Chapter Seven: Magneto's Army/Saving Xavier's School
And here's Chapter Seven! At the last minute, I ended up combining this scene with the next one into one chapter, because I really wanted to include the alternate version of Phoenix and Magneto's scene! But it was incredibly short on its own, so here you go: Phoenix shows off her true power, then the X-Men discuss the future of the school.
Also, we can assume that by now, Rogue would've told the others that she got control over her powers, but right now, the future of the school is still weighing heavily on all of them.
Thewriternextdoor: Oh, Rogue's gonna have a handful of awesome moments on Alcatraz! As for checking on Kitty, well, I did mention last chapter that she noticed her and Bobby holding hands at Xavier's memorial service. It's safe to assume that she saw Kitty looking sad, and because they're much friendlier in this version, she just wanted to make sure she was okay.
0001234: I know, isn't it just sweet? Just don't expect an unrated version or anything; I'm not comfortable writing full on sex scenes. Besides, this story is only rated T. And of course I had to have them give the speech with Ororo! I'm glad you liked it all!
Hope10: I'm not sure if they did. If there is an explanation, it's gotta be somewhere on the internet, but I don't remember them explaining it in the movie.
genbo: Thank you!
Mezita: I'm rather indifferent towards it as well. But thanks!
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.
Magneto and the Brotherhood set up their temporary base in a vast forest. He planned to rally together his new brothers and sisters against the humans responsible for creating the cure. Right now, he was just exiting his private underground sanctuary to see Jean (or rather, Phoenix), now wearing a deep red cloak over her equally dark red ensemble, looking over the crowd of mutants who had set up camp. He stood next to her.
"Do you remember when we first me?" he asked her. "Do you know what I saw when I looked at you?" He smiled proudly. "I saw the next stage in evolution, what Charles and I dreamt of finding. And I thought to myself, 'Why would Charles want to turn this goddess into a mortal'?"
He held up a metal mug, and it floated gently in front of them.
"I can manipulate the metal in this," he continued, "but you – you can do anything, anything you can think of."
Instantly, her eyes blackened, and the cup sat straight in the air in front of her. Then it exploded into millions of little pieces that gathered into a small orb of bright, green energy. She smiled at her new creation.
Magneto, however, took a step back. He watched as the orb began glowing brighter, sending waves of destructive energy towards the other mutants. He could see that this energy was hurting them, and could possibly kill them.
"Jean, enough," he said. When she didn't stop, and the mutants continued to scream in agony, he shouted, "ENOUGH!"
The orb quickly vanished into nothingness, and Phoenix slowly turned to glare at him.
"You sound just like him," she whispered dangerously.
"Jean," he shook his head, slowly getting over his astonishment, "he wanted to hold you back."
"What do you want?"
He stepped closer. "I want you to be what you are, as nature intended. That cure is meant for all of us. If we want freedom, we must fight for it. And that fight begins now."
He left her standing there. The old man could preach all he wanted about wanting Phoenix to be herself, but she knew better: in the end, he would just use her for his own desires. She was nothing but a pawn in his schemes.
No matter. They would all pay the price soon, as Charles Xavier had.
Magneto and Pyro walked through the camp. Callisto caught up with them.
"She shouldn't be here with us," she said abruptly, using resentment to hide her fear of Phoenix. "Her power's completely unstable."
"Only in the wrong hands," Magneto assured her.
Pyro scoffed. "You trust her? She's one of them."
"So were you once," Magneto reminded him.
The young man didn't want to remember how the X-Men always held him back from using his powers for fun. This was why he chose to be in the Brotherhood, completely abandoning the name John Allerdyce. "I stuck with you all the way. I would've killed the professor if you'd given me the chance."
Magneto stopped him. Callisto stopped as well.
"Charles Xavier did more for mutants than you'll ever know," he said softly, but sternly. "My single greatest regret is that he had to die for our dream to live."
He walked on, Callisto following. Pyro stared after them, thinking over what Magneto said, then hurried to catch up to them.
Logan, Ororo, Scott, Rogue, Bobby, Kitty, and Hank all gathered in one of the sitting rooms. Scott and Rogue sat together on one of the sofas with Kitty. Logan looked carefully at how closely they were sitting, bare hands entwined. He didn't need his enhanced senses to know what they did last night. Though it made his heart ache for Jean, he was glad that they had each other.
"So what now?" Bobby asked. "What do we do?"
"Professor Xavier started this school," said Hank, "perhaps it's best that it end with him. We'll have to tell the students they're going home."
Scott was about to protest against this, but Rogue beat him to the punch.
"Most of us don't have anywhere to go!" she nearly shouted, standing up. "I don't believe this. You're just giving up? Did you not hear our speech clearly at the memorial service?" When Hank said nothing, she turned to Ororo. "You told me that Charles built this place as a safe haven for mutants, for them to learn how to control their powers for the benefit of mankind. If it weren't for this school and you guys, I would've died in Logan's truck in Alberta, or been captured by Sabertooth, to then be killed by Magneto!"
Scott, Ororo, and Logan all grimaced up at the thought.
"My parents didn't even want me around," Rogue continued, her voice softening. "I don't even know if they still loved me, they were so afraid of me. And Bobby's parents are afraid of him, too."
Bobby looked down, remembering the last time he saw his family.
Scott took Rogue's hand into his own. "Marie..."
But she just shook her head sadly. "I can't guarantee that any of our families would wanna take us back now."
The whole group fell silent. She was right; many of the mansion's residents came from families that couldn't or refused to accept them for being mutants. And the world was still full of people that hated and feared them. If the school closed, they would have nowhere safe to go.
Slow footsteps were heard, and they all turned to the doorway. A young blonde man was standing there, holding bags.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I know this is a bad time. I was told that this was a safe place for mutants."
Hank looked at him. "It was, son."
Rogue looked ready to yell again, but Scott stopped her. Standing up, while still holding her hand, he told the boy, "And it still is. We'll find you a room." He smiled at Rogue, then turned to Ororo and Hank. "Hank, 'Ro, tell all the students this school stays open. I promised Charles that I would take care of everyone if something happened to him. And I never break a promise."
Everyone smiled, and Rogue squeezed his hand. They knew Scott would look after the school well, as Charles did before him. And after Rogue's passionate speech at the memorial service and her strong words from moments ago, they knew she would watch over the school by his side.
The whole time, Logan said nothing.
Later, he stood before Charles Xavier's monument.
Logan...
He spun around. He was sure he knew that voice...
Logan!
"Jean?" He looked around, but he couldn't see her anywhere. He kept hearing her voice and seeing flashes of her.
Logan, where am I? she asked desperately. Logan!
As he heard her voice, he saw flashes of some kind of camp in a forest. It was all too much. He felt to his knees in pain. Now he understood how Scott felt when Jean sent him distress signals.
Logan. Logan! LOGAN!
Finally, it all stopped. Panting, he looked back up at Charles' monument. He knew what he had to do.
He didn't notice Rogue watching him, thinking...
"I don't know about this, angel," said Scott uneasily after Rogue told him her idea.
"Scott, I know I can handle this," she insisted, looking serious. "I've taken Charles' power more times than I can count on both my hands, and I've taken some of Jean's power, too. I'll be fine."
"But using it just once was too overwhelming for Jean," he pointed out. "And –"
"And it also broke down the barriers holding the Phoenix, I know," she interrupted him, nodding. "But she's still a powerful telepath, and Charles even more so. If I've got both their powers to help me, it shouldn't be a problem."
Scott just shook his head, looking deeply worried. "But what if there is a problem? What if you get hurt...or worse?"
Rogue looked into his eyes through his shades, then pulled him in for a kiss.
"I love you, Scott," she said softly. "And I love that you care so much for me. But I need to do this. I'm the only one who can. If we just let Logan go, who knows what would happen to him, or what he'd do if he found her? I promise you, I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing."
Scott sighed. He realized that there was no changing her mind. Even though he wouldn't stop worrying, he had to trust that she did know what she was doing.
"Okay," he said, hugging her tightly. "I trust you."
Logan hurriedly packed his bag. Wherever that forest was, he was sure it wouldn't be a short trip.
"Where are you going?" Ororo stood in his doorway, her hands on her hips.
"Where do you think?" Logan shot back.
She shook her head. "She's gone, Logan. She's not coming back."
"You don't know that," he growled.
"She killed the professor," Ororo reminded him.
Logan sighed. "It wasn't Jean. The Jean I know is still in there." He went to leave his room, but Ororo didn't move.
"Listen –"
"Outta my way," he said harshly.
"Why can't you see the truth, huh?" she demanded. "Why can't you just let her go?"
"Because – !" He grabbed her shoulders, pinning her against his door. "Because –"
"Because you love her," she finished for him, visibly unfazed.
He backed off, turning away.
"She made her choice," she said firmly. "Now it's time we make ours. So if you're with us, then be with us."
She left his room, trying not to let her tears fall. Even after Jean betrayed them, Logan still loved her. But now was not the time to wallow in her unrequited feelings for him.
And Logan made his choice as he headed for the garage.
"You don't have to do this."
He turned around to see Rogue and Scott.
"If we're gonna get Jean back on our side, then yes, I do," he countered. "If you're gonna try to stop me –"
"We're not," said Scott quickly. "We actually want to help."
Logan raised an eyebrow. "Really? 'Cause judging by what happened the last time you two tried to find Jean –"
"I'm gonna use Cerebro," Rogue interrupted him, used to his attitude by this point.
He stopped to stare at her incredulously. Then he said, "If my memory serves me right, only the professor could safely use it. It was too strong for even Jean."
"Yes," said Rogue, nodding. "But during our sessions, I've been taking more and more of his power, and had plenty of time to control it. And now I've got Jean's power, too, so I should be strong enough to handle it. Besides, what use will Cerebro be if it can't be used ever again?" When he just kept staring, she added, "Look, Scott and I talked about this, and I'm willing to take the risk. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be an X-Man."
Logan looked at Scott, who just nodded. He could tell that, even though he would support Rogue no matter what, he was still worried about her. Hell, he was, too. But she looked determined to go through with her decision, without fear.
Finally, he gave in. "Guess I packed for nothin'," he joked.
Rogue and Scott chuckled with him.
And there's Chapter Seven! Seriously, Phoenix creating an orb of destructive energy shows just how powerful she is! But what did we get in the final cut? She...took apart a cure gun and threatened Magneto with the needles. If I'm being honest, I think Jean could already do that without the Phoenix. The alternate scene perfectly shows just how limitless the power of the Phoenix is.
If there was one thing that should've been in this movie for at least one scene, it was Cerebro. Can't let Rogue's telepathy sessions with Charles go to waste.
Also, I learned that Wolverine and Storm, in an early version of this movie, were gonna have a sexual relationship. I mean, I ship them, but not if it's purely sexual, with no love. Yeah, I'm kind of a sap.
And in case anyone tries to correct Scott's line, "I never break a promise", saying that he didn't come home, remember that Rogue took it simply as a promise to come back to her. And he technically did, just under different circumstances. She loves him that much, :)
