Rachel Summers (marvel_girl) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-06-10 19:54:00

Entry tags:

inactive - arron wyatt, inactive - dream catcher, inactive - izzy starsmore, inactive - zachary cheney-guthrie, misha loganovich, plot-"x-men in spaaace!", rachel summers, team - x-men, tsunami

Birds of a Fire
Galactus was gone, Chandrillar had been saved. The Throneworld of the Shi'ar Empire and its royals were safe. Saved by the efforts of the X-Men and the former guardian of the M'krann Crystal, the Phoenix.

The Phoenix, bonded to Rachel Summers of Earth, daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey, the former host of the Phoenix, counterpart of another Rachel Summers who had also hosted a measure of the Phoenix's power.

The same Phoenix the Shi'ar had tried to kill or enslave numerous times. The same Phoenix a rogue faction of the Shi'ar had so feared, they'd tried to kill the entire Grey family and would have, if not for the timely intervention of the X-Men.

As Rachel rejoined the others, still surrounded by a corona of cosmic flame, she could feel the unease from... well, virtually the entire world.

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	marvel_girl 2010-06-14 11:06 pm UTC (link)
	There was a moment of indecision from the Phoenix's part. Time and time again, these people have done you wrong. And time and time again you come to their defense. Why? What purpose does it serve?! A weaker, telepathic message started to reach out to Starbridge and the X-Men. Help... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	_tsunami_ 2010-06-15 02:11 am UTC (link)
	"Because we have to be better than them and it's not right to kill no matter the circumstances." Cait kept pulling as much water as she possibly could to extinguish the fires. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	aaronwyatt 2010-06-16 02:17 am UTC (link)
	“Come on don’t do this Rachel,” Aaron says doing what he can to help out. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mishaloganovich 2010-06-16 02:27 am UTC (link)
	"Rachel!" Misha tried to draw closer to her. "Your dad can't lose you like this, not after your mom! Bring it down and let's go home." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2010-06-16 10:16 am UTC (link)

Lucas had to wait - it was difficult, but he had to wait until Rachel truly lost control entirely, until her perceptions were largely those of her sleeping mind as the Phoenix overwhelmed her, as her consciousness and conscience became, effectively, the Phoenix subconscious.

As soon as he feels her mind, Lucas enters the 'dreams' of the Phoenix where it remembers the mortal it pretends to be, and finds Rachel Summers.

"I heard the call for help... but Rachel, you don't need it. The Phoenix can't exist without you, it needs a host. You need to remind it of that. For all its apparent power, the force is NOT stronger than you... it needs you, you don't need it. Remind it of that, be willing to surrender everything it gives you... threaten to kick it out of your mind... remind it who is in control."

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	marvel_girl 2010-06-17 01:33 am UTC (link)
	The Phoenix continued its assault, attacking the Shi'ar, the Guard, anything that drew near enough. One blast, pulled at the last second, would have fried Misha, if something hadn't redirected it. ...Lucas? Is that you? So hard to... hear anything. I can't... it's... gonna kill everyone... Sorry... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dream_catcher 2010-06-17 01:36 am UTC (link)
	"I'm here, Rachel. Its not going to kill anyone. Reach out for me first, follow my voice. I'll help guide you all I can. You're going to take control back. I have faith in you." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marvel_girl 2010-06-17 01:54 am UTC (link)
	Rachel could at least pick up on Lucas's presence. But everything else, it was like being a spectator in her own body. She could just manage to influence small things, keeping the Phoenix from killing Misha for one. I... okay. She reached out as best she could, trying to get a lock on Lucas. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dream_catcher 2010-06-17 03:32 am UTC (link)
	"Good. Now, have you ever travelled astrally, Rachel?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marvel_girl 2010-06-17 10:11 pm UTC (link)
	"Never. Just some basic telepathic communication and sensing." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dream_catcher 2010-06-17 11:09 pm UTC (link)
	"Ok, I want you to focus then, follow my lead. I'm going to take you... and with you, the Phoenix there where you can confront it directly... you'll see what I mean... it won't be able to hurt you... it needs you more than you need it... it will back down. If you trust me, take my hand." His dream form reaches out towards Rachel's self-image. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marvel_girl 2010-06-17 11:32 pm UTC (link)
	Rachel reached out, grasping for Lucas's dream form's hand, making contact. As she did, her mind still raced, reaching for other connections... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_shiar 2010-06-17 11:39 pm UTC (link)
	As soon as she reaches out, Starbridge is there. "Thank you, Lucas. Rachel, you can handle this." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dream_catcher 2010-06-18 12:12 am UTC (link)
	Lucas extends his mind into the astral plane. As a place defined by psychic energy, effectively, dreams, he's always felt comfortable here. But today, its not him that's important. He reaches for the psychics, trying to draw Rachel into the astral form with him, confident that where her psychic mind goes, so too will go the Phoenix. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

marvel_girl
2010-06-18 01:07 am UTC (link)

If any word could be used to describe the state of the astral, it would be fire. The flames of the Phoenix raged everywhere, burning brightly without actually touching anything, leaving Rachel, Lucas, and Starbridge untouched.

"Stop this!" Rachel yelled. "Stop this! This isn't right!"

The Phoenix coalesced to answer her. Is this not what you wanted? Do you not cry out to smite those who have done your line so much wrong? Should they not be punished?

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	dream_catcher 2010-06-18 01:21 am UTC (link)
	"See, Rachel? It responds to your emotions. Find your center, calm yourself, take control. The Phoenix needs a host. Focus your mind and tell it you will abandon it if it does not reign in the destruction... and mean it, and it will." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mishaloganovich 2010-06-18 03:21 pm UTC (link)
	The psychic connection wasn't so comfortable now, but Misha was there when she reached out for them. Got faith in you, Rachel. You can do this. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_shiar 2010-06-18 09:26 pm UTC (link)
	Starbridge nods in affirmation. "And do not let it confuse you with talk of your impulses. What you may want on some level is irrelevant to what you decide will happen." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

marvel_girl
2010-06-18 11:53 pm UTC (link)

The Phoenix focused its attention entirely upon Rachel. Listen not to them. They are brief mortals. I am the well-spring of infinity, the Phoenix, as eternal as life itself. Drink from my wisdom, that we may right all wrongs done to us...

It reached out for Rachel with its wings.

"No!" Rachel threw up a hand, putting her not inconsiderable on their own mental powers forward, blocking it off. "You want me? You want to be a part of me? We do it by my rules."

Child, your own mother could not control me. Your sister tapped into only the smallest fraction of my power. You are neither of them. Give in to me. You know it to be the right thing to do.

Flames from the Phoenix lashed out, engulfing Rachel's psionic form, burning away "flesh." The flames continued lashing out, until it looked as though there would be nothing left of the X-Man called Marvel Girl.

Or it would have, if the seen had not abruptly changed. The flames were still present, but they seemed somehow much smaller against the giant yellow glove that reached out to grasp around them and the Phoenix. The giant yellow glove that belonged to the giant hand that belonged to the giant Rachel.

A bubble of psionic energy wrapped itself around the bird, forming into a cage. "I don't need to be a god. But you are a part of me. Like my sister before me... I accept a measure of your power. But I will be me, not some extension of you. You need me, not the other way around. Phoenix. I cage you."

The cage crackled with energy for a moment as the bird flared and roared.

"And now... I set you free. And cast you out."

The cage dissolved and the bird flew off, as though shot from a cannon, propelled by the power of Rachel's mind. Small embers of the Phoenix remained, dancing about her like feathery wings... but there was no more hint of cosmic terror around her.

Just as abruptly, the world flashed back to reality... with Rachel very unconscious and plummeting toward the ground.

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mishaloganovich
2010-06-19 12:25 am UTC (link)

It seemed like a collection of gasps went off in his head as Misha dived to catch Rachel. It wasn't graceful. He grabbed her body and the onboard computer take him into a controlled fall to keep from the head ringing abrupt stop.

He reached the surface but didn't put her down. Wary of any attack from the guards, he remained ready to launch the two of them back into the sky.

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nextgen_shiar
2010-06-19 12:52 am UTC (link)

As soon as his eyes opened, Starbridge reached for the control device to his little ship, still sitting in the open hanger bay of the larger one.

The doors opened.

"Misha! Take her to the ship, please! Before someone does something stupid again." He gestured to the rest of the X-Men to suggest going, too.

"I am taking them home," he tells the still-somewhat-dazed and blinking guards torn between shock and attempts to look over the damage from the now-stopped fires. "And in case you think of doing something stupid en route, may I remind you that I will be there until they are safely home, and I am an only child."

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dream_catcher
2010-06-19 11:49 am UTC (link)

Lucas did what he could to help shape the astral realm to Rachel's benefit while there, to subtly help her along and reinforce her perceptions, but it had to be something she did.
After the confrontation really began, his main goal had to be survival, since, strong as he is on the astral plane, it was still the Phoenix, and he was still very much present. By the time its over, he's going to have a lot of self-healing and meditation to do to recover, but his astral form slowly follows the tether back to his body before he awakens, and promptly passes out.

Well worth it.

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	_tsunami_ 2010-06-20 02:08 am UTC (link)
	Cait kept pulling water from the air and from nearby sources and worked to put the fires out. There were so many and she was just one person. She felt her strength starting to falter. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mishaloganovich 2010-06-20 02:54 am UTC (link)
	Misha did as directed and took Rachel directly to Starbridge's ship. He set her down and stood guard outside with their unconscious teammates inside. It would be classic for the guards to attack now. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nextgen_shiar
2010-06-20 04:31 am UTC (link)

As the guard also put forth some effort towards that, instead of Something Terribly Unwise, the fires were indeed extinguished.

Seeing that Rachel and Lucas had been gotten to the ship, Starbridge again called to the others as he headed over there himself.

Best to get them back on the way before the shock wore off, as much as he would like to insist they be given the appropriate rest and medical treatment on Chandilar.

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marvel_girl, 2010-06-20 10:05 pm UTC

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nextgen_shiar, 2010-06-21 12:40 am UTC

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marvel_girl, 2010-06-21 01:06 am UTC

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nextgen_shiar, 2010-06-21 01:27 am UTC

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mishaloganovich, 2010-06-21 02:04 am UTC

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