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Angel In The Attic	By : fusedtwilight Category: X-men Comics > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 5328 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men, it is the property of marvel comics and in no way do i make a profit from this fic.

Chapter List
- 34
- 35
- 36
Angel in the Attic
Chapter 35
Fusedtwilight: Thanks to my beta Lisa and to all my readers.
Michael must perform the trials to prove he is worthy of being Adonai's heir. But Abreal shows up and threatens the one person Michael loves the most.
A week later Adonai threw an elaborate dinner on Utopia.
Michael had foolishly hoped Adonai would not make a big deal of it.
But he forgot how much Adonai loved to show off.
"Your ego is truly atrocious," Michael said as he stared at the large ice-sculpture in Adonai's image.
"What's the point of being rich and powerful if you don't show off?" Adonai said.
"Was it necessary to sculpt the penis as well?"
"No, but still it's funny," Adonai said with a laugh.
"No, this is funny."
Michael raised his hand and shot a beam of angel fire that melted the sculptures junk.
"That was literally a dick move," Adonai grumbled.
"Takes one to know one."
"You're still not angry because I knew where your uncle was all this time and never told you, are you?" Adonai asked.
Joe had arrived several hours ago. Michael had invited him and it also gave him a chance to visit Jericho. The second he had laid eyes on Adonai the memory block came undone.
When Michael learned Adonai had kept his uncle hidden for all those years, hoping to manipulate his bloodline to create the heir he wanted, he had not been pleased.
"Of course I am!" Michael snapped.
"Look, had I know your mother was going to be the one to birth my scion I wouldn't have bothered with him," Adonai said nodding over to Joe who was glaring at him from across the room.
"Were you ever going to tell me?" Michael asked.
"Eventually. I didn't want you to become distracted. You already had enough on your plate."
"From now on anything that concerns my family or me will be for me to worry about and for you to mind your own business, Adonai. I'll do the trials but after that our business is done; I'll have fulfilled my part of the deal. Then I expect to not see you for a long time."
"Fine whatever...drama queen."
Warren, much like Joe, was glaring at Adonai from across the room.
"I don't know who he thinks he is coming here and acting all high and mighty. I still can't believe we are letting this happen."
"I am not thrilled about it myself Warren, but Michael has chosen to do this," Scott said.
"He's seventeen, I think we can forbid him to do this," Warren said.
"We both know Adonai would just take him from us the moment our backs are turned and Michael would go with him willingly. He really wants this, Warren. All we can do is make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Man, Bronson sure did hit the jackpot. He is an omega level mutant and now he is about to become the heir to some ancient mutant king and inherit his company. Some guys get all the luck," Santo said.
"Michael had earned everything he has. Remember how he helped us fight Bastion?" Nori asked.
"And he saved us from Quire," Phoebe added.
"And don't forget he lost his family," Cessily said.
"But he only gets all that if he passes these trials. If he doesn't, he gets squat," Ben said.
"It is a win-win for Michael. He wins, he gets Adonai's company. He loses, he doesn't have to worry about the responsibility that comes with it," Jacob said.
"But we're talking a company worth billions of dollars!" Santo said waving his hands in the air.
Jacob shrugged. "Michael isn't materialistic. It would not bother him to lose."
"But I heard there is a chance he could die!" Megan bit her lip nervously.
Jacob placed a comforting hand on Megan's shoulder. "Relax, after everything Michael has been through I doubt this will take him out. Adonai did not invest all his time in training Michael if he didn't think he could do it."
Wayne was eating. He had piled a ton of food on his plate and was happily munching away.
"How are you doing, man?" Devon asked.
"Fine. It's amazing. I may be blind, but I can see things now using sound. I sure do miss colors though," Wayne replied.
"Man, I wish it were me and not you that got hit with that gas. If it did this to you, what would it do for me?" Devon asked.
"Look at me Devon, that is your answer," Wayne said darkly.
"Yeah, but our mutations are different. It could have made me faster!"
"Why would you want to be faster?" Wayne asked.
"Dude, I can run at 220 miles per hour. Quicksilver can run at mach 4 and Jean-Paul is faster than light. Compared to them I am slow. Even Noriko can run faster than me."
"Why don't you talk to Michael's cousin? Maybe he can make you stronger," Wayne said.
"Hey, that's right! Maybe he can activate a secondary mutation and make me the fastest speedster in the world!"
"You never know. Not all secondary mutations make your power stronger. Some develop new powers entirely. Look at Frost. One minute he's a telepath, the next he's a diamond skin."
"Still it wouldn't hurt to try. If I can't get faster maybe I can get a cool new power," Devin said with a grin.
Bobby, Kitty, and Ororo were talking. Bobby had his plate filled with food and was stuffing his face.
"Holy crap, this is good! I don't know what half this stuff is but it tastes great!"
Kitty looked at Bobby with disgust as he stuffed his face with food.
"My God Bobby, you act like you have not eaten in days," she said.
"I know, but it's sooooo goooodd," Bobby said drawing out the words.
"Enjoy it, it's not every day we get to enjoy such a feast," Ororo said.
"Should we really be allowing this? I don't like how Adonai thinks he can just show up and make one of our kids do some stupid trials," Kitty said.
"If it gets us free food, why not?" Bobby asked.
Kitty elbowed him on the arm.
"What? Look, the kid knows what he is doing. He's been through more than me when I was his age and I went through some shit."
"I hate to say it but I agree with Bobby. Michael is a strong young man. I believe he can do this. I believe he will make an amazing X-Man one day," Storm said.
"He draws in the bad guys and blows shit up. He already has the makings of a great X-Man," Bobby said.

Anna was in her room getting ready to go for a run.
She grabbed her iPod and was about to walk out the door when her computer started to beep, letting her know someone was trying to call her using Skype.
She saw it was Michael and accepted the call.
His face appeared on the screen.
"Morning," he greeted happily.
"Hey, you excited?" she asked.
"Excited, nervous," he said.
"I wish I could be there. But ever since I told my parents, they're still having me followed."
"Followed?" he asked.
"My idiot brothers got their friends to help keep an eye on me. They are afraid you're are going to steal me away or some shit. You know they actually had some people show up at school and talk about the dangers of dating mutants? They even tried to warn us about mutant STD's.I actually stood them up and called them on their bullshit; everyone knows mutants are immune to HIV. Needless to say, I am suspended for calling the lead speaker a stupid cu-"
"Anna! Who are you talking too?" Esther called from downstairs.
Anna sighed.
"Better go before they come up here. Sorry I can't be there. This is such an important day for you and I am going to miss it," she said.
"Don't worry, we're going to record it. Besides, knowing Adonai, I will be getting my fare share of bruises and I don't want you to have to see that," he said.
"Good luck. And be careful. But kick ass."
"Be careful, but kick ass? Hmm. I know I can do one but I don't know about the other."
"Anna?"
Esther called Anna's name and Anna could hear her walking up the stairs.
"Damn it, I will talk to you later. I love you. Good luck!"
"Love you too."
They ended the call and not a moment too soon because Esther walked in.
"Who were you talking to?" she asked.
"One of my friends."
"It wasn't that boy, was it?"
Anna ignored her. "I am going for a run."
She went to walk past her mom but Esther stopped her.
"Anna, you know we love you. We don't want you to be hurt is all," she said.
"I am almost eighteen, Mom. You and Dad and the others are so busy trying to protect me like I am some fragile flower. Are mutants dangerous?Hell yes they are. But they're not the bad guys. They are just like us only with super-powers. They deserve the same things we have. Like love. And Michael is the most loving guy I have ever met. Even though my brothers attacked him and my dad tried to shoot him, he still wants to be with me. How many human guys do you know are that loyal?"
Before her mom could answer she walked by her and went downstairs.
She passed her brothers Darren and Felix.
"Where you going?" Felix asked.
"For a run," she said.
"Aren't you grounded?" Darren asked.
"Eat a dick," she snapped.
She put her ear phones in her ears and began to run; Lordeplayed in her ears as she ran down the street.
Sometimes she wished she could just keep running until she left all her troubles behind.

Adonai told Michael to wear his armor.
It was the first time he wore it since the battle with Bastion.
Adonai was wearing his armor as well and all the X-Men attended were wearing their uniforms.
Several of Adonai's servants were with him and would help him prepare for the trials.
"The sephirot- the ten emanations which God manifests himself. Each sphere is represented by an angel. Ten spheres, ten trials. Each designed to test to see if you are worthy of being heir to my throne," Adonai said.
"What throne? Isn't his kingdom dust?" Julian leaned over to Santo to whisper.
Adonai heard what he said. Without so much as a glare or even looking at Julian, he raised his hand and made a flicking motion at Julian who found himself being telekinetically flung at a wall.
"Quiet please, this is a sacred ritual," Adonai said.
He turned to Michael.
"Michael Bronson. You have shown yourself to be strong, courageous, loyal and merciful. You have the makings of a good leader and future king. Now the first trial is Hod. The angel of this sphere is." Adonai let out a loud laugh. "Michael. The prince of the seraphim, the viceroy of heaven and the leader of the holy host. As such only he is fit to be associated with the great power of the empyreal flame. This is the first and most important test, you must show you are able to control the holy fire, for only the pure and the innocent can control it and only they are worthy of rule."
"Can't be that pure and innocent if Adonai can use it. Unless being a prick doesn't count against you," Devin said to Wayne.
Adonai flicked his hand again and Devin flew back and hit Julian who just got back up.
"I would appreciate it if you stop abusing my students," Scott said.
"I would appreciate it if your students would shut the hell up." Adonai turned to Michael. "You. Fire. Now."
Michael raised his hand and a ball of angel fire glowed in his palm.
"Perfect. Now for the next step."
He waved his hand and two of his servants stepped forward. One carried a golden goblet with red rubies along the rim and the other carried a dagger.
"Now that you have proven you are worthy you may continue on to the other trials. But before we can do that, we must awaken your dormant powers."
Adonai took the dagger and cut his palm and let the blood flow into the goblet. Adonai healed the wound and the servant handed the goblet to Michael.
"Drink up, kid," Adonai said.
"What?" Michael asked looking horrified.
The others voiced their disgust as well.
"Nasty!"
"Sick!"
"Gross!"
"I'll do it!" Wayne called out.
Everyone looked at him.
"What? It smells good," he said with a shrug.
"Why am I suddenly drinking blood?" Michael asked.
"You are blood of my blood. Your power comes from me. Drinking my blood will activate the latent abilities you posses. We don't have time to wait for them to activate on their own. So drink up."
"You know I could just use my power to activate them myself, right?" Jericho said.
"Nope, it's tradition. Drink up."
"I'd rather break tradition," Michael said.
"Break tradition and I'll break your legs," Adonai said.
Michael took a deep breath.
"I can't believe I am doing this."
He closed his eyes and opened his mouth. He brought the goblet to his lips and drank it.
He gagged on the coppery taste and dropped the goblet once he finished.
"Dude, sick!" Santo said with a grin.
"I am so putting this on YouTube," Roberto said as he recorded everything.
"Don't you dare!" Michael spat at him, his eyes blazed with white fire.
But it wasn't just him, it was his whole body that was glowing with a soft light.
"Michael, you're glowing," Angie said.
"I...I...feel."
"Powerful?" Adonai asked.
"Yes, I feel different. Like I am discovering new body parts I didn't know I had," Michael said.
The glow died down and Michael stared at his hands.
"Your true power is finally awakened. All your abilities as an omega level mutant have been awakened. Now let us begin with the second test. The trial of Malkuth. The angel of this sphere is Sandalphon. It is said he would gather the prayers of the faithful to make garlands for the Lord. As such, the power of telepathy is what you must have to pass this test, for just as he hears the thoughts and prayers of the faithful, so to must you to see into the minds of all."
"I have telepathy; I developed it right after Magneto kidnapped me. But Professor Xavier put blocks in my mind until I was ready to use it."
"Well, I say now is the time," Adonai said.
Emma walked over to Michael.
"I could take them down." She scanned Michael's mind. "It will take time though. Charles' work is as always perfect and it may take a few hours to take them down myself."
"Yeah, screw that." Adonai grabbed Michael's head and used his own telepathy to release the blocks.
Needless to say, it was painful.
For Michael at least.
"AAAGGGHH!" Michael screamed.
Blood ran from Michael's nose, eyes, and ears. Adonai let go of his head and Michael stumbled back.
"What the hell!" Michael yelled.
"We don't have all damn day. Now tell me what you can hear," Adonai said.
Michael focused on the voices sounding in his head. They didn't help the severe headache he was feeling right now. First thing he was going to do when this was all over was punch Adonai in his face.
"Victor thinks Rickard's butt looks cute in his uniform,Gambit is thinking about Rogue in her new green latex uniform, Hank is wondering if your blood could affect on Cheyarafim or all mutants and more than half of those present, myself included, want to beat the crap out of you right now!"
Victor blushed as Rickard smiled at him, flexing his backside which made his boyfriend blush more.
Rogue was frowning at Gambit who was grinning at her.
Everyone else was tense, prepared to attack on a moment's notice. They were not happy with the way Adonai was treating Michael and like he said, they all wanted nothing more than to knock Adonai off his high horse.
"Well, you passed the second test. Congrats!"
"Thanks so freaking much!" Michael said as he wiped his face.
"Oh don't be a pussy. Suck it up!"
"Perhaps we should take a break," Emma suggested, giving Adonai a cold glare.
"But this next one is fun and totally safe, I swear," Adonai said.
"What is it?" Michael asked.
"The trial of Tipheret. The angel of this sphere is Raphael - the healing angel."

Anna stopped running and took a deep breath.
She walked over to a nearby fountain and got something to drink.
She stood up and turned around only to run into a solid chest.
"Oh, excuse me," she said.
The man in front of her wore baggy clothes. His hair was black and his skin a sickly pale color. He was tall but very thin. His eyes were blue with flecks of gold in them, but despite their pretty appearance, they were cold and void.
Anna had a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the fall weather.
"Well, I will be going now."
She went to move around him but he held out his hand.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
Black mist shot out from his hand and hit her in the face. She let out a gasp and fell forward.
He caught her before she hit the ground.
"Yes, you can be the bait," Abreal said before they vanished in a puff of black smoke.

"I didn't know the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles were angels," Wayne said.
Franziska gently smacked him on top of the head.
"No! Raphael is one of the seven archangels. He is the one who cured Tobit of his blindness and saved Tobit's future daughter-in-law Sarah from the demon Asmodeus. He is the great healer of God," she explained.
"So of course the power of healing is associated with him and that is how you must prove you have this power."
"I've used it plenty of times; I just did after you almost scrambled my brains," Michael said.
"This form of healing is very powerful. It does not just heal the physical wounds; it also heals the mental and spiritual wounds as well. If you are to pass this test then you must prove you can truly heal a person."
"How?"
Adonai snapped his fingers. Some of his servants stepped forward. They had a woman with them. She was an elderly woman with heavy wrinkles and she was missing almost all of her teeth. She had a glass eye in her left socket and was muttering under her breath.
"Meet Ellen Reeves. For all her life she has suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. It wasn't helped by her years of drug abuse. From a beautiful young lady to a dreg of society. She has spent many years living on the streets. Her mind so far gone she hardly knows she is here right now."
Michael could hear her thoughts. Her mind really was rotten. She did not care that she was surrounded by mutants, even seeing those like Hank or Wayne, who looked more than startling, did not bother her.
She was more concerned with people wanting to steal her clothes.
In her mind she owned a large closet filled with elegant and extravagant clothes. She had to keep them safe because people envied her clothes.
Though the sad truth was the rags she called clothes were all she had.
"Will I be able to cure her of her madness?" Michael asked.
"If you have the true power of healing, then yes," Adonai said.
Michael walked over to the woman and took her hands in his. He activated his soul-sight. He tried not to flinch when he saw how muddy and muddled her aura was.
Michael felt pity for this woman. She was still lost in her own world, and even though he held her hands all she could think about was keeping her clothes safe.
Michael healed her; his hands glowed with a soft light.
Ellen stopped muttering.
Michael watched as her aura became brighter and more vibrant. Her thoughts became clearer and the wall that separated her mind from reality began to break down.
The glass eye began to bulge then popped out and a new healthy eye grew in her socket.
Her teeth grew back, and by the time it was over Ellen looked much better.
"Where...where am I?" she asked looking around in confusion.
"You were lost for a while. But Michael helped bring you back," Adonai said.
"The voices are gone...I...I never thought my head would be so quiet," she said.
"Kitty, Rahne, could you take Ellen and get her cleaned up?" Scott asked.
The two of them walked over to Ellen and led her to the base.
"Don't worry, we'll get you cleaned up and take you back to thee mainland and find ye a home," Rahne said.
Ellen looked at Michael one time. You didn't need to see souls or hear thoughts to see the look of sheer gratitude in her eyes.
"Thank you," she said.
They led her to the base and Michael felt really good.
"You pass," Adonai said.
"Good job, Michael," Warren said.
"And now for the next trial. The trial of gevurah. The angel Camael is in charge of this sphere. Camael is a mighty angel and strength is his power."
Adonai levitated a rock as large as his head and pulled it towards him. He grabbed it in his hand and without breaking a sweat squeezed it into a fine powder.
"But true strength as we all know comes from within. You must believe in yourself, believe in your power. Doubt and uncertainty will only weaken you."
"I have shown super-strength sometimes. I know I can do this."
"Good. Now I want you to hit me," Adonai said.
"Okay!"
Michael quickly pulled his fist back and without hesitation, and with a lot of enthusiasm, punched Adonai right in the chest.
He went flying back, slammed into a wall of rock, where it broke apart and then several large boulders fell on top of him.
"Daaaaamn," Devin said.
"You didn't kill him, did you?" Jacob asked.
"Please, like it would be that easy," Michael shook his hand and cracked his knuckles.
There was a flash of light and an explosion and when the dust cleared Adonai stood up, dusting himself off.
"Good job. Like all your abilities, given time you will get stronger. We can test how strong you are later. But right now let us move on."

Anna opened her eyes.
She knew right away she was in trouble.
Her hands were tied behind her back with some rope. She was in a large open room with an oversized window.
The man who kidnapped her stood in front of it, looking down.
"So many people. Reminds me of the ancient cities of the old world. So many people packed into one place. Like too may ants in one colony. Things don't change, do they?"
He turned to look at her.
"Listen pal, if you value your life you will let me go. I don't know if you watch YouTube, but my boyfriend is a badass and if you piss him off-"
"Silence woman," he said.
He began to walk over to her.
Anna tried to get her hands loose. The closer he got to her, the more afraid she became.
"You live only so I may learn more about Michael. And so he will come save you. Love is a weakness. My own mother died saving me. Had she been more selfish, she could have lived."
"Who the hell are you?" she asked.
"Abreal," he said.
Michael had told Anna about Abreal, so she now knew who and what she was dealing with.
"I will never tell you anything that would hurt him," she said.
"I know. But you won't have a choice."
He grabbed her by the throat and opened his mouth. A dark mist slithered out and went into her mouth.
Anna could feel him inside her head, shifting around like some dark cold cloud, peeking through her thoughts and memories.
The dark mist came out of her mouth and crawled back into Abreal's mouth.
"Interesting. But I think we will have to go a little deeper this time."

"This trial may be the most dangerous one. The trial of Binah governed by the angel Tzaphqiel. An angel, although a very benevolent angel, she is the angel of primal water, darkness, and the impulse to form motion and inertia. Thus for this test you too must look into the dark waters of your mind and change yourself into the beast form. You know what happened the last time that happened."
Michael took a deep breath. It was when his family died and in his rage he turned into a rampaging beast.
"Perhaps we should clear the area for this one," Logan suggested.
Everyone got back, those who had been there when Michael had transformed remembered what it was like. Of all those present, they felt the most fearful about this trial.
"Adonai, what if I can't control it? Utopia isn't that big and I could do a lot of damage."
"Believe in yourself, kid. You are not the same angry boy you were that day. This form is powerful, destructive. But the cost is, if you lose control of your anger you become a rampaging beast. Anyone can get angry. The true test isn't feeling an emotion, it's controlling it that is more difficult."
Adoni backed away and Michael took a deep breath.
He closed his eyes and focused on the memory that caused him the most pain.
It had left a permanent ugly scar on his heart. Even now there were still times when it hurt him.
And now, after all this time of trying to heal this wound, Michael was going to try and rip it open.
He grit his teeth and clenched his fists.
He focused on the memory of when his family died.
The looks of fear in their eyes, the sneering face of Bastion, the guns going off, and their bodies dropping one by one.
And finally, the empty feeling. The numb sensation of his soul.
His body erupted in angel fire. He could feel the rage trying to pull him in. To bury him. But he focused on what he had.
The people who loved him.
Warren. The Champions. Anna.
They anchored him, kept him from being lost in the rage.
When the flames died down Michael had once more assumed his beast form.
He examined his hands. They were still human-like though now they were covered in white fur. He flexed his fingers and watched as claws sprouted out.
He felt something moving behind him and looked to see his tail.
He could hear the thoughts of the others. They were afraid, anxious, waiting for him to lose control. Many of them were ready to attack on a moment's notice should he prove to have lost control.
"Michael!"
He looked down and saw that Angie had broken away from the others and she was walking up to him. He bent down to look at her. He pressed his nose against her and took a deep breath.
"Careful, Angie," Jacob said.
Michael opened his mouth, Angie gasped and the others were about to attack when Michael licked her from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head.
"Gross!" she yelled.
Michael smiled and laughter broke out amongst the X-Men.
"Michael Bronson, you are an ass!" she snarled at him.
"Nice one, dude!" Devin said.
Michael stood back up and returned to his human form. Angie walked up to him and smacked him upside his head.
"Ass!" she snarled again.
Michael chuckled. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"No more! Please no more!" Anna cried.
Abreal had been mercilessly using his power to scan Anna's mind.
And he was none too gentle about it.
Anna felt like a large block of ice had formed in her mind.
Abreal stood up with a look of utter indifference to her and her suffering.
Anna glared at him a single tear fell down her face.
She had felt him in her mind, peeking at every single moment she had shared with Michael.
Every conversation, every intimate moment was his now.
And she hated him for having such knowledge.
"So Father has decided to make him take the trials? What a special day this is then."
He turned and walked back to the window.
"It is pointless. Even I know he will pass the trials. But Father loves tradition. No doubt it will make him feel like it is the old days again."
He brought his fist back and smashed the window.
"I am going to need to charge up."
He flew out the window and soared to the top of the Empire State Building. He hovered atop of it, looking down at the city around him.
"The time has come, humanity. Just like in Egypt all those centuries ago. Silence will fall."
He extended his hands and his dark mist leaked from his palms, wings, and mouth.
"Only, I won't just take the firstborn. I will take you all."
A dark cloud began to form in the sky. It would take a while for anyone to pay it any mind. But by the time they did notice the dark cloud forming it would be too late.
Death had come to New York.

"Now for the next trial. The trial of Chokmah. The angel Raziel is the angel of secrets and mysteries. Thus the power of the sight is associated with this sphere. For to see the soul of a being you see all their secrets. This was a gift I never had myself. My wife though, possessed it, and with it she was able to see the heart of all things and her judgment was never questioned.
"This power can be a burden though, for your eyes will burn with truth. And in a world where lies and deceit are worn like clothes, you may wish you could turn a blind eye to it all. Merely activate this power and read those around you. Tell us what you see," Adonai said.
Doing as he was told Michael activated his soul-sight.
The world around him became sharper and all those present became kaleidoscopes of colors.
Michael noticed that the colors of Adonai's servants were not as bright as the mutants. But Michael knew it was because they were human.
They did not have the power like the X-Men.
Of those present, Adonai, Bobby, Ororo, and Josh, had the brightest lights. Several other X-Men like Scott, Emma, Betsy, Noriko, and several others had stronger glows.
Michael focused on Adonai first.
"You are old, powerful. You act like a man in his prime but you feel old. Old and alone. You are filled with loss and regret. You are one of the oldest and most powerful beings in the world, yet you are also the most miserable," Michael said.
Adonai's face remained impassive but the flux of colors in his aura told Michael his words impacted him greatly.
"Me next! Me next!" Devin said jumping up and down excitedly.
"You are filled with passion and ambition. You dream of great things. Of being a great man. But you feel inadequate. You feel you are not good enough. That no matter how hard you try, it is not good enough."
He looked to Rickard. "You are a kind and gentle soul. Grief has scared you, but you are finally healing. You are in love and that love is cleansing you of your pain."
He looked to Jacob next. "You are strong and independent. You are proud and have a fervent sense of duty. There is great power in you but you have not fully tapped into it."
Before Jacob could ask what he meant, Michael turned to Emma.
"You too are proud. Though you are also vain you try and hide your true feelings behind a cold mask. You care more than you like to admit because you have been hurt by those who were supposed to love you."
"Excuse me, Mr. Bronson, but I would appreciate it if you not air my feelings out in the open," Emma said coldly.
"What's wrong, Emma? Not so much fun having someone air your feelings out in the open?" Kitty asked.
It was common knowledge that Kitty and Emma were like oil and water. They did not mix. The first time Kitty met Emma was when she had been a teenage girl having just discovered her power. Emma had still been the White Queen of the Hellfire Club and had kidnapped her and put her and some of the X-Men in a cage.
Emma may have left her old life behind but Kitty, to this day, had not forgiven nor forgotten what had happened all those years ago.
She never missed a chance to jab at Emma. And her feelings for Emma only soured after what happened between her, Scott, and Jean.
Michael looked to Logan. "There is a darkness in you. You may have forgotten your past but it still haunts you. I sense evil in you. You have committed many terrible deeds and it has marked you. But I sense a nobility in you. A struggle between man and beast, light and dark. So far the good is winning, by inches."
"Alright, enough with the inner reflection crap. Let's move on," Adonai said.
Michael turned off his soul-sight power and took a deep breath.
"I am sorry; I didn't mean to say all that!" Michael said to everyone.
"It's one of the drawbacks of using soul-sight. You can't help but speak the truth of what you see," Adonai explained.
He waved his hand and one of his servants stepped forward.
"You have passed that trial and now it is time for the trial of Chesed. Zadkiel, the angel of mercy, is in charge of this sphere. As you know, one of my many gifts is what is commonly referred to as psychometry; the power to learn information about a person or object just by touching it."
"So all I have to do is touch someone and see if I can learn something about them?" Michael asked.
"Yes, and I have the motivation for you to pass the test."
He opened the wooden box his servant was carrying and saw dozens of golden rings. All exactly alike.
"Look familiar?" he asked tossing one to Michael.
"Yeah...it kind of looks like my mother's wedding ring," Michael said.
Michael had inherited his parents' wedding rings when they died. They were back in his room in New York.
"One of them is. I had exact replicas made."
Michael looked at Adonai. His mouth fell open a little.
"Wait, what?"
Adonai grabbed the box and dumped all the rings out.
"One of these rings is your mother's. If you pass the test you will get the ring back. If not... well, at least you will have a bunch of spares, right?"
"Dick move," Wayne said.
"How dare you! You had no right to violate my parents' personal belongings!" Michael snarled.
"Bitch later, you're taking a test, kid," Adonai said.
As tempted as Michael was to punch him again he quickly walked to the pile and began to sift through the rings.
He didn't want some replica. He wanted the real thing. The same ring his mother wore for twenty years. The same ring Michael intended to give to his future wife.
Michael tried touching the rings, waiting for a vision or some intuition to tell him which one was the real one.
But there was nothing.
"Come on!" Michael hissed.
"You're trying too hard, kid. Don't look with your eyes. Look with your mind," Adonai said.
Michael glared at him. As much as he hated Adonai right now, he decided to heed his advice.
-Michael?-
-Franziska?-
-Listen, Jericho wanted me to connect you to him. He wants to speak to you.-
A second later his cousin's voice sounded in his head.
-Hello? Is this thing on?-
-Jericho?-
-Listen, I know how you can find the ring.-
-Isn't this cheating?-
-Man, screw this Adonai guy. He's a prick; first he messes with my dad's mind for all these years, and now he messes with your mom's wedding ring? Listen. You don't have psychometry. But you do have a psychic gift that can find the ring. I don't know what it is called but it's similar to telepathy. You can scent a person's mind. Or rather, their essence. I have read about mutants who have gifts similar like this during my lessons with Tessa. Apparently all living beings leave a psychic scent created by their mental energies. It lasts a lot longer than a bodily scent, years even, and you can use it to find a person anywhere more or less.-
-What do I do?-
-I don't know. I know what you do, not how you do it. Try...try thinking about your mom. That's the best I can give you.-
-Thanks, Jericho.-
-No problem, family sticks together. The sooner we finish these trials the sooner we can kick his ass of the island.-
Michael focused on the memories of his mom.
He blocked out the noise of the thoughts of everyone else and focused on the rings.
Jericho said this tracking power was similar to telepathy. So he tried focusing his mind on the pile of rings.
To his surprise, he sensed something.
He opened his eyes and began to sift through the rings. He picked up a ring that felt older. No. It wasn't the ring itself that felt old. It was the sense of a presence it had. Something had left a strong imprint on this ring.
He sensed gentleness, love, fear, anxiety. Those emotions had been the dominant emotions his mother had felt for so much of her life. The other rings did not have such feelings.
This was the one.
Michael stood up and extended his hand.
Adonai touched it with his finger. His lips curved up in a smile.
"Pass. You don't have psychometry. But you do have soul-tracking. Just like she did."
Michael looked at him in surprise.
"Don't try and fool me kid, I heard your little conversation with your cousin," Adonai said. He tapped his temple. "Telepath too, remember."
"But I don't have psychometry, doesn't that mean I fail?"
"I told you kid, the trials were designed to test the Cheyarafim who had powers similar to my wife and me. She and I had a few powers similar to one another. But we also possessed powers the other didn't. Each trial was designed to test to see if you had a power we both had or a power only one had. I had you do the Chokmah trial because I already knew you would pass it."
"But what about the other trials?" Michael asked.
"I had you do the ones I knew you would pass first. But now we are doing the trials for abilities I need to know you have."
"Hello, power reader right here! I can tell you what he can do!" Jericho yelled waving his hand.
Adonai ignored him.
"Now we move on to Keter. Governed by Metatron, who was once a mortal man name Enoch. A pious man who was chosen by God to become the scribe Metatron. Leaving behind this mortal world and ascending to high heaven. Just as he transcended this mortal plane, so too must you. The power of spirit-walking, soul traveling, or as it is commonly known, astral projection. A power that allows one to escape their mortal coil and travel the worlds of spirits, to enter realities beyond the reach of those who are made of flesh."
"And how do I do that?"
Adonai sighed. "How do I do this? How do I do that? Can't you just try it instead of asking me?"
"Well, you are supposed to be my teacher and teachers do advise," Michael said.
"Then here is my advice. Just do it already," Adonai snapped.
Thou shall not kill, thou shall not kill, thou shall not kill. Michael repeated this over and over in his head.
"If I may offer some advice, I believe it could help speed things along," Emma said.
"Be my guest," Adonai said.
She walked over to Michael. "Telepaths of a certain caliber are able to project their astral forms. After all, what is the astral body but the spiritual manifestation of one's mind?"
Michael took in her words, trying to understand her meaning. Emma had taught many of the psychic classes, like mental defense, which taught the students how to help shield their minds from most mental scans and attacks. Psychic economics was a class that studied and researched all forms of psychic phenomena.
Michael had taken that class after Xavier had put the mental blocks in his mind. Even though his power was blocked, he wanted to study anything about telepathy to prepare for the day when the blocks came off.
Needless to say, it was not an easy class and Michael struggled just to maintain an average grade.
"So I should try and project my mind?" he asked.
She nodded. "It's almost like falling asleep. But make sure you-"
Michael fell to the ground, unconscious.
"I was going to say make sure you are in a comfortable position first, but never mind," Emma said.

Michael had never astral projected before.
It was a unique experience. Odd. Definitely odd. He felt he had a presence, but he could not feel. At least not in the way you felt with your body.
Imagine your thoughts and ideas released from your head. Imagine you could still exist without a physical form.
That is what it feels like to be disembodied.
So once again, unique, but odd.
What's more, Michael was no longer bound by the laws of physics.
If he wanted to be somewhere, all he had to do was think it.
One moment he was on the beach on Utopia, the next he was in his family's home. It was still empty. It had belonged to Michael's grandfather. Michael inherited it when his family died. He had not been here since the morning they left for church.
Michael couldn't stand being in a place that was once filled with life and laughter, so he thought of the Ark.
Suddenly he was in the control room.
"Alert. Astral presence detected. Preparing psionic defenses!" Eve's voice said.
Not wanting to find out what these defenses were, Michael decided to check on Anna.
He expected her to be in her room, or maybe out for a walk. But instead he found her tied up in a dark room.
She looked physically okay, but she was crying. She looked terribly stressed out. Afraid.
Michael looked around. There was a broken window and he floated outside to see where she was. He soon realized she was being held at the top of the Empire State Building.
Dark clouds were forming; Michael knew they were not natural. They were black as ink and moved too quickly.
There was something sinister about them, something that made you want to hide.
Michael thought there was something familiar about them. It was only when he looked up to the top of the building that he saw Abreal.
Realizing with a burst of horror that the darkness spreading in the skies was his death mist, it was obvious what he was planning to do.
"Let silence fall!" Abreal said, his voice almost a whisper.
Tendrils of mist began to creep from the sky, heading for the streets below.
It would seem Abreal was once more playing his hand at genocide.
Willing himself back to his body Michael felt like he was waking up from a bad dream.
He took a deep gasp of air and stood up.
"Anna! Abreal...he, he has her!"
"Whoa, easy Michael," Warren said helping Michael stay on his feet.
"You don't understand. I saw him! He is going to kill all of them!" Michael yelled.
The Champions quickly surrounded Michael.
"Where is he, Michael?" Rickard asked.
Michael pulled out his communicator for the Ark.
"Eve, send me to the Empire State Building, now!" Michael yelled.
Michael vanished in a flash of light.
"What the hell was that?" Scott asked.
"I think we need to have a talk with the Champions," Emma said having picked up their thoughts.
"Busted," Wayne said.

All throughout Manhattan the sounds of screams could be heard.
People began to notice the strange clouds forming in the sky. They did not know why, but everyone from the children in the parks, to the stray animals in the alleys, all felt the same thing as they looked into the inky blackness.
Fear.
It was not until the darkness began to bleed down onto the streets below that panic began to ensue.
The mist spread out through the streets, creeping tendrils like bug antenna that seemed to be seeking something.
Every time something living, be it man or beast, touched the mist it soon died. It did not take long for the people to figure this out and so they ran for their lives.
The mist moved slowly. The further he stretched it out the more difficult it became for Abreal to direct its flow and speed. But it did not matter how fast the humans ran, soon his mist would cover the whole city.
He could feel them die, feel their life flow into his mist and into his body, strengthening him, making him stronger.
He felt no pity, he felt no remorse.
This was his gift to them. This was a kindness.
Life was nothing but a joke, and a poor one at that. A hell of its own. They would be happier in the next life. Free from pain and corruption.
And once he finished with the city, he would finish the young woman and leave her for Michael.
The sight of his beloved, dead, would surely send him into a rage and make it easier for Abreal to finish him off.
There was a flash of light and something slammed into Abreal.
"You bastard!" Michael roared.
With his concentration broken the mist began to dissipate.
The two of them landed on the streets below. Some of the people had taken refuge in the buildings, and they watched as the two mutants hit the ground and formed a crater.
Michael began to pound away at Abreal; he could feel bones breaking as he pummeled Abreal's face.
"All these people! Anna! You would kill them all!"
Michael brought back his fist, intent on punching Abreal's face to a pulp like a ripe melon, but he vanished in a puff of smoke.
He reappeared on the edge of the crater, his face severely swollen and misshapen. But thanks to all the life-force he had absorbed, his face soon began to heal.
"Yes, because I am merciful."
"Bullshit!"
Michael flew at Abreal and slammed into him again.
With his telepathy freed from the mental blocks, Michael could hear and feel the thoughts and emotions of the people.
He could feel their fear and pain.
Their minds screamed at him; he could see their memories, saw through their eyes as the mist killed without pity or discretion.
There was a man thinking of his lost wife. He was holding her, weeping over her body. They were celebrating their anniversary. They planned to go out to their favorite club then return home, and if lucky, conceive the child they had talked of having. They had been on their way to the club when the mist descended.
A child was standing over his parents dead bodies; he was faster than they were, they screamed for him to run. He had watched them fall into the mist and when it dissipated he went to find them. Now he was laying down between them convinced they were just sleeping, refusing to believe they would never wake up.
A mother held the still-warm body of her young daughter. She had been on her way to her sister's house where she would drop off her daughter before she went to work. She was thinking off how she should have carried her, not dragged her as they ran. If she had carried her then she would not have been touched by the mist. She would still be alive.
All these and more sounded in Michael's head. All this pain and fear was a chorus in his mind.
It fueled his anger; he could feel his power responding to his rage. He knew he had to be careful, he could not risk transforming here of all places.
He didn't need to turn into a beast to finish Abreal off.
With all his powers unlocked now he had plenty of ways to kill Abreal.
And if the bastard loved death so much, Michael would gladly let him have it.
Fusedtwilight: Next chapter Abreal vs. Michael. Who will will? And Abreal's past is revealed. Is he really a monster? Or a victim? Please review.
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Angel In The Attic