Everyone but Jean left the Professor's office. Logan being the last to leave took his time, lingering eye contact with the redhead, only to turn away when she blew him a kiss.
Jean slammed the door shut behind him using her telekinesis and turned back to Xavier whom's demeanour switched almost instantly, 'What are your intentions towards rogue?'
'Why nothing Professor.' She drawled as she settled herself into the chair Rogue had sat in only moments ago. 'What on earth would make you say that.'
'When both Wolverine and Rogue arrived you were more...weary. Could it be-'
'Oh enough with the pretentious pleasantries,' Jean hissed, 'I will not change. The girl now belongs to me.'
'Jean-' Xavier sighed, only to be interrupted.
"Do not call me that!" Her voice thundered and black veins became visible around her eyes as she demonstrated a small percentage of her power, inflicting her wrath upon the room. Jean knew what the professor was playing at, trying to coax the phoenix to abandon her act. All week he had been doing minor things to irritate her, asking personal questions; prodding the surface of her mind, giving any excuse for her to constantly be supervised. Well it worked. This little game of cat and mouse was now over. Now he knew, now he had proof. She was not Jean. Jean died at Alcatraz, this was the Phoenix, just a less destructive one he guessed.
'I know.' He calmly replied. And he did know. The only reason he hadn't disclosed what he knew to the team was because he wasn't fully aware of her intentions and the x-men - especially Scott - would not have been able to handle having to lose Jean (or the image of what she was) a third time. So he reasoned that as long as Phoenix kept on her facade, no one would be able to tell of the difference. At least no one but Logan. 'What is it that you want?'
A sincere smile crept onto her face, and her eyes flashed - for but a moment, though a moment nether the less- with love.
It was later that night when Rogue awoke from yet another nightmare. She bolted upright into the spotlight of the moon's light that shone through the balcony window of her own room, chest heaving as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, cheek, neck, and between the valley of her breasts. Almost hesitantly, she crawled out of bed and walked to her desk wrapping her white dressing gown around her body, to shield her from the chilling breeze that managed to slip through the cracks of the windowpane.
Sitting down she flicked open her diary where she kept a sort of record of her dreams, writing them as she imagined them.
As her pen danced across the page she read out what she wrote trying to make sense of the words her fingers were creating. So engrossed in the natures of her nightmare, she did not notice the silhouette sitting on the banister of her balcony, staring up at the stars. It too began to speak along with Rogue, perfectly in sync.
"It pains me to see you hurting,
Crying with exhaustion,
Every heartbeat, every breath, in time,
I spit with venom, destruction,
I slam a hand where your eye centres,
And you fall to the floor in millions of pieces,
half of you remains,
But your expression has changed,
We pull back our fists, and bring them to our lips-"
The balcony doors burst open by a sudden gust of wind, knocking Rogue off her chair only to thwack into the wall, however she did not land in a crumpled heap like you'd expect. She remained pinned against the wall by a burst of energy, and Rogue's breath got caught in her throat at the sight of Jean levitating across the room with an effortlessness she was not known for.
What? She must have been dreaming. There was no way...
'I am tired of waiting, you will remember. You will remember, who you are. Remember our promise,' The Phoenix leaned in close until her lips brushed the shell of Rogues ear, just as Logan's had, but closer. 'Please,' The woman's plea dripped with unwarranted desperation, 'Remember me.'
Shadows struck her and pain through Rogue's entire body, grinding into her body on an excruciating scale. She cried out, hoping to get the woman to stop her assault. 'Jean, what are you..' another scream left her, cutting off any words left; and when her eyes settled once again on her assailant, she realised what she'd missed the first time. What should have been obvious. The woman's hair turned black and irises glowed red; it was a nightmare come to life. "J-Jean" She choked as the Phoenix continued to transform into it's true form and the black veins arose on her face. Rogue was again, blinded by another wave of pain, the last thing she heard from Phoenix was barely a whisper.
Logan had just returned to the mansion, he had expected for everyone to be asleep by then and the mansion to be a peaceful silent. His relief of screaming kids and chemical scented bodies all tucked up in bed. Just another night.
Calm.
Peaceful.
But no.
From the gate he could see Rogue's balcony doors blown off its hinges and objects flying out of the room and crashing against the concrete ground.
Logan immediately went into "assassin mode" as Rogue loved to call it, and leapt of the bike and used his claws to half climb, half run up the mansion wall leading directly to her bedroom.
The floorboards cracked under the weight of his landing he presented his claws as a warning to any enemies inside.
It took him a moment to recognise the intruder due to the black hair. So you could imagine the turmoil of emotions to see Jean standing over Rogue's limp form as shadows danced around her, not even affected by the wind that raged around them. 'Jean, the hell are you doing?' He growled, trying to keep his feet planted to the ground and edge closer to Rogue.
The Phoenix turned towards whoever interrupted her, only to find wolverine. Her eyes flickered between him and the girl, he was a problem, she knew. But she hadn't had time to seduce him again, though, she should have, it would have been better to have him noncombatant.
She grasped control of his body, keeping him rooted to the spot and flew over to him. There was one way, to keep him under, mustering her will power, she closed her eyes, allowing a fraction of the life that shared this body to show itself. Like bait, it leapt at the chance.
The darkness faded, eyes returning to the beautiful green, 'Logan? Logan, help me!'
His eyes widened realising, what he should have the moment she had woken back up, 'Jean?'
'Logan it isn't me, please you gotta believe me' The woman begged, even as Logan remained pinned against the wall. But she wasn't lying, for the first time since this whole mess, she sent a flurry of emotions through his mind, real emotions.
And despite his predicament, and the situation, for a moment Logan became lost in those eyes, like the first time. He knew her fear, and the fatigue, she had been fighting to stay alive in her own body, her own mind. Alcatraz, he'd tried to end it, to kill her. He couldn't go through that a second time, this time he'd do what he was supposed to, 'Don't worry, don't worry, I'l get you out of this just hold on.' Just as hope began to shine through, the moment went. Phoenix returned.
Wolverine growled as a hand raised up to his face. Phoenix took the time to pause, taunting him, and gently caressed his stubbled cheek.
At first nothing happened.
Moment's later, he felt it, the oh so familiar sensation of having the life sucked out of you.
Logan grit his teeth, body spasming at the sensation, his stomach churned and muscles contracted in resistance to the leech power. It was ten times stronger than Rogue's, and Logan's teeth began to crack under the force he used to clamp his jaw shut, revealing the Adamantium that coated the inside of the tooth.
Suddenly, bedroom door blasted open and Cyclops stumbled in, followed by Storm. 'Jean!' Cyclops yelled, 'What did you do?'
Phoenix's piercing eyes stayed trained on Logan, staring right through him, lifeless.
And before anyone could blink, she was gone.
