FIC! Rising of the Phoenix
Title: Rising of the Phoenix
Rating: PG for nakedness?
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur established relationship, Gaius
Word Count: ~4,000
Disclaimer: Not mine. D: BBC and Shine's.
Summary: Based on X-Men: The Last Stand for reel_merlin. Scott Summer!Arthur and Jean Gray!Merlin discover the Phoenix (who is roughly Morgana. Don't hit me). Warning: mild dub-con nakedness
Notes: I apologise in advance for what-the-fuckery, mild crack, lack of real science, lack of backstory and the ending. About the ending, I can only say that it was meant to be longer, but I honestly couldn't decide on the ending. There WILL be a sequel. Possibly two, with alternate endings. >_______> Basically, I AM SORRY FOR WHAT THIS IS. *hides*
Arthur rubbed his head gingerly as he peered at the targets. The area he had been injured in was mostly healed now, the only remaining evidence being a small scar where Professor Gaius had stitched him up and a bit of tenderness. The real problem wasn't his head, but rather his mutant powers. When he'd been found, he had seared everything within his vision with his laser eyesight, and it had refused to stop blazing when he wanted it to like usual.
The special reflective glasses that Professor Gaius had made for him were the solution. His colour vision was sometimes tinted a little red (Merlin had laughed, and said that Arthur could view the world through rose-tinted glasses now), and he attracted strange looks for wearing sunglasses indoors at night, but he was no longer dangerous. The only problem was that he was having trouble adjusting to the special battle lenses Gaius had come up with. His aim was a little off, and it was disconcerting to have to press a button every time he wanted the lasers to emit.
Walking back from the practice room, Arthur sighed. He was getting better though. He'd be back to action-ready in a few days, he estimated. Merlin had said that was a good thing, not that he wanted Arthur back on the front lines of battle so quickly, but Arthur was like a mother hen when it came to the X-Men. He fussed over who was going to get hurt, and who would lead when he wasn't there, and he was driving Merlin crazy.
Speaking of Merlin, Arthur smiled as he walked into their rooms. Merlin was flopped on the bed, an arm over his eyes. He peered out from underneath his arm as Arthur came in, and grinned. Arthur bent over to press a kiss to Merlin's lips, adjusting his head accordingly so that his lenses didn't clunk Merlin in the forehead (another little adjustment he'd had to make, and he was still scared that he'd accidentally trigger them one day and burn perfect circles into Merlin's lovely face). "What's wrong? Why aren't you watching the babies?"
Merlin snorted, and elbowed Arthur in the ribs. "They're not babies, they're new recruits. And they're only a few years younger than us, Arthur. They'll be fighting alongside as in a few months, depressing as that sounds."
"Scary, you mean," Arthur said, lying down and pulling Merlin toward him. "That Colossus kid, he's taller than anyone I've ever seen and he turns into metal. I'm scared he's going to accidentally break me when his aim is bad." Merlin pinched him in the arm. "Ow! I mean... Percy is a lovely chap. Anyway, why are you here?"
Sighing, Merlin relaxed into Arthur's arms. "I feel nauseous. A bit ill. Gaius and I were looking into some stuff regarding my powers, and yo know how you feel a bit off-kilter after he's been in your head. We did a lot though, so he said I should take some time off."
-
Merlin screwed his eyes shut as he visualised the chair in his mind. Before Gaius had worked through his mind, lifting a chair would have been easy. He could have lifted it without raising an eyebrow. Before, his powers had pooled around his mind, swirling and bending to his will whenever he had wanted them. Now, it was as if he had to power his power through a funnel and channel it into doing exactly what he wanted. It was, he supposed, exactly what control was about. The chair wobbled, and Merlin frowned, trying to imagine the chair lifting steadily up off the ground. Instead, it toppled over. Merlin let out an exasperated breath, one he had not even know he was holding, and scowled at the chair before righting it. When he had arrived, he had been one of the most powerful mutants in the school. He still officially had a Class V rating. The other pupils had seen him lift an entire classroom of chairs and desks, with the other kids still in them. Sometimes, when they were just hanging around, they would ask Merlin to toss them something that was across the room. It had been convenient.
Merlin rubbed his head; it was starting to hurt. It was like previously all the information had come to him practically unheeded, and now he was struggling to eke it out of himself. Maybe this was what it was like having learning difficulties, knowing that there were things that could be done easily; except for him it was worse, because he had already experienced and grown up with having the power at his beck and will.
Stomping out of the practice room, Merlin almost felt like a fraud. The room was metal lined, with 6 inch thick steel-reinforced doors. They were made to protect anyone outside from any dangerous happenings on the inside, like explosions and fire, and there he was pathetically trying to lift a chair. Merlin left the room behind, glancing at the clock and heading for the kitchen instead. He had missed lunch, but he didn't really feel like eating. He poked around in the cupboards instead, rejecting everything that was inside even though the place was generously stocked, and stomped outside in the hopes that the sunshine would cheer him up instead.
Merlin lay on the ground, languishing like a wilting flower or a maiden who had waited a few too many years for her prince to arrive. A shadow crossed his face and he opened his eyes into a squint. "...'Lo," he said faintly. Arthur smiled, and sat down beside him.
"Self-imposed exile again?" Arthur asked, threading his fingers through Merlin's hair and somehow managing to worm both his legs under Merlin's head.
Merlin shrugged awkwardly. "I'm not trying to be anti-social. I just still feel a bit ill." He rubbed the side of his head, the part that felt empty inside. "Any time that I want to use my powers, all that's left in its place is fuzziness and headaches," he groused, curling up around Arthur's legs like a grumpy kitten.
"Are you all right?" Arthur's voice was laced with concern, and his hands moved to Merlin's hair, stroking through it and rubbing his scalp.
Merlin smiled wanly. "I'm fine. Just recovering. I barely feel like a mutant anymore."
"You still look like one though," Arthur said. "It's those ears of yours." He grinned, and Merlin chuckled feebly in return.
-
Arthur stretched, and closed the training room down for the night. This area was already off-limits to most of the younger students by this time of night, and the corridors echoed as he walked back to their room. He peered in to see if Merlin was sleeping and started to smile at the lump under the duvet. His smile slid off his face when Merlin sat up though. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he whispered. "You should go -"
"I can't sleep, Arthur." Merlin's voice sounded drawn and feeble. Arthur strode over and knelt next to the bed, smoothing Merlin's hair back. He frowned; Merlin's skin was clammy and his body was trembling.
Arthur fumbled for the lamp. "Are you ill, Merlin? You were fine earlier..."
Merlin shook his head, and then whimpered as if that very motion had triggered more pain. "It's the headaches. It hurts, Arthur, I want it to stop." Arthur's scowl deepened as he tried to wrestle Merlin back into a supine position.
"Stay here, let me go get Professor Gaius," he said soothingly. "He can do something to make the pain better." Arthur stroked the top of Merlin's head, pulled the duvet back up and kissed Merlin on the tip of his nose like a small child, trying not to wince at the look of pain in Merlin's eyes. "I'll be back in just a moment," he promised.
Merlin closed his eyes and added sadly, "I could have done it myself."
Pursing his lips, Arthur maintained his calm demeanour until he was out of their bedroom before legging it to Gaius' room, yelling with his mind on the off chance that the old man was awake and could hear him. "Professor," Arthur tumbled in with nary a knock, shaking him awake. "He's got a headache and it won't go away." He realised how pathetic it sounded, and quickly added, "It's something to do with that thing - that thing you with him. It hurts where his powers used to be. Please come, you're the only one who knows what's wrong."
Gaius blinked sleepily at Arthur for only a second. Decades of being prepared for war helped him to switch from sleep to fully alert, and he pulled a dressing gown around him as he followed Arthur down.
"Merlin?" Gaius frowned as he saw Merlin, pulled into a tight ball and rocking slightly. "Arthur, get some of the spare blankets and one of the sleeper darts. We've got to stop this." Arthur stepped around to get to the wardrobe, and Gaius positioned himself near Merlin's head. Pressing a hand to the damp hair, Arthur could feel Gaius' mind pull away from them. It was strange, how they never noticed Gaius' continued monitoring of the whole school until that light pressure was diverted somewhere else. He wanted to ask if Merlin would be all right, but he was sure that Gaius needed his attention on Merlin right now.
Arthur's hands shook as he took out one of the sleeper darts, things he normally used for non-mutants who attacked them or young mutants a danger to themselves and everyone around them. He'd never thought about using one on Merlin before. He lined up the gun and pressed. A soft snick! sounded and Arthur started to put the gun away, watching Merlin carefully as he did so. It took only seconds before the chemicals started to work, and Merlin's tense form lay limp on their bed.
"Let's get him down to the wards, so I can see what's going on properly," Gaius said, his forehead wrinkled. He offered no explanation, and Arthur bit his lip as he refrained from asking. The Professor would tell Arthur as soon as he knew what was going on, Arthur was sure. Heaving Merlin into his arms was easy, because Merlin was a slim little waif of a mutant, and Arthur bundled him down into the hospital wards quickly. The wires and various monitoring systems were alien to Arthur, but he helped Gaius as best as he could, squeezing cold goo onto Merlin's chest before taping electrodes on. He grabbed few spare blankets from the next bed over, two for Merlin and one for himself as he crammed himself into a chair and prepared to wait out the night.
Gaius looked up briefly from the electrodes he was sticking to Merlin's forehead and frowned in disapproval. Arthur shrugged; he was staying right here as Gaius worked, and they both knew it. With the scientific equipment set up, Arthur at least had the reassurance that Merlin's heart was beating a regular number of times and his brain seemed to be working, because then Gaius focussed entirely on Merlin, stooped over his head with his brow wrinkled as he silently used his powers.
Shivering, Arthur rubbed his arms and felt the fuzz of the tiny hairs standing on end. He was a little chilly, perhaps, because he had given the majority of blankets to Merlin and because he knew that it was easier to stay awake if he was a tiny bit cold, but that wasn't why he had goosebumps. There was something in the air.
-
"Merlin? How are you feeling?" Arthur leaned forward sleepily as Merlin stirred. His back protested, having been uncomfortably wedged into the chair for the past few hours. His eyes flicked up to check Merlin's vitals, which all seemed normal. It looked like that sleeper had just worn off naturally. "Merlin?"
Merlin sat up, shaking his head. "Well, that does feel much better," he grinned, stretching his long body out. He followed Arthur's gaze to the machinery, and negligently pulled all the electrodes off himself with one swipe. The machines all started beeping loudly, and Arthur started. "Hello... Arthur, is it?"
"Mer... lin?" Arthur frowned. Merlin hopped off the bed and pulled his hospital robes off. "Merlin!" Arthur squawked. He was hardly averse to seeing his boyfriend naked - and had done a fair few times - but seeing him pad comfortably around the hospital ward starkers as he looked for some clothes was a bit strange.
"Is that all you can say?" Merlin turned back to look at Arthur and then leant over the bed for the clothes on the other side. Arthur couldn't quite decide whether to press his face into his hands in abject embarrassment, or stare unashamedly. He ended up peering through his fingers. "I'm not Merlin, by the way." The words dropped casually into the silence, and all Arthur could think for a moment was Oh god, Professor Gaius made him insane. Merlin leant on the bed, and crooked a finger for Arthur to come over in a decidedly un-Merlin like gesture.
Arthur tentatively stepped forward. "What do you mean? What's happened?" His mind started racing over possible situations. Merlin's mind had been taken over. Maybe that would explain the headaches. Or something had taken over Merlin's body. Or taken Merlin's shape. Or Merlin had gone mad. No - Arthur bit his lip as he silently examined the person in front of him. Merlin had not gone mad. He needed Professor Gaius to come down here right now; he was specialised in mental abilities, he'd be able to help. PROFESSOR! HELP! PLEASE, COME DOWN TO THE WARD! SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH MERLIN! He thought desperately.
Merlin cocked his head, examining Arthur in a similar way to how Arthur was scrutinising him in return. "Well, this is Merlin new and improved now." He latched his arms around Arthur's neck and tugged; Arthur choked and stumbled forwards, pressed chest-to-chest to someone who looked like his Merlin - and had acted like his Merlin only a few hours before - but was completely different now. There was just something... off. He tried to pull back, but Merlin's fingers had curled into his hair, keeping him there. "You can call me... Pheonix." Merlin arched upwards, pressing an intrusive kiss to Arthur. Arthur gasped in shock, and Merlin -- Pheonix -- took the opportunity to slide his tongue into Arthur's mouth, groaning filthily as he did so.
"Mnnnrgh," Arthur tugged hard, finding it disturbingly familiar and yet uncomfortable as his hands placed on Merlin's bare chest in his attempt to level himself away.
"And I thought that you loved me," Merlin pouted, hooking his skinny legs around Arthur's hips so that he came with Arthur as Arthur backed away. "I thought you loved fucking my arse. We only fucked this morning, you know." He tipped his hips forwards, grinding into Arthur's hips as Arthur tried to pry him off as if he was a clinging kitten.
"Oh my God," Arthur spluttered. "I do, er, enjoy having sex with... Merlin. But. You're not Merlin. Who the hell are you, and where is Merlin?!" He wondered how long this impersonator had been here. Merlin had seemed extremely... normal, usual, this morning when they'd been having sex. His mind was screaming for help, not just for Professor Gaius but because he didn't know how to deal with this... this wanton form of his boyfriend. His body was reacting just as normal, which was to say that his cock was starting to get erect as Merlin -- Pheonix -- ground into him, and his back was protesting even more with both unexpectedly carrying Merlin and the strange contortions Arthur was putting it through as he tried to get away.
"I am Merlin, Arthur," cooed Pheonix into Arthur's ear right before he bit his earlobe sharply. Arthur yelped in alarm. "I am Merlin as he should be. Powerful. The most powerful Class V mutant you've ever known. I could move this entire school for you, you know. This is who I'm meant to be."
Arthur backed right into another bed and toppled over backwards with a grunt. His eyes connected with Pheonix's for a moment, just a second, and he shuddered. His eyes were gold, the same gold that Merlin's were when he used his powers. But he wasn't using any powers right now. They both tumbled over the bed and Arthur took the opportunity to shove Merlin away from him. Merlin's skinny body slammed into the wall and Arthur winced, already feeling guilty that he had hurt his boyfriend before remembering that that wasn't his boyfriend right now. Merlin snarled at him, naked body unfurling across the bed and Arthur took the moment to flee.
Slamming the automatic doors shut and locked after Pheonix, Arthur pounded the ground to the Professor's rooms, never more glad for his consistent athletic training than now. "Professor!" Arthur yelled. A jumble of words tumbled out of his mouth, incoherently and panicked. He tried to tell about how Merlin, his Merlin, was gone, and there was some shameless hussy in his place, who said that he was Merlin, and went by Merlin's codename, and it looked like Merlin, and he knew about things that he and Merlin had done together and he was so confused.
Gaius looked startled by Arthur's ramblings, and sat up immediately. "Arthur! Where is he now?" he shouted, and Arthur knew that it was bad. Professor Gaius never shouted.
He heaved with heavy breaths. "He's in the hospital - I left him there, and I- I- I needed to get you." Arthur stopped talking as the entire room started to shake. "Whoa!" He vividly flashed back to when Merlin told him that he could move the entire school. "Oh, crap." He swore and dashed back down towards the basement, Gaius close by. Distantly, he heard glass smashing.
Arthur skidded to a halt in front of the hospital ward, and merely gaped. The reinforced steel doors were opened, pushed apart was if they had been made of paper. He peered inside, and found the usually pristine room completely wrecked. Even as his mind boggled to wrap itself around the situation, his legs propelled him down the corridor. They were starting to burn as he followed the obvious trail of destruction. Chunks of carpet lay in miserable tufts, chandeliers rolled haphazardly down the stairs and doors looked as if they had been kicked in so hard that they had completely unhinged. In the study, an entire bay window lay in shards, the rain whipping into the room. Arthur could scarcely believe that his Merlin, gentle awkward Merlin, was capable of this. He had known -- they had all known -- that Merlin was powerful, but the person that Arthur knew would not have flaunted it like this.
"I've got to go after him," Arthur said as the Professor caught up. "I've got to... stop him. Because he hurts himself." He paused. "Or other people." A chill settled over him as he said it, somehow knowing that Pheonix would hurt people. Pheonix didn't care. Merlin cared. He turned, aiming towards the armoury. He was going to need his battle equipment, and it wasn't just so that he could stop Pheonix. It was because he needed to be able to protect himself; he wasn't so stupid to think that Pheonix wouldn't hurt him.
Professor Gaius grabbed him by the wrist, and Arthur made to impatiently shake it off. "Wait, Arthur. There are things you need to know. You need to know who Pheonix is."
Freezing, Arthur stared. "Youknow? Who is he? And why the hell is he in Merlin?" He demanded, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. He swallowed. "Was this anything to do with what you did to Merlin?" He asked quietly. He thought back at Merlin's behaviour after his meetings with the Professor, and something else rose in him.
Gaius looked around the room, and quickly steered Arthur out and into another side room. "Merlin's power was erratic, dangerous. You know that. He couldn't control it, and it was affecting his ability to do anything else. He was always powerful, but the control started disappearing. It was like his mutant gene demands to be dominant, to show its ability to the effect of encumbering some of his other abilities. I offered to block out some of his powers. At least for a while, Arthur. Let him learn control over a small part, and then add more into it."
Arthur dropped his head into his hands. Perhaps he would have stared, but he couldn't face the Professor right now. Professor Gaius had taken him in when he had been a freak. Had taken him in and even adapted his ability after his head injury so that he could still use his powers and lead a normal life. He had encouraged them all to be a mutant proudly, if not always publicly. To think that he had suggested, encouraged, even facilitated taking away Merlin's powers... Arthur felt a hard seed of resentment curl up inside his chest. "And it went wrong?" He asked dully.
"No, it went fine," Gaius sighed. "Merlin and I finished the procedure a few days ago, and he was starting to adapt to life not using his powers." Arthur nodded - that was when Merlin had stopped using his powers, and he had never once thought that it was because Merlin couldn't have. "But then the headaches start."
Gaius took hold of Arthur's hands earnestly. "You must understand, Arthur. Merlin agreed to this, and it was never a permanent... binding. But the power doesn't like to be held back like that. It kept pushing, and pushing." The old man looked his head, and for the first time, Arthur saw him as an old, tired man who had seen too much he had not liked and done too much he did not approve of in his attempt to pave the way for mutants.
Arthur swallowed. "It broke free then. Merlin's... power. You make it sound like a live animal, Professor. It's not. We're mutants, it's a scientific mutation. It doesn't think for itself."
Shaking his head, Gaius started to lead the way towards the armoury. "Merlin is different, Arthur. Merlin is... Merlin is beyond a Class V. We call him a Class V mutant because the classes only reach up to V. He's a Class... a Class VII, a Class VIII, Arthur. His power is beyond anything scientists have ever studied, because he is the only one like him. I've looked into his biology, trust me. His mutant gene is, is," Gaius struggled for words.
"It's different. It might even be a different mutant gene, who knows. His power isn't just a power like yours is. It's a part of him as much as his personality is. Unfathomably biological, but biological nonetheless." Gaius opened one of the cupboards, and passed Arthur a stun gun.
Arthur gripped it so tightly that the tips of his fingers turned white. "How do I get Merlin back?" He asked with a grim determination that dared Gaius to say that he didn't know. "He was Merlin before, a few days ago, with all his powers. He's still there."
Gaius sighed. "I can use Cerebro," he said, referring to the construction he had built to amplify his own mutant brainwaves. "I can remove all the blocks I put in Merlin's brain. He'll be the same as before. You have to know that I don't know what will happen though, Arthur. It could just be shaking off the last of Phoenix's restrictions, and..." He shook his head helplessly.
"I'll try anyway." Arthur pursed his lips. "I'll keep my uniform comm radio on, let you know when I'm close."
"I wish I could go with you, my boy," Gaius said quietly, squeezing Arthur's hand. Arthur nodded curtly, his feelings towards the Professor still tumultuous, and headed for the garage. As he passed the doors of his friends, he hesitated. Then he pressed a hand to each of their doors, and hurried on. This was his to handle alone. Phoenix was too dangerous for anyone, and he knew Gaius understood, despite his usual teachings of teamwork. He turned around once as he left the school to see Gaius looking out through the broken window at him.
That cold seed of distrust was there, but he understood this time, more than ever, how difficult it was for him to consistently send the young mutants out into battle every week, every day, knowing it was to their likely deaths, and stay behind himself.
Leaning forward as the motorbike roared into action, Arthur headed for the hill that overlooked the town. It was Merlin's favourite spot.
Rating: PG for nakedness?
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur established relationship, Gaius
Word Count: ~4,000
Disclaimer: Not mine. D: BBC and Shine's.
Summary: Based on X-Men: The Last Stand for reel_merlin. Scott Summer!Arthur and Jean Gray!Merlin discover the Phoenix (who is roughly Morgana. Don't hit me). Warning: mild dub-con nakedness
Notes: I apologise in advance for what-the-fuckery, mild crack, lack of real science, lack of backstory and the ending. About the ending, I can only say that it was meant to be longer, but I honestly couldn't decide on the ending. There WILL be a sequel. Possibly two, with alternate endings. >_______> Basically, I AM SORRY FOR WHAT THIS IS. *hides*
Arthur rubbed his head gingerly as he peered at the targets. The area he had been injured in was mostly healed now, the only remaining evidence being a small scar where Professor Gaius had stitched him up and a bit of tenderness. The real problem wasn't his head, but rather his mutant powers. When he'd been found, he had seared everything within his vision with his laser eyesight, and it had refused to stop blazing when he wanted it to like usual.
The special reflective glasses that Professor Gaius had made for him were the solution. His colour vision was sometimes tinted a little red (Merlin had laughed, and said that Arthur could view the world through rose-tinted glasses now), and he attracted strange looks for wearing sunglasses indoors at night, but he was no longer dangerous. The only problem was that he was having trouble adjusting to the special battle lenses Gaius had come up with. His aim was a little off, and it was disconcerting to have to press a button every time he wanted the lasers to emit.
Walking back from the practice room, Arthur sighed. He was getting better though. He'd be back to action-ready in a few days, he estimated. Merlin had said that was a good thing, not that he wanted Arthur back on the front lines of battle so quickly, but Arthur was like a mother hen when it came to the X-Men. He fussed over who was going to get hurt, and who would lead when he wasn't there, and he was driving Merlin crazy.
Speaking of Merlin, Arthur smiled as he walked into their rooms. Merlin was flopped on the bed, an arm over his eyes. He peered out from underneath his arm as Arthur came in, and grinned. Arthur bent over to press a kiss to Merlin's lips, adjusting his head accordingly so that his lenses didn't clunk Merlin in the forehead (another little adjustment he'd had to make, and he was still scared that he'd accidentally trigger them one day and burn perfect circles into Merlin's lovely face). "What's wrong? Why aren't you watching the babies?"
Merlin snorted, and elbowed Arthur in the ribs. "They're not babies, they're new recruits. And they're only a few years younger than us, Arthur. They'll be fighting alongside as in a few months, depressing as that sounds."
"Scary, you mean," Arthur said, lying down and pulling Merlin toward him. "That Colossus kid, he's taller than anyone I've ever seen and he turns into metal. I'm scared he's going to accidentally break me when his aim is bad." Merlin pinched him in the arm. "Ow! I mean... Percy is a lovely chap. Anyway, why are you here?"
Sighing, Merlin relaxed into Arthur's arms. "I feel nauseous. A bit ill. Gaius and I were looking into some stuff regarding my powers, and yo know how you feel a bit off-kilter after he's been in your head. We did a lot though, so he said I should take some time off."
-
Merlin screwed his eyes shut as he visualised the chair in his mind. Before Gaius had worked through his mind, lifting a chair would have been easy. He could have lifted it without raising an eyebrow. Before, his powers had pooled around his mind, swirling and bending to his will whenever he had wanted them. Now, it was as if he had to power his power through a funnel and channel it into doing exactly what he wanted. It was, he supposed, exactly what control was about. The chair wobbled, and Merlin frowned, trying to imagine the chair lifting steadily up off the ground. Instead, it toppled over. Merlin let out an exasperated breath, one he had not even know he was holding, and scowled at the chair before righting it. When he had arrived, he had been one of the most powerful mutants in the school. He still officially had a Class V rating. The other pupils had seen him lift an entire classroom of chairs and desks, with the other kids still in them. Sometimes, when they were just hanging around, they would ask Merlin to toss them something that was across the room. It had been convenient.
Merlin rubbed his head; it was starting to hurt. It was like previously all the information had come to him practically unheeded, and now he was struggling to eke it out of himself. Maybe this was what it was like having learning difficulties, knowing that there were things that could be done easily; except for him it was worse, because he had already experienced and grown up with having the power at his beck and will.
Stomping out of the practice room, Merlin almost felt like a fraud. The room was metal lined, with 6 inch thick steel-reinforced doors. They were made to protect anyone outside from any dangerous happenings on the inside, like explosions and fire, and there he was pathetically trying to lift a chair. Merlin left the room behind, glancing at the clock and heading for the kitchen instead. He had missed lunch, but he didn't really feel like eating. He poked around in the cupboards instead, rejecting everything that was inside even though the place was generously stocked, and stomped outside in the hopes that the sunshine would cheer him up instead.
Merlin lay on the ground, languishing like a wilting flower or a maiden who had waited a few too many years for her prince to arrive. A shadow crossed his face and he opened his eyes into a squint. "...'Lo," he said faintly. Arthur smiled, and sat down beside him.
"Self-imposed exile again?" Arthur asked, threading his fingers through Merlin's hair and somehow managing to worm both his legs under Merlin's head.
Merlin shrugged awkwardly. "I'm not trying to be anti-social. I just still feel a bit ill." He rubbed the side of his head, the part that felt empty inside. "Any time that I want to use my powers, all that's left in its place is fuzziness and headaches," he groused, curling up around Arthur's legs like a grumpy kitten.
"Are you all right?" Arthur's voice was laced with concern, and his hands moved to Merlin's hair, stroking through it and rubbing his scalp.
Merlin smiled wanly. "I'm fine. Just recovering. I barely feel like a mutant anymore."
"You still look like one though," Arthur said. "It's those ears of yours." He grinned, and Merlin chuckled feebly in return.
-
Arthur stretched, and closed the training room down for the night. This area was already off-limits to most of the younger students by this time of night, and the corridors echoed as he walked back to their room. He peered in to see if Merlin was sleeping and started to smile at the lump under the duvet. His smile slid off his face when Merlin sat up though. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he whispered. "You should go -"
"I can't sleep, Arthur." Merlin's voice sounded drawn and feeble. Arthur strode over and knelt next to the bed, smoothing Merlin's hair back. He frowned; Merlin's skin was clammy and his body was trembling.
Arthur fumbled for the lamp. "Are you ill, Merlin? You were fine earlier..."
Merlin shook his head, and then whimpered as if that very motion had triggered more pain. "It's the headaches. It hurts, Arthur, I want it to stop." Arthur's scowl deepened as he tried to wrestle Merlin back into a supine position.
"Stay here, let me go get Professor Gaius," he said soothingly. "He can do something to make the pain better." Arthur stroked the top of Merlin's head, pulled the duvet back up and kissed Merlin on the tip of his nose like a small child, trying not to wince at the look of pain in Merlin's eyes. "I'll be back in just a moment," he promised.
Merlin closed his eyes and added sadly, "I could have done it myself."
Pursing his lips, Arthur maintained his calm demeanour until he was out of their bedroom before legging it to Gaius' room, yelling with his mind on the off chance that the old man was awake and could hear him. "Professor," Arthur tumbled in with nary a knock, shaking him awake. "He's got a headache and it won't go away." He realised how pathetic it sounded, and quickly added, "It's something to do with that thing - that thing you with him. It hurts where his powers used to be. Please come, you're the only one who knows what's wrong."
Gaius blinked sleepily at Arthur for only a second. Decades of being prepared for war helped him to switch from sleep to fully alert, and he pulled a dressing gown around him as he followed Arthur down.
"Merlin?" Gaius frowned as he saw Merlin, pulled into a tight ball and rocking slightly. "Arthur, get some of the spare blankets and one of the sleeper darts. We've got to stop this." Arthur stepped around to get to the wardrobe, and Gaius positioned himself near Merlin's head. Pressing a hand to the damp hair, Arthur could feel Gaius' mind pull away from them. It was strange, how they never noticed Gaius' continued monitoring of the whole school until that light pressure was diverted somewhere else. He wanted to ask if Merlin would be all right, but he was sure that Gaius needed his attention on Merlin right now.
Arthur's hands shook as he took out one of the sleeper darts, things he normally used for non-mutants who attacked them or young mutants a danger to themselves and everyone around them. He'd never thought about using one on Merlin before. He lined up the gun and pressed. A soft snick! sounded and Arthur started to put the gun away, watching Merlin carefully as he did so. It took only seconds before the chemicals started to work, and Merlin's tense form lay limp on their bed.
"Let's get him down to the wards, so I can see what's going on properly," Gaius said, his forehead wrinkled. He offered no explanation, and Arthur bit his lip as he refrained from asking. The Professor would tell Arthur as soon as he knew what was going on, Arthur was sure. Heaving Merlin into his arms was easy, because Merlin was a slim little waif of a mutant, and Arthur bundled him down into the hospital wards quickly. The wires and various monitoring systems were alien to Arthur, but he helped Gaius as best as he could, squeezing cold goo onto Merlin's chest before taping electrodes on. He grabbed few spare blankets from the next bed over, two for Merlin and one for himself as he crammed himself into a chair and prepared to wait out the night.
Gaius looked up briefly from the electrodes he was sticking to Merlin's forehead and frowned in disapproval. Arthur shrugged; he was staying right here as Gaius worked, and they both knew it. With the scientific equipment set up, Arthur at least had the reassurance that Merlin's heart was beating a regular number of times and his brain seemed to be working, because then Gaius focussed entirely on Merlin, stooped over his head with his brow wrinkled as he silently used his powers.
Shivering, Arthur rubbed his arms and felt the fuzz of the tiny hairs standing on end. He was a little chilly, perhaps, because he had given the majority of blankets to Merlin and because he knew that it was easier to stay awake if he was a tiny bit cold, but that wasn't why he had goosebumps. There was something in the air.
-
"Merlin? How are you feeling?" Arthur leaned forward sleepily as Merlin stirred. His back protested, having been uncomfortably wedged into the chair for the past few hours. His eyes flicked up to check Merlin's vitals, which all seemed normal. It looked like that sleeper had just worn off naturally. "Merlin?"
Merlin sat up, shaking his head. "Well, that does feel much better," he grinned, stretching his long body out. He followed Arthur's gaze to the machinery, and negligently pulled all the electrodes off himself with one swipe. The machines all started beeping loudly, and Arthur started. "Hello... Arthur, is it?"
"Mer... lin?" Arthur frowned. Merlin hopped off the bed and pulled his hospital robes off. "Merlin!" Arthur squawked. He was hardly averse to seeing his boyfriend naked - and had done a fair few times - but seeing him pad comfortably around the hospital ward starkers as he looked for some clothes was a bit strange.
"Is that all you can say?" Merlin turned back to look at Arthur and then leant over the bed for the clothes on the other side. Arthur couldn't quite decide whether to press his face into his hands in abject embarrassment, or stare unashamedly. He ended up peering through his fingers. "I'm not Merlin, by the way." The words dropped casually into the silence, and all Arthur could think for a moment was Oh god, Professor Gaius made him insane. Merlin leant on the bed, and crooked a finger for Arthur to come over in a decidedly un-Merlin like gesture.
Arthur tentatively stepped forward. "What do you mean? What's happened?" His mind started racing over possible situations. Merlin's mind had been taken over. Maybe that would explain the headaches. Or something had taken over Merlin's body. Or taken Merlin's shape. Or Merlin had gone mad. No - Arthur bit his lip as he silently examined the person in front of him. Merlin had not gone mad. He needed Professor Gaius to come down here right now; he was specialised in mental abilities, he'd be able to help. PROFESSOR! HELP! PLEASE, COME DOWN TO THE WARD! SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH MERLIN! He thought desperately.
Merlin cocked his head, examining Arthur in a similar way to how Arthur was scrutinising him in return. "Well, this is Merlin new and improved now." He latched his arms around Arthur's neck and tugged; Arthur choked and stumbled forwards, pressed chest-to-chest to someone who looked like his Merlin - and had acted like his Merlin only a few hours before - but was completely different now. There was just something... off. He tried to pull back, but Merlin's fingers had curled into his hair, keeping him there. "You can call me... Pheonix." Merlin arched upwards, pressing an intrusive kiss to Arthur. Arthur gasped in shock, and Merlin -- Pheonix -- took the opportunity to slide his tongue into Arthur's mouth, groaning filthily as he did so.
"Mnnnrgh," Arthur tugged hard, finding it disturbingly familiar and yet uncomfortable as his hands placed on Merlin's bare chest in his attempt to level himself away.
"And I thought that you loved me," Merlin pouted, hooking his skinny legs around Arthur's hips so that he came with Arthur as Arthur backed away. "I thought you loved fucking my arse. We only fucked this morning, you know." He tipped his hips forwards, grinding into Arthur's hips as Arthur tried to pry him off as if he was a clinging kitten.
"Oh my God," Arthur spluttered. "I do, er, enjoy having sex with... Merlin. But. You're not Merlin. Who the hell are you, and where is Merlin?!" He wondered how long this impersonator had been here. Merlin had seemed extremely... normal, usual, this morning when they'd been having sex. His mind was screaming for help, not just for Professor Gaius but because he didn't know how to deal with this... this wanton form of his boyfriend. His body was reacting just as normal, which was to say that his cock was starting to get erect as Merlin -- Pheonix -- ground into him, and his back was protesting even more with both unexpectedly carrying Merlin and the strange contortions Arthur was putting it through as he tried to get away.
"I am Merlin, Arthur," cooed Pheonix into Arthur's ear right before he bit his earlobe sharply. Arthur yelped in alarm. "I am Merlin as he should be. Powerful. The most powerful Class V mutant you've ever known. I could move this entire school for you, you know. This is who I'm meant to be."
Arthur backed right into another bed and toppled over backwards with a grunt. His eyes connected with Pheonix's for a moment, just a second, and he shuddered. His eyes were gold, the same gold that Merlin's were when he used his powers. But he wasn't using any powers right now. They both tumbled over the bed and Arthur took the opportunity to shove Merlin away from him. Merlin's skinny body slammed into the wall and Arthur winced, already feeling guilty that he had hurt his boyfriend before remembering that that wasn't his boyfriend right now. Merlin snarled at him, naked body unfurling across the bed and Arthur took the moment to flee.
Slamming the automatic doors shut and locked after Pheonix, Arthur pounded the ground to the Professor's rooms, never more glad for his consistent athletic training than now. "Professor!" Arthur yelled. A jumble of words tumbled out of his mouth, incoherently and panicked. He tried to tell about how Merlin, his Merlin, was gone, and there was some shameless hussy in his place, who said that he was Merlin, and went by Merlin's codename, and it looked like Merlin, and he knew about things that he and Merlin had done together and he was so confused.
Gaius looked startled by Arthur's ramblings, and sat up immediately. "Arthur! Where is he now?" he shouted, and Arthur knew that it was bad. Professor Gaius never shouted.
He heaved with heavy breaths. "He's in the hospital - I left him there, and I- I- I needed to get you." Arthur stopped talking as the entire room started to shake. "Whoa!" He vividly flashed back to when Merlin told him that he could move the entire school. "Oh, crap." He swore and dashed back down towards the basement, Gaius close by. Distantly, he heard glass smashing.
Arthur skidded to a halt in front of the hospital ward, and merely gaped. The reinforced steel doors were opened, pushed apart was if they had been made of paper. He peered inside, and found the usually pristine room completely wrecked. Even as his mind boggled to wrap itself around the situation, his legs propelled him down the corridor. They were starting to burn as he followed the obvious trail of destruction. Chunks of carpet lay in miserable tufts, chandeliers rolled haphazardly down the stairs and doors looked as if they had been kicked in so hard that they had completely unhinged. In the study, an entire bay window lay in shards, the rain whipping into the room. Arthur could scarcely believe that his Merlin, gentle awkward Merlin, was capable of this. He had known -- they had all known -- that Merlin was powerful, but the person that Arthur knew would not have flaunted it like this.
"I've got to go after him," Arthur said as the Professor caught up. "I've got to... stop him. Because he hurts himself." He paused. "Or other people." A chill settled over him as he said it, somehow knowing that Pheonix would hurt people. Pheonix didn't care. Merlin cared. He turned, aiming towards the armoury. He was going to need his battle equipment, and it wasn't just so that he could stop Pheonix. It was because he needed to be able to protect himself; he wasn't so stupid to think that Pheonix wouldn't hurt him.
Professor Gaius grabbed him by the wrist, and Arthur made to impatiently shake it off. "Wait, Arthur. There are things you need to know. You need to know who Pheonix is."
Freezing, Arthur stared. "Youknow? Who is he? And why the hell is he in Merlin?" He demanded, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. He swallowed. "Was this anything to do with what you did to Merlin?" He asked quietly. He thought back at Merlin's behaviour after his meetings with the Professor, and something else rose in him.
Gaius looked around the room, and quickly steered Arthur out and into another side room. "Merlin's power was erratic, dangerous. You know that. He couldn't control it, and it was affecting his ability to do anything else. He was always powerful, but the control started disappearing. It was like his mutant gene demands to be dominant, to show its ability to the effect of encumbering some of his other abilities. I offered to block out some of his powers. At least for a while, Arthur. Let him learn control over a small part, and then add more into it."
Arthur dropped his head into his hands. Perhaps he would have stared, but he couldn't face the Professor right now. Professor Gaius had taken him in when he had been a freak. Had taken him in and even adapted his ability after his head injury so that he could still use his powers and lead a normal life. He had encouraged them all to be a mutant proudly, if not always publicly. To think that he had suggested, encouraged, even facilitated taking away Merlin's powers... Arthur felt a hard seed of resentment curl up inside his chest. "And it went wrong?" He asked dully.
"No, it went fine," Gaius sighed. "Merlin and I finished the procedure a few days ago, and he was starting to adapt to life not using his powers." Arthur nodded - that was when Merlin had stopped using his powers, and he had never once thought that it was because Merlin couldn't have. "But then the headaches start."
Gaius took hold of Arthur's hands earnestly. "You must understand, Arthur. Merlin agreed to this, and it was never a permanent... binding. But the power doesn't like to be held back like that. It kept pushing, and pushing." The old man looked his head, and for the first time, Arthur saw him as an old, tired man who had seen too much he had not liked and done too much he did not approve of in his attempt to pave the way for mutants.
Arthur swallowed. "It broke free then. Merlin's... power. You make it sound like a live animal, Professor. It's not. We're mutants, it's a scientific mutation. It doesn't think for itself."
Shaking his head, Gaius started to lead the way towards the armoury. "Merlin is different, Arthur. Merlin is... Merlin is beyond a Class V. We call him a Class V mutant because the classes only reach up to V. He's a Class... a Class VII, a Class VIII, Arthur. His power is beyond anything scientists have ever studied, because he is the only one like him. I've looked into his biology, trust me. His mutant gene is, is," Gaius struggled for words.
"It's different. It might even be a different mutant gene, who knows. His power isn't just a power like yours is. It's a part of him as much as his personality is. Unfathomably biological, but biological nonetheless." Gaius opened one of the cupboards, and passed Arthur a stun gun.
Arthur gripped it so tightly that the tips of his fingers turned white. "How do I get Merlin back?" He asked with a grim determination that dared Gaius to say that he didn't know. "He was Merlin before, a few days ago, with all his powers. He's still there."
Gaius sighed. "I can use Cerebro," he said, referring to the construction he had built to amplify his own mutant brainwaves. "I can remove all the blocks I put in Merlin's brain. He'll be the same as before. You have to know that I don't know what will happen though, Arthur. It could just be shaking off the last of Phoenix's restrictions, and..." He shook his head helplessly.
"I'll try anyway." Arthur pursed his lips. "I'll keep my uniform comm radio on, let you know when I'm close."
"I wish I could go with you, my boy," Gaius said quietly, squeezing Arthur's hand. Arthur nodded curtly, his feelings towards the Professor still tumultuous, and headed for the garage. As he passed the doors of his friends, he hesitated. Then he pressed a hand to each of their doors, and hurried on. This was his to handle alone. Phoenix was too dangerous for anyone, and he knew Gaius understood, despite his usual teachings of teamwork. He turned around once as he left the school to see Gaius looking out through the broken window at him.
That cold seed of distrust was there, but he understood this time, more than ever, how difficult it was for him to consistently send the young mutants out into battle every week, every day, knowing it was to their likely deaths, and stay behind himself.
Leaning forward as the motorbike roared into action, Arthur headed for the hill that overlooked the town. It was Merlin's favourite spot.