Dark Phoenix: Into The Stranger Verse (Stranger Things)

CHAPTER 25

Chapter 25: The Explanation And Loss

FIRE had grown and smoke gathered in the air, thick and choking. American soldiers crawled into the mall, footsteps heavy and guns aimed and ready, the lights on their rifles cutting through the shadows. Yet Jean didn't depart from Billy's side even as he finally blinked his eyes open. Instead she lifted her hand from his bloody chest, moving it to brush away his damp, golden curls from his forehead, and doing something that promoted him to fall back into deep sleep.

His scrunched and panicked features relaxed under her ministrations -something that caught Max's attention before they were all hauled outside to the mall's carpark, leaving the shadows bruised with neon light behind them.

Police cars, ambulances and fire trucks crowded the parking lot. Red and blue emergency lights flashed and twirled through the night air that was still hot despite the recent and quick downpour of rain that fell over the small town of Hawkins, sending down a sheet of water to heal the damage and wash away the horror of the battle of Starcourt Mall. It was much like the night that Jean Grey first appeared, months later and the mystery that shrouded her whole being had somehow intensified ever since.

Jean and Max watched as the medic's rushed to get the unconscious Billy inside the ambulance, providing him with whatever urgent treatment he needed before heading to the hospital.

"What did you do?" Max asked, curiously eying the taller girl as she referred to the last action she took that put Billy to a comforting sleep.

Jean sucked in her dry lips, briefly lathering it with her tongue before she let out a soft sigh. "I blocked some things from his head. Just a few memories I could reach that would only hurt him for now."

She had no intention of keeping his memories from him. If she had, Jean wouldn't have been any different from the Professor after what he'd done to her. Jean wasn't capable of taking Billy's pain away, she only buried them until he was strong enough to face it head on, bit by bit. And she would be there every step of the way for him to do so.

Sending her an unsure nod, Max shuffled closer to Jean, eyes drawn tightly together in concentration. "I don't how you did it, but you saved his life. I don't know how to thank you."

"Don't mention it." Jean solemnly said, beckoning for Max to head on inside the ambulance to go with her brother. "You should go with him."

Maxine nodded affirmatively, followed by Lucas who's been staring at Jean with awe for the last few minutes.

"Jean!" Eleven shouted suddenly, darting across the pavement, swinging around her leg cast carelessly as she lunged at her older sister. Jean slipped from Max's arms and was enveloped by El, and whatever strength had been keeping her legs straight, broke and she buckled in her arms.

"Are you okay?"

"Mmm." El hummed softly. "Jean?" She whispered into her bloody hair as she wrapped her arms around her

"Yeah?" Jean replied, moving away and guiding Eleven to sit near one of the ambulances.

With pursed lips, El darted her gaze between the mall entrance and Jean's translucent green eyes, no longer an amber color. "What happened... earlier?" She asked hesitantly.

Jean swallowed the lump in her throat, knowing that she'd have to explain what the hell happened back there and how she did what she did. She feared what her little sister figure would think of her if she told her everything she now knew of her past. She didn't even know if she or anyone else would believe her. But now wasn't the time.