**Meanwhile – Makeshift X-Men Medical Bay**
Professor Charles Xavier lay on a medical bed, his face pale and drawn. Sweat beaded on his forehead as Beast worked carefully over him, monitoring neural activity with equipment salvaged from one of Tony's hidden bases.
"His mind is fractured," Hank McCoy said quietly to Cyclops, who stood nearby with his arms crossed. "Apocalypse's psychic presence was too much. Charles tried to reach him, to find some remnant of the man En Sabah Nur once was, but..."
"But there's nothing left," Scott finished grimly. "Just a god-complex wrapped in Celestial armor."
Jean Grey stood at the doorway, her red hair falling across her face as she watched Charles struggle. She could feel the Phoenix Force stirring inside her, responding to her emotional turmoil. It whispered promises of power. Of revenge. Of the strength to burn Apocalypse from existence.
'I could end this. Right now. One surge of Phoenix Force and—'
"Jean?"
She blinked, realizing Scott had called her name. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine." He moved closer, concern etched in his features. "I can see it in your eyes. You're thinking about the Phoenix."
She didn't deny it. What was the point?
"We need power, Scott. Real power. Not just teamwork and hope. Apocalypse proved that today." Her voice trembled. "He broke us like we were nothing. Charles, Magneto, Colossus, Logan—all gone in minutes."
"Jean, the Phoenix Force is dangerous—"
"And Apocalypse isn't?" She turned to face him fully, green eyes blazing. "He's building a device to wipe out humanity. To remake the world in his image. We need something that can match that power."
Scott grabbed her shoulders gently. "At what cost? The Phoenix has consumed you before. We almost lost you."
"Maybe that's the price we have to pay." Jean pulled away, walking toward the door. "Maybe I have to risk everything to save everyone."
Before Scott could respond, she was gone, moving quickly through the corridors of their makeshift base.
She needed space. She needed to think.
She needed to embrace the fire before it was too late.
---
Jean found herself on the roof of the building, staring up at the stars. Somewhere out there, the Phoenix Force waited—a cosmic entity of unimaginable power, drawn to hosts with strong emotions and unlimited potential.
She'd touched it before. During the shuttle mission that changed everything. The Phoenix had saved her life, merged with her, given her power beyond imagination. But it had also brought madness. Destruction. Loss of control.
'But I'm stronger now. Older. More disciplined.'
The lie tasted bitter even in her own thoughts.
Still, what choice did she have? Professor X was broken. The strongest X-Men were corrupted or dead. Earth had weeks at most before Apocalypse activated his Ascension Device.
Jean closed her eyes and reached out with her mind.
The Phoenix answered immediately.
Fire erupted around her body—not real flames, but cosmic energy that burned without heat. It felt incredible. Terrifying. Like touching the heart of a dying star.
Power flooded through her in waves. Her telekinesis magnified a thousandfold. Her telepathy expanded across continents. She could feel every mind on Earth, every thought, every dream, every fear.
And beneath it all, the Phoenix whispered: *Take more. Become more. Let me show you what true power means.*
Jean's body lifted off the rooftop, suspended in a corona of golden-red fire. Her hair whipped around her face as reality itself bent to her will.
For one glorious moment, she felt invincible.
Then the control started slipping.
The Phoenix Force wasn't just power—it was life and death, creation and destruction, the end of all things. It wanted to burn. To cleanse. To remake everything in fire.
Jean gasped, fighting to maintain her grip on consciousness. 'No. Not like this. I won't lose myself again.'
But the Phoenix pushed back, hungry and eager. *You called me, Jean Grey. Now you must accept what I am.*
She screamed, raw cosmic energy exploding outward in a shockwave that shattered windows for three blocks. Inside the building, alarms blared as X-Men rushed to see what was happening.
Scott burst onto the roof just in time to see Jean collapse, the Phoenix fire guttering out like a candle flame.
"Jean!" He caught her before she hit the ground.
Her eyes fluttered open—still green, but with flecks of gold dancing in the irises. "I... I touched it, Scott. The Phoenix. I tried to control it, but..."
"But it's too much," he finished gently. "I know. We'll find another way."
Jean wanted to believe him. But as she looked up at the stars, she knew the truth.
The Phoenix was their only hope.
She just had to learn how to master it before it consumed her completely.
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