Looking For A New Connection

Written by Darkstorm5000

Disclaimer: X-Men Evolution, the X-Men, and other related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment Group and Film Roman Productions, are used without permission and not for profit.

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Chapter 8- Enjoy The Silence

Midtown Manhattan, New York-

In the famed Rockefeller Center, its annual arrival of the larger than life Christmas tree now being erected in its main plaza indicated that the beginning of the holiday season was just around the corner.

And for Jean Grey and Scott Summers, being right here and right now this evening gave them one last chance to take in this sight before it was completely inundated under a flood of holiday shoppers and tourists drawn there. It also gave the happy couple an opportunity to steal a few relatively private moments away for themselves, which was something that they weren't always afforded the luxury of due to the unique nature of the lives that they led as members of the X-Men.

"I'm glad you suggested this." Jean cooingly sighed, as she closed her eyes and stood on the balcony observation that overlooked Rockefeller Center's lower plaza, where a few individuals below were making use of the skating rink located in its center.

"Me too." Scott replied from where he was standing, which was behind Jean and slightly off to her left.

As Scott stood there, he did so with one arm firmly wrapped around Jean's waist just below the bottom of her coat, his gloved hand now snugly intertwined with one of hers. All the while, Scott's chin gently rested upon Jean's left shoulder, the side of his face lightly brushing up next to lengthy crimson locks that scintillated down her back.

The pair now gazed out across the rink area, where their attention was drawn to the golden Prometheus statue that served as the plaza's focal attraction, but more so to the huge 70-foot tall spruce tree right behind it that was in the process of being decorated. Jean then, with the speed and ease of thought, used her mutant telepathic abilities to reach out and link her mind with Scott's.

"With the holidays coming up, at least it'll give us something positive to look forward to." Jean now mind-spoke to Scott through their powerful psychic-rapport, "Things've been so tense for the last few days, especially with everyone around the house, I guess I just hadn't realized how much of an effect it was starting to have on me."

"I think this whole Creed-thing's just got the rest of the gang a bit on edge." Scott replied, as they continued their mental conversation and further drew into their own cloistered world, which kept the outside one at bay, if for only a moment.

Which, helped a little to take their minds off of the fact that Graydon Creed had recently just become the state's new Governor-elect. It was a reality that had sparked intense and outspoken debate from both sides of the mutant issue. And, none more so than with ESU's student-body, where it had managed to create an almost polarizing effect among them. Scott in particular had been closely observing the impact that this turn of events was having on him and Jean, and on their friends around them, particularly with the rest of their housemates. And, it was for this very reason that he had suggested to Jean about them making this unplanned and impromptu excursion out tonight.

Just the two of them.

"Can you blame them? You heard that acceptance speech Creed made after he won. With the way some of those local TV commentators were talking, you can't help but get the feeling that he's getting ready to declare us mutants' as public enemy number one." Jean anxiously expounded upon, as she now looked back over her shoulder at Scott for a brief moment, while referring to Creed's inflammatory comments where he had actually gone so far as to call Bayville's X-Men and Brotherhood out by name, "Plus, it hasn't been that long since Bayville was almost on the verge of its own mini-civil war between mutants and humans, which we luckily managed to help avoid. You know it's not going to take too much to set the extremists from either faction off and have them start going at it all over again."

"Hopefully, things won't get back to that point." Scott reassuringly replied to Jean and gave her a kiss on the side of her neck, feeling her apprehension and the effect that this latest situation was having on her through their shared rapport.

"Yeah, hopefully. Still, it would be nice to have someone up there on TV on our side, for a change. To at least counter the fear and misinformation that Creed and those hate-mongers like him keep on using to their advantage." Jean told Scott, as she caressingly wrapped both of her arms around Scott's now more muscular one, which was still gently clinging around her hip and most of her waist region.

"Now that you brought it up, I do remember a conversation that me and the Professor had with Warren about something like that awhile back. He suggested that the Professor go out and hire a professional PR group to help with our public image, since the X-Men have become pretty high-profile figures now. Warren even recommended a top-notch firm to us where one of his old friends works, and who supposedly has a few contacts that could arrange to get a network camera-crew to come and follow us around. Warren said it might help to put us all in a better light by showing some of the good that we try to do for the entire community. And to at least refute those negative stories about us just being a buncha out of control, irresponsible mutant vigilantes." Scott told Jean, through their strong mental bond, "But, nothing ever really came of it. Maybe I should bring it back up to the Professor the next time I talk to him?"

"Maybe." Jean telepathically responded with a bit of aloofness now on her part, as she began to re-evaluate her initial position.

As she weighed the pros and cons of this prospect, Jean was unsure about whether this suggestion was actually a wise one? Even though they had gained a distinct level of public notoriety ever since that first televised Sentinel battle over in New Jersey, Jean certainly didn't want herself or the rest of the X-Men to end up being portrayed as nothing more than reality-TV caricatures of themselves. Meanwhile, Scott continued to feel this overwhelming sense of unease coming from Jean through their rapport, which he knew had to do with more than just camera crews or even new governors weighing on her mind.

Much more.

Scott had been picking these vibes up from Jean for quite some time now, even if she wouldn't admit it to him. Scott hadn't been able to put a definite finger on what was the cause of these feelings of dread continually being relayed to him subconsciously from the love of his life, but he did have a pretty good idea of WHEN it had first started.

One night a number of months back when David Haller, in the guise of his alter-personality Lucas reappeared, he unleashed a devastating surprise attack against all of the X-Men. It was all part of Lucas' bid for ultimate revenge against Professor Xavier, for the perceived neglect that he had believed himself to have been the recipient of from his father. Lucas thought that Professor Xavier's pursuit of his dream for peaceful mutant co-existence, and the attention that he had lauded on his students as a result, to be the principal and root cause of their life-long estrangement. During his fight with the X-Men, Lucas had made it a point to quickly incapacitate Professor Xavier, before proceeding to once again knock Scott unconscious as well. Lucas then abducted the pair, threatening to psychically obliterate both his father and his apparent prototypical X-Man as part of his personal vendetta.

It was a threat with an unforeseen consequence, however, as it instantly sent Jean into an uncontrolled and maddened frenzy.

After frantically, yet rather easily tracking them down, Jean was forced into a fated confrontation with Lucas. The pair engaged in a psychic duel in the abyssal nether-region known as the astral plane, where Jean this time around more than proved herself ready to face Lucas. Lucas made the mistake of underestimating Jean's abilities and her overriding desire to fight for both her mentor, and most especially, for the man that she loved. Which, wound up becoming a misstep that would cost Lucas dearly.

In the course of their battle, Jean was left with little choice but to push her powers far beyond the safeguards and limitations that she and Professor Xavier had consciously placed upon them. The result from this most desperate conflict was that Jean wound up completely shattering Lucas' presence in her effort to stop him, dispersing his psychic essence back out to the four corners of the astral plane.

But, not too long afterwards Scott began to notice a considerable change that was retained in Jean's personality. In stark contrast to her mindset prior to this showdown with Lucas, Jean now seemed less afraid and far more at ease with her powers, no longer relying on the mental barriers that Professor Xavier had placed in her mind to help control them. In fact, Jean also showed a greater willingness to use these amplified powers of hers, which at times, made it seem as though she actually relished now having them at her disposal.

In addition, Scott also detected other changes in her and observed a slight shift in Jean's temperament as a result of these increased powers, with her becoming more prone to bouts of extreme moodiness. These episodes were usually associated with Jean's infrequently occurring migraine headaches, but sometimes came about for no discernible reason at all, at least from none that Scott was able to tell. And, given just how important and how much Jean had come to mean to him, by giving his life more meaning and love than he ever thought was possible, Scott couldn't help but to worry about what exactly was going on with his lady-love?

"Scott, I have a great idea! Let's take in a movie?" Jean now unexpectedly and out-of-the blue suggested to Scott, showing that she could be just as spontaneous as him.

"Okay, sure." Scott responded in agreement, as they now turned around to head out of the main plaza and off towards a local multiplex located nearby between here and Times Square, which was a few blocks away.

The couple then continued on with their conversation via psi-communication, which was something that Scott and Jean tried to limit to these times when they were alone. This aspect of their relationship seemed, to an extent, to have an unnerving effect on their teammates'. Particularly, when the two of them would just stare and stare at each other, and then suddenly burst out laughing about a joke or comment that no one else in the room with them had even heard, let alone were able to get.

As they left the heart of Rockefeller Center, Scott and Jean made a brief stop-off at a small pretzel shop nearby, to buy one and share it together along the way.

"So, what do you think we should see?" Scott asked Jean, as they came out and he held the warm soft-pretzel wrapped in a thin, tissue-like paper in his hand.

"I don't have a clue. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what's playing when we get there." Jean replied, as they made their way along this Manhattan sidewalk now bustling with other pedestrians.

Then, as Scott went to break off a piece of the baked snack, he immediately received a helping hand. Although to be accurate, it was help given without any hands actually having to be used at all.

"Here you go, man o' mine." Jean thought with a coltish grin, as she used her telekinetic abilities to slice off a section of the pretzel with a surgeon's precision, before mentally floating it up through the air towards Scott's face.

"Thanks for the, uh…assist there." Scott replied with a noticeable smirk, all the while trying to cover for the fact that Jean had caught him by surprise with her display. Doing so by dutifully chewing on this more than modest morsel, which had been so thoughtfully placed into his mouth.

"Anytime." Jean smilingly said, now breaking off their telepathic link and began to speak to Scott aloud once again.

Jean then found a new task for her hands, which currently weren't busy with anything in particular at the moment, by tightly clasping them onto Scott's other forearm and drawing herself closely into him as they walked on. It was something of a physical representation of the way that Scott helped to keep her anchored, whether it be by serving as a symbolic guide through a side-walk packed with other New Yorkers', or by providing Jean with someone so close to her that she could mentally focus on amid the myriad of thoughts that incessantly flowed through her.

Jean sometimes felt as though she were being smothered in a constant wash of thoughts and emotions around her coming into her all at once from an entire city, and from beyond. Unable to completely shut them out of her mind, in spite of how powerful she may have now become, Jean labored and struggled with even beginning to process all of this unfettered activity bouncing around in her mind.

Having to channel such a remarkable burden on a virtually non-stop basis would have driven most people mad by now. But, Jean simply did her best to deal with it, all the while trying to keep her wits about her without tipping Scott off to the full extent of the difficulties that her increased powers had been causing for her. Which, turned out to be just as much of a daunting task to conceal in its own right.

A daunting task indeed…

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Prologue- Everything Counts

-New York City, Upper East Side

In this wealthy and upscale section of Manhattan sits Worthington Towers, the affluent apartment complex owned by the family who served as the building's namesake. And, within one of these upper-level luxury penthouse suites lives Warren Worthington III, the heir apparent to this building along with the vast business and financial empire that his family controls. And with the unique resources at his disposal, both economic and otherwise, Warren has made the conscious decision to use them to try and make a difference in the world around him.

As he sits alone in his darkened living-room this night watching numerous television screens stacked together, which take up an entire living-room wall by themselves, he observes a world through these various broadcast feeds locally and abroad that appears to be spinning out of control at an increasingly accelerated pace. Which, is something that this self-proclaimed Avenging Angel is determined that he won't just sit back and passively allow to happen. Not if he can help it, anyways.

Even, if this meant him having to become subtlely more pro-active in his approach, in part by enlisting the aid of unlikely allies in these covert efforts that he was now involved in helping to orchestrate.

"You're early." Warren shortly said when he suddenly detected a presence in the room, addressing this other individual without even bothering to turn his attention away from the TV monitors before him.

Warren had the back of the large armchair that he was seated in turned towards the penthouse balcony's sliding glass doors. Doors that, until a few brief moments ago, had been closed and securely locked behind him.

"Never say dat I'm a man who don't know what it mean to be punctual." Remy Lebeau now replied, standing in a shadowed area near the now slightly ajar balcony door.

"And while an added bonus, wasn't the main reason that I originally contracted your highly-touted services." Warren sneeringly said, as he grabbed a remote control from the coffee table in front of him, so that he could turn the volume down on all of televisions simultaneously. Warren then got up from his chair to turn around and face this master thief standing in his apartment with him, who apparently was his expected company.

Wearing an almost half-smile on his face now, Warren allowed the spanning white-feathered wings protruding from his back that appeared through the specially-tailored openings of his long-sleeved dress shirt, to partially unfurl outward as he made his way over to Gambit.

"So, did you bring it?" Warren now asked, stopping just a few feet away from him.

"You think I'd be here if I didn't?" Remy rhetorically answered, his features not fully visible in the dimness of the room. Save for his eerily red eyes that seemed to cast an unnatural glow in this nocturnal environment, along with a grin that was worth every bit as much as the vast millions' that the Worthingtons' controlled.

Remy fished around in the lower right pocket of his brown trench-coat and then quickly withdrew, gesturing with his partially-closed hand out towards Warren.

"Got all the info you wanted saved on here, plus a few extra tid-bits I t'ink you might find interestin'. No additional charge for dat either." Remy was saying, as their hands' met in a momentary handshake, before Remy left a small flash memory-stick in Warren's palm.

"I'll make sure it gets put to good use." Warren responded, briefly holding the memory stick up in between his thumb and forefinger, before putting it into his front pant-pocket.

Warren then turned back around, using the remote still in his other hand to turn the volume on one of the wall-mounted televisions back up. Which just so happened to be tuned to a national cable news network that was re-broadcasting part of Graydon Creed's gubernatorial acceptance speech, as panelists now debated the merits of what was said in the context of overall mutant rights' issues.

"Real good use." Warren reiterated, his mood changing as quickly as the TV channel, while he pulled the memory stick back out of his pocket and solemnly held it up in his grasp.

"S'funny thing, what they say about politics makin' strange bedfellows." Remy now said, as he took a few steps forward and stood parallel with Warren.

"Why do you say that?" Warren briefly turned his head to the side and asked, as the two men looked on at the TV monitors.

"Well, 'cause dat rule don't always apply to just politics only." Remy explained, but did so with a rather cryptic smirk, "You'll see what I mean when you load dat thing up."

Referring to the item he had just given to Warren, and with a slight nod of his head towards it, Remy then turned back around to make his exit from the penthouse suite.

"I'll be in touch again soon." Warren now said, his gaze however still fixated on the lone TV screen amongst the others on the far side of the room, which was tuned to GNN and was the only one that currently had audio emanating from it.

"Fine. You know the number." Remy replied, as he slid the balcony door back open without so much as a creak being heard.

"With a Swiss directory extension. I remember." Warren remarked, although he wasn't sure how much if his comment that Gambit actually heard before running and leaping off over the balcony's edge, to join a city that never sleeps down below.

And, while remaining up here in his own secluded perch above said city, as it were, Warren prepared to do much the same in his own way. As he went to retake his seat, Warren prepared to resume his analysis of what was being relayed through these various global broadcast feeds that he had tapped into.

To better ready himself for a new day. And, for a new tomorrow…

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Next Chapter: An Angel in the midst of a Disco Inferno