Note All Evolution fan fiction I write takes place in the same AU unless otherwise noted. This story begins shortly following Evan's Defection to the Morlocks in X-treme Measures. I will be ignoring cannon from that point onward. I may rewrite later episodes into this AU but more than likely it will be my own warped ideas.
To Differentiate this from all other fics I write all fics in this AU will be labeled AU-One (really original I know)
X-men Evolution: Best Served Cold
by: Shadow Locke
Mystique smiled as she watched Professor Xavier and Ororo Monroe leave the institute to inform Evan's parents of recent events. Mystique decided to use this valuable opportunity to finish what she started in Mexico. She still owed Scott Summers for leaving her behind to be treated like a lab rat in Area 51. She had been preparing for this ever since that night she failed to get her revenge she had just needed an opportunity Xavier was aware of her expanded abilities now and could possibly detect her. The defection of one of his students to the morlock community was the perfect opportunity.
She smiled to herself and headed toward Bayville High School she had to collect her prey. Thanks to her time as Risty Wilde she still knew the class schedules of all the X-men. She waited in the locker room hidden as a small cat beneath the towel bin. She knew that Summers was always the first one in and last one out of the locker rooms to make sure none of the other mutants got dragged into a fight. Once they were alone, she resumed her true form and then approached Summers as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Pay back time." She said slamming a chloroform soaked rag over his mouth and holding it till he passed out. She quickly put his gym stuff away and closed his locker. She knew the teachers would just assume the mutant freak had skipped class and she could deal with the X-men's suspicions easily.
She was grateful for her tenure as Principal Darkholme as it gave her extensive knowledge of the school and how best to get out without anyone seeing her or her unconscious guest. Once she reached the parking lot, she placed him in the trunk of his own car. Assuming his exact appearance, she drove off in his car. Thanks to Xavier's deep pockets and overly generous nature Summers had a very distinct car and it wouldn't do for it to be seen being driven by anyone but him. Once she reached the place she'd been preparing for this event she smiled to herself. Opening the trunk she found summers was beginning to come around she needed to hurray and get him bound. She paused as the communicator began to beep. "Yes." She said in his voice.
"Scott where are you?" it was Jean and she sounded annoyed. "Skipping out on school is one of the worst things you could do, your going to get yourself and the rest of us in trouble." Mystique had to hide a smile. "I mean it Scott, and you'd better have a good reason for this?"
Mystique gave a forlorn sounding sigh. "I wanted to tell you in person but I skipped to set up for a surprise date tonight." He heard Jean gasp. "I mean we admitted a while ago we cared but we haven't been able to go on a date cause of how nosey everyone is." She smiled as the other girl said a shirt affirmative. "I figured I'd pick you up after school and we'd split before they noticed."
"All-right Scott you should have told me in advance but okay I'll be waiting at the driveway so you won't get caught by Principal Kelly." Mystique said Scott's goodbyes to Jean then quickly lifted the drowsy man and whisked him inside the abandoned Warehouse.
Jean Grey left the girl's bathroom which she'd used to make the call to Scott. "He's not in trouble Scott just decided to play hooky today." She saw everyone staring at her in shock. "He told me his reasons but if you all want to know you'll have to ask him after school." She knew to the others it seemed weird that straight laced Scott would ever play hooky, but she thought it was sweet and so like Scott to treat their first date like a danger room exercise.
"Now that was strange." Rogue said as she and the others were heading off to their own classes. "You think Red's not telling us everything?" She saw Kitty smirking with a knowing look. "What are you smiling about?"
"Isn't it like totally obvious?" Kitty said cheerfully. "Scott like finally asked her on a date and he skipped out so we wouldn't expect a ride from him." The others turned to stare at her. No one noticed Rogue looking down briefly trying to resist the jealousy she felt. "You guys know we should like give them some space."
"Yeah no spying." Kurt agreed though both he and Kitty had a similar gleam in their eyes. "We should be mature and responsible and respect their privacy." He saw Kitty beginning to laugh. "We'll meet outside by the Oak tree and then follow them." He said to Kitty only to hear a loud snort from behind him.
"No yall won't." Rogue said. "You're gonna respect their privacy got it." She said fingering her gloves. "I mean would you two want them messing with you on your dates." She saw Kitty and Kurt looked ashamed. "I'm late for class." She said turning and leaving.
"Like what's her problem we just having a little fun." Kitty said as she headed off. Kurt looked worriedly after Rogue but turned and headed to his own class. He knew how hard it was for Rogue being unable to be normal. He had lucked out with Amanda in that she had seen him in his true form and wasn't disgusted.
Scott Summers opened his eyes to see something he never thought he'd see again colors. He looked around and winced as he realized he was hung from the ceiling a bar connecting the cuffs on each wrist. He looked down to see his feet anchored to the floor. There was a heavy metal ring around his neck that seemed to vibrate. "Like the Suppression Collar it renders you completely human." Mystique said as she emerged from the shadows. "More or less."
Scott Summers had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "That's impossible." Scott said darkly. "How could something like this exist and Professor Xavier not know about it?" He said to her angrily.
"Xavier was unaware of the Sentinel was he not." Mystique said calmly. "Now let's get started I still owe you for leaving me to be poked and prodded like an animal in Area 51." She said to a small drum that had a fire going inside it. "By the way since you keep Xavier's dream so close to your heart." She picked up an X shaped brand. "I figure we should give you a physical sign of that loyalty."
Scott screamed as she placed the brand on his bare chest. When she pulled the brand back, he was left with a raw X shaped burn on the right side of his chest near his heart. "And that is just a taste of what you are going to suffer today Summers." She set the brand aside and picked up a small taser and pressed it into his gut. Switching it on she smiled as he screamed and convulsed.
"Why are you doing this?" Scott managed to gasp as Mystique set the taser down. "What can you possibly gain?" He winced as his knees gave out and his burned raw chest wound was stretched.
"I'm doing this to destroy Xavier's dream." Mystique said casually. "I had to delay my plans after you got away from me in Mexico but this time your little girlfriend won't be saving you." Mystique smiled darkly. "In fact she'll be joining you shortly."
Scott started to object only to get a rag shoved into his mouth. He tried to mentally shout for help when the blows began as Mystique used him as a punching bag for her wide array of skills. "Don't bother Summers no one can hear you?" Mystique gave no explanation as the barrage continued.
Mystique paused in her beating of Cyclops to notice he had passed out. She glanced at the clock on the wall and smiled it was nearly time to go get his girlfriend. She picked up one of Magneto's thought blocking helmets and slid it on the battered boy's head. She headed over a machine hidden out of sight and shut it down. The psionic shielder she had tricked Forge into building her produced a noticeable static field for telepaths.
She then slid a two-way mirror in front of her prisoner and then began setting up what looked like a romantic dinner for two. She smiled when she was done and morphing into Scott headed out to his car. "Hopefully you'll be awake when I get back Summers after all this show is for you." She called to him as she closed the door.
Scott Summers came to his groan stifled in his throat as he gagged feeling a wad of cloth stuck in his mouth. He looked up to stare threw what looked like a two way mirror to see Jean having dinner with himself. He tried to yell and scream pulling on the bonds. He saw Jean turn toward the mirror. "What's that noise Scott?"
"Probably a rat, but why don't you knock the screen out of the way just to be sure." Scott watched his doppelganger rise saying that with a hand on his glasses. Jean nodded and walked forward calmly. Scott tried yelling threw his gag again as he saw Mystique still wearing his form pull a large Bowie knife from under the table..
Jean took a breath to calm herself then with a casual gesture she waved her hand at the screen and slid it out of the way. She froze as she stared at a bloody battered Scott staring past her in horror. She felt pain explode threw her back and chest as a large knife blade appeared.
"No quick rescue this time little girl." Mystique said as she resumed her true form wrenching the knife back out she approached her prisoner who was watching the girl laying on the floor bleeding to death with a look of horror and disbelief. "Watch closely Summers cause once she breaths her last I'm taking your eyes." She placed the knife near his face. "So you'll live the rest of your life with her death as the last thing you saw."
Scott gasped as he saw Jean begin to float up blood was still running but he stared in shock. Mystique turned to see the girl let out a scream and a wave of Telekinetic force slammed into her. She slid backwards her knife torn from her hand stuck into a wall beside her head. Everything in the place that wasn't tied down was thrown into the building. "What the hell is happening?" She yelled.
Scott groaned as the force pushed against him causing the ropes that secured him to stretch to their limit. He stared as Jean's body was glowing seeming to shrink in on itself until there was just a tiny point of light. The ropes gave out with a snap and Scott was hurled into the wall as the point of light exploded into a huge bird of fire. The roof of the building shattered as the bird rose up a deafening roar sounding out over the city of Bayville.
Across the city all eyes turned toward the enormous bird of fire that seemed to hover over the warehouse district. Wolverine wasted no time in scrambling the X-men who piled into the x-jet in hopes of reaching it before it caused any harm.
Mystique stared up at the large bird terrified in all her years she had never seen any thing like it. She stared in shock as she saw the black jet approaching rapidly behind the huge flaming bird. Transforming herself into a rat she fled out into the street and down a sewer drain.
Scott Summers stared in shock ripping off the helmet Mystique had forced into his head. He stared at it. He took no notice of the X-men departing from the plane behind him. He just called out to the bird. "Jean is that you?" He heard the gasp of the other X-men as the bird turned toward them and then seemed to collapse in on itself crashing into the ground. They stared in the whole lay Jean Grey completely naked and unconscious. "Jean." Scott yelled scrambling down to shake her.
Jean opened her eyes. "Scott it was incredible I could hear every thought for miles it was the most wonderful thing I've ever felt." She said with a smile as she seemed to drift off to sleep. Scott glanced up to see the X-men staring at him and the sleeping Jean in shock.
"We need to get out of here before the cops show up." Wolverine said as he jumped down and picked up Jean ignoring Cyclops look of protest. "Move it." He said to the gathered group of teenagers. "We need to let Hank look her over and get the professor back here pronto."
Jean Grey heard voices as she was coming too. "Are you sure she's okay Professor?" She heard Scott ask. She opened her eyes and stared around she was in the medical bay. "Jean your awake?" Scott said from where he was sitting in the other bed his red shades back on and his chest heavily bandaged. She noticed that Professor Xavier, Storm, and Hank McCoy were in the room as well. She also thought she sensed the others crowded around the door trying to listen in.
"How are you feeling?" Professor Xavier asked concern evident in his voice. He waited patiently as Jean seemed to stare off into space. "Perhaps if you tell us what happened from your point of view, it would be easier?"
"I died or at least I think I did." Jean said feeling the shock running threw not just the X-men in the room but the others listening at the door. "I mean I feel like I did then brought myself back to life somehow." She looked down. "But that's crazy isn't it?"
"No Jean I believe that's pretty close to what happened." Xavier said seeing her start and picking up the mental spike. "I believe as you lay dying you tapped into your full mutant potential and were transformed into a being of pure Psychic Energy."
"The bird of fire?" Storm asked she had seen the news footage. The huge firebird had been shown on every channel and there was already accusations being leveled at the institute that it was caused by the mutant students.
"Yes I believe in that form Jean was powerful enough to basically recreate herself free of injury." Professor Xavier said calmly. "I have always known you possessed this potential but assumed it would be years possibly decades before you manifested it."
Hank spoke up then. "Like a Phoenix rising from the Ashes of it's death?" He glanced at Jean to her staring at him.
"Yes Hank." The Professor said. "Exactly like that."
Jean looked at Xavier in shock. "How long have you known something like this could happen to me?" She didn't like the fact he hadn't warned her it made her feel like he'd been keeping something important from her.
"I had suspicions before but after your powers advanced I was convinced." Xavier said as he steepled his fingers and fixed her with his best paternal stare. "I did not mean to keep you ignorant of it but felt it best to have you deal with your powers one advancement at a time." He looked down. "I'm sorry I never imagined an event could force your full potential to the surface in one instant."
"So what happens now?" Jean asked accepting the Professor's explanation but she was still wary. She glanced over at Scott and felt a twinge of fear from him. She knew without meaning to that he was thinking of the incident where her powers advanced and nearly killed them all.
"We begin training you to handle this power increase." Xavier said calmly. "You need to learn to handle this power because you could very well be the most powerful mutant on Earth at the moment." He glanced at them. "We also need to learn where Mystique gained that suppression collar." He paused before continuing. "We need to know which of our enemies have access to this dangerous technology." Silence followed Xavier's comment
Mystique climbed into the limo. "Tell me Irene what was that bird of fire and what part will it play in the future?" She said asking the blind woman.
Irene looked at her and spoke gravely. "I sense this power that has been born will either save the world or destroy it."
The End.
Notes: The Phoenix in this fic is based on the original explanation for Jean's Transformation into phoenix not later retcons that turned it into a cosmic force.