The X-Jet cut through the upper atmosphere with enough force to make the entire aircraft vibrate, but nobody aboard was paying attention to the turbulence. The mission had already gone far beyond what any of them had expected, and the sight of the damaged Space Shuttle Endeavour hanging helplessly in orbit had turned what should have been a straightforward rescue into a race against time.
Jin sat strapped into one of the rear seats, staring through the cockpit window at the enormous darkness beyond it. Earth occupied most of his peripheral vision, an impossibly beautiful blue sphere suspended against the blackness of space, while the Endeavour drifted ahead of them like a wounded animal that had somehow managed to survive far longer than it should have.
He had been quiet since they reached orbit.
Too quiet.
Scott noticed.
"You okay?"
Jin looked toward him.
"Yeah."
Scott didn't look convinced.
"You've barely said anything."
"I'm thinking."
"About?"
Jin looked back through the window.
"The shuttle."
Scott followed his gaze.
"Yeah."
Jin swallowed.
He already knew this scene.
That was the problem.
He had watched it before.
Back in his old world, this had been nothing more than a sequence in a movie. A disaster in space, a rescue mission, Jean Grey left behind, and then the impossible wave of cosmic energy that changed everything.
Now he was sitting inside the X-Jet watching it happen in real time.
The knowledge made his stomach twist.
The others were preparing for the rescue.
Hank was going over the shuttle's condition.
Ororo was checking the systems.
Scott was coordinating the approach.
Peter was doing what Peter did best—talking far too much whenever he was nervous.
Kurt stood near the rear compartment, already preparing himself.
Jin watched him.
Nightcrawler was going to be the most important person in this rescue.
Because he was going to teleport the astronauts out.
And if Jin remembered correctly, that meant Jean would eventually be left behind.
His fingers tightened around the armrest.
"Something wrong?" Hank asked.
Jin looked toward him.
"No."
Hank adjusted his glasses.
"You've said that several times."
"And I mean it every time."
Hank gave him a suspicious look.
Jin smiled.
"Trust me."
Hank sighed.
"That phrase rarely inspires confidence."
The X-Jet approached the Endeavour.
The shuttle looked worse up close.
Sections of its outer hull were damaged.
Smoke and debris floated around it.
One of the engines was badly compromised.
The craft was barely maintaining its position.
Scott looked toward everyone.
"Let's move."
The rear hatch opened.
Kurt stepped forward.
"Ready."
Scott nodded.
"Go."
Kurt disappeared in a burst of blue smoke.
A second later, he appeared inside the Endeavour.
Then he vanished again.
And again.
Each teleport brought another astronaut back.
The process was chaotic but efficient.
One astronaut.
Then another.
Then another.
Jin watched the pattern.
Kurt would appear.
Grab someone.
Disappear.
Return.
Repeat.
The rescue was working.
Exactly like the movie.
Jin's jaw tightened.
The astronauts kept coming.
"Four!" Scott called.
Kurt appeared.
"Five!"
Another teleport.
"Six!"
Another.
Jin's heartbeat increased.
How many?
He counted.
The numbers were burned into his memory from watching the movie.
He knew what happened after the last astronaut.
He knew Jean stayed.
He knew the Phoenix Force arrived.
He knew the blast.
He knew what happened afterward.
"Seven!"
Kurt appeared with another astronaut.
The man was barely conscious.
Kurt lowered him onto the floor.
"Last one!" Kurt shouted.
Jin's eyes widened.
This was it.
Kurt disappeared.
Seconds passed.
Jin stared at the Endeavour.
The shuttle drifted.
Something appeared in the distance.
At first, it was barely visible.
A faint light.
Jin's blood went cold.
No.
Not yet.
Kurt reappeared.
The final astronaut was safe.
"Everyone's out!"
Scott nodded.
"Good. Kurt, get back here."
Kurt looked toward the shuttle.
Then toward the X-Jet.
He vanished.
A second later, he appeared beside the others.
The rescue was complete.
Everyone was aboard.
Everyone except Jean.
Jin stared through the cockpit window.
There she was.
Standing inside the Endeavour.
Alone.
His breathing stopped.
"Jean."
Scott turned.
"What?"
Jin didn't answer.
The light in space was growing.
It wasn't sunlight.
It wasn't an explosion.
It was something else.
Something enormous.
Something alive.
The Phoenix Force.
Jin had seen it in the movie.
He had seen the golden wave consume the shuttle.
He had watched Jean disappear beneath it.
And now he was watching the exact same thing happen.
Except this time, he was here.
He could change it.
Maybe.
His hands began trembling.
"Jin?"
Scott's voice sounded distant.
Jin stared.
Jean was looking through the shuttle window.
She seemed to sense something.
Her expression changed.
Fear.
Jin stood.
"What are you doing?" Scott asked.
"I need to get her."
Scott grabbed his arm.
"She's too far."
"I know."
"We're already pulling away."
"I know."
"Jin!"
Jin looked at him.
"Trust me."
Scott stared.
Jin turned toward the shuttle.
His cursed energy surged.
The world around him became sharper.
Six Eyes processed everything.
Distance.
Mass.
Energy.
Space.
The gap between the X-Jet and the Endeavour wasn't simply distance.
It was a structure.
A measurable separation.
A barrier.
Normally, Jin could manipulate that structure only within limited parameters.
He had practiced.
He had experimented.
He had learned to use Blue.
But this?
This was different.
He wasn't trying to pull the shuttle toward himself.
He wasn't trying to teleport.
He was trying to force space itself to collapse.
Jin inhaled.
"Come on."
Cursed energy flooded his body.
The system flickered.
[M.O.T.S.]
[TAINTED SATORU GOJO]
[ASSIMILATION: 70%]
Jin ignored it.
His focus narrowed.
He could see the space between himself and Jean.
Thousands of meters.
Too far.
He compressed it.
The distance folded.
Reality warped.
For one terrifying instant, Jin felt as if his entire body had been stretched between two points.
His bones screamed.
His muscles tightened.
His stomach lurched.
The world disappeared.
Then—
He was standing inside the Endeavour.
Jean turned toward him.
Her eyes widened.
"Jin?"
He staggered.
"Hey."
"What are you doing here?"
"Bad timing."
She looked past him.
"What—"
Jin saw it.
The wave.
It was already there.
There wasn't time to return.
There wasn't time to move.
There wasn't time to use Limitless again.
Jin's eyes widened.
"Oh, hell."
Jean turned.
The Phoenix Force struck.
There was no explosion.
No sound.
No impact.
Just light.
Golden light.
It swallowed the shuttle.
It swallowed Jean.
It swallowed Jin.
For a moment, Jin felt nothing.
Then everything.
Heat.
Cold.
Pressure.
Life.
Death.
Creation.
Destruction.
Something passed through his soul.
His cursed energy erupted violently.
The system screamed.
[M.O.T.S.]
[ERROR]
[ERROR]
[ERROR]
Jin tried to breathe.
He couldn't.
His body felt weightless.
He saw something.
A bird.
A burning bird.
Its wings stretched across the universe.
Its eyes opened.
Jin's consciousness trembled.
Then the Phoenix disappeared.
Jean screamed.
Jin reached toward her.
"Jean!"
His hand found hers.
Then darkness took them both.