Kiss of the Phoenix

The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came

"Thank God," I breath, letting out a noise of triumph as I find my suit and slip it on, letting out a grunt as it catches on my but. I turn around and give Rachel a hopeful smile. "Hey, Rach, can I have a little help?"

She laughs, nodding, gesturing with her hand, letting the suit slide my body without a hitch. "Not lubed up?" she teases, and I stick my tongue out at her.

"Shut up," I mutter, grabbing my boots from the closet and slip them on. "Let's go."

We make our way down to the hanger, careful to not wake anyone up. We meet Rogue and the boys at the X-Jet. Kota looks a little less pukish than he did last time, Victor looking like a seasoned pro, Nathan is a bouncing ball of energy, while Silas shows his excitement in a more quieter way: cracking more and more cornier jokes.    

"What do you call it when Batman skips church?" Silas paused, looking around for any volunteers. Seeing none, he proceeded, without a care in the world. "Christian Bale!" he guffawed, and Nathan chuckled.

I groaned, pressing my hands against my pounding head. It was much too early to go superheroing, let alone hear corny jokes. "Please stop," I pleaded, giving Silas my best puppy eyes. "I'll do anything, just, please- stop."

Silas considered it for a moment, before shaking his head and going into another joke. "What do you call a group of unorganized cats? A cat-"

He's cut off by the sound of the overhead speaker coming on. "We're almost there, y'all," Rogue says, her Southern drawl like the gift of an angel after the last hour with Silas and his corny jokes.

Rachel frowns next to me, her brow creasing as her eyes go white for a second. "What's wrong?" I ask in concern, my hand reaching for hers.

"Our newbie is in trouble," she replies grimly, the TV flicking on in front of us.

We all turn and watch the headline in growing terror: Mutant Threat in Rural Charleston. "We have reports coming in a mutant was spotted in a trailer park in rural Charleston, one with wings. We're trying to corroborate this story, but it looks there's a mob forming outside the trailer park right now..."

The TV flashes to what looks like a petrified angel, cowering on top of a trailer. I can see his mouth moving, trying to reason with the growing mob in front of him. I see a woman, who looks to be his mother standing in front of trailer, her hands up in a pacifying way, but someone hits her down and I swear to God I hear the angel's scream from here.

Something inside me erupts into flames.

"Rogue, get us down there, right now," I say, my voice deadly calm, carrying throughout the plane. The plane goes quiet, and I can feel the pressing of the boys' psyches as they try and comfort me, but I am pure anger and rage.

"Just take a minute," Rogue responds over the speakers, and I nod, standing up quickly. Rachel is right at my back, and I can feel her anger too, but it's not as hot, not as personal as mine is. Mine is burning, boiling, a thing made out of rage and hatred and love.

"... it looks like the X-Men are here, a strange jet with an 'X' on the side has just landed next to trailer park..."

I rush to the door as soon as it's landed, using Rachel's telekinesis to pry the doors open, not able to wait for Rogue. I hear Rachel giving instructions behind me, but I can't hear anymore. All I hear is a ringing sound, and that little voice is back.