Thomas Ferebee. Colonel Thomas Ferebee.
Colonel Thomas Ferebee was the name of the man on the plane who pushed the button that dropped the atomic bomb on human beings for the first time. A hundred fifty thousand people died -maybe more- died in a white-hot flash of fire or in the silence that came after.
But no one ever says "Colonel Thomas Ferebee killed a hundred fifty thousand people." They blame the bomb. Not the bombardier who dropped it. And yet without one... you don't get the other.
So... so am I the bomb? Or am I the bombardier?
And if you ask any of the dead... would it matter to them anymore? My name is Sang Summers... and this is all my fault.
PART ONE
THE NEW ELITES
There is nothing I love more than Wolverine's training classes bright and early on a Saturday morning where I could be in bed nursing my wounds from his last class. Which is obviously sarcasm because Wolverine's classes are a living hell.
He lines us up at the back of the Danger Room, his beady little eyes looking us up and down, muttering under his breath as he would suddenly grab people out of line and putting them in a group. Today was my lucky day. "Summers!" he barked, and I suddenly snapped to attention, my back going as straight as a beam. "You're on Gumbo's team today," he said, pointing a claw over to Remy, who looked rather pleased with himself.
A smile spread across my face and I happily skipped over to Gambit, overjoyed to not be stuck with Kid Omega and Boom Boom. Gambit gave me a high-five, and I parked myself next to him, smiling at Magma and Husk. The team consisted of a mix of students (like me) and staff or members of the X-Men (like Gambit). Wolverine explained it as a combination of a "training exercise for the students", and "a time for the veterans to keep their skills sharp"- yeah, I find that highly unlikely.
Wolverine really hates everyone in this room.
But at least he's kind to me, unlike my Dad. At least he shows me love and affection in his own gruff way once training is over. At least he doesn't flinch away when I go and give him a hug. At least he doesn't stand there as stiff as a board, at least he wraps his arms around me even though I know he hates physical contact and I know he hates every moment of it but he does it for me. At least I know he's proud of me. At least I know he loves me.
Logan Howlett is more of a father than Scott Summers is.
I wish I was his daughter. I wish I could stay here.
After he divides the group of us into teams, he takes Storm's team over to the other side of the Danger Room, and motions for us to stay where we are. Kid Omega takes the opportunity to bump me roughly in the shoulder, a stupid grin on an even stupider face. Gambit places a gentle hand on my back, but I can feel the warning in it- don't blow up, kid. I can hear it too, in his thoughts. I don't though. I ball my hands up into fists and pry my mouth into a smile as he walks past me.
I take the opportunity to steal his powers.
Wolverine stalks back to the center of the Danger Room, his small stature almost laughable. But, it's not, of course, as we all know what hides underneath. "The rules are simple," he booms, crossing his arms. "One, you don't try to maim anyone- severely. Two, you play fair- no cheap shots. Got it?" he asked, looking for nods of understanding around the room. "Good. The object of today's training exercise is to get this flag-" a flag mounted on a pole appears from a compartment in the floor, a giant X emblazoned on it. "-and get it back to where you started, with every member of your team with you. If you do that, you win. If you don't, you lose. You have five minutes to plan. Your time starts now."
Gambit immediately turns around, looking the team over. We've got Magma, an X-Man, who can turn her body into lava and make fault lines appear on the ground, Husk, a student, who can shed the first layer of her skin and have a new one appear underneath, Psylocke, an X-Man, who has telepathic powers and can create a telepathic katana, Pixie, a student, who has teleportation powers and wings and can create vivid illusions, Oyo, a student, who can create fire and ice and the youngest mutant to survive M-Day, and Gambit, and X-Man, who can change potential energy into kinetic energy, which basically means he can blow things up.
And, of course, who could forget me: Sang Summers, aka Messiah, a student who doesn't even go here, a mentally fucked up telepath with the ability to steal others' powers and the so-called "Mutant Messiah" who is just really a whole body full of fail. What a catch.
"Right," Gambit said, chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "They've got Storm, Kid Omega, Boom Boom, Shadowcat, Wolfsbane, Transonic, and Velocidad. We're goin' to go pretty basic with our approach, and each of us will take one of them. Oyo, you have Boom Boom, Husk, you have Transonic, Pixie, you have Velocidad, Messiah, you have Kid Omega, Magma, you have Wolfsbane, Psylocke, you have Storm, and I have Shadowcat."
I should probably have a better codename than "Messiah", I thought bemusedly to myself, watching intently as Gambit hammered down our plan of attack, his mind a frenzy of different attacks. "The easiest to take down will be Boom Boom, so Oyo, you're gonna be our back up gal. Help anyone who needs help, and go for the flag." The young girl gulped, but nodded anyway, a look of determination on her face. "And Sang," Gambit sighed, turning towards me, a look of amused frustration on his face. "Just cause Quentin tried to-"
"'-kill me doesn't mean I have to try and kill him,'" I mocked, rolling my eyes and giving him a smile. "Relax, Uncle Remy, you don't have to worry about a thing. I won't maim, kill, or hurt him. I'll just humiliate him," I added.
Pixie snorted, giving me a dubious look. "Sang, I saw the way you were glaring at him earlier," she said, raising a pink eyebrow.
I waved her off, tugging at the sleeve of my uniform. "I'm not going to hurt him, I promise," I said, widening my eyes to give me an innocent look. At least not too severely, I added in my head, starting as a siren went off.
"Time starts now! May the best team win!" Wolverine's voice boomed over the speakers, making my ears ache. Gambit signaled, and we all started running towards the flag in the middle of the room.
It seemed like Kid Omega had the same idea as we had, as he rushed towards me, his stupid platinum quiff flapping as he ran. I reached out with my power and mimicked Psylocke, a blade of pure energy, before reaching down and pulling out a weapon of Quentin's own invention: a psychic shotgun.
His brown eyes went wide as he slowed down, trying to back up. Surprise, bitch, I whispered, caressing his mind before digging into it with psychic talons, disrupting his thought process. He fell to the ground with a scream of surprise, his hands clutching his head. I stalked up to him, my hands burning from the weapons I held in my hands.
He looked up at me, his eyes murderous. "Logan said not to hurt anyone," he spits. I shrugged, pressing my boot against his ribs and pushing him onto his back, Kid Omega groaning as I was grinning.
"Well," I said, crouching down beside him, pressing the barrel of the psychic gun against his forehead. "Maybe next time, don't fuck with the wrong bitch."
And with that, I pulled the trigger.
~~~
The first part of my day was over. We won, and I got to punch Storm- which was awesome. Most of my days went like that. I'd teleport to the Jean Grey Institute with Blink or Illyana, spend the first half of my day learning ethics and history and teamwork and compassion for humans, and then I'd train with a team, instead of learning how to fight by myself. Then, Illyana and Scot- my dad would arrive and I would witness the most awkward three minutes of my life as Dad would talk to Logan and Ororo, two former teammates, about my progress, and then would turn his back without a word and gesture to me silently and we'd disappear in a flash of light.
And then the second part of the day would begin. Instead of being around mutants my own age, and learning about teamwork and how humans are friends, not food, I learn about manipulation and self-reliance, how my body, how my powers are a weapon and I need to use them. After hours in a classroom listening to Emma drone on about how you can't always use telepathy and you need to use your voice and Magneto's soft-spoken preaching that is utterly terrifying at some points, I spend thirty minutes with Professor X, who has teleported from god knows where, and we talk about my feelings and mind and how although it's fucked up, it's healing, it's getting better. And then it's even more training.
"Again!" Dad barks, and I shakily push myself off of the ground, wiping my mouth with my hand. This was my least favorite part of the day, training with my Dad. He is a... hardass, giving no reason for pushing me so hard besides "because". I'd rather be training with Rogue more. Her powers are like mine, she's nice, she doesn't mutter incoherent things about my future, doesn't look at me like I'm some sort of specimen. I love my Dad, but, lately, it's like he's a changed man. He's pushing me harder, training for three hours a day instead of one, brushing me off when I try and give him a hug... It's like I've lost the father I just gained.
"What am I training for, Dad?" I ask for the millionth time, pushing myself up to my knees, my head in between my legs.
"For life. Up," he barks, and I shakily get up, glaring at him.
"This time with powers," I pant, but he shakes his head, his face unreadable behind his visor.
"I'm training you to be better than that," he hisses as we circle each other.
I snort, rolling my eyes. "Better than my best, Dad?"
My Dad clenches his jaw, his hands clenched into fists. "Your powers don't define you," he begins, and I scoff.
"Right. And I'm the Mutant Messiah for no reason," I counter, and he violently shakes his head.
"Look, Sang, there are humans, right now, there are humans that are looking for ways to take your mutant powers away. How are you going to fight then?" he asks, putting his hands on his hips.
"Is this how Professor X trained you?" I ask incredulously, as I raise my leg for a upper kick.
"Absolutely," he replies, his mouth quirking up in a smile. And suddenly, there's a flash of ruby light as my own father sucker punches me, my body flying across the training room. I hit the ground with a thud, my chest aching from the hit.
"W-what the hell was that, Scott?" I spit out, my body heaving as I get to my hands and knees. "I thought you said no powers!"
Why don't you love me anymore? Why did you shut me out all of the sudden? Why am I no longer good enough for you? Do I still remind you of Mom? Do you still love me, Dad?
I hear the clicking of boots on metal flooring, and I see the blue of his boots. "I said no powers for you," he answers, his voice emotionless and cold and I question if this is the man who held me while I was kicking and screaming during nightmares, trying to fight off invisible attackers. "Again." And I hear his voice, and I don't get up. All I feel is this burning sensation in the pit of my stomach that's spreading throughout my body. And it feels like my head is full of magma, like the blood is replaced by stardust and hydrogen, like I'm some sort of being made out of lava and rust. I think it's a concussion from the number of times my head has hit the ground in the past hour, but I doubt it. "Sang, did you hear me? Aga-"
"STOP IT!" And suddenly that burning sensation is flowing through me and all I see is gold and red and orange and I hear what sounds like a bird screeching and I hear a thump. And I open my eyes and I see my Dad, and he's on the ground, on the other side of the room. It's silent. "D-dad, what just hap-"
But it's not silent for long as Emma Frost rushes into the room, her eyes wide and her breathing heavy. "Scott! There's a light!" she screeches, her tone both excited and confused.
My Dad picks himself off of the ground and walks over to his wife, before sending me a look that says "we'll talk about this later". "Emma, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense-"
"It's a new mutant, Scott," she breathes, and it feels like my heart stops beating for a second as I realize I'm not alone anymore. "His name is Dakota Lee and he needs our help."
AN: Hello everyone! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! So, this is my new book, Kiss of the Phoenix and I'm so excited to share it with you. It's going to be split up into two parts, the first called "The New Elites" and the second called "Messiah Complex". A chapter should be put out every week, and should be fairly long.
Love, Persephone