C22 : The Phoenix.

When Nick opened his eyes he was in his mind-scape, Atlas's was still standing tall with his hands up, but the sky was filled with black clouds that crackled with red lightning, at times the red lightning would strike the mountains and cause quake's and landslides to happen on the mountains, Nick could feel himself getting tired and stressed when his mind-scape was being hit by the lightning.

He looked around and saw Kurama in an attack position, he was crouch down ready to strike and he was showing his sharp teeth as he growled at whatever he was preparing to attack.

"Kit, what is this thing? It just suddenly entered your mind and I'm getting a dangerous feeling from it." Kurama asked Nick as he moved closer to him, at the same time he was still ready to attack as he looked up at the black clouds.

Nick teleported on to the top of Kurama's head, between his long ears and said, "It's the Phoenix, a force of nature that's taken form, it's this worlds version of you, it pops from host to host trying to find one that can contain it's powers but it always ends up with the host destroying themselves when they become power hungry because of its overwhelming power." Nick explained to Kurama as he waited for the Phoenix to show its self.

The red lightning in the black clouds came together and formed the shape of a bird in the air, the Phoenix, its body was 1/4 smaller then Kurama, but it's wings were much larger and they nearly blocked out the entire sky, it's entire body was covered with flame's and they seemed to cover the Phoenix like a second skin.

"How do you know so much about me human?" The Phoenix asked Nick as it glared at him and Kurama, it also seemed to be trying to do something but looked frustrated when it couldn't.

"I can't read your mind or memories, I've never in my entire existance met a being who could shut me out, neither have a have I met a creature that was like me," It said as he looked from Nick to Kurama, "What are you?" It asked Nick after it landed on the ground, in the creator, around 50 meters away from them.

It tucked in its wings and raised its head as it looked across at Nick who was now sitting, cross-legged on Kurama's head, he just stared straight back in its eyes, for a couple seconds nothing happened and they all sat in silence looking at each other, Nick then said to Kurama, "Kurama you can relax, it's not going to attack, not when it wants something from me." Kurama continued to stare at the Phoenix for a couple seconds more before he too sat down, but his tails continued to move as of to say his mood, he wasn't happy right now.

"You can read my mind because of that big guy over there," Nick said to the Phoenix as he pointed to Atlas, the Phoenix turned its head to look over at Atlas and as it was lookin up and down Nick continued, "He protects my mind and holds it together, now for your other questions... this is Kurama, the nine-tailed fox demon, he is an existance like you but I made him using my own energy as his body and then my memories to give him life, you would represent life and passion of this universe he would be the representation of hate and rage but that doesn't mean that's all he feels, I'm sure you can relate." Nick said as he gave the Phoenix a looked that said I know all your secrets.

"How do you know so much about me?" The Phoenix asked again as it ignored Nick's look.

"Because this universe is just the creation of a man's mind come to life, and I just happened to be reborn in it." Nick didn't jump around the truth and just told the Phoenix straight.

"What do you mean? Are you saying we are all just fake things, figments of a man's imagination?" In said with anger in its voice, it's fire flaring up.

"I don't know, in my old world this world and universe was just that fiction, but after I was reincarnated and have lived in this world my whole life I can help but see it differently, maybe a wondering god decided to put the story of this world into the man's head so that my world could find out about it through him or something else, I don't know but I do know that we are alive and I'm happy with that even if this is just someone's imagination." Nick told the Phoenix aa he looked at his hands and at the Phoenix.

Hearing Nick the Phoenix calmed down and sat down once again and it seemed to be thinking about what Nick just told it, Kurama too was deep in thought over what Nick said.

As they were thinking to them selves Nick shouted out, "You hear that Author!" At the same time he pointed at the sky in anger.

The Phoenix and Kurama both looked back up at Nick with confused expressions and then at each other, they shared a certain looked that seemed to say, 'He's gone crazy.'

"Who are you shouting at?" Kurama asked Nick.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I'm just breaking the 4th wall, Deadpool does it all the time." Nick explained, but Kurama and the Phoenix both looked at Nick as if he was crazy and he didn't explain anything.

"So, what did you want? I only showed off Kurama's powers to get your attention and too see what version of this universe I was in." Nick asked the Phoenix.

"What version?" The Phoenix asked.

"There are parallel universes that are like this one but there are differences between them, for example in another universe you are not sentient and are just Jean Grey's or someone else's powers." Nick explained.

The Phoenix Nodded its head to Nick and then spoke, "I entered your mind to find out if you are a compatible host for me, seen as you already have a sentient being living inside you, and so I have decided to live here from now on, congratulations Nick Stark, you are now my host." The Phoenix said to Nick as it held its head up and puffed it's chest out as if making Nick it's next host was a high honour.

"Huh?" Nick exclaimed without thinking as he made a dazed face, Kurama just frowned at the Phoenix.

"What do you mean I'm your new host?!" Nick shouted at the Phoenix.

The Phoenix just frowned at Nick's question, "I'd thought you'd be happy to be made my new host, the last one was never going to last, but you will, it's the most logical choice I could have made in this situation." The Phoenix explained.

Nick calmed down and just nodded, "Ok, well I need to get back to the real world before that mind reading bast*rd tries to enter my mind again." Nick told the Phoenix before he left his mind.

After Nick faded away, Kurama and the Phoenix were left by them selves in Nick's mind-scape, they just looked at each other awkwardly before Kurama said, "So~ What to go watch some of Nick's memories, we can watch some movies from his old world." Kurama asked the Phoenix.

"But how? Nick said Atlas protects his mind." The Phoenix said as he looked at the giant golden man holding up the sky silently.

"Oh, we can just ask for permission from him." Kurama said before he turned to Atlas and shouted out, "Can you bring out the John Wick movie memory."

A second later the golden glow coming from Atlas flared and then a ball of light floated up from the ground and then enlarged it's self into a gigantic rectangular screen in front of Kurama and the Phoenix, they both turned and sat so they were facing the screen next to each other, the screen just so happened to also be facing Atlas.

...

Nick opened his eyes to the site of Kurt's dark blue face that was centimetres away from his, "Why the hell are you so close?" Nick asked Kurt as he used one of his hands to grab Kurt's face and push him back.

Nick then stood up from where he sat down, he looked around the kitchen and saw his grandpa, Charles, Hank, Jean, Storm, Kitty, and one more, a young brown haired boy wearing red tinted sunglasses, they were all look at Nick when he stood up.

"What? Do I have something in my teeth?" Nick asked as he opened his mouth and wiped the front of his teeth.

"What was that? That giant bird made of fire." Logan asked Nick as he stepped towards him.

"Oh, that, it was just something that has been around since the start of the universe, the Phoenix." Nick said as if it was a common know fact.

Everyone looked at Nick in shock, but Jean spoke up, "What was it doing in me?" She asked a little scared.

"You were it's host, that's why your powers are so strong but you can forget about that because it has chosen me as it's new host, apparently we make a good fit." Nick explained as he shakes his legs to get rid of the numb feeling from when he was sitting down for so long.

"What?" Jean exclaimed dumbstruck and surprised, she then tried to use her powers to more a plate on the kitchen island, it lifted up into the air but at the cost of great strain, effort and focus from Jean.

Seconds later the plate came crashing down, Jean looked shocked and upset, she then looked up at Nick and she suddenly became like a cornered tiger, angry and very fierce, "ARRR! I'll kill you! Give it back!" She screamed and shouted at Nick as she climbed up on to the island and then jumped at Nick, her face was filled with rage and her eyes blood shot.

'Haah~ She always is power hungry isn't she.' Nick thought to himself as he opened his third eye behind his bandana and used it's new enhanced telekinetic power's to hold Jean in place in the air above the island, she was still trying to claw at Nick with her nails as she shouted threats at him, mainly ones about how he's a blue four armed freak and he should die a painful death, but Nick just ignored all of it as he knew that it was just her thirst for power talking.

But everyone in the kitchen didn't know that, they looked at her differently, especially Hank and Kurt, they had dealt with such threats before; about their particular skin colour, but they just didn't expect those threats to come from someone they know and live with, and who they have entrusted their lives with when they went on dangerous missions.

Charles and Storm looked disappointed in Jean, Logan angry, it was his family that was being threatened after all but he wouldn't hurt Jean, he wouldn't hurt one of the kids at the school, that was his bottom line.

Kitty looked at Jean as if she was disgusting and she hugged herself when she listened to what Jean was shouting at Nick, the words she was saying made her skin crawl, she moved closer to Nick so she was standing next to Nick and she reached out and held his bottom right hand as a form of support, Nick held her hand back.

And the teen with red tinted sunglasses looked shocked, this was of course Scott Summers, "Jean! Stop!" Scott shouted at Jean.

She heard him and seemed to look around and realise what the actual situation was when she saw the looks everyone else was giving her, she turned to Nick and looked him in his eyes coldly, "Put me down."

"I will but first I'm going to tell you what would have happened if you kept using the Phoenix's power, just so I can say I warned you." Nick replied to Jean.

Hearing that Nick was going to speak about what made Jean so powerful before Charles's ears perked up, he wanted to know just what the thing Nick called the Phoenix was.

"If you kept using its power it would have slowly torn you up from the inside, at at the end when it finally killed you and blew you up, and I mean literally, your soul would have also been destroyed or it might survive, but that would have to be if the Phoenix wanted it to or not." Nick explained.

Jean seemed to ignore Nick's explanation and her eyes shot daggers at him when she asked again, "Then what makes you so special?"

"You can say that I was made to house such things." Nick said, he then moved Jean from the air back down to the ground, where she was before she tried to attack him, next to Scott who held her by her arms.

Jean took one more cold look at Nick before she shook off Scotts hands and stormed off, Scott soon followed her looking distressed.

As this was happening Charles was left thinking about Nick's words, about the Phoenix and what type of existence it is and what makes him different, his mind couldn't help but go to those red eyes he saw when he entered Nick's mind, seconds later he connected the dots, 'Nick has another powerful existance in his body just like the Phoenix and he's able to use both their powers freely, my god... ' He thought horrified, as he looked at Nick.

"Well I've got to go." Nick said as he let go of Kitty's hand and gave her a big hug, she returned it in kind.

He let go of Kitty and turned to Kurt who looked to be still sad from Jean's threats, "I'll see you next time little brother." He said as he hugged Kurt, Kurt was surprised but quickly returned the hug.

He then moved on to Logan, he gave him a really big hug, lifting him off the ground, which surprised everyone in the room because they knew how much Logan weighs because of his metal skeleton, "Keep working on your memories and once you get the ones about me back give me a call and we can maybe visit the old couple together." Nick told Logan, who just looked confused.

He turned to Charles, Hank and Storm who wear watching Nick say his goodbyes together in a corner of the kitchen, "Change your ways and I'll stop calling you a peeper." He said to Charles, who just frowned at Nick, Nick then looked at Hank, "Sorry for knocking you out, I'll make it up to you later after all the I got to look after a fellow brother." Nick said to Hank, trying to cheer him up, and by brothers he was referring to people with blue skin, or fur in Hanks case.

And at last he turned to Storm who was trying to avoid eye contact due to their last interaction, "Don't let me hear you thinking about me in that way again." He said before he teleported away.

A bright red blush spread across Storms checks, everyone else just looked away as if nothing had happened.

...

Nick had teleported back to his room and as soon as he appeared he fell on top of his bed in pain, 'What's happening to me?' He said in mind.

'I'm bonding with you and my energy is mixing with yours and because your my perfect host I decided to mix move of my energy into you then I would others, there should just be a few changes to your physique.' The Phoenix explained to Nick.

"What?!" He exclaimed surprised, but then a spike of pain shot up his spine making him bite down Hart to stop from screaming.

'What changes?!' Nick thought in his head.