The Prince vs The Phoenix - 2

Prince Lockett vanished in a blink. Wolverine looked around cautiously his eyes bucked. He looked up to Phoenix who stood confidently, a smirk on her veiny face, wind still encircling her. On her shoulders appeared Prince in another blink, "Hi there!"

He pulled Phoenix's hair, and hovering through mid-air swung her around by her locks several rotations before releasing her. She tumbled to the ground as he did, then immediately looked back up at him, but he was gone. She flung her coat from her body with her powers and walked next to a car. She looked around her and spotted Wolverine who had stood in the same spot since seeing the Royal Prince. Absolute astonishment was smeared across his scruffy face. Phoenix could sense Lockett's presence growing closer.

He blinked into sight; standing inches before her. He rose and kicked her in the chest with both feet; she crashed against the car, then against the wall of the building. She stood to her feet and her eyes expanded in darkness, flames ignited around her body and she rose into the air. Prince continued to levitate into the air, watching Phoenix rising higher than him. She sent a firebird soaring down at him squawking loudly and echoing across the island.

Prince spread his arms out beside him and the bird dissected in two. He sent the flames out to the suspended waters encircling the island; engrossing the land in a foggy steam.

Phoenix rose higher into the air and the flames grew larger. She squawked louder like a powerful bird and illuminated the island with her orange-yellow glow. She soared around the island faster and faster, her searing flight becoming so rapid that she seemed to transform into a blurry ring of fire. Even The Prince seemed to be impressed by her feats.

Suddenly fireballs spewed from the ring of fire above the island like a hail storm. They rained atop the remainder of the building and over the ground.

Wolverine ran for cover underneath one of the building's balconies. He could still see Lockett hovering twenty feet over the ground. He was officially as confused as a cactus in a desert thunder storm. He still couldn't gauge whether or not the child was good or evil, here to help or destroy Jean. And even if he did destroy her, what were his plans next? He didn't know what the boy was capable of, but he was actually a bit frightened.

Lockett flew up above the circle of fire; the thousands of fireballs chased behind him -- from a distance it appeared like a fiery ribbon dancing in the sky.

"Uurhhhh!!" Realizing there was no escaping them, Lockett turned back down to the fireballs and forced himself through them. The Phoenix's fire wasn't any regular fire. It was so hot; it was like they were conjured from the depths of the hottest hell. He caught Phoenix in a telekinetic grasp and flung her through the roof of the building ending her reign of fire

"I don't think I ever liked you," he said through gritted teeth as he lowered himself into a lab in the building. The room was all white; the floors and walls, one of which in particular had a large hole in it.

Lying on the floor was Juggernaut; totally comatose. Phoenix lifted herself from the floor with her powers, as Lockett lowered himself to the floor across from her in front of the hole in the wall. He didn't look his usual jolly self and his face had soot marks upon it.

"I am fire made flesh," Phoenix said, her voice echoing throughout the room. "I am... PHOENIX!"

"And I don't care. You killed the professor. All he wanted was to help you control yourself. If you really tried, you could cooperate and coexist with Jean."

"I don't need to be controlled! I am power incarnate," she said, every word spoken with heavy force.

"Yeah, and you're so powerful but so stupid that you selected a weak vessel to inhabit yourself within. You couldn't even pick one that could contain your power properly," Lockett said with equal aggression. "You are a fool!"

"I'll show you a fool you little runt," she said and looked down at Juggernaut. He immediately opened his eyes, stood to his feet and looked across the room at Prince.

"Who is this, your pet?" he asked mockingly.

"Yes," she said deeply.

"Good idea," he said.

Juggernaut began running toward him. Lockett snapped his fingers and a big, muscular Hulk blinked into sight; ripped denim shorts and wild black hair, a ferocious scowl and clenched teeth. He was big green and several notches above mean. He instantly grabbed Juggernaut before he could reach Prince, and swung him around by his arm, throwing him through the hole in the wall beside Prince—who ducked out of the way—and crashing into the next room, then turned back at Phoenix ready to attack.

"No!" Lockett barked. "Him! Now!" he said and pointed. The Hulk ran to Juggernaut and they started brawling like Acme Steroid pumped wrestlers. Lockett glanced in the room and pointed his finger; Juggernaut's helmet disappeared from his head, "That's better."

From the hole in the ceiling dropped Wolverine. Phoenix saw him and promptly took over his mind. He looked down at Lockett and whipped out his claws, SHLING!

"Now Phoenix, do you really want to give me a reason to melt his ass to scrap metal?"

Suddenly Lockett was jerked across the room and against the wall. Phoenix smirked wickedly at what she'd done.

"Sneak attack huh?" he said with excitement, a slight amusement on his face. He snapped his fingers, "I got somebody for you tin man," in a blink through mid-air appeared a man in a blue and red costume; Spiderman pounced onto Wolverine's back and kicked him to the ground.

"Get him Spidey!" Lockett cheered.

Spiderman began bashing Wolverine's head into the floor. "Get up you weakling," squealed Phoenix. Wolverine slashed Spiderman on his leg and kicked him back. He jumped to his feet and the two men attacked each other; leaps and kicks, swipes and slashes flew, but Wolverine couldn't quite keep up with Spiderman's acrobatics and was kicked into the next room. Juggernaut and Hulk had destroyed much of the facility that they'd fought through and were still going at it.

"You know the difference between you and me Phoenix?" his Highness spoke. "I don't focus my attention on power. You focus on power. I like balance. I feed on strength and life. You feed on death and destruction, because you are a mere child. You're so foolish; you picked the first weak body you found. How do you think you got in so easily?"

"And you?" she said sternly. "Look at your body. I'm at least a fully developed form. You chose a child's body."

"Your youth and ignorance continuously shows itself. I chose the highest form I could conceive. I replicated a human who was already powerful. My vessel was built with strength, endurance, and power. Jean could barely manage her own powers, why would you think she could contain much less control yours?" he said with confidence. "I'm sure Mother is very disappointed in you."

"I have heard enough!" she shrieked. "I'm hungry."

Phoenix combusted into flames and ascended through the ceiling. Lockett knew what was up, "No!" He flew through the hole behind her.

Phoenix rose into the dark night sky, her appetite for additional destruction fueled by her battle with The Prince. She ascended beyond the earth and into space, then soared rapidly toward the sun.  As she reached the corona, the sun itself opened its eyes, they looked like none other than Prince Lockett's.

"NO!!!" Phoenix cried.

The face of Prince Lockett giggled childishly and spit a large fireball at her from his mouth. The ball trapped her within it and darted back down to earth landing in the ocean. Phoenix broke free from its hold when hitting the water and lifted herself back to the edge of the island.

Suddenly Lockett blinked in front of her, his hands around her neck with a strong hold. "You know what else is so flawed about your vessel?" he asked. Phoenix looked at him with scared eyes; muted. "You're no longer a pure child of the universe when you inhabit these humans. You have to share office space."

The blackness in Phoenix's eyes contracted and Jean reemerged a desperate look in her eyes, "Please, help me!" she plead.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Lockett put his hand over Jean's heart and her body transformed into shining chrome. A hole in the ground opened and he lowered her shining form into the earth and recovered it.

"Back where you belong," he said.

He blinked back to the site of Phoenix's destruction upon the island. He hovered over the ground as the facility rebuilt itself from the ground up. The X-Jet reformed, the cars, lamp poles, and even the military soldiers and mutants reformed within a matter of seconds (only to blink away again). The fires were extinguished and throughout the lab the "cure" containers melted and evaporated. No more cure.

From the lab doors walked Hulk followed by Juggernaut who'd been released from Phoenix's mental control. Hulk approached Lockett who lowered himself to sit upon Hulk's big, planty green shoulder, "Thanks big guy." And Hulk nodded.

"Let's see Wolverine do that," Lockett said.

Suddenly the wind picked up and landing next to him was Storm. She looked at him and around the island with wonderment. She couldn't believe how quickly everything had been recovered. She had watched the spectacle from the bridge as well as the other civilians and mutants; even Magneto.

"Wow," she said softly. "How… How did you do that?"

"Nothing to it really. It just takes practice I suppose," his Greatness responded looking down at her. Hulk knelt down on one knee so that she and Prince were at eye level. "I think it's time for you to get back to work. You'll be a great new headmistress for the school."

"I can't thank you enough for your help," Storm said with tears in her eyes.

"It was my pleasure, truly," he responded and held his hand to her. She put her hand up to his and he kissed it gently sending butterflies through her belly. The blue flame upon his fez expanded and consumed his form and he disappeared in them.

Beast approached Storm slowly having watched her and the little boy's interaction, "By God, who was that child?" Storm began to shake her head in uncertainty, her heart still racing from his touch.

Hulk responded in a soft and deep voice, "Prince Lockett."