The Dark Phoenix

Chapter Seven - The Hybrid

Grunting from afar, Nick walked off the arena and headed towards a nearby building where many trainees walked in and out to get some water. Many people recognized him as he walked by, "What's going on Nick!" "How have you been Nick?!" "What's shaking baby?" "Still in the lead?" "When the hell is he not an idiot!" They bickered and called out about him, but all he did was give a couple weak fist bumps while walking towards the bathroom. "What's up with him? I've never seen him sad. You think he lost?" "No way. You're delusional. Nick has never lost. Not even to Austin." Nick could hear them talking as he closed the door behind him and waved his hands in front of him. A wormhole opened up slowly and once it was large enough, he stepped in. Disappearing from the bathroom. Someone walked in and found no trace of him or his portal. "Where did he go? Jeez that guy is mysterious all the time." Shaking his head, the guy walked out and shoulder shrugged towards a group of guys and decided to leave.

"I thought I'd never get away." He appeared inside a dark landscape filled with sharp and jagged rocks surrounding him. Though once the wormhole behind him closed, he walked down the dark path and strolled into a whole new area. Instead of the rocky landscape, he walked into a metal building filled with bright lights and sweating workers. "I see you put them back to work." Mumbling to himself, Nick went down to the center and walked up the steel black stairs. Reaching the second floor, he dusted himself off. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to retrieve the relic." Nick rolled his eyes and looked towards the end of the room. A man with pitch black armor was sitting on a throne and was surrounded by women. The helmet covered his face but Nick could tell that he was looking towards him. "I needed to get away. These new guys are coming to the academy and I'm tired of it. They're getting so much publicity by just being here. It makes me so mad!" Easing into his anger, Nick's eyes became more steady until he finally released all his anger by letting out a purple blast that created a hole in the wall.

"What do you mean by new guys? Hey! What did I say about making holes! That's the third one this week!" The man stayed in his throne angry but with the women around. He stayed calm and flirtatious. "These five guys. They showed up yesterday. Xander is all around them as if they were his kids. Especially that blonde haired guy. He gets on my nerves just being there." The man laughed loudly, "Then go claim what's yours. You've been working hard haven't you? He shouldn't be a problem. Challenge him to a game of Cluster Combat. There's no way he'll beat you. With that, you'll humiliate him and prove who you are." "Don't act like that'll get me riled up. I'll kick his ass when I get the chance. I don't need you to tell me that." Nick scoffed and walked into a private room. "God I hate that kid... but I love you." Proceeding to entice the women nearby, the sound of Nick's door echoed throughout the floor.

Many hours past after the group successfully made it out of the Cave of Creation. The moon was up and glowing beneath the clouds. Carlos walked outside towards their frontyard where a couple of chairs were laying around and grabbed one. "This isn't what I expected. What am I supposed to do?" Arguing back and forth with himself, Carlos sat down and stared at the lines on his hands. "What's wrong with me? Why is this happening?" In thought, he reached towards his hair and pushed it back so he could see but while looking upwards towards the moon, his vision flickered on and off. Starting with perfect vision until it switched into black and white, but as soon as he blinked, his vision faded back to normal. The white glow from his eyes flickered wildly. Feeling a sense of pressure running to his head, Carlos's eyes began to glow once again, but it wasn't just his eyes. Each center line on his hands began to glow. "What's... this?" Flipping his hands over, the world around him became black and white. His vision became dim as the light in his palms grew brighter. They began to take a shape that grew greater than his entire hand.