The Breaking of Jean Grey
"Aah…" The professor sighed, knowing he could no longer keep anything to himself. Especially not from those who had helped him so much up to now.
"We could say this is our fault," he added quickly, without stopping.
The other X-Men seemed to know it too. They lowered their eyes, weighed down by guilt.
"There's a lot to explain… but, to tell the truth, that person over there is Jean Grey… and at the same time, she isn't," the professor said with a grave expression.
Steve frowned, confused by those words, while Tony descended from the air. His helmet opened with a metallic snap, revealing his serious face.
Nicolás also approached on his flying motorcycle before landing beside them.
They all moved toward the interior of the mansion… or what was left of it. The main hall had been left completely open to the sky, so they gathered among the ruins, right in front of the space where the living room used to be.
Tony dropped onto an old sofa, still wearing the armor. The legs, weakened by time and damage, gave way at once, sinking further into the floor.
"I'll pay for it," he said immediately when he noticed everyone's looks.
Steve picked the conversation back up.
"You can go on explaining how Jean Grey is herself… and not at the same time."
Charles nodded, his expression serious.
"To explain it properly, I need to tell you a bit about the past of our world… and about Jean."
Steve gestured for him to continue.
"In our world, ordinary people, as I mentioned before, developed all kinds of technology to eradicate us. From huge robots to a harmful substance they added to food… and even to the air.
Before the Great War, the air was already completely contaminated for us. That weakened our powers constantly," Charles explained calmly.
"That's why Owen said Magneto, a man capable of controlling magnetic fields, which, to be honest, sounds pretty over the top, was surprisingly weak," Tony remarked with interest.
"It could be," Charles conceded. "Every day we breathed the air of our world, we grew weaker. That's why we created the school, a protective field."
"Magneto was a mutant like you, so why didn't he join that field?" Steve asked.
"Because of his ideals… and because of his hatred toward us. Especially toward Jean," Ororo interjected.
"Jean killed Magneto's daughter: Wanda Maximoff."
Silence fell immediately. Pietro, who had been standing in a corner, looked up at once, frowning.
"In our world, Wanda and you — another version of you, of course — were Magneto's children," Ororo explained when she saw his expression.
"So when Magneto attacked, he did it to find Jean… and that's how you all ended up on this side," Tony deduced, nodding.
"More or less," Ororo confirmed.
"Why did she kill her?" Pietro asked, still shaken, even though that Wanda wasn't directly his sister.
She was still… Wanda.
"Because she was the only mutant powerful enough to contain what Jean had inside," Charles answered, taking control of the conversation again.
"When I met Jean, she lived with her father. A violent man. Even so, she was kind and smiling, even in that environment… because she repressed everything. The memories, the mistreatment, the negative emotions."
Tony widened his eyes as he understood.
"Wait, don't tell me you're talking about… a dissociative personality?"
"Personality?" Steve asked, confused.
"Split personality," Tony clarified.
The professor nodded slowly.
"Yes. The worst part is that Jean was already incredibly powerful even as a child, despite the contamination. Her second personality, when it emerged, was the embodiment of everything she repressed. I had no choice but to contain it within her mind."
"The first time it appeared, many people were hurt," he continued, almost in a confessional tone.
"At that time, Pietro and Wanda still didn't know they were Magneto's children. They had separated from him when they were young and ended up joining us."
"Wanda also possessed enormous power, almost at Jean's level, or even superior in some respects. That created a rivalry between them. Jean never showed it… but that tension fed her other side."
Charles fell silent for a moment before continuing.
"When Magneto came for his children, there was another battle. During the defense, he took advantage of a lapse and used a strange artifact that nullified my powers temporarily. In that instant, Jean's dark side awakened.
She attacked Wanda… and killed her.
When I recovered my powers, it was already too late. The only thing we could do was drive Magneto away and seal Jean again."
"I thought that as long as I was present nothing would happen. That we would find a way to control her power… or eliminate that part. But since we arrived here, the environment, the clean air… something changed. Jean's power began to grow faster than I could contain it.
During the battle in New York, it multiplied hundreds of times. And now… I can't even try to contain her. Her power keeps increasing without stopping."
Tony frowned, remembering Jean's unsettling laugh during the fight, that feeling that she had everything under control.
"Do you remember when Owen killed Magneto? That old man left some words that obsessed him for months. Maybe… that's what he meant," Nicolás commented. "Did he know this would happen?"
"I doubt he knew it that precisely," Charles replied. "But at least he understood that Jean would be an enemy to face. For him, her death was inevitable."
Steve looked at him seriously.
"If Owen killed Magneto for being dangerous… he would do the same with Jean if she became a threat to the world."
"What happened, then, to the Jean Grey we know? You said there are two personalities, right?" Steve pressed.
"Yes. I tried to communicate with her, but it was impossible. Her power surpassed mine. It was like a flame that blocked everything.
Even so, I am sure she's still in there," Charles said gravely. "But I feel that the dark side is being strengthened by something external."
"And what triggered that personality to come out this time?" Tony asked with curiosity.
"Well…" Everyone turned their gaze to Scott. After all, he had been the last one with her before her transformation.
Scott's face was full of guilt, aware of all the eyes on him.
"Actually… I've been going to therapy," he confessed.
There was an awkward silence. Then Tony let out a small laugh.
"Ha… oh, I get it now."
Nicolás also smiled, understanding instantly, though the others still didn't.
"No, it's not what you think," Scott hurried to clarify. "My therapist is a telepath. She got her powers recently and was testing a new kind of mental therapy."
The atmosphere grew tense again—this time purely out of discomfort.
Ororo was the first to speak.
"You cheated on Jean?"
"No! I didn't! Technically…"
Everyone exhaled in unison.
"He did. Though it seems it was a mental thing," Tony muttered, laughing mockingly.
"Can you introduce me to that therapist? I've got a lot of trauma to work on," joked Nicolás, earning another round of quiet laughter.
Colossus, standing behind the group, watched them in disbelief. The conversation had gone from a grave revelation… to an absurd comedy.
Then, the sphere containing Jean began to tremble. The chains rattled violently, cutting the laughter short.
The entire structure shook with growing intensity.
Tony reacted immediately.
"Jarvis, status of the containment sphere."
"The integrity is dropping rapidly, sir. The internal power keeps increasing every second. Recommendation: stand on guard. Release in ten seconds."
"So fast?" Tony exclaimed, surprised. He had designed it to withstand at least half an hour, but Jean's power had grown exponentially.
"So, the deceiver put our world in danger. Wonderful," he muttered ironically as the helmet closed over his face once again.
The rest of the X-Men formed a circle around the sphere, ready to try and contain her once more. The air itself vibrated with raw energy.
But suddenly… the sphere stopped. Total silence.
Everyone waited.
"Sir," Jarvis reported, "Jean Grey is no longer inside. A massive energy signature is moving north."
Tony immediately turned toward Scott.
"You. What's the name of that therapist, and where is she?"
Scott swallowed hard.
"Emma Frost. In New York."
Tony clenched his fists.
"Oh, great… Jarvis, tell the General to evacuate New York as fast as possible. And tell Banner to join us. We're going to need the big guy."
He was the first to take off, leaving behind a fiery trail as he disappeared into the sky.
The others followed without hesitation.
A new battle was about to begin.