The X Consiracy Chapter 3

Jean Grey Summers sighed as she sauntered towards the large circular door that was the entrance to Cerebro. The door was emboldened with a gigantic "X" symbol which was just about everywhere. She pressed her palm onto the sensor pad and it glowed a electric blue. "Phoenix," she stated evenly activating the voice control security measure. The door hissed and slid open. The room opened into a mammoth cavernous sphere, breached only by a narrow catwalk extending to the epicenter. As she made her way down the catwalk towards the Cerebro console she immediately noticed something wrong. "Oh no," she breathed. Her green eyes flashed urgently across the console and confirmed her fears. The crown was missing. It was the cerebral interface that a telepath would don to access the device. Turning quickly on her heel she rushed out of the room and down the corridor only to be stopped by an assortment of familiar faces.

Wearing a form fitting green and yellow bodysuit and a brown bomber jacket, Rogue flashed a tired smile Jean's way. Her brown hair with its distinct white streak was pulled back in a lazy ponytail. Several curls fell around her face. Beside her Wolverine pulled on his cigar, rings of smoke curled up and around his tufted hair. He was shorter that Rogue but far more intimidating to look at. Robert Drake, otherwise known as Iceman, smiled broadly from behind Wolverine. His blue and grey uniform was noticeably unique with shorts instead of pants. His smile faded when he caught the troubled look on Jean's face.

"What is it? Did you find a bomb?" Bobby asked wide –eyed. He was slightly over dramatic at times being one of younger X-Men.

"No, worse," Jean said ominously. She told them of the missing equipment in Cerebro and watched their worried expressions. "We need to get everyone to the War Room, where are the others?"

"Kurt went to fetch Storm. He told us she was still searching the grounds when we got out of the Blackbird. Beast is in the lab..," Rogue reported in her southern drawl, "and Scott is with you right?"

"He went to check the Danger Room but he should have been done by now," Jean said frowning. Wolverine chewed silently on his cigar and regarded Jean with dark eyes. A thin vertical crease appeared on her brow as she focused her mind on her husband. Wolverine noticed her green eyes flash amber, a sign that she employing her psionic powers. As a telepath she could contact Cyclops immediately and inform him of the situation. Jean's face changed to one of horror. "Scott," she moaned grabbing the sides of her skull as if in pain. "He's in trouble," she chocked her jade eyes glittered wetly. Without a word Wolverine, followed by Rogue Bobby and Jean covered the distance to the entrance of the Danger Room. To their dismay they found the door unresponsive, refusing to open. Jean almost cried in frustration.

"No problem, Red," Wolverine growled, "I got the master keys right here." Jean stepped aside and heard the snikt! that audibly announced the presence of Wolverine's adamantium claws. They extended a foot from the backs of each hand, six total. With the precision of a surgeon he carved an opening in the steel door and flung himself inside the Danger Room.

Wolverine heard the familiar eruptions of Cyclops' optic blasts and quickly spotted him. He was sprinting towards a sentinel letting it have the full force of his eyes. Wolverine grunted in approval of Scott's head on attack and then hurled himself over a fallen street lamp and towards the other sentinel that had appeared behind Summers. Letting out a blood curdling animal scream he sent himself into a berserker frenzy, his claws tearing through the robot's metal casing like hot knives through butter.

Jean watched as more mutant hunting robots clambered onto the street. She glanced over at her husband. His entire torso was exposed, his blazer burned away by an energy blast. Large pieces of shattered concrete littered the ground and several cars were on fire. Obviously the safety protocols had been deactivated. She sent a telepathic warning to the rest of the team that the robots were using lethal force, not that it mattered to Wolverine. His healing factor allowed his to recover from deadly wounds in moments. Rogue came flying past her, careening towards her target like a surface to air missile, her fists clenched in determination. She was nearly invulnerable and strong enough to smash boulder with her bare hands, so the protocols were of little concern to her as well. Cyclops, Iceman and herself on the other hand had more limited protection.

Iceman had confronted a robot and was bombarding it with hail the size of medicine balls. He had coated his body in a thick layer of ice and Jean watched briefly as he skated around his foe, disorienting the automaton. Turning her attention away from Bobby, Jean lifted herself off of the ground gracefully and soared towards her husband. He had dispatched the first sentinel and was working on another. She watched in silent horror as the giant deployed several small grenades at Cyclops. The incendiary bombs stuck the pavement with metallic clangs and rolled towards him. Cyclops, noting the danger, blasted two of the grenades away but there was not enough time to shoot them all. Scott Summers braced himself for the impending explosions, his body tense, his mind on his beautiful wife. "Jean, I love you," he thought and he was blinded by a bright flash and fire engulfed him.