OOOOK this is the chapter I had in my mind from the moment I decided to start making this fic, here we are, explaining everything before, during and after the Incident and the events in Logan, making this while listening to Hurt by Johnny Cash hadn't been the happiest idea...

Enjoy...

Chapter 14 – Manifestation

Franklin teleported the Blackbird at its underground base, this time better oriented with the mansion's grounds. Jean and Scott were already at the ramp and rushed down to it the moment it touched the ground, their uniforms felt heavier on their bodies as they tried to reach faster their child.

They ran to the doors leading to the base, followed by Franklin and the rest. Their feet led them on their own towards the right direction. The couple was lost in the terror shared inside their bond.

Hope was hurt.

'Hank has her in the infirmary.' Jean sent to Scott as they rushed towards it, Franklin tailing them. Cyclops didn't need to give the orders as Storm would take care of everything else around the school after the seizure and try spot Raven who had left the school.

The moment the doors of the wing opened, Jean and Scott encountered Psylocke, disoriented and pale, trying to help Hank with the patients. There were at least half a dozen telepaths at the school and they were all there, looking pale and sick. Jubilee was also there, conscious but with a bandage wrapped around her arm.

'Behind the enclosures.' Hank only pointed out, as Scott and Jean, even still out of breath, started for the more private part of the infirmary.

'Guys,' Jubilee's voice called them and the couple turned and looked at their friend. 'I didn't feel the seizure but something made Hope scream and… she pushed me against the wall with a wave of telekinesis only Jean has hit me with, before.' Jubilee explained and Jean felt her stomach dropping. Hope's first sign of her powers, ignited by Charles' seizure.

Jean glanced at Scott for a moment before they could rush closer to the place their child was taken. On the right, there was Charles, like days before, unconscious and looking frail, countless of wires monitoring him. Hank had him in a medically induced coma. On the left, Hope was unconscious, her face peaceful, her body limp. An IV was connected on her arm, two small wires monitoring her brain activity that remained stable.

'Oh God,' Jean whispered at the sight of her daughter as she reached her child and touched the girl's pale cheek. She closed her eyes and tried to feel her. The consciousness of the girl was lost in slumber, not too deep into her mind, not too close either.

'Get out,' Cyclops defensively commanded Franklin who found himself between Charles and Hope, for the first time so close to both, his furious eyes from looking at Charles had turned soft and pained as he looked at Hope. His eyes betrayed desperation and fear as they looked at Jean and Scott's offspring. He then looked at Jean with his focus getting lost, he was truly terrified.

'You need to bring her back and erase all this from her memory; you need to make her believe this never happened.' Franklin instructed Jean, for the first time ever since he arrived in 2023, his voice was begging instead of commanding. Jean could see the seer devastation in his eyes, his voice chocking in emotion.

'I'm not manipulating her brain,' Jean defended, she was against creating illusions with her powers; she hated playing God with other people's lives. She was done with Franklin's secrets and his methods, she had been reluctant to accept the cruel way they dealt with Rice already. She wouldn't mold her daughter's brain, like Charles' had refused to do with Jean herself, in her own favor. She wouldn't be unethical to her own child. All her turmoil was shared with Scott through their bond.

'You must, this is abnormal, the seizures shouldn't start until 2025… this is bad… this is what ruined everything and it's starting earlier than expected! That's why I wanted you at the boathouse the soonest.' Franklin struggled to explain as he looked hopelessly at Jean. 'Please…She survived the Incident in '28 but her brain had been injured by the seizures that resulted in psychic attacks like today. She will be physically unable to deal with her powers if her brain suffers more attacks, she's still young, you can manipulate the coma she's in. We still have time to help her, she's-' Franklin was trying to reason with them , revealing more and more as Jean shook her head, tears building in her eyes at the revelation of Hope's future as Scott grabbed the young man by his uniform's collar and the two men came in eye-level.

'We have nothing. You have to get out of here, unless you start explaining what is going on in that bloody future we're supposed to fix. You have no right on my daughter, my family, or my team.' Scott was lashing out at the young man as the pressure on his own shoulders had magnified. He had been watching his own world crumbling and he had tried to remain stoic, from Logan's return, to Hope's fragile and ominous future, Scott had tried to remain strong, he was breaking now. 'You've invaded this place, caused chaos and we've been trying to fix your shit ever since.' Cyclops accused through gritted teeth at the young man who remained shocked and silent before the leader of the X-Men.

'Scott!' Jean warned her husband who held the young man who seemed for the first time broken, his arms on his sides. Franklin could have stopped Scott, he could have pushed him away physically or through his powers but he seemed as if almost welcoming the charge, in a way; atoned for something. Jean could feel the tiniest whispers of despair bleeding through his brain and that made her knees go weak. Whatever future he had been trying to stop, they were all rushing to it, it seemed.

First she with Raven, now Scott was lashing out at Franklin, the thorns on their sides were being ripped out. Raven had a child out there, she was probably running to it. Franklin had Hope in the future, he was struggling for her here. Jean hated the motivation of love behind their actions. Scott released the younger man in a shove after a moment more and Franklin glanced at Xavier before he could look at the couple who moved closer to their daughter, unsure and afraid of what to do.

'Jean…' Scott tried verbally, they had to take a decision. Jean looked deep into his husband's eyes, she had to make a choice as a doctor and a mother.

'We can't just toy with her brain, Scott,' Jean whispered desperately as she looked down at her daughter's seemingly peaceful face. 'And I can't keep her in the coma for long, I can feel her distress in the place she's locked herself in,' she added as she touched her child's cheek.

'I….' Franklin tried and took a deep breath, Jean could feel his desperation towards the choice they were about to make. 'I am really sorry for what you're about to see,' He apologized in a broken voice as he approached the couple. He moved closer to Hope's bed and Jean's instinct was to get on guard but Franklin only grabbed her hand the moment he grasped Scott's arm as well and closed his eyes. For the first time in the past three weeks, Jean felt Franklin's mental wall collapsing and allowing her into his mind.

Jean and Scott found themselves in a corridor, dressed in their uniforms still, side by side as they looked at Franklin and the place around them. All the drawers were closed but one and soon they found themselves inside their house, by the lake, watching from a corner of it, Jean was between Scott and Franklin as the young man projected his future.

The newly built boathouse still smelled of the building materials. The wood's smell was dominant. Hope was sat on her bed, crying with sobs as Franklin was kneeling before her. She seemed around 16, her blue eyes were full of tears as Franklin pulled her into a hug.

'I think he'll die soon.' Hope was gasping through the words and Franklin sighed and kissed her wet cheek. 'He didn't even recognize me,' she went on against his shoulder.

'I know, baby, but he's old and deserves peace, he's been sick for a long time.' Franklin was trying to comfort the girl before him who tightened her arms around him as she sobbed. Things around them shook at her powers slipping more and more each day, paintings on the walls, knick knacks and even her desk's chair trembled and shook. 'It's ok,' Franklin whispered as he closed his eyes and calmed down the room but let his girlfriend vent her pain in his arms.

'Her powers were pure reaction at first.' Franklin explained as the couple watched the scene before them, both knowing how hard it must had been for Hope. 'They were developing in her unconscious... Her nightmares were powerful, shook even the lake.' He added grimly as both Jean and Scott glanced at each other, knowing what that meant.

Static noise.

'Everything will be alright, sweetheart. This is absolutely normal.' Jean was reassuring her daughter as she sat at Hope's side; it was the middle of the night. Hope had cried her eyes out. Jean used her powers to put everything back in their place, the broken glass from Hope's perfume gathered in a corner, telekinetically she opened the window for the spring breeze to enter the room and take some of the vanilla scent outside.

'I saw the end of the world, mom...' Hope confessed in desperation, sweaty and shaken. Jean sighed and touched her daughter's cheeks, taking away some of the tears as the weeping girl leaned in to her mother's touch.

'You and I are among the most powerful mutants in the world, my love. Our brains can play tricks on us…' Jean tried to sooth her child but Hope shook her head in despair.

'No, mom, no it wasn't a trick, I felt it, I saw fire and pain, I saw… something dark and it's growing.' Hope released a breath as she struggled to take another.

Jean felt her heart breaking, years ago, a very similar situation had unfolded between herself and Charles, she wished he'd be there to help but he was too sick by then even to communicate with any of them but Jean who was brave enough to delve into his brain.

Static Noise

Fire.

Pain, brain splitting pain.

Hope was screaming, holding her head. Scott was on his knees, his hands clawing at the skin of his face in agony. Jean held her ground and engulfed their brains in time with a mental shield.

Jean ran from the boathouse -her house-, everything was a blur of color and light as she left her family behind to find the rest. Barefoot in a nightgown, her breath caught, her mind numb, her body was cold.

'The Westchester Incident.' Franklin confirmed as Jean and Scott watched what they had seen the night the young man had entered their dimension. The small glimpses they had seen that night were now full moments from the future, helping them understand, Jean could feel some were Franklin's, some were Hope's, what they had shared during their life in common.

Telekinetically, Jean slammed the doors open, bodies everywhere. The students were down, blood running from their ears, some of them had their eyes open, bloodshot, and some others had their eyes closed.

She ran to the lower level. Her eyes wild, her own nose bleeding, she tasted her blood.

Jean ran through the corridor. Towards Cerebro and the infirmary. She halted.

More bodies spread on the corridor, seemingly trying to reach for some place in the infirmary or away from it. Jean winced in pain as another wave rushed through her brain, like a knife stabbing the organ, she held her head in agony but did her best to shield herself. Ororo was down, blood dripping from her ears, pregnant Marie was on her side, holding her large belly with her second child inside, Remy close to her, he had somehow tried to shield her. Bobby's eyes were having tears of blood, Kitty was face down, her hand still holding a monitoring device, Kurt was on the floor with a rosary still in his tight fist while Elisabeth was close to him, her eyes cold and unfocussed.

'Charles had a seiz-' Logan tried to say as he started waking, recovering, before he could look at Rogue and then at Ororo's lifeless body.

'Take him and go away,' Jean was running with Logan in the parking lot of the mansion. Charles still unconscious in Logan's arms, like a puppet, his nose was bleeding.

'She's dead,' Logan was chocking again and again, his voice broken. He looked at Charles in fear and hate, two things Jean saw for the first time in her friends' eyes for their mentor.

'Take him and go!' Jean commanded him and almost shoved Charles in the back seat with her powers. The IVs still hanging from Charles' arm. The old man was regaining consciousness. His face frowned, Jean raised her hand and sent her mentor in to a deep slumber, the more he was out, the safer they'd be from more seizures.

'Ro's dead!' Logan screamed in agony as Jean shoved a bag in the backseat with Charles. All his pills, all his medicine. All she had to give. She turned around and slapped Logan across the face, bringing him in his senses. Her hand stung from the impact, his skull was pure adamantium.

'RUN! Run, don't look back. Get out of the borders. Head south, I will manage all this. I will find you. They will come for him. GO!' Jean commanded again and shoved the keys in Logan's hands.

Hope set fire to the boathouse, her powers manifesting.

Jean looked in horror from the distance. Franklin was running towards the boathouse, his nose bleeding, his eyes wild as he was one of the first to recover from the psychic attack, his instinct was to abandon everyone and run for her daughter.

'HOPE!' Franklin screamed as he winced through the waves of power the girl was sending off. Jean took down her daughter before she could kill her own father who was the closest to her, the girl fell unconscious but alive. Scott was in a coma.

Her life was destroyed in a night. She could feel the Special Forces approaching. The Sentinels had taken the green light, if needed, they were to be tested that night. She had no idea how far the ripple the seizure created had reached.

Jean was collapsing on her knees, a scream ripping out of her throat.

'We must evacuate!' Franklin was screaming from the distance. He was reaching Hope's unconscious form as Jean tried to contain herself. Project Hope. Eden. Canada.

Static noise.

"And you could have it all

My empire of dirt

I will let you down

I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns

Upon my liars chair

Full of broken thoughts

I cannot repair"

Johnny Cash was on the radio as Jean moved closer to the room from which the music was heard through a slight static.

'We had a fight, over her powers. But we'll be ok,' Franklin explained, he gathered all the broken vases, pieces of wood and plaster with his powers. Jean was looking from the door of the room, they were both still dressed in black, mourning.

'I'm sure you will,' Jean offered sympathetically as she helped with the restoration of the room. 'You want me to continue with her exercises?' Jean asked softly and Franklin sighed in defeat as he looked at the older woman, the closest person he had left to a mother.

'Her brain is damaged from Xavier's psychic attacks; the injures are old and can't heal, it's not the exercises and we all know it. She knows it. The only solution I see is mental barriers.' Franklin admitted, Jean shook her head as she sighed and looked at him.

'No, trust me, that will lead to catastrophe. I have seen it a long time ago, from a friend who I hope is still out there alive.' Jean explained and Franklin took a deep breath.

"Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end"

She and Scott had done their best, gathered the survivors and left before it was too late for everyone. She didn't bury her friends and family like a good person. She didn't try to save the injured, like a good doctor. She didn't have the time. She was trying and failing to save the one child she cared the most for, her own.

'All I want is for you and Hope to be happy, dear.' She smiled at Franklin, trying to comfort him.

'I know, I promise we'll be ok, she's her parents' daughter, stubborn and fiery. But we'll be ok,' Franklin was reassuring her before they could share a hug like a son and mother would.

"And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I will keep myself
I would find a way"

'Hundreds of people got injured and some are comatose in Oklahoma City earlier today, after a suspicious incident that the authorities haven't briefed us in about yet…' there was an announcement on the radio when the song was over.

Static noise

'I need your help,' Hope was saying, Franklin by her side. Erik Lehnsherr before her, Lorna and Wanda by his sides. Erik smiled at the young girl before he could look at his eldest daughter and back at the couple.

'Your mother is not helping?' Erik asked for confirmation, his eyes searching into the blue orbs of the young woman before him. Hope shook her head as Franklin reached for her hand and she took it, he didn't want to be there but Hope was desperate and he would follow her even in Hell.

'No, she believes putting barriers in my mind will drive me crazy,' Hope admitted and Erik nodded, his eyes serious.

'Your mother is right, you know, I have seen it with her,' Erik tried but Hope shook her head. She knew of her late uncle Logan and his time travel, not everything, but she knew their banes back then were almost as bad as the ones they experienced now. Hope was willing to take the risk, she was losing more and more of her control over her powers while all of them got weaker by the day, yet something else was growing strong inside her.

'I'm driven mad anyway….' Hope whispered honestly and Erik sighed and shook his head.

'By my side, we'd have reached greatness… I had warned your mother about her and Charles' mediocre ways with you… now your brain is classified as a weapon of mass destruction…just like your mother's, just like Charles' and Wanda's, we're hiding like rats!' Erik was full of anger and remorse.

'Will you help me or not?' Hope asked impatiently and Erik finally smiled at the young girl.

'Of course, my dear, if you both join us,' he offered and Hope sighed and shook her head.

'Grandpa was wrong, you do something without asking for something in return.' Hope turned down the offer and tagged Franklin along as they moved away from the family of three.

'Dad?' Lorna asked but Erik remained smiling.

'She'll come around, Jean would never agree to help her.' Erik reassured and Wanda sighed as Erik started couching a moment later, she brought his medicine closer and helped him take it, his hard composure breaking.

'Lets hope she'll come around before it's too late,' Wanda sent to Lorna who sighed and nodded, her face etched with worry for their father.

Static Noise

A place in the woods, concealed. The young couple watched as less than thirty children were playing, watched by Jean and Scott on a bench.

'You think my parents are happy?' Hope was asking Franklin as she watched from the window of the second floor. She was around 25, a grown woman. She was wearing an oversized sweater that reached her knees, her legs bare, the neck of it exposed a shoulder that received a kiss from the young man behind her as he wrapped his arms around her. He owned that sweater but he smiled as he remained topless in his trousers. The fireplace of the room keeping the place warm.

'They have each other, I think that was always enough for them.' Franklin replied and Hope nodded with a small smile. 'Are you happy?' Franklin asked and Hope smiled and turned around in his arms, her long mane was on one side, Franklin put a strand of fire-red hair behind her ear and traced his fingers on her bare shoulder.

'I have you, that's more than enough for me.' Hope replied with a sweet smile before the couple could share a kiss. Franklin brought her hand to his bare chest, above his heart and squeezed her fingers, tracing his own fingers on the ring he had given her. It had belonged to his mother, the only thing salvaged by his family.

'Promise me, if things go wrong…' Hope whispered and Franklin nodded and kissed her cheek, always afraid of her powers.

'Promise me the same, we're the most powerful, after all, it will be us or no one else will stand a chance against us,' Franklin whispered back and Hope nodded her head.

The burden of being beyond Omega Five, the weight of absolute power, the temptation of Darkness, the corruption that came with it, the limitless power and its sweet taste, the knowledge of being almost divine . The guilt of blocking that state.

'Don't ever tell them,' Hope begged and Franklin sighed and nodded.

'I won't, I promise.' Franklin reassured her.

'I love you,' Hope whispered and Franklin wrapped his arms around his fiancée.

'I love you more,' he replied and she smiled against his shoulder.

'For those nine years, we lived peaceful days… Behind your backs, she and I set barriers in her brain so she could live normally. And she did, Hope lived peacefully, without nightmares, by my side and…' Franklin's voice broke. If they weren't in the astral, Jean would reach and take his hand. 'Looking back, I don't know if things would be different without them, her brain was permanently injured, at the time, it seemed the right thing to do. We weren't even sure if we created the barriers properly…' The devastation and guilt he projected were crippling, Jean understood why they would do it. 'She fought the good fight before she fell in Erebus.' Franklin was chocking through his tears as Jean and Scott did their best to keep their own emotions in check as their dystopia unfolded. In Logan's timeline, their end had been tragic, in this one, it was simply unbearable.

Static noise.

The chamber was massive, at least a dozen telepaths were wearing copies of Cerebro in their heads, all of them connected to a computer with the Trask industries logo on. IV's with control serum were attached on the base of their heads.

'Day and night, they searched for us, through telepaths and Cerebro that had been taken the night of the incident and used as a tracker for the remaining mutants of the world. They searched for us; our brains had been classified as weapons of mass destruction.' Franklin whispered as the couple watched with him the scene in fear. Remembering the man's suggestion of taking the device apart. 'And we were getting weaker and weaker because of the toxin Rice had induced in mass production foods and water sources. We were doomed.' Franklin added. 'At the end, they found us, and they waited until we were weak enough.'

Static noise

Hope and Franklin were flying through the forest. They had left for their favorite spot in a lake a few miles from the concealed Eden, still within its boundaries. Camping and archery while at it were the only pastime when you're in hiding. Hope had woken up screaming in their tent and telepathically they could feel something terrible was happening back home.

'MOM!' Hope was screaming as she flew faster closer to the house. The firebird was radiating its power and light from afar, visible through the snowy landscape.

The advanced sentinels were attacking the place. The corpses of dead teenagers and young adults were already spread on the front yard. Cyclops and Phoenix were trying to defend the place but the sentinels were brutally taking everyone down. The large house was set ablaze by one of the Sentinels, trapping the hiding children inside. Cyclops was attacking full on at two sentinels, having taken his visor off in his attempt to destroy them, his once lethal blasts were now merely holding back the robots.

Hope annihilated with effort one and Franklin the other when a third one attacked Cyclops from behind, its arm turned into a massive spike. The Phoenix shielded her husband but her shield was weak and broke as the sentinel impaled Scott's back with force, raising him in the air as he gasped through his own blood. He was dead before he could fall on the ground, a massive hole on his chest smearing the snow with blood, his blue eyes open and unfocused.

'DAAD!' Hope was crying out in agony.

'NO!' Jean hollered, reaching her husband, the firebird was getting bigger as she was abandoning herself at the Phoenix Force. Manifesting within her, this time for destruction, instead of creation, feasting upon its favorite mutant, as without her bond with Scott, Jean had no more thread to hold onto reality. The same sentinel turned swiftly and stabbed the weakened host of the Dark Phoenix as well before it could get disintegrated by Franklin and Hope who flew close to Jean's gasping form, before her, Scott lay dead.

Pieces of wood and rumble from the fight levitated and shook as Hope was murmuring incoherent words in terror and shock as she reached for her mother and pulled Jean in her arms, cuddling her mother by the shoulders, adjusting Jean's head against her own body. Hope's hands getting stained in the warm blood of her mother's chest. Jean's face was turning pale, blood started dripping from her parted lips, her eyes losing focus momentary. Hope tried in vain to press down on the wound as to stop the bleeding, making delirious Jean gasp as she touched her daughter's hand with her own, her fingers trembling uncontrollably as she struggled to focus on her child through the pain.

'Promise me,' Jean gasped the words as she tried to hold at her daughter's hand while Hope cried above her dying mother, tears trailing her cheeks. She glanced at her dead father, seeing the blue eyes she inherited, bare for the first and last time, this was her parents' end. 'Promise you'll be kind an' merci-ful,' Jean gasped through the last word as her lip trembled and the first choke on the blood made Hope wail harder and hug her mother closer to her chest, their red manes blooded, concealing their final moments.

'I promise, mom, I promise,' Hope was crying and screamed when she looked down at her mother again, Jean's eyes were open but unfocused. Scott Summers and Jean Grey were gone and Hope Summers screamed in agony and fury, her voice breaking in terror as it echoed through the forest. As if a call of a beast, her voice rang through the blood covered place and out to the heavens. Franklin was left hopeless to kneel before his fiancée, trying to comfort her as they crouched in the middle of the massacre. He felt her wounded mind giving way to the pain and the Force, the barriers collapsing, her consciousness searching for sweet oblivion as the Phoenix yearned for the young woman's powers.

Hope's body bended painfully outwards and her body levitated, her clothes full of her mother's blood, a scream ripped through her lips, combined with a bird's screech as the Phoenix Force attacked Hope at her weakest and penetrated her mind to reach her unconscious and nestle there. Hope was the new host and unlike with Jean, the Phoenix didn't compromise as she gripped at Hope's unlimited powers and devoured them. Franklin remained helpless before the sight of the firebird, its fire melting the blood stained snow around the place.

We had been weakened by the toxin…' Franklin explained as Jean and Scott watched their worst fear materializing before their eyes, their daughter getting lost. 'The Phoenix Force within you waited for her and left her no space to react. Hope fought the good fight for her powers and her values. She fought not to turn into Darkness. But exactly because of her powers, Darkness felt kinder, comforting.' Franklin whispered as the static returned.

'We need to be united, your father had been right all along.' Hope was saying as she faced Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Polaris. Franklin was at her right once again, a man of massive built with a metallic arm, a huge gun, white hair and a shining eye at her left. Jean lingered for a moment at the man's intimidating physical appearance. The two men glared at Magneto's children as Hope in her black uniform tried to build bridges. 'If we want to survive, we need to be united, tell your father that.' Hope repeated and the two older women looked at each other before they could look sadly at Hope again.

'Our father is dead, Summers, there is no Brotherhood and no cause anymore. Each of us stands for their own.' Wanda Maximoff was saying as Hope looked at the sisters in sadness and disappointment. 'The age of superhero teams has long passed, Hope. Take care of your family and we'll take care of ours, or at least what is left of it.' Polaris added, her eyes clouded in pain. Hope knew Lorna's own child had been hunted down and exterminated along Raven who had tried to save her grandchild with her own body, in vain, because of their spieces and family, they had been brutally murdered; he had been younger than Hope. The two women levitated themselves and left, Peter stayed for a moment more.

'I'm really sorry about Mom and Dad, Hope, your folks were good people.' Peter offered and looked at the trio before them, 'At least some of the old families survive,' he added before he could leave in a flash, leaving the young woman behind between Franklin and the man Jean had seen in a flash of an image from Rice'd mind, he seemed familiar.

'Who is the man?' Jean asked mentally and Franklin smiled but shook his head.

'My best friend, Cable,' he was being honest.

Static noise

The Phoenix Force manifesting. A woman within a fire vortex. A woman lost in the stars. Fire, Alpha Ursae Minoris. A second heartbeat. A couple holding each other, Franklin cupping Hope's face as he kissed her unmoving lips.

'We can do this, for our child,' Franklin was whispering, Hope was nodding grimly.

'I lost her the day you got murdered. I should have known. By 2038, no mutant birth was possible. It was the Phoenix Force using us, creating its next host. Hope was already lost in it and I couldn't believe or accept it. My greatest regret was that I didn't kill her on time.' Franklin went on and both Scott and Jean looked at him, sorrow and shock still surging through their bond for what they were witnessing. 'Hope was violated, used as a vessel from the Force and I only stood by and watched, even participated in its plans for creating a new host before it could devour her whole.' Franklin went on, his voice grave, his expression dark. 'Hope would never break her promise, she was always kind,' he added as he hung his head.

Static noise

Cities leveled to the ground. Countless casualties, schools, hospitals, everything was ablaze, remaining friends and regained enemies, all burnt. Wherever the Dark Phoenix went through, driven by the final agonizing moments of its hosts, It spread destruction. Jean and Scott found the images strangely familiar from their own struggle with the Phoenix, only here was in a grander, global scale.

Franklin always arriving too late to deal with the ashes, or unable to stop the Phoenix as Hope's body changed with the child inside, her skin turning grey with black veins surfacing through it as the pregnancy proceeded. He always hesitated and she always escaped.

Static noise.

A couple against each other, their figures distorted in a fire vortex.

Outside of the atmosphere, the Milky Way spread around them, Earth miles below.

'Leave her,' Franklin was shouting within the fire vortex.

'Leave? It's me, Franklin, me and our baby girl.' Hope was saying, her voice distorted at the last word, trying to fool him. Franklin attacked with his powers again, making the Force screech in agony as the psychic attack went on. It fired back and Franklin had to conceal himself within a shield as to stop the attack. Hope's body was engulfed in flames, little by little, her body was barely seen in the bright fire. They were both powerful, two limitless forces against each other.

Franklin advanced again with all his might, screaming as he focused on the Phoenix's head. The woman before him was set lit and soon the Phoenix screamed in effort as it was being ripped out of the young woman. Hope's body was lifelessly floating within the massive vortex Franklin had engulfed them in, the firebird formed itself before him and screeched again in fury.

'Enough!' his scream was enraged as he started minimizing the fire vortex like a trap around them, closing in on them made the firebird scream lividly. 'I'm going down and you're coming with me,' Franklin rasped out as he brought Hope's dead body close to him. He hugged his fiancée and shut his eyes as he forced the vortex to implode on them. The scream from the firebird was lost as it reached out in its effort to break free from the cage the vortex created.

The room was white, a static noise humming in the background as Franklin cuddled at Hope's body. She wasn't pregnant and her skin was spotless, her eyes open and smiling up at him.

'You did it, you kept your promise.' Hope smiled and Franklin looked down at her, she was there, like himself, barely existing, the whispers of what was left of them.

'I am sorry I didn't stop it earlier…' Franklin was shaking his head as the tears ran down his face. Hope put a finger on his lips, stopping him even though their exchange was happening telepathically.

'You released me from it, that's all that matters.' Hope comforted him and Franklin sighed and nodded as she took away the tears.

'I missed you,' Franklin sent as he cupped her face, her red hair in contrast with the whiteness that surrounded them.

'I missed you too,' Hope sent back and the two shared a kiss. 'Where are we?' she wondered and Franklin shrugged, the only thing he knew was this white place was comforting.

'I'm not sure. All I wanted was to destroy the Phoenix.' He mentally explained as he looked around him. 'I wish things had happened differently.' Franklin thought and Hope nodded her head for a moment before she could look back at him.

'What if…?' she wondered and Franklin looked at her as the two remained in their embrace. 'What if we did what uncle Logan had done?' Hope asked mentally and Franklin looked at her.

Disney World showed up before them. Scott Summers and Jean Grey-Summers were moving through the crowd, both holding Hope from each hand as she jumped around in her Merida costume, she was 11 years old. Hope smiled.

'Yes, before grandpa's strokes, before uncle Hank's murder.' Hope's voice was a mental whisper. 'You can go and warn them, Franklin.' Hope offered and Franklin looked at her in worry.

'What about you? I'm not leaving you alone again. You are coming with me,' Franklin mentally exclaimed but Hope shook her head.

'I will wait here,' Hope whispered and Franklin sighed and caressed the side of her face, he had missed her. 'If I come with you, that poor 11 year old will be traumatized all over again, she doesn't need the terror of the future. You need to stop grandpa's seizure, that's what wracked my brain in the first place and the entire mansion afterwards.' Hope explained her point of view and Franklin nodded his head, she was right.

Hope reached for a long strand of her hair and cut it with her powers, she turned the strand into a metal chain and took the ring off her finger, she passed it to the chain and secured the chain around Franklin's neck. It was fun staying in the mind of a matter-bender, if this white room was him, that was. She smiled up at him as she hid the ring beneath his blouse. 'Help them, guide them to the right direction.' Hope whispered as the two stood on their feet before each other.

'What if I don't make it?' Franklin asked and Hope smiled.

'Worst case scenario, we return here.' Hope shrugged as she looked at the odd place, half white, the Disney World spreading on the other half. 'It's not so bad,' Hope smiled at her fiancé who took her hand and kissed the spot the ring occupied for so long. The Phoenix Force hadn't taken it off her. 'Try to approach Mom, Dad will be at your throat if he notices you know me,' Hope offered and Franklin chuckled, indeed, he had been through Hell once, he didn't have to face Scott Summers all over again. 'And Franklin, do me a favor.' Hope added and Franklin looked at her.

'Anything,' he reassured her.

'They're both thick-heads and overprotective,' she declared affectionately, glancing at the Summers enjoying ice-cream in Disney World. 'But if it's not absolutely necessary for you to persuade them… spare them the future images.' Hope begged him. 'Especially around Mom, keep your mind shielded at all times. She's sharing a mental bond with Dad, whatever she sees, he sees it too.' Hope concluded and Franklin nodded.

'I'll do my best,' he reassured her, and himself.

'I know, I trust you,' Hope reassured him as well. 'I'll be waiting for you on our spot by the lake,' Hope added as the two hugged a last time, their arms wrapping around each other for a long moment. 'Otherwise, I'll be right here, with you.' She added and he smiled and nodded.

'See you soon,' he finally said as they broke their embrace and he waved his arm, Central Park was shown before them. They were seeing the whole place from above. Franklin stepped into the void as Hope watched him fall. He landed on the Gothic Bridge before the white room could engulf her again.

Scott and Jean found themselves back in the infirmary, on the sides of little Hope's bed while Franklin stood at its end, releasing them from his hold. The trio remained in silence. Jean and Scott's bond worked as a channel for their turmoil to be tamed. They needed to focus away from the destruction and the death they had just witnessed. They needed to help Franklin stop that future.

'You understand now?' Franklin asked them both. 'It's Charles or all of us, the Incident initiates our destruction. Charles will die, now or in the future... it doesn't matter, he's old but Hope will be barely 16 when her life will be destroyed. And if I have to choose between Charles and Hope, I choose Hope with all my heart.' Franklin broke the silence, as Jean and Scott looked at the young man, his face was a grimace of pain, his mind was unlocked, and he was being honest. They hated the truth in his words, they knew Charles would choose Hope over himself too.

'We can't just kill Charles,' Scott was whispering in defeat.

'Let me pull him out of his misery, you think he'd be happy if he knew how it all ends?' Franklin asked desperately but Jean shook her head, all this was too much.

'We'll find another way,' she declared as she moved at the top of the medical bed her only child was on. 'For now, I need silence as to find Hope and bring her back,' she sent to the two men who nodded and watched over at the most precious girl in their lives. Jean's previous objections were eliminated by the things she had seen in Franklin's mind. She had to choose her actions very carefully. Jean closed her eyes as she focused on her daughter, her hands circling the girl's head. She focused her mind and probed in the familiar layers. She had felt Hope's thoughts or very imprints ever since the pregnancy, she knew Hope's mind as we all her own.

'Sweetie, are you alright?' Jean asked as she approached her daughter at the atrium of their home, she was overlooking the lake. They both wore red dresses, matching their hair. Barefoot on the wooden floor. Hope turned and looked at her motherin shame and fear, her hand was bleeding. 'Let me see that, my love,' Jean offered as she ripped a piece of her own dress and wrapped the fabric around the wound. 'Nothing a brave girl like you can't overcome.' Jean said encouragingly and Hope smiled shyly.

'You're not mad at me?' Hope asked and Jean frowned at the question.

'Why would I be mad, sweetheart?' Jean asked as she caressed her child's head while she held the injured hand.

'I injured aunt Jubilee.' Hope whispered. 'I am not sure how I did it, all I felt was pain in my head and then I screamed and it just happened. Like when you use your powers. I didn't mean to hurt anyone.' Hope was desperate but Jean smiled and hugged her daughter tightly.

'I know, sweetheart, and no one is mad at you, not me or Dad, not aunt Jubilee, I promise. What happened was an accident and you just had a mental reflex to it. It wasn't your fault, my love,' Jean reassured her daughter as Jean kept the injured hand in hers until it could recover completely.

'The only thing I want from you is to get inside the house because it's getting chilly out here, you'll find Daddy in your bedroom.' Jean added and Hope nodded her head, relief edged all over her face. 'After we cross the atrium's doors, you'll forget what happened and you will know deep inside your heart that Daddy and I love you no matter what, Hope.' Jean went on and the girl nodded her head. 'I want you to be strong and kind.' Jean added and Hope looked down at her hand, the fabric had vanished and her injury had healed. Jean held Hope by the same hand and moved towards the atrium.

Jean opened her eyes as Hope drew to a gasp of breath but remained in slumber. Jean looked at her husband who nodded and picked up their little daughter in his arms as Jean telekinetically disconnected the machines monitoring her.

'Lets take her home,' Jean offered and Scott nodded as he kissed his daughter's temple before they could move out of the place with the sleeping child. Jean turned at Franklin. 'Give me two days to find a way out of this,' She added as she caught him looking at Charles, she shielded her mentor's mind for good measure. 'Don't make us the enemy in Hope's eyes, she'll be devastated if he dies like that…' Jean whispered and Franklin sighed and nodded his head. Only now they realized how sensitive the balance was.

'You won't be always here to stop this,' Franklin warned and Jean could feel his brain open and projecting for the first time, his initial plan had been to kill Charles but he had done his best because of the Summers.

'No more deaths, Franklin, please,' Jean begged weakly, they needed time, even if they were running out of it.

'Two days, then I'm finishing this before anyone else can get hurt.' Franklin confirmed and Jean sighed, not sure what was more ominous, Logan's past, their present or Franklin's future.

ok I hope you liked the interaction between jott and franklin before the projection started, i wanted to show the struggle From Scott as much as from Jean...
now for the future, It's a very ominous future, a full distopia from which Franklin tried to escape and change everything for everyone.

I'm listening to your opinion about the Incident and how it unfolded, Eden, Hope and her own struggle with her powers and the Phoenix. I worked on this chapter in the mood the movie Logan had and I wanted a contrast with the happy end of DOFP, I also tried to sync the timeline of the fanfic and Logan in the scene of Jean and Franklin talking while the accident in that Oklahoma hotel was happening in Logan. I also wanted more interraction with the Brotherhood and Erik and his children as it has been requested, more of them is to come too. We also saw clearer glimpses of Cable which we'll know more about soon, but for now lets focus on this chapter, feedback is love 3

CP09