Title: Body Exchange (part one)

Author: Urania Chang

Rating: PG

Status: In-progress

Beta:wildannuette, who deserves a reward for her patience and kindness. It there're still any mistakes, it's all my fault.
Pairing: Scott/Logan eventually, coz they both stubbornly refuse my proposal of jumping into bed immediately.
Warnings: None.
Category: AU, with the basic setting of X1.

Summary: Jean's power surge causes unexpected results. Respond to xenasoul's Scott/Logan ficathon challenge on LJ. Prompt: Body Exchange.
Disclaimer: Not mine, but if I ever got a hold of Scott Summers, I will never let him go. :)
Author's note: It's an old, uncompleted story of mine, hoping to wrap it up by putting on . I made Scott move on quite fast in this story, because I can't afford to make this fic any longer than it already is, hope you wouldn't mind.

"So, I heard that you are the leader of your little leather club."

Resisting the irrational urge to slamthe stack of papers he is holding on the desk with unnecessary force, Scott Summers stands up and all but hisses like a furious cat at the tall figure at his office door; a manwho tries to impress uponevery adult female that he's gota dick, as if that'ssomething you could possibly miss. Or maybe it's subconscious behavior that shows Logan does have some self-abased complex issues towards certain parts? Mmm…maybe he should convince the Professor to look into that; a man who's also been a persistent pain in the asssince the day 'Ro and Scott rescued him in the cold wildernessof Canada. And the minor detail that said man keeps flirting with Jean isn't helping either.

Jean, Scott thinks of his fiancée with a dull ache and slight bitterness, one which has replaced the blossom feeling in his heart without being noticed. She has been moody lately, aloof, distant insteadslowly but surely drifting away to a place where Scott's mortal grip can't reach, yet becomes surprisingly vivid whenever she's around with Logan. He suspects that somehow he's partially responsible for this change as well, because he doesn't try hard enoughto hold her back. Jean keeps telling him that she just needs some space to get a hold of her rampaging power, yet at nightshe can't help but draw him into her dreamland, where Scott still sees a world of red, but not the familiar rose-tinged color of his ruby quartz, it's a bloody, angry red that expands to no end, thatfrightens him.

Scott knows about Jean's 'alter ego' who Charles helpedher locked up in the depthsof her mind when she was a little girl. They both assurehim that the psychic bars the Professor inserted are strong enough to keep it in check. Nevertheless, Scott has a feeling that the Professor and Jean have both consciously chosen to overlook the fact thatthis part of Jean may not be free, but it's still there, lurking, waiting. At times, Scott even wonders whether the alter ego is the real Jean Grey, and the one he falls in love with is actually only a superficial guise.

He tries not to think about it, focuses his frustration on someone he doesn't like and doesn't have an obligation toinstead, someone like Logan. "Excuse me, what exactly is your problem?" Does he sound petulant? Another fault to blame on this Canadian fellow for making him act like a ten-year-old.

"My problem?" One eyebrow slight archesupon hearing the not-so-unexpected response, the man more often known as Wolverine replyingwith barely concealed amusement. "All I did is asking you a question, and you're trying to bite my head off. That's notthe most appreciated quality when one considers leadership, right?" Leaning against the doorframe, Logan knows that his smile is a little too smug, and he won't be surprised that it's just enough to piss off Slim even more.

Okay,He isnot a big fan of one-eye here, also there is no denying that he does like that gorgeous redhead of his (plus she is quite responsive to his flirting), and he actually thinks the uptight boy scout is anal,in a desperate need of loosening up or getting , Logan knows he doesn't hate theman.

Everybody knows how he deals with people he hates- pop out those shiny claws from his knuckles, slice and dice them into little pieces of flesh, and then walk away without a last glance.

Nope. He definitely doesn't hate Scooter.

But Logan absolutely enjoys messing his pretty head around and seeing him gone all flushed and huffed. And he is familiar with every possible way of provoking Xavier's golden boy.

Like now, a rosy shade appears on the boy's pale skin, his full lips stretch to a thin line and he'sabout to launch fully into lecture mode.

Nah, can't let Boy Scout do that.

Logan walks across the distance between them with casual ease, intending to push more of this uptight man's buttons,and feels pleased to see Scott step back involuntarily, soon realizing his mistake and hescowls at Logan.

Oh, he is enjoying the boy try to stand up to a real man but unconsciously showing his own doubts, and Logan thinks that he can make him…

A feather-like sensation unexpectedly tingles at the back of his head, followed closely by another. The first one is cool, gentle; the other is…Hot.

And the world explodes, turning upside down.

It happens so fast, two twined piercing screams echoing around the office, and Scott finds himself suddenly spilled on the floor staring at the ceiling, tears blurring his vision, breathing painfully and his head feels like there's a rhino tap dancing inside. He wipes the moisture away, slowly sits up, all the while remotely aware that there's something wrong with his body but hasn't shaken himself out of the daze long enough to recognize it. Turning his head to see where he thinks the other man is, already assuming that Logan actually attacked him, and Scott is greeted with his own face staring back, in colors.

If the situation was not so bizarre, he would think that the shocked expression of his doppelganger is kind of comical, maybe even laugh at it, but at this moment, laughing is the last thing Scott would consider; his intelligent mind has already begun assessing the pieces and trying to put everything together.

Okay, it's not a dream, the rapidly receding headache is proof enough, and so if he is looking at his own face then it's reasonable to believe that…he is wearing Logan's face as well?

Oh Hell.

"What the fuck!"

Oh yeah, that's definitely Logan.

The Professor is down at Cerebro with Jean; her power surge has grown so fast almost to the point of out-of-control, which has resulted in property damage, a few kids running screaming at nightmares, andalso started to split the relationship of Charles' first two is intending to help his student learn to keep up with this change by pouringher concentration into this power-enhancing machine, and master her control through the keen accuracy gifted by Jean's talents tear everything and everyone around herself apart.

Jean has never been good at using Cerebro, as if she is afraid to know how much potential she's gotten in her mind. Today proves to be just the same. She is frustrated, impatient with the slow-going routine, also oddly aggressive this time. Jean has been jumpy from the beginning, not entirely conspicuous, but Charles notices her agitation nevertheless.

A nagging voice persistently whispers in his head that maybe it's 'her' that Jean's afraid of, and it's unwise to put Jean in an openly vulnerable place where her alter ego could access to the powerful device as well and break through the prison he had built long time ago. Charles contemplates its advice, and decides against it. That part of Jean has been contained; he shouldn't think of the alternative otherwise it'll stress Jean even more than she already is.

Watching his student concentrate from behind, the Professor lets his thoughts drift being inside Cerebro is enough to makehis telepathy more attuned to the world, his psychic touch swimming through the mansion, and habitually seeking those minds he is familiar with most: Ororo, Hank, and Scott.

Charles smiles when he comes across another mind in his surrogate son's office. Despite what everyone thinks, he knows without a doubt that Scott and Logan don't hate each other as much as they would like everyone to believe. They are simply too different, yet too alike in so many ways. Stubborn, passionate, and tend to react strongly towards things that are unfamiliar to them. In Scott's case, he strategizes, calculates his every move behind a cold mask; Logan, on the other hand, believes the old saying that a goodoffense is always the best defense. The Professor is convinced that given time, these two will find a way to coexist, even benefit each other from their differences so he brushes off their minds and leaves them be.

Then chaos erupts.

One minute Cerebro is humming with a low, steady sound that indicates everything is going as planned, next Jean is suspended in mid air, golden flames licking around her, her pupils glowing an unearthly bright yellow. Shrieking both mentally and verbally, the first shock wave sends Charles falling out of his wheelchair, writhing painfully in spite of his strong mental shields, the second wave wrecks the whole room apart, rippling through the whole mansion.

And then, she is gone.

Still lying on his side, the Professor struggles to catch his breath, looking with awful dread at the empty spot where Jean was mere seconds before.

"God, what have I done?"

This place always unnerves her.

Jean tries to maneuver her telepathy through the delicate extension given by Cerebro, all the while wishing she was anywhere but here.

Skimming minds of residents in the mansion lightly, like the Professor teaches her, most of them give off nothing particular. After all, most of them are students and they are all supposed to be in class. She does her best to maintain the lightness of her mental touch, no need to disturb the kids when they are supposed to focus on their teachers and classes.

Jean then approaches Scott's mind without a second thought, their relationship has been moving downhill for some time, but she still knows him the best. She is aware that she has been distancing herself from him, and vice versa. She has been doing things she normally wouldn't do, like blocking off the link they share, or flirting with Logan. Especially the flirting. Jean feels confused, and almost ashamed of her behavior, but it seems like some powerful entity has possessed her to act on it when she is with the man.

She isn't surprised to find that his thoughts aren't as organized and controlled as usual, with Logan being in the same room it's only fair that Scott has this kind of reaction. But what Jean really isn't prepared for, is the realization that she likes these feelings. Her telepathic tendrils seem to become alive when touches them, and start to feed on them hungrily, even reach to Logan for more.

Yes. Frustration. Anger. Jealousy.
Yes.

The stronger their feelings are, the better they taste, and she greedily plunges in deeper, unable to resist or hold back.

Through the process she becomes wide awake from her forced slumber of so many years, and these feelings serve as the best nutrition, like an emotional buffet. Jean feels so strong and powerful, a complete new understanding of her being descends upon her, and when she comes to the most hidden part of both men's consciousness, the small yet incandescent feelings shining like the sun in their minds- Passion, Desire, Lust.

Together they crumble the psychic prison she is in. Jean shrieks with joy and triumph.

She is FREE.

"What the hell happened?" The blinding headache almost causes him to throw up. Logan does his best to swallow down the sour-and-bitter taste in his mouth and see through a shade of painful red, looking at the figure in front of him incredulously. It's him, his own face, looking back at him with equal uncertainty and bewilderment.

This is got to be some kind of joke, or a nightmare, a very bad one.

"I don'tJEAN!" He no, Scott jumps up from where he sits on the floor. So sudden, hebolts out of the office like a speeding bullet, and Logan nearly gets thrown backward by the rush. He fumbles around picking himself up, being in another man's body is not just emotionally different, Scott weights a lot less than he does, so Logan has to use less force than he isused to and it takes a few seconds for him to gain his balance, before he follows the direction where Scott's footstep are still loud and clear.

Rushing down the hallway, Logan notices that he and Scott aren't the only two people aware of this incident, in the classrooms kids are either whispering with each other, or huddle together looking like a hurricane just landed on their home, some of them are still trying to pick themselves up.

He dashes past Storm, who is using her best teacher tone to calm the students. She casts him a glance, seems to have something to say, but Logan is already running down to catch the elevator. He's surprised to see Scott still in there, and then it dawns on him that Scott must be not as fast as he used to be since now he is occupying Logan's body and metal skeleton. Logan gets in just as Scott pressing the close button, the elevator rolls down swiftly, but the men inside wait impatiently for the ting-a-ling sound which grants their entrance to the sublevel where Jean most likely is. A lot of possibilities run through his head, but Logan knows that whatever causes this chaos, it must have Jean's powers involved or Scott won't be so tense right now as if something nasty might crawl out from the other side of the doors.

When the doors open showing the pathway to Cerebro, it doesn't look so fancy anymore, it appears like some horsemen decided to throw a party here and left without cleaning the room up.

Well, looks like something nasty did tear out of this place. Or someone.

Scott waits anxiously for the elevator doors to slide open. He barely pays attention to the man besides him, and his mind is racing with what happened to his fiancée. Their link might have been closed off by Jean's request, but Scott hasn't been in this relationship just for convenience, moreover, Jean's power has been causing smaller chaos for a month, except this bizarre body exchange is new this time. He doesn't care what sets her off, but determines to help her through it and fix the problems, just like he always does, being the loyal and reliable boyfriend.

The doors sliding open reveals the view of a corridor of littery debris and ascorching smell, a figure lying between Cerebro and the now blown-off steel doors which were supposed to separate the computer room from outside.

His heart race quickens even more.

"Professor!"

His mentor turns his head to acknowledge him, and obviously startles to see that the face calling him is not what it should be, yet the Professor immediately notices the psychic signal under the look and with a single mental scan quickly understands the situation without further explanation. At times like this, Scott is grateful for Charles' telepathic ability. It makes things less complicated. He helps him back to the overturned wheelchair, which and Cerebro miraculously only sustained minor damage comparedto the room itself.

"Are you all right, Professor? What happened? Where is Jean?" Scott tries to spot Jean lying somewhere in the debris, but can't find her anywhere in sight. Logan is scanning the room as well, though Scott doubts that Logan can see things too clearly, it took him five days to get used to the sighting of the ruby glasses the first time he wore them.

"Jean is…she is gone." The Professor says with a solemn expression of regret and worry.

"What?!"

"What?!"

Both of them exclaim disbelievingly upon hearing what the Professor has confessed. While Scott hates the idea of suddenly developing a consensus with Logan during this crisis, he has to admit that Logan also cares about Jean, maybe even beyond basic caring; it's natural that he has the same reaction Scott does. And the fact that Logan is now in his body, wearing his face makes it ironically not so disturbing to hear the man show any feelings towards her.

You are a hypocrite, Summers.
He chides himself silently. What's important here is Jean, not your insecurity.

"I'm sorry, Scott. I'm responsible forthis; I should have heeded your warning about the possible breakthrough of Jean's alter ego. Now it's too late to hold her back. She, the Phoenix as she calls herself, is free."

"Wait a minute, what is this Phoenix?"

Logan asks to no one in particular whileScott falls into silence at this admittance. This is what he has been afraid of, that it's not a simple leap in power growing, but the sign of the waking Phoenix.

Now, Jean is no more.

Seeing Scott and the Professor are still lost in their own thoughts, Logan addresses both men in annoyance."Can somebody here answer the question?" Standing aside and being totally clueless is not his style, especially when it concerns a woman he…what? Likes? Loves? Isinterested in? He decides to settle for 'likes', after all, Logan doesn't know her that well… He wonders how Scott feels about this whole mess, Jean is his fiancée, the boy is in love with her. That much Logan understands, and feels sorry for him even more than he does Jean.

Logan frowns inwardly at his own unexpected sympathy for the man he wasconsidering his rival not half an hour ago. He doesn't like him, so where the hell has this come from? And why?

Choosing to leave this new-found mystery to ponderlater, since the Professor seems to be finally willing to give him some answers and Logan intends to absorb all the things he's willing to share.

TBC