Standard disclaimer: I don't own them; I'm just borrowing them for our entertainment.

X-Men 3.1 Resurrection

Chapter 7 – The Laws of Unintended Consequences

Moira placed a cup of tea at Charles Xavier's elbow. His eyes were closed and she had no idea if he were awake or not.

"Thank you, Moira," he said without opening his eyes. "The tea was very thoughtful."

"I'm worried about you, Charles," she said. "I know you said no one would get hurt – "

"And no one has," he interrupted.

"But what about you," she insisted. "The strain must be unbearable."

Charles sighed and sipped his tea. "It is not beyond my power," he stated firmly. Then he looked up sharply. "And it is beyond the abilities of the X-Men to stop me. So put that thought right out of your head, Moira. I will not tolerate conspiracies against me."

"They're going to try, Charles," she insisted. "Are you ready for that?"

"The question is, are they ready to fight me?"

Moira turned and left the room at that. Charles was beyond reasoning with at this point. She only hoped the X-Men were ready to fight.

X X X

Rogue, Scott and Jean were also having tea, in the headmasters office. She had stopped crying and had finished telling the story of the past year – and the sudden reoccurrence of and massive change in her mutation. Not only had she developed the powers of flight, she also had super strength.

"... Bobby said he didn't care," Rogue finished, wiping away the last of her tears. "But I didn't know what was going to happen. So I came back here."

"Best thing you could have done," Scott remarked. "I'm sorry for what happened, but we're glad to have you back."

"Very glad to have you back," Jean jumped in.

"Jean," Scott warned.

"Scott, we don't have time," she replied and quickly outlined the situation to Rogue. She sniffed, but looked intrigued.

"So what can I do?" Rogue asked.

"You can drain off Charles' power," Jean replied. "That will cause a gradual, slow break of his mental hold on all those people. They won't notice anything. Now you can fly, you can get close. He won't expect that. Then I'll be able to move into his mind and repair the damage I caused."

"Jean, this is a new power for her," Scott cautioned. "Plus she had limited training with the X-Men. I don't want to sent her in ..."

"I'll do it," Rogue said firmly. She looked at Scott. "I'm tired of feeling helpless."

Jean smiled. "You're outnumbered, Scott." She rose and put her arm around Rogue. "We'll set up a crash course training program with Storm. She's the most familiar with flight here."

The door to the study burst open to reveal Logan. "They told me Rogue was back," he said.

Rogue jumped up and ran to him as she had with Scott – two of the people she trusted most.

Scott and Jean both rose to leave them. "I still don't like this," Scott began as soon as they were back in the hall. "And Logan won't like it either."

"Since when have you cared what Logan likes or doesn't like?" Jean said flatly and then softened. "Look, Scott, I know you're worried. But when I saw Rogue, I saw in a flash how it can work. We have to stop Charles. The strain on everyone is building. I can feel it."

X X X

The next morning, Scott and Jean had an unexpected wake-up call. Scott woke with a start to find Logan standing by their bed, leaning on the footboard.

"Geez, Logan, I could have blasted you through the wall ...," he began.

"Save it," Logan replied and tossed Scott the morning newspaper.

"What is it?" Jean asked groggily. Scott only pointed to the paper. The headline said it all.

"BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DEAD. NATION SHOCKED."

He looked up from the paper. "It says he had a stroke. And how long do you think it will be before they figure out why?"

"Storm's already called battle stations," Logan said. "We can't wait anymore. We're going to have to go after Chuck and stop him."

X X X

It didn't take long for everyone to suit up. Storm outlined the mission.

"Our goal is simple – stop Charles one way or the other. We're going to fly to Muir Island; Jean's going to hide our presence as much as she can, but Charles may realize it, so we have to assume we don't have the element of surprise. Rogue, your job will be to get to Charles and draw off his power. Jean believes that will break his hold on the political leaders. It might even weaken him enough so we don't have to resort to physical force."

"Good luck," Mystique snorted.

Logan glared at her. "I didn't know you were joining us."

"For this I will," she replied and looked at Storm. "I'm a good fighter and you may need that."

Storm nodded. "You're in." She looked at Eric expectantly.

"I know him better than anyone here," he stated flatly.

That was true enough. "Okay," she said. "The main team is myself, Cyclops, Phoenix, Rogue and Wolverine. Mystique and Magneto will provide backup. Any questions?"

They headed for the Blackbird with one thought in mind – stop Charles Xavier.

X X X

Scott piloted the Blackbird while Rogue worked with Jean and Storm in the rear. Logan came forward and leaned over the seat.

"I don't like this," he stated.

"What don't you like, Logan?," Scott asked grimly. "Rogue's going into battle with no X-Men training to speak of, with only two flight lessons with Storm, and a plan from Jean that could fall apart in any of a dozen places?" He looked back at the other man. "I don't like it either."

"So what do you suggest?"

"You're Rogue's wing and I'm Jean's," Scott returned. "And if it all falls apart we improvise. We have to stop Charles. We don't have a choice."

"What do we do with them?" Logan asked as he regarded Eric and Mystique at the back of the plane. They were watching Jean and Storm work with Rogue with interest, and appeared to be offering helpful suggestions. All the old animosity was put aside for today.

Scott shot a look over his shoulder. "We use them." And a moment later, "What's Charles' body count up to now?"

"Half a dozen politicians and power brokers, from all over the world, and not just in the countries that passed the pro-mutant legislation. It looks like Chuck was moving on to phase two of his plan when they started dying on him. So far, no one's made the connection, but it won't take long."

Scott sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. "Heads up," he announced. "Muir Island in ten minutes."

X X X

Scott landed the Blackbird on the beach near the research facility, away from the village. No one was sure exactly what would happen and they wanted to keep witnesses to a minimum.

They disembarked slowly, each of them alert to their surroundings. Jean scanned the rocky landscape around them.

"He knows we're here," she announced.

"Of course I know you're here, my dear," a familiar voice rang out. "It's so delightful to see you all again after such a long time."

Charles voice held a mocking tone, as he casually strolled towards them. Storm stood forward, ignoring the instinctive shock of seeing him walk for the first time.

"You have to stop this, Professor," she said. "Your intentions may have been good, but you're killing people."

Was there a brief cloud over Charles' face? If so, it was gone in an instant.

"That was regrettable and unintended," he stated. "Now that we have legal protection, I can end my control over those who favored the ideas naturally and move on to other countries. We'll be protected around the globe at last."

"We can't allow you to do that, Charles," Eric said, stepping forward alongside Storm.

"I'm surprised you're taking this tack, Eric," Charles said. "I would have thought you'd approve."

"I know where this road leads," he explained. "No good end for us, I can assure you."

"I disagree," Charles contradicted with a smile. "I can get us what we need. It's a wonder that I never thought of doing this long ago."

"You never thought of it, because it's not your thought," Jean explained. "It's a part of you that you always kept under control. I encouraged you to end that control. To be like me."

"Then I thank you, my dear. Perhaps if I hadn't have been afraid of your power, we could have done wonderful things. No matter – I can continue on my own."

"No you won't," Storm said firmly. "Rogue – now."

All while they were talking, Rogue was removing her glove. She quickly flew at the Professor, grabbing his hand and pulling it behind his back in an ordinary wrist lock. But the maneuver worked.

A siren sound of voices filled Rogues mind. Colors, swarming, churning, sending her mad. But she held on. Had she had any training with telepathy, she would have felt the gradual weakening of Charles as he began to slowly release all the minds he had in thrall. However, she didn't. Finally, the stress on her own mind was too much to take. She screamed and collapsed in pain.

"Rogue!" Logan cried as he ran to pull her out of harm's way.

Charles stared at Jean, gasping from the attack. "That was – unexpected," he said between breaths.

Jean held out her hand. "You have to stop, Charles. You have to let me in so I can fix things."

"No," he said flatly. Jean reeled as if struck.

"It's going to take more than that to stop me," she said. "I have the power to stop you."

"Come now, my dear, don't be silly," Charles said. He had recovered from Rogue's attack and the mocking note returned to his voice. "Oh, you have power to spare, but I have control. And that's something you've always lacked. My dear Phoenix."

"He's right," Jean said to Scott. "I have the power, but I don't know how to use it. And he does."

"Listen to me," he said firmly. "You can stop him. You have the power -- I have the control. There's nothing we couldn't do when we did it together. Use me. Take my hand – we can do this."

Jean smiled and grasped his hand. Her eyes glowed orange; her body glowed orange as she levitated off the ground. She became The Phoenix.

The battle began. Physically, the only thing anyone could see was Jean and Charles, their faces contorted with the psychic strain of the battle. Only Scott had an inkling of how deeply they were probing each other's minds. Finally Jean collapsed onto the ground. The Professor remained standing, but barely.

Jean looked at Scott. "I was almost there," she confessed. "I need ... Scott – I need a diversion."

He didn't need to be told twice. He took aim and fired.

Charles looked up and smiled mockingly. "You missed, dear boy."

"No, I didn't."

The crack from above made Charles look up. In that instant, Jean entered his mind.

She held the debris from the blasted cliff face away from them while she performed the "psycho-surgery". As she expected, it didn't take long to repair Charles Xavier's psyche, once she was allowed in. But she didn't count on the toll the experience would take on her. She collapsed again and so did the rubble -- on top of Scott and Charles.

X X X