Chapter Nine: Phoenix Moon
Author's Note: This chapter opens up with a more detailed version of the premonition or vision that Luna saw at the end of the last chapter. Once again, these are X2 SPOILIERS so, if you haven't seen the movie yet (which I refuse to believe) stop reading right now and go see it.
The moment Jean's bare skin touched Luna's, Luna felt a shockwave run through the course of her body that rocked her to the very core of her body, signaling the onset of one of Luna's premonitions. It would not be the first time that she'd had one. They were one of her many mutant powers, after all. She gasped, closing her eyes as she received the vision in her mind's eye. As usual, it was in bits and pieces, a psychic montage of sorts. But this time, they came in a rush and they were unlike anything she'd ever seen before....
The Blackbird was racing through a stormy sky filled with gigantic tornadoes while thunder and lighting flashed across the sky, trying to afford the two Air Force jets on its tail. It was a rocky ride: the Blackbird zipped through the most treacherous of conditions. It was almost impossible to see and maneuverability was even worse. It should have been easy to lose the jets but it got harder and the worst of fears were confirmed as Jean cried out, "We're marked" and Storm grew more determined to get rid of their pursuers, sandwiching the closest jet in-between a pair of tornadoes, tearing it to bits. The chase continued with the other jet and it fired a pair of sidewinder missiles at the marked jet. Jean had had enough. It was time to get psychic. She focused her energy on destroying the missiles and as she focused as hard as she possibly could, Luna's POV (third person omnipotent) zoomed in on her. Jean's eyes had begun to glow red and then began to burn with a fire unlike any other Luna had seen before. She watched as the fire seemed to grow larger and larger, its flames taking on the shape of some sort of bird. Then, the view switched and Luna watched in awe as the missile blew up in a blast of flame.
Then, the scene switched.
Cyclops was heading towards Jean and she was calling his name, trying to reach out to him using her powers. Then, he attacked, sending out one of his optic blasts right for her. Then, using all of her strength and might, she pushed back against it. Then, Luna saw that fire from before burn in her eyes for just a moment. Luna then had a feeling that she knew what was coming next. For a moment, she heard the same celestial song Jean heard, the same symphony, as it rose through her body. Then, she watched as Jean pushed back the blast using all of her mental powers. It created a small Big Bang, and its sheer force knocked the pair of their feet and caused the room they were in to rumble.
The scene switched again.
This time, Jean was trying to save the Blackbird and everyone she loved and cared for. Using all of her powers, she brought its engines back to life and kept the icy cold waters from engulfing the ship and keeping her sacrifice from being in vain. Then, she did something that she thought that she'd never be able to do: she raised the ship from the ground, tapping into an inner strength that she didn't think she had within her body, giving herself over completely to her powers. Even though the process threatened to kill her, she refused to give up: to let anything move her from where she stood. She'd never tested herself or her powers so unforgivably before. It would have amazed her if she weren't so wrapped up in what she was doing. Yet, deep within her body, she felt that something deep within her body had been awakened and it was aiding her, guiding her. Then, her body was surrounded by an aura that made her look like she was transforming into a bird of flame, that same fire from before burning in her eyes. Finally, the ship flew and Jean, satisfied that her loved ones were safe from harm, put her hands down and let the flood overtake her.
And then, there was the last one.
Jean, dressed in a red and black, rose out of the water, a fiery aura surrounding her body as she flew, her eyes emotionless and blank. The flames began to take on the shape of a huge bird of flame, no, a phoenix as Jean rose towards the heavens, declaring for the world to hear, "I am fire and life incarnate! Now and forever, I am Phoenix!"
And then, it was all over. As suddenly as she'd received it, it was gone. The images rushed from her mind's eye, but not from her memory.
Luna staggered backwards, pulling away from Jean, gasping for breath, her eyes wide and staring.
"Luna, what happened?" Jean asked, trying very hard not to panic. Panicking was bad for the baby. "What did you see? Did you have a premonition or something?"
No answer. Luna was still trying to catch her breath.
"Luna, please, answer me!" Jean pleaded.
Luna looked at Jean for a moment, her eyes still wide. Then, they rolled back into her head as she fell to the floor with a "thump", collapsing into a motionless heap.
Jean was in danger of losing it and her baby. "Oh god, oh god, oh god." She murmured over and over and over, trying to think of something to do. Finally, she just shrieked, both mentally and vocally, "LOGAN! SCOTT! ORORO! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME! LUNA'S FAINTED AND I CAN'T MOVE HER!"
Logan was there in an instant. "Do you need help, Jeannie?" he asked.
"What do you think, Logan?" Jean asked as Scott and Storm arrived. She was slightly irritated, primarily because of what happened and because of the baby. "Luna passed out and I don't know what to do. I can't use my telekinesis to move her; it'll strain the baby."
"Do you want Logan and me to put her in her room?"
"Should I get Charles?" Storm asked. "And Wolf?"
"Get me for what?" Wolf had just entered the hallway with Pyro in tow. She gasped when she saw Luna. " Oh, my god, what happened?!"
"Luna fainted." Jean said, flatly. "And we don't know what to do with her."
"How far down the hallway is your room?" Logan asked.
"Two doors down." Wolf replied. "Maybe you should carry her."
"Okay, Scott, you take her legs and I'll take her arms." Logan said. "We'll lift on three: one, two and three!"
With grunts, Logan and Scott lifted Luna up and carried her down the hall to the door marked "Luna and Wolf's Den. Enter at your own risk." Wolf used her own telekinetic powers to open the door and they carried her inside, laying her lifeless body on her black and silver sheeted bed.
"Should I go and get Charles?" Storm asked, looking very concerned.
"Oh, Ororo, would you?" Jean asked.
"Say no more." Storm said and she promptly turned on her heel and left, trying not to run.
"What should we do now?" Scott asked.
"Wait. " Wolf said. "She'll rise on her own. She always does."
***********
Luna…Someone was calling her name.
Luna…
But who was it? Who could be calling for her as her mind, exhausted by the force of her premonitions, rested and recovered? Who would dare disturb her mental slumber?
I know you can hear me Luna. You are like the Phoenix. Nothing can stop you from rising from the ashes and living again.
Who are you?
I am a part of you, Luna. I live deep inside your subconscious mind, lying dormant until I am awakened.
Do you have a name?
Do you?
It's Luna.
No, I mean, what is your real name?
I don't remember.
I do. I know everything about you, Luna. I even know the things that you have long since forgotten. Your real name is one of those things. I have always been here with you, you know. Luna, you called for me. As you slid into darkness as you saw a vision you were never meant to see, saw a part of your mentor that you should never have seen, you called out for help. You called for me and I answered. I will always answer your cry for help. And now, in order to live again, you need me. Tell me, Luna. Do you want to live again?
Yes.
Then, take a hold of my wing and you will live again.
Out of the shimmering darkness of her mind, Luna saw a huge phoenix, carved of ice, appeared before her, reaching out one of its shimmering sapphire wings to Luna's hand.
I am the Ice Phoenix and I will allow you to live again, Diana.
Diana?
That is your real name, Luna. Diana Marianne D'Canto.
Diana….
Yes. I told you. I know all about you.
What did I see?
You saw my "sister", The Phoenix. She lives within Jean.
A Phoenix…..
I am stronger than she is, and I was supposed to sleep forever…but your cry woke me up. And now, I live again, tonight on this phoenix moon.
An image of the moon , with a huge flaming phoenix within its white orb, appeared in Luna's mind.
That's when the dreaming stopped and Luna's eyes, shot open, glowing icy blue for a moment as she gasped for breath.
Everyone standing around her bed backed off a little.
Luna's vision was blurred a little and she groaned as she focused herself on the faces above her own.
"Luna, are you alright?" Jean asked.
All Luna said was "Phoenix moon….tonight is the night of the Phoenix moon….." Then. She closed her eyes and slept again.
Jean turned and looked around at her husband. "What do you think has happened to her?"
Wolf just looked at the body of her sleeping friend and smiled. "Luna is like a phoenix…she'll rise again. Just like the moon."