He backed away slowly, not wanting to be seen. He wasn’t sure if she still carried any of his mutations, but he didn’t really want to find out. Maybe this was more fitting than what he could provide. These two people were linked in a stronger bond, now. By a woman all three had cared about in their own ways. He would find her later, when it felt right.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“What happened to you?” She asked softly, pulling away when the tears finally stopped. She finally realized that she was next to naked, but he was wearing gloves for protection. She wondered how he knew, but didn’t push it. “What happened to us?”
Scott guided her to the bed, making sure she was comfortable before taking the empty chair and moving it closer. This was going to be delicate and unbelievable. He would have to explain slowly and only hope that she could take it in her state.
“I didn’t die.” He knew where to start, he just wasn’t sure how. Blunt might be best. “I think part of her, the part that was still Jean, didn’t want to kill me. So, instead, I was forced into a coma. A psychic induced coma and hidden away. At lease, until about a week ago, when I awoke. Fortunately, I had an extra pair of glasses. Even in the throng of mourning, I’m still prepared. Always the boy scout.” He smiled at that, knowing it was a little disturbing, but that was who he was, or at least had been. “I came back here, ready to take over. I still didn’t know how much time had passed, or what had happened, but I couldn’t help that. I only awoke when the Phoenix died.”
“You knew about her, then?”
“No, not until I arrived. But, by that time, it was over and you were here, trapped in your own mind by yet another psychic. And everything was settling down.” He could have sworn he saw her mind working over time behind her eyes, trying to grasp all the information. “Her name is Emma Frost, and old acquaintance of Xavier’s. Not as ethical. She was there, by chance, that night. Inside the building. A couple of her students decided to take the cure and instead of dissuading them, she went along to make sure it was legitimate.”
“Her own students?” Rogue arched an eyebrow towards him, not quite understanding.
“She runs another school in California. One where they aren’t so structured. The students there are a little more wild, but it is a good school. Nothing like what we have here. Her students usually venture off on their own after they’ve finished their education, without any qualms.” She could tell that he was remembering something, but didn’t want to push. She had done enough to this man.
“What happened to me?” She asked softly, her own questions beginning to take form. “After everything was done, why didn’t she take over? Why didn’t I lose my mind?”
Scott sighed, knowing that she wasn’t going to like this. Like himself, she was a creature of control because she had to be, for the health of others just as much as for her own sanity. “You almost did. But Emma stepped in when you were at your weakest, before Phoenix had taken over. For the past week, she has been trying to help you build walls inside your mind. Not really that difficult when you take into consideration the walls you already had. Phoenix still lives, within you. We all know this. Emma isn’t as strong as Xavier was, but she was able to help. She wants to continue, when you feel up to it.”
“Is that why I have none of her powers?” Rogue had started wondering about that when she first awoke, but had pushed the thought away, not ready to dwell on it. “I mean, Jean’s.
“Yes. Right now, anyway.” He grabbed her hand, holding on to it tightly, as if she was the only thing that kept him alive. She had always wondered how that would feel, but, somehow, she didn’t believe that his intentions were the same. “Those abilities will manifest, with time. They won’t come alive all at once, but they will come slowly. You might not even notice it when it happens. By that time, Emma is hoping that she can purge your mind of the Phoenix personality. Do you understand what that would mean?”
“Yes.” And she did. The Phoenix had a chance to come back at any time, and, this time, not with just Jean’s abilities, but with her own and that of everyone she had ever touched. Death. Ice. Fire. Magnetism. Advanced senses. Possibly immortality, if not just healing. She would be the ultimate threat to humanity as a whole, not one kind or another. Homo-sapiens and homo-superior alike. The destruction of everything.
~*~*~*~*~*~
He found himself in the security room again, watching them on the monitors. He could hear what they were saying due to the small microphone built into the cameras. He hadn’t known the extent of what was happening before, and he was suddenly glad Scott was the first to tell her. Phoenix lived inside of her, and he would be there to help her as much as she would allow him. He only hoped he would be there when the shit his the fan.
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