Hello everyone, thank you very much for the support with this story, it's really fun making it. I am glad you enjoy my work. This is a chapter I loved making, inspired by x1 and x2 so...

Enjoy...

Chapter Eight – Prevention

Jean and Scott moved to the infirmary. Ororo and Logan would find some space for Franklin, and keep a close eye on him. Magneto was on the loose but the government hadn't asked for their help yet and they knew, until he showed up, he and his children wouldn't be tracked down through Cerebro as they had already concealed themselves.

The couple felt -almost in instinct- the need to look for Charles after all the news they had received, both from Franklin and the television. It was as if in reflex, two children in trouble running to their father, even though they weren't children anymore and Charles wasn't their father, or able to help.

The infirmary doors opened and the couple found –or rather interrupted- Raven and Hank talking close to each other, papers in Hank's hands. The two parted inches apart the moment Jean and Scott arrived in the infirmary. Jean knew they didn't need to apologize; some love stories in there were older than hers and Scott's. Charles' was resting behind an enclosure.

For a moment Jean looked at Hank and tried to push down the knot that formed in her throat. In four days, or actually three days and a few hours as dawn was hours away, they would have to stop his assassination. She tried to clean her head as Hank handed her the results of Charles' examinations. The doctor's composure she had mastered during her practice and later on as a physician was collapsing.

'Nothing a mind like his can't overcome.' Hank announced with a huge smile, oblivious to the news outside the infirmary, of the present or the future. Jean nodded her head as she looked through the results. Maybe if Hank survived the assassination attempt, Charles wouldn't go down with the seizures. Jean knew she was fooling herself. Brain deteriorating diseases like Alzheimer's weren't linked to the emotional state of the patient, happy people got sick too.

Damn it. She cursed internally as she felt her eyes filling with tears. Only now she allowed the feelings to overcome her. That nightmare had seemed so real, and she knew there was much more to it. The effort she had put to take down Franklin also caught up with her and the fact that for the first time, there was someone more powerful than her, scared her. If, for example, he decided to kill her child, Jean wouldn't be able to keep the promise she had given herself after Magneto had wounded her pregnant belly back in the past. Now, the man she had spared was out of the prison for one more time in his life and this time, he had his three children with him. A few days ago, Jean had told Logan that Erik with no one close to him was powerless; she could only wonder how powerful he was now with his offspring by his side.

She tried to move behind the enclosure quickly, trying to hide her tears from Hank and Raven mostly, Scott could feel her breaking down through their link.

'Go to Charles, I will inform them,' Scott's voice inside her head was still firm and steady, the demeanor of the leader of the X-Men. Scott was still holding up, always the logical one, the brain of the pair; she was the emotion and heart.

The sight of Charles, all weak and unconscious on the bed of the infirmary, IVs, cubes and a monitor attached on him made her finally lose her composure. The nightmare returned, in it, he had seemed much frailer. He had been a shadow of himself, and that was only five years away.

She finally let the tears fall and wet the results in her trembling hands. A disastrous future, bioweapons, the sentinels, most of them killed by Charles, the team disbanded. Hope was most likely on the run with her and Scott. She wanted to become the Secretary to secure the current peace and prosperity. She never expected her position would be their only way out of a nightmarish future. The responsibility had seemed heavy on her shoulders but now it felt unbearable.

Logan had tried to save them all, now Franklin was doing the same, but maybe no matter how hard they tried to create ripples and obstacles, the river would find a way to get back to its course. Desperation was taking its toll as she shut her eyes and let the sobs overcome her. She didn't want to live the Hell she had seen, she had fought so hard with her own self to prevent creating that very same Hell. She deserved something better than danger and fear for the end of her days.

'So many tears for an old man such as myself, dearest,' Charles' voice made her gasp and look at him. Charles was awake, coherent and smiling at her. She smiled at him through her tears and took his hand in hers, abandoning the papers mid-air. He had the strength to squeeze her hand. 'I will be alright,' Charles tried to reassure her with a weak voice and Jean struggled to compose herself and shield her mind. He was still fragile, he didn't need the stress. The time of him being the rock for everyone was over, now they all needed to support and spare him some pain.

'I know, it will be alright,' Jean wasn't sure who she was trying to reassure but she smiled as her mentor nodded. 'Try and get some sleep, you had a stroke but you will have a full recovery.' She mostly babbled and he sighed.

'I can feel someone,' he mumbled and closed his eyes but Jean moved closer and caressed the brow of her mentor, like he used to do when he was comforting her.

'He's of no danger,' Jean half lied. 'Just a newbie, very powerful but seems decent. You'll meet him when you recover.' Jean reassured him and he nodded once again. She was tempted to put him to sleep like she had done with Hope but he wouldn't approve of such move and she wouldn't dare affect his damaged brain in any way. Her own ethics on her powers weren't identical to Charles', she didn't need him to be disappointed in her.

'Try go back to sleep.' She finally repeated and he nodded once more.

xXx

Everything was set up. Hank had been informed and reached DC at dawn, along the rest of the team, Raven would take care of Charles. Kitty would take care of Hope. With Magneto on the loose, Jean wasn't taking any chances of having Hope with her. The team had felt as if they weren't able to trust Franklin back in the mansion and he knew that so he had offered to stay on the Blackbird and watch out in case Polaris showed up. Erik and his children would be shocked at the shift in power. Only the X-Men and Franklin knew of Jean becoming the Secretary. The press was gathered and the ceremony was quick and well covered by the media. The public was always thirsty for the X-Men and now another one was becoming part of the cabinet. This was a popular idea. Hundreds had gathered and Hank had made sure they could be close enough for the cameras to catch the crowd.

'This is a new era for the mutantkind. Decisions are taken for us by us and this is the biggest victory we could achieve for our dream of peace and co-existence. This is the dream of so many around the world. In achieving this dream, please allow Dr. Grey-Summers, our new Madame Secretary to speak from her heart.' Hank offered as he gestured for Jean who smiled in her black and white dress. Hank had made an extravaganza of the simple change in secretaries for the department.

They needed the spotlight, Magneto and his children were after Hank exactly because of his stance against criminals like Erik. Jean moved to the podium and looked at the people gathered. The night had been a nightmare. Her teammates who now looked proudly at her felt hope for the day that had risen, despite the exhaustion. They hoped it would be alright at the end. In her new position, she couldn't fail them. Scott smiled at her and she glanced a last time at the speech she had prepared during their flight in the Blackbird. She put her hand on the papers and looked at the crowd of people around her and the cameras. During the night she had felt desperation after many years, now that the sun was up, her determination had kicked in.

'The previous night was hard.' Jean started and the X-Men watched her carefully. 'Erik Lehnsherr is once again on the loose.' Jean continued and sighed. 'This time accompanied by his children. People died last night, lives were lost.' Her ominous message was realistic, for that, no one could blame her. 'But today, it's a new day.' Jean added. 'A day of hope and solutions. Lehnsherr used to have a cause. A cause failed by his own actions against both humanity and mutantkind through the years.' Jean added and many nodded. 'When Hank and I were children, we were protected in a school for mutants. We met the world only when we had to fight it. Half of the times, we fought our own kind because some mutants thought they were better, superior.' Jean continued.

'Later on, we participated in society and struggled to find our way through it as to become scientists and after a point, heroes. Both Humans and Mutants have proven they are capable of atrocities through the history of mankind. But we got to shape our societies, our bonds with each other and we can thrive through that same society. The X-Men saved lives and we spared enemies. We had our own downfalls and our good days.' Jean smiled at her old friend who pecked his hand and gestured at her. 'Today is one of those good days. And more good days will follow for our kind through our struggle for a better future. Justice will be served. The hope of co-existence is becoming real. And we'll fight for our hope. To the young mutants out there, who believe they are outcasts, remember, we are mutants just like you and we try for your future. To the young humans who are afraid, reach out, try to understand and you will see that beneath the scales, the different color or the fur, it's people with emotions and the need to be accepted. But both rest assured, when injustice happens we'll be there to stop it. As Mutants in these positions of power, we'll only serve as an obstacle to sinister plans –like the ones of the past- that tried to destroy or exploit mutation. ' Jean added and some people cheered and whistled from the crowd, she smiled as she nodded her acknowledge. 'Justice will be served on mutants equally, criminals will be punished no matter the powers we'll have to reckon with.' Jean added.

'As an X-Woman, a doctor under an oath, a scientist, a wife and a mother, I promise you I will do my best to save the lives of those in need, to secure a future of peace and prosperity no matter the coast.' Jean concluded but people had already started applauding the moment she mentioned herself as an X-Woman. She thanked everyone and moved back to her teammates where Scott was clapping for her along the rest. He gave her a kiss on the lips and she hugged him.

'You were amazing,' he sent and she smiled and nodded before she could share hugs with the rest of her teammates.

The X-Men would talk to the press for the events of the day. Something they had done before in occasions. It was a big day and although they had been through a lot the previous night, they had to be positive before the cameras. Questions about Charles had also been raised but the X-Men had lied in unison he was back at the school, taking care of the children, the daughter of the Madame Secretary as well. People tend to fall for innocent, utopian lies.

Jean and Hank found the chance to go to the office Jean would use for the next years. Hank showed her all the secret compartments and gave her all the passwords for the computers. Showed her all the secret files and a way to erase temporary memory. Nothing too different than the top technology their database at the school had.

'Sir, Madame,' we have news on Magneto.' A man opened the door and informed them. 'He'll be broadcasted in a few seconds. We try to find the source of the signal so we can track him down.' The man said and Jean blinked once and the television of the office turned on. It was on a random channel but it didn't matter as the signal got jammed and there was a static for a moment before Magneto could be shown on the screen. He was sat on a chair, looking sharp for his age, angry too, dressed in black. Behind him, like a wall, mostly concealing any detail that could prove his whereabouts, were three standing people, the camera focused up to their necks, their faces out of the picture. A male robust body clad in dark blue and grey, his arms crossed before his chest, Peter, his son. On the right there was a slim body clad in black and green, a black chocker around the neck, a slender build, long, green hair to her shoulders. On the left, a luscious body with a corset emphasizing the woman's voluptuous figure, dark red hair in curls, a long jacket in blood red.

'My fellow mutants, today, the homo sapiens used their best puppets –the mighty X-Men- in a show of fake confidence and equality. Weapons like the cure are still being used on us, leaving defects like blindness behind them. The Sentinel program never got destroyed and will be used anytime this petty show of the X-Men in government goes down in flames, the flames of the Dark Phoenix. Traitors like Grey and McCoy will pay for the blood they have in their hands, mutant blood that has been spilled in the system's failing vision of "equality". Equality based on weapons and lies. No wonder Charles Xavier is not there as he had a stroke last night. Leaving him weak and the X-Men lying about his absence.' Magneto was saying and Jean looked at Hank in fear. How could he know?

'Maybe one of his daughters,' Hank answered the unspoken question.

'Lying is all they are going to do while in power and I ask you all. Do you really want those liars who hunt down their own kind to rule us?' Magneto wondered and smirked at the camera. Jean felt as if he was looking right at her. 'It's only because of their vanity and thirst for power that they gathered all today in DC and left the biggest traitor alone and weak, back in New York.' Magneto concluded and Jean watched with horror in her eyes as Peter uncrossed his arms from his chest and brought them behind his sisters. A second afterwards, they were gone, leaving in a gash of wind that only moved their father's hair. The connection was lost and the broadcast was saying something but both Jean and Hank were running already out of the office and towards the rest of the X-Men who had watched the broadcast.

Magneto's children were going for Charles, only Raven and Kitty were there, Hope was there. They rushed to the Blackbird through the crowd of people and press, where Franklin waited with a serious face, he had also seen the broadcast. They had no idea where the video had been shot, how close to New York, but they knew Quicksilver was fast, too fast.

'We won't be there on time,' Scott only murmured as they rushed to their seats so they could take off.

'I can take us there.' Franklin announced and the team looked at the young man. 'The Blackbird too. I can teleport us all.' Franklin offered and Logan snarled.

'You can teleport so many people an' the Blackbird? How convenient.' He snorted as Storm was already turning on the engine. But Jean knew, they didn't have time to fight over their trust in the newcomer and they wouldn't be on time with the Blackbird if Peter was close enough.

'Teleport me,' Jean offered and actually grasped Franklin's arm. Scott moved forward.

'Jean, no, not alone.' He commanded but Jean shook her head.

'Hope is at the mansion.' Jean stated desperately, precious seconds were being wasted. Franklin didn't wait a moment longer. He closed his eyes and focused as the jet was kicking off.

The next moment it was making a landing on the basketball court, there had been no time for the base to open. They rushed outside the Blackbird as Jean spread out her mind, the evacuation was taking place inside, the children rushed to the tunnels. The infirmary was on lock down, Kitty and Raven had set everything in motion, Hope was with her aunts. They were on time. They all caught their breath for a moment. The team fought the urge to vomit, their stomachs uneasy, it wasn't like Kurt's teleportation. It mostly felt as if leaving time and space completely before reappearing.

They spread out and Jean turned towards the Blackbird. Like she had done in the past, she raised her hand and the jet hovered a few inches off the ground, allowing the basketball court to open. She landed the jet back on its spot and allowed the court to close back in place. They wouldn't let the Blackbird get destroyed during the fight. She let out a breath of exhaustion, she was sleepless, had fought with Franklin in Central Park and traveled to DC and back in a supersonic flight and through teleportation. She needed a break, she could feel her body reacting little by little. Her powers tingling.

Franklin closed his eyes by her side and focused. He raised his hand and suddenly as if in slow motion, they saw their old teammate running towards the main gate of the mansion, two women held by him. Peter realized someone was slowing him down, or the space and time of his position… he seemed bewildered but stopped and released his sisters. The trio was shocked to see the X-Men had arrived within minutes from DC. They also seemed surprised at Franklin's existence. They obviously hadn't been informed about him. His presence had been felt by everyone but obviously he knew how to conceal himself consciously. Jean couldn't read their minds, she noticed Peter's small helmet, his sisters wore crescents in their hair, a black and a red one respectively to match their hair, blocking telepathy.

The younger one, no more than forty, almond shaped, furious eyes, in green and black, levitated herself and raised her arms, her green hair waving as she moved towards the X-Men and specifically Hank. Her hands created a green field and soon all the metal from the frames of the windows and doors, along the metal posts and lights of the mansion ripped themselves from their spots and became thousands of shreds. Great, that one controlled metal like her father. It was clear she was aiming for Beast who mostly was a target rather than an asset as his powers were helpful for close combats.

'Polaris,' Franklin only said and Jean nodded and raised her hands at the same time with the blond man beside her. Cyclops aimed at the other woman, smaller fiery eyes, fair skin and certainly the middle sister, around forty five, she started moving her own hands, a scarlet field like liquid fire started circling her palms, an energokinetic, like Scott and Jean themselves.

'The Scarlet Witch,' Franklin added, Jean kept the names, or actually the code names of her enemies.

Kurt rushed close to Rogue and teleported her close to Peter, she grabbed him and soon he was falling. The redhead screamed in fury and hurled them away in a field of red energy. Peter seemed tired but he was recovering fast because of his mutation. Cyclops hit the Scarlet Witch with his beams and made her crush to the ground, she turned furiously at him.

Gambit was attacking Polaris who released the shreds of metal at them. Jean levitated herself and spread her arms. The flame, the power surge, the domination of her powers. She created a wall that halted the pieces of metal. She felt Franklin helping and the shreds became dust. Polaris had been taught, the more the pieces, the harder it was for telekinetics to stop them. The green-haired woman smirked as this time she raised the metallic dust around her, creating a field.

The Scarlet Witch also levitated herself, shielding her brother. Rogue took Gambit and Kurt and rushed inside the institute with Peter's power absorbed. They needed lines of defense. Storm created a strong wind to make Polaris lose focus with the dust but she couldn't simply attack with lighting in such close encounter on the school grounds and against a mutant with magnetic powers, the combination could fry the school and everyone inside.

Wolverine tried to attack Peter but Polaris gave him a sick smile before she could send him up and far away from the grounds, his skeleton perfect for the metal manipulator. Storm abandoned her position and flew after Logan, trying to restrain his body from crushing too far away. Scott released his optic blasts and Jean flew close to him as Peter tried to run close to her husband and direct him towards the mansion. The blasts could easily destroy the place. Jean focused on him as Franklin was still keeping him slow; she felt a field of energy keeping his helmet on. Iceman tried to freeze Peter's legs to keep him in place, after failing to freeze the Scarlet Witch who had encountered him with a heat wave of red energy.

'Take down the redhead,' Jean gritted through her teeth as she tried to rip the helmet off, making Peter scream and fall on the ground, clutching his head.

Polaris unleashed the black cloud of metallic dust in a green field created by her hands, still aiming at Hank. This time Franklin raised his arms and focused on destroying it all, he was changing metal into wood, he was able to alternate matter. His nose started bleeding heavily as he frowned in pain and concentration. Jean couldn't help but marvel at the powers of the young man between her team and their enemies.

The Scarlet Witch was attacking again, shielding her sister and sending a scarlet wave of power against them all. Jean was still trying to remove Peter's helmet and for a moment she made it, sending him a good wave of confusion that finally pulled him on his knees, his expression blank. Franklin was still trying to stop Polaris' attack, unable to match the energokinetic attack too. Jean moved in the air and tapped and spread her arms with a scream of abandon.

The firebird erupted from within her in a field of energy and fire. The force of her powers pushed back the scarlet wave of energy, to the sisters. The three siblings had hoped in the element of surprise as to take down Xavier but obviously the three of them were not enough to take down the X-Men and Franklin combined. Jean would give the two sisters a lesson for attacking her house. The house Erik and she had rebuilt after Apocalypse, the constant attempt of Magneto to destroy them made her snap. Her mind reaching deeper within itself, ready to tap at the power pocket that lay there, singing to be used.

'Jean NO!' It was Raven screaming. 'Please NO!' she ran defenseless in her human form towards the battlefield that the school grounds had been turned into. Jean created a field of protection around her friend, protecting her but losing the two sisters from her focus for a second. She breathed hard through her teeth as she lost the moment.

The Scarlet Witch found the chance, levitated her seemingly furious sister towards their brother and in the blink of an eye, she had melted the ice around Peter, broke the stupor Jean had created in his mind and he took them all away.

Jean was still burning with the fire of her powers, she screamed in anger as she felt Peter's faint trail of thoughts from his bare head rushing away.

'Jean...Hope is inside,' Scott sent through their bond and Jean closed her eyes and breathed in and out. She needed to calm down, she had enough. She assembled all her will to calm herself down as she had learnt to do. A couple of decades ago, it would be a struggle to contain herself, now the thought of her child's safety helped her mild the reaction. Her mental and physical exhaustion was another factor for her to give in and minimize the fire within her. She withdrew from her unconscious part of her brain, where the real thing nestled and even if she felt the Force reacting at the lack of interaction, Jean quieted down and controlled herself.

'Are you out of your mind!?' Scott was screaming at Raven as he approached the older woman who rushed close to them. There weren't many people who got between the Phoenix and her enemies and lived to tell the tale. Raven seemed furious and scared. Jean landed herself back on the ground with effort on keeping herself standing. Her body was drained, her brain foggy.

'She couldn't kill them at the grounds of the school! She's not a murderer!' Raven's concern was deeper but Jean couldn't focus on Raven's shielded mind, she felt dizzy.

'Cyclops!' Franklin only warned as he rushed and held Jean the moment her knees gave way. Scott ran close to his wife. They had been through occasions of her simply collapsing because of the excessive use of her powers. It was more than twenty years that they hadn't had to deal with the ashes left behind, Jean's ashes. Scott moved a hand behind her back, the other behind her knees and picked her up.

'Scott…' Jean tried, she could walk, she was sure of it, another wave of dizziness swept through her, and their bond.

'Save it, love,' Scott only muttered. Her weight familiar after all those years, he started for the mansion and its infirmary. His mentor was sick, his future seemed worse than any of them could expect, friends had became enemies, strangers pretended to be friends and his wife had collapsed in his arms, that had not been good.

'Scott, let me help with Jean,' Raven offered and Scott kept walking, he moved passed their friend and once role model without a second glance.

'If you want to be useful, go to Hope, keep her away from her mother. She doesn't need to see her like this,' Scott said harshly without looking at the shape-shifter as Raven hung her head and sighed before she could follow with the rest of the team.

OOK small hints of Jean's Phoenix powers, I promise more will be revealed about it(with my guess of what is to happen in Dark Phoenix in a few months from now) I can imagine Jean much more confident than the character we saw in the first two movies as she was raised and trained differently from Xavier and Mystique so keep that in mind. I hope you liked the fight scene between the siblings and the x-men. What do you think guys? as always, thank you for reading.

CP09