The Rise of the Blue Phoenix

Chapter 5: History

Storm led Ashley throughout the halls of the school building, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to make sure she was still following. Ashley was in awe of the school, stopping every few seconds as she saw pictures of the students. Alas, there were newspapers and a certain picture that caught her attention.

THE DAILY PROPHET
COULD THEY BE OUR HEROES?

A faded but coloured picture underneath was shown, showing the original X-Men. Three of them she recognized; Jean Grey, on her right was Scott Summers, and the third being Storm. A tall man with a weirdly shaved beard stood there with a frown, and a bald man was in a wheelchair, smiling at the camera. But she then realized that the newspaper was torn.

"Back then, we were well-known as the famous X-Men, and we were one of the best," Storm said, smiling ever so slightly, "Your father fought with Logan a lot. Both loved your mother very much."

"So she was popular with the boys?" Ashley teased. Storm chuckled, "I believe so."

Underneath, Ashley saw another newspaper.

THE DAILY PROPHET
ATTACK OF MUTANTS: HEROES OR VILLAINS?

         
"Your mother was driven mad by the Phoenix Force. Magneto, a mutant who used to be Xavier's friend, tried to control her for his own gain, but was unsuccessful," Storm said, her heels clicking against the tiles, "The Phoenix Force had killed Scott, and then Jean's body disintegrated to dust when Logan stabbed and killed Jean."

Ashley frowned as she stared at the news. Storm noticed the young girl visibly upset, but said nothing against it, only placing her hand on Ashley's shoulder. "I can only say that you resemble them in many ways. You look a lot like your father, yet I can still see the Jean in you."

"Is there any way I can talk with this...Logan?" Ashley asked nervously. Storm shook her head. "I would let you, but he went missing several years ago."

Great, everyone I need to talk to is dead or missing, Ashley thought to herself.

Ashley called upon a small flame of comfort, letting her calm her nerves ever so slightly. Storm looked at Ashley in fascination, causing Ashley to look at her confused. "What?"

"Jean hasn't ever tried  manipulating any of the elements, so it's new and exciting for me, I apologise for intruding on your personal space," Storm replied, taking several steps back. "What else can you do?"

Ashley let the flame go out as she held her quartz delicately, "I don't know. A friend of mine made this necklace so I could learn to control what my current powers contain: Elements, telepathy, telekinesis, Force fields, and now... I've got all the Infinity Stones in my blood, so I have to learn to use them..." That's when a thought struck her. "Where were you..? When Thanos came to Earth, where were you?"

Storm looked down at her feet, shuffling them. "We...we weren't at all nearby as we were also dealing with our problems amongst ourselves. But I'm curious to know: How did you survive and where did you live when you weren't here?"

"I was found by an assassin who took me in... everything. I was raised by the Avengers, and now since they are gone... I became the new Avengers' Leader. But I have yet to learn about my powers, but that's not what matters. Jean Grey was brought back to life." Storm stared at Ashley with wide eyes filled with worry. "What? How?"

"But it's not Jean, it's the Dark Phoenix, and she seems to have a personal vendetta against me." Ashley rubbed her arm, her sadness clear as day. Storm nodded her head in understanding. "How long do we have?"

"What?"

"The Dark Phoenix wanted to wipe out humans for the mistreated mutants. It craved revenge more than anything. It will try to kill all human life as we know it, and if it's too far along, maybe it would take mutant lives as well. Because the Phoenix Force is a celestial being, not a random mutant skill one would have. Jean Grey was the only known mutant to have been able to control it, until Dark Phoenix took over.

"Even with your powers, you'd need to be able to use them all without going mad, which might not be possible, but it's not completely impossible. Not to mention, you have Infinity Stones in your blood, which makes it harder, stronger. No one would be able to survive that."

"Gee, thanks for the encouragement," muttered Ashley, which reminded Storm of Scott. "Sorry, but I'm being genuine. If you are able to control all, then you would be worshipped as a Goddess."

"But I don't want that," Ashley said, crossing her arms over her chest, shaking her head, "I just want to be a normal Avenger. Nothing more."

Storm smiled bitterly, "Life won't ask you what you want, and so you'll have to learn to adapt with what it gives you."

Ashley nodded, "Thank you for your time, Professor Storm."

Suddenly, an explosion was heard. "She's here," Ashley said, her voice wavering as her gaze was at the window.

Then, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the air.