The images were tiny lights, single moments, little echoes of the truth. Her hand on someone's dick, touching tattooed skin with her tongue, tasting salt from cheeks that weren't Scotts.
As she touched one it opened like a flower in her skull, the information downloading into her consciousness. A crack in the wall between her subconscious and conscious self widening.
*She'd been following him all night, dressed in her heels and dark suit. She was sin dressed as a woman, her mind had been sending him images of her naked body all night. Her hair slicked back, the red curls dyed black but her eyes shone out to the man who'd been her target. Knowing she could get him to follow her now, his eye had been on her body since she'd walked in. Dressed from head to foot in a titty bar, all grace and power, her sense of self overpowering the deformed stick women who were dancing for cash onstage. She had every man's gaze on her as she walked out of the bar, she gave her target a small smile as she left. Turning her head away and lifting her chin up as she did it, knowing his proclivities he'd be following her as fast as his feet could take him.*
Jean fought to keep her lunch down as the image revolved around her mind, the suit, the dark silk suit was something Scott had bought her in Paris. She'd missed it for a few weeks and he'd told her he'd sent it for cleaning. But why had it needed cleaning in the first place? She steeled herself to finish the view in her head, hands at her sides as she looked at the recovering man on the gurney. It looked like Scott but had she really known him?
*A room, a hotel, light streaming in from a window, her stood in front of a mirror, naked. Skin red, hair messed up and a body on the bed, from the blank stare in it's gaze she knew the mind that moved the body was gone. Watching herself move across the room, wiping down everything she'd touched, cleaning the man's skin with alcohol. Herself taking a small white pill (one she'd handed out too many times not to know what it was), a smile on her lips as she drank bottled water. Rifling through the mans belongings, seeing what she was looking for, a disc, a bright blue disc. Flicking it between her fingers as she dressed herself again in the dark silk, a half smile on her face as she checked the room once more. Using the sleeve of it to wipe her trace from the handle, walking outside with her booty, the nearly dead man left in his bed. Standing on the street corner hailing a taxi, her face unconcerned about those who saw her leaving. The roar of a bike filling the air as a cab pulled up,lifting her face to see Logan pulling to the kerb. A dark look in him as she gave the destination to her driver, knowing that the man would be dead by morning and it was all her fault. Smiling she let herself remember the ride she'd had, fucking the body as well as the mind, taking everything she'd been told to as well as her own pleasure.*
She only just made it to the sink, her lunch was all over the cool steel, she'd seen herself *fucking* a man she didn't know. She'd then raped his mind as she'd been doing it, tearing through his brain and plundering his thoughts. Yet she couldn't remember when it had happened, was it a dream, was it her subconcious playing tricks on her like Charles had said it would? He'd been helping her shore up her defences against her own Id, her dark side that every psychic had to control and defend against. A thought wormed through from the back of her mind, was that what Charles had been doing? Or had he been editing her memories?
She shook her head, no he wouldn't do that to her.....would he? Her view went back to Scott, Scott had been there with her when Charles had been helping her get control of her Id. Giving Scott a view into her mind, a safety valve if she needed it, he'd understand her if the worst came to the worst and her Id broke free. Her palms itched; he'd forgive her for looking deep into his mind but she needed to know. Had Logan been right, were the memory flashes real or were they parts of her sick mind?
Her palms lowered and touched her lovers head, and the world opened upto her powers.
*She was sat with Charles, a smile on her face, her hand in Scotts, Charles telling her to relax. Watching as she shifted into her deep meditation, her hypnosis state, the working state Charles helped her in. When she was there Scott let go of her hand and she felt the air in between the two men tighten. "She came back with a trophy Charles! She came back with a personal effect of the mark, she wasn't supposed to do that." Charles looked concerned at Scott his eyes flashing dangerously as he looked her gently sleeping form over.
"What was it?"
"A signet ring," Charles nodded, to himself a course of action becoming clear in his mind.
"Does it fit you?" The look she caught from Xavier was one she'd seen in Magneto's eyes more than once. Scott cleared his throat before answering.
"I..I don't know."
"Do you have it with you?" Scott nodded and pulled out the small signet ring, studded with diamond and emerald. He pushed it onto his index finger, where it settled nicely, the gold warm against his skin. "Well it looks like all I have to do is build a memory of her buying you it for Christmas." The smile that passed between them cut her heart in two, her consciousness heard the conversation turning to the information, the contract that had been stopped by her actions. It had been a businessman, a man wanting to patent an idea, one that Charles had been working on himself. He'd used her to kill the competition, there was no reason to use her like they had. It wasn't a mission to save life, it was about *money*, it had been about business.
Scott's voice pulled her back to them both, "Will she remember?" Scott looked almost pained as he fiddled with the ring, pulling it off his finger. Xavier smiled at him, his voice oily as he answered him.
"Only that she went to Toronto, went shopping for that ring, dropped off some documentation and came home to her loving family."
Scott nodded in agreement, his voice becoming strained as he spoke again, "It's just as she was giving me the low down on the mission that she saw Logan, he went to the same place she was coming from." She watched as Charles nodded at him, his smile widening as he sat back in his chair.
"You've nothing to worry about there Scott, he was sent to clean up properly. Jean is good at inflitration and information gathering but she's not good at hiding her tracks. It's as if she wants to be caught, I beleive it's her subconscious trying to tell her what she's been doing. I'm re-enforcing the blocks in her mind but she's getting through them, as if her powers are increasing. We'll have to keep an eye on her, keep her from using her gifts so much, the less she uses them the better off we'll be." He moved out from behind the desk and she saw her mentor wheel toward her vulnerable form, his hands reaching out to her skin. A scream lodged in her throat as she watched him edit her memories, her thoughts, her *self*. Seeing her own face come back round after the 'treatment' and the smile in her eyes thinking that she'd been helped by those who loved her.*
Now she knew better, now she knew and the first thing she'd be doing would be trearing down the blocks Charles had put in her head. All of them.
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Logan was pacing and Marie had had enough of it, "WILL YA SIT DOWN!" Her voice was strained too, she knew what Logan had done and his need to run but she'd vetoed that idea. She wasn't running, no way, not now, they were so close to breaking it up, destroying the X-Men, stopping their crusade.
Logan spun on his heel anger making him spit the words out across the room to her.
"We should be outta here Marie! As soon as that fucker realises what we've done he'll be up here all guns blazin'. I don't have a much of a mind left and I want to keep it!"
She understood his fear, his need to run, hell she nearly agreed with him but they weren't taking Jean into account. She'd been betrayed too, used, damaged by those who 'loved' her, surely she'd be on their side. But there was Kitty to consider, she surely wanted out of there but how? And it had been the files stacked on the table that had given her the clue. The Secretary! She'd done this, so maybe there was more she could do but first she needed to know who she worked for and that meant going back to the house in the morning. Staff worked normal hours 9-5 and she'd be there bright an early to get hold of her. So at the moment they were in limbo and Logan was never any good when he didn't know what was happening.
"Logan go over there and sound out what's goin' on, if you think we're better off runnin then ah'll follow your lead but if things are fallin apart over there; we need to be here." He stopped pacing and his stance was all purpose again.
"You sure?"
She knew what he wasn't asking, if things were bad he'd just kill who he could and they'd run. If things were in their favour then things would be different, but they would *have* to stay. They were under control as far as Xavier was concerned, it was Jean who was the weak link and had been for a while. If she'd broken then everything was up for grabs and they were about to take everything they could.
Logan left her watching him running across the ground using the shrubs as cover, heading for the house. Holding her arms to her own body she looked over the files again and picked up the phone. Dialling out for an outside line she dialled the number for Emma's school.
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The house looked fine but the scents and smells he was picking up weren't, children scared and afraid. Listening to Ororo soothing nerves and drying eyes, the sound of an engine roaring away from the front gates. Spying a tree he shinned up quickly, the red of Scotts car losing itself down the road, swerving and making a mess of the traffic. Whoever was driving wasn't used to it, either that or they were drunk. Dropping silently down he snuck around the house to the back of the kitchen, peering in he saw the beta team white faced and snapping at each other.
"What if what she said was right? What if all this is a lie?" Kitty was stood against the counter-top her face pinched tight. Peiter was nearby his body in touch distance, her eyes were looking around the people around her. She looked at Peiter straight on before she spoke again and he saw the small nod pass between them.
"I'm pregnant."
The words stopped all conversation, everyone looked at Kitty, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke to the people who were her team mates. "Thing is we don't remember it, we don't remember a thing about it. Either of us, we knew we were in the rec room relaxing the next thing we're waking up next to each other." She looked around the pale faces and saw their shock settling into their bones. "The last thing we both remember clearly was seeing Xavier pass the Rec room doorway on his way to bed." The implication was there, she'd laid it out for them all to see, Peiter came and wrapped himself around her. Tears were dripping from her wide eyes as she snuggled into his bulk, her voice cracking the silence around the suddenly old team members.
"If he could do that to Jean then what else could he do to us? To me! To Rogue and Logan? To anyone? I believe her, she said we'd be better off on the road and I believe her. I'd rather raise my child in prison than here, at least in prison you get a release date."
Logan left them to their thoughts and conversation, Peiter was coming to see him later, they had plans of their own to sort out. This had just moved things forward a little, he just hoped Xavier was distracted enough with Jean and Scott to allow him the freedom he needed to pull it off.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
A *BIG* Thank you to Valeriusjka for this chapter, she's been *such* a star in helping me find ways for these guys to get to the end of their journey. This one's for you honey!
We get a look in Jean's head and overhear a few things that should have been kept locked away....
* - Indicates thoughts and internal images
We get a look in Jean's head and overhear a few things that should have been kept locked away....
* - Indicates thoughts and internal images