The lab was already gone.
What remained was twisted metal, shattered consoles, and a crater where the floor used to be. Smoke rose in broken columns, sparks crackled from torn cables, and chunks of concrete floated briefly before disintegrating into dust under the pressure radiating outward.
Hank staggered to his feet, staring at the devastation in disbelief.
"Wh–what the hell…?" he breathed.
At the center of the ruin stood Jean.
He stared at Jean—no, at what was wearing Jean—as raw energy peeled off her in violent waves. Hank knew about her condition.
Back at the Academy, even a minor episode had rattled the mansion like an earthquake. There had always been something vast buried inside her, something terrifying.
He just never thought he'd see it unleashed like this.
Luke landed hard beside him, mana flaring instinctively as he pushed back against the pressure flooding the surroundings.
"Hank," Luke said quickly, eyes locked on Jean, "go. Warn everyone. This just became a whole different disaster."
Hank didn't argue. One look at Jean's glowing eyes—and the air literally tearing apart around her—was enough. He turned and ran.
A soft laugh echoed.
"Ahh… finally," Jean said, stretching her fingers as crimson-gold energy curled around her like living fire. "After all this time. Being locked away inside her was… exhausting."
Luke stepped forward.
"Jean," he called, testing, "is that you?"
Her smile widened—but it wasn't Jean's.
"She's sleeping," the Dark Phoenix replied calmly. "And she will continue to sleep. I didn't free myself just to hand control back."
She flicked her hand.
The blast hit Luke like a freight train. The shockwave tore through the area, vaporizing equipment and flattening nearby buildings. Luke was hurled back through the air before slamming into the ground, skidding dozens of meters before stopping.
He rose slowly, mana blazing brighter now, barely holding back the disintegration crawling across the surroundings.
"Oh?" the Dark Phoenix tilted her head, amused. "You endured that? Interesting. Then let's see how long you last."
The sky darkened.
The land around them began to break down, matter unraveling at a molecular level. Concrete turned to dust. Metal warped, then simply ceased to exist. The Phoenix force wasn't just destroying—it was rewriting reality through sheer power.
Well. That answered his question.
This was definitely not Jean.
This was the alter ego—courtesy of the Phoenix Force's favorite bad habit: imprisonment-induced personality issues.
Dark Phoenix. Loud. Violent. Very much not in the mood for calm discussion.
And if he fought her here… yeah, no. The island wouldn't survive that. It'd be less "minor property damage" and more "was there an island here five seconds ago?"
So that meant one thing—
He had to wake Jean up now, before this went any further.
Because if the Dark Phoenix fully woke up—
Then the island wouldn't be the only thing turning into ash.
Earth would be next.
"Hey," Luke said, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. "You really think you're strong?"
The air around him shuddered.
"Stop wasting my time," he continued calmly, like he wasn't standing in front of a walking apocalypse. "Go crawl back inside before I beat you so badly you start crying and beg to hide again."
It was reckless. Borderline suicidal.
And Luke knew it. That was the point.
The Dark Phoenix slowly turned toward him.
The red-gold force around her surged violently, heat and pressure rolling outward as the ground beneath her cracked and lifted.
"…You," she said softly, red-gold energy flaring violently around her. "Insignificant little thing."
Luke didn't wait for the rest.
He shot straight up, tearing through the sky in a burst of arcane force, climbing higher and higher—away from the island, away from everyone.
Behind him, the Dark Phoenix laughed.
The sound chased him through the sky like a curse.
"Oh, I will enjoy this."
Her voice echoed in his head, layered with heat and fury.
"Didn't you say you'd stop me?" the Dark Phoenix taunted. "Why are you running now, big man?"
Luke glanced over his shoulder mid-flight, unfazed.
"Well," he replied dryly, "being chased by a woman has its own kind of charm. You wouldn't get it—men thing."
The air snapped.
"Then stop," she snarled. "Be a man. Face me. Didn't you say you'd make me cry?"
Luke's smile widened just a fraction.
"Oh, I will," Luke said calmly. "Just not here."
He didn't get the chance to move.
Space warped—and the Dark Phoenix was suddenly right in front of him.
She struck instantly, unleashing a full-force blast at point-blank range.
Luke reacted on instinct. Mana erupted from him, forming a barrier reinforced with power on a continental scale. The impact shook the sky. The shield held—but barely.
The Phoenix Force burned through it anyway, punching ragged holes straight through as the energy chewed at matter on a molecular level.
Luke was thrown back, boots skidding through the air, teeth clenched.
Then—
The temperature plummeted.
Ice surged around Jean in an instant, encasing her mid-motion. Layer after layer snapped into place, freezing the Phoenix flames themselves and locking her in a suspended crystal prison.
Luke steadied himself and exhaled.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," Luke said, glancing back.
Esdeath had arrived without a sound, drawn in by the sheer scale of the disturbance. He'd been counting on it—this level of chaos was impossible for her to ignore.
She looked at Jean, frozen in midair, crimson energy leaking through the ice like embers beneath glass.
"What happened to her?" Esdeath asked, clearly confused. The girl she remembered was nowhere near this strong. This power didn't make sense.
"I need you to immobilize her," Luke said. He paused for a brief moment, thinking.
"Don't break anything—just restrain her," Luke said sharply.
He closed his eyes immediately after. There was only one option left now—reach Jean inside her own mind and wake her up.
Because stopping a fully out-of-control Phoenix Force any other way simply wasn't possible.
*****
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