****We're not done yet. Still More Major Character Deaths****

Chapter 5 - Too Far

While Kurt was loudly losing his cool, begging God and luck and anything he could think of to just help him, the rest of the cells were nearly still and silent. Ororo had a hand over her mouth as she tried to hold in a sob, her other hand braced against the wall just to stay upright. Scott was frozen in stunned horror as the blood drained from his face and Kurt's voice got less angry and more desperate- and Jean… Jean had gone somewhere beyond the horror that Scott was feeling to something else entirely.

It was too much at once. Not just the captivity and torture but losing the professor, watching her husband hurt, worrying about their kids, hearing Victor's promises as he tortured a woman that had become a good friend that had helped balance their team out… then in the matter of minutes to lose James and K - and Logan, too. The fire started before she'd even thought about it, and once it did, there was no need to plan an exit strategy. The Phoenix was going to burn its way out of the compound; the X-Men simply had to stay ahead of it.

"Jean," Scott started to say, but when a deafening, heartbroken, rage-filled cry from the Phoenix was the answer, Ororo grabbed him by the arm to pull him toward the exit.

"We need to find the others," Ororo told him, making sure to keep her grip on him since he couldn't see the destruction of the compound around them. "Anyone that's left."

Scott would have argued, but Kurt teleported to the two of them and then teleported once more, getting them both out of the way of what would have been part of the wall collapsing. "I know where they are," he said, his voice rough with emotion and barely controlled before he teleported them both to the room he'd been to before to observe the kids- and then disappeared again, though he didn't exactly say what he was up to.

Ororo let out a soft "Oh, Goddess," before she handed one of the kids to Scott, though she didn't say who it was, and he didn't know.

Not until the little guy wrapped his arms around Scott's neck and quietly said. "Want my Daddy."

Scott froze and took a step back just to keep himself upright. But after a beat, he wrapped James up and held him tight. "I know, buddy," he breathed out. "Right now, we need to get out of here, okay? You hang on tight."

James tightened his grip a little, though it was clear he was still upset at seeing everyone but who he was looking for, especially when even as he was holding tight to Scott, he started calling for his Mom and Dad.

"James misses his Dad and Mom," Rachel said helpfully. She was holding Kitty's hand, and Ororo had Mia clutched tightly as the little girl happily babbled to her mom and snuggled into her shoulder. With Bobby - still stiff and sore - carrying Nate, that was everyone accounted for, though Ororo at least had the wherewithal to keep a hand on Scott's arm to steer him so it wasn't blatantly obvious to the kids that this was more than just an issue with no visor.

Their timing couldn't have been better, either. They had just spilled out onto the main floor when two destructive forces seemed to collide - a magnetic force that was ripping through the compound's above ground levels and the Phoenix force as it burned its way to the surface.

"What has happened to all of you?" Erik demanded. "Where's Charles?"

"I'm afraid we're all that's left," Ororo said when it was clear Bobby and Kitty didn't know and Scott was barely keeping it together as it was. "Kurt is… somewhere, and Jean…" She gestured toward the flames steadily growing beyond them.

But before Erik could even process that much, Kurt teleported up - with both Logan and K. He was determined not to leave them behind, though the singed fur was an indication of how close a call it had been.

"Gather closer," Erik said. "I'll … take you all away from this place."

"All of us," Kurt said, a sharp light in his gaze that none of them had ever seen before. "If I knew what they had done with Charles, I would bring him too. And I will find Ja-" He froze when he turned and saw the little boy in Scott's arms. James looked back at him with wide, teary eyes. Kurt teleported over to rest his hand on James' head, needing to just touch him to see that he was really there. When Kurt spoke, the unfairness and sorrow was palpable in his voice. "Was is… nein, kleine junge…."

"They're all alive," Ororo told him.

Kurt looked between the kids and then down at Logan and K before he swore all over again, closed his eyes, and then teleported to Ororo to steal a long kiss and to kiss Mia's forehead tenderly and run his hand gently over her hair. "Then we will ensure that nothing will threaten them again," he said soft enough that Ororo was the only one to hear it before Kurt teleported off again - this time close enough to Jean to catch her attention before he got closer still and then, all at once, the firebird and Kurt were both gone in a poof of swirling pink and purple.

Erik took in the scene for a moment before he looked down at Logan and K, frowning to himself when he saw the damage on both of them. And simply because it offended him, he removed the collar Logan was wearing and turned to Ororo and Scott. "The children shouldn't stay here while they … continue." He turned toward the downed ferals again with a barely restrained look of distaste. "And they should not see that."

"We're not leaving them," Kitty said, her gaze positively locked onto Logan. There were tear tracks down her face, and it was blatantly obvious that the only thing keeping her from breaking down into a puddle right there was the fact that Rachel had a death grip on her hand and was starting to cry as well - even if she didn't quite understand all that she'd seen. Kitty had tried, of course to block her view of the worst of it … but with death and misery all around them, it was inevitable that she'd have seen some of it.

"I'll stick with them," Bobby offered quietly, his tone one no one had heard from him before. "You guys take the kids… I'll wait with them and you can come back."

"Bobby," Scott started to say.

"Hey, I owe him," Bobby said. "I got it. Besides … the kids have been missing you. Probably had more than enough of me."

"We can put them near Jubilation," Erik said. "Once we get the children somewhere safe and Jean and Kurt return."

"They should be near one of the cabins," Kitty said, shaking her head. "But not … not right now."

"Later," Scott agreed, still holding onto James tight and unsuccessfully trying to keep the little guy from getting upset - since he didn't quite know how to angle him to keep him from seeing anything he wasn't supposed to. And for how still James had been since Kurt had teleported off, Scott suspected that he'd seen much more than he should have.

"Yes. It's long past time you all left this place," Erik said quietly before he raised his arms and picked up a considerably large section of sheet metal that all of them were standing on. In a moment, he'd curled up the edges and they were on their way to Genosha.

As soon as they were in the air, the rescued X-Men lapsed into near-silence, though not everyone was old enough to fully understand what was going on. Which was how a two-year-old Nate wound up peeking over the edge of the metal and smiling up at Erik. "Fast," he giggled.

Erik couldn't help but to spare the little boy a muted smile, though he didn't slow their progress down one iota. "Stay back from the edge, young man," Erik told him gently.

"Okay," Nate said, though he was still peeking anyway - at least until Kitty managed to pull him back and he was distracted by trying to join into the snuggle Scott had almost enforced with James. On seeing the two boys curled up with her father, Rachel immediately wanted to join as well, leaving Scott with a little boy in each arm and his daughter attached to his side where he was sitting toward the center of the metal - while the rest of the X-Men sat in silence around him, warily watching their blinded leader. Kitty had her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms around her shins, shoulders shaking as she tried to keep her grief as silent as possible. Hank was simply shell shocked - as were most of them, and Ororo kept her full focus on her little girl, quietly humming one of Kurt's lullabies as she rocked Mia.

When it got a little too crowded with Scott when Nate fell asleep, James tried to wriggle away from the pile of Summerses. "Wait," Scott said. "Wait until we get to the ground, okay, buddy?"

James squirmed a little but settled back down with little more than a soft sigh that Scott could feel spoke volumes of how scared and out of sorts the little boy was. "I'm sorry. I promise you can run around when we get settled," Scott said.

James frowned at that, though Scott obviously didn't see it, and he was too tired and lost to fight with him, so instead, he just rested his head on Scott's shoulder and went limp, which was evidence enough to anyone that knew him that he really didn't want to run around.

Meanwhile, Bobby was still keeping up his vigil over the two Howletts when he heard the whine of an engine outside the wreckage and narrowed his eyes, getting stiffly to his feet before he iced up and stood guard in front of Logan and K. He didn't know who these newcomers were, but all things considered, he was sure this was more bad news.

"Looking for a fight, Drake?" Tony Stark's voice echoed out before he appeared a few moments later - fully armored up and looking like at least he was ready for a fight.

Bobby relaxed slightly when he saw it, but he stayed iced up - and in front of Logan and K. "You're so late it's not even funny," he said.

"Giant firebird left, huh?" Tony asked as he touched down - and made his way closer.

"Yeah. That's… still a problem. But that's not what I'm talking about," Bobby said before he stepped slightly aside - at least enough for Tony to see just who he was watching out for. And why.

"What the hell," Tony breathed out as the faceplate shifted out of his way. "What happened?"

"Short version?" Bobby crossed his arms. "The Friends of Humanity ambushed us."

"They're not smart enough to off these two," Tony pointed out, staring in shock at the two dead ferals.

"Yeah?" Bobby gestured to Logan and K. "Well, give them weeks of nonstop torture, bring in Victor Creed and tell them their son is dead? I mean, I wasn't there but even I know how that was going to end."

Tony looked more wide-eyed. "The kid too?" he asked quietly.

Bobby shook his head quickly. "No. That was a lie to screw with them, I guess. James, Rachel, Nate, Mia - they're on their way with the survivors to Genosha." He let out a long breath that showed how tired he was. "You're late. So damn late."

"No kidding," Tony agreed softly as he made his way over to kneel down next to them still not believing that they were both just … gone.

"I don't suppose you know where the Phoenix went after it left here," Bobby asked as he de-iced and sat down heavily.

"I've got satellites tracking," Tony said distractedly as Steve rounded the corner and outright stopped.

"Gonna be hard to follow. Nightcrawler is with her."

"Yeah, that would explain the sudden bursts of fire," Tony said, then turned to look up at Steve. "We screwed up. So bad."

"What…" Steve was just staring at Logan and K, still stopped at the corner. And when he did look up to see a de-iced Bobby who was still not back to normal human colors after the beating Logan had given him, he looked furious. "What happened? I thought this was a Phoenix issue."

"No," Bobby said tiredly. "But I'm sure that's the only problem the guy screening your calls would find even though we're in the middle of a building full of nothing but genocide. The Phoenix didn't even come into play until Jean lost it when Logan…" He gestured with one hand. "Where are they hitting? That's a very special combination of fury and hurt that I only wish on my worst enemies…"

Tony drew his attention away from K and Logan and consulted his on board computer even as his suit started a scan on both of the bodies. "Looks like all the known FoH and MRD facilities right now … at least … that's what the dozen or so that are already leveled were."

"Yeah. Well. I'm too tired to act like that's a bad thing," Bobby said, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands. With the Avengers there, he was really starting to crash.

"You wanna head to the quinjet, take a load off?" Tony offered. "We'll bring them with."

"I promised not to leave 'em," Bobby said.

"Then let's get them out of here before someone that's actual trouble comes pokin' around," Tony said before he looked up at Steve. "C'mon, Cap. We gotta take 'em home."

Steve nodded slowly at that, finally kicking away from the corner he'd been leaning on to keep himself upright in favor of going to Logan, while Tony was sure to pull K into his arms as they headed to the Quinjet. It had just been the two of them, since the other Avengers were spread out trying to put out literal and figurative fires in the wake of the Phoenix attacks, so there wasn't anyone else in the jet to see the mess the Howletts were as the Avengers set them down and Bobby sat down close to them, his hands shaking as he watched the whole thing.

Steve was frowning hard but didn't say anything until he was sitting up front with Tony. And even then, it was just a quiet, "Tony…"

"Yeah," Tony breathed out. "Looks like a regular Romeo and Juliet thing, doesn't it?"

"How did it get that bad that fast?" Steve asked in a breath.

"I think … it's been worse than we thought for a long time," Tony said. "Obviously."

"Obviously."

A few moments passed between them before it was clear how angry Tony was. "Damnit, this is exactly the kind of thing we made the Avengers to stop. Why is it that our calls so rarely go to help mutants? Who's in charge of that?"

"I don't know, Tony," Steve said warily. "We handed that side of things over to SHIELD years ago."

Tony was agitated as he thought it over and glanced back at the bloodied couple only long enough to let out a bitter sound from the back of his throat. "This never should have happened. They never should have gotten anywhere close to them - we should have paid more attention when they told us how bad it was." He was barely keeping his temper in check - and only because he could see how traumatized Bobby was. "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this, Cap."

"We both will." Steve glanced back at the three mutants in their hold. "I didn't catch where we're headed."

"Magneto picked them up, so … "

Steve frowned at that. "Are we running a rescue from Genosha? We've already got the Phoenix to deal with…"

"I don't' think this is a rescue, Cap," Tony said. "Sounds more like Magneto was the one to get them out of danger. If it makes you feel better - which I'm sure it won't- he was late too."

"Really doesn't," Steve muttered and glanced back again, though he didn't actually voice any further opinion on the matter.

"Scanners show that she got a carbonadium blade in the back of the head along with a dislocated neck," Tony said quietly. "Half a dozen other more minor to her injuries …"

"And him?"

Tony drew in a deep breath and clearly didn't want to respond right away, though when it was clear Steve was still waiting … "Self inflicted."

All of the wind left Steve's sails, and he glared out the window. "How did we miss this, Tony," he said after a long, long silence.

"I don't know," Tony replied. "Not like we can fix it at this point. All we can do is stop it from happening anymore."

"Yeah," Steve said, though he didn't say anything further until they were nearly to Genosha, at which point he surprised Tony by taking over on the message declaring their business and requesting permission to land. "We've got Iceman, Wolverine, and K," he said in a businesslike tone. "We're just bringing them home - and want to make sure the rest of their group is in one piece."

A few moments later, they were granted permission to land, though Tony was nervous going in. It was more than a little disconcerting to have Magneto meet them there himself - though they had been expecting someone a little higher up the chain of command than Kitty to be there when they landed.

"We'll take care of them," Kitty said, though her eyes were red and puffy and her voice was hoarse.

"I can help," Steve offered.

Kitty blinked at him before she nodded, though Erik was already shaking his head. "We have a place prepared for them until we can find a suitable burial site," he said. "I can manage. Katherine, please show Robert where he'll be staying." With that, he turned his wrists in a graceful gesture and both Logan and K rose up from where they'd been laid out. A moment later, the bodies floated past the Avengers - and Erik left with the Howletts in tow.

Kitty gave Tony and Steve a tight smile before she turned to Bobby. "Okay. Well. I guess I'll just…"

"Miss Pryde, I'm so sorry about all of this. Please, let us know when the service is," Steve said, sounding a lot more like himself with all the bluster gone.

Kitty paused and looked Steve's way before she nodded. "There's… a lot," she admitted. "I don't know how soon it will be when Jean and Kurt are still, you know…"

"Can't really blame them," Tony said before he managed to hand her a card. "Give a call either way. We'll make time."

"Right. He was on your team too." Kitty gave him a small ghost of a smirk. "Sometimes."

"Goes back a little more than that," Steve said quietly. "But yeah. That too."

Kitty paused and looked Steve over more carefully. "Do you want to stick around or are you just dropping Bobby off? Everyone's in the living room - Magneto gave us a house to stay in…"

"I … doubt we're welcome," Steve said.

"Just don't start anything. The way Scott's going, you'll stress him into a heart attack," Kitty warned.

"I really do want to see how everyone is doing," Steve said. "Offer my support. So if it's alright … we'll come along."

Kitty nodded. "Just a warning," she said over her shoulder as she led the way, "you bring up Professor Xavier and I'll phase you into a loading dock."

"What … what's the deal with him?" Tony asked, unable to leave it alone.

"He died," Kitty said flatly.

"Did you lose anyone else?" Tony asked.

"Yes." Kitty looked over her shoulder. "We're not talking about it. Especially not when Jean is playing Phoenix. That has historically not ended well."

"Got it. Just trying to keep a running list of who not to talk about," Tony said.

"If you don't see them, assume they're dead or in danger of dying," Bobby said dryly. "It's been that kind of a week."

"Fair enough," Steve agreed with his eyebrows high in surprise before he shot Tony a look and they fell into step behind Bobby and Kitty.

Eventually, they did reach the house - which was within sight of Magneto's looming tower. And as Kitty had said, most of the people on the team were in the living room, unable to relax while they watched the spotty news coverage of the Phoenix attacks and took stock of themselves. Mia was asleep on Ororo, who was ashen as she watched the footage. Hank had managed to get Nate to let go of his fur long enough to set him back on his shoulders, though Rachel was tucked into Scott's side and James was leaning on his shoulder. It didn't escape the Avengers' notice that all the X-Men looked … spent in addition to the more obvious physical signs, not least of which were the wraps on Scott's eyes and head.

Tony and Steve shared a look and made their way over to Scott, taking the closest available seats. "Scott. How are you hanging in there?" Steve asked. "Looks like you've got good support with the little ones, anyhow."

Scott frowned at the new voice and visibly straightened. "We're fine," he said shortly, unconsciously tightening the arm that was draped around James. "He's my godson. He'll be fine."

"He looks fine where he's at," Steve agreed, even as he gave James a little wave and tried to look friendly. James watched him for a long moment, and instead of his usual playful self, he simply turned away from Steve and seemed to melt into Scott's side.

And while Steve was trying and failing to navigate the rough waters of small talk with Scott, Tony had flat out ignored that any such thing existed and dove right to scanning Scott quietly to himself … which … was more than enough to keep him quiet when the results came in with undeniably distinctive treble slashes that were still freshly healed.

Finally, Scott leaned forward. "I know you're here about Jean," he said bluntly.

"Actually, we were there for Jean," Steve said. "We're here for … well. We gave Bobby a ride, among other things."

"Alright. Then I'll ride back with you," Scott said. "She just…she needs something to hang onto to get it back under control. If I can get there-"

"To be frank, the places she's wrecking? No one on our side is going to stop her," Tony said.

"They're not the ones I'm concerned about."

"I understand," Tony agreed. "I'm just saying, we know this isn't in our skill set, and we're not stupid enough to piss off the giant firebird any more."

"First time for everything," Scott said dryly. He got to his feet. "Like I said, I'll talk her down. Someone has to."

"Alright," Steve agreed, though when Scott tried to get James to let go, it was clear the little guy wasn't having it. At all.

"James, you can't come," Scott said quietly. "This is too dangerous for you."

"No," James replied stubbornly, holding on that much tighter.

Scott let out a breath and then turned to Tony. "If this goes badly, put him in a suit and get him out and don't let him see it," he said without any room for argument. "He's been through too much already."

"I'll make sure he gets out safe," Tony said, though he looked more than a little confused at how the little guy was running a racket on Scott like that.

"Fine." Scott took a second to give Rachel and Nate both a kiss before, with James still attached to his neck, he gestured for the two Avengers to lead the way. "Let's go get my wife."

It took a longer than Steve and Tony had anticipated to get caught up to the Phoenix, if only because just as they were about to catch up, Kurt teleported them again, and they had to find out where those two were headed before they could catch up again.

This time, the two of them had managed to find more trouble than before, upending a government facility - though it was on top of a Sentinel factory so neither was going to survive the Phoenix fire.

Of course, even without seeing it, Scott could feel the extreme heat of the Phoenix fire and could hear in their connection that there was only hurt. There was very little of Jean in the fire. The rage of the Phoenix was getting stronger with every act of destruction.

Even Kurt had burned through enough of his rage to see it, if the pleading the Avengers could hear was any indication. "I can't even get close to you, Jean," Kurt was saying as they arrived. "I can keep going but I can't help if you don't rein it in!"

Scott shook his head when he heard it and didn't bother to shout, instead reaching through their connection. Jean, I need you back. Please.

But that seemed to be the wrong avenue to take, because, when Jean paused for a second to look his way, the fact that he was tired and hurt and holding James hit all the wrong buttons. James being there was proof of how pointless it had been for Logan to give up, and Scott was a reminder of everything else that had been done to them. She looked them both over… and the flames got that much hotter.

"Stark, get James out of here," Scott said, though he didn't move from where he was, either, too focused on trying to get through to Jean.

Tony moved to get a hold of James, and as he picked him up from Scott, the little guy started to put up a fight, staring up at the firebird in the sky with tear streaks easy to see on his cheeks. "No! Want Scoot an' Eeenie!"

"James, let go," Scott said as James struggled. "You need to be safe."

By that time, James was flat out crying for Jean, but he was also far too little to argue with them. For just a moment, Jean turned in time to see it as James was holding his hands up to her, his little voice hitching as he called out quieter and quieter for her. And for a moment, the flames drew back - just a bit. Jean was in control - just long enough to really feel the injustice of it all. And just long enough to feel the pure heartbreak that the Phoenix really needed to really start sinking its talons into her.

Tony took James and held him tight until James gave up and buried his face in Tony's shoulder - just before Tony got him out of there leaving Scott and Steve to deal with the rest of the mess.

Jean, come on. We need to get home. The kids … we need to be there. James needs us too. You know it.

Even if the fires were burning bright, Steve could see the difference as Jean looked toward Scott. It wasn't the same fury as the Phoenix had alone, and Steve could see that she was struggling for control, her face contorted with the effort.

Kurt teleported to where Scott and Steve were, frowning over the familiar scene. "They share a telepathic connection," he explained to Steve, since he had no idea what the Avengers did and didn't know.

"That certainly explains a lot," Steve said quietly, though he kept his focus on watching Jean. "Tony just got James out of here. I don't think him tagging along helped at all."

"She's fighting it," Kurt argued. "She needs something good. The Phoenix feeds on anger, destruction, all the worst things…" He let his shoulders drop. "I'm sorry. I have only been feeding that… My best friend…he ..."

"I know," Steve said. "We saw what happened to them. I'm sorry, Kurt."

"Yes." Kurt looked toward Jean, who had her gaze locked on Scott as she tried to fight the Phoenix. "So much has happened, Captain. So much that can never be undone."

"I just don't understand how it happened so fast," Steve said in a breath.

Kurt frowned and turned his way fully. "Captain, I wouldn't call this fast. 'Fast' is a mob whipped up in a frenzy at a whim to kill a blue demon or turn against a goddess of the weather. This was planned, careful murder and torture. There was nothing 'fast' about it."

Steve let his shoulders drop at that. "I know. It's not .. I'm not being clear. We couldn't find where you all had gone, and honestly - thought you were hitting them back." He turned toward Kurt. "I don't mean anything cold by it, I don't. But a couple weeks to those two … even in the worst circumstances ... "

"Do you know how Logan died?" Kurt asked, his tone almost as deep as a low growl.

"Only that he did it to himself," Steve replied. "I still don't understand how-"

"Until today, he was only on the edge," Kurt said, though he had turned his gaze from Steve to the fire. "He … he was close already. They killed Jubilee. They held our children over our heads and ordered him to torture and mutilate our teammates or the children would pay for it. And when Victor Creed told him his son was dead then tortured and killed his wife in front of him - in front of all of us, what on Earth would keep him here?" He asked, though Steve could hear the bitterness ringing in his tone as Kurt's composure cracked.

What little was left for Steve to hold on with was clearly gone and he stared back at Kurt as if he'd been slapped. "I didn't know it happened like that."

"There is a lot you never knew." When Steve looked like he was reeling and had no response, Kurt simply turned his attention back to the Phoenix, his eyes narrowed as he abruptly changed the subject. "She should have gotten control by now."

The Phoenix had taken Jean higher into the air than before, and the firebird in the sky was far bigger than before - despite Scott's best efforts. It was clear he was trying everything, even on his knees and begging Jean to pull it back. And she was trying with everything she had. She was. But she was losing.

The last time this had happened, Logan had been the one to stop it. And even when Jean had come back, Kurt knew Logan had always considered it his job to step in if things ever got that bad again. But Logan wasn't there to stop it when Jean's face contorted in agony as she fought with tears in her eyes against the cosmic firebird whispering lies and promises in her ear. All that she could ever want could be hers … if only she'd give in and let go.

But Jean was still psychically linked to Scott. And even if no one else could hear it …. Scott heard every lie. Every empty promise. He saw the world the Phoenix promised it could give her - with all of their friends and the professor back to life, alive and whole … and God help him, the idea of it all being undone was enough to make Scott's heart ache even though he too, knew it was a hollow lie. It was so strong a picture though. Such a deep temptation... and it was more than Jean could fight when all she wanted was her life back - and the lives of those she loved who had been discarded like simple garbage.

And it wasn't just the team. Jean could see her parents and her sister, Sara, who had died a few years earlier, smiling and laughing as she tossed Nate in the air, only to let him down gently so he could rush off and play with a grinning and laughing James - both of whom looked to be a couple years older than they were right now. It was a glimpse of a future that Jean desperately wanted deep down in her bones. The knowledge that it was ultimately a lie … and that if given the chance, the Phoenix would destroy everything and everyone that Jean held dear … No.

But she couldn't stop it. She wanted to, she wanted to so badly, but there wasn't enough strength left in her to fight it back and even as she tried to reach through the psychic connection with Scott in a last-ditch effort to have him help build her up stronger - she could feel the fire taking a deeper hold on her mind. All she wanted in that moment was her husband. But it wasn't enough. Her face contorted and she drew in a sobbing breath even as the breath was knocked out of Scott for how deeply in despair she was.

As Kurt watched, Jean closed her eyes and tipped her head back, and a screech rent the air. When she looked their way again, there was no recognition in her gaze, and that was what decided it for Kurt.

"Get Scott out of here," he told Steve over his shoulder as he unsheathed both swords.

"What? Why? What can you even do against the Phoenix?" Steve asked, pulling himself together. "Kurt -" He shook his head as he watched Jean and the fires growing faster than before - hotter and wilder. "There can't be much that can be done."

"No," Kurt agreed. "We have very limited options." He took a deep breath and gave Steve a tight smile. "Please, when you talk to Ororo, don't tell her how much I regretted egging Jean on." With that, before Steve could object, Kurt stepped back and teleported away leaving Steve in the quickly dissipating brimstone.

He reappeared exactly where he meant to be, both swords thrust out so that even if the fires around him and Jean were too hot, both of his swords were through her chest before the metal could melt.

For just a moment, the whole world seemed to stand still. Kurt and Jean were both suspended in the air, and even the fire around them paused as the Phoenix flickered from Jean's eyes giving her one last private moment in her connection with Scott before the fire went out. All at once, the world began to move again and Jean and Kurt simply dropped from the sky.