"Professor X is in a coma? What the hell happened?" Liam Hayes frowned, his tone sharpening instantly as the situation became clear.
Jean stepped forward, guilt written all over her face. "It was Mystique. She disguised herself as me and tampered with the Cerebro unit. When the Professor used it to locate Rogue, something went wrong… and he collapsed."
Liam nodded slowly. That aligned almost perfectly with what he had already suspected.
"Take me to him," he said without hesitation.
The room fell quiet for a moment as everyone turned to look at him.
"You… you can help him?" Jean asked, her voice carrying a fragile hope. Of everyone present, she was the most affected by this. If Mystique had used her face to deceive the Professor, then she felt responsible for what happened.
"I can't guarantee anything," Liam replied honestly, crossing his arms. "But I can try."
Storm and Cyclops exchanged a glance, both of them visibly weighing the situation. The X-Men without Professor X were directionless, unable to act decisively, especially with Rogue missing.
Cyclops made the call.
"Alright. Come with me."
They didn't have the luxury of doubt anymore.
Inside the medical ward, Professor X lay quietly on the bed. His expression was peaceful, almost as if he were simply asleep, but the stillness carried a weight that no one could ignore.
The absence of his presence was already being felt.
Liam stepped forward without speaking. He placed a hand gently on the Professor's head, closing his eyes as he focused inward.
Behind him, Cyclops and Storm watched closely, both unsure of what method he would use. They had seen what Liam was capable of over the past days—rescuing Polaris, bringing back a Level 4 mutant, disrupting the Hellfire Club's plans—but this was different.
This required precision.
Logan, standing off to the side, remained silent. He still didn't fully understand Liam's capabilities. In his mind, this was just a kid who had only recently awakened his powers.
Moments passed.
Then Liam spoke.
"I see it."
His eyes remained closed, his voice calm but certain.
"The Professor's mental energy is still incredibly strong. But right now, it's completely disordered. There are multiple conflicting psychic signals scattered throughout his mind, clashing against each other."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"That's why he's unconscious."
Cyclops and Storm leaned forward slightly, a flicker of hope appearing on their faces.
"Can it be fixed?" Storm asked.
Liam nodded. "Yes. It shouldn't be too difficult."
Under normal circumstances, that statement would sound arrogant.
But in this room, after everything they had seen from him, it sounded believable.
Professor X's telepathic ability was among the strongest in existence. With Cerebro, his reach could span the entire planet. He had long been considered the most powerful telepath among mutants.
But that was before.
With Liam's current state—enhanced by both telepathy and his super-brain ability—his mental capacity had already surpassed that threshold.
Of course, that didn't include entities on a different level entirely.
Jean herself was a perfect example. Her base ability was also telepathy, but only at a moderate level. What made her extraordinary was something else entirely.
The Phoenix Force.
"Weiss… please," Jean said softly, her voice trembling slightly. "You have to wake him up."
"I'm already on it," Liam replied.
He didn't say anything else after that.
His focus narrowed completely.
If he wanted to bring Professor X back, he needed to stabilize the chaotic psychic energy inside his mind. That meant entering carefully, identifying each fragment, and guiding them back into alignment.
On the surface, it sounded simple.
In practice, it was anything but.
Everyone in the room fell silent.
Even Logan stopped moving, watching quietly as Liam worked.
Inside Professor X's mind, the situation was far more complex than it appeared. Multiple psychic currents collided and overlapped, forming a tangled web that resisted any attempt at order.
Liam moved slowly.
Carefully.
He used his telepathic ability as the primary tool, supported by his control over vector-like forces to subtly guide the flow of energy. Each adjustment had to be precise. Too much force, and the entire structure could collapse further.
Time passed.
Minutes stretched into something longer.
An hour later—
Liam finally exhaled deeply, opening his eyes. He stepped back slightly before dropping into the chair beside the bed, his body relaxing for the first time since he began.
This was the first time he had performed such a delicate operation on the mind.
And it had taken its toll.
"Professor!" Cyclops and Jean rushed forward immediately, calling out as they checked for any response.
Meanwhile, Polaris, Clarice, and Shadowcat gathered around Liam.
"Are you okay?" Polaris asked, her voice soft with concern.
"I'm fine," Liam said, shaking his head slightly. "Just a bit drained."
Sweat had already formed along his forehead, and Polaris instinctively reached out, gently wiping it away. Her movements were natural, almost unconscious.
Clarice noticed immediately.
A flicker of annoyance crossed her expression, as if she had just realized she should have been the one to do that.
"Weiss… why hasn't he woken up yet?" Cyclops asked, glancing back with a hint of urgency in his voice.
Liam rolled his eyes slightly, clearly unimpressed by the impatience.
"It's not instant," he said. "I've stabilized his mental state, but waking up takes time. You don't just fix something like that and expect immediate results."
Cyclops exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right… sorry. I'm just—"
"I know," Liam cut in, waving it off. "You're worried. Makes sense."
He leaned back slightly in his chair, letting his breathing steady.
The hardest part was already done.
....
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