Chapter 20

"Emma Frost? I thought she was dead," Astrid said snapping me out of my daze.

"She's supposed to be dead," I answered. I quickly realized another situation.

"Shit, if she's alive, then the Hellfire Club is after Jean," I said.

"Hellfire Club? I thought they were also done," Astrid said.

"So did I," I replied.

"This isn't good. She can't be here by herself. She probably has other members here as well," I concluded.

"Send the Sentinels. Astrid, you come as well," I said.

"Understood," she replied.

I focused my attention to the conversation taking place.

"-we don't want to control you. We want you to be part of us," Emma said.

"Part of your little group," Jean replied.

"Haven't you ever wondered why Erik was let go after attempting to destroy the planet? Or why Raven never became a fugitive after teaming with En Sabah Nur? Isn't it weird the Erik was given an island all to himself and his group of mutants? The Hellfire Club has friends in high places and many of us are telepaths. If things don't go our way, then we make it go our way," Emma explained.

"So, what do you want from me?" Jean asked.

"We don't want to chain you or use you like other people have. We want you to join us and help us with our goal," Emma said.

"Which is?" Jean asked.

"To help others like us. You and I both know the world is cruel. Being a telepath, we can see how ugly people truly are. We want to secure a future for mutants, and we'll do whatever it takes to achieve it," Emma said. Jean didn't' respond and Emma took this chance to push a little more.

"All I ask is for you to give us a chance. We want you to embrace your powers not restrict them. Charles was a fool and his methods are wrong. They will never achieve equality with people. There are other kids out there who are having the same childhood you had. We can help them," Emma said.

"Fine, show me," Jean answered.

They exited the bar and Emma's smile was wide as Jean was following behind her. I was in a bit of a panic. I would have never thought this would turn out like this. Emma walked into the same place I remember. Shortly after, Charles and Erik showed up. Erik had his helmet on and was ready to fight. Everything was the same in my memories. Erik and Charles team members fought each. Charles wasn't in a wheelchair, so he just ran towards the building, but Erik obstructed him with cars. He did the same thing I remembered and threw a train at the entrance to the building. I continued to stay in stealth mode and made my way inside. I saw Jean destroy Erik's helmet and push him out. Charles pleaded with Jean which she refused to listen. She lifted him up and Charles grunted from the pressure she put on him. Jean then pushed him with great force trashing through the upper window. I had to make myself know and correct Charles' direction to land on the tree instead of the ground. Jean furrowed her eyes and looked around to see who did that. I deactivated my stealth systems and made myself known.

"Hi Jean," I said and prepared my body stance for a fight. My legs were slightly apart, and my hands were to my side with my palms open.

"You were the one following me?" Jean asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to make sure you were okay" I lied.

"Liar," Jean said with a frown.

"You're here to kill me too?" Jean asked.

"If I have to," I said seriously.

"But I'm here to make sure you don't do something stupid like join the Hellfire Club," I said.

"I don't believe we've met," Emma interrupted us.

"My name is Emma Frost, and you are?" Emma asked with a smile.

"Lydia," I responded but never took my eyes off Jean.

"Lydia Howlett?" Emma said.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," another voice behind her said. The figure stepped out of the shadows and revealed herself.

"Selene," I said as I saw her from my peripheral vision.

"You know me? Can't say much about you sadly," Selene said, and she stepped forwarded. I remember her from my memories. She's essentially a vampire, able to force the life force of people and bring objects to life. On top of that she's a telepath. If she's here, then that means the other members of the inner circle are here as well.

"I'll like to keep it like that," I answered. She just smiled widely and hummed.

"Come on Em, let's get out of here," Selene said. Emma responded but I didn't pay attention. Jean had launched an attack and was trying to push me. I pushed my energy against hers. As we pumped more power, the surrounding objects around us started to rise. Emma and Selene were slowly being pushed back from Jean as she was increasing her attack.

It got to a point where I lifted my hands up to concentrate my energy and continued to put more power. Jean lifted one hand and continued to pump more power. As the power increased, everything around us started to shake. The buildings nearby were starting to crack and everything around us was being pushed back.

Jean had a smug look and flinched her fingers. I was starting to get pushed back from her sudden power increase. I gridded my teeth and added my pumped a large amount of energy. Jean wasn't expecting it and my energy won that stalemate. A sudden burst of hurricane winds destroyed the building and everything behind it. The dust was swiped to the side by Jean and she was standing in the same platform. Everything behind her was intact. She must've put up a barrier to protect herself. It looks like she didn't care about anyone else since I couldn't see Selene or Emma. I heard screams in the background and regretted my actions. I need to take this fight somewhere else.

"How about we fight somewhere else?" I asked hopefully.

"I don't care what happens to them," Jean replied and walked in the air. Her body starts to flicker with a red energy. I deactivated my suit and prepared myself to absorb her attack. She stopped walking and looked down at me. She opened her hand and a large deep crater formed below me. She looked surprised to see me unscathed. I teleported to be next to her and punched. I hit a force field but released all the energy I had collected and some of my own mixed in.

"Then I'll move you!" I yelled and released everything. A loud bang came, and Jean was hurled away from the city. I activated my suit and flew after her.

Jean slowed herself down and landed safely on the ground. I landed near her and deactivated my suit. Jean gave me an angry glare.

"Don't be mad at me. I asked nicely," I said. The ground around me started to crumble and she launched large rocks at me. I activated my suit and maneuvered around them. Occasionally using the beams to blast them apart. I was doing good at dodging until a statue came and threw a punch at me. I dodged and destroyed it with a blast.

I saw Selene along with Emma and other people gathered together making their way to Jean. How did they get here so fast? I noticed Nightcrawler was with them, but his eyes were in a daze. Of course, when there's so many telepaths, Charles stood no chance in preventing them from taking control of Kurt. Kurt collapsed on the floor after a few seconds.

"I guess teleporting all of us was too much for him," Emma said.

"Do you have any idea how much damage control we have to do now?" Selene complained. I didn't bother to respond. I kept looking at Jean to make sure she didn't launch another attack.

"Jean, come on, we have to get out of here," Emma said next to her.

'Two minutes' I heard Astrid say.

"Well isn't this a surprise," I said out loud. I quickly looked at everyone and then back at Jean.

"Are you sure you want to hang these people Jean?" I asked.

"I'm surprised to see all of you gathered here," I said. In their minds I said everyone names. Selene Gallio, Emma Frost, Ophelia Sarkissian, Roberto da Costa, Elias Bogan, Friedrich von Roehm, Harry Leland, Shinobi Shaw, Andrea von Strucker, Andreas von Strucker, Tessa. Everyone's facial expression were a mix of shock and seriousness. They guarded their identities closely. I recognized all of them.

"What's the plan here? You seriously can't hope to cover all of this up," I asked.

"You understatement us," Harry Leland said. He was a chubby looking fellow with red/yellow facial hair. The way he was dressed reminded me of how the elite dressed during the colonial times. If he is the same, then he can increase gravity or the density of an object. The only downside to his ability is that he has a short range and his executing is not instant.

"Maybe I am, but still, you can't control Jean," I said.

I heard a loud laugh and suddenly an area next to the group suddenly moved. The air seemed to wave around, and a man appeared. I immediately recognized him. I pumped energy around me to enclose myself. The man's appearance changed again to reveal his true form.

"Jason Wyngarde," I said gritting my teeth. He was also known as Mastermind. He had the ability to create powerful illusions and with the help of a device he managed to control the Phoenix Force itself.

"Oh, you know me as well," Mastermind said. He had a trench coat on. His appearance was slight and had some grey hairs.

"You cause too much trouble," I said. From my memories, I knew that he was able to trick and manipulate Jean and the Phoenix Force. A task that is hard to accomplish. It better off if he was eliminated first.

'30 seconds' Astrid said.

"13 against 1 seems unfair don't you think? How about we make this fair," I said with a smug.

A loud sound was heard from above and I knew my Sentinels had arrived. They descended from the sky and landed behind the group. Astrid was towards the back of the Sentinels. There were only five tat were built but they were a force to be reckon with.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and exhaled. I concentrated all my energy and activated it. When I opened my eyes, they glowed blue and there was an aura of blue around me. This is something I copied from Carol when she goes binary. In this state, I am faster and can fly faster as well. Every ability has a power boost. The only downside is that it burns through my energy supply quickly. There's also an after-burn affect from using the energy. It's not the same when I absorb the space stone energy, but it still hurts all around. I quickly teleported in front of Jean and she was caught off guard by the sudden speed. I could feel the energy wall she created instantly.

I put both my hands up and release a burst of energy towards her. My intent was not really to harm her but to move everyone around her. The sudden collision of the energies created a huge shock wave, pushing everyone nearby us away. This would allow fights to be easier. I saw Astrid give the command to attack and the Sentinels went after their targets.

Jean was not too pleased with my attack and I could feel instant danger when she waved her hand at me. I teleported to my right and saw the ground where I was standing disappear. That attack pretty much was on an atomic level. Her eyes followed me, and she waved again towards me. I teleported away again but this time much further away from her. From this distance, I'll be able to dodge by just moving my body rather than wasting energy on teleporting quickly.

Jean's eyes looked towards the direction to the right of us. I saw the X-men jet flying towards us. Charles is probably trying to get through to Jean. This meant that he started this attempt to break into her head. I launch an attack and she focused her attention back at me. My attack hit her wall again and the dust blew upwards. I pumped more energy into my form and the aura around me intensified. Instead of being faint, it was now bright and blue. It behaved like lightning as I pumped more and more. As the dust settled, I teleported behind her. She moved too slowly as I hovered my hands on the side of her head. I moved all my energy into my hands and launched a mental attack.

I was transported into a white area. It reminded much like when I met Sir. For a moment, I was scared that I died from that attack without even realizing but I was relieved when I felt a warmth behind me and turned around. I saw pure red, orange, and yellow energies taking the form of a phoenix. It spread its wings and blew me away. I was blown away from Jean as she entered her phoenix mode. She was surrounded by huge amounts of energy that burnt and disintegrated the surrounding areas. I was on my knees from exhaustion. Jean put her hand up again as I looked up at her. She was in the air again and the energy around her was intense. Her veins looked redish as the energy pumped through her body. I felt danger and prepared to absorb her attack.

A crater form around me again like last time except this time she didn't stop her attack. It was like waves of attack which one stronger than the next. Each wave was disintegrating the area around me. The crater kept getting bigger and deeper. My body started to burn as I kept absorbing more power. It felt like when I absorb energy from the space stone except more potent. I could hardly move as the constant pressure kept me in place. I looked around me and saw after a wave hit, particles of the phoenix force's energy were left in the air. It would explain why I am starting to get the energy burns. The burns quickly spread all over my body as Jean continued her assault. My skin starts to turn black as the burns spread.

'…Astrid…distract…her…' I struggled to say. Whatever Astrid did, gave me enough time to teleport out. I struggled to breath and fell to my knees again. I struggled to move my head so I can see what was happening. Astrid was now dodging like crazy as Jean was now launching attacks at her. Erik and Charles had joined the fight now. Their team members also assisted.

'Charles, connect Scott to Jean, I'll give you an opening' I told Charles telepathically.

I channeled energy I absorbed and entered my form again. This time it looked a bit different. It had some mixed in red with the blue. I pumped more and the lighting formed. If I launched another mental attack like last time, it should make an opening for Charles to just talk with Jean. I gritted my teeth from the pain and teleported next to Jean. She was distracted with Astrid and I put my hands around her head again.

I was once again teleported to the white plane. Knowing where I was, I turned around and saw the Phoenix Force spreading its wing again.

"Wait wait, please!" I asked desperately. It continued to gather its energy to push me out again like last time.

"Please! I do not want to fight with you!" I said quickly. It ignored me and I was blown away. I landed hard against the ground and struggled to my knees again. I managed to get on one knee and looked at Jean. She was looking around and I told see she was saying something.

"Scott?" Jean said. I sighed in relief. Her energy started to recede, and she turned back to normal. She lowered herself back to the ground and had her hands at her head.

"Lydia!" I heard Astrid call out to me. I looked up and saw Selene approaching Jean. That can't be good. If she absorbs Jean life force would she also take the Phoenix with her? I tried to move but found it hard to do.

"You poor girl. Let me help you. Give me your power. Give it to me so you can go back to being normal," Selene said as she hugged Jean and started to absorb her power. Jean's aura was going into Selene and she looked weak and fragile until the phoenix force stepped in. The moment it started to be absorbed it started to burn Selene's skin. Selene's facial expression changed as she couldn't stop the transfer and the burns continued to intensify.

"Take it," Jean said and release the force she was holding back. Selene's body was reduced to ashes as the energy continued pouring out. Jean looked at her hands before looking towards Scott's direction. She gave a sad smile and flew upwards.

"Jean!" I heard Scott shout. I activated my suit to help me move and went after her.

I was surprised to see how fast Jean was climbing. I was having a hard time catching up. When she reached the outer atmosphere, she released the energy and an explosion occurred. The blast stopped me and pushed me back at an incredible speed. I created a crater where I landed. The suit took most of the impact, but it was damaged from the blast. The helmet receded for me to cough up blood that had accumulated. I looked up to see the large fireball in the sky and frowned. I don't know if I could have saved her or not, but I thought if I could absorb the energy maybe she could survive and stay here.

"Lydia!" Astrid said as she landed next to me.

"Hey…" I said struggling to get back up. Astrid put one of my arms around her and helped me up.

"What's the situation with the others," I said faintly. The pain and loss of energy was being to take its toll. The burns around my body were still visible. My regeneration was working overtime to handle the damage.

"The Sentinels took care of them. Two are captured, one escaped, the others are dead," she reported.

Erik landed in front of me and looked at me. I smiled weakly at him.

"Is she dead?" Erik asked. I shook my head at him.

"Gone, but not dead. I don't know when she'll be back," I explained. Charles and his team came back, and Scott was a mess. His brother was trying make him feel better, but he realized he couldn't do much.

"Scott…" I said weakly.

"She is alive. One day she'll come back. I know for sure she will, I just don't know when," I explained with a groan as the pain increased all over my body. I've never put this much strain on my body before. I've also never absorbed the Phoenix Force's energy before.

'Astrid, I need to be in the medical chamber' I told her, and she nodded. She began to speak to them, but everything started to turn black. I was losing consciousness and closed my eyes.

When I came to, I was in the healing pod and it started to drain the water surrounding me. I body felt a lot better now. I was surprised to see faint burn marks still on my body.

"Lydia! I'm so glad you're awake!" Wendy said as she ran towards me.

"You were a total mess when Astrid brought you," she continued to explain.

"Sorry about worrying you. How long was I in there?" I asked.

"50 years!" she said loudly. I just gave her an amused smile.

"Ugh, your no fun. It's been 12 hours and 20 minutes since you've been in there," she explained.

"Any idea why the burns are still here?" I said and motioned to some of the marks in my arm.

"The energy you absorbed was too potent. It was at a different level than the space stone. In fact, I am surprised you managed to survive instead of suffering the same fate as that other chick," she continued, and she brought up a recording Astrid's vision that recorded Selene being reduced to ashes.

"I have a suspicion that it was probably all the times you've absorbed the space stone energy that your body has gotten better at absorbing raw energy," she finished.

"It's evolving?" I asked and looked at my hands.

"Well, think of it this way, if left alone the mutation would remain the way it is. If you put a strain on it and keep pushing its limits, it will have to change to cope with the environment," she explained.

"That's a scary thought," I said as I realized she was saying.

"I wouldn't go and start absorbing everything. It was fortunate that the energy you took in wasn't so concentrated. Based on the data, I think you would die from using all the stones without something to reduce the raw energy or something to filter it," she said.

"Yeah, I agree with you on that. Where's Astrid?" I asked.

"She went to drop off Erik's family," she answered.

"Okay, I think I'm going to go to bed. My body still feels sore," I said and went up to my room. I slept soundly that night.