Hey Xtine! Guess what! I finally got around to rewriting it, as per your fabulous little tips. Thanks! And hopefully it's better now…

Misunderstanding

I killed him.

Maybe not literally, but I might as well have.

We had such high hopes. That mutants and humans could live together, in harmony. It was what Charles wanted, more than anything. After time, however, it became more than apparent to me that it was an unreachable dream. A nice ideal, but impossible. Despite everything Charles had worked for, everything we had both worked for, it was never going to come to pass.

If mutants were ever truly going to be able to walk in the streets, unafraid and unashamed of what they were, something was going to have to change. Either everyone would have to become like us, or we would have to get rid of everyone who was not.

I thought I had found the solution in Jean Grey. Such an unassuming little girl. With such extraordinary power. She was the answer, I felt.

I still remember that evening, the conversation we had as we got ready for bed.

"You were right, Charles; this one is special."

He laughs lightly. "I know." Then he frowns, his brow creasing slightly. "It's unfortunate that certain precautions are going to have to be taken."

"You mean psychic blocks? You are actually going to hide her true powers from her conscious mind?" He nods, looking away from me.

"But Charles, think about what we could accomplish with what she has to offer!"

"No Eric. You know what she can become. What she will become. I know you could see it too." He sighs, rubbing the back of his hand over his eyes. "Besides, we can't force people into accepting us. It doesn't work like that."

"So what of your school? We should all just gather in one place and wait for them to come exterminate us like rodents?" Despite trying to prevent it, my temper was starting to show, my hand clenching into a fist around the loose change in my pocket and my voice rising slightly. "I have already lived through one genocide, Charles. I will not sit by and watch us all be destroyed by another!"

"It will never come to that!" The silk of the tie he has just removed wrinkles in his tightly gripped hand as his anger flares. But any sign of it is gone, just as quickly as it has appeared, fading into a tired resignation. "People fear what they don't understand."

I break in, snorting derisively. "And that's what all this violence is? Just a big misunderstanding?"

"That's what the school is for," he continues, as though I have never interrupted him. "To teach mutants how to control their powers and to work for cooperation and understanding between mutants and humans."

"Admirable." I know the sarcasm is dripping from that single word. And I'm sure it hurts him. But we've had this discussion many times, this disagreement regarding the philosophies and policies that will shape the futures of both human- and mutant-kind. It always ends the same way. But not this time.

I just couldn't do it anymore. It was time to do things my way. His naïveté and his obstinacy frustrated me, as did his enthusiasm for his unattainable utopia.

I never really bothered to think that those qualities were what attracted me to him in the first place.

The next morning I left Charles, and I left Jean behind with him.

And I bided my time, waiting for her to grow up, for her powers to fully develop. I'm sure Charles knew what I was planning; he always did. But some things were hidden even from him.

You know he thinks your power is too great for you to control.

I killed him. Goaded her on, twisted his words, distorted them, provoked her until it was just too much.

I don't believe your mind games are going to work anymore, Charles.

I never believed it would go so far. I tried to stop her.

No Charles! Not this time. You've always held her back!

But she carried on, heedless of my shouts.

I think you want to give her the Cure.

And I could do nothing but watch as Charles was torn apart.

I killed him.

Legs trembling slightly, I lead an exhausted and bewildered Phoenix out of the wrecked shell of a house, guiding her around rubble and overturned furniture and through the white picket gate hanging on a single hinge. Triumph and anticipation swell in my chest, beating against my heart and ribs like a caged bird fighting to be set free. Despite having just lost Charles, I marvel at it, at the limitless power I just witnessed. Such unrealized potential. And I will need the full force of it.

People fear what they don't understand. Well, it is time to make them understand.

The End.

Okay, so I know this is a little different from my usual stuff, both in pairing/fandom and in writing style. But ever since I saw X3, I've had this little idea floating around in my mind and begging to get out. Hope you guys liked it.

At least a little bit.

At least enough to review…please?