Jean let loose and loved it. For so long she had contained herself, hated all she was and all she could be. For so long she'd thought of herself as wrong, broken, frightening. A horrors, a monster, something that should be contained, someone that should be erased. She had heated herself and what she could do so much, and for so long, she hardly remembered anything else.
But now she'd let go. Let go of all the defense mechanisms that she had built for herself, let go of all the masks she hid behind. Just... let herself go. Liberated herself from the cages both the world and her had constructed to keep the monster in check, broke the chains, let it all go, not caring about the consequences. She had cared for too, and for what? She knew that the monster would break free, as the rest of them did. They had feared her, even in her best days, even when she kept everything in check.
Well, now they had a reason to do so.
It felt so very good, letting go, doing whatever she pleased, unleashing all the extent of her powers into the world. It tasted like justice, and vengeance, and freedom. She felt that this was what her life should have been like each and every day, she felt that this was what she was born to do. Show the world the extent of her power, her wrath. If the rest of them couldn't handle her that was their problem. She was a force of nature, and those tiny ants should know to hide better. Should know that they were no match for her force.
It felt so good, breaking, destroying, doing what she pleased. She flew high and she could strike any objects, any place, anything. Nothing could stop her, nothing would stop her, and she would continue raging and shattering everything in her way until there was nothing else. She finally free of the shackles the world had put on her, and after so many years of restraint, she really needed to let herself shine, glow, rid herself of the frustration, the pain, the hatred.
Building shook and crumbled to the floor on her command. The floors opened and swallowed whatever was in them. There were explosions of red in the sky, with her in the centre. Every street she passed through ended up in pieces, the windows shattered, any vehicle in her way was thrown elsewhere... Oh, it felt so good to just walk with nothing in her way. She felt mighty, she felt overruling, she felt all-powerful.
Until she saw one little shadow that changed everything. A little silver shadow in the corner of her eye.
Peter knew, he knew that his speed would be no use against Jean's unstoppable fully unleashed mind powers. She was too big a force, and she could probably disintegrate him in the blink of an eye. People told him to stay back, to stay inside, not to risk his life like that. And he understood that there were many chances that he might not make it back.... He may be fast enough that most people couldn't see him, but Jean could sense his mind in hers.
Still... he had to. There was no way he was going to leave a friend behind, and he had more chances of getting him back in one piece than many of the others. She would have less time to destroy him because he would be going at full speed, ignoring the horrors he encountered, ignoring the imminent and overpowering danger, focusing on one thing and one thing only. Saving him.
Saving Kurt.
That idiot blue boy had been saving people all day, getting them out and back at the school or the closest shelter. He had teleported once and again, and again, until he was absolutely drained, but kept at it, because people were still in danger and he had to help them. But then he stopped.
The combination of his dwindling energy and a piece of concrete hitting his head stopped him for good. He wasn't dead, but he would be if they didn't get him some medical treatment – and by soon they meant now. But who to send on that suicide mission? Should they go all together to have more strength against Jean's unparalleled force or send just one person hoping they could stay under the radar?
Before any decisions were taken, Peter took off.
Kurt wasn't just his friend, someone that listened to his stories and actually paid attention to them, someone who smiled at all his jokes, someone who could be beaten mercilessly at video games and still not be mad. Kurt wasn't just his friend, he was everyone's friend. He was Scott's bro, he was Storm's go-to guy when she needed to calm down, he was Hank's protegé.... he was an important part of the team, and to lose him would be devastating for the whole X-men and for the work they were doing.
Because Kurt... he brought hope, and faith that things could get better, that the world and its people deserved to be saved. He restored people's faith in humainty, after the terrible things they'd seen. If Kurt existed and he was this kind, and gentle, and brave and selfless... Maybe other good people were out there in the world too. Maybe it was not only hatred, and ignorant and violent, mean people. Maybe they deserved a better world, maybe all their fight was worth it – if it would help keeping people as nice as Kurt safe.
So there Peter was, way too close from that bomb of a person he had once worked with, looking for something blue in the rubble of what had once been a busy street. He found him, in what would have been record time for anyone else but felt too slow, too much time for Peter. The pressure, the stakes of his mission were too high, and it was taking its toll on the speedster. But he managed to find him and get him out from under the debris with relative ease, and all his limbs were with him, which was a good thing.
Still, Kurt was so unmoving, so limp and lifeless in his arms Peter worried that he was, once again, too late. There was blood coming out of his mouth and several injuries along his body, in his arms, chest, stomach, legs. Once again, Kurt had nearly killed himself to help others. Peter touched the boy's neck, hoping for a pulse, a sign of breathing, something. There was a pulse, but it was all wrong.
And then, the worst thing that could happen happened. Jean spotted them.
It was a split second, but Peter saw her looking, and feared that if he just took off she would kill them both in a rage. So instead, he pleaded to her humainty, to the girl she once had been and that was probably there somewhere. He wasn't the most articulate guy, but he had to try. For his life. For Kurt's. For the last sliver of hope they had left.
“Please, Jean, he's dying. Kurt is dying. Let me save him.”
And something was wrong with that picture.
She didn't want to continue with the wreckage, because this..... She looked at Kurt, all bloodied, all limp, half dead already and it was just plain wrong. Kurt had never hurt her, never been afraid of her, just accepted her as she was. He had followed her lead after mere hours of knowing her, he had done what she asked even when it hurt him. Now he was dying – he would die because of what she'd done. When he was still so young.... she'd broken his life.
Kurt was innocent. He didn't deserve this. She had no right to hurt him like that.
Peter took the moment of realisation and horror in Jean to simply leave while she rumbled about what she'd done. In mere seconds, they were back an underground shelter/bunker the professor and the others had found, and Peter softly deposited the injured boy in one of the beds, then gathered all the medical equipment around to help Hank's work.
People gasped when they saw Kurt's state, and Peter realised with dread that he would have to wait, in regular speed, until he knew what would become of his friend. The treatment, the not-knowing, the dread... it felt so agonisingly slow Peter wanted to scream.
After some hours all of Kurt's wounds were cleaned and dressed and he had some oxygen to help his breathing, some IV drugs that were supposed to help fight off infection, reduce swelling, help. He was still in a very delicate condition, but if things didn't go wrong, there was a good chance he would recover.
People congratulated Peter on his work, and he may or may not have shed a tear of joy. They had survived. Maybe there was still hope.
Jean heard the thoughts. Kurt was still very badly injured, but she hadn't killed him. Good.
The flames had subsided, and she didn't know what to do with herself. The monster was still, and would come out again, soon. But for now.... Now she couldn't think of destroying. Not when she had almost lost something so precious, not after seeing what she'd seen. Seeing Kurt like that had hurt her. Had reminded her that she wasn't alone in the universe, that there were people that didn't deserve all of that.
Maybe it would help tone down the monster, the next time it reared its face. Maybe it wouldn't change anything.
But maybe.... Maybe there was hope.
For humanity, for lost friends.... for monsters.