Work Text:
Jean Grey sat in the professors’ office, what was once one of the many writing rooms that had been repurposed when Xavier decided to turn the estate into a school. It was small compared to many other rooms as a result, and the inlaid shelves and drawers in the wall betrayed what it used to be. Still, it was a grand place fitting for such a wise man. The shelves decorated in trinkets and books to the ceiling, awards for psychiatry and contribution to charity as well as photos adorned the walls, a curio cabinet stood in the corner, and a red chase lounge for talk therapy was against the wall next to the door, and a pair of chairs sat in front of a custom built desk made to accommodate his wheelchair; covered in papers and files and various desk toys. She had been here several times before, and the various objects had long since faded into the background, but she found herself trying to take note of each one to distract herself. After all, this was the first time she had ever been in the professor's office for causing trouble…
Jean Grey worried her lip a little as she glanced at the clock. She felt so very guilty. Not just for what had happened but also because she had to be here instead of cleaning up the mess in the danger room like everyone else. She shuddered as she remembered what she saw upon waking: twisted floor boards, a hole in the ceiling, expensive piston mechanisms in the wall and floor having been ripped out of place, various glass and metal fragments scattered around…she had compared it to a tornado hitting the institute…
…only to be corrected in the most ominous way by Kurt that was apparently supposed to be assuring: “it's nothing like a tornado! Tornados are far worse. If it had been a tornado, half the school would be across the lawn und someone vould probably be dead!" …She sometimes questioned what the boy had seen in his short life…
But that was besides the point. It was her fault. Jean couldn't help but feel ashamed. She felt like a sick child that soiled the bed suddenly while well into adolescence but even worse as he fumble could have hurt someone. Her powers had gone completely awry yet again, after what had been years of careful control, now worse than ever before. Sure she had had migraines and period cramps effect her powers, but they were miniscule compared to today’s power surge. if it was not for Rogue’s leap of faith, she could have caused something closer what Kurt described as the aftermath to a tornado… what is wrong with me?! She thought, I haven't had anything like this since I was a child! I’m supposed to be a role model for the other students…how can I do that if I can't control my powers? What is going on?!
“You’re projecting your thoughts again, Miss Grey,” she heard a voice say from behind her as the door opened, startling her slightly, "And please do not be so harsh on yourself about your powers my dear, you aren't in trouble and no one got hurt." She turned to see Xavier wheel himself into the room with his mind, smiling kindly to her as he entered and wheeled himself behind his desk.
“But people could have been, and I am honestly so sorry for that professor…” she said averting her gaze, "I just don't know what happened! One day I had perfect control and the next…this…"
“Well you are still a growing young lady and most mutant powers, including your own, are triggered by the onset of puberty, a turbulent time in itself,” Xavier suggested, "It is nothing to be ashamed of. Plenty of people have rough patches with progress where things seem to recede a bit, especially in my public field of study psychotherapy. Your powers are tied to your mind, so do try to give yourself a bit of slack."
“Did you ever have this problem as a teenager?" She asked.
Xavier waffled a bit before replying. "Well…no not personally," he admits, “I had issues at first but my progress was...fairly liner. But there are differences between us, Miss Grey. Your perfectionistic nature we both know causes you stress at times, as do your copious extracurriculars, and this is not even considering physical differences between us. As an example, not to delve into too personal of territory but… clinically speaking your body is constantly in a state of flux with your… reproductive cycle…which can be less regular at your age as Dr McCoy tells me.” "I will not probe for details but we both do know of instances of issues with your powers lining up with-" he starts but is cut off.
"Enough!” Jean holds up a hand, squeezing her eyes shut and blushing brightly, "Professor I-I am not! I am not on my Monthlies at the moment! How could you make such implications! It's incredibly rude and-”
"I wasn't! I wasn't, promise!” He said, holding up his hands in defense as he realized his mistake, "Sorry, sorry I was just trying to use it as an example of physical differences between us…I simply figured that would be less crass and more appropriate of an example than delving into male physiology with you. And I would not be caught dead using that poppycock 'bone structure' malarkey being pedaled as… My apologies. My point was, the way our bodies work, especially at this age, are different even if our powers are similar. It is not a failing on your part that you are having issues where I have not and you shouldn't compare your progress to mine at your age. Everyone goes through adolescence differently, and Mutant powers, for whatever reason, are tied to such development. The last thing we want is for you to feel ashamed of how you are experiencing this time of exponential change whether physical or mental, or in your case, potentially a bit of both.”
Jean relaxed a little, the blush leaving her and she nodded. Still, she looked worried and frustrated. "I understand… but that doesn't change the fact I am still a danger to my peers like this. This is nothing like a growth spurt, a bout of skin blemishes, or even...irregular monthlies as you compared. What if it happens again, or God forbid becomes regular? Someone could get seriously hurt, far more than from a petty emotional spat brought on by teenagehood troubles," She replied, looking up at him, “everything I would normally do to control my powers under severe stress, even my cannabis tablets, had little to no effect.”
Xavier nodded, his smile falling as he tented his fingers. “It will likely be complicated to work through this, as we figure out the catalyst of the outburst fully in order to control it,” he explained, "but it did remind me of when my powers first emerged. It was too much at the time for myself to handle, but I had something to help me with such issue luckily enough.” Xavier wheeled over to a glass cabinet and floated something out of it. It looked like a large egg shaped amber pendent on an old leather cord. The egg like gem was embedded into a metal frame and Jean had to admit, it was dazzling to look at, as if it had its own fiery glow coming from deep within.
"A…necklace sir?” She asked.
"I prefer pendent but yes it can function that way,” he says bringing it over to her, "as a younger man my father took me and my half brother to Mexico when my powers were causing me great pain. He hoped the more tropical climate and clean air would be good for me," he explained, “however when we visited the Gulf of Mexico, we found a souvenir shop selling various quartz crystals mined from a local quarry near the coast. By chance I touched it and instantly found my psychic headaches relieved some.” "I am not one to believe in the concept of crystal healing generally but this may be my one exception," he explains handing it to her, “there is some sort of power in this one specifically that psychic mutants like you and I can interact with. I used it several times early on to reduce the overflow I was experiencing of my powers by channeling some of the energy into it. I have long since stopped needing it however. You can also channel through it to more accurately control your powers, like attaching an aiming sight to a hunting rifle, but I doubt you will need that aspect.” “for now I just wish to show you how to channel psychic energy into it so you have an emergency safety mechanism between our sessions to work on your powers, understood?” He explains.
As the gem fell into her hands, Jean held her breath as she felt the presence of great psychic energy coming from it. It was mesmerizing, warm, and pulsing almost like a heart beat. Staring at it, it also looked like something was shifting inside it. Was there something in it or was it just the twinkle from the reflection of lights in the room? Despite this strange sense she also felt some relief as simply holding it seem to take a psychic load off of her shoulders, but only slightly. She felt calmer, more relaxed. Jean was quiet for a moment before smiling. “Understood professor. Thank you," she looked up at him, “I appreciate you being willing to lend me something so precious…so when should the first session be?"
…..
(Meanwhile, many light years away)
Deep in space, a great gilded Shi’ar warship glided silently through the void, as it had done for more than five years. It had seen this quadrant of space several times before, and yet found itself here once again. Lilandra sighed as she read through reports on the deck of the ship, glancing at the stars in the distance. “Please tell the captain to get us out of here then and move onto the next start system. We have surely exhausted this one by this point. You are dismissed…” the empress commanded. With that her server nodded and swiftly left the room. Once they had left, Lilandra finally allowed her shoulders to fall and for the exhaustion to seep into every fiber of her being. She sat back in her chair with a grunt and laid her head back.
Nothing. Just like always, nothing. No crystal, no phoenix, not even a sign of her dethroned brother D’ken in his own fools errand. This was insanity, and frankly, she was starting to think it ran in her family. First D’Ken goes mad with power, then he insists he can find the mythical M’Kraan Crystal to restore his right to rule, and Lilandra, feeling a fool for it now herself, had spent the last five years chasing after him while also trying to find that crystal or the one thing that could stop it before he does…
She truly felt stupid. No one had seen the crystal or the Phoenix in over 65 million years. No one was even sure any more if either were real or just fictional folk tales, and D’Ken was likely dead by now. She should be at home, leading her people in reconstruction in person rather than from afar, but the fear of something as potentially powerful as the M’Kraan Crystal being out there, and her brother getting his hands on it? She couldn't even begin to think of turning around with that in the back of her mind. The Crystal couldn't be destroyed, and the Phoenix by nature could not stay dead…there was always the possibility for them to return.
“Perhaps the next star system will yield better results," she muttered to herself as she pulled up a hollow screen and zoomed in on a random patch of the galaxy. She pulled up a solar system and glanced at it. star system 00616: singular, average sized, middle aged yellow dwarf Star. eight planets orbiting it. Two major asteroid belts. Five dwarf planets. One slim habitable zone where only one of the planets can be found in. Lilandra sighed again in resignation before sending its coordinates off to her captain. "Might as well,” she supposed to herself, "At least with the lack of many habitable zone planets we don't have to worry about interfering with the development of a high intelligence species. After all, what are the chances that the one world that can potentially hold life in this whole desert star system has anything more than microbes on it…”