The medical bay in Xavier's mansion was filled with the steady beeping of life support machines.
Monitoring equipment surrounded a single bed in the center of the room. Tubes and wires connected to the man lying motionless on white sheets.
Professor Charles Xavier's chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. His eyes were closed. His face was pale and drawn. Brain activity monitors showed chaotic patterns that never stabilized.
He had been comatose for three months.
Jean Grey sat cross-legged on the floor near his bed. Her eyes were closed. Red energy flickered around her body like flames that couldn't decide whether to burn or fade away.
She was attempting to channel the Phoenix Force again.
Emma Frost stood nearby with her hands extended. Her body was in diamond form for protection. Telepathic energy connected her mind to Jean's, ready to stabilize her if things went wrong.
"Breathe, Jean," Emma said calmly. "Don't force it. Let the Phoenix come to you."
Jean's breathing became deeper. The red energy around her intensified. It began taking shape. Wings of fire formed behind her back. Heat filled the room.
Then Jean's eyes snapped open. They glowed with pure cosmic fire.
"I can feel it," she gasped. "The Phoenix. It's so much power. So much—"
The flames erupted outward violently. Jean screamed as the Phoenix Force surged through her without control. Fire spread across the floor. Medical equipment began melting.
The walls started to char black.
Emma reacted immediately. Her telepathic connection flared bright. She pushed calming thoughts into Jean's mind.
Memories of peace. Images of control.
"Jean! Focus on my voice! You control the Phoenix, it doesn't control you!"
Jean's screams turned into gritted teeth. She fought against the cosmic entity inside her. The flames pulled back slowly. Inch by inch. Until finally they disappeared completely back into her body.
Jean collapsed forward, gasping for air. Sweat covered her face.
Emma's diamond form faded and she sagged against the wall, exhausted.
The door to the medical bay burst open. Scott Summers ran in still wearing his tactical gear. Dust and blood covered his uniform. He looked exhausted beyond measure.
"Jean! Are you alright?" He rushed to her side.
"I'm fine," Jean said weakly. "Just... lost control again."
Scott helped her stand. He looked at Emma with gratitude. "Thank you for stabilizing her."
Emma nodded but said nothing. She was too tired to speak.
Scott's expression darkened as he looked around the room. Burn marks covered everything. "We can't keep doing this. You almost destroyed the mansion."
"I know." Jean's voice was filled with frustration. "But we need the Phoenix. Without it, we can't fight Apocalypse."
"At what cost?" Scott asked. "If you lose yourself completely—"
"Then Earth falls anyway!" Jean interrupted. Fire flickered in her eyes again but she suppressed it. "Don't you see, Scott? We're out of options."
Scott wanted to argue but he couldn't. Because she was right.
He walked to the window and looked out at the darkened sky. It should have been afternoon but the sun was barely visible through toxic clouds.
"The situation is getting worse," he said quietly. "I just came back from Boston. The Ascension Device's effects are accelerating."
"How bad?" Emma asked.
"Civilians are dying by the thousands every hour. The hospitals are completely overwhelmed. Most medical staff are dead or transformed." Scott's voice was hollow.
"We saved maybe two hundred people today. But we lost thousands."
Jean stood on shaky legs. "What about the other heroes?"
Scott's jaw tightened. "Pestilence got to several teams in Asia. Dazzler, Sunspot, and Cannonball are all infected. They're berserkers now. We had to... we had to put them in containment."
The room fell silent.
"Infrastructure is collapsing globally," Scott continued. "War destroyed most of the power grids. Famine has caused agricultural failure on every continent. Death is demolishing our safe houses and bases one by one." He turned from the window. "We're losing, Jean. Badly."
Jean looked at Professor X's unconscious form. The man who had taught her everything. The man who had believed in her when no one else did. Now he was trapped in his own shattered mind and couldn't help anyone.
She looked at Scott. At Emma. At the world falling apart outside the window.
"Then I have to master the Phoenix," Jean said with determination. "Soon. Very soon. Or there won't be an Earth left to save."
Emma stepped forward. "Jean, you're not ready. The cosmic entity is too powerful. It could consume you completely."
"I don't care about the risk." Jean's eyes blazed with inner fire. "I'll do whatever it takes."
Scott grabbed her shoulders gently. "Jean—"
"No, Scott." She met his gaze steadily. "You said it yourself. We're losing. The Phoenix Force is the only power that can match Apocalypse. I have to control it."
She pulled away from him and walked back to her meditation spot on the floor.
"How long do we have?" she asked quietly.
Scott checked his communicator. Reports were streaming in constantly. Every update was worse than the last.
"Days," he said finally. "Maybe a week if we're lucky. After that..." He didn't finish the sentence.
Jean nodded once. "Then I'll try again. And I'll keep trying until I either master it or die trying."
Emma and Scott exchanged worried glances but neither argued. Because deep down they knew she was right.
Time was running out for Earth.
Jean closed her eyes and began to meditate again. Red energy started flickering around her body once more.
This time, she wouldn't stop until the Phoenix answered her call.
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