Chapter 067 – The Meaning of Omega

[2009 – July]

Having found Emma in the Headmistress' office, we chatted for a while about yesterday's events after she had been assured of Jean's well-being. I mostly sat back and listened to the two of them discuss a few new exercises for Jean to ensure that she was in full control of her strengthened powers.

Jean had also used this moment to reveal her Pyrokinesis to Emma, though I had already known that she was capable of such. Not to mention that her Pyrokinesis was at least at the same level as her Telepathy and Telekinesis.

Emma was also aware of Jean's potential when it came to Pyrokinesis and I could see that she fought hard to conceal her delight at this new revelation, my enhanced mind and senses picking up the minute changes in her facial expression and stature, the bright light flickering in her eyes hinting at the same.

We didn't stay long though and soon returned to our apartment for some breakfast, greeting and chatting with the Hellions on the way there. Though Jean did most of the talking as I wasn't one for small talk in general.

I did however notice the traces of respect and fear in the gazes of a few of them, though I wasn't bothered by this. I didn't plan to act more humble or harmless just for their comfort, as they would have to find it in themselves to deal with my presence.

It would serve as a test of their character, one I was somewhat interested in, as it would show me which of them were worth befriending and which were not, depending on how and if they were able to look past the massive difference in power.

Still, I was thankful for Jean's presence as she was much more socially apt than I was.

Back in our room, we started to prepare some breakfast together, passing the time with some playful banter and gentle touches. Jean also told me of the Phoenix's intentions to have her inherit all its power gradually so that she could slowly gain complete control over them.

When we had finished the short preparations, we settled on the wide leather armchair in the open living room as we always did for breakfast. Jean having taken up her position in my lap as we fed each other whole-grain toast with cream cheese and marmalade, scrambled eggs, and pieces of bacon, along with different fruits and vegetables.

Jean did the heavy lifting as she levitated the different plates around us, her head resting against my chest as she sat sideways with my hand supporting her back, rubbing it softly while doing so.

It was a relatively quiet morning compared to yesterday's events, but I still couldn't completely shake off the sense of urgency in my heart, as I knew that it was only a matter of time before more trouble arrived on our doorstep.

Jean's and my own existence were drawing attention simply because of the power we possessed and I knew this was unavoidable, the only solution being to become even more powerful. Powerful enough that it didn't matter what trouble we encountered.

Jean already was the most powerful mutant around, though before she could fully access the Phoenix's power she was still far from invincible or immortal.

Still, I was already desperate to catch up to her, to be able to protect her. I knew I couldn't measure up against the likes of Thanos, Magneto, or Apocalypse for the time being. I had no delusions about their or my prowess for that matter.

If any of them had even a hint of the power their comic book counterparts had, I was way out of my league against them.

These thoughts inevitably caused my thoughts to drift to the gift the Phoenix had left me with.

Pulling my consciousness inwards for a moment, I felt the energy reserves of my Self-Creation bursting by the seems – figuratively speaking, as my reserves were endlessly deep – the cosmic entity having left me with enough life energy to give myself another Omega-level ability.

Omega.

The absolute peak that any mutant wished to reach, though I knew that things were not as they seemed. Omega-level mutants were not equal to each other, as even amongst them there existed massive gulfs of power.

Being an Omega-level mutant meant that one represented the absolute upper limit of one's classification, meaning an Omega-level telepath represented the peak of telepathic powers, at least theoretically.

This however also meant that the inherent advantages of one power over another were still present even amongst the Omega-level.

Thinking about it, I realized that I found it hard to rank my Shield Creation and Manipulation amongst the many powers that existed.

The simple fact that my shields could make any kind of telepathy ineffective against me could mean that it was higher ranked than telepathy, but on the other hand, my shields couldn't allow me to read another person's mind or manipulate their memories.

I also couldn't use it to control the weather like Ororo could, but I could probably suppress her Weather Manipulation if she stepped into my shielding radius.

Thinking about it from another perspective, I knew that most mutants were limited by their physique, which determined how far they could truly go with their powers. In a sense, even Omega-level mutants had a hard limit.

I was different though. With Self-Creation, I could break this limit by expanding my mind and raising my physical capabilities endlessly, excavating the true potential of my shielding powers.

Simply thinking about the destruction I could unleash once my mind and body had reached the superhuman level, made a chill crawl up my spine.

Furthermore, my shields were supposed to be the strongest of their categorization with no conceivable limit to the-

Suddenly my whole body froze. Eyes wide, I sat there as if I had been struck by lightning.

"Elijah? What's wrong?", Jean inquired, seeing my reaction.

Sighing audibly, I couldn't help but laugh at my own stupidity.

"How blind I have been … ", I lamented as I raised my palm and concentrated for a moment, focusing on what I wanted to invoke intently.

Jean, realizing that I seemed to have figured something out, stayed silent as she watched me with curious eyes, her slender figure still leaning against me, while wearing one of my black hoodies along with a tiny pair of jeans shorts and dark-green socks, her fiery hair and fair skin an eye-catching contrast to the dark material of my sweater.

Suddenly, after a few moments of suspenseful silence, a small flame bloomed into existence atop my palm, shaping itself according to my imagination – a coin-sized circular shield.

Inhaling sharply, Jean turned her head and looked at me, her eyes filled with astonishment. She knew I hadn't given myself a pyrokinetic power, which could only mean that what I had just done was an advancement of my pre-existing shielding powers.

"How?", she questioned, almost whispering.

Smiling lightly, exhilaration blooming in my heart, I answered: "My shielding powers were never limited to creating and controlling psionic energy constructs, or influencing reality through my ethereal barriers. I just realized that I have been subconsciously choosing between the two, instead of truly exploring what I was capable of."

"Fire, wind, water, pure psionic energy. Elements, or different kinds of energies, there is no limit. Because I, am an Omega.", I added, a fierce light burning in my eyes as I watched the small flaming barrier in my hand turn into different elements with but a thought.