All the warnings and disclaimers from my last stories are in effect.
"Jean ... Jean, is that you?" Scott asks incredulously.
<it is and isn't>
"I ... I don't understand," replies Scott.
<i am not jean, but as she was my host, i fully understand everything about her, and thus, am her, in a way>
Scott runs over to Ryan, grabs his shoulders and yells, "Tell me! Where is Jean, what have you done with her?!"
Ryan does not react, but the voice responds:
<jean is dead; she chose death over life to protect both the world and the people she loved, you most, scott. we had no way of knowing that our attempt to help her would lead to her death, and we are sorry for that>
"Sorry! SORRY!" yells Scott, "you're just 'SORRY' you helped kill the woman I love!"
"You keep saying 'us'," interjects Charles, "what do you mean by that?"
<we are the cosmic being you call the phoenix, as you well know, but there are two sides to our existence -- we embody both creation and destruction, life and death, as is found throughout the universe>
"So you are Janus," Xavier says.
<we are and we are not. civilizations we have interacted with in the past have given us many names -- janus, phoenix, god and satan -- we have many names, but they are only titles applied to us by mortals>
"So there ARE two sides to your existence."
<very much so, as there are with any entity in creation. good and evil exist in all of us, even you xavier, in case you forgot>
Xavier twitches momentarily before recovering, "This is true, Phoenix, if you don't mind my calling you that since that's what we are familiar with."
"This still does not answer why you are here on Earth, and why you have chosen these two humans as the vessels for your hosts."
<i have travelled from one end of the universe to the other and have found no other species as interesting or diverse as the human race. humans intrigue me, so i decided to spend more time studying them and their actions. 2000 years later, i am still no closer to understanding your species than i was when i started. i have always stood by as an observer until i saw jean offer her life in place of those of her loved ones, and i was astounded by her dedication to sacrifice>
"But surely, you had seen MANY instances of a friend dying for their loved ones before Jean! What made her so special you decided to intervene?"
<i had never watched the actions of a mutant as powerful as she. she unwittingly invited me to be her host as she faced the barage of cosmic rays as she died. her dying cry was a siren call to me, and there was no way i could ignore it. i meant no harm, though; the resulting actions were unseen, even by me, and i do regret that i committed so much harm on the universe i am sworn to protect>
"That explains Jean, but why Ryan?"
<ryan is a more powerful mutant than jean could ever have hoped to be, thus he was the first one i was attracted to when jean died>
"How is this?!" exclaims Xavier, "all of our test show he is not a mutant!"
"What do you mean?" demands Xavier.
<evolution leaps forwards, on ocassion, and he is the result of its leap. he appears to be a homosapien in every shape and form, but he has evolved beyond even you homosuperiors. but, as most mutations are, he is flawed ... his mutation is incomplete and therefore toxic to him>
"Toxic?"
<had i not intervened, he would have died shortly thereafter. i had kept him under my watchful eye for years, and when jean's actions freed me, i immediately went to his aid ... his existence intrigued me>
"The life a person is 'intriguing' to you?" scoffs Xavier, "what kind of monster thinks the life of a person is only worthy to study?"
<you misunderstand; i mean no harm. ryan is worth preserving because of the good he will perform for the universe, and all who live within it. as the guardian of all life, i had to protect him at all costs, no matter what my methods>
"So you are just using him for your own means!"
<not using him, no, merely unlocking his latent talent to fulfill his destiny>
"What destiny is that?"
<to save the universe. without him, all of us are doomed to destruction, even me>
"And how, exactly does a god face destruction?" scoffs Scott.
"What would cause this to happen?" asks Xavier, "you are the guardian of creation, why can't you stop it?"
<because, as you rightly observed, i am janus ... i am a two faced god, being both creation and destruction, and my other face desires nothing more than the death of all that exists. jean sacrificed herself in the hope of destroying my other half that longed to destroy the universe. she failed as we both escaped and found ryan. we coexisted within him for years until just recently. now, i am split in two, and i must stop my demented half from completing her mission>
"The church!" exclaims Xavier.
<yes, the church. magneto hoped to use our power to advance mutant rights, when all he did was split me in two, and now the universe is in danger because destruction can run rampant with no check>
"How do we stop her?"
<we can't ... only ryan has the ability to fix things. it is time for him to awake and face his true calling. i can no longer communicate with him, so you must be my voice. help us succeed!>
With that, the voice of the Phoenix fades away and Ryan groggily stirs from his slumber and looks around, "What the hell happened? Where am I?"
"Among friends," Xavier whispers, "among friends."
That's it for part 19, give me feedback at ender2155@gmail.com