Alix

Chapter 5

Scott P.O.V.

I walked around the school trying to find either Alix or the professor but I couldn't find them anywhere. I found the professor's lab downstairs and saw him through the small window. He had his hands at each side of Alix's head and had his eyes closed. I knocked on the door. He looked up seemingly frustrated by my interruption. He gestured for me to come in.

"What are you doing to him?" I asked him trying to sound calm.

"Relax, I am simply sealing away some of Alix's power that is too much for him to handle."

"I thought we were here for you to help us control our powers not take them away."

"I'm not taking anything away Scott. He is still Alix but he is much too powerful he needs to be controlled. At least long enough until he can do it himself."

"Controlled? This is a person's mind were talking about here." I rebutted.

"I don't think you have noticed but Alix seems to have a split personality. The part of him where he is in control of his powers, and the dormant side." He looked at me as if reading my thoughts, seeing that i didn't understand. "When he was a young boy I created a series of psychic barriers to isolate his stronger powers from his conscious mind, predetermining the disaster he could cause before it had happened. This led his mother to fear me believing that I myself was an evil force and no longer allowed me to see him again."

"Then how come he didn't know who you were when I brought him to you?"

"I had to erase his memory in order to surpass a variety of questions. But this had unforeseen effects, causing Alix to develop a disassociative personality disorder. This made his subconscious manifest an entity that came to call itself the Phoenix." He explained with obvious concern.

"Huh?" I asked still not following along.

"Most of his mutation is seated in the unconscious part of his mind, and there lies the danger. Alix is the disciplined thinking mind while this other part of him is the essence of every feeling he has experienced; a purely instinctual creature that is all joy, desire, and rage. So much rage. During its sessions Alix's eyes dilate and he is no longer his usual self."

"I'm not completely understanding all of this." I said dumbfounded.

"I didn't expect you to. Its rather difficult to explain. The point is i'm rebuilding the psychic blocks in attempt to cage the beast again."

"You know sometimes when you cage the beast the beast gets angry." I told the professor walking closer to him.

He looked up at me. "You haven't a clue. You have no idea of what he is capable."

"No professor i had no idea of what you were capable of. You're forcing your will into someone else's mind, you're going against everything you've taught us and claim to stand for."

"I don't need to explain myself, least of all to you. Go back and get some rest." He closed his eyes again and continued his meditation over Alix.

Normal P.O.V.

I woke up the next morning with my head pounding. I was in the professor's lab from last night. I didn't remember too much of what happened. I had machinery hooked up to my arm through some kind of strap. I took it off and it made a beeping noise. I got up and made my way outside.

"How great of you to join us." Greeted the professor. It looked as if they had already started a lesson. "I felt it would be better if you got your rest." He said with a warm smile.

He looked over at the rest of the class. "Now, for the first time I am going to introduce to you a room that was designed for my older students years ago. It is called the Danger Room."

A boy raised his hand and asked "What's that?"

"A room made up of holograms on the most realistic level. If you are to get struck or burned you will actually feel the pain, but once you 'die' the hologram ends. No real danger so to speak of, it is just a simulation."

When we continued into the Danger Room the hologram started up and there was fire everywhere. A giant robot-looking being began to come towards us. We had to use our powers together to find a way to destroy it. The robot fired laser beams at boulders that shattered into bits on contact. The rock fragments flew through the air. My powers weren't as strong as they usually were, I had to concentrate harder just to lift a small rock. I tried to hurl it at the machine but it didn't go very far. Eventually the group destroyed the machine and the hologram ended.

We left the Danger Room and went back into the main room. "Professor what was that thing?" asked David, one of the boys in my class that helped destroy the robot. David was also known as Whiplash due to his lightening speed. He had bright blue eyes like mine and wore his hair into a Mohawk almost daily as well as a tank top usually paired with an open flannel and jeans.

"They are called sentinels. A type of weapon that was created to destroy mutantkind. They haven't been spotted recently but preparing for the worst gives you an advantage if we were to come across one."

The television was on in the living room and the news station was mentioning mutants.

"These mutants are just like us but with an imbalance in their DNA, a corruption of healthy cellular activity. We have found a way to cease this Mutant X gene, permanently. Citizens of the United States, finally we have a cure to mutation." Stated the senator on the television. "The cure is now available at Worthington Labs for any mutant who chooses it. Some are desperate for this cure while others are opposed by the very idea of it." It showed a scene of protesters with signs chanting "We don't need a cure." The television was shut off.

"A cure?" Asked a former student of the professor. "Since when have we become a disease?" She asked offended.

"I have to find Eric." The professor said as he rushed off. I followed him along without him seeming to notice. I tried to keep my mind completely blank.

He scanned his eyes and an automated female voice stated "Welcome Professor." As he was going into the doorway he noticed me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me.

"I had a question for you." I stumbled out.

"Well it will have to wait, come with me if you wish." I followed him into the spherical shaped room with what appeared to be one continuous blank screen lining the walls. "This is Cerebro." He said as he made his way to the machine. I looked around, I had never seen a room like this. He put the headpiece on and the machine activated. "Come on Eric, where are you..." He said to himself as the walls showed visions of mutants everywhere. The machine made a high pitched ring and the professor fell unconscious.

"Professor?" I asked. I repeated as I tried to wake him up. I ran out into the main hall. "Help! Someone help the professor is unconscious!" I yelled out.

The professor was taken into the lab and I quickly went back into the room with Cerebro. I looked at the advanced high-tech machine and picked up the headpiece. I placed it on my head and tried to locate Magneto for the professor. I didn't really know what i was doing but i figured if I could find him I could tell him the professor was looking for him.

I heard the same high pitch noise again and everything went black.