DISCLAIMER: I still do not own the X-men. But I do own this story.
By the time Hank and Bobby reached the office, the rest of the team had assembled. Logan shot him a look as he walked in, but other than that he was relatively ignored. He looked around to see if he could find a place to sit near Rogue.
"Now that we're all here," The Professor began. "I have some news to report. It seems as though there was a disturbance at Alkali lake." The name of that place got mixed reception from the assembled people. Logan inhaled sharply and furrowed his brow, Rogue got wide-eyed, and Storm was confused. Bobby and Kurt both hung their heads, and Cyclops was doing his best to not burst into tears. Logan spoke up.
"What kind of a disturbance?"
"It appears that Jean Grey may not be deceased, as we have all assumed." Those who had been present and witnessed the event all gasped. How could anyone have survived that?
"What's more," he continued. "She seems to be coming home. Back to Westchester. However, there is a downside. She isn't acting like herself. At all. On her way here, she is forging a large path of destruction. It may be unsafe for the children to be here when she arrives. Scott and I have devised a plan, however. We will contain the children in the Danger room until the rest of the team confronts her and is able to assure that it is safe for the children to be here. Jubilee and Kitty, since the students seem more at ease with you in charge, you will stay with them. Henry, you shall be positioned in the med lab, in case of an emergency. The rest of you will wait in the main foyer for her arrival. I will be in Cerebro, trying to contact her as she nears the mansion. Perhaps it will become more possible the closer she gets."
"Professor, maybe the Popsicle should be with the little ones as well."
Bobby looked angrily at Wolverine, and the Professor turned to him questioningly.
"And why is that, Logan?"
"He flipped out during training. Knocked Gumbo clean off his feet."
"Is this true, Robert?"
"Yeah. But it won't happen again, I promise."
"Remy, are you alright?"
"Oui."
"Hm. Well, perhaps it is best if you sit this one out, Robert."
"But, I—"
"I am not ready to take any chances. You, along with Jubilation and Katherine, will keep the children company in the danger room."
"Professor, I don't want to be stuck in there with him again."
Kitty hit Jubilee, who rolled her eyes and sighed.
"I don't know, ask the big, bad Iceman." Jubilee had been directing all of the questions regarding why they were all stuck in there and where babies come from towards Bobby, although she usually enjoyed making up elaborate stories in response. Kitty had programmed a playground into the room, as well as a petting zoo a pool. Jubilee was playing lifeguard, while Kitty kept watch over the play area. They had delegated the task of making sure that people weren't being gnawed on by goats to Bobby.
Down the hall, the team was suiting up. In the girl's locker room, Rogue was pulling on a dark green glove. She looked around. The room was so empty, what with Jubilee and Kitty already being dressed. She shrugged on her jacket and examined herself in the mirror, making sure that she hadn't forgotten anything. She looked at herself in her uniform and smiled. She had been so proud when, upon their return from Alkali lake, she and Bobby had been issued the standard uniforms. After multiple long discussions with Logan and Ororo, she decided to approach Scott about changing the uniforms. They had taken a vote, and decided that each team member would be allowed to customize their uniform as they saw fit. She had had a lot of fun with that, and was proud to wear her new uniform. The best part about it was that it could pass for normal clothes. Almost. She headed back out of the locker area and into the war room, where Scott was setting up the map. When the rest of the team arrived, he began to give his orders. As he pointed out the current path of "Jean" on the map, as well as their positions, Rogue couldn't help but notice that Remy was staring at her instead of at Scott's presentation. She turned a little bit away from him and closed her coat around her. Scott finished his instructions just as the professor announced that Jean was within twenty miles of the mansion. The team hurried to the elevator and reached the front foyer, where they set themselves up for the battle. Rogue, Gambit, and Carol climbed the stairs and positioned themselves so that they could see her approaching up the driveway. Storm leapt into the air and hovered above Wolverine, while Nightcrawler teleported up to the chandelier. Colossus, Cyclops, and Wolverine stood in front of the door, ready for whatever would come through. Rogue sat on the window ledge, peering out. Carol had taken flight and headed out through the window to see where Jean was exactly. Gambit sidled up to Rogue and whistled.
"Nice uniform you got dere."
"Cram it, Cajun. This ain't the time."
"Chere, it's always de…" He was cut off as Carol came barreling back through the window.
"She just reached the driveway. Coming in fast."
Gambit spun around and extended his bo staff, and Rogue leapt down from the window ledge, still keeping a watch on the driveway. She saw something coming up, a large fiery form. Squinting, she made out the basic edges of it.
"Looks like a bird."
Gambit came up beside her. "A …big, fiery bird."
Rogue turned to Carol and took off a glove. "Ya ready?"
"Do it." Carol extended her bare arm, and Rogue grabbed hold of it, absorbing Carol's abilities. Carol barely flinched during the transfer. After a few seconds, Rogue let go and put her glove back on.
"You ok?"
"I'm invulnerable, dear. Of course I'm ok."
Rogue smiled and looked out of the window again.
"Here we go." Just as the words escaped her mouth, the front door caved inward, sending shards of wood flying at the three men standing in the foyer. From where she was standing, Rogue could feel the heat emanating from whatever the being was. she leapt into the air as a small flame shot up through the floor, and was surprised to find herself suspended there, floating.
"Woah." She turned to Carol, who laughed.
"Cool, huh?"
"Ah'll say." Down below, Wolverine, Colossus, and Cyclops had all taken fighting stances. Cyclops had his hand to his visor, ready to blast if necessary. Wolverine had unsheathed his claws, and Colossus was in his metal form. Given the nature of this particular adversary, Scott wanted to try the diplomatic approach first.
"Jean? Want to tell us what's going on here?"
In response, the bird spread it's wings to show the outline of a woman, completely engulfed in flames. The woman slowly descended, until she was touching the ground. As she stepped onto the ground, the bird apparition shrunk back into her fiery body. She took a step closer to the three men, and Wolverine looked at Cyclops.
"I don't think this is Jean, bub."
The fiery woman looked up towards the chandelier, where Nightcrawler was hanging. Seconds later, it came crashing down. Colossus rolled out of the way, taking Logan with him. Scott incinerated the piece of the heavy fixture that was to come crashing down on him. Kurt teleported up onto the balcony just before it hit.
"Ms.Grey is very different from what I remember."
Carol nodded to Rogue, and they both took flight. Scott noticed that everyone was getting ready to strike, and tried to talk to her one last time.
"Jean! Why are you doing this?"
The fiery apparition smiled and spoke, in a voice that was Jean's, yet at the same time was different.
"Jean is dead. I am the Phoenix."
Scott removed his hand from his visor. He hated it when people reminded him of Jean's death. The Phoenix noticed his move, and the next second, he was flying out of control towards the stairs. Gambit winced as Scott's body went straight through the wall, causing most of the stairs to collapse. He charged up a handful of cards and flung them at the Phoenix, but it simply deflected them and sent them back at him. He dodged them and rolled into a ball to avoid the glass that was shattering from the window behind him. Colossus and Wolverine had charged the Phoenix again, and Rogue and Carol were taking turns flying at it at top speeds and punching it. Nightcrawler had disappeared somewhere under the wreckage, intent on finding Scott and getting him down to the med lab. Storm used the now open window to generate a gigantic lightning bolt, but it seemed to do little more than fuel the Phoenix. Kurt re-emerged from the wreckage with Scott who was surprisingly uninjured. As he stood back up, Cyclops gave the final order.
"Plan B!"
For a brief second, all eyes went to Rogue. She closed her eyes momentarily and swallowed. She had hoped that it would not come to this. She took off her gloves and reared up. The rest of the team was doing their best to keep the Phoenix occupied, and she went towards it at the fastest speed she could, latching onto it with her bare hands and with a strength that she herself did not possess. Silently, she thanked Carol for letting her borrow it, and she concentrated, preparing to order the thoughts that came into her head. The rest of the team had stepped down, since the Phoenix seemed to have stopped fighting. The flames began to dwindle, and the fiery woman shrunk back into the body of Jean. Scott rushed to her side, as the last of the fire disappeared.
"Jean!"
She looked up at him. "Scott… I…tried…" Then, she went limp. Rogue released her grip on the woman, and closed her eyes. She had never had anything like this inside her head before. She looked up and found herself staring into the concerned eyes of both Logan and Remy.
"Kid, you alright?"
"You ok, Chere?"
She nodded. "Ah just need t' lie down… she…it is in my head now, and it ain't too happy about it."
"I'll walk you to your room" Both men said it at the same time. She looked up at them, sensing the tension that came with the two offers.
"That's ok. Ah can still fly f'r about ten minutes. Might as well make use of it." She took off, as Scott lifted Jean into his arms.
"I'm taking her down to the doctor." Tears were streaming from beneath his visor, and he didn't bother to try and hide them. When he reached the elevator, it opened on it's own and the Professor nodded to him from inside.
"I got a brief mental reading of Jean's original brainwaves."
Scott nodded, as the elevator re-opened on the lower level. Hank was waiting there with a gurney. Scott gently set Jean down on it, and walked along side of it the whole way back to the lab, not once taking his eye off of her. He had lost her once, and he wasn't about to let it happen again. Henry immediately hooked her up to a number of sensors, and announced that she was stable, although comatose. The Professor wheeled up beside her and placed his hands on either side of her head. Scott could do little more than watch, as the Professor tried to bring her back to the conscious realm.
Upstairs, Colossus and Carol were piling the broken pieces of stairs in the front yard, as Nightcrawler and Remy worked on getting the shattered windows cleared. Colossus looked at the mess.
"Wonder how soon we can get a carpenter here to fix this?"
Logan came up beside him. "Don't bother. I can do it." Outside, the smell of burning wood was spreading. Storm had done her part and incinerated the broken pieces. The last of the glass was cleared up, and the only thing still dangerously broken was the window. That was remedied soon, though, as Carol and Storm taped up a large tarp to cover it until they could get someone there to fix it. Remy dumped the shovel full of glass into the garbage can and turned to the rest of the team.
"T'ink someone should relieve Jubilee and Kitty? Rogue might need dem right now." Everyone looked at him, and Logan silently cursed himself for not thinking of something like that first. Nightcrawler stepped up.
"I will go with you, mein freund." Remy nodded and tipped an imaginary hat to everyone else.
A/N: Took me a bit longer to get this out than I thought it would... I'd like to say that I'm holding the next chapter hostage, and that you will recieve it as soon as I get reviews, but judging from the reviews that I got for the last chapter (or the lack thereof), I honestly can't say that I'll be holding my breath. That said, help me get out of my little puddly of pity and review.