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Summary: Awakening, Billy meets the mutant inventor, Forge, for his next step in separating himself from his mutation.
Date: January 31, 2009
Magic Steps: Stumble
Rating: G
Forge's Aerie
Awakening again, Billy opens his eyes slowly. This time, he finds himself in front of a bank of computers. Muttering under his breath, he calls his staff to himself. Just so he's prepared for almost anything. However, the staff has changed, slightly. At the base, there is now a carving, reminiscent of a creeping cat.
"Awake, are you?" The deep voice intones. A moustached man walks in, carrying… once again… tea. He places the tea service on a counter far away from the computers. This tea service, however, is more practical than the pretty one that Agatha used.
As Billy looks the man over, he can see that the man has a few… bionic? appendages. Hand and foot, or more. It's then that he realizes who he's seeing. "You're… Forge? Of the X-Men and X-Factor?" He asks.
"Good observation. I suppose you're wondering why you're here. So am I, but I got a call." Forge says with a nod. "A spirit guide… Honestly, I tend to work without them, but they're still there. I'm supposed to help you learn more about dividing your selves."
"My selves?" Billy asks, tilting his head. He picks up the tea as Forge places three lumps in it. Again. Everybody knows more than he does about himself.
"Your power. You have to separate your mutant power from your magic. They can work in concert, but you need to learn NOT to rely on the instant magic. You have to learn how the magic works on it's own." Forge says, taking a seat in front of the computer bank.
"But why did I come to you?" Billy asks. He knows Forge is a mutant, and quite adept with his own ability. "I don't even know WHY I'm teleporting around the place."
"Simple enough. There are a few mutants who use magic. I'm one. Though, I rarely touch the mystic anymore. I chose to leave it behind in favor of my other gifts. However, I can still use it when I need. Enough about me. Have you learned how to center yourself?" Forge asks, leaning back in his chair, sipping his cup of tea, casually.
"Center? Oh… finding where everything balances inside? Yeah, I did learn a little bit about that." Billy nods. "Everything balances when I do that."
A frown crosses Forge's face as he considers. "There's no divide? Between the halves?" He asks, opening a drawer beside his chair and pulling out a small vial.
"Not that I can see." Billy admits. After all, he's never really looked into it.
"Mmm. This may be harder than I thought." Forge presses a button on his console. A sliding door opens in the floor, raising a pile of
wood that… may well be a firepit. The computer consoles all cover themselves with a thin sheet of plastic. "Sit." He says, tilting one of his hands slightly so that a small burst of flame lights the firepit.
Sitting where instructed, Billy crosses his legs, listening to Forge's instructions. "Look into the fire. Let it center you. Let it focus you. Watch, and see yourself as you are." His voice intones, slowly… calmly… as he watches the teenage mystic.
As he listens to the instruction, Billy feels for that glowing spot within. The one that balances everything. The one that makes everything whole. Finding it, he lets his mind flow out to see… and he does. He IS split. There are two images of himself over his body. One small, and weak. The other one rough and spikey.
"See the duality? It's because the dark chthonic energies are stronger than your natural self. You must find this balance by separating your magic. With your magic dependent upon the ancient one's, he could do what he has, in the past, done to your mother." Forge says, still speaking in that soft, strong cadence.
Billy nods, his body mimicing his mental motions. "How?" But his voice does not actually extend from his body. "I don't see how to separate them."
"I can make it easy for you… so that you can learn and feel. However, it won't be easy for you. Are you willing to take the hard path?" Forge asks, pulling something else out of his cabinet. Something that has not been seen in years. Something… he is no longer supposed to have. He takes the vial he palmed earlier, and places it in the device.
Sliding back into his body, Billy nods. "Yes." He opens his eyes, to see the gun-like device in Forge's hand. He almost starts to cast, but is cut short as the energy emits from it, wrapping his body, and a feeling of weakness takes over. "IwanthimtostopIwanthimtostopIwanthimtostop." He blinks. Nothing happens. There is no stopping.
Forge takes the device and places it back in the cabinet. "Your access to your mutant powers has been taken away for a while. You will need to rely on the natural access to magic. It shouldn't be too hard, since the magic has flown through your veins for a long time now. Tell Dr. Twoyoungmen I said hello." He says, before chanting and blowing the smoke over Billy's body.
The smoke makes him drift into sleep. Billy doesn't know, again, what's really going on.
