"Jean?" Scott knocked several times on the door of her room but received no answer. "Jean? I'm sorry I'm late. I stopped by all your teachers' rooms after school to get your assignments..."
He trailed off as he pushed the door open, revealing an empty room with an unmade bed. Feeling disappointed and more than a little impatient, he busied himself by digging all of her books and papers out of his backpack and organizing them on her desk. He thought about making the bed, but opted against it. After all, they would probably just mess it up again once she came back.
He pulled out his English book, sat down in the chair, and stared unproductively at a grammar exercise, reading the same sentence over and over without digesting it. All he could think about was Jean-- how much it had hurt to lose her, how glad he was to have her back, and how he was going to show her that the second she walked in that door. He tried calling out to her with his mind, but the inside of his head was just as empty and lonely as the room.
"Ah thought Ah'd find ya here."
He startled at the unexpected voice and turned to see Rogue standing in the doorway. As usual, she wore a green-and-black "Goth" ensemble that screamed, "Don't touch me!" and "Please look at me!" at the same time. Long, shiny black gloves covered her hands and disappeared into the wide sleeves of her high-necked green velvet dress. A pair of high-heeled boots with lots of silver buckles came up to her knees, and between the tops of her boots and the hem of her dress, her thighs were covered by thick black tights. Even her face was hidden under a layer of dramatically pale make-up, though today it was streaked with black mascara, as if she'd been crying.
"Did Jean send you?" he asked hopefully.
Rogue grimaced and shook her head. "No. The Professor did." She sighed, stepped inside the room, and closed the door behind her.
"What is it? Something wrong?" Scott put his book down and glanced at his watch-- four thirty. Where was Jean? He hoped whatever Rogue had to say wouldn't take long. With Jean being a telepath, he didn't have to worry about her getting jealous, but still, he didn't like the idea of her opening up the door of her own room and finding him with Rogue.
"Yeah, Scott. Somethin's very wrong."
She pulled a chair up beside his and sat down so that their knees were almost touching. That alone was sufficient to raise alarm bells. Even though her clothes protected her from accidentally using her powers, Rogue instinctively avoided touch. What she did next told him that the world as he knew it had been turned upside down. She placed a gloved hand over one of his and squeezed.
His mouth went dry with dread. "Rogue? What is it?"
"It's Jean. Scott, she's gone again, and she's not comin' back. Ah'm sorry."
"Gone?" he repeated, unable to formulate a real question.
"Logan saw 'er take off after she turned inta somethin' else. Look, the Professor knows more 'bout it than Ah do. He wants to see all of us in the briefin' room. Ah just wanted to be the one to tell you, because you were always a good friend t' me..." She shrugs. "I know nothin' helps, but Ah wanted t' be here for you."
"No!" He shook his head hard. "There's gotta be a way to get her back! I won't accept that she's lost and there's nothing we can do about it. Giving up-- that's not what Professor X taught us."
Rogue squeezed his hand again and smiled sadly. "Ah hope yer right, and if there's somethin'--anythin'!-- Ah can do..."
He nodded and put his other hand over hers. "For now, just don't give up on her, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." Rogue pulled her hand back and walked to the doorway. "You comin'?"
"Yeah."
Scott followed her out the door and into the briefing room where all the teachers, as well as the older students, had gathered. Professor X sat at the front of the room with his elbows resting on the arms of his chair and his fingers steepled under his chin. Several of them glanced at him and then averted their eyes. Kitty stared a little longer than the rest, and Kurt 'ported across the room to squeeze his shoulder for a moment, but the others kept their focus on Professor X. Rogue hovered by his side, arms folded across her chest.
"As you are aware," the professor began, "one of our students has gone missing."
"Cut the crap, Chuck. Jean's dead."
Several of the students turned to look at Logan, who stood leaning against the back wall.
"It is not as... simple as that, Logan." Xavier shook his head. "Jean has merged with a being known as the Dark Phoenix, guardian of the heart of reality. For reasons we do not understand, this being is controlling her."
"Can't you find her with Cerebro?" Scott interrupted. "Jean's an omega level mutant! She should be a red flag on your radar screen!"
"Jean is an omega level psychic, Scott. The Dark Phoenix is able to use her power to hide itself from Cerebro. We have no idea where the Phoenix is now, but I fear it may return. It is capable of taking Jean's form or its own. If any of you believe you see or hear from Jean, you must contact me immediately so appropriate measures may be taken. Do you understand?"
With the exception of Scott, the students all nodded and muttered their assent.
"What do you mean by 'appropriate measures'?" Scott demanded.
"Yeah, like, we're gonna get Jean back, right?" Kitty echoed.
Though the students looked to Xavier, it was Logan who answered.
"Like I said, Jean's dead." He turned and stalked from the room.
"No, she's not!" Scott called after him. Seeing the mixture of sympathy and embarrassment on the other's faces, he repeated, "She's not."
Not wanting to hear any more, he turned and walked out the door.
Can I trust you to inform me if you find her or hear from her? The Professor's mind-voice somehow made that simple question into a threat.
If I said, 'no,' would you let me walk out of here? Look, I'm an X-Man. Trust me to do the right thing.
Scott, I sympathize with your feelings for Jean. However, I must warn you that after Logan's last encounter with the Dark Phoenix, he is only alive because of his healing factor. You are more than an X-Man, you are a leader, and I cannot afford to lose you as well as Jean!
That's funny, Professor. Didn't you say that pushing Jean like that is what made her go with the Phoenix? Right now I wonder if you're any different than the people you complain about. They look at us and all they see is a scary mutant. You look and all you see is a tool. We're neither. We're just people. It's my life, and if I risk it going after Jean its my own damn business!
I urge to you consider--
No! Get out of my head. This conversation is over.
He had reached a set of glass doors leading out to a balcony, and he stepped outside. The cold air smelled like woodsmoke and burning leaves, not exactly pleasant, but at least different than being inside. He needed "different".
"Scott? Can Ah join you?"
He had been too busy fuming at Xavier to hear Rogue following behind him, and he jumped a little at the sound of her voice. He didn't know whether or not he was glad to see her, so he just shrugged and continued to stare out at the grounds.
"Ah always kinda wished Jean wasn't here. No! Don't-- just, look, what Ah mean is, she was just always so happy an' in control an' perfect--"
"You didn't know her, Rogue. You never gave her a chance. If you had, you would've seen that she wasn't what everyone wanted her to be." He leaned heavily on the railing, feeling as drained as if Rogue had just kissed him.
"Ah... Ah know that. Now. An' seein' what this is doin' t' you... Ah just want t' say that if Ah find Jean first, Ah'm comin' t' you, not the Professor."
"Thanks." He forced himself to look at her and smile. "What about the others? Kurt, Kitty...?"
"Ah don't know, but Ah'm pretty sure they'll feel the same way Ah do."
"I hope you're right."
He felt her gloved arm slip around his shoulders for a moment and then heard the balcony door closing behind her.