Chapter 18: From the Ashes part 2
Rogue let out a small sigh as she made her way up the obnoxiously big stair case in the mansion. Rogue was currently walking to her room, the one she shared with a certain red head and telepath. Said telepath was the reason Rogue was sighing.
After lunch Scott had started to make a ruckus about how Jean had been missing since lunch, how she had been acting weird, snappy and irritable. Something he of course instantly told the professor about.
With a quick mental search the professor had found Jean in her room and thinking on Scott's words and giving it a few more hours until just before dinner, he got Rogue to go grab her. That was where we currently find Rogue.
'Why couldn't Scott care more about me like that?'
The thought filtered through her grumpy mind as she pushed open the door to her room and peered inside. Though she didn't show it much, Rogue had quite the crush on the leader of the x-men, as he were referred. The fact he had helped her so much when she first arrived, with mystique and everything else that was shit in her life, it was no wonder she held a small candle for the stoic teen.
That's why it annoyed her every time she would try to talk to him alone, or spend time with him, it was like he could talk about nothing else!
But her thoughts were getting side tracked; peering into the room Rogue looked at the red head quietly lying on her bed, she was on top of the sheets her body relaxed but her legs crossed like she was meditating; which was not creepy at all....
'Was this what she had been doing since breakfast?'
Looking at her with a bit up resentment and jealousy, that she quickly squashed down, Rogue made her way into the room and called out.
"Hey Jean, wake up! It's dinner time."
Jean didn't even act as if she was deturbed by the sudden shout meant to wake her up, her breath that was slow stayed the same as her eyes slowly opened. Rouge had to admit that was definitely creepy.
Jean's eyes were blank for a moment before a small smirk graced her lips, one Rouge decided wasn't her usual smile. There was something.... different about it. For a second, she could have sworn there were flames in Jean's eyes, but it happened so quick Rogue wasn't sure.
Hoping up from the bed, cracking her neck and stretching, Rogue continued to look at Jean as she finally gave her some attention.
"Hey Rogue, sorry was having a nice dream."
Rogue cocked an eye brow.
"....Must have been a good dream... You alright girl?"
Rouge's words trailed off as she finally placed the smile on Jean's lips. It wasn't a happy smile, it wasn't even a cocky smile, or a lustful one. It was a self-satisfied one that radiated confidence and a small amount of arrogance.
It only grew wider as Jean walked closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.
'Damn even the way she walks seems to be turned up to 11, did she just sway her hips?'
"Yeah, it feels like I'm finally complete, like I can truly express some of my emotions... I think they were a bit repressed over the years and I just want to.... let my hair down you know."
Rogue looked at the hand on her shoulder for a second and processed the words Jean just spoke. She had to admit Jean usually did feel a little stuck up, a bit too wound up. If she was just expressing her emotions, more power to her. Girl needed to let loose.
'As long as she stays away from Scott.'
Once again, the small jealous voice in her mind sounded, what she wasn't expecting was a reply.
"Don't worry Rogue, he's all yours, I don't like Scott that way and I never will."
Rogue frowned now, she knew what powers Jean had, and the fact that she just read her thoughts didn't sit well with her. Before she could say anything, Jean's face switched to one of apology.
"Sorry Rogue, my powers have been getting stronger recently, I just lost control for a second. But I do mean my words."
Rogue gave her a hard look to see if she was telling the truth, she didn't really trust everyone around her still, though she had been getting better. Jean's eyes were honest in their apology and Rogue could tell, there was a small amount of guilt hidden within for breaching her privacy like that.
Retracting her scrutinizing look Rogue nodded to herself once, before a small smile graced her. With Jean confirming that she didn't like Scott that way, that meant she had him all to herself.... or at least didn't have any competition in the mansion. She would have to deal with any of the hussies at school.
'Maybe I shouldn't think of them as hussies..... but I do have to make a move soon, get Scott to look at me.'
"You said it was dinner time, damn time has really flow, lets head down."
Scheming in her mind and more relaxed than ever Rogue nodded along with Jean as they exited the room, Jean's hand was still on her shoulder and surprisingly Rogue had also slipped her arm around Jean's shoulder.
They looked closer than ever, and with the small amount of jealousy gone in her mind, maybe Rogue could finally get closer to her roommate... maybe they could become best friends, Kitty was a bit too pepper for her.
Jean shot a look at Rouge the same smile on her lips as they made their way down.
Over the last few hours, she had been hashing things out with the phoenix inside her mind. It was surprisingly easy to start a dialogue between them when she expressed that she didn't know what the professor had done to the entity and that she wanted to make amends and let her free.
Of course, they couldn't do it right away, but they had come to an agreement and were already starting to bleed some of the emotions back into her main mind. The Phoenix, after so many years of absorbing Jean's negative thoughts, feelings and personality, basically resembled a meaner version of Jean herself inside her mind.
This made it easier to talk to her and connect with her, though the Phoenix was also the embodiment of a primordial cosmic force that had knowledge that spanned further than Jean could imagine. Connecting and letting the emotions bleed back into herself completely changed the world in Jeans eyes as she walked.
Where it was once muted it almost seemed to be vibrant now as she took in the world around her, intense feelings of anger, joy and much more coursed through her body with each step as she thought back on her time here.
Though she knew she would be a little volatile Jean was confident that she could restrain any dangerous impulses.
At the same time, she knew it was going to be hard, but she was fine taking such a risk.
Jean frowned as she felt a mental brush against her new and improved mental barriers. She had taken a lot of advice from the counselor before she came out on mental defenses and she had incorporated many in the last few hours.
Her barriers were stronger, much, much stronger than before. She still hadn't gotten around to making them sharp and deadly for anyone that brushed up against it, but she would be. If the professor tried to enter her mind in the coming few days, he would be surprised.
If anyone did manage to get through her defenses, even now, they had been the last thing she had worked on. The first stage she had completed had been to create a fake mind, something that would throw off anyone entering.
With the help of the Phoenix, it was rather easy to set up, she already had a split in her mind, what was another fake personality, memories and what not. The tricker part was what came next. After setting that up Jean had gone straight into hiding her mind.
It was the best defense. If a telepath couldn't find her mind, she would be safe. That had taken a lot longer and required copious amount of help from Phoenix. It was only in the last 20 minutes or so that Jean had been able to set up a small barrier around her mind, which thankfully could keep the professor out.
She felt a small pang of sadness as the idea that the professor messed with her mind became a solid fact by this point. She could feel his presence all over the manner, just seeming to lay a net that everyone walked through.
'Was this what the counselor meant when he said he basically has a 'trust me' filter around himself?'
Shaking off that small sadness and reveling once again in her new and intense emotions as they finally reach the dining room, the smile once again returned to her face. It was a bit stiffer this time though as she already knew who she would meet in the next room.
Opening the wooden doors, the noises intensified as Jean and Rogue stepped into the room, a few people looked over before turning back to eating their meal.
It went without saying that the Professor, Logan, Ororo and Scott's gazes lasted a bit longer. But the longest were Charles and Scott.
Charles because he suddenly found that Jean seemed to have some sort of barrier around her mind, one that he had never felt before. He concentrated for a moment on the barrier before turning back to talk with Hank.
Contrary to what some may believe, he was actually quite happy that Jean had somehow created barriers around her mind. It showed a progress in her skills that would help her in the future and he had full trust that she wouldn't abuse her powers. He had taught her better than that.
Scott on the other hand continued to stare.... and stare.... and stare at her as she made her way to a seat with Rogue and started her meal. Her anger that she knew was going to be a problem started to flare as she tried to tune him out. But it was like his eyes were boring, a hole in the side of her head.
'We should just kill him.'
That nugget of wisdom could have only come from one entity in her mind, though Jean had to admit she was almost starting to agree with it. Though she knew she couldn't.
Jean was slightly exasperated as she noted that Rogue was starting to get annoyed at the attention Scott was giving her. To anyone else in the room if they had noticed, which somehow they hadn't, it would have just been creepy.
'...Fine no killing... but we could hurt him....'
The counselor over their long 6-hour session had informed Jean about many things that she wanted to know. One of which, was the reason Scott seemed to be so obsessed with her. The answer was surprising to say the least.
The fact that Scott might have been mentally altered to fixated on her by a powerful mutant that wants them to have a powerful mutant baby was not the answer she was expecting, that was really one of the weirdest things she had found out.
Especially when it was noted that said mutant, who had somehow organized the whole thing, was basically an immortal geneticist that had worked with the Nazi's; had made Jean rather pity him a little. She and the x-men would have to deal with that mutant in the future.
But.....
At the same time, Scott had gotten with her identical clone, had a child and then abandoned them at the drop of a hat... cheated on her with another telepath in the future... even if it wasn't her future.
Her static grin turned a little feral as she indulged in one of her new emotions, vindictiveness.
'
Hurt no... teach a lesson, well... what's the idea?'
The voice in her mind seemed giddy with joy as they talked back.
'Don't worry I got this. This was one I learned a few hundred years ago, always guarantees satisfaction.'
Jean continued to talk to Rogue and Kitty, who was also next to her, as she side eyed Scott.
He was still starring at her, his eye not wavering from her direction when she felt a small tug in her mind. She let it go and felt her telekinetic powers stealthily center around the boys... crotch.
'Ohh...'
Jean felt another tug and caught a non-interrupted look at Scott's face as his eyes bulged out, his breath hitching into a low pitch noise that drew only Logan's attention.
The pitched noise lasted a solid 3 seconds, his mouth opening trying to scream but nothing sounding, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped forwards, crashing into his uneaten food.
Jean just kept a laugh caught in her throat as everyone finally turned their attention to Scott who seemed to be convulsing even in his sleep to the amount of pain he had just received.
She felt another tug and could swear she heard one more muffled noise as Scott trembled one more time before going still, unconscious.
Hank, Logan and Ororo were quick to rush him towards the med bay as everyone else started to discuss what the hell just happened. Rogue silently dissapeared from the room to go check on him while Jean sent a small apology in her mind for her.
He might have trouble having children in the future if what she thinks happened occurred.
'Did you.....?'
She didn't even have to finish her thought before the Pheonix replied with a full belly laugh, the one she was trying to keep in.
'Yeap.'
The P was popped as she reveled in his pain.
'Little Scott say hello to 2000 pounds of telekinetic force right to the family jewels, twice for good measure.'
A small snort escaped Jeans lips that she quickly had to cover up.
She got a few funny looks, but continued to eat, the rage that had been building up while she had been eating completely gone as she enjoyed her meal.
She had a lot of things to do going forward, like applying for early graduation and looking at college options, but that was for later. Jean was already on the right track. She felt a small vibration in her pocket already knowing it was from the CONSOL APP.
She was glad it had luckily appeared on her phone....
Thanks to it....
And the counselor...
The future looked bright.
Notes:
I said 2000 pounds of force because supposedly an adult can kick with 1000 pounds of force. So, Scott just took 2 adult kicks to the groin. Too lenient? Let me know!
I did mention the fact that he is being affected by Sinister this chapter, something that I decided happened off screen as it were. They had a long 6-hour session and not everything can be shown with what they discussed. It was only the main points that were covered.
I just took a month off writing and will be taking another month of because of stress, being busy as all hell and writers' block. I will probably release 2 chapters next month of something, I'm not sure yet what. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up and not make a full post about it. (Written on pat reon)
I should be good to get back into writing after next month but I won't promise anything.
On patreon you will of course not be charged for the month as I suspend it once again.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone