Chapter 35

Later in the day Jonathan is doing the very mundane task of throwing some trash out when he spots Scott sitting by the fountain, looking awfully sad and contemplative. Must be Jean. It's all around the mansion by now. Feeling the need to offer some advice he wanders over, casual looking. "Nice day," he offers as a conversation starter.

"Is it?" Scott asks, his voice flat and listless. "Hadn't noticed."

Jonathan sits himself down next to Scott. "I'll say this and then I'll leave if you want me too. If you need to talk..."

"I'm not sure what there is to talk about."

"Ok," Jonathan accepts that as a polite way of Scott saying 'Get lost!'. He rises to his feet.

"What the hell does 'need a break' mean?"

Jonathan sits back down. "It can mean exactly that. A want for space to think."

"So you think Jean's right?"

"There's no right or wrong here, Scott. Only what your feelings tell you. What do yours tell you?"

"That I miss Jean."

"Good."

"But I can't agree with her completely. Emma is..." Scott falters there.

"Emma is what, Scott?"

"It's...complicated."

"I can see the problem. You're confused."

"Aren't all men by women?"

Jonathan smiles wryly. "Since the dawn of time but your heart can only belong to one."

"It does."

"Does it?" Jonathan asks the fatal question. "You clearly have feelings for Emma, Scott."

"We were friends...once," Scott defends himself.

"Is that all?"

Scott sighs and rubs his face. "Back then Jean didn't look twice at me really but Emma did. I truly believe for a moment I saw the real woman underneath. Therefore I know there is something more, something better to her than what she shows these days. I refuse to give up on her."

"That's noble, Scott," Jonathan agrees. "But even if you're right is it worth the price of risking what you have with Jean?"

"Or should Jean understand what it is and why I can't give up?"

"Good questions. No easy answers are there?"

"No right or wrong," Scott repeats Jonathan's words.

Jonathan places a hand on Scott's shoulder. "I know you're hurting even if you try not to show it. Whatever happens between you and Jean just know that I'll still be here for you after."

"Thank you," Scott says, truly touched by Mr Kent's words.

"So any idea what you will do?"

"No...but perhaps Jean is right. Maybe we do need space until I decide what to do about Emma," Scott concedes. Or at least he concedes he needs to contemplate the consequences of whatever choice he ends up making.

"You sure this is what you want Jean, luv?" Betsy asks her friend and fellow telepath as she sits in Jean's room listening to the redhead tell her about her plans to take a break from the X-Men and her suggestion Betsy take over from her.

"Yeah," Jean is sure.

Betsy was rather lost for words. She and a few of the other girls had spent the night comforting Jean over her and Scott's problems but Betsy never expected this as a consequence of that. And her an X-Man?

Wow that's a fast promotion for someone who only got here a little over 4 months ago.

"I don't even have a codename," Betsy suddenly recalls, her gaze slightly dazed looking at the situation she finds herself in.

Jean sniggers slightly. "Neither do I as you'll recall."

"Yeah but you use to have one Ms Marvel Girl," Betsy says it jokingly, teasing Jean about her once upon a time codename.

Jean presses her finger to just between her eyes. That blasted codename always gives her a migraine.

"By the way when you 1st mentioned that, what was it about the costume you didn't want to talk about?" Betsy wonders. It's been a niggling thing for weeks.

Jean sighs. "Promise it's just between us?" she asks, as a prelude to possibly agreeing to explain.

To satisfy her own curiosity Betsy will agree to that. "Course, luv. Swear on her Majesty, the Queen. May she live long to reign over us."

Jean goes to her closet and pulls out a dusty old box. She places it down on her bed and opens it where she then pulls out a green dress along with yellow gloves, boots, belt and a pointed mask and lays them out on the bed.

Betsy's eyebrows rise but she reserves comment for now.

"There. That was my first costume," Jean says, gesturing at the offending articles of clothing, making a face.

"What precisely bothers you about it?"

"The dress is too short," Jean complains. It only comes to mid-thigh.

"But you have great legs," Betsy compliments her. Jean just doesn't show them off enough in Betsy's view.

"Uh, thanks but what I mean is..." Jean coughs uncomfortably. "It started after I figured out I could levitate myself."

Betsy blinks, not getting it.

"Think climbing ladders...with someone below you...you're in a short dress," Jean tries to make Betsy get it.

"Ooohhhhh," Betsy draws out as it clicks in place. "They could see your drawers," she says, her lips curling up into a saucy smile.

Jean actually flushes red. "Yes. That's it...and that's why I never talk about it."

Betsy chuckles. She knew Jean was a bit uptight about that sort of thing but she really, really is very uptight about that sort of thing. Betsy has an idea. She goes and picks the dress up and holds it against her body as if weighing up whether it will fit. "So since I don't have a codename is Marvel Girl up for adoption?" she asks.

"You're joking?!"

Betsy swings her body side to side to make the dress sway. "Not at all. I mean I have nothing to hide. The boys around here could do with a thrill," she says with a naughty smirk.

Jean snatches the dress back. "Not a living soul will ever know about this dress, Betsy. You promised," she reminds her purple-haired friend, her voice showing tension.

"Ok relax. You're going to give yourself an aneurysm. Though I do need a costume. I've been thinking about it ever since I was moved into Generation X. It would be nice to get out of that New Mutant uniform. I mean it's not bad at showing my body off but I can come up with something better."

"You're designing a costume based on how it shows your body off?" Jean asks, bemused.

"Hey when you've got it Jean, luv, flaunt it...and I've definitely got it," Betsy declares, showing extreme confidence in her body.

"Uh huh. This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain winged mutant would it?" Jean asks rhetorically. It wasn't a secret Betsy had been keeping in touch with Warren.

"Have no idea what you mean," Betsy dismisses Jean...too casually with a sly, coy smile. Of course it is. Next time they meet she's going to blow his mind.

"So will you do it? Will you take my place?" Jean asks Betsy for a definite answer.

"Why not," Betsy shrugs as she accepts it. "Maybe I can finally get my parents to stop worshipping Brian for 2 seconds," she complains bitterly at how her twin brother is the favoured one between them.

"Don't you have another brother?" Jean recalls Betsy mentioning at some point.

"James?" Betsy queries.

Jean nods. That's it.

"He's like 10 years older than Brian and myself so we've never been that close," Betsy confesses about the lack of relationship she and James have but they're of different generations essentially. Naturally she loves him as her brother.

"Kinda understand. I'm the youngest child too."

"Of 5," Betsy recalls. Jean has 2 older sisters and 2 older brothers.

"If anything, when I was little, I was closer to my cousin than my siblings. Well until the family had their falling out and Uncle Roy and Aunt Phyllis moved away."

"Falling out over what?"

Jean frowns. "You know I never did learn what and no-one talks about it," she admits. "As far as my mother is concerned she has no sister named Phyllis."

"Ah that kind of family secret," Betsy says, knowing all too well what Jean means.

"I haven't seen any of them since I was like...4?...5?" Jean tries to recall. It was a long time ago now. She then laughs. "You know when we were little it was actually hard to tell my cousin and I apart. People swore we were twins separated at birth. In fact we were born in the same week."

Betsy smiles. It's a nice memory. "What was her name?"

"Maddy...uh Madelyne. Her name was Madelyne."

That night Claire and Marie are getting ready for bed.

"You know with Amara leaving I'm almost questioning my choice in women," Claire idly mentions.

Marie pulls her nightshirt over head, arches an eyebrow and places one hand on her hip, giving her girlfriend a look. "Ahem," she coughs.

"Not you," Claire says. "I mean you're proof that my taste in women is great. It's just...I did kinda have a crush on Amara when I first came here," she confesses.

Marie did not know this. She's not sure she's happy with knowing this.

Claire walks over and rubs Marie's arms affectionately. "You know I love you," she says softly. "In fact when Amara showed she might feel something for me I told her I was dating you and turned her down."

Marie frowns. "Showed you how?" she demands to know...and this so not jealousy rising up inside her.

"Um...wow I should never have started this conversation," Claire realises. She turns round only for Marie to grab her arm and turn her back.

"Oh no. You don't get off that easy, sweetie. Showed you how?"

"Alright I'll say," Claire's defences collapse quickly as they always do for Marie. "Just don't blame Amara," Claire requests magnanimously. "She didn't know we were dating...but she may have tried to kiss me," she confesses about that time when the two were together when the X-Men were the prisoners of the Hellfire Club.

Marie snorts. Witch. Good riddance she's gone. Ok not very charitable but she's very possessive over Claire. Claire's hers. She grabs Claire by the face and kisses her deeply. She pulls back but leaves their lips almost touching. "You're mine right. Say you're mine," she pleads.

"Of course I am," Claire promises.

"I love you," Marie says passionately.

"Yeah, how much?" Claire asks with a lopsided grin.

"Let me show you," Marie says as she guides Claire to their bed.

Academy of Tomorrow, Boston Massachusetts...

Amara sits by the window of her new room, looking out at the grounds of her new school, contemplating her choice.

Regretting it?

No.

She's not regretting it and she's here with Manuel. That's good. Amara...well she loves him...she thinks.

She's never been in love before so she's not certain but it feels like love. That probably makes no sense what she just thought there.

"You know from this way round that frown of yours looks like a smile."

Amara blinks and looks upward slightly to spot Clark floating there in his Superman costume. Floating there upside down. "What are you doing?" she asks in bemused tones.

"Well actually I was considering floating past your window doing the Macarena," he quips and does some dance moves...badly as he reorientates himself the right way round.

Amara sniggers. He's a goof. And he also just managed to instantly lighten her mood. "Why are you here?" she gets to it.

"Just thought I'd check up on you. See you were alright. You know be an attentive deity and all," Clark explains himself with a light shrug of his shoulders.

"You hate all of that," Amara says back about the deity stuff.

"But it means something to you," Clark says back with real feeling. "And I respect that. Don't agree with it but respect it."

Amara smiles warmly. He's...amazing. "So you here to drag me back?"

Clark arches a single eyebrow. "Amara, I could have done that while you were sleeping and without you never knowing. You realise that, right?"

"Ok, so you here to persuade me to go back?" Amara changes her angle of attack, conceding he's right.

"I did think about commanding you as your God to go back but then again I did make some speech on a certain Princess' island about defending your right to choose. Would hate to make myself a hypocrite. So in the end I thought the least I could do was come see you and here I am."

"Here you are."

"So are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Amara assures him. "Clark...if you are here to make some speech in defence of the X-Men please don't," she pro-actively cuts him off. Even he can't persuade her to change her mind.

"Defend them? I told Scott he was an idiot. He should have just left well enough alone like I did."

"Really?"

"Well no. I was going to say that to Scott but he and Jean broke up and I didn't have the heart to add to his misery."

Amara blinks. "He and Jean broke up?" she asks, surprised to hear that.

"Well technically they're on a 'break'," Clark describes the situation using air-quotes. "It's more or less the same thing."

"Why are they on a break?"

"What am I? Their relationship councillor? I'm not getting involved. I leave it to all the nosy people," he says to Amara not to ask him. He wants nothing to do with it. He's not getting sucked into that mess.

Ok that sounds kind of too callous for Clark, Amara thinks.

"And speaking of Jean...I do think she regrets what she said during that argument you had the other day," Clark says. Claire had given him the gist of it and well he hadn't out and out asked Jean about it but he thinks it was just one of those in the heat of the moment things.

"Perhaps she does...but it doesn't change the fact she said those things," Amara says and you can hear the fact it obviously still stings. "Nor the fact I never got an apology." She looks up at him. "Why are you defending her?"

Clark shrugs. "Because she doesn't really think those things. I can't believe that. I don't think you do either. If I thought she did it would be hard to be her friend...and I've been her friend for over a year and a half. You've known her longer than I. Do you think she really believes all those hurtful things she said to you?"

"I think she's allowed her personal dislike of Emma to colour everything and that she needs to learn to let it go."

"So I heard no, you don't really believe," Clark says with a goofy grin.

Amara can't help but smile too in return. "I'm not ready to forgive her," she makes the point.

"That's ok," Clark accepts. "So this is what you really want?" he asks. "To be here?" he just wants to be sure it's her choice. He can't...he won't force her back against her will no matter how much he thinks this is not a good choice. He has to respect her.

"For the moment, yes. And I'll be honest with you Clark my disapproval with the X-Men is only part of my reason. You see...you know I have a boyfriend right?"

"I may have heard Tabby badgering you about it, yes," he confirms.

Amara flushes. Tabby. Gods what does she say to her zany blond friend about this. Amara hasn't a clue yet. She clears her throat. "Well he's a mutant...a new one and Emma Frost got to him first..."

"And he accepted her offer of a place and you came with him," Clark can easily finish.

Amara nods.

"Does he make you happy?" Clark asks what he thinks is the only important question.

"Gods, yes," Amara breathes with great depth of feeling.

"Good. Tell him though if he breaks your heart your friendly red and blue clad God will break every bone in his body before he can register I've moved."

"Uh..."

Clark sniggers. "Rao your face," he points and laughs at her, showing he was joking.

Amara frowns. "Not funny," she chastises him.

"Yeah it is but if he hurts you, Amara I will be pretty annoyed. I don't like seeing my friends hurt."

"I guess I can't begrudge you that."

"Well anyway I'll get going," Clark decides...and one could point out he's not saying the whole truth on what he knows about Emma's deceptions that led to this situation. In fact he has no intention of doing so. Why? A very good question. If Claire was here she would be noting it down as another one of his odd behaviour moments. "If you need me for anything, yell," he offers as the last thing he says.

"I will," Amara promises.

Clark floats up a little.

"Wait!" Amara shouts as something occurs to her.

Clark stops and looks back down at her. "What?"

"Doesn't this place have defences like the mansion? How did you get here?" Amara asks the questions that just came to her. She means Clark's good but surely some of the defences must have picked him up so why haven't they?

"Oh that," Clark says as if it is only now coming back to him. His lips curve up into an evil smile. "Yeah. Tell Emma she can bill me," he says before shooting off into the air at great speed.

It doesn't take much imagination for Amara to figure out what he means. Oh Gods. She can just imagine the size of the repair bill. Amara doubles over, her sides threatening to split with laughter.

At the Institute...

Marie isn't asleep as she lies in bed. Claire is. In fact as she curls up around Marie she looks pretty worn out but Marie has too much on her mind to sleep no matter how tired she might feel.

It's simple really. She has a problem. She has a secret she hasn't told Claire.

Everyone, Claire included, was totally surprised to learn of the fate that befell Monet.

Marie wasn't.

Girl with the gift of foresight remember.

See the thing is Marie believes that it had to happen and she hasn't said anything because it can't be allowed to be reversed too soon.

Remember what Monet was like and then ask the question what was her future? What would she become if she continued as she was?"

Marie saw it...before her vision was blocked. She could see where Monet was heading and it wasn't a good place. That arrogant, superior attitude of hers...that she was better than everyone else.

That's exactly how the members of the Inner Circle think and Monet would have made a perfect member. That was her future. Her arrogance would have only grown and grown and grown and she would have fallen deeper and deeper into darkness to keep proving how she was so much better than anyone else.

It would have ended with Monet being...well as bad as the worst of the worst of them. Monet needed to learn, well...penance.

This is the burden of foresight. If someone has to suffer in the short term for a greater good in the long term do you let it happen?

That's the question Marie faces because she can see the outcomes either way.

Or she use to be able to.

Currently she can't see when this journey for Monet will end. From what Marie saw before she completely lost her vision she knows it's got some way to travel yet.

The question is if this...curse she is currently inflicted with changes Monet's direction, changes her destiny, pushes her onto a better path is Marie right to say nothing and let it happen?

Or should she say something to prevent short term suffering even if that choice might produce a worse outcome long term?

You see this is the dilemma Marie faces all the time.

Some people would just think if you can prevent suffering you should do so. Marie supposes all the X-Men generally believe that which she guesses puts her out of step with her teammates. Then again they cannot understand what it means to have the power of foresight and how it alters the way you see the world and therefore alters how you choose to make your decisions.

The specific problem Marie is having right here and now as it relates to Claire is that you could make an argument what Claire suffered in Lionel's lab, being tested on, in the end that brought Claire to where she is now.

She found her mother through that path.

If Marie said she would have stood by and let that happen, claiming it was in Claire's long term good...Claire would probably dump her on the spot.

People probably look at Marie and see the sweet, peppy, almost naïve girl. None of them realise it's a façade. She can't be naïve. She sees too much.

Marie looks at her sleeping girlfriend...oh God she loves her. You have no idea how much and she won't give that up for anything.

So yeah she'll keep the secret.

And maybe one day, like Monet, she'll suffer a penance for this decision. If that's the price she has to pay to have Claire then she'll pay it.

This is her gift.

This is her burden.

This is her curse.

Author's Note: And the mystery behind Marvel Girl is revealed...it was the short dress. Betsy could pull it off though. Hmm, so Jean has a near identical cousin called Madelyne. I wonder who she's destined to become. So this may well be the last we see of Amara for awhile but it's my choice. Just have to live with it. Question is Clark knows all about the lies and manipulations so why didn't he say anything to Amara? Just another moment of Clark acting oddly to add to the others. The last scene was my thought that people with foresight must carry an enormous burden, making choices that could seem harsh in the short term but work out better in the long term. A lot of people wouldn't agree with that. That's the curse I suppose. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; a little thing I think I'll call Boys' Night Out.