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X-Writers is a fan-fiction group intent on furthering the plots and
characters of Marvel Comic's X-Men. All characters and likenesses are
owned, copyrighted and trademarked by Marvel Comics Group. No harm is
intended. This is for hobby purposes and not for profit. 
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                     X-Writers Presents
               X-Man #14 - "The Revelations"
                    Part 4 of The Focus
                       By Andy Banks
                  Edited by Marysia


There are forces far above human comprehension in the universe. Things that
we couldn't even begin to fathom and powers that work in mysterious
fashions for purposes all their own. One of these mysterious forces is the
Phoenix Force. It is part of the universe and the universe is part of it. A
force composed entirely of energy, it draws it's sustenance from the matter
of the cosmos. It is in touch with everything in the universe from the
smallest microorganism to the largest of the suns. 

Now imagine, if you will, suddenly becoming a part of the Phoenix Force.
Feeling everything that it feels: the devastating draw of a black hole, the
presence of a stone across the galaxy, and the consciousness of every
living being across the stars. The influx of knowledge and awareness of
every living thing in the existence is maddening. That is why the Phoenix
Force selectively chooses its host bodies. Rarely can a host withstand the
manifestation without their brains turning to so much mush.

Even for the strongest hosts which the Phoenix Force can occupy, the
adjustment is confusing and lengthy. Not more than 5 minutes ago, Madelyne
Pryor accepted the power that is the Phoenix Force. She is adapting at the
moment, but the distraction of those who would use her is keeping her from 
properly adjusting. 

Madelyne has a different outlook now that she shares consciousness with the
Phoenix Force. The careful plans of her allies and enemies are revealed to
her with a thought.

"No one is going to control me this day. It is I who will control you."
Madelyne says. 

With a gesture, she psionically freezes everyone around her in their
tracks.

"Belasco and Selene. I must admit that I owe you an iota of thanks for
showing me my hidden potential. Not only my latent telekinetic abilities,
but the offering of the Phoenix Force. However, it was foolish to think
that I will be controlled." Madelyne announces while walking around the 
pair.

Belasco and Selene each take a gulp and look at each other. Selene
contemplates using her psychic draining abilities on Madelyne in order to
draw enough strength to contain her. Before the thought can be processed
fully, she hears Madelyne's psionic voice in her head say 'That would be 
unwise'.

"And Sinister... my maker, if you will. I understand your motivations now.
>From the very start, you weren't even interested in me... you were
interested in my offspring, and created me for that purpose only. How base
of you" Maddie says as she turns and walks toward Nate.

"And... ironic. Nate and I share more than just a friendship I see," she
says as she circles him.

Sinister, as always, says calmly "Madelyne, you are a fool to think that
you can understand my reasoning, but..."

"NO SINISTER!" Madelyne interrupts, "It is you who is the fool now. You
probably do not even understand how it is that I am standing here before
you. I should be dead. As a matter of fact, I was dead. Now I understand
how I came to be here, and I understand how you got here Nate."

"Madelyne... what happened to you?" Nate pleads.

"I have found power Nate. Power which even diminishes your own and burns
brighter than the hottest super-nova. I have found power beyond my wildest
imaginations, and I will use it as I see fit." Madelyne says, "No one will
stop me Nate, not even you. I'm sorry Nate..."

"Maddie! Don't..."

Nate is interrupted by coursing pain throughout his body. Madelyne lifts
her hands and points them palm-first towards Nate. Telekinetic fire
crackles around her body and arms and then shoots towards Nate, engulfing
him. 

"Oh no... I'm not going out like this," Nate thinks to himself, "this is
not Madelyne... something is possessing her and forcing her to do this. She
is the last person I could trust, and I'm going to get the Maddie I once
knew back, whatever it takes." 

With that thought, telekinetic lightning charges around Nate. Nate looks
Madelyne in the eye, and a war is waged. A war that cannot be seen and can
only be felt by a select few psions in the world. Nate and Madelyne now
fight their battle on the psionic plane of existence, which some have 
called 'The Astral Plane.' The battle is chaotic. Two extremely powerful,
inexperienced, and strong willed individuals battle for control of each
other. They recklessly lash out with psionic energy, ripping the fabric of
the Astral Plane itself and jeopardizing its integrity, which is key to
every telepath.

Madelyne is fighting a dual battle. The Phoenix Force yearns to take over
her spirit and destroy Nate once and for all, but Madelyne thirsts for
power as well. Not only is she fighting her only friend, she's fighting the
Phoenix Force for control of her soul, making her skills much less
formidable than they should be.

"This is not right," Henry thinks to himself, "I cloned Madelyne from the
DNA I stole from Sinister with the intent of having her destroy him, but
she escaped. That's when I discovered Sinister's other creation and chose
him to help her complete the task. Now my rambunctious red-headed renegade
is battling the boy instead of Sinister. This is not right. I must break
the two apart before they destroy each other."

Henry dangles from a fire escape, precariously gripping the metal with his
oversized toes. He reaches up toward a pouch on his sheer metal trousers,
and unsnaps it. A small device drops from the pocket and Henry gracefully
snatches it from its free fall. He pushes a small button on it and throws
it in the window to Selene's chambers.

Henry swings upward and bounces up the fire escape like a monkey swinging
from the trees. He mumbles, "I should've known that this would be just like
the breeding pens... if you want to kill one, you might have to kill a few
in the process."

Just as Henry somersaults from the rooftop to an adjoining building, an
explosion literally blows the roof off of Selene's building. Henry rolls
closer to the lip of his safe rooftop to avoid the debris.

Nate opens his eyes, afraid of what he'll see. Surprisingly, he finds
himself once again on the street and looks around in confusion. He was so
consumed by his psionic battle that he didn't even notice that the
explosion had not only ended the battle prematurely, but knocked him 4
stories to the street below. He looks up and sees Selene's building, 
destroyed and engulfed in flames. He looks around impatiently and stands
up. He hardly notices the Parisians screaming. Those who were still asleep
got a nasty wake-up this morning.

In the distance, Nate sees Sinister walking calmly away from the
battleground. 

"I should go after him," Nate thinks, "But I can't go after him, I've got
to find Maddie. Selene and... what was his name? Tabasco? They did
something to her mind. She's not the same Maddie that I used to know, she's
changed. If the building didn't explode I probably would have lost that
psychic battle with her. But it wasn't even her that was fighting me
though, it was the Phoenix Force. It was... power. Funny, that's the only
word I can think of to describe it. But Maddie didn't really want to fight
me, I could feel it in her. I wonder why she was resisting. Even then, I
could finally psi-tap Madelyne's mind. I couldn't before because of all the
feedback, and that weird monster that sprang from her psyche back in that
Swiss cabin. That interference has separated now, and I could see the true
Maddie; a bitter, spiteful woman who's thirst for revenge outweighs her
rational thought. I have to stop her before she develops into another...
Apocalypse."

"I've been looking for you, Nate," comes a voice from behind him.

Nate whizzes around and sees a small, robed individual standing in a dark
alleyway. 

"Who are you?" Nate demands.

"Who I am is not as important as who you are. There are things that you
don't even know about yourself Nate. You need to know them... or you will
fail in your attempt to stop the Phoenix."

"How do you know about Madelyne?" Nate demands again.

"Listen to me Nate. It is imperative that you listen to me for your sake
and for mine. You come from a different reality. One where Apocalypse ruled
the world and destroyed it into his twisted dream. If you don't want to see
that happen to this world, you will listen." says the enigmatic figure.

"Go on then," Nate replies.

"You came from a reality which was not meant to exist, and therefore was
destroyed. It was a small hiccup in the fabric of time. Your reluctant
friend Henry is also from your world." the man says.

Nate's lifts his brow, showing his surprise.

"Though you came to this reality only a few weeks ago, Henry came to this
reality almost 30 years earlier. In your world, he was Apocalypse's
geneticist and created the army of Apocalypse. He sometimes went by the
name 'Beast' and was the underling geneticist for Sinister."

"Henry was... is... THE Beast?" Nate gasps. 

Nate's mind flashes back to what seems like only a month ago. He sat around
a campfire with his father figure, Forge, and his troupe of freedom
fighters. He remembers how everyone was listening intently to their new
ally, Essex, as he told tales of the atrocities at the hands of The Beast.

     'The Beast is one of the most cruel and insane of all of Apocalypse's 
     Prelates. His job is to come up with a better brand of mutant, the 
     fittest to survive if you will. The Beast takes his job very
     seriously. When I was there, he killed 400 humans in one experi-
     ment, and last I had heard, he killed 1000 more before he realized
     that a loose wire was causing the failures. Beast single handedly
     killed more people than anyone else in all of history. Why? Because he
     could.'

"My god" Nate gasps.

"You haven't much time... listen to me" The robed figure says as he looks
around, "Madelyne Pryor is a clone of Jean Grey... your mother, Nate. She
died several years back and was re-cloned by Beast. He stole her DNA from
Sinister's labs a few months ago. Beast planned to have her destroy 
Sinister, but she managed to escape from his grasp. Now Beast is using you
to get to Sinister."

"I'll get to him alright."

"Wait... Sinister is not the focus here. He has motives beyond our
comprehension. Belasco and Selene tricked Madelyne into trusting them, and
they have unleashed in her the full potential of the Phoenix Force. A force
which you cannot defeat Nate. It is far too powerful for you and is needed
in the future. Do not battle the Phoenix Force, Nate... your enemy is
Madelyne."

"But..."

"What is... is, Nate. The future of this entire world depends on you right
now. If the Phoenix Force is allowed to remain unchecked by a dark soul
such as Madelyne, it has repercussions in the distant future. One where
Apocalypse rose to power and the nightmare that you lived, will come to 
be once again. Put your doubts behind you Nate Grey. You will need all your
strength right now."

"....."

"It is overwhelming, but you are at the centre of all of this Nate. You are
the centre that connects all the pieces of this puzzle. You are the focus
Nate. The focus of a wheel of people: Sinister, Madelyne, Belasco, Selene
and Beast.  The focus of a potential turning point in history, and even 
though you don't know it, you are now the focus of an entire family."

"....."

"I must go. This is your golden hour Nate. The world is depending on you,"
the cloaked figure says as he turns and starts to walk away.

"Wait! Who are you?" Nate asks.

The mysterious stranger turns his head and lowers his hood, "I'm called
Blaquesmith... and we shall meet again."

He turns and lifts his hood once again and walks into the shadows of the
alleyway. He takes a deep breath and exhales loudly. Muttering to himself,
he says "That was one hell of a pep-talk if I do say so myself. Didn't
think I had that in me. I'll bet he's wondering how I know all of this. Oh
well. Bright Lady, be with Nate now... the future of the Chosen One is
suddenly thrust in his hands."

Nate watches as the Blaquesmith disappears into the dark shadows and then
looks back to the top of the burning building. He wonders if Madelyne
survived the explosion. He hopes that she didn't, so he would be spared
from the inevitable confrontation. He also hopes that she did, because the
two of them shared a fantastic friendship in the short time that they were
together. He knows, however, that she did survive and that he must face her
now, and that the words that Blaquesmith spoke are somehow true. Nate
prepares to fly up the battle ground. Suddenly, a young man steps right in
front of Nate, leaving only a few inches between the two.

"Ho there Nate Grey."

"You!" Nate says with a smile.

"Please, call me Adam. X-Treme if you like. 'You' is so impersonal," Adam
says while returning the smile, "I heard the explosion and came to find the
cause. When I saw you here, I thought that maybe I can return the favour
you did me earlier this morning."

"Thanks but this is gonna be one hell of a fight. I can handle it myself,"
Nate says

"Ah! A fight. You might find that I can be some use then. You have my
allegiance whether you accept it or not. You saved me, the least I may do
is help you." Adam says.

"Okay then... Adam" Nate says. 

Nate looks up again and finally senses what he is seeking, Madelyne. Nate
takes a deep breath. Deep down, he knows that this will be a battle the
likes of which he has never fought before. For the future of this world and
for the fear of another Apocalypse regime, Nate must battle a woman who 
closely resembles his mother. He must battle the one person in this new
world who he could trust. She has betrayed that trust, and things will
never ever be the same for either of them.

**************************************************************************
To Be Continued....
Next issue: Nate vs. Maddie in the final showdown in a battle of epic
proportions in "The Ultimate Sacrifice" -- The Final Chapter of 'The Focus'

-- 
    *Marysia*   | "But it's bad and it's |  "Let him kiss me with the
  Keeper of the Laby- | mad and it's making me | kisses of his mouth: for thy
 rinth Flame and Holy | sad because I can't be |  love is better than wine."
  Virgin of Scotland. | with you." Cranberries |    Song of Solomon 1:2
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