Chapter 8:

There were so many people fighting that Rogue felt like she was in a mosh pit. A much more violent mosh pit than normal - but still. She was utilizing her powers left and right, mostly trying to keep it to physical attacks alone but sometimes it couldn't be helped.

Like when Juggernaut began running full speed at the facility.

She knew about his powers, knew he had to be stopped even without Logan shouting for someone to do it. She was already moving in Juggernaut's direction before Logan had even caught a glimpse of him. She knew she couldn't physically stop him, she was too tiny and had no strength whatsoever to do so, but she had other means to take him down - or at least just slow him down. She jumped at his moving body, grabbing around his neck and swinging onto his back, her legs wrapped around his torso. He grunted but, other than swatting halfheartedly at her, he just kept moving like a torpedo. She supposed he figured she would fall off- which she knew was a definite possibility.

Quickly, she held onto him with one fist and then bit the end of the other gloved hand with her teeth. Ripping it off, she slapped her hand against his face- the best place for bare skin contact. She immediately felt the familiar pull and the rush of memories and suddenly he was much more interested in getting her off of his back.

He reached up and grabbed her around the neck and shoulders and, without even breaking his stride, tossed her off of him. She hit the ground hard but his mutation was still taking effect and she felt her muscles hardening and strength filling her. She gasped in pain and shock, overwhelmed at the sensation. She barely heard Logan shouting her name nor Kitty calling out her own intentions to stop the large mutant. Rogue could only clench her eyes shut for a moment and try to pull herself together.

-x-

Storm was channeling all her frustration and anger into the battle with Callisto, though the battle itself was proving frustrating all on its own. After tossing the woman's body onto a metal fence, Storm sent a stream of lightening at the other mutant, finally ending the fight.

Of course, that was when Magneto and John decided to start throwing flaming cars at them.

Storm could see the others ducking behind wrecked cars and ruins, trying to have some sort of barrier from the fireballs. Storm ran behind the car where Logan was crouched, slamming her back against it and trying to catch her breath.

They needed a plan. They had to get to Magneto somehow, but they also needed to lure John away from his side to get the barrage to stop.

Looking over the top of the car where they were hiding, Storm calculated their position and possible routes. However, something interesting made her focus shift.

The cars were being redirected in midair back towards Magneto.

Storm glanced wildly around for who was responsible and found Rogue standing in the middle of the battlefield with her hands splayed outward. Her brow was furrowed in concentration and she was definitely the culprit as she gestured at different cars flying through the air and sent them another way. Storm was shocked by the amount of Magneto's power that the girl still obviously had, having thought that it would have dissipated somewhat after all this time. But there she was - standing up and giving Magneto a run for his money.

John and Magneto began to double down on their attack and, despite Rogue's best effort, a couple of the flaming cars managed to hit ground- one crashed decidedly a little too close to Storm, Logan, and Hank's hiding place.

When they flinched back from the flames, all of them seemed to see it at the same moment.

A half broken gun with the cure ammo still inside laying on the ground. The needles were pointed out and ready to inject.

All three shared a look.

"It's time to work as a team," Logan said.

Storm grinned and nodded, "The best defense is an offense."

Logan turned to Bobby and nodded in Rogue's direction. "Go help her. See if you can take out your old buddy," he grunted. Bobby nodded and ran out from behind the car, immediately icing down the next car John lit up. Magneto and John, who were descending down into the fray at this point, halted their progress. Storm could see Magneto frowning in Bobby's direction before turning to John and ordering something. John smirked and stepped forward.

Storm's attention was pulled away from the fight when Logan turned to her.

"I need some cover."

She nodded and took a couple of deep breaths. Tilting her head back, she knew her eyes were misting over.

The effect was almost immediate. A fog descended among them.

-x-

Tricking Juggernaut into running into the wall and knocking himself out was something Kitty was pretty darn proud of, to be quite honest. She didn't even have to use her powers to do it either. It left her feeling a high of adrenaline as she took Jimmy's hand and ran out of the facility.

That feeling quickly disappeared when she saw John.

She couldn't help but stumble over her feet, a loud gasp ringing in her ears and when he looked over at her she realized the noise had come from her. Their eyes connected and Kitty couldn't breathe for a moment.

She knew he'd been there the entire time, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to look over at him. She knew if she did then her concentration would fly out the window and she needed to concentrate for this fight. It was literally a matter of life and death.

But now here she was, face to face with him for the first time since they parted ways at the mansion during the siege.

He hadn't changed much. Maybe a little taller, a little more broad shouldered- definitely more shadows in his eyes as he gazed over at her with an intensity that caused her heart to speed up. But it was still him. It was still the boy she had known, despite the anger and resentment that poured from him. Her chest ached to look at him.

As much as she tried to hate him, she still loved him even more.

"John…," she murmured, taking a step closer to him. A wild, panicked look sparked in his eyes and he flinched back a little. Her eyes widened as he quickly righted himself, dropping his mask back into place and squaring his shoulders. A cruel smirk twisted its way onto his features.

"Well, well, long time no see, huh, kitten?"

She glared at him. "And whose fault is that, John?" she bit out forcefully.

He shrugged carelessly, that stupid smirk still plastered to his face. She wanted to slap it off. This could've been like one of their usual fights, except there was now feel an underlying tension - a new layer of bitterness, of realness that actually sent a curl of fear inside her.

She tried to glare at him, but her features couldn't help but twist into an earnest, desperate expression. "Please, John," she pleaded, "You need to stop this. You don't have to go through with this, just… stop this and come back home!" She reached out to him and felt tears building along her eyes and tried to push them back, but it was no use. "Please!"

His jaw clenched and he turned away from her.

It was then that she realized they weren't alone. Bobby was standing off in front of John a couple feet away from her left and Rogue watched her with concerned and determined eyes from where she stood next to Jimmy over on Kitty's right. She had been so focused on John that she hadn't even see them.

"Sorry, kitten," John replied. He clicked his weapon and a fireball flared in his hand. His voice was rough but there was strain in it. "No can do."

And he threw his arm out, the fire roaring at Bobby who quickly sent a stream of ice back.

"No!" Kitty screamed, running forward.

However, Rogue was quick to grab her arm and pull her back. "Kitty, it's too dangerous!"

"But, Rogue, they'll kill each other! We have to make them stop!" She pushed against Rogue's hold, but her friend wasn't budging and Kitty couldn't phase out of her grip. Jimmy stared in fear at them over Rogue's shoulder. Kitty realized that she and Rogue were close enough to the child that both their powers wouldn't work, but the boys must be far enough away from his radius that they felt no effects.

"Kitty, they have to do this!" Rogue gripped Kitty's shoulders, forcing the other girl to look at her. "You know you have to let them do this!"

Kitty trembled under her hands, but Rogue knew her friend could handle what was about to happen, could see it in the courageous tilt of her chin.

"Okay," Kitty nodded, her voice cracking.

Rogue relaxed her hold, opened her mouth to say something else -

And Kitty jerked away from her.

"Kitty!"

But Kitty was already running towards the convergence of fire and ice. She wasn't thinking about the consequences or how stupid this was of her (or of how Jimmy could've used his mutation to put the whole thing to end peacefully). She just knew she had to make them stop, even if she had to do it herself. She had to bring John back.

Rogue watched in horror as her friend ran towards danger, but something happened that made her freeze in shock before she could follow after her:

John stopped first.

-x-

John saw her out of the corner of his eye and would've cursed under his breath if he had the time. Instead, without thinking past the panic that inexplicably rushed through him, he cut his stream of fire off as quickly as he could.

Stupid Kitten jumping into the middle of things she had no business interrupting.

John wasn't surprised when the blast of ice hit him square on, knocking him out. Though it did irritate him as darkness curled around the edges of his vision.

Why he still felt those instincts, he didn't know and it pissed him off that they were still in there, lurking beneath the surface, curling around his lungs and ribcage and causing him to make stupid decisions like this.

Though there wasn't much he could do as he dropped to the ground, unconscious.

-x-

"John!" Kitty shouted, collapsing next to him, her knees hitting the gravel hard. Her hands rushed over his face and body, checking to make sure he was alright. Despite the blast of ice to his face and chest, he was still breathing and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Kitty, are you crazy?!" Bobby cried as he and Rogue ran up behind their friend, Jimmy lingering a couple steps behind. "We could've hit you!"

Kitty sniffled and lifted her chin to look Rogue in the eye. "I did what I believed was right."

Rogue pursed her lips but nodded silently at Kitty, understanding her silent message.

"Uhh…guys?"

All three turned to see Jubilee running towards them.

"While ya'll were acting out the Bold and the Beautiful, we've had an interesting development," she pointed off in the distance. They all looked to see Magneto on the ground, Beast and Logan standing around him.

"What happened?" Bobby asked.

"He's been cured," Rogue exhaled. Her hand fluttered to her chest and then to her head. "How did I not…?" She hadn't noticed his mutation leaving. It was still there in her mind, rushing through her veins. His voice was still there, echoing in her ears.

Jubilee looked at her friend and shrugged. "I don't know, girl. Main thing is that it's over, I guess."

"Uhhh, maybe not…." It was Bobby's turn to point, only this time it was at Jean who still stood on top of a large hill, her back to a couple dozen soldiers who had their weapons raised. Even from this distance they could see that her eyes were black and her hair was beginning to fly about her face. The wind was picking up, gravel moving beneath their feet and the soldiers weren't backing off.

"Jean, no!" Rogue heard Logan shout. The redhead's feet lifted from the ground and she slowly spun around to face the army, a red light from within her beginning to glow.

She paused in midair.

A beat. Everyone held their breath.

And then with a rush of power, the army disintegrated into dust.

"Oh shit!" Jubilee jumped back.

"We have to go!" Bobby shouted, something that Rogue could hear Storm and Beast repeating where they were.

Chaos descended as Jean turned back to the rest of them, her hair still swirling as the winds continued to pick up. Her attack wasn't stopping and everyone was running around, humans and mutants alike, trying to escape her wrath. The winds were loud as it rushed around everyone, making it hard to hear or see. People who were too close to Jean turned to ash and those she looked upon met the same fate. Screams filled the air and panic reigned. The junior X-Men collectively felt the urgent need to get back to the jet as quickly as possible.

"Bobby, help me with John!" Kitty cried, "We need to take him back with us!"

"Kitty, you can't be serious!" Bobby grabbed her arm, trying to tug her away. "We have to go!"

She ripped her arm away from him, throwing her body towards John's. "No! Not without him!" She pulled John's arm up and around her shoulders but struggled under his dead weight.

"Kitty, he's the enemy!"

She stopped and looked Bobby dead in the eye. "He's still one of us and he needs our help, Bobby. Now you either move your ass and help me with him or we're all dead!"

Some of John's weight shifted and Kitty looked over to see Jubilee helping with John's other side. At Kitty's look of incredulity and awe, Jubilee shrugged, "I know, I know, I'm stronger than I look," she smirked. "Now come on, let's get his fat ass on the jet while we still can!"

The girls struggled to lift John to his feet and Bobby looked on with a torn expression. By the time they were situated and moving towards the jet, Jimmy following closely, Bobby could only shake his head and follow after them. Not, however, before noticing that someone was staying behind.

"Rogue!" Bobby called back over the loud winds to his ex-girlfriend, who was staring intently at Jean's levitating form. Kitty and Jubilee halted as well and turned around as best as they could with John between them. "What are you doing? We have to go!"

She shook her head, "You go on without me! I'll be right behind you!" She yelled over the winds without looking back.

"Rogue, what are you talking about?" Kitty's voice sounded nervous and she and Jubilee exchanged an anxious look. Neither had a good feeling about this.

Rogue shot a sad smile over her shoulder at her best friends, her white strands mixing with her dark hair as the wind continued to roar around them. "I'll be fine, I promise!"

Jubilee and Kitty both looked distraught at her oath, neither really believing her words. But the look in her eyes told them not to argue with her and that she wouldn't budge from her decision.

Kitty bit her lip, "Do what you think is right!"

"Just be careful, okay? I ain't saving your ass too if you mess up!" Jubilee weakly joked.

Rogue smiled though. "Go!" she urged, gesturing towards the jet with her chin. She could see where Beast was running towards her friends, ready to herd them onto the jet to safety. But she wouldn't be there with them just yet.

Turning back to look at Jean, Rogue forced down a shiver. She was about to do something dangerous but she hoped she had what it took to survive. Watching with a sharp eye as Logan attempted to walk up the hill to where Jean stood towering over everyone, Rogue knew Logan was thinking along the same lines.

But she couldn't let him take the fall this time. She knew he felt responsible- why else would he have left and said those things to her?- knew he believed himself to be the only one able to take Jean on, but he forgot that she had his abilities too and even more besides that.

If anyone could go up against Jean right now and hope to achieve even a decent ending to all this, it was gonna be her. Because if Logan went up against Jean right now, there was only one possible ending: death.

But, with Rogue's mutation…her actual mutation…she could probably finish this with everyone hopefully living. Including herself.

She just had to make it up that hill before Logan and outlast Jean's stamina.

She just had to endure.

And with that thought and a deep breath, she began making her journey- one step at a time.

-x-

Logan felt his flesh ripping from his bones, which, while not being a new sensation, was definitely not a fun one.

But he had to keep going. He was almost there. He was almost to her, almost up that hill.

Jean glared down at him, her eyes deep black voids filled with malice and hate and fury. She rained down wave after wave of energy on him, trying to stop him in his tracks, make him fall, make him kneel - kill him. But Logan could bear it and he would.

He wouldn't let Jean do this. She needed to be stopped.

So he kept one foot moving after the other, his hands gripping the gravel of the hill to help him forward. His shirt was long gone and his pants were about there as well. His shoes had holes in them and he could feel the wind through his toes. But nothing would stop him as he neared the top.

Glancing up at her through the harsh winds that tried to strip him of his skin, he could see her chest heaving with her anger as she watched his ascent, her brows furrowing as he continued to make his way to stand right in front of her.

Being face to face with her was surreal. He knew what he said about Jean still being in there, but staring back into those black eyes he had to wonder. This looked nothing like the Jean Grey he knew. Jean was never this malicious, would never try to kill everyone. And he knew, if she was in there, that she wouldn't want to be this person- that she wouldn't want to go on knowing she had done any of this. This wasn't her.

"You would die for them?" Jean - (no, the Phoenix, he reminded himself harshly, it's not Jean it's the Phoenix, Jean's inside there somewhere and she needed help) - hissed at him.

Logan shook his head and readied his fist at his side, knowing the only way to end this was going to be in bloodshed. He already hated himself, already felt the guilt pooling in his gut at the life he was about to take. He couldn't let Jean go on this way, couldn't let her continue to be the monster that she was becoming.

He knew what he had to do.

Opening his mouth, he wasn't quite sure what he was about to say, but whatever it was stuck to his tongue when his gaze was caught on something behind the Phoenix's form.

Marie.

His stomach dropped and real fear coursed through him.

Rogue stood behind the Phoenix, her own leather suit in tatters from the wreckage of the Phoenix's powers. It wasn't as bad as his own must be, since the Phoenix had been focused on mainly him in the end there, but all the open, visible skin showing on Rogue was more than enough to be lethal.

And she was without gloves.

Logan's eyes widened as he read what Rogue's features explained to him. In the split second that he realized what was about to happen, what Rogue had planned, the Phoenix had realized that his attention was not on her anymore and spun around to face the newcomer.

Rogue's hands were gripping the Phoenix's face the second she faced her.

The world seemed to take a breath as her actions resonated with everyone present, before the Phoenix responded in kind. With a sneer, she wrapped her bare hands around Rogue's wrists and held tight, forcing the younger girl to stay where she was and to come even closer.

By the widening of her eyes, Rogue had not been expecting this, and Logan felt that fear come back up and wrap itself in his throat.

"Marie-!" he yelled, and took a step forward, ready to leap forward and pull her to him or to rip the Phoenix off, something, but a wave of energy blasted him backwards and he stumbled off the small hill onto his back in the wreckage, knocking the wind out of him. He immediately scrambled up onto his hands to sit up, staring in horror and shock as the veins in Rogue and the Phoenix's hands and faces started to show black and begin to creep along their bodies. The Phoenix was staring intently into Rogue's wide, fearful eyes and Logan's widened as well when he realized that their bodies were beginning to levitate from the ground.

"Marie!"

-x-

Rogue felt like her entire body was on fire. The amount of energy, of power flowing through her veins was overwhelming and she could feel the Phoenix ripping her way through her mind. Rogue held onto Jean's face as tightly as she could, but winced as the Phoenix's nails dug into the skin of her arms in response.

"You think you can win? You think you can beat me?" Phoenix snarled at her, the veins in her skin becoming more apparent with each second "Silly child, that you could even think you might win is laughable."

Rogue was losing this battle. Phoenix was right, she wasn't strong enough to beat her- this wasn't going to work and she was going to die.

"Marie!"

The voice permeated the fog that had clung around the two women's bodies, and Rogue felt like she could suddenly breathe again.

She had to win. She had to be strong. She could do this.

Rogue's mouth set in a firm line, her grip on Jean's face reaffirmed itself, and within her mind she pushed.

Now it was the Phoenix's turn to look shocked.

Rogue pushed forward, could feel her mind reaching forward into Jean's, looking for that source of power, bringing it into herself, taking away the Phoenix and its control.

The power that was being leeched from Jean continued to flow into her mind and it was so much - too much- that the force of it all caused her to throw her head back and scream.

She had never felt power like this before. It burned through her and for a moment Rogue felt like she was on fire.

Through all the chaos and the fury, Rogue could still feel the switch from the Phoenix to Jean, could feel when it was suddenly Jean's mutation and emotions at the top of the other woman's psyche.

It took almost all of Rogue's strength to just lift her head back up to stare at Jean, their hands still gripping the others face and arms respectively.

Jean was crying, her face covered in the dark veins that Rogue's mutation caused.

"Please," Jean sobbed, "Kill me."

And Rogue knew now was the time.

With one last scream of effort, she ripped her hands away from Jean, watching as the other woman immediately dropped to the ground.

Chest heaving, she stared at her hands in wonder and horror. Rogue felt the new power rushing through her veins, the strength of it causing her head to spin.

"…Marie?" a voice drifted over to her.

Snapping her head up, her eyes caught on Logan, who stepped hesitantly towards her. Behind him was Jean's form, but she was turned over. He must have check on her first and Rogue knew by the rise of her chest that Jean was still alive.

It worked. She did it.

"Marie, are you okay?" Logan asked, his voice unusually soft. 'No,' she thought distantly, 'Not unusually. He's always sounded like that to me', the memory of a time, long ago, on a train, when she had a warm arm around her and a soft voice in her ear, promising everything would be alright.

And it would.

"It's alright," she whispered, her voice trembling just like her hands.

Logan, even with his super hearing, barely heard her. "Marie?" He reached out for her.

Her mouth opened again to respond to him, her hand reaching for him, to placate him, tell him everything was alright, it'd be fine, but her voice caught on his name and her legs stumbled backwards as dizziness overtook her and the world rushed by in a blur.

She collapsed. And into the darkness she went, with a ringing in her ears and a fire burning beneath her eyelids.

-x-

I am so so sorry for the wait you guys. Real life has once again been crazy and I've been going through a lot, one of the main thing being a change in jobs and going from a part time schedule to a full time so i have even less time to work lmao. I hope this made up for the absence, I've had that last scene in my head since coming up with the rewrite ideas so I've been looking forward to writing it, its also been one of the most important scenes so I hope i did it justice lol. Let me know what you think, and I want to thank you all so much for your continued support and readership, it really means a lot :')