Originally Posted by
Digifiend
I believe the photon blast is a power she gained as Binary. Remember, it was a discard and draw situation. When Rogue absorbed her, Carol lost her original powers. When she became Binary, she got all except the precognitive Seventh Sense ability back (i.e. flight, strength, energy absorption, stamina, durability). Her modern powers are a weaker version of Binary's (which were originally said to be burned out when she switched to the Warbird identity, but it turns out they just need to recharge, which takes a long time), though she can now go into Binary mode when the situation calls for it. She's usually strong enough without the power up though.