"It seems I'll need to spend more ti exploring my own abilities."
Kurogai murmured quietly to himself, already forming plans in his mind. Just from Jean's casual remarks, he had gathered a wealth of information—information that shed light on why Professor Xavier had once been so persistent in recruiting him.
"Co on," Jean called from ahead, "I'll show you around so other areas."
Kurogai nodded, but his mind wasn't on the scenery. His thoughts were consud by the revelation: when his powers awakened, the Phoenix Force had reacted. There had to be a connection. And if so, maybe—just maybe—he could use that connection to trigger and develop his own dormant abilities.
Without hesitation, Kurogai strode up and gently took Jean's hand.
"W-What are you doing?" Jean asked, caught off guard by his sudden action.
Though Kurogai was still only twelve, he had grown fast. His calm deanor and confident bearing gave him the air of soone much older. The gesture wasn't exactly inappropriate, but it still made Jean pause. Her own relationship with the Phoenix Force had made her cautious, emotionally reserved. At this point in ti, she hadn't ford any romantic ties with Scott Sumrs. She was still innocent when it ca to emotional intimacy.
Moreover, the resonance between Kurogai's powers and the Phoenix Force within her made her more attuned to him than she normally would be. So, when he grabbed her hand, it startled her more than it normally might.
"Miss Jean," Kurogai said sincerely, "there's sothing I need to ask you. Would you mind clearing up a few things for ?"
Jean blinked. "What exactly do you want to ask?"
She was genuinely puzzled. Not even Professor X had been able to read Kurogai's mind before, and with the psychic barriers she had in place, she was even more cut off from detecting thoughts.
"From your lab coat, I assu you have your own lab, right?" Kurogai asked calmly. "Let's talk there."
He wasn't about to discuss his powers in public. If he was going to figure out what was happening to him, he needed privacy—and he needed Jean's help.
Jean hesitated for a mont, cheeks faintly pink from how intimate that request had sounded. But she found herself nodding.
"This way, please."
A few minutes later, they arrived at her personal lab.
Jean took a seat and looked at him, slightly nervous. "Alright. What is it you wanted to talk about?"
"I awakened a unique power," Kurogai began, "but after that mont, I haven't been able to sense it. It's like it vanished. Just now, though, you said your power reacted during my awakening. That makes wonder—maybe our abilities are connected sohow. Maybe your power can help trigger mine. That's why I asked to speak with you."
He spoke openly, without reservation. He had nothing to hide. If there was a solution here, it was better to be honest about the problem. Besides, Kurogai wasn't powerless, even without his mutant gifts. Between his magic and the ocular techniques he inherited through the Ultimate Eye, he could more than hold his own.
Jean frowned thoughtfully. "You haven't sensed it since awakening? That's… highly unusual. Are you sure you didn't just suppress it sohow?"
"I'm sure. There's been nothing. That's why I ca to you."
"Could you be an Epsilon-Delta level mutant?" she muttered, mostly to herself, but quickly shook her head. "No, that's impossible."
Jean knew what that level ant: weak and unstable powers, often undetectable and uncontrollable. But Kurogai had done sothing far beyond that. He had startled the Phoenix Force. That wasn't the kind of thing a low-level mutant could do.
The idea was unthinkable.
"This is why I'm asking for your help," Kurogai said firmly. "Maybe your power could trigger mine."
Jean hesitated. She wanted to help, but she was afraid of losing control. The Phoenix Force wasn't sothing she could always restrain, and the last thing she wanted was to harm him.
Still… just a little power wouldn't hurt, right?
"I'll try," she said softly.
Kurogai's eyes lit up with anticipation as he nodded, preparing himself. A few monts later, Jean took a deep breath and closed her eyes, reaching inward.
Give a little power. Just a spark. That's all I need.
She called to the Phoenix Force, half-expecting resistance. But to her surprise, it responded imdiately, more cooperative than ever before. A single, glowing ember of cosmic fire appeared in her palm—radiant, contained, and eager.
Jean hesitated for just a second, then guided the wisp of Phoenix Force into Kurogai's body.
As it entered him, it was as if a spark hit a powder keg.
A wave of blue flas ignited within him, racing through his core and spreading out like wildfire. From deep inside his soul ca a resonant cry, a phoenix's call that echoed into the sky—and far beyond.
It wasn't just audible in the room.
It reached across the X-Mansion.
It echoed across the skies.
It resonated into space.
A single cry that startled the stars.
---
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