When Leo found Jean Grey, the young woman was still unconscious.
Wanda and No. 18 sat quietly beside her, chatting as they waited for her to wake.
The moment Leo walked in, both women turned toward him.
"Where did you run off to?" Wanda asked with clear irritation. "You just disappeared like that."
This guy, honestly — so casual about everything, even with Jean still lying there.
Leo chuckled softly. "Hehe, don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
He reached out and playfully patted her head.
Wanda immediately swatted his hand away, glaring. "Ugh, you never stop messing around. Go check on Jean already!"
"Alright, alright," Leo said with a grin. "On it."
Naturally, how could he ignore his beautiful wife's orders? He moved to Jean's bedside and sat down.
Activating Telepathy, Leo entered Jean Grey's mind — and what he saw made his heart ache.
Jean was sitting on a swing in a radiant garden, laughing as her father gently pushed her.
Her mother sat nearby, smiling as she watched them play.
The air was filled with warmth and laughter — the picture of a perfect family.
Who would want to wake up from that?
Even if you knew it was a dream… would you really want to leave it behind?
Leo stood quietly outside the fence, watching the scene with a faint smile. But his eyes soon reddened.
This was Jean's dream — but wasn't it his as well?
His own childhood had been filled with cold, hunger, ridicule, and discrimination.
He had never known such warmth… and now it was something forever out of reach.
He sighed and turned away, unwilling to disturb her peace. She deserved this dream — at least for a while.
Just then, a gentle voice called out.
"Sir, who are you looking for?"
Jean Grey's mother stood in the yard, gazing curiously at him.
Leo smiled politely. "Oh, hello, ma'am. I'm just passing by. Sorry to have bothered you."
He didn't stay long — just turned and walked away.
"What a strange young man," she murmured softly.
"What's wrong, dear?" her husband asked, confused.
"Oh, nothing," she replied. "I just saw a man looking in, thought he was here for you, but I guess not."
"Probably just passing by," her husband said, dismissing it easily.
But Jean Grey wasn't so calm. She stared at Leo's retreating back, her expression heavy. Then she jumped off the swing.
"I'm sorry, Mom, Dad… time's up. I have to go."
Her voice trembled. "What's past is past. I can't stay here forever. Thank you… for giving me so much happiness for so long."
Her throat tightened as she tried not to cry — but the tears came anyway.
This dream was her last connection to that lost warmth. And now, she had to let it go.
"Goodbye, Mom, Dad. Your daughter will always love you!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks as her parents looked at her in shock.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong? Talk to us!" her father pleaded.
"That's right," her mother said urgently. "As long as we're together, we can fix anything!"
But Jean simply shook her head. "It's nothing. I can handle it."
She raised a hand, and a gentle surge of Telekinesis pushed them back.
She didn't want to destroy this fragile dream — so she chose to leave it perfect, just as it was.
Her parents could only watch helplessly as their daughter turned and walked away.
Jean took one last look at the garden — that warm, golden scene — and etched it into her memory forever.
Then she followed Leo's footsteps.
"Brother… let's go."
"Mm-hm," Leo replied.
Hand in hand, the two of them walked under the setting sun — their shadows stretching long across the ground, fading into the horizon.
In the real world, Jean Grey's eyes fluttered open.
Two tears rolled down her cheeks — a quiet farewell to her past.
She understood now: she couldn't live in memories anymore.
She had a new family — people who truly loved and protected her.
She was no longer just an ordinary girl.
She was the Phoenix.
Her father had cast her out long ago; there was no reason to disturb his new life.
This was her closure.
"Awake?" Leo asked softly.
"Mm-hm," she nodded.
Just a simple exchange — but both of them knew everything had changed.
Jean Grey had finally accepted herself.
Leo smiled faintly. He knew she wouldn't lose control again.
Suppression was never the answer — there was no such thing as a perfect cage.
Charles Xavier had locked Jean's memories behind mental walls — but that was only delaying the inevitable.
A ticking time bomb.
Even the ancients of the Dragon Country had long understood:
Blocking is never as good as guiding.
Because in the end…
True heroes are the ones who dare to face a bleak life head-on.
...
Author's Note:
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