X Men Beyond

X-Men Beyond By: Andruchris Gutzi bearhugsbaby@yahoo.com/forallexx@yahoo.com

Proviso: X-Men and all its relevant characters that may appear in this story are copyrighted to Marvel Comics and the Twentieth Century Fox. This story is a product of pure-fiction and in NO WAY suggesting (not even insinuating, uh-huh) anything about the sexualities of the characters as well as the actors/actresses who portrayed the characters in the movie. The characters are just borrowed to be able to visualize the faces and the concept of the story.

The story below may contain scenes, language and situations not suitable to minors and is intended for mature reading only. This will also depict homosexual interactions between consenting male adults. If you are (1) offended/against the content of this story; (2) under legal age; (3) in a state or location where male-to-male sexual interaction is considered illegal, abnormal or against the law, you are requested to stop reading this material now.

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X-Men Beyond: Continuing Struggles by: Andruchris Gutzi bearhugsbaby@yahoo.com/forallexx@yahoo.com

"You look more radiant today^Å"

Ali smiled at Ororo's comment before he said, "I observed that your facilities here are equipped with the latest technologies. I've only read about these things in books, newspapers, and magazines. I couldn't believe my eyes when I woke up finding myself surrounded by such tremendous equipments."

"They never fail to give that first impression. But once you feel more comfortable, I can tour you around to check other available facilities of the mansion," Ororo mused to find the childishness in Ali's gazes contradicting his appearance and way of speaking.

Ali looked upon the eyes of the dark-skinned woman. Something about the word "mansion" made him feel uncomfortable. He tried to make sense about it before he asked slightly fearfully, "I was informed this is an institute^Å"

"Indeed," Ororo replied immediately sensing the alarm on Ali's tone, "you are in Xavier Institute for the Gifted Youngsters. This mansion serves as an institute for the select few who were gifted with special talents. With your precious gifts and abilities, you, my dear Ali, are very much welcome to stay here."

As Ali's scared expressions blurred, Ororo beamed and brushed the lad's messed up hair by her fingers.

"How did you know about my gifts?" Ali asked after a while - an indirect question hoping to find the answer he'd been meaning to find.

"We'll answer that in time," was Ororo's quick reply, "for now, I need you to rest completely. I know you are starving so I brought with me something for your sustenance. The tray's outside your door. Give me one minute to bring it here."

They both smiled to each other, one thankful and one welcoming.

The tray was delivered and Ali was surprised to find so much food -- a bowl of soup, three slices of meat, vegetables, fruits and a glass of orange juice. He had never seen so much food since the time he could remember. He almost felt tempted to devour on everything but knowing that he'd been on a fast for days because of the successive "adventures," he knew he must not upset his stomach. He can heal himself, he knew, but discipline is also a part of the art of healing. Without discipline, the art is powerless.

He took three spoonfuls of the hot soup before taking three sips of orange juice. He, then, consumed two slices of peach. He knew vegetables would be safe but the meat had had to wait.

Ororo looked at him bemused. There were characters on this youth that were very much uncommon to adolescents his age. The way he weaved his words, his clarity and eloquence in speaking, the way he made his observations, his gentleness, control, and patience... she thought, "I would be very proud and honored to have an offspring like Ali^Å there's not much teenager I've seen nowadays who've got characteristics like him."

She's so entranced looking at the delicate movements of the lad that she seemed to not hear his question. She only noticed that Ali was saying something when she noticed him looking up at her.

"What was it, Ali?" Ororo shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"I was wondering how I can call you^Å"

Ororo was subtly surprised. She's supposed to take the identity of some goddess, Eth, for the sake of Ali's confused belief. She's in doubt as to how to reply to that question so she posed a question, as well, "What do you think you must call me?"

"You must have a name^Å or I can respectfully call you with something like aunt, madam or miss. But I need to know your name, as well."

Ororo grinned widely, "You do realize I am not the goddess you believed me to be^Å don't you?"

"I realized it yesterday when you levitated in the air^Å you must be the one that created massive elemental imbalance and caused lightning storms and cold gushes of winds. Eth is the goddess of balance -- of control. She wouldn't create elemental imbalances such as that. It happened that I only depicted Eth's features to be similar to your physical features. My experiences taught me to distrust everyone. I believe that the gods must have sent you to rescue me^Å your features should have been a sign for me to believe and go with you."

"Definitely unlike typical teenagers," Ororo thought, before she introduced herself, "You can call me Ororo^Å"

"^Å Munroe?" Ali quickly interrupted as he recalled Jean's introduction, "I remembered Jean mentioned your name. She was referring to you as Ms. Ororo Munroe. I liked the sound of it^Å"

Ororo chuckled. She very seldom does that. Perhaps because of the way Ali pronounced her name, "Oh-roh-roh." She was used to hearing schwas when the people in the institute call her. It was very rare to find a person who would pronounce her name like that^Å she wasn't offended -- in fact she felt relieved for some reason. Perhaps due to the fact that Ali pronounced it almost similarly as her tribes brethren call her.

"Can I call you Aunt Ororo?"

The smile on her face suddenly vanished and her lips parted slightly. Ali took it that she didn't like the idea so he shifted his gaze towards the food before he added, "^Åor I can call you Miss Munroe^Å"

Ali raised his head up and came upon the smiling face of the woman after hearing her say, "It would be a pleasure to be called your aunt."

--oo0oo--

[X-Mansion: Robert Drake's Room]

Bobby was silently lying on his bed, his eyes glued to the smudged reflection of his half naked body created by the shiny surface of the redwood ceiling. He tightly closed his eyes but sleep was elusive. His eyelids were sore due to the restrained sobs he had been battling to break out of himself since they arrived earlier this dawn.

He was aware of the debriefing, but he asked Jean to cover for him. Jean knew that he couldn't find the strength to see Scott just as of yet. The professor didn't summon him telepathically, so he assumed his absence wasn't a big matter.

He tried to rest his tired body wearing only a pair of pajama pants. But the moment he laid his back on the softness of the bed cushion, he instantly felt disturbed. He thought about Ali -- his long hair made him think that he was a girl being carried by Piotr. He was snatched by the tree^Å he and Kitty witnessed that. On that particular scenario, they could have heard a faint yelp or scream from Ali if he wasn't expecting the tree to do that because it wasn't too far from where they stood. But they didn't hear any. Could it be that Ali willed it to happen that way?

"I should have decided to pursue our interrupted move to that location. Why did we go the other way?" he asked himself feeling like a fool for not doing what he should have done.

A mild knock on the door disrupted Bobby's reverie. He wasn't expecting anybody but he knew his friends could come by to ask about the mission. This was, after all, his second; although he wasn't very much thrilled to tell everybody that he almost killed the person to be rescued.

He decided to pull himself up to check who was behind the door. Through the peep hole, he recognized the stretched face. "Roberto? What does he want?" he thought to himself. Roberto was about to raise his fist to knock the second time when Bobby decided to open the door halfway.

"Hey, nice morning, huh?" was Roberto's greeting with a full smile.

"Ungh... sorry, I didn't notice that... how can I help you?" Bobby's tone was a little impatient although he tried to be as casual as he wanted to be.

"I was... I was just wondering about the rescue. Is it true what I heard?" Roberto asked curiously.

"What did you hear?" Bobby wasn't able to hide the frown that he was fighting to display on his face. He felt awkward to talk to Roberto about the mission. He's a part of his gang, but he's only a part of the general ones -- not part of those to whom he share secrets and humiliating stuffs -- and this mission for him was a big humiliation.

Roberto saw the dislike on Bobby's face and almost stammered as he said what he heard, "th-that, uhm... you..."

"What?" Bobby's angry voice butted in at once as he felt his face reddened, "That I attacked and almost killed the person that we're supposed to rescue? Yeah, that's right! So... are you happy now?"

Roberto backed down in disbelief. Bobby realized from the way Roberto reacted that "that" wasn't what he's meaning to ask. He cursed himself for being such a jerk exposing his own disaster.

"I-I'm s-sorry to hear that..." Bobby heard Roberto apologized, "I was actually w-wondering about the tree... b-but you're obviously in the bad mood... I... I'll j-just holler at you later..."

Before Bobby could say anything, Roberto has already turned his back and rushed away.

He weakly closed the door and strongly laid his back against it as he murmured, "Right! Thank you very much, mouth! Now, I'm going to be the talk of the town being the rescue killer! Damn!"

--oo0oo--

[At the Back Lawn Garden, before Lunch Time]

Logan was sitting in his most casual on a bench under an elm tree. He remembered the intense headache he always feels after waking up from his nightmares. He was aware of the many nightmares but so far, the last few weeks had given him nightmares so close to reality that he'd wake up as if he's still on it. He'd been meaning to talk to the professor about it, but they went out on a mission without him. It made him feel rejected, but the rejection is mild compared to the rejections he had been feeling about himself.

He took a whiff of the fresh wind and tried to calm his senses. A scent of mild lavender permeated in the air -- "Betsy!" he thought.

"Hi handsome... want to give me a good spar today?"

He looked at the direction of the voice and saw Betsy in a black kimono that embossed the delicate curvatures of her body, her long hair tied in a ponytail by a black band.

"Not today, Betsy..."

Betsy paused for a while before she progressed to Logan's bench. "It doesn't need a telepath to know something's bothering you, Logan... You seldom call me by my name. What's wrong?"

"Nah! Just let me be for now... I'll sum it all up, later," he snarled, so typical by the way he talked to everyone.

Betsy shook her head understandingly, "Okay... but if you need a spar to unburden your thoughts, I'll be in the woods meditating. See you around..."

Logan just bowed his head in consent and then shifted his gaze to the petals of the daisies where a bee just happened to buzz around. In a manner, his nightmares are like the bees visiting his open mind every-so-often, draining his brain of its juice -- he thought.

He chuckled at his own analogy before he looked upon a chipmunk running on a branch of the tree. He, then, wondered what could be so important back there in the Philippines that needed the presence of the Professor himself to rescue one mutant from capture. He thought about the new mutant that they just brought in. He hadn't seen him yet because he was immediately rushed to the healing chambers, and earlier this morning, he was transferred to a recuperation room. He was supposed to meet them later this afternoon so he didn't give much thought on visiting the newbie.

As from what he heard, the newbie is just a mystic healer. So what could be so special about him?

He disgustedly scowled and stood up. It's time to unburden his thoughts. "Maybe a quick spar with Betsy wouldn't hurt, after all," he thought to himself before he paced his way into the woods.

--oo0oo--

When Jean, Kitty, Kurt and Piotr heard Scott about to visit Ali, they decided to come with him. Scott wasn't at all pleased at the company he's about to get but there's no reason for him to turn them down. After all, they were a part of the mission team and they all knew Ali.

Along the way, they heard a loud laughter inside Ali's recuperation room and they all exchanged weird glances. They knew Ororo was there but it was very seldom to hear her burst into laughter -- it was even rare to make her smile. Scott felt somewhat irritated and Jean immediately noticed the prickly look on his face but she decided to ignore it.

Jean led the way and knocked on the door. The loud laughter immediately subsided when both heard the knock and Jean's "May we come in?"

Ororo slid from the bed and immediately stood as she looked at Ali who said, "Please^Å" and bowed his head to welcome the guests.

Ororo smiled after saying to Ali, "So, now you have more guests^Å"

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Jean^Å" Ali said as a welcome.

Jean grinned as she felt Ali's comfortable state and replied, "Enough of the formalities^Å I brought some friends with me. If you don't mind, they're here to see you." Then, she looked towards the door and in entered Kitty, Piotr and Scott, who, by that time, had an undeniable stern look on his face.

Kitty rushed in and introduced herself.

"Hi Ali, I'm Kitty^Å" Kitty had a very genuine cheerful smile and Ali thought she's pretty, "I'm also there at the mission but I was left together with Kurt and Bobby by the jet. You know protocols and stuff^Å we're to monitor the perimeter^Å"

She handed her hand which Ali immediately grabbed eagerly. Kitty blushed at the suddenness of Ali's movement but she let his palm linger a while longer than was to be expected. Scott cleared his throat to announce other people's presence and all of them looked towards his direction -- attention that Scott wasn't ready to receive by that time so he mellowed and shyly grinned, somewhat embarrassed.

Ali shifted his gaze towards the tall Russian man and grinned, "Hi, Piotr^Å thanks for dropping by^Å" a recognition that made Piotr smile from ear to ear before answering in his strong Russian accent, "No problem, man."

He looked at Scott, smiled and said, "Hey^Å" and immediately shifted his gaze towards the smiling Jean. Scott felt belittled by the action. He'd welcomed everyone and he was just greeted by a `hey'? He tried to contain his fuming self and rolled his fists to maintain his composure.

/* Scott, are you alright? */

He knew Jean noticed his inconvenient feelings but he lied by replying to the telepathic message:

/* No problem, Jean. I'll be fine. */

Jean looked towards the door where Kurt was hiding^Å

"We have another visitor who wants to see you but he's afraid you might get scared of him^Å"

"If he's Kurt, the teleport master^Å I'd be delighted to meet him face to face^Å" Ali gleamed in excitement. He tried not to brand him with something offensive. He knew that Kurt has a unique appearance and he somehow felt he needed to boost his confidence.

Kurt heard Ali's anticipation of meeting him, but he's still unconvinced so he reluctantly entered.

As Kurt approached, Ali immediately handed his hand and said, "I've been meaning to meet you because I was astonished at your abilities. I'm really glad to meet you face to face^Å"

Kurt felt the sincerity on Ali's face, so he took his hand and exclaimed in his thick German accent, "My teleporting ability is nothing compared to yours! You sent all the enemies back to where they came from! You rock!"

The smile on everyone's face suddenly vanished upon hearing Kurt.

"I did what?" Ali asked confusedly.

The apologetic look on the face of the blue imp and the immediate retrieval of the three-fingered hand was enough for Ali to think that it was supposed to be a confidential matter -- some information was being kept from him. Kurt obviously lapsed as he looked around to find piercing eyes from all of them. So before the tension in the air ripened, Ali immediately took a bite of his apple and nonchalantly said to everyone, "I'm sorry^Å I believe it was all a mistake. I knew my limited abilities and there's no way possible I could do what you just said."

Everyone looked at him and seeing he was not affected by the information, they relaxed. Jean immediately changed the topic into something else, "How's your feet?"

Ali looked up to Jean thankfully and pushed the white cotton fabric that covered his lower body and limbs, "The outer skin immediately replenished itself^Å Sometimes I wonder how I could heal myself unaware of it, but I guess my frequent and diligent practice made self-repair possible even unconsciously. I still feel dull on the lower portion though, but I can feel myself mending. Aunt Ororo brought me some sustenance that I badly needed^Å"

Jean looked at Ororo, alarmed. /* He called you by your name^Å */

Ororo smiled and replied, /* Correction, he called me Aunt Ororo. He's an intelligent youth. He judges by instinct, then by knowledge. He already knew since yesterday^Å */

Scott just stood there eyeing at the smooth skin of the teenager^Å its radiance was appalling him as it reflected the white light. He felt thrilled at seeing the almost perfect color tone and muscles of Ali's thighs and legs. He imagined the smoothness against his rubbing palms and felt uneasy as heat rose from deep within.

"What's wrong with me?" he thought to himself^Å a question that didn't escape Jean's mind for he subconsciously transmitted a mild message towards the telepathic bandwidth.

Hearing Scott's question, she gazed at him and tried to see from his facial expression what made him ask that question to himself. She sensed a deeper longing in Scott's emotions and even if she couldn't see Scott's eyes, she somehow knew that it was darted on the exposed legs of the teenager. If it was an innocent gaze, she wouldn't mind^Å but she felt there was malice there^Å there was desire.

She almost felt sure Scott was having a very malicious thought, but as she looked up at the towering Piotr, she saw the glare and the trembling lips. Has her empathetic abilities misguided her to misjudge Scott? Judging from the way Piotr glared at the exposed feet, she knew that it was Piotr who had a malicious thought^Å she could hear Piotr unconsciously sent lewd moans and groans. She felt ashamed for misjudging Scott, but she also felt compelled to stop Piotr.

/* I suggest you keep your imagination to yourself, Piotr^Å Not everyone's interested with your wild thoughts. For goodness sake, don't let the long hair mislead you! */

Jean subtly smiled to herself as she saw Piotr awestruck by her message.

/* Are you prying on me? */

Piotr was still uncertain how to use the telepathic bandwidth so he's also mouthing what message he just telepathically sent.

/* No^Å but you are unaware that you are sending loud groans in your thoughts that every telepathic in the vicinity can hear you. */

/* Damn! */

/* ^Å and don't use this bandwidth to curse^Å */

Piotr blushed extremely while a light chuckle escaped Jean's lips.

Everyone looked at Jean weird, except Piotr who began to feel irritable and said something like, "I n-need to g-go to my room^Å See you later, Ali^Å"

"Leaving so soon?" Ali queried^Å

"J-Just some things I need to take care of^Å"

--oo0oo--

[Piotr's Point of View]

"My teleporting ability is nothing compared to yours! You sent all the enemies back to where they came from! You rock!"

Damn the German teleporting demon! Did he ever think before he open his mouth? How could he slip up again this time? He'd been slipping up way too often! He must learn how to treat confidentiality with proper care. Okay, he's a trainee, but things that shouldn't be talked about should be kept in the closet... Now Ali knows that we are keeping something from him.

"I'm sorry^Å I believe it was all a mistake. I knew my limited abilities and there's no way possible I could do what you just said."

Whew! Good thing that slipped smoothly from Ali. I could tell he's a smart kid... but...

"How's your feet?"

When I heard Jean asked about the condition of Ali's feet, I couldn't prevent myself from cutting my line of thought. I better shift my full attention to this. I just had a brief imagination that he's going to show his feet to us. I was guessing there were minor bruises and soreness but I was wishing that he didn't suffer much.

He smiled at her and pushed the cotton fabric... Pizdets! Why did it have to be so dramatic! It seemed that the unfolding of the skin had had to take his lifetime, I felt extremely impatient as he pushed it so slowly.

But whoa! Not even a scratch! The softness and smoothness of the even toned skin of the mildly-muscled shapely legs glowed with the reflection of the light.

"The outer skin immediately replenished itself^Å Sometimes I wonder how I could heal myself unaware of it, but I guess my frequent and diligent practice made self-repair possible even unconsciously. I still feel dull on the lower portion though, but I can feel myself mending. Ororo brought me some sustenance that I badly needed^Å"

Wow... so that's why there wasn't any scratch at all! He's capable of mending himself...

I wondered if I penetrated his ass... he must be tight... even if I fuck this guy everyday, there wouldn't be any problem. If his body is capable of mending itself, then he'll be tight as new the next day! What a champ! A virgin for all time! I could almost feel the tightness of his sphincter on the length of my cock.

Oh shit, what a nice pair of legs. I wonder how it felt as it hugged my torso while I fuck his ass... Yes! The silky smooth skin touching my every skin... Damn... I just wish he's in a coma right now so I could smell him... No! Kiss him... better yet, lick him... taste him... devour on him! Suck him and make kiss marks all over his body which, I know, will only fade the next hour... Oh, fuck, how could I feel so damn horny just by eyeing at those two luscious pieces of legs?

Ohhh.... Yesss.... Ahhhhh.... Ungghhhhh..... Aaaahhhh.... Yess..... Aaaahhhhhhhh....

/* I suggest you keep your imagination to yourself, Piotr^Å Not everyone's interested with your wild thoughts. For goodness sake, don't let the long hair mislead you! */

Shit! Did I just receive a message from Jean? Fuck... How did she know?

/* Are you prying on me? */

/* No^Å but you are unaware that you are sending loud groans in your thoughts that every telepathic in the vicinity can hear you. */

Oh, yeah... that pizdets telepathic bandwidth who never failed to receive transmitted subconscious thoughts! But how could I prevent myself from doing so when two pieces of delicious exposed flesh are laid just before my very eyes? Damn the telepathic bandwidth...

/* Damn! */

/* ^Å and don't use this bandwidth to curse^Å */

Fine! Whatever Jean! Wait... did she say `don't let the long hair mislead you'? Did that mean she was thinking I was thinking of Ali as a girl... that was outrageous!

But how could I be so stupid to forget there's a sharp telepathic nut in the vicinity who happened to be in the physical form of a beautiful girl named Jean?

Pizdets! Might as well just go... I don't need any more trouble.

"I n-need to g-go to my room^Å See you later, Ali^Å"

"Leaving so soon?" Ali queried^Å

Oh no... better find the perfect excuse... "J-Just some things I need to take care of^Å"

Great! Just great!

--oo0oo--

As Piotr left to the door, the feeling of intense malice in the air vanished with him. Jean felt safe to disregard her earlier misjudgment on Scott and felt sorry for what she'd felt. She took the initiative of pulling the sheet to cover Ali's legs. As she did so, Scott moved ever so slightly but Jean was quick to notice his irate movement.

Ali was eyeing Kitty evidently and frequently and whenever Kitty meets his eyes, she'd blush three-folds. They were conversing in a slightly tensed way, but there were smiles on both faces.

Ororo was somewhere in the corner, whispering something to Kurt. Ali was oblivious that she was subtly reprimanding Kurt about the frequent slipups he'd made during and after previous missions. This wasn't his first time.

As the conversations progressed between the four -- Jean, Kitty, Scott and Ali -- some of Ali's questions were answered. They explained to him about the institute and what kind of students they accept. They told him about the basics of the technologies used, which to their delight, Ali could grasp and understand.

They told him about the dense woodland at the eastern portion of the mansion. When Ali learned about it, he immediately asked them about it in excitement. Kitty handed a wallet-sized picture of her by the woods from her purse to Ali and he immediately looked at it in full stimulation. She looked very pretty amid the green bushes and dark-brown tree trunks. He absorbed the panoramic scene in his head and felt warm sensations he couldn't describe. A complete image of the woods began to unravel in his head.

After a while, they discussed about each mutation abilities.

Kitty demonstrated her talent by phasing her hand through Ali's face. Ali felt very happy for Kitty's sudden but worthwhile nearness.

Jean told him about her psionic and telekinetic abilities -- she demonstrated her talent by lifting an apple in the air for a few seconds which astonished Ali so much. He also found it amazing to "talk" with Jean through mind connection. He smiled as he sent a message to Jean:

/* I'm sorry^Å I'm terrible at welcoming guests. From where I came from, I wasn't allowed to talk to people. */

Jean lost her smile and got a little worried about that message.

/* Ali, do you wish to tell me your story before you go and see the professor this afternoon? */

/* Would you mind if Ororo stays with us? */

/* Of course, not. Later, after lunch, I'll ask Ororo to come with me here so we could have a light conversation. Cast some of your burdens^Å I can sense you need to outpour some load. I'll be back for you later^Å okay? */

/* Great^Å you're a doctor so I know I can trust you^Å thank you very much, Jean^Å */

/* From now on, treat me as your friend, because that's what I am treating you now. Don't feel embarrassed to approach me if you need me. */

Scott intervened when he saw the two smiling at each other, "What's that all about?"

The two decided to ignore the question and just continued smiling to one another. A second past, Ali then asked, "What about you, Scott^Å Do you have special powers, too?"

"Ahm^Å let's just say Scott's power isn't indoor friendly," Jean interrupted.

"Yeah," agreed Kitty, "if you don't like the whole mansion to crumble into pieces, you won't ask a demonstration from him^Å"

Scott childishly scratched his head as he shyly smiled. From that point of view, Ali saw the fragile side of him and felt amused. He'd been stern and strict since he first met him and their conversations earlier were heavier compared to the conversations he had with the rest of the visitors. He smiled widely to him and said, "You look better when you act like that^Å you've been so stiff since I first saw you^Å"

"Me, stiff?" Scott queried and continued his act. A rush of excitement and joy crept inside him when he heard Ali's nice comment. "He noticed me," he thought to himself. His smile broadened and gave Ali a tug by the shoulders.

"Yeah^Å he's stiff alright," Kitty said laughingly, "he's the Mr. Military of the institute^Å Always on the go... always on the flow. He's so over his head."

"Am not!" Scott blushed as he reclaimed himself.

"Is, too^Å" Kitty retorted with pouting lips and the four of them laughed conveniently like children.

As the noisy laughter subsided, Ali noticed Ororo talking to Kurt. He had an idea that it was about the slip up, but he decided he would pretend to know nothing.

"Hey Kurt, what about you? Can you give us a show of your talent, please?"

The blue boy looked at Ororo first and when she gave a permissive look, he poofed out of his location and instantaneously appeared in front of the bed. He saw that his performance delighted Ali, so he decided to poof out again and in by the door of the room. Because Kurt made funny impressions, Ali kept on laughing and applauding which made Kurt, the performer that he is, show off even more.

He poofed out again and in the air on top of the bed which surprised Ali so much that when he slightly bolted from the appearance, he felt the same involuntary jolt from his head the time he^Å he just froze his father in midair!

Everyone was stunned as they saw Kurt froze in his wacky pose above the bed complete with the black smoke which appeared almost as solid as him. They looked at Ali as his expression shifted from startled' to scared.'

"This couldn't be happening again^Å this couldn't be happening again!!!" Ali frightfully whispered as he closed his eyes and thought of escaping into the nearest and safest isolated place he could fabricate in his head.

--oo0oo--

"What happened?"

The professor together with Rogue and Remy rushed towards Ali's recuperation room as they almost simultaneously asked the same question. The professor was in the middle of a conversation with the two about their finished mission when Jean telepathically informed the Professor of the emergency. The professor decided to tell the two about the mishap and all three of them hurried to the site.

The three looked shocked at the sight of the frozen blue imp in mid air, a foot above of the now empty bed.

"We don't know professor^Å but I think it was Ali," Scott immediately replied with an annoyed look.

"But I can tell he didn't mean to do it^Å" Jean mediated, "I received a mental image from his head^Å I think he'd already done this before, but in an accidental way^Å"

"Accidental?" Scott furiously questioned, "If this was accidental, why would he just decide to vanish and leave Kurt on this condition?"

"Scott," Ororo intervened, "Ali has no reason to harm Kurt^Å He was the only person here who had shown no fear upon seeing Kurt the first time. I can tell that at least everyone had a mild shock upon initially seeing him, but he didn't show any of that. In fact, I could sense he liked him and his antics. He was just surprised at Kurt's reappearance on top of him."

"Besides," Kitty added, "he asked Kurt for a demonstration for his abilities. I don't think he'd just decide to freeze him in the air after Kurt willfully obliged to his request^Å"

Scott's face was red with undefined rage, he himself was questioning himself why did he feel sudden misjudgment against Ali.

"Everyone," the Professor interrupted to silence them, "we have to understand that he wasn't aware of his mutation. These occurrences are perhaps a manifestation of his mutant abilities. We are still about to undergo a process of knowing his mutant abilities for as we all know, the only ability that was dominant and known to him since childhood was his mystic healing. He isn't aware that his blood line has mutation indication and up to now, he's probably hasn't realized it yet. Perhaps these manifestations alarmed him immensely."

"Professor, I could sense his emotions. He's somewhere near^Å but where? I tried to scan the area but he seemed to be able to block it for some reason." Jean informed the professor.

"So he froze Kurt and just vanished from his bed^Å" the Professor analyzed the occurrence, "What happened before he disappeared?"

Everyone filled him in small tidbits. The professor tried to place the jumbled information together.

"I can tell that he's a bright kid who doesn't get scared easily. But something in this occurrence scared him so^Å for that matter, he could have gone into a place that he probably thought safe and away from prying eyes," the professor declared conclusively.

"Uhm, Professor^Å" Kitty said, "If Jean's right and Ali's just somewhere near, I think I know where he could be."

--oo0oo--

[Robert Drake's Room: Bobby's Point of View]

I was so confused on how I felt that I tried to entertain myself by shooting globs of ice onto the ceiling. The debriefing must be finished by now but I still found no strength to get out of my room. I feel annoyed and distressed knowing I just exposed the very reason why I was feeling depressed.

I sucked at the mission -- because I thought Scott was attacked by Ali. I got so confused; first, I thought Ali was on the tree and I thought he was a she because of the long hair while he was being carried by Piotr^Å then, when he was there at the vicinity of Scott's lying body, I thought he was one of the people who attacked us. His physical features were similar to them, especially to that rat-named Terramus.

And whoever could have thought that the vile process with special clouds-of-insects effect performed by Ali could be a healing procedure! It looked so evil^Å so vile that I thought he was a monstrosity that attacked him^Å but of course, that was just me and my thought. I saw Jean at the vicinity but she didn't act the way I did^Å well, she told me the Professor informed him telepathically about the process so that made her held her power off.

Nobody saw my arrival and I just barged in there and hit him not even noticing the hospital gown he was wearing^Å I really felt stupid. My emotions blinded me -- I got really scared as I saw Scott's pale body lying on the ground^Å I thought he was dead. I thought he was^Å

When a warm flood of tears flowed out from my eyes, I just knew that I was again feeling helpless and depressed. My action pushed Scott away from me^Å the last thing I wanted to happen. I was so scared of losing him so much.

The first time I saw him, I thought my feelings were just out of respect and looking up to him as an older brother but as the months progressed, I knew that the feelings weren't that simple^Å it was a complicated as the web of the spider.

"Bobby^Å Bobby^Å"

A knock at the door with a male voice very much familiar to me made me scuttle to arrange myself and rush towards the door immediately opening it^Å

"Scott?"

"No time for chat^Å Ali is missing^Å help us find him."

"How did he^Å"

"Now!"

With that order, I immediately took a shirt and put it on as I run alongside with Scott.

--oo0oo--

[Eastern Grounds, the Hiking Trail: Aliki's Point of View]

The touch of cold wind and the noise of rustling leaves made me open my eyes. Again, a question hit my head: What's happening to me? One second I'm on the bed laughing my heart out with my first set of friends; the next, I'm here in this place.

I still couldn't believe how fast the situation went. I didn't want that to happen, but somehow, I knew that was bound to happen anyway. I could sense something in me growing... something I couldn't describe. I was getting more and more confused.

If I did make it happen, how could I undo it? I remembered freezing father... before the fourth bash, he was somehow able to move and prevent my uncle from giving the final strike. But what made him unfreeze himself? What must I do to unfreeze Kurt? The terrible confusion was tearing me apart.

|Kalithenis|

"Aeroa, Aliki Go-Otres... Bazzal!"

{- Greetings, Aliki Go-Otres... Welcome! -}

I was surprised to hear a groaning voice with a deep screeching sound^Å I wasn't scared, but rather alarmed. One of the trees just spoke to me. I had been talking to its kind every now and then as I imagined them giving me answers and consolation, but this was the first time I could hear it... and I sensed it was real. It even mentioned my name, it knows me.

I looked around and witnessed the welcoming of the bushes and the trees as I heard the rustling of their branches as a means of applause... their murmurs echo in the air, murmurs filled with anticipation and glee. I suddenly forgot my confusion. The scene was giving enough joy that I felt recharged and completely regained my strength.

[Kalithenis]

"Thar abea largh?"

{- You know me?" -}

A whisper filled with delight, honor and pride escaped my lips. The tree gently shook its top, a means to say `yes'.

[Tree]

"Heden le risso thar pento. Largh nemo po Kabil."

{- The wind sang your arrival. My name is Kabil.-}

I broadly smiled as I inhaled the fresh aroma brought about by the environment. I felt more appeased and at peace.

[Aliki]

"Largh po colar amper rezpothi, Kabil, ali frenthe^Å"

{- I'm humbled and honored, Kabil, dear friend... -}

[Tree]

"Feyah^Å"

{- No^Å -}

"Thar pentea rezpothi mottu, Xaressi Imos."

{- Your presence honors us, Disciplined One. -}

"Thar alegi le soth theres mottu konirr thar jenssuah."

{- You nurtured the gift that we offered your clan. -}

"Thar hamig le wessi le egma amper thar nalloh sothi davon am dameh^Å"

{- You passed the tests of life and your triumph gives way to more^Å -}

"Thar dizili le xaressi es beldeh uzdal^Å"

{- You acquired the discipline's potent secret^Å -}

"Fahmeh, thar krewnideth amper ali po punizi^Å"

{- Because, your selflessness and compassion are overflowing^Å -}

"Sindaq epenai, ali Aliki..."

{- Do not fear, dear Aliki... -}

"Le hallam amper hallop vetho po thar frenthe."

{- The flora and fauna here are your allies. -}

I felt bliss for knowing that I was having things welcome me in this place... where was I anyway? And were these trees really capable of talking... to me?

[Ali]

"Chetez largh lodi gomed, jo, po thar penoz thave am largh?"

{- Forgive me for doubting, but, are you really talking to me? -}

[Tree]

"Tir thar thaveh le Givono le Egma..."

{- Only you speak the Language of Life... -}

"Am tir thar axx thaveh..."

{- To only you we speak... -}

Just then, I heard a crackled sound, I sensed a piece of dry wood was stepped upon from a close distance. My instinct made me compose myself in a ready mode, defense position.

[Tree]

"Thar mur po gestho... gratha shazhe..."

{- You must be warned... danger ahead... -}

"Axx abez thar po kaith loem le gamme thar... esrea mottu e larrizh."

{- We believe you are capable enough of defending yourself... summon us for support. -}

[Ali]

"Largh po uperne loem am gamme largh..."

{- I am strong enough to defend myself... -}

"Herthe thar e le gesthe..."

{- Thank you for the warning... -}

The sudden fluctuation of temperature and pressure behind me told me of movements.

"Kiyaaah!!!!"

A quick instep, one step right sideward, a bending sway forty five degrees northeast of body position, a swift grab with proper timing for the grip and presto, I was able to grasp on to what seemed like a woman's right hand just above my left shoulder. A swift parabolic backward motion of my left arm as I pulled my grasp forward -- and my elbow hit its target: the xiphoid process.

"Aaahhhh...." I heard a painful scream from the woman. The xiphoid process is a very sensitive body part. A poke on it can cause excruciating sensation -- what more could a forceful elbow hit do?

I administered a gentle ninety degree twist on my right leg supporting the agile body-flip, as I lashed the grabbed arm and release! Her body hit the trunk of the tree upside down before I sensed another attack at four o'clock.

I managed to do a body twist as I hurdled in the air to perform a back handspring as I sensed the attacker leapt from his cover. And as I saw half of his body in midair in time with my hands touching the ground, I forced a strong whipping double kick that hit his chin and left jaw, consecutively, before I dropped on balanced feet.

The beautiful woman, who looked like Japanese, stood in her kimono while the man recomposed himself, he's top naked exposing his hairy torso, wearing just a pair of faded jeans. They both took a sturdy attack position as I tried to figure out what the attack was for.

"Who are you?" I asked calmly.

"Wrong turn, kid... t'should be us asking that question t'ya..." the man snarled as he fixed his jaw.

"Are you a spy?" asked the woman grinning provocatively, "I love killing spies..."

"I mean you no harm... I happened to just appeared here from my bed."

"Yeah," scowled the beastly man, "and I happened t'enjoy attacking trespassers... just tell's the truth and we'll spare ya. Who a' ya?"

I was alarmed as he unsheathed what seemed like three pieces of shiny metal claws from each fist.

"You're a mutant?" I asked disbelievingly... the sharp claws seemed to inflict damage on his flesh and skin. It felt like it hurt.

"We asked you a question... don't give us another question. Don't force us to hurt you, kiddo..." said the lady who I happen to like -- the way she gracefully swayed her body and the way she talked -- given the unusual circumstance. She must be trained to handle pains... very few people can stand up on defense mode after that offensive maneuver I released on her. In my training years, I mastered crippling attacks -- massive damages with minimum efforts... but so far, this lady had shown optimum dexterity.

"I'm Ali... I'm from the Philippines..."

"Ya'xpect us to b'lieve'at?" interrupted the beastly man, "the kid from the Philippines we know's there lying unconsciously on d'bed still recuperating... spare us ya bull's shit! I'll let ya go if ya tell d'truth..."

"If you think I am lying, go ahead and lacerate my flesh with your claws. I'll just stand here and I shall make no attempts to defend myself from your attacks."

After saying that, I stood at attention, both hands behind me as I managed a straight face.

The man smirked and said, "Don't say I di'nt warn ya..." before he made a violent assaulting attempt. I didn't flinch, I didn't blink. I watched the clawing assault swiftly approached before my face... I watched the quick split second gone... but the tips of the three claws of his right fist stopped just about as they touched my face causing mild scratches -- one on my left cheek and two on my right.

I was true to my word to not defend myself and I would die being true. Courage has its own ups and downs; it makes you live or it kills you... But I guess, this time, I was spared.

He reluctantly retrieved his claws. I saw how it was retracted back to his fist and the open wound it left healed right away. He smirked before he said, "Can't believe yer guts, kid..."

I looked into his glaring eyes and returned the glare, "I have no other means of proving I spoke the truth... if my damage would cause you to believe I was not lying, I'll let it be," as I was saying that, I felt my own scratches mending on themselves.

--oo0oo--

[Eastern Grounds, the Japanese Garden: General Setting]

Scott and Bobby arrived almost at the same time with Jean and Piotr. They stood up facing the Professor as he gave instructions.

"Everyone, we must be able to locate Ali in time. There are automated defenses scattered around the woods and when they detect Ali as an intruder, these defenses will attack Ali with everything that they got."

Ororo gave an affirmative response as she said, "I hope he's in the vicinity where defenses weren't installed yet. I'll search from above and check those vicinities immediately on your command."

The professor bowed his consent, "Scott, Bobby, cover the northeastern trail on foot. Jean, cover the areas with automated defenses and search from above. Piotr, Kitty, cover the southeastern trail on foot. Rogue, Remy, come with me. We'll meet at the eastern central grounds. I can sense he's just nearby^Å"

/* Professor^Å */

The professor received a telepathic message. He asked the team to put the instructions on hold and immediately responded.

/* Elizabeth, go ahead^Å */

/* Logan and I found what looked like a Latin or a South Asian kid about six feet tall lurking around the northeastern trail. He said he's Ali from the Philippines^Å Wasn't he supposed to be on the recuperation room? */

/* Elizabeth, tell Logan to be easy on the kid. He wasn't aware of his mutant abilities and accidentally used it to vanish from his room and reappear there. Try a subtle mind probe to be sure that he's the right Ali. With shape shifters all around, we couldn't risk being accommodating to an enemy. */

/* I tried but I couldn't get through^Å he's almost like shielded from my psionic probing. */

/* Use your intuition, Elizabeth. Sometimes telepathy gives us much leisure that we stopped hinting the natural way. You know your intuition acts best on matters where telepathy is of no use. */

/* Consider it done, professor. */

/* Try not to harm him or make him feel alarmed. Otherwise, he might be able to release something of his abilities that he has no control of, or worse, vanish into thin air again before we even get there. */

As the link was cut off, the professor breathed a sigh of relief before he looked at the team.

"He's safe. Logan and Elizabeth found him in the northeastern trail. Jean, Scott, Ororo, come with me. The rest of you, stay here."

Kitty felt deprived of the opportunity to see Ali again so she countered, "Professor, I think with our same age level, I could relate and communicate with Ali very well. I guess he wouldn't think I am a threat to him when he sees me. With all grown ups around, he'd feel crowded and hectic. He needs to see somebody his own age to be able to get comfortable, don't you think?"

"I agree with Kitty, professor," Jean seconded.

The professor paused and gave it a thought before immediately saying, "A wise suggestion, Kitty. Scott, stay with them. Kitty will have to come with us^Å"

As Kitty said "Yes!" in her thoughts, Scott yelled "Fuck that!" in his before he glared at the youthful innocent smile of the petite teenaged girl.

--oo0oo--

"Where'd ya learn to combat, kid? You seem to have a Class A training^Å" Logan mellowed and produced a light smirk that made Ali settle down, "you even hit your old fella on the spot!"

The murmurs of the trees made Ali relax as they whispered "gratha keapo," which meant "danger contained."

"I was even more surprised Logan," Betsy added after communicating with the professor, "His offensive maneuver was great^Å hit me on the spot, too. What technique did you use, Ali? You got me unprepared for that^Å"

"I was trained by my^Å uhm^Å f-father^Å" Ali felt rather uneasy being reminded by his father. He felt a sudden gloom that never failed to darken his day, but these people are strangers and they have no business whatsoever in his feelings or emotions. He continued, "Years of Tai Chi discipline made defensive and offensive maneuvers easy."

"Tai Chi, huh^Å isn't that some kind of a weird slow exercise?" Logan chuckled after asking the question.

"For starters, it isn't just a slow exercise^Å it's a discipline^Å" Betsy answered Logan, "It balances the human's physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological self. Advanced Tai Chi training gives you more than just a martial arts technique. It gives you the power of gentle touch^Å"

"Meaning^Å?" Logan queried.

"Great physical damage at a slightest effort^Å Good thing I was trained for combat. If that offensive counterattack he gave me was used on regular folks, it could be days in the hospital^Å"

"I wouldn't have had used it against regular folks," Ali said in response to Betsy's implications, "The strike you performed was well planned^Å I just know that movements behind me were from a professional's. If I didn't get aware of it earlier, you could have successfully made your assault."

Both of the elders smiled at the bright remark from Ali.

"What brought you here in the woods?" Betsy asked to divert the conversation to Ali's reason for being there. She tried another psionic probe but something in the air -- not mainly coming from Ali as she concluded it to be -- was hindering her mind to penetrate Ali. Something was protecting him.

The glow on Ali's eyes diminished. Seconds after the question, a delayed answer escaped his lips, "In all honesty, I have no idea^Å Jean, Scott, Ororo, Kurt and Kitty were there in the recuperation room visiting me. They informed me about the institute and each performed special demonstration of their mutant abilities. I asked Kurt to demonstrate his even though I already knew he's a teleporter. I^Å I-I^Å" Ali couldn't prevent himself from stammering as he was about to tell the two what happened. He felt comfortable with them, but could he trust them? Aside from the fact that the happening in his room enlivened a sort of phobia inside him, he was completely unaware of where he was.

"Yes, kid... go ahead..." Logan said but Betsy touched his shoulder as if to say something.

Ali thought hard about Jean and he tried to send a message^Å there wasn't any response.

/* Jean^Å can you hear me? Jean? */

After a few more attempts, Ali heard a reply from Jean.

/* I can hear you Ali. Keep calm^Å we're getting to where you're at. */

/* How'd you know where am I at? */

/* The lady^Å she's Betsy^Å she's a telepath, too, just like me. She already sent a message to the professor about your whereabouts. If she's really with a tall guy named Logan, you can both trust them. Don't feel any agitation whatsoever^Å They're friends^Å they won't harm you. */

Something in the name Logan made him feel rather calmer. He looked at the brute physique of the man and his masculine face^Å then he smiled making Logan's face a little questioning.

"What's up, kid?" he asked which Ali pretended not to hear.

/* I'm sorry, Jean^Å I didn't know what happened^Å I^Å */

/* I believe you Ali^Å and that's why we're here^Å to help you. The professor came with us^Å Ororo and Kitty are both with me^Å We're near. As much as possible, make yourself feel safe. No one's going to harm you there. Okay? */

/* Thank you, Jean^Å */

When Ali shifted his look to Betsy, he saw a hint of a smile. He then turned his gaze again to the tall "bear" and asked, "Excuse me, sir^Å but, are you Logan?"

Logan had an extra question running on his face, "How'd ya know that, kid?"

"Jean could have mentioned your name to him^Å" Betsy intervened and when Ali looked at her, she winked.

--oo0oo--

The drama of the reunion in the woods didn't last long for Ali was a little paranoid as well leaving Kurt in his frozen condition. Back at the recuperation room, at one o'clock past, Ali looked worried as he gazed at the blue body froze in wacky action in mid air. The professor required the presence of Hank.

Hank was expecting Ali to scramble away but he was surprised to see a mild startled gaze. He was affected but not in the way Hank expected to be.

For Ali, Hank is just like Kurt -- he's hairy and blue. The fangs were a little intimidating but Ali, didn't even find it frightful whatsoever. He couldn't find any fear being near to the beast-looking creature.

Jean introduced him to Hank and they shook hands. After that, they went straight to business.

"Ali, for us to be able to understand what happened to Kurt, I would suggest completely probing your mind. It's a difficult process and it may sting a little but it will give us a wide perspective on the emergence of your new gift. This will also help us be able to re-track what caused Kurt to be in that condition. But I couldn't do it without your permission. Are you willing to undergo the procedure?" the professor calmly explained and asked Ali's full consent.

"If it will help Kurt on his condition, I'll do it. Help us, professor^Å"

"Now I need you to relax^Å We'll take a time longer but I promise I won't cause you any harm^Å Come closer," the professor

Ali knelt in front of the professor, after which, he bowed down.

As the professor placed his two hands about an inch away from Ali's head, troubling and intense emotions began to creep in his heart: sorrow, pain, heartache, agony, angst...

Then, shortcut scenes of Ali's past and emergence of gifts flashed in random: The Tai Chi exercises and advanced discipline with combat weaponry; the happy days in Kalithe with his mother and teacher; the daily pains he suffered with his father's relatives -- stones thrown all over him, being hit by arnis sticks, metal pipes, belt buckles -- and the daily nights of painful healing; Ali talking to any available surfaces and imagining the face of her mother...

And then, there were those random memories: of him freezing his father in midair; of the thoughts he used to cast the tribal capturers some place else; of the intense emotions that brought him from the top of the tree to Scott's side; of the absolute astonishment he felt when Kurt appeared above him in midair; and of the immense panic that crept inside of him after freezing Kurt as he thought of a safer place other than the recuperation room.

And then, there were other vague memories -- memories that Professor Xavier thought was being held by Ali from him. But he was able to see weird scenarios: of moving leaves, sticks and stones; of horrifying screams and screeches; of conversations as distorted as the language being used; of moving objects in the form of humans but he knew were something else^Å something^Å he's sure they're things.

Those were just short flashes of memories but the professor agonizingly withstood the process as it felt like he would come to a full memory overload as intense depressed emotions came together with the scenes.

After he thought he gathered all the information he needed, he stopped^Å breathing hard as he felt himself dry up in the process. Ali on the other hand was murmuring some unintelligible words.

"Fascinating^Å"

Everybody heard Hank's comment and looked up at him. He then explained what he found fascinating, "You see Kurt wasn't frozen per se^Å not like Bobby freezes things and such with ice. He seemed to be encapsulated by something. I'm not sure what it is right now, but somehow, my analysis showed that Kurt remained in the present time while we continue experiencing the present existence. His body clock seemed to have frozen with him, and for that matter, it only meant that he wasn't present in our `moving today.' He's like a living still picture. It's very hard to define."

Everyone looked at him weird not understanding what he just said.

"Okay, okay^Å has anyone heard of a time capsule?" Hank smiled and asked.

Kitty immediately replied, "I've read about it... wasn't it supposed to keep the body's condition, shape and form?"

"Through a specific span of time, yes..." Hank nodded in response, "I had the faintest idea that this encapsulating indefinable thing on Kurt is an invisible time capsule. To simplify things up, Kurt has been frozen in time."

The professor immediately interceded, "It seems to me that Ali's gift is the rare ability called chronokinesis. It is the ability to control or manipulate the essence of time or the unusual gift to create time distortion. Through the past events that I've gathered from his mind related to his mutant abilities, freezing an event in time is his automatic defense system. He decelerates the event in time to a full stop, making it appear that a particular object freezes. In reality, it seems to me, the event was the one frozen and not the object itself."

"Professor," Ali looked up at him in piteous eyes, "what's going on? Why am I not aware I did it?"

"I believe you're unaware of your mutation, Ali. You are focused on your healing abilities that as you aged, the mutation inside started to reveal itself through your subconscious mind. Your subconscious automatically detected a threat when you were startled by Kurt's appearance so it immediately cast a time encapsulating wave to freeze the unwanted attack..."

"But Kurt didn't attack him, professor..." Scott argued strongly.

"Indeed. And consciously, Ali knew that, too... but his subconscious decided it was an attack, therefore, it immediately acts on its own," the professor explained as clearly as he could.

"If that's how I did it, how can I undo it, professor?" Ali anxiously queried.

The professor breathed a sigh... "Your subconscious released the time encapsulating wave, Ali, therefore it is just required that you need to communicate with your subconscious thought. To reverse the action you must understand this: an attack is a threat to your well being. Thus, you need to visualize Kurt wasn't attacking you. Think of something calming your senses. Make it flow to your subconscious mind. It's a difficult process, Ali, but you must do that to release him from the capsule's hold."

"How am I to do that?" Ali unknowingly inquired.

"You are trained with disciplines, Ali. Apply these disciplines in communicating with your subconscious thought. Think about it as your essence. You were able to channel your essence to heal, Ali and your essence is somewhere inside of you. Your subconscious however is in your mind. You'll discover it sooner when you calm yourself."

Ali silenced. He was confused because of the battling feelings inside of him.

"Professor, I think I need to be alone to be able to calm myself. I won't be able to think something calming with this type of crowd," Ali requested.

"Take your time Ali... We're just outside if you need us," the professor replied.

Everyone began to pace towards the door but before they completely gone out, Ali called, "Professor..."

"Yes, Ali..."

"Can I ask Scott to stay with me here?"

Scott's face showed a total surprise at Ali's request -- he was both questioning and expecting -- a strange combination of feelings that was very new to him. But he didn't dare ask Ali's reason for the while. He just bowed his head at the professor and closed the door as everyone completely left the room. He looked at Ali's face which by then had intense mixed emotions.

--oo0oo--

The group stood in circles meters away from the door. Professor Xavier positioned himself at the center as questions were thrown at him.

"What about his vanishing act?" Ororo queried, "It is like Kurt's teleporting ability, isn't it?"

"Yes and no..." the professor readily replied, "Teleportation is a process wherein a particular object dematerializes from one location, sending the details of that object's atomic configuration to another location where it will be reconstructed. In involves a flow or motion of a body to a specific medium of continuum. In most cases, like Kurt's ability to teleport, it involves crossing another boundary or dimension, more of like a shortcut to be able to go to a specific place. Traversing that path takes only split seconds. Therefore, we can expect Kurt to appear on the next location at a specific point in time. Although we didn't see motion or action in this dimension, Kurt moved through a path, and calculation of speed can still be computed. However, Ali's ability to teleport was a little bit more complicated to define."

"Why is that professor?" Jean asked curiously.

"Because for us to be able to calculate speed, we need a measure of time," Hank supplied.

"Yeah, isn't it that speed is equal to the measure of distance divided by the measure of time?" Kitty supplemented.

"That's correct Kitty..." the professor remarked, "But because Ali is a chronokinetic, in his teleportation ability, he can fabricate time or make it even disappear. Time is a trick and Ali can manipulate the events or the distance in that trick. Thus, he can disappear from one location and appear to the next at the exact same time... not seconds... not split seconds... but null. Thus, it is very difficult to consider it as a teleportation for when he transfers his body to the next location -- it's as if he didn't even undergo through the process of flowing to a medium. Computation faster than the speed of light is unfathomable. It's impossible to compute for his speed."

"Why is that so?" Rogue inquired.

"Since Ali doesn't need time to teleport, the time is voided in computing the speed. Mathematically speaking, anything that is divided by zero is undefined. You cannot use zero as a divisor..." Hank answered with a toothy grin.

"You mean he can just transfer from one location to another without the boundaries set by time? Doesn't that violate the laws of Physics?" Remy questioned in his straining French accent.

"I'm afraid so..." the professor sadly replied.

"That's a very interesting power professor but you seemed to be disturbed by that realization... why is that?" Bobby was able to say something after a long time of silence. He didn't like the sound of the professor's tone and he looked concerned at the professor's sudden change of expression.

The professor heaved a sigh, "His teleporting power enables him to teleport himself... and others even without touching. The youth has a very creative imagination. He was already able to visualize the woods just by the picture shown by Kitty and transferred himself there... subconsciously. He was able to send those tribal members who're supposed to capture him just by pure thoughts and imaginings of sending them back to where they came from... again, the power materialized from him subconsciously."

"Wasn't that a good sign?" Rogue frowned as she tried to comprehend the professor's issue.

"No. He still lacks the control over his chronokinetic ability. Its manifestation still lies in his subconscious mind. He needs to be trained to be able to maximize the potentials of his mutant gift. But because of his learned mystic ability that dominates his conscious mind, it will be very difficult for him to balance his abilities. It'll be necessary to keep this ability unknown from him for now..."

"Why is that?" Betsy asked, thinking it was unwise to hold something from the youth. "After all, it was his gift. He must nurture and control it."

"Ali misses his mother so much. His traumatic experiences in the Chinese mansion had made him hopeful to return to his mother's arms. I could tell that he resents his father because of what happened to him after entrusting himself to him. If he knew about this gift immediately, he might use it to teleport himself to his island and found about the devastating truth that his mother has been captured by the erring tribe. This isn't the time for him to know about his ability. Knowing that his mother is in danger... he'd do everything in his power to reclaim her. We mustn't risk it... He's not yet ready."

"How did you know about his mother?" Remy was puzzled about the whole revelations.

"Ben Xi informed me that Ali's father is captured by the tribe, too... and the tribe is asking for Ali as the ransom. We swore to protect Ali from the tribe no matter what the cost."

"Couldn't he just teleport there and teleport her parents here?" Piotr suggestively asked.

"As I said, Ali will be able to do things when he's ready. As of now, he still needs to learn to make his subconscious mutant powers to level out with his conscious mystic powers. Two combating powers are very difficult to balance. One power dominates the other one that has to stay low."

"What happens if we don't surrender Ali? What will happen to his parents?" Kitty worriedly asked successively.

"As long as Ali stays here and is unaware of the situation, his parents will be safe. The tribes already knew about his time manipulating gift from the start. They also knew that when Ali learns about his parents being captured, even with our restrictions and advanced monitoring facilities, Ali will utilize his ability to teleport himself to go anywhere."

"How can we explain to him his vanishing acts professor?" Ororo queried tamely.

"We can work out a reason for the vanishing acts... but he mustn't learn about him being able to send the tribe back to their island. It was all a subconscious act... As I said, he's creative and bright enough to conclude that he can also send himself there. I'm afraid that without the proper training, he may be able to tap his subconscious potential and go to their island. But in an emergency, through emotional mix-ups and such, he might fail to tap it again and be held captive before he knows it."

"Wait... what about Ben Xi? Why was he involved in Ali's family situation? Isn't Ben Xi one of the big secret contributors of our foundation?" Jean asked confusedly.

The professor paused for a moment. He knew it would be a very long explanation, but he thought it was time for the team to know the truth.

"Professor? Is there anything you need to tell us?" Logan worriedly queried.

"Everyone, I need you to treat this in strict confidentiality. I think it's high time you know that the one who called us about Ali was Ben Xi."

"Huh, h-how... why?" Betsy got more and more confused.

"Ben Xi's mother is a telepath who has precognition ability. He loved his mother so much, that's why he valued our institute's foundation. When he was young, his mother had been imprisoned and was tortured by the Chinese government learning about her mutation. Upon her death, Ben Xi made it a mission to help other mutants, like his mother, find a home where mutation abilities will be treated more as a talent or a gift rather than a threat to humanity..."

Everyone was in all ears to the professor. There were question marks on their faces, some confused and others hinting.

"A few years back, Ben Xi had been mysteriously poisoned and was in the hospital bed for months. He was on a vegetable state when he recovered and had to live on a wheelchair with a nurse attending to him. When Ali arrived at his house, he unconsciously healed him without everybody knowing, and according to the mind probe I just did, it seemed to me that Ali was not aware of his effect to Ben Xi either."

"Ali's healing ability was that powerful at a very younger age? Wow..." Jean couldn't prevent to whisper her disbelief.

"Professor... how could Ali be in his house? What's his business there?" Remy questioned, his tone somewhat difficult to describe.

"Go Ben Xi is Ali's grandfather. Ali got his mutant genes from his great grandmother."

Everybody groaned at realizing the truth.

"Ali was transferred to the Chinese mansion because a rival tribe threatened to capture Ali. According to what I could consider from Ali's brief recollection and from the information given by Ben Xi, the rival tribe's prophet announced that Ali must become a sacrifice to their gods for the tribe's peace and prosperity. Because the rival tribe had become more aggressive on their hunt for Ali, his parents decided to take him to the Philippines. His mother had to be left in their islands to protect her people."

"So that explains the tribal people attacking us..." Bobby conclusively stated.

The professor affirmatively nodded and continued, "For a period of time, Ali was allowed to go everywhere in the house and whenever Ali happened to come near him, Ben Xi told me that he felt his weakness being sucked away from him. But even as he grew stronger, an idea of spying inside the mansion made him pretend to show no progress to be able to investigate about his own mysterious poisoning."

"Later, with his nurse's assistance, he discovered that his three sons were behind the misdeed, and his second wife, the cohort. They all joined forces to paralyze -- not kill -- him so that they could be in control of the family's wealth."

"Ali's father was included on the plot?" Piotr wondered.

"No, Ali's father was completely unaware of it... he's not even aware that his mother was taking part on this scheme..."

"So where's Ben Xi now, professor?" Bobby suddenly interrupted.

"One scheduled trip to the doctor, Go Ben Xi found his way to escape and immediately contacted the foundation. He's now in a safe hideout. Sadly, because of the man's disappearance, in time, they learned about Ali's healing gifts and hurriedly concluded that Ali, still a youthful child of eleven by that time, was the one responsible for Ben Xi's recovery. He was mentally and physically tortured and treated like a slave, almost not feeding him as they blamed him for their scheme's failure. All the Go's bank accounts were frozen, and the family couldn't make any transactions because their privileges on the business and the wealth are cut."

Jean's eyes grew red with rage; Ororo felt her anger almost overwhelm her; Kitty was shocked and almost stupefied; Bobby felt even guiltier upon hearing Ali's traumatic past; Piotr silenced as he murmured something that sounded like a curse; Rogue and Remy felt pity for the confused kid; Logan's scorned face mellowed; and Betsy bowed to respect the sudden quietness.

A few while later, Kitty conjectured, "Where did they get financial assistance, then, if the accounts were frozen?"

"I'm afraid there are a lot of ways to find that, Kitty, but we still need to find out. Yet I believe that it had a relation with Ali being discovered at the mansion by the tribe," the Professor theorized.

"Can you tell us why, professor?" Piotr questioned.

Professor Xavier looked at the group and he shook his head negatively, "I can't discuss it with all of you, right now. I hope you understand the sensitivity of this issue and a slight leakage of this information would damage Ali badly."

"I'm willing for you to wipe my memory of this event out, professor," Bobby said.

"Not necessary. I know I can entrust this information to all of you. For now, Bobby, Kitty, you may go back to your rooms. Jean, once Kurt had been released from the time encapsulation, I need you to contact the other seniors and meet me at the Intelligence Gathering Room."

--oo0oo--

[Meanwhile: At the Hallway]

Roberto was a bit skeptic about the words coming from Bobby. He didn't know if Bobby was just sarcastic about "attacking the rescued" to scare him away because of his nosiness, but he also can't tell if it was indeed a revelation. He wasn't that much of a gossiper anyway. If he was, it should have been all over the mansion right after he talked to Bobby. He was just a little curious about the moving tree that he heard from the gang during breakfast, that's all. Kitty told them about it.

Since Piotr was the one directly hit by the violent tree, he thought it wise to ask it first hand from him. Unfortunately, he caught him in the most indecent of times. The gooey fluid that was stuck on Piotr's chin was very much apparent that the moment his face appeared from his room's halfway-opened door; that was the first thing that caught his sight.

His initial reaction was to stare away from it but his vision was somehow pulled down by the gravity and found an obvious tent that lifted Piotr's boxer's left leg opening. That sight just justified his thoughts. The gooey liquid was indeed cum -- Piotr responded and opened the door just right after he finished jacking off! The fluid was so thick, white, and slick that it had to be a newly released fluid^Å a minute past and it could have been as clear as sweat.

Roberto remembered the pungent smell of musk -- a smell of chlorinated fluid permeated the air. He couldn't find the words to hide his embarrassment, he stammered as he hurriedly left.

After moments of disbelief, he was able to shake the thoughts off of his head. He somehow found it amusing to know that a big guy like Piotr knew how to please himself using his Mary five fingers^Å and because he's a senior, it added to the points. Roberto felt arousal on his midsection but before he could find himself in full erection, he dismissed the thought of Piotr's masturbation in his head and immediately proceeded to the next person he thought would confirm his queries: Bobby.

He was about to knock the second time on the door when Bobby opened it in response to his first knock. The sight of the beautiful fresh and toned flesh of pectorals surprised Roberto. He hadn't seen him half-naked before -- he'd always seen him on full-on clothes. That one-second view lingered in his thoughts as he looked up to see Bobby's piercing baby blue eyes. He astounded how beautiful those eyes are for their casual meetings didn't provide much time for them to really eye him in a manner like that. His morning gaze affected Roberto so much.

"Hey, nice morning, huh!" he remembered greeting Bobby with a full smile but the reply was a disappointing, "Ungh... sorry, I didn't notice that... how can I help you?" He could tell the impatience on Bobby's tone.

"I was... I was just wondering about the rescue. Is it true what I heard?" Roberto asked as innocently as he could project but a snarling "What did you hear?" with a scowling face from Bobby made him back up and stammer.

"Th-that, uhm... you..."

As he tried to find the words, Bobby yelled at him in rage, "What? That I attacked and almost killed the person that we're supposed to rescue? Yeah, that's right! So... are you happy now?"

He remembered himself feeling stupid. What's with him to be shouted at this way? But he felt more to Bobby than to himself. A faint echo of his farewell speech sounded in his brain, "I-I'm s-sorry to hear that... I was actually w-wondering about the tree... b-but you're obviously in the bad mood... I... I'll j-just holler at you later..."

And now, he's back against the wall at the left side of the empty hall, images of Bobby's physique and Piotr's careless display of after-masturbation-cum under the chin froze almost mixed up together in his head. A concoction of sadness, disappointment and arousal flavored his thoughts: sad about the heavy feeling after his conversation with Bobby; disappointed because he wasn't able to confirm the events the he just heard happened; and aroused for one, he witnessed firsthand that a senior as big and as sturdy as Piotr just had an intense orgasm of an equally intense masturbation; and two, the sight of the youthful strong upper body on Bobby affected him so much.

He tried to shake all of the weird thoughts out of his head. He must not show the effect of the morning's events on his face. He bowed his head as a final act of withdrawal. He must not think about those thoughts at all. He must not!

--oo0oo--

[Inside Ali's Recuperation Room]

[Scott's Point of View]

I was still puzzled -- annoyed, confused and bewildered -- at Ali's decision to let me stay. I wanted to ask him but he'd been trying to calm himself and attempted to make Kurt move. His attempts were all a failure but he didn't show discouragement. He continued to stay by the side of the bed, looking exhausted with an aching head as he murmured something I couldn't figure out. He made one last attempt by swaying his hand but his stiff motion only revealed his frustration.

He looked up at me, eyes straining. He must be very tired. It had almost been like an hour but I just stayed there eyeing at his every motion. I felt a force pushing me to move closer and say something comforting but seeing him in a very serious meditation made me stay stiff on where I stood^Å but now that he's looking at me, I could sense his helplessness. I had to say something.

"You can do it Ali^Å I believe in you."

I saw a hint of mild disbelief on his face before he looked away and asked in the gentlest sarcasm, "What makes you say that?"

I stopped. I felt resented. His question wasn't something I expected. I felt my head filled with blood and almost disgustedly questioned him, "What's wrong with you?"

He stopped what he's doing and breathed for air. His eyes squinted as I saw a glint of tears before he bowed, "You know, I was asking the same question to myself over and over. I even asked the professor but the answers I got were as blur as my ideas about myself. Nobody in this institute really gave me the direct information as to the reasons about why I am here or what's wrong with me. If I am really a mutant, where did I get the mutation? Who informed you about my mutation? How did you get informed about me? Why am I supposed to trust all of you? Nobody knows about me Scott, not even myself. So, tell me^Å how can I answer your question?"

I was surprised to hear him speak that way^Å he looked distressed but he managed to state all of his burdening thoughts with ease.

"I'm sorry Ali," I muttered as my fume felt like a small flame extinguished by water.

He looked my way again and I didn't have the courage to meet his eyes. I bowed and felt a monstrous gap between us although the actual distance only covered five feet. The silence in the air felt like suffocating smoke that's about to take my consciousness away.

"I know you are asking yourself why I chose you to stay with me here. In your mind, you're asking why not Ororo, or Jean, or Kitty, or Piotr, or the professor himself? Why you? You're thinking about what help you can offer^Å"

I couldn't pretend that I wasn't so I tried to look at him in the eye after hearing that to confirm it, "Frankly speaking, I do^Å why me?"

"Because I know that you're the only one thinking that I willed this thing to happen to Kurt."

I didn't feel anger^Å I felt probed^Å I felt like he read me like an open book^Å I felt unsafe in front of him but I tried to cover my feelings with a question, "H-How can you s-say that?"

He seemed to disregard it and continued, "I want you to know how difficult it is for me to undo this^Å I want you to witness my struggles to make him come back to the events of today. Because I know, in your mind, you are thinking that I just attacked Kurt without any valid reasons, or even if there was, it was the shallowest of all reasons you can find in your mind."

"Th-That's n-not t-true^Å I-I^Å"

I tried to negate what he just said but my incoherent speech only proved his notions to be correct. I felt my heart skipped a beat.

A bitter smile crossed his face before he continued, "I have nothing against your negative thoughts about me, Scott. To tell you frankly, if I didn't know you earlier this morning, your thoughts about me should not matter to me at all. But knowing you this morning made me think you're someone with a broad perspective and respectable insights. I was hoping to hear your support more than the others because I thought we shared something^Å I guess my impressions weren't correct after all."

I was appalled by his expressions. On top of it all, he thought we shared something? What something? As the question reverberated in my head, I felt my world crumbled to pieces^Å I felt embarrassed to hear words like these from a teenager like him. I felt sinking on where I stood.

"A-Ali^Å p-please s-stop^Å"

"I highly regarded you, Scott^Å above anybody else here in this institute. I thought I've let it known, but I guess it's one of my failed attempts again. The others were like friends I haven't had but I saw you as someone I could depend on^Å someone I could entrust my life with. Waking up with you by my side made me feel protected and sound. I've never felt safer. But by the way you argued that Kurt didn't attack me, I felt stabbed^Å it insinuated that I just decided to freeze him out of pure delight and just vanished for all I was worth."

"This is the only way I know to prove that your shallow descriptions of me were all false. So, decide for yourself and tell me, Scott^Å after all these failed miserable attempts of making Kurt come back to our time, do you still think I am capable of willing Kurt to freeze in time like this?"

My head was filled up, I felt it spinning in a daze as each word coming from Ali's mouth hit my face harder than Logan's punches. My insecurities flooded my emotions and I must admit to myself^Å I was jealous^Å of how he warmly welcomed Ororo^Å of how he welcomed everyone in almost the same manner^Å and being greeted with just a simple, "Hey!" The casualness of his greetings^Å I was blinded by my jealousy and treated that his greeting to me was of second-class quality. Whoever said I must classify his greetings on my own?

I, myself, couldn't figure out why I had to defend Kurt like that when I also witnessed how terrible Ali looked after the freezing incident. But I had no control over my defense mechanism, it was almost automatic to me^Å

Knowing from Hank that Kurt wasn't hurt made me feel stupid for treating Ali like a bitch that can't be trusted. Even through professor's explanation, Jean, Ororo and Kitty's point of views, I wasn't able to prevent myself from saying that "Kurt didn't attack him^Å" what's wrong with that? I didn't think about any insinuation and I just wanted to clarify things up. But I remembered how I sounded^Å I sounded offensive^Å prejudiced^Å unkind.

Why did I ever do that^Å to be able to make a point? But what point?

I weakly sat on the chair as the seconds of silence turned into minutes of awful quietness. I buried my head in shame between my palms and felt strongly guilty of my actions. Instead of helping him get through his confusing situation, after even saying to the team that he's a hero in my heart for saving my life^Å why did I treat him like shit afterwards? What's happening to me?

"Scott^Å"

I heard his voice, so near^Å I lifted my face to see him looking down at me, he came near^Å I had to say something before this moment end quickly.

"Ali^Å when I said I believe that you can do it, it was heartfelt, sincere. But you're right, earlier I was judging you^Å because I thought Kurt was hurt. It's hard to be on my position. Being the leader of the team, I had to take responsibility about everything and I can't put my heart above my head. I knew you from what you told me, and nothing else. I had to make sure all lingering doubts are cleared before I drop into a conclusion that it's already safe^Å"

I paused for moment hoping he'd say something but he just gazed at me. I stood up to be able to speak with him eye to eye. He didn't shift his gaze and it was affecting me so much. I felt my emotions started to consume me but I had to stay firm and strong in front of him. I can't disregard the respect he told me he felt about me; I must prove to him that his respect was justified.

I cleared my throat as I stumbled for words to say^Å "Kurt is a part of my team and he was frozen in midair^Å for unexplained or unknown reason. You just vanished and left us with lingering questions in our minds. You tell me, what must a leader do? My instinct automatically told me to judge, to doubt, to check further reasons and see beyond the sight. I had to do that to make sure that my responsibility is performed. It's my responsibility to check and confirm. I can't just lay my decisions on how I feel. It's very hard to do that because^Å b-because I had to look at you differently than how I see you^Å"

He interrupted with a remark^Å "Thank you for putting it that way."

"When you vanished^Å it was a mixture of emotions, Ali. Not just pure doubt; there's also fear that you ended up somewhere unsafe; fear that you have no control over the situation; fear that I^Å we^Å will lose you. I had to gather up myself and act as the leader^Å I had no time for dealing with my emotions."

"Thank you for justifying the trust that I have given you, Scott. Feeling for me is one thing, but feeling for the rest of the team is another. My respect to you had increased immensely for you'd clearly indicated your reasons. I hope you'd retain the bond of our friendship. It is indeed an honor to be called your friend. I trust you even more^Å"

The intense look on those eyes seemed to have penetrated every bit of flesh within me. There was a force in me that pushed me to embrace his body and feel him closer to me. I opened my arms wide which he took as an invitation. His action seemed to be set in a slow motion -- frame by frame. It felt like an eternity before I felt his arms wrapped my neck; his chin rested on my right shoulder; his hard pecs against mine.

As I wrapped my arms tight around his body, the heat of the situation almost burned my skin -- his flat stomach rubbed against mine and our groins pressed against each other. The heat increased as I felt my body shivered as I melt like butter under the sun.

Through the extreme emotions accompanying the situation, the heat gradually consumed me and before I knew it, I kissed his neck lightly. His hug tightened and I felt his body stiffened as his lower body pushed against mine. He shuddered as I lifted my lips higher, wetting them on the process and pressed a wet kiss just behind his jaw, under his ears.

When I felt no resistance from him, I was thinking of lightly biting his ears or licking his earlobes but before I got bolder, we both heard a loud, "Whoaaahhhh!!!" and as I shifted my gaze towards the bed, I immediately pushed Ali to an inconspicuous distance as Kurt dropped on to the empty bed, his back facing us.

I felt my face blushed as I smiled at Ali who was by then glowing^Å literally speaking. It wasn't just the light^Å it was him. Or perhaps it was just my perception.

I laughed as I saw him giggled at the funny situation Kurt was in. I immediately silenced Kurt and said, "Welcome back to the moving world!"

"What do you mean? What happened? How^Å"

"The professor will fill you in," I said as a final word. I put my arms around Ali's shoulders as I guided both of them out of the recuperation room.

(End of Episode 3)

Acknowledgment:

Special mention to:

Gregglo13 -- we're getting there^Å I hope that Piotr's fantasies come true, too^Å but by the time I try to write it, I ended up in a mess^Å of words.

Paolo Landoy -- Thank you so much for the inspiring message. Your inputs are highly regarded and I am hoping I could fix your ideas up in the flow of the story.

Starbolt -- Here's what you've been waiting for. Hope you enjoy this as much as the previous two.

Dianne Guevarra -- ms_shemale@yahoo.com. Been waiting for your messages gurl. Wish you all the luck!

Jason Torres -- study hard, brat!

Thanks for everyone who have read and enjoyed the first two episodes. Your inputs and comments are always welcome.

Codes Legend:

Transitions:

--oo0oo-- - a transition from one character's setting or situation to another character's. ---***--- - provided for instances of unconsciousness, sleep, or non-relevant transitions. ---zzz--- - a transition from sleeping reality to dreaming. ---uuu--- - a transition from dreaming to awakening reality. ---vvv--- - a transition from present time to recollection. ---^^^--- - a transition from recollection to present time.

[setting] - indicates setting and time in one character's story.

Communications:

/telepathic/ - indicates telepathic communications. (remark) - narrator's remarks. |language| - indicates the language spoken by the character. {-translation-} - indicates the translation of local/native language to English.