Chapter 080 – Crippled

[2009 – July]

'A temporal Shield?'

Hearing the Mortal God say these words, the Phoenix didn't know if it should be impressed or terrified. As a nigh-omnipotent being, it knew that an ability such as that was something only a handful of beings had ever possessed.

The ability to shield himself from temporal interference was incredible, and the Phoenix knew that Elijah had truly embarked on his journey toward eternity.

There was a strange sense of pride that resonated in its heart, an echo of her inheritor's emotions, and the Phoenix couldn't help but smile to itself at Elijah's progress, even knowing that these were Jean's emotions in part.

As a cosmic entity, it had seldom interacted with mortal beings, or any being for that matter, as most of the time the Phoenix had just stayed in its domain and had made sure that all of creation was kept in balance.

Elijah and Jean were the first mortals 'she' had interacted with after an uncountable number of years, and 'she' felt strangely close with the both of them, being invested in their progress and happiness in a way the Phoenix had never experienced before.

With Jean being her inheritor that wasn't too strange, though Elijah had managed to gain her interest the moment he had appeared in Jean's life. His calm and decisive demeanor, as well as his gentle and caring side, were wonderful to watch and experience, so the Phoenix didn't even try to block the resonance between her and Jean.

Laying its mountainous flaming body to rest in the White Hot Room, a somewhat soft look in its blazing eyes, the Phoenix continued to watch over the two lovers, Jean's joy being her joy and Elijah's success being her pride.

…

Waking with a start, Charles opened his eyes as the phantom sensation of his mind being consumed by fire caused him to cry out and flail about in fright.

It took several minutes and a light sedative that had been administered by Hank for him to calm down and realize that he was fine and alive.

Taking in calming breaths, he listened to Hank and Ororo recount the events that had followed his comatose episode, though the longer he listened the more prominent the grimace on his face.

Exhaling deeply, Charles couldn't even begin to explain how wrong things had gone after his X-Men had gone to the Massachusetts Academy.

Hearing that Scott, Kurt, and Sean were still in the medical ward while Laura had left the school entirely, made him realize that the losses from this operation had been extremely substantial, not to mention that Cerebro had been destroyed completely during the retaliatory strike of the entity living in Jean's mind. The Blackbird likewise had not survived the encounter with Elijah Frost.

From what Ororo had told him, Logan had also been hit heavily by Laura's departure, his mood having been either depressed or highly irritated the last few days while his alcohol consumption was worrying even for him.

Still, the fact that Elijah had so easily taken down two of his most veteran X-Men and three exceptional recruits while most likely holding back, was a frightening show of power.

The footage, salvaged from the miniature cameras that had been installed in all the uniforms, had been rather enlightening for the threat assessment of the young Frost.

The incredible control and destructive power Elijah possessed as well as his willingness to utilize both of those things ruthlessly and without hesitation, reminded Charles of his old friend. Erik had been the same with but one exception – he did not possess Elijah's frightening talent.

Awakening his powers just a few weeks ago, Elijah had already proven himself as an Omega-level mutant, something that had taken Erik and himself decades of training.

Charles knew that while his X-Men had the best intentions, their rather brash decision to confront Emma and the Hellions had most likely destroyed any chances for a peaceful reconciliation between Jean, Elijah, and himself, which was clearly a major loss when it came to his goals of peaceful coexistence with humans.

At this point, he didn't even know what had happened to Jean after he had been assaulted by that fiery entity.

Tentatively reaching out with his telepathy while still laying in the hospital bed, knowing that his projection range should be enough to reach the Massachusetts Academy even without Cerebro, Charles suddenly screamed in agony as a sharp burning pain assaulted his mind when he attempted to use his abilities.

Panting heavily while holding his temples, the old telepath was horrified as he realized that he hadn't just been attacked by the entity living inside Jean. His mind had also been crippled, and he had no idea if the damage could be reversed or healed.

For the first time in decades, Charles was without his telepathy, and this rather simple fact terrified him more than he cared to admit.

…

"I think you should find a hobby.", Jean voiced out quietly as she rested her head on my abdomen while we were laying in the grass near the Hellion Mansion and just watched the clouds pass by.

"I have a hobby, several even. You know I spar daily with Laura, experiment and train with my power, and I am also currently learning my tenth language.", I replied while drawing soft circles on Jean's abdomen.

"Those are not hobbies, Elijah.", Jean countered with a light laugh, as she turned around and slowly moved up to lay herself across my chest, her beautiful flaming hair forming a curtain around us as she stole herself a soft kiss.

"A hobby is something you do just because it is fun, something you do not do just because you think it might come in handy someday. It's something that just helps you relax and makes you happy.", she added with a smile, her fingers brushing gently over my cheek.

"Hmm. You help me relax and make me happy.", I replied with a mischievous smirk, my hands finding their way to her perky backside, "Can't I just do you, my love?"

"Well, I am not saying you can't … ", she giggled quietly and stole herself another kiss, before moving back slightly and looking down at me with care and love in her vibrant green eyes, "But don't you think it would be good for you to just find something that you can enjoy without having to bleed while doing so?"

Her words were clearly aimed at my rather bloody sparring sessions with Laura, as well as my self-enhancements, and I knew she might be right.

Since coming to this world, I had been in a constant state of vigilance, planning and worrying about the future while spending almost my entire time on increasing my power or gaining knowledge. And while this had been, and still was, necessary, considering the threats that I knew to be out there, finding a hobby might be a good idea.

My mind might be enhanced and was several times stronger than that of a normal human, but that didn't mean that I couldn't feel mentally exhausted, anxiety and worry wearing me down.

Jean's loving presence had helped massively in enabling me to maintain my focus and productivity, as with every minute I spent with her I could practically feel the stress and tension being cleansed from my mind.

I knew she worried about my well-being and she was right that finding a hobby might help me relax some more, though I would have to find something productive as I simply refused to waste my time with video games. Though maybe I would consider those once I was already invincible.

Still, there were tons of activities I could choose from that would help me broaden my skill set while being enjoyable, playing an instrument being a good example.

I had always wanted to learn the piano but had neither the time nor the money for lessons, both of which I now had.

"You are right, my love.", I voiced out while smiling up at the red-headed beauty looking at me with such tender eyes. Cradling her cheek with my palm and gently brushing my thumb over her soft and flawless skin, I continued: "It would probably do me good to find a hobby that has nothing to do with combat or studying, something normal."

"Though until I have found a new hobby, I am afraid I will have to insist that you help me with 'relaxing'.", I whispered with a teasing smile, as I moved my lips towards hers for a kiss.

"Anytime.", she voiced out quietly just before our lips met, a gentle smile on her face and a bright happy light in her verdant eyes.