to clean." Chris shrugged. “I’ve still hadn’t had the chance to check out the ventilation systems here, still deciding if I should make a room up there or settle for a real room. What do you think Chris?” Aleks said as he began to browse Chris’ things. “I think you should do whatever you think is best,” Chris shook his head. He wasn’t sure what his sister saw in him sometimes, though he wasn’t an ***hole at least, she could do worse, he knew that. “You two dating now? I saw you kiss.” Chris said flatly. “Woah now,” Aleks looked alarmed. “I’m just happy to be alive right now; I almost bit it back there because of our blonde football enthusiast. I’m not in a hurry to put any labels on anything.” Christine looked slightly hurt, “Yeah what Aleks said.” She smiled, recovering quickly. “Ah’m just as happy as you are that you’re okay." she said to the Russian X-Man. Get a room, seriously. Christopher thought, sighing heavily. He wished that Christine would spend a few minutes alone, without Aleks around. “Hey Chris,” Christine said as she got to her feet. “Once we’re all settled in let’s go do something okay. Maybe grab a bite to eat, just you and me,” she winked at him as she headed for the door. Chris watched them go before dropping down onto his bed and staring up at the ceiling. **** Death was always the same. It was dark, and it came directly after being incinerated by Phoenix flames. Warren suddenly sat upright as he took his first breath as new life filled his lungs. He quickly glanced around; expecting to see nothing but devastation, but what he saw instead was the interior of a clean house. He was laying on an unfamiliar couch as he ran a hand through his golden hair, breaking out into a cold sweat when it all came back to him. He had been about to break Ashlynn’s neck; about to end her life, trading hers for millions of innocent people. But something had gone wrong. It had sensed his intentions. The Phoenix had taken control and she’d exploded. Fire everywhere, he knew so many people were gone because of him, because he’d failed. He allowed his face to press into his hands now, the burden of all the lives lost were now on his shoulders. That was when he noticed he was dressed in clean clothes. An old worn grey sweat-shirt that read Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning, and a pair of faded woman's jeans. “You did the best you could,” a familiar voice said. Warren froze. He hadn’t heard that voice in years. Not since the last Phoenix crisis where Jean had turned all his friends into ashes. It was like Jean knew what was going to happen when she named her daughter, irony my ***. He thought. The figure stepped into the light and Warren’s pulse picked up. “Kitty? Is that really you?” he asked as he stood up, his wings unfurling. She looked the same as he’d last seen her, small, brunette, cute, but at the same time strong. She’d always been strong. “It is me,” Kitty Pryde nodded her head. “I’m not that easy to kill, not when I can turn intangible, I don’t burn as easily as you Warren.” A small smile played across her lips. "You were in bad shape when I found you, there wasn't much left, but I knew that ring, and I knew those wings. So I brought you home, its taken you a while to come back." she explained. Warren ignored the parts about him being found, still in shock about seeing an old friend. “Why? Why didn’t you come back? Why did you hide all these years?” “Why did you?” Kitty shook her head. “I hid for the same reasons. Almost everyone was dead. I lost Pitor…” Warren could tell even after all these years she still missed him. “I wanted a life, a life where those I loved weren’t going to always be in danger of being burned up. I had a son, I made the life I wanted.” As she spoke now Warren could see that she had aged, they all had. “But I still couldn’t run from it. Look what she’s done now. Half a city gone, it’s almost worse than Jean. I can’t sit back anymore; I can’t look away as millions of lives are being wiped away by that thing. It’s taken too much from us already. I’m going to help you Warren, I’m going to help you kill her, and destroy the Phoenix for good.”