X-Men: Black Fire

By Paradox

BOOK I


Two



The darkness surrounded them, covering them like a cold blanket of misery. In the center of the blackness, was a small fire, barely staying alive with the three sticks that fed its flames. Right next to the fire, a wooden plank lay upon the ground, the skull of a horned animal upon it. A bloody, inverted five-pointed star anointed its forehead. At the base of the skull, a golden pendant with the head of an Egyptian pharaoh lay in a pool of soft light. The five huddled shapes all hummed softly, keeping in tune with each other. One stood and extended his arms out, inviting the others to stand as well. They did so, never ceasing the hum. Slowly, they began to sway to the beat of an unheard drummer. The one that had initially stood drew a wicked looking knife from within his robes of black, raising it high over the skull.

“I call upon the powers of Lilith, Goddess of Darkness and Evil, give us your strength so that we might do your will.”

He plunged the blade into the skull between the horns, splitting the bone in half. As though on cue, a bolt of lightning flashed in the sky, accompanied by the crack of thunder. The robed figure looked up at the skylight.

He almost fainted with shock and fear when he saw the image of a beautiful woman clothed in silks and scales floated down into the room. The rest of the group watched in rapt attention as she lit upon the floor, her bare feet hardly touching the concrete. Looking around, her glowing green eyes focused on each person as they removed the hoods from their robes. A smile crossed her face.

The group of five was a motley crew of kids in their late teens. One boy had short brown hair that was chopped up like he had tried to style it with a chain saw. Another boy had bright blond hair and glasses that seemed to indicate he was the brains of the group. A strawberry blond girl sat next to him, her face ravaged by disease and bad luck in birth. It was apparent that something had gone awry in her DNA for both her eyes seemed to droop of their own accord. Another girl with red hair sat next to her, her green eyes sparkling with delight. She was definitely prettier than the blond, and she had an eagerness that pleased the woman.

The young man standing up was apparently the leader. He held himself straight and had a certain aura around him that she was certain would affect others, should he issue commands to them. His brown hair was pulled back into a small ponytail that was probably supposed to be fashionable, but only made him look desperate in that department.

“You have called me,” the woman said in an echoing, phantom-like voice, “What is it you wish of me?”

The leader spoke first. “Great Lilith, we ask you to grant us power beyond the human mind, so we might turn this world into a shrine to you.”

Lilith, Goddess of evil, smiled and scratched her chin with a purple fingernail. “An interesting proposition. I would agree to this under one condition.”

The young man, as well as the rest of the group, bowed deeply. “You have only to name it, my Goddess.”

“You must do a favor for me before you begin conquest of this planet.”

“What is this favor, Goddess?”

Lilith opened her hand and green mist formed a kind of portal that flared with light. When the light subsided, a picture of a young man remained. “I want you to kill this boy first. I will give you the means to find him and destroy him.”

“As you wish.” they all said in unison.

Lilith smiled and snapped her fingers. Instantly, the five began to writhe and cry out in pain. The brunette boy’s skin quivered and shook as brown hair began to grow from the exposed flesh. His muscles expanded and grew, tearing the clothing from his body until he stood seven feet tall and his clothing was nothing more than shreds of fabric. He looked down at himself to see his whole body was covered with brown fur and a tail had sprouted from his rear.

The blond boy grabbed his head, as though trying to keep his brain from exploding out his skull. His head expanded out, pushing his skin to the limits of its elasticity. then, his head shrunk back down to its normal size, leaving him shaken, but okay.

The strawberry blond girl’s face contorted not with pain, but with a rippling of skin. Slowly, her  flesh began to reform, changing her from ugly to gorgeous. She looked down at her hands to see they had been changed into claws.

The redhead’s body did not alter, but multicolored flames engulfed her, seeping into her pores. She screamed and the flames shot from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Lilith smiled as her disciples recovered themselves and regarded her with awe. “I have given you powers to adequately complete your task.” she said, pointing at each one. “You,” pointing to the brown haired boy, “Have been given the gift of the werewolf, with all of the powers and none of the weaknesses. So be your name from now on.” She turned to the blond boy. “You I have gifted with the knowledge of science, so you may use your talents to corrupt not only the physical world, but the electronic as well. Spread my will through what you call the Internet and create a new realm for me. Your title shall be Quantum.” The boy bowed as she turned to the strawberry blond. “You have been given beauty, along with the powers of the vampire to use as weapons when you lure in your victims with your beauty. You shall be known as Vampress” Her attention shifted to the redhead. “I have given you control over the flames of hellfire.” she said simply, “You will be called Flame.”

She turned to the leader. “To you I will bestow the power of the demon within you. Use its magick well, and pay me my tribute.” She snapped her fingers and instantly the boy was wrapped in swirling mists. His screams caused his companions to cringe in fear. When the mist cleared, a demon of green skin with wings stood in his place. After a moment, the demon shrunk from its ten foot stature to that of the boy. “You will be called Styr.”

She stepped back and reviewed her group of worshipers. “Now go, my children, and do my bidding.”


Charles Xavier looked up from the book in front of him to see Cyclops walk into the room. “Yes Scott, what can I do for you?”

“Professor, we have had a problem outside the mansion.”

Charles cocked an eyebrow. “What kind of problem Scott?”

Cyclops walked over to the desk Charles sat at and leaned against it. “Apparently, Hank, Logan , Ororo, Kitty, and Jean came across a young man who was somehow able to sneak passed the security systems of the grounds.”

“Really? I though Kitty had just upgraded them.”

Scott couldn’t suppress a smile. “She did, and that fact really got her steamed. She’s been trying to get him to tell her just how he did it for the passed twenty minutes. He’s been able to stave off her charms for now, but he keeps insisting on seeing you.”

Charles nodded. “Of course, send him in.”

Cyclops nodded and walked out of the room. A few moments later, Charles heard two voices trail down the hall into his study.

“Come on, can’t you at least give me a clue as to how you were able to bypass my security systems?”

“Sorry, Kitty, but if I did that, I’d have to kill you, and I really don’t want to do that.”

“You know I’m going to get it out of you one way or another.”

Charles could almost picture a smile on the stranger’s face. “Well, it sure will be fun proving you wrong.”

At that point, Kitty walked in with a young man in his late teens in a black leather coat. He was fixing the black braid that dropped down passed his shoulders as he spoke to her. When he set his eyes on Charles, he dropped his hands to his sides and bowed his head slightly. “Mr. Xavier, I am Cole Raven. I have been trying to find you for some time.”

“Why is that?”

Cole paused for a moment and looked at Kitty pointedly. She stared back at him for a moment, defiant, and then sighed and left the room, leaving the door open. “Kitty, close the door please.” Charles said.

“Unnecessary sir.” Cole flicked his hand and Charles felt a slight breeze of air as the door softly clicked closed.

For a moment, the two looked at each other silently. “Just what is it I can do for you young man?” he asked quietly.

“I have come to you seeking aid.”

“How so?”

Cole sighed and leaned up against the brick fireplace. Charles noted that the flames seemed to shift so they would be around his form and touch him. He reached into his coat and looked at Charles. “Do you mind if I smoke?” Charles nodded and Cole took a cigarette from his coat. He made a small gesture with his hand and the flames from the fireplace rose up to form a sort of tentacle that hovered just before Cole’s face, touching the tip of the cigarette. Cole took a drag from the cigarette and nodded at the flame. “Thank you.” The tentacle seemed to bow and them retreated to reform with the rest of itself.

Charles shook his head, almost in disbelief. “Remarkable. What are the extent of your mutant abilities?”

“I’m not a mutant.”

Charles wrinkled his brow in confusion. “Then how is you are able to do that?”

Cole sighed and took another drag from the cigarette, blowing smoke rings. “I have powers, and I was indeed born into them, but they are not something derived from any X factor in my genes.” He paused and looked directly at Charles. “Professor Xavier, do you believe in the supernatural?”

Xavier cocked his head to the side, considering the question. “Well, I have been exposed to many different things that would lead me to believe in the supernatural, per say.”

Cole shook his head. “I’m not talking about things like aliens and other mutants with weird powers. I’m talking about the stuff of legends and myths.”

Charles shrugged. “Well, who is to say that the stuff of myths and legends are not related to mutants?”

Cole growled softly and crushed his cigarette in his hand before hurling it into the fire. “Look, please don't start getting philosophical on me; do you believe in magick?”

That was a question that Charles had not expected. The theory of magick was almost up with the theory of genetic mutation. There had only been one case in which Charles had heard of magick, and that was with Dr. Strange, the sorcerer. Even so, he had not met the man or been given proof to the fact that magick did indeed exist. “Well, I am not certain as to whether I believe in it or not. I suppose the question is do you?”

Cole gave him a lopsided grin. “Why don't you ask your students?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Cole shrugged and headed for the door to the study. “Just ask them about the little altercation we had outside. If then you are willing to accept me into your school, please let me know.” He drew out a business card from his coat and tossed it into the air. A gust of wind caught the card and swept it over to Charles, where it dropped lightly into his lap. He looked up at Cole, who gave him a two-fingered salute and left the office. Charles looked at the card for a moment and then dropped it onto the desk. He pushed a button that activated the intercom.

“X-Men, please meet me in the conference room.”


“What’s this about Chuck?”

Charles looked over at Wolverine, who had changed into jeans and a flannel and had his cowboy boots propped up on the table. “It is about the young man that came to see us today.”

Kitty leaned forward anxiously. “Did he tell you how he got passed our security?”

Charles shook his head. “Not directly, but he did ask me something that may have been a form of an answer.”

“What was that Charles?” Beast asked.

“He asked whether or not I believed in magick.”

For several moments, the room was quiet. Then, Gambit spoke up. “De only magick dat Remy believes in is de kind dat you make wit your sweetheart on a warm summer night.”

Beast chuckled. “Well, although I don’t exactly share Mr. Lebeau’s opinion, I have always been fascinated by the theory of magical workings and if they might be possible.”

“Garbage, magick is fairy tale stuff.” Wolverine grumbled.

“Could it not be argued that mutants are the same Logan?” Jean asked. “I personally don’t know for sure whether I believe in it or not, but it would be interesting to explore the option.”

Kitty shook her head and leaned back in her chair. “Are you saying this guy claimed to use magick to get passed my security?”

Charles nodded. “I think that is exactly what he was saying. Although I do not know whether to believe him, I do know that he does possess mutant-like abilities.”

“I think he does have magick.”

The comment drew surprised looks from everyone. They all looked over at Storm as though she had just said something completely and utterly insane, which was not far from the truth. “What do you mean Ororo?” Charles asked.

Storm straightened in her chair and looked over everyone before speaking. “When we fought this afternoon, somehow, he was able to take control of the winds that I had been using. No matter what I did, I could not regain command of them. After that, the ground seemed to shake at his whim, as though it were an extension of his emotions.”

Charles nodded. “Yes, he also seemed to be able to control the fire in my fireplace to the extent of making solid forms from the flames, not unlike our enemy Pyro.”

Storm nodded. “That , and he also said something to me just after I had engulfed him in a tornado that had absolutely no effect on him.” That made Charles raise his eyebrows in surprise. “He said not to screw with his element.”

Cyclops nodded and looked over at Charles. “I have read somewhere that some forms of magick are based upon the four elements of the world: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Maybe he actually has magically control over these elements.”

Xavier held up a hand when he saw the rest of the group was about to speak. “In any case, the question I pose to you all is do you wish for him to join the school?”

The X-Men looked around at each other for several minutes, each trying to weigh their own opinion, as well as everyone else’s.

The end result was a unanimous decision.


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