"What the hell just happened?" Liam Hayes shot to his feet, his brows tightly furrowed as he tried to pinpoint the source of that overwhelming psychic pressure.
The force was suffocating, vast beyond anything he had felt before, and it carried a chaotic intensity that made his instincts scream in warning. His senses stretched outward, tracing the origin of the disturbance.
"…Next door?"
The realization hit instantly. The classroom beside theirs belonged to Jean Grey.
Liam's expression changed sharply, all traces of laziness gone in an instant. Without wasting another second, he bolted out of the room, moving with urgency as he headed straight for the neighboring classroom.
When he arrived, the scene confirmed his worst suspicion.
Jean Grey lay on the ground, her body trembling as if caught in unbearable pain. Around her, every student in the room had already collapsed, unconscious and scattered across the floor.
And then there was the energy.
In Liam's eyes, Jean was no longer just a person. She was wrapped in a vast, surging aura of crimson energy that radiated outward like a living storm. It pulsed with authority, with dominance, carrying a presence so overwhelming that it felt like facing a natural ruler of existence itself.
Anyone who looked at it would feel instinctive awe—and fear.
Liam's sudden appearance seemed to trigger something.
The red energy reacted violently, as if provoked, and in the next instant it surged toward him like a tidal wave.
"Damn it… the Phoenix Force," Liam muttered, his expression turning serious.
He hadn't expected this.
Jean Grey was unleashing the Phoenix Force—far earlier than it should have appeared.
The crimson energy churned and condensed in midair, rapidly taking shape. Within seconds, it formed into the outline of a massive phoenix, its wings spread wide as if it were about to incinerate everything in its path.
The sheer destructive power contained within it was terrifying.
"Get back!"
Liam didn't hesitate. He drove his fist forward, pushing his vector manipulation to its absolute limit.
The moment his punch connected, a powerful shockwave tore through the air. The phoenix-shaped energy let out a distorted cry as it was shattered apart, its form breaking into fragments under the force of his attack.
But that wasn't the end.
The scattered crimson energy still surged violently, refusing to dissipate.
Liam moved immediately. In a flash, he appeared beside Jean and reached out, placing his hand against her chest. His expression was tense as he focused completely, channeling his vector manipulation inward.
He wasn't attacking this time—he was trying to control it.
Trying to force the Phoenix Force back into her body.
The energy resisted fiercely, thrashing against his control like a wild, untamed beast. Every second felt like wrestling against something far beyond human comprehension.
At that moment, footsteps rushed in from behind.
Storm, Scott, Lorna, and the others arrived one after another, their faces filled with shock as they took in the scene. But none of them interfered. They could tell that this was something only Liam could handle right now.
Time dragged on.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the violent crimson energy began to recede. Bit by bit, it was forced back into Jean's body, the pressure in the room gradually easing.
Liam let out a long breath, his body finally relaxing as he dropped down to the floor, exhaustion written clearly across his face.
"Liam! How is she? Jean… is she okay?" Scott rushed over, his voice tight with worry.
"Relax," Liam said between breaths, still catching his air. "That power's been suppressed for now."
Even as he spoke, a lingering sense of unease remained in his chest.
The Phoenix Force…
It was far more terrifying than he had anticipated.
That endless crimson energy felt like staring into the depths of the cosmos itself—vast, boundless, and utterly overwhelming.
If it had fully erupted just now, there was no way he would have been able to stop it.
Because the Phoenix Force wasn't just another ability.
It was the embodiment of life and emotion across the entire universe—a primal force that existed beyond the limits of any single world. Across the multiverse, countless universes might differ, but the Phoenix Force remained constant.
Unchanging.
Absolute.
In any reality, it was a power that stood at the level of a god.
Jean Grey herself wasn't truly a Level 5 mutant. At her core, she was a Level 3 telepath.
It was the Phoenix Force that elevated her, that made others believe she had reached that mythical tier.
But if she ever fully controlled it…
She wouldn't just be a Level 5 mutant.
She would become something far beyond that—a true cosmic entity, rivaled only by powers like the Scarlet Witch's primordial chaos magic.
"Liam, are you alright?" Lorna and Kitty hurried over, concern evident in their voices.
"I'm fine," Liam replied, shaking his head slightly before allowing them to help him to his feet. "Just drained more energy than I expected."
Nearby, Scott was kneeling beside Jean, calling out to her urgently.
"Jean… Jean, can you hear me?"
Her eyelids fluttered slightly before slowly opening. She looked around, confusion filling her gaze as she took in the unconscious students scattered across the room.
"I… what did I just… do?" she asked, her voice trembling.
The realization hit her almost immediately, and her expression crumbled with guilt.
"Jean, you're awake!" Scott pulled her into a tight embrace, relief flooding his voice.
"It's not your fault," Storm added gently. "Don't blame yourself."
"Professor Grey, what happened just now?" Liam asked, his tone serious.
He needed answers.
This sudden awakening of the Phoenix Force hadn't been part of the expected timeline. In the original sequence of events, Jean's power had been triggered by the overuse of Cerebro.
But this time, things were different.
She shouldn't have awakened it like this.
Jean frowned, trying to recall what had happened. "…I saw John playing with fire, so I told him to stop, and then… everything went blank."
Liam's eyes narrowed slightly as he processed her words.
That was enough.
He had already figured it out.
The Phoenix Force was an existence of supreme authority—something akin to a ruler over all energy of life and emotion. For something like it, seeing someone casually playing with flames right in front of it could easily be interpreted as a form of provocation.
That must have been the trigger.
"Alright," Storm said after a moment, regaining her composure. "Scott, take Jean back to rest."
"…Understood." Scott nodded, carefully helping Jean to her feet before leading her out of the room.
As they left, the tension in the air slowly began to ease, but the shock of what had just happened still lingered.
"Liam, what exactly was that?" Lorna finally asked, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer.
Liam let out a quiet sigh before answering. "Jean has the Phoenix Force inside her. You can think of it as a power equivalent to a Level 5 mutant… but she can't control it yet. This time, it was probably triggered by John's flames."
"Level 5 mutant?!" Lorna's eyes widened in shock.
At present, the strongest mutants known were only at Level 4—people like Magneto, Professor X, and even Liam himself.
And yet, hidden within the academy… there was already someone carrying a power beyond that level.
....
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