Disclaimer: I dont own The X-men or Slayer
The Cry of the Phoenix
Chapter 10: Impossible battle
Throughout the X-men's history, one of their deadliest and most complex enemies has been the Phoenix itself. At times it proved to be of great help, but unfortunately the times when it would tear the X-men apart outweighed the times that it had helped. Jean still held her husbands hand, never wanting to let go for fear that the Phoenix force would overcome her. Though she was complete she was still technically the White Phoenix of the crown. And that meant that when the time came she would have to make a choice.
But for now, Jean looked at Scott, and he looked back as Slayer and Pixie chanted the words for the teleportation spell. Sieg gripped his sword tightly.
'Watch me…Aeon' Sieg thought as the team disappeared.
The team appeared on the planet, miles away from the crystal and the corps itself. Each member of the team looked at the tower with a determined expression on his or her face. Electricity crackled around Surge and Storm, Remy shuffled his cards, Wolverine popped his claws and everyone else went through their own form of preparation.
"A crystal that big is going to be hard to carry!" Rockslide pointed out.
"Which is why Hellion and Jean are key to the plan, I've got a miniature field generator on my ship we could use as a net" James explained.
"Okay then, Julian, Jean you two try to stay back and let the rest of us handle any grunts okay" Cyclops said.
"Be careful Gabriel!" Havok said and Vulcan nodded his head.
Sieg was the first to move, jumping forward, followed by Jack, Jean and Cyclops. The rest of the team quickly followed. Storm flied with Jean, Hellion and James, while Sieg and Slayer jumped from rock to rock. The Black Phoenix's eyes glowed as he sensed the X-men approach.
"Why, why couldn't they just spend what little time they had in happiness?" He asked himself as he motioned for several corp. members and Phoenix raptors to deal with the distraction.
James flew in front of Storm as the raptors approached. He stretched his hands out and fired two beams of red light from his gloves. The beam slammed into the two Phoenix corp. members, knocking them back. Storm gathered the clouds of the planet and bombarded the corp. members with lighting. In the crevices of the rock planet, the ground troops ran even as golems began rising out of the ground. Rogue ran alongside Surge with her super speed. Her eyes glowed red as she used Cyclops optic beams to blow one golems head off. Wolverine slashed one in half and Colossus crumbled another with a single punch.
Nightcrawler teleported several times, avoiding multiple punches from a golem. He jumped onto one golems back and teleported him high above one of the other golems. Kurt jumped off the golem and let him fall, landing on the golem below it. X-23 slashed one golem right down the centre, alongside Mercury who had changed her hands into blades. Mercury's red hair disappeared and her lower body stretched out as she slashed any golem that got in her way apart.
Storm created a miniature tornado that put two flaming raptors out. Slayer jumped up and slashed one raptor in half, then blasted another with mystical energy. The phoenix symbol glowed on Jean's eye and she smiled. Cable and Soldier fired their guns into a row of golems, crumbling each one apart. Cyclops, Vulcan and Havok linked their beams together, blowing the rest of the golems away from them. More Phoenix corp. members began to fly out of the phoenix egg, all of them drained but ready to buy their leader more time.
Siegfried batted one Phoenix corp. member away with his blade, and deflected another blast. He passed his energy through the blade, creating a wave that consumed three raptors. Gentle and Rockslide smashed several golems apart, while Surge electrocuted two corp. members. Polaris fired a blast that destroyed two raptors and Pixie stunned one corp. member with her dust. Soldier used his buzz saw to slash one Corp member in half while Cable shot one straight in the head.
"Shit, I'm out!" Cable growled.
"My magazines don't fit your weapon, you'll have to use your arm!" Soldier said.
"Sorry Nathan your on your own" Domino sighed as she shot one corp. member in the head.
Cable dropped his guns and closed his eyes. When he opened them his eyes were crackling with Telekinetic energy. He thrust his hand forward, sending at least ten phoenix Corp members flying back.
"Well what do you know, looks like the Phoenix didn't just give me some youth" Cable said with a smile as a golden aura surrounded his body.
Cable took to the skies, using his new TK to blow several Corp members away. Black Phoenix turned his attention away from the crystal and towards the X-men.
"They would rather die then spend their remaining hours in happiness" He said before he grabbed the Phoenix blade.
He held the blade out in front of his face and swung it towards the bottom of the crystal formation.
"I DON'T THINK SO!!" A voice yelled out.
A telekinetic beam slammed into the Black Phoenix's side. The Black Phoenix was knocked back, letting go of the Phoenix blade. Rachel flew at the Phoenix, grabbing the blade and slashing him across the chest. The Black Phoenix's blood sprayed onto Rachel's face, but the deep cut was quickly healed thanks to the force's power.
"Why are you doing this?" Rachel asked as she continued to hack at the masked Phoenix.
"For peace!" The Black Phoenix said, backhanding Rachel and grabbing her hair.
"What the hell are you talking about how can destroying the whole universe bring you peace?" She asked.
"TOO LONG TOO LONG!!" The Black Phoenix yelled as he flew down towards a rock formation and slammed Rachel headfirst into a boulder.
Slayer fired a flurry of mystical flames, which overpowered the Phoenix raptors. He then ran a finger across his blade, creating a sword of pure light. Colossus picked up Slayer by his collar and threw him into the air. Sunspot flew upwards, giving Slayer a further boost to take him above the crevice. Slayer span his sword over his head and swung it, launching a mystical wave at the Black Phoenix. The wave slammed into the Phoenix, knocking him off Rachel. Siegfried then changed into his first armoured form. His tail slammed into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Sieg flying towards the Black Phoenix. The Phoenix blade appeared in the masked mans hand and both he and Sieg slammed their swords together.
"It's been too long, we've watched everything for too long!" The Black Phoenix said as he leant into the blade.
Rachel turned her head towards Sieg and the Black Phoenix. She got off the floor, ready to aid the boy. But she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. Turning around she widened her eyes to see a teenaged version of Cable, wearing a black version of the suit he wore during the civil War.
"I'd stay out of that battle sis" Nathan said.
"Nathan, quit trying to sound hip!" James said above them as he, Hellion and Rogue flew towards the crystal.
Rachel looked down from the rock formation and smiled as she saw the X-men fighting golems, phoenix raptors and corp. members. More Corp members flew out of the egg to get in the flyers way, but both Cyclops and Cable fired at the corp. members, driving them away from the telekinetic members.
"What exactly is going on?" Rachel asked her half-brother (technically).
"Believe me it's a long story, I'll probably tell you about it afterwards" Nathan said before he flew to help Hellion and Rogue.
Sieg jumped over the Black Phoenix's blade, smacking him with his tail. The Black Phoenix swung his sword, knocking Sieg off balance. He quickly regained it to block a swing from the fiery sword. Soldier slashed one golem in half with his buzz saw and threw his shield into a corp. member. He looked to the battle with Sieg and the Black Phoenix, and then went back to back with Slayer.
"I wouldn't be too worried about him you know" Slayer said as he slashed one golem in half.
"Don't worry I believe in Siegfried…faith is one thing this world needs more than heroism" Soldier said as he slashed two phoenix raptors apart.
"Actually I think both heroism and faith are needed in good combination!" Jack said.
Raza stabbed one corp. member with his rapier and slashed another with his sword. The three original Starjammers, Raza, Ch'od and Hephzibah smiled in delight as they fought alongside one another again. Their only regret was that Corsair was not here to join them. They turned their attention to Christopher Summers sons, who despite their history still fought on together. Vulcan blew several corp. members away with a single wave.
Rachel watched the battle in awe, partly confused but more happy to see that the X-men were still fighting together.
"Hello Rachel!"
Rachel turned around and widened her eyes in utter shock. Jean smiled as she floated in front of her daughter. Tears ran down Rachel's face as she looked at Jean.
"Mom!" She said as she walked forwards, touching the tip of Jean's finger just to see if she was truly real. Upon the realisation that the woman standing before her was truly her mother, Rachel broke down, crying in Jean's arms.
"It's okay Rachel, mommy's here" Jean said, stroking Rachel's hair.
Slayer's eye flashed and he smiled at the mother/daughter reunion.
"Rachel, I'm glad that your still here, but right now we've got to get the crystal out of here!" Jean said.
Rachel wiped her eyes and nodded as she and her mother flew off the rock formation. Mother and daughter flew towards the crystal and joined Rogue, Cable and Hellion in their attempt to lift the crystal. Armour slammed her fist into one corp. member and Rockslide launched his fists at two others.
"Hey didn't you smash that guy earlier?" Santo asked.
"Idiot they're the Phoenix's they cant die" Hisako growled.
Storm lashed out at the corp. members with lightning and wind. Several of them fired orange beams into the woman's chest and back, causing her to scream in pain. Warpath threw his knives into the heads of two corp. members, but they both fired an optic blast into his chest throwing him back.
"THERE'S NO END TO THEM!!!" Ink yelled as he fought beside Anole and X-23.
Wolverine stabbed one Phoenix corp. member over and over, roaring with every stab. Phoenix raptors flew into Wolverine, burning his costume and skin.
"This really is becoming a pain in the ass!" Cannonball growled as he crashed into a golem.
Charles and Dani attacked the members of the Corps with psionic waves and arrows respectively. Though their attacks managed to hurt them mentally they relied on Dust and Gentle to keep them safe.
"WHY TRY TO DESTROY EVERYTHING! WHAT PEACE DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE!!!!" Sieg yelled as his sword shattered and his armour shifted into its second form.
"PEACE THE PEACE OF DEATH!!!" The Black Phoenix yelled.
The Black Phoenix slashed Sieg across the chest. He flew backwards, but the Phoenix fired an optic blast into his wound. Sieg yelled in agony as the beam deepened his cut.
"ELIXIR TEND TO SIEG NOW!!!" Soldier yelled as he ran at the Black Phoenix, bombarding him with bullets.
Josh finished healing Magma and ran to support Sieg. But his attention then turned to Gambit, who fell to the floor with a hole in his shoulder.
"FORGET ME TAKE CARE OF THE WOUNDED CLOSEST!!" Sieg yelled as he got up off the dirt.
"Damn this thing weighs a ton!" Hellion growled with sweat running down his face.
James looked at the metre on his gauntlets wrist and cursed as the energy for his ships shield was running low.
"XAVIER I NEED YOU TO GET ON THE HORN TO THE SHIAR SHIPS! IF MY SHIPS BLOWN APART WE'VE LOST!!!" James yelled before shooting one phoenix raptor.
Charles nodded and put his hands to his head, reaching out to his lover Lilandra. The queen widened her eyes when she heard Charles voice in her head.
"Lilandra!"
"Charles?" She said.
"I wish there was time for us to talk more but we need your help, you must make sure that the red and grey ship isn't destroyed, the Ultimatum is our last hope!"
Lilandra nodded her head and commanded her fleet to fly to the Ultimatum's aid. The ships of the Shiar fleet fired their weapons, disintegrating the Phoenix Corp. members. Soldier looked up to the skies, seeing the explosions and blasts of the Shiar fleet.
'Humanity on the ground, Shiar in the air, we can do this' Soldier thought as he deflected a blast from the Black Phoenix with his energy shield.
Soldier then threw his solid shield, slamming it into the Black Phoenix's head. He rolled across the floor, throwing two grenades at the Phoenix. The explosion consumed the Phoenix, who walked out unscathed.
"We just…WANT TO HOLD THEM AGAIN!!!!" The Black Phoenix yelled.
Suddenly the Phoenix generated a telekinetic pulse that threw Soldier, Colossus and Slayer back. The masked man took flight towards those that were trying to lift the crystal. James flew in the Phoenix way, but was hit in the chest by an energy blast. The blast cracked his armour, but the Black Phoenix wasn't done. He grabbed James's leg and threw him away from the crystal. Then he began hitting the armoured man with miniature comets before he crashed into the ground.
"Damn it…all's we've managed to do is lift this thing a few feet" Hellion growled.
"MOM LOOK OUT!!!" Rachel yelled as she flew into the Black Phoenix's path.
Jean turned around, drawing her attention away from lifting the crystal. Her eyes widened as the Black Phoenix dive-bombed towards Rachel with his sword pointed towards her chest.
"RACHEL!!" Cable yelled as the sword tore through Rachel's chest.
Jean gasped as the Black Phoenix threw Rachel's lifeless body aside.
"SON OF A BITCH!!!" Cable yelled, punching the Black Phoenix across the face.
Jean looked down as Rachel slowly fell towards the ground. Upon seeing his daughters body, Cyclops gasped in horror and grief while Wolverine roared in utter rage.
"PETE FASTBALL TIME!!!" Wolverine yelled.
"I'm on my…!" But Colossus was smashed into a rock by a golem.
Soldier ran towards Josh, tackling him.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Elixir yelled as Soldier carried him towards Rachel's fallen form.
"HEAL HER!!" Soldier yelled as he placed Elixir at Rachel's side.
"I don't know if I've got enough strength to resurrect her" Josh said.
"You regrew someone's heart for god sake" Soldier growled.
"Fine, but we need to get her to a place where I can focus"
"That cave over there, carry her there and I'll cover you!" Soldier said and drew his pistols.
Josh threw Rachel over his shoulder and ran towards the cave with Soldier behind him, shooting anything that got too close. Cable punched the Black Phoenix across the head again and again. But the Phoenix eventually grabbed his fist pushed him, sending the former mercenary flying into Hellion. Jean and Rogue flew at the Phoenix, flames glowing in the formers eyes as she faced down her fellow corp. member. Slayer jumped into the air, throwing several scythes of energy at the golem's slicing them apart. The scythes solidified as Slayer landed beside Soldier.
"Josh will probably pass out from the strain of his powers, you know what you have to do to save Rachel?" Jack asked the masked man.
Soldier aimed his gun at Jack and fired, the bullet flew straight past Slayer's head and straight into the heart of a corp. member.
"Have you got a job to do?" Soldier asked Jack with a frown.
Slayer shook his head before he ran up the pillar that the crystal was on. As he ran up the pillar, he continually threw mystical fire at the Black Phoenix, drawing his attention away from Rogue and Jean. Storm flew with Jean and Rogue, the three women put everything they had into lifting the crystal with telekinesis and wind. Slayer jumped at the Black Phoenix, ready to slice him down the centre. But the phoenix held Jack in place.
"I would have thought you of all people would want death, the chance to see and hold her again!"
"Not every one's ready for that" Slayer growled.
The Black Phoenix threw Jack aside, and soon after he was struck by an optic blast courtesy of Cyclops.
"I see that they managed to save you Scott Summers, why could you not spend the remainder of your life loving Jean as she deserves to be loved?"
"I don't have an answer for that!" Cyclops said as he fired at the Black Phoenix again.
The Black Phoenix deflected the blast, which flew straight into Wolverine. James got off the floor, wiping the dust off his cracked armour and taking off his shattered helmet. Josh laid Rachel out in the cave and pressed his hands against his chest. Soldier aimed his pistols at the approaching corp. members. He pulled the trigger but cursed as his guns had ran out of bullets. Soldier dropped the guns to the ground and looked at the scythes that Slayer had created. He shook his head before picking two of the scythes up. The corp. members swoop down towards him, but in one fluid spin he beheaded two of them before slashing the other two apart. Josh looked at the man's skill in awe before turning back to his patient. Soldier slashed one corp. member right down the middle, and kicked another across the face before he threw his left scythe at a golem, beheading it. James looked down at Soldier, putting a hand to his chin as he watched Soldier slash any enemy that got in his way.
"I WONT LET ANYONE DIE!!!" Victory Peace yelled as his armour shattered and he changed to his Hulk like form.
He jumped at the Black Phoenix, punching him in the chest. Three corp. members grabbed Rogue, Storm and Jean, throwing them away from the crystal.
"QUEEN LILANDRA OUR SHIP IS MAINTAINING DAMAGE WE MUST RETREAT!!" One of the Shiar ships crew yelled.
"NO! We stay and defend that ship NO MATTER WHAT!!" Lilandra yelled.
Soldier's ears twitched as he heard Josh fall to the ground. He slashed one more corp. member before running into the cave. Josh's skin was starting to lose its gold tone but he was still breathing at least. Rachel however, her wound was healed but she her breathing and heart rate was irregular. Soldier looked to Josh, who was out cold.
'It's dark, maybe she wont see' Soldier thought as his fingers twitched around what was left of his mask.
Victory Peace smashed the Black Phoenix into the ground. Never giving him a chance to get up. Sieg grabbed the Phoenix blade and held it above his head, ready to finish the Black Phoenix off. However the Black Phoenix fired an optic blast, pushing Sieg away.
"Too long have we watched this world, watched the sins of others, watched our loved ones die while we stay in the void, forever watching, never being able to see them again, I want to hold her, I want to be with those I love…my brothers, my parents, my wife and my children…I WANT TO JOIN THEM I WANT TO DIE!!!"
"I'll grant your wish bub!" Wolverine growled.
Colossus threw both Wolverine and X-23 into the air. The two feral mutants slashed the Black Phoenix's arms off. But he quickly pushed both of them away with his TK. Sieg got up off the floor and took flight again, landing a neck breaking punch to the Phoenix's face.
"With the crystal destroyed, everything will end!" The Black Phoenix said as his arms grew back.
Soldier checked to see if Josh was well and truly unconscious. Then he turned his attention to Rachel. He pulled his mask down and lowered put his finger on the girls chin, holding her nose as he lowered his lips to hers. James fired the Uni-beam on his chest, pushing the corp./ member off of Jean. Gentle fell to the floor, his muscles returning to their original mass. Ink was sent crashing into a boulder and Magma was struck in the back with a beam. The Black Phoenix sent Sieg flying with a single punch. Then he flew down towards where the phoenix blade had landed. Dazzler and Polaris fired at the Black Phoenix, who pushed them aside with a single wave of his hand.
'Lets hope this works' Soldier thought as he breathed into Rachel's mouth.
Beast jumped into a phoenix corp. member, punching him in the face multiple times as Cable kept several members away with his TK, protecting a worn out Surge and Dust.
"This is really starting TO PISS ME OFF!!!" Santo roared as his rock like hide began to darken.
Suddenly Rockslides body changed into its molten rock form, the same one he had taken in limbo. He punched one corp. member away from Anole, and slammed another's face into the ground. Then Santo crumbled one golem to pieces with a single punch, and then he hammered another corp. member into the ground. Emma punched a phoenix corp. member across the face and stunned another with a psionic blast.
'One two three' Soldier thought to himself as he pushed Rachel's chest multiple times. "Come on Rachel you can survive this!" He said, the shadows covering his face as he breathed into her mouth.
Deep in the space Lilandra watched one of the fleet ships being blown apart.
"HOLD ON THE X-MEN WILL PULL THROUGH!!!" Lilandra yelled.
Charles fell to the floor, blood flowing out of his nose as ten Phoenix corp. members surrounded him. Cannonball slammed into the Corp members, and took an optic beam for Dani.
"SAM!!" Dani yelled.
Sunspot landed in between Sam and the golems, stretching his arms out to defend his old teammate.
"Damn it, I'm starting to run out of power!" Rogue cursed as she fired one more optic blast before Scott's powers faded.
Soldier continued applying CPR to Rachel, never giving up on her. He pressed his mouth against hers and breathed into it once again. Her eyes flashed open and instinctively she reached out with her telepathy. She widened her eyes at the things she saw. Soldier quickly stepped back as Rachel regained consciousness, shaking his head to get her out and quickly putting his mask back on.
Slayer slammed his sword into the Black Phoenix's flaming barrier. The two of them stood, one in midair, the other on the ground both trying to get the better of one another.
'I'm starting to wish hotshot was here instead!' Jack thought with a grin as he poured more energy into his sword.
Siegfried flew towards the Black Phoenix with his fists ready. The Phoenix flew away from Slayer and easily dodged Sieg's bulky fist. Sieg continued to punch at the masked man, who dodged his punches with ease. James flew to the bottom of the crystal and put a hand to his chin. Metaphorically a light bulb flashed above his head as he came up with an idea.
"Mr and Mrs Summers, I could use your help right now!!" James called down to Jean and Scott.
Husband and wife both nodded as they flew to James's level. Soldier reactivated his shield and gave Rachel a look before he walked out. She looked at Soldier as he ran back into the fight, putting a hand to her chest before she carried Josh out of the cave.
"Okay here's my plan, I need Jean to cover Sieg in a telekinetic bubble, and I need Cyclops to distract our emo phoenix over there as he carries the crystal into space" James explained to both Scott and Jean.
Cyclops looked at Jean, giving her a quick kiss before he let James fly him off the pillar. The two of them landed on another rock formation, with a perfect angle to shoot the Black Phoenix. Cyclops was the first to fire, removing his visor and consuming the Phoenix in a blast of optic energy. James followed up with his Uni-beam and a hail of missiles. Jean telepathically sent Sieg the details of the plan and Sieg immediately flew to Jean's level.
"Everyone, Sieg needs you to have courage, this is the only way this will work, put your faith in him and endure this!" Jean sent telepathically to everyone.
Very few of the X-men could show courage at this point. Emma was one of them as she continually punched any thing that got in her path. But even with veterans like Beast, Wolverine and Storm fighting on, some, particularly the younger X-men crouched on the floor, too worn out from the fight.
"EVERYONE YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR FAITH IN ME! IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO ENSURE THE CRYSTALS SAFETY!!!" Sieg yelled out.
"HAVE FAITH IN THE BOY!!" Soldier yelled as he smacked one corp member across the head with his shield.
Rachel skidded to Soldier's side, pushing two golems away with her TK. Sieg looked at his muscles, which were starting to shrink from the lack of courage that the heroes were showing. Angel picked Rachel and Soldier up, getting them out of the way of a flurry of kamikaze phoenix raptors.
"Frost, try to give everybody some courage" Wolverine ordered.
"I've tried and quite frankly I'm a little pissed that the one time we actually need to break people's free will we cant" Emma said.
"Please everybody, we need a miracle…and we can only get that miracle if you have a little hope!" Sieg said, begged the X-men that were giving up.
"Chere, I just want you to know I love you" Gambit said, crawling across the floor till he reached Rogue's side.
"Don't give up yet swamp rat!" She growled.
"You know me, I just like saying it" the Cajun smiled before he got up off the floor.
Soldier cursed as his energy shield ran out of energy. But still he showed courage by fighting on, slashing any corp. member that approached him. Iceman froze two golems before he too fell to his knees.
"You put up a brave fight X-men, Slayer you are truly deserving of the spirit that lies within you, and Sieg you have earned the name hero…but we wont be denied!" The Black Phoenix said as he floated towards Jean and Sieg.
Sieg lowered his head, ready to give up hope. Suddenly Slayer's eye glowed, as did Jean and the Black Phoenix's. A crack ran across the surface of the Phoenix eggs shell and the X-men watched in shock as each member of the Phoenix corp. suddenly burst into flames.
"Damn it, why do I have to end up in lava land?" Iceman asked himself.
The Black Phoenix widened his eyes in horror as the egg shattered. Light engulfed the very planet and the X-men covered their eyes. Jean shook in terror as she saw a figure fly through the light. The scenery had changed into what seemed to be the White-hot room; the crystal was back to its original size and now appeared behind the shadowed figure. A symbol of the phoenix glowed on the figures chest and Wolverine growled as he saw whom it was.
"Impossible you couldn't have escaped!" The Black Phoenix said.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance, now it is quite impossible, you were too obsessed with punishing those who caused your little White Phoenix's suffering, but now I'm afraid you've given me exactly what I wanted"
The X-men all got up off the floor and looked upon the man floating before them. He was the Skrull, the Skrull that had impersonated Scott, the Skrull who killed their friends and the Skrull who had been taken to the phoenix egg by the masked man. A grin spread across his face as Pixie shook in fear and Emma snarled in anger.
"You see my unique ability allowed me to absorb the Phoenix force, and in the white hot room I have an unlimited supply of the force, thanks so very much little black Phoenix!" The Skrull said before he burst into maniacal laughter.
Jean remained silent, staring at the crystal and the phoenix emblem on the Skrulls chest. She stepped forward, to Scott's side. The Skrull raised an eyebrow as Jean began to speak.
"I know what we should have done from the beginning" She whispered.
"Jean what are you…" Scott was interrupted as Jean kissed him passionately.
Slayer widened his eyes as he knew what Jean was thinking.
"Jeannie…don't you even think about it!" Wolverine growled.
"No Jean, please don't!" Scott begged, holding his wife's hand tightly.
"I'm sorry I have to, this is my fate…to stop him I have to become the White Phoenix again…we should have known from the beginning that things wouldn't be easy…I love you Scott, now and forever!" Jean said as she pushed Scott back with her TK.
"JEAN!!" Scott yelled.
Flames appeared in front of the X-men, separating them from Jean as she turned towards the Skrull. A look of fear spread across his face as Jean's eyes glowed and she began to hover above the floor.
"Forever Jean, but forever Phoenix! This is my destiny!" Jean said before she closed her eyes and the white costume of the Phoenix of the crown appeared around her.
Next Chapter 11: Never regret!
One must make a choice for the good of all, one must have faith in their choice, above all else one must not regret the choice they make
Two more to go, this updates pretty quick because I knew exactly what I wanted to write for the chapter. Anyway next chapters the final battle and befor epeople ask no I will not say what Rachel saw in Soldier's mind, that would be ruining the point of him being the badass mysterious guy :D
If people want to know how the Skrull absorbed the Phoenix force you'll know next issue, and it'll explain why he impersonated Scott, why he kept Scott alive and why he has so much power, its the big reveal.
Hope everybody enjoyed the chapter!