"Hey."
"Jin."
Hank's voice sounded serious.
Jin's smile disappeared.
"What happened?"
"I need you back at the academy."
"Why?"
"I'd rather explain when you get here."
Jin stopped walking.
"Hank."
A pause.
"We've received a call concerning a space mission."
Jin frowned.
"A space mission?"
"Yes."
"What's wrong with it?"
"Come back."
"That's not an answer."
"I know."
Another pause.
"We'll explain everything when you're here."
Jin sighed.
"Fine."
He ended the call.
He started walking toward the nearest station.
Then stopped.
Space mission.
That was odd.
Very odd.
He looked up at the sky.
Nothing.
Just blue.
He frowned.
Something about Hank's tone bothered him.
He started walking again.
By the time Jin reached the academy, the sun was beginning to lower.
The gates opened automatically.
Jin stepped inside.
Logan was waiting.
Of course.
"You left."
"I came back."
"That's not the point."
"I know."
Logan looked at him.
"Where were you?"
"New York."
"You went alone."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to."
Logan stared.
Jin stared back.
"Are you going to lecture me?"
"Yes."
"Can we postpone it?"
"No."
Jin sighed.
"Fine."
Logan stepped aside.
"Hank's waiting."
Jin nodded.
"About the astronauts?"
Logan's expression changed slightly.
"So Hank told you."
"On the phone."
"Go."
Jin walked toward the laboratory.
His mind was already racing.
Astronauts.
Space.
Hank.
The strange seriousness.
Something didn't fit.
He opened the door.
And froze.
Hank stood beside a large monitor.
Xavier was there.
Scott was there.
Raven was there.
Jean was there.
Jin's eyes immediately settled on her.
She looked tired.
More than tired.
Irritated.
She had been like that lately.
Cranky.
Short-tempered.
Easily frustrated.
Sometimes Jin had caught her staring into space for no reason.
At first he'd assumed she was simply stressed.
Now he wasn't so sure.
"You're back," Hank said.
"Apparently."
Hank gestured toward the monitor.
"Come here."
Jin approached.
A photograph appeared.
Space Shuttle Endeavour.
Jin stopped.
His heart skipped.
No.
He stared at the screen.
Endeavour.
Astronauts.
X-Men.
Jean Grey.
He felt something cold settle in his stomach.
His Marvel knowledge came rushing back.
He remembered the movie.
He remembered the opening.
He remembered the shuttle.
He remembered the X-Men being sent into space.
He remembered Jean.
He remembered the golden force.
The Phoenix.
Jin's expression became completely serious.
Dark Phoenix.
He didn't say it.
He couldn't.
But the realization hit him with absolute certainty.
This wasn't merely an astronaut rescue.
This was the beginning of one of the most important events in the X-Men story.
The Space Shuttle Endeavour incident.
The Phoenix Force.
Jean Grey.
And if the timeline was following the movie...
Then Jean was about to become something far more dangerous than anyone at this academy understood.
Jin slowly looked toward her.
Jean noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She frowned.
"You've been staring at me."
"Sorry."
She looked away.
Jin's mind was racing.
This was real.
The story he had watched on a screen was happening around him.
And he was standing inside it.
He looked back at the Endeavour.
"How bad is it?"
Hank answered.
"Bad."
Jin waited.
"The shuttle has lost thrust-vector control."
"Communication?"
"Unstable."
"Orientation?"
"Lost."
Jin swallowed.
Every detail matched.
The movie.
The beginning.
Exactly.
His fingers tightened.
"Solar flare?"
Hank looked at him.
"That's what NASA believes."
Jin stared at the screen.
"Of course."
Hank frowned.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Jin knew.
He knew what was coming.
The question was whether he could change it.
Or whether trying to change it would make things worse.
Hank continued.
"The President has contacted Charles."
Xavier nodded.
"The X-Men have been asked to assist."
Jin looked around.
"Who's going?"
Raven answered.
"Me, Scott, Jean, Hank, Peter, Kurt, Ororo."
Jin blinked.
"And me?"
Raven looked at him.
"No."
Jin frowned.
"No?"
"Your abilities aren't suited for rescue."
Jin stared.
"I can help."
"You manipulate space."
"Exactly."
"We don't know how that works."
"Neither do I completely."
Raven raised an eyebrow.
"That's not encouraging."
Jin stepped closer.
"I'm going."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because we're rescuing astronauts."
"And?"
"And your abilities aren't designed for rescue."
Jin laughed.
"You've seen what I can do."
"Exactly."
Raven crossed her arms.
"We need people who can get people out."
"I can."
"How?"
Jin thought for half a second.
"Infinity can protect people."
Raven paused.
He continued.
"Blue can pull things."
Another pause.
"Red can push things."
Scott looked at Raven.
Raven looked at Hank.
Hank looked at Xavier.
Jin continued.
"And if something goes wrong, I can heal."
That got everyone's attention.
Not because they knew about Reverse Cursed Technique.
They didn't.
They only knew Jin possessed unusual physical abilities and had demonstrated strange spatial manipulation.
Jin kept his expression calm.
"I can help."
Raven sighed.
"You're stubborn."
"Yes."
"Very."
"Yes."
She looked toward Xavier.
Xavier smiled faintly.
"Perhaps he should accompany you."
Raven stared at him.
"Charles."
"He may prove useful."
Jin smiled.
"Thank you."
Raven pointed at him.
"Don't make me regret it."
"No promises."
She sighed.
Hank began preparing the team.
Jin stepped away.
His eyes returned to Jean.
She was quiet.
Too quiet.
Jin knew the story.
He knew what was coming.
And yet seeing her sitting there as a real person made it different.
She wasn't a plot device.
She wasn't a character on a screen.
She was Jean.
Someone Jin had spoken to.
Someone who had helped him after the Sentinel incident.
Someone who had checked his eyes.
Someone who had treated him like a person.
And she was about to be hit by something cosmic.
Jin's jaw tightened.
He couldn't let himself forget that.
He knew what was supposed to happen.
But knowing didn't mean he could accept it.
The X-Jet was prepared.
The team boarded.
Jin followed.
The engines started.
As the aircraft lifted from the academy grounds, Jin looked through the window.
The school became smaller beneath them.
The sky opened ahead.
And somewhere beyond it was the Endeavour.
Jin sat back.
His heart was beating faster.
Not from fear.
From recognition.
He knew this scene.
He knew the movie.
He knew the story.
But this time there was no screen separating him from it.
There was no pause button.
No rewind.
No guarantee that things would happen exactly the way he remembered.
Only the sky.
The stars.
Jean Grey.
And the approaching Phoenix.
The X-Jet climbed higher.
Jin stared through the window.
He whispered so quietly that nobody heard him.
"Dark Phoenix."
Then the Earth disappeared beneath the clouds.