Flickers (Charles Xavier)

Chapter 33

Cairo was destroyed.

Jean unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up, watching through the window of the jet as dust cascaded around them. The original pyramids were gone, along with half of the urban city that was built close to it. Built upon the new ruins was a new pyramid that Jean had never seen before. It rose up higher than the previous pyramids ever had, and its appearance was incredibly daunting.

Raising her finger to her temples, Jean reached out, trying to find Charles' mind.

She couldn't feel anything, and then ... suddenly, she felt his mind and lurched forwards to tell the others what she had seen.

"He has the Professor in the centre of the pyramid," She pointed at the newly-built structure, "He's going to transfer his consciousness into the Professor. If he does that, he'll have the power to control every mind in the world."

"What about Iris?" Hank asked, leaning backwards in his seat to glance at her.

Jean tried to reach for Iris' mind, but she couldn't find it. It was as if she wasn't there at all. She felt herself begin to panic.

"I, I can't-"

As her mind caught onto Charles' again, she held onto it, reaching in to read his thoughts and to understand what had happened to Iris.

A series of images rushed through her mind, painfully fresh - Iris' body raised in the air as flames burst out of her body around her, followed by the single image of Iris, but not-quite-Iris, standing in the sunlight in dark armour with fire at her fingertips.

Jean gasped, stumbling backwards at the sight of it. She understood what it meant – she knew all about Iris' worst nightmare.

"Hank," She gasped, sprinting forwards, "He's weaponised her."

The blood rushed out of Hank's face. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was speechless. Jean could understand why. He'd been friends with Iris and Charles for years, and now he was in danger of losing them both.

Raven unbuckled herself from her chair and leant forwards, reaching out for Hank gently. Her hand brushed his, and he turned to face her, their eyes meeting.

"Hank," Raven started to say, "We might be able to get to her and undo it. If we can get her and Charles, I'm sure Charles will be able to undo whatever has been done to her - "

"Charles is going to be broken. That was Iris' worst nightmare. And Charles had to watch it come true..." Hank whispered.

Raven closed her eyes and leant forwards, and Jean could feel that both Raven and Hank were thinking the same thing. She got flashes of images of the Professor, years before, looking so different to the calm, controlled one that she knew now. Flashes of a broken man, who seemed so lost.

Hank's voice was low, "It will break Charles all over again..."

Jean shook her head firmly.

"Not if we get to her. Not if we save her."

Hank's expression softened when he looked at her, "Jean, it might not be that easy. You know how powerful she is, before she even loses control. If this... being that wants to take over the world has control over her, we might not be able to get to her. Not without someone getting hurt."

Jean stared at Hank, her expression firm, "We have to try."

After a pause, Hank hesitantly nodded in agreement, "We will try, Jean. We'll try."

Jean held his gaze for a few seconds before glancing away. Iris had been her greatest role model since she'd joined the school, and she wasn't willing to give up on her.