The X-Men finally break free of Mesmero's wiles, but no sooner have they claimed victory, they are beset upon yet again - by MAGNETO! This fight, however, goes somewhat differently…for when the dust settles, the last man standing is MAGNETO TRIUMPHANT!
Reprint of and retroactive backup story to The X-Men #112 - Magneto Triumphant! (August, 1978).
Backup story summary:
Stalking Life
Jean Grey sits alone in the forest, contemplating how calming it is to not be overwhelmed by the thoughts of others, and how much better she feels because of it, unaware that not far away she is being stalked by an unseen threat.
As she decides to make some coffee, her pursuer attacks, narrowly missing her as she ducks for the kettle at the last moment. Her stalker now revealed to be Wolverine, she changes into her Phoenix form and questions him on why he was following her. He says that he was worried about her and wants to know what it is she's becoming, and she responds that she doesn't know and that's what frightens her. Wolverine says that whatever it is, she doesn't need to go through it alone.
She compliments Wolverine on his ability to clear his mind enough to get the jump on her, and then telekinetically pulls Banshee from a bush where he's been hiding. She explains that while she's getting more and more used to the amount of power she now wields, she's worried about losing control of the more subtle aspects of her powers and hurting someone. Banshee comments that even startled by their presence, she had the control to not lash out in a way that would hurt them. Jean replies that that was this time, implying another time might be different, but Wolverine argues that her thinking she can't control it could be what leads to her not being able to.
As they talk, Jean offers to make coffee. But when she fetches the water, she lifts the entire contents of a nearby lake high into the air, as an example of the unlikely amount of power she has to contend with. As the other two X-men look on in awe, she explains that to her, fetching a quart of water by itself is actually harder than lifting the whole lake because it requires more specific control.
Wolverine reminds her that she actually does have control in this moment, and that what she has to worry about is focus from distractions, but just as he finishes his sentence, Nightcrawler teleports right in front of her. Startled, Jean accidentally drops the entire lake in his direction.
Jean blames them for distracting her and apologizes, but says that surely she must have the power to put the lake back, which Banshee agrees with, noting that it seems like a good practice of the kind of control she was looking to exercise. Jean concedes and returns the lake, but says she should have made them do it since it was really their fault