3. Chance Encounters in Bayville High

Date: 21st July 2008, Time: 0801 hrs.

After finishing up with Principal Darkholme, whose veiled threats and pointed insinuations made me want to roll my eyes at her, I got my class schedule for senior year. Because I was doing a course towards engineering, my classes were more science heavy.

Considering in my first life I despised maths, goes to show how far I have come.

With me walking with my nose buried in my schedule, I was an accident waiting to happen.

Which it did, with someone bouncing off of me.

I reflexively shoot a hand out and grab the person by the wrist. By the time the dust settled I realise whose wrist I had grabbed. And I didn't need SECOND's help to figure out who it was.

Jean Grey.

With Scott Summers glaring at me.

This should be fun.

-X-

Jean Grey. Omega class psychic mutant and potential host for the Phoenix Force.

Also a 17 year old high schooler.

I had better put up my mental shields.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, should have been looking where I was going!" I exclaimed, righting her up. I quickly give her a once over and say "Are you OK?"

She gives me a pretty smile while Scott immediately snarked "You probably should have"

"Scott" she said, her voice having a slightly sharp edge. She then turned to me and said "Its fine, happens with me all the time" Her forest-green eyes provide a nice contrast with her pale skin and red hair.

Unconsciously, she reached out to my mind. I threw her out by presenting an image which would have her running for the high hills.

Her, with mussed up bed hair, kiss bruised lips, hickeys, dressed only in a white full sleeve shirt and a smile. The same shirt I was wearing.

...Oh come on. It's fun messing with a psychic's head.

Plus damn, she's hot.

Her cheeks immediately redden on reading my mind, while her hand flinched out of mine. I just shoot her an apologetic smile.

"John Shepherd" I said, extending my right hand. She took it and gave me a nice, full handshake. This girl was endearing herself to me with every second.

"Jean Grey. And this is my classmate and best friend Scott Summers. Are you new here?" Jean said, her voice warm and welcoming. Scott meanwhile was glaring at me.

After Voldemort, Sovereign, Harbinger and a stare down with the Alpha Ceph, after which I killed it, and a long walk and a short conversation with the OAA, I was left significantly underwhelmed by Summers's attitude.

I offered my hand to shake, but Summers (honestly, what did I ever do to him, hit his grandmother?) just chose to ignore. I immediately cast a wandless tracking charm on him. I then chose to ignore him, dismissing him.

"I'm new, part of one of the new courses for engineering that the school is offering, here for my orientation. And you?" I reply to Jean's enquiry. She shot a slightly disgusted expression at Summers before focussing on me.

"No, Bayville, born and bred. Engineering, huh? So what are you going to be doing?" she asked me.

"Basically all the same subjects, with a large dose of maths and science with an additional year long project, to be displayed at the next Stark Industries expo's student section" I reply, mentioning the main driving force behind the new courses.

Scott snorted in disbelief. Jean and I ignored him.

"Wooh, sounds like a challenge! Feeling up to it?" Jean asked me. Well, if Summers is going to be an arsehole, it's not my fault he's going to lose her. Besides, he goes and bangs Madelyn Pryor in the end. And has an affair with Emma Frost, inspite of being married to Jean. So, might as well spare Jean all the unnecessary heart break.

Besides, I think she has enough going on for her with being a potential Phoenix Force host.

And thus, Operation Seduce Jean is a go.

Not what I was planning, but considering I was practically a hermit in the previous three dimensions, I think a little slack can be cut for me.

Plus don't say you wouldn't do it if you weren't in my place.

"Yeah, I am" I said in a voice of unassailable confidence. With my knowledge of energy manipulation, enchanting, runic arrays and high end technology, my confidence could be understood.

"Cocky aren't you?" Scott replied, his voice tinged with jealousy. I raised my eyebrow in surprise.

"And it speaks! Does it have a name? Or does it have a serial number and direct connection to Skynet?" I reply, sarcasm coating each syllable in mocking condescension.

"I'll show you Skynet!" he snarled as he went for his glasses.

"Bring it on Shades" I replied, firing off another spell at him, a power suppression charm. Scott gripped his shades and moved it up.

"SCOTT, NO!" screamed Jean, stepping in my way. Brave too.

Damn, I'm a complete sucker for her now.

Scott Summers has nice yellow eyes, giving his face a tigerish cast. But now he wouldn't need his ruby-quartz glasses.

"And that was supposed to do what, exactly?" I said, my voice thick with sarcasm and confusion. Got to give Jean credit, she's a quick thinker, but she definitely needed some more practice.

"You didn't see anything. You, Scott and I had an interesting conversation and we agreed to meet up for lunch" Jean says, her voice thrumming with power. My Occlumency shields could hold off Prothean mind messages, Asari mind melding and even Reaper indoctrination. This was way too easy.

Screw with them? Or not to screw with them?

Screw with them. But only afterwards.

I shake my head, easily shrugging off her mental command, but making sure I have a slightly dazed expression on my face.

"So, I guess I'll see you at lunch then?" I replied, making it look like I had obeyed her command.

"Yeah, see you then!" Jean said, pulling Summers along with her. I give a distinctly wolfish smile, watching the sway of her hips as she walks away from me.

Mostly, I keep my eyes in my head. This time, I'm making an exception.

And what an exception I thought to myself.

-X-

The week after the incident, I walked into my first class for Applied Mathematics, just as the bell had rung.

I look up to the faculty's lectern and blinked twice.

There, standing at the podium is none other than Loki Laufeyson. What the Hel is The God of Mischief, Lies and Magic doing here?! And where was the faculty who was there during orientation?!

"Good morning class, my name is Doctor Lewis Anderson. I am a visiting faculty from Stony Brook University's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. I will be taking your classes for Applied Mathematics every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My colleague here, Doctor Jane Foster, will be handling the classes for the rest of the days. As you...excuse me, Mister...?" he broke off his introduction speech and pointed at me, while I try and rub away the migraine building behind my eyes. I looked up at him.

"Who me sir?" I ask my face politely neutral. He nodded.

"Uh, Shepherd, sir. I suffer from periodic migraines" I replied. Loki, or Dr. Lewis, clucks his tongue in sympathy.

"Would you like an aspirin?" Dr. Foster asked me, I shook my head in the negative.

"It comes and goes" I replied. A few sympathetic looks later they get back to introducing their course.

I walk about to every class, my mind trying to figure out what the hell were Loki and Jane doing here. Possibly my arrival, even if there were no visibly observable event, would have resulted in attracting all the wrong attention.

Prophet had better stay out of Bayville then.

"Hi, I'm Peter Parker" a voice next to me said, jolting me out of my thoughts causing me to look up at a thin, average sized brunette boy with slightly dorky spectacles. He had his hand out to shake. I immediately reach out and shake his, smiling warmly.

"John Shepherd" I say, introducing myself. Knowing Peter was shy (I think having 4 heart attacks in the space of 24 hours made me inured to any further shocks) I engaged him in a discussion on the comparison of Newtonian mechanics to Relativity (Astrophysics was a bit of hobby, until I needed to know it's military applications).

This is how Jean found us. The two of us had struck a casual friendship over the last week and through her, I was introduced to the rest of the X-Men.

"I see you're making friends" she said, her voice amused. I smile at her, but my words were drowned in a massive explosion.

I guess I spoke too soon when it came to Prophet's presence in Bayville.

While everyone is distracted and panicked by the explosion, I slip into the building and ping SECOND immediately.

CLOAK ACTIVATED.

Time to go back to war I think as I stash my clothes and bag in my locker and fit on my helmet.

-X-

Next chapter: Cut off one head, two more take its place? So, let's burn the body!