Chapter 32 - Factors
Rocky Mountains, Colorado
On the next day, Jean was watching television while Rachel slept in the stroller. Cyclops was lying on the couch, his head on the redhead's lap, with Nathan's small body half sprawled on his chest. Since he had woken up from the coma three days ago, Scott's optic beams had returned in full power and he had lost the ability to control them. Hence, he was stuck back with his old quartz-ruby lenses, his world again in shades of red. McCoy's medical evaluation was that whatever procedure Shaman had submitted him to, it had not only cured his brain injury, but also eliminated the cure's effect over his mutant powers. Since then, the mutant had been feeling constantly tired and had been sleeping a lot. As an example, right now, both father and son were lazily dozing off on the sofa, Jean's hand tenderly stroking through Scott's hair while his own hand was holding Nate close.
The telepath was zapping through channels when her attention was caught by the news. The reporter was broadcasting live from the U.S. Senate, where Robert Kelly was being arrested for conspiracy, corruption and endangering the life of American citizens.
'Guys, come quickly,' Jean sent into her friends' mind instead of calling out loud. Soon, Beast, Iceman and Angel were sprinting into the living room. "Kelly's being arrested," she informed them.
"It's about time!" Bobby exclaimed. "Next time he'll think twice before conspiring with the Inner Circle to throw that shit into the water."
"I don't believe there will be a next time, my icy friend," Hank said. "By poisoning the water basins with a potentially harmful substance, the senator risked the lives of more than three hundred million American citizens. Robert Kelly will be probably facing life imprisonment."
"Look!" Warren pointed at the man behind Kelly on the screen. "It's Fred Duncan, from the FBI. He's the one who got us the fake ids and passports," he revealed.
"You had an FBI agent arrange us phony identities?" McCoy asked in disbelief.
"Yes. But hey, he's totally mutant-friendly," the blonde put his hands up in defense. "See? He's the one putting the handcuffs around Kelly's wrists."
"And he owed you a favor…" Jean added, rolling her eyes.
Warren smiled. "Don't they all?"
They sat around the tv to watch the rest of the evening news. Many mutants from the West Coast who had been given the vaccine were gradually regaining their powers.
"That means the antidote has worked!" McCoy rejoiced.
"Congratulations Hank!" Jean and Angel praised.
"I knew you could do it, genius," Bobby grinned and tapped his back.
"This, my friends, deserves a proper celebration," Warren stated and headed to the wine cellar to retrieve a bottle of Dom Pérignon. He returned with four glasses. "Sorry, Jean. Boys only."
"Yeah, well… At least Candy will be making me company in the 'water only' group this time," the redhead replied.
"By the way, how's the lovely soon-to-be Mrs. Worthington feeling today?" Beast asked after taking a sip from his expensive beverage.
"Nauseous," the blonde responded. "And grumpy. She threw me out of the bedroom for no reason this morning," Angel complained. "I hope Candy doesn't have too many mood swings. I remember I could barely stand Jean's, and we weren't even a couple."
"I did not have mood swings," the redheaded retorted.
"Oh you had them. You had them badly," Warren affirmed.
"Bet she still has," Bobby mumbled.
"Robert Drake, I heard that!" Jean hissed sharply. Iceman gulped his champagne, hoping to hide himself behind the tall glass.
"Hum. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Jean, but I recall Logan constantly complaining about your more than difficult… humor," Hank commented.
"That's because he was always a jerk to me!"
"Who's a jerk?" Cyclops' questioned drowsily. With the goggles back on his face, no one could have guessed he was awake.
"See? Your hotheaded temper's just woken up Scott. And you're not even pregnant, for Christ's sake," Warren threw his hands in the air.
Iceman's eyes widened. "Wait. Are you pregnant, Jean?"
The redhead narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not!"
"Oh. Okay," he quickly took another gulp.
"That's just her normal hot-tempered self, Bobby. After all this time, it doesn't even bother me anymore," Worthington shrugged.
Jean and Warren started bickering at each other. From behind the red lenses, Scott studied his lover's beautiful face. Hot-tempered or not, he loved Jean. His eyes turned to Angel next. "That reminds me… How did you two meet? I've been meaning to ask it for a while now."
He felt Jean's body stiffening under his head and saw the blonde scratching his nape in discomfort. Then he heard the telepath saying. "You can tell them."
Warren nodded. "Okay… So, I was a Business major and there was this new coffee shop just around the corner of Columbia University. One day after class I went there to get a cup of coffee…"
"Irish coffee," the redhead corrected him.
"It's still coffee, isn't it?" He glared. "Anyway, Jean was behind the counter fixing my drink. Worst Irish coffee ever," he declared.
"And yet you came back for more coffee the next day, and the next, and the next," she gave back.
"Not for the coffee. Your coffee sucks, Jean," he stated emphatically, and continued. "I tried to make small talk to her, you know… But she just pretended I wasn't there."
"That's not how it happened. You stayed in line chatting and flirting for minutes. I, on the other hand, had to bear with all the angry looks from the awaiting customers," Jean explained, turning to an engrossed Hank next. "It was my first pre-Med year and I was working at the coffee shop to pay my bills. I was scared to death that my boss would fire me if I indulged Warren's smooth talk while on the clock."
"Like you could've resisted it," Angel winked charmingly, and Jean rolled her eyes again. Scott let out an amused snort and kept caressing his sleeping son. "Anyhow, after about a week, I decided to give the poor lady one last chance to go out with me. I was patiently standing in line to order my oil-tasting coffee when two thugs invaded the shop. One went to rob the customers sitting at the tables, and the other came in my direction," he paused for a moment. "That's when I found out Jeannie was a mutant. She screamed inside my head for me to duck. The bullet passed five inches away from my head." Warren stopped talking to sip his champagne. Before resuming the story, he locked eyes with Jean. "She saved my life."
"I can see a pattern here, Jean," Bobby said, referring to when she had helped save his parents. "What happened next?"
"Well, that asshole shot the air again and kept heading to the cashier. I approached him from behind and kicked his legs; he fell to the floor and dropped his gun. There was an undercover cop in the shop; he took care of the other robber in the meantime. But then the first guy stood up and jumped behind the counter. He put a knife to Jeannie's neck and took her to the storage."
For a brief moment, Cyclops, Iceman and Beast turned their eyes away from Angel to stare at the redhead. Jean's emotions were usually easy to read; however, for the first time since they had met her, the three men couldn't guess what was going on inside the woman's head. Scott squeezed her hand.
Warren carried on. "To cut a long story short, I picked the gun and went after them… but that asshole was using Jean as a shield. I tried to talk to her, in her mind… Told her to move as much as she could to the left and to close her eyes. She did it, and I shot the bastard in the head, twice," he took another gulp of his drink. "Fun evening. I got to practice my shooting skills and got myself a date." Angel glanced at the bottom of his empty glass. "So, who needs more champagne? I surely do," he left to the cellar before anyone could respond.
No one dared to speak. The three men looked at each other, suddenly understanding Jean's and Warren's odd friendship. Despite their constant bickering and failed romantic relationship, they harbored intense feelings toward each other. A true bond, based on loyalty, protectiveness and love. It finally made sense. Jean and Warren had saved each other's lives, and would do it again as many time as it was needed.
"Now you know," they heard the redhead saying.
"That's what I call a rocky start," Iceman spoke, and if Cyclops wasn't wearing his goggles, the younger man would certainly have been met with a killing stare. Noticing it, Jean telepathically communicated with Scott. 'It's okay. Bobby's just speaking his mind.'
'Well, he should learn when to shut his damn mouth,' he replied in the same way. 'Are you all right? I can only imagine how hard it must be for you to remember this.'
'I'm fine. It's been a long time, and we've been through some worse things after that.'
A flash of Mastermind's illusions inadvertently invaded Scott's mind. Jean had yet to deal with those memories. He squeezed her hand again and slowly sat up, carefully as to not wake his son. He saw Angel reentering the living room with another bottle and asked. "Warren… That night when the mansion was attacked, and you shot those men from the helicopter… You told me you had killed someone before, in self-defense…"
"No. I told you I had murdered for defense purposes. Not in self-defense."
"So was it…"
"Yes," Jean interrupted. "That was the time. And after the coffee shop event, Warren took his shooting classes even more seriously. He never misses a target."
"That certainly elucidates how he was able to strike all those men in the School's front yard from the helicopter while we were trapped inside Robert's ice walls," Beast commented.
"That and my eagle vision," Angel said.
"I know those guys were trying to kill us, Warren, and I'm very grateful that you arrived just in time to rescue us. But don't all those killings keep you up at night?" Iceman questioned.
The blonde knew why Bobby was asking that - he was still uncomfortable with having murdered the Black King a few days ago. "No. And you shouldn't worry about Shaw either. He would have killed you and every one of your friends if you hadn't frozen his brains first," Angel told him, and then turned to Jean. "And Wyngarde deserved what he got as well. Don't you dare spend one night awake reminiscing about that fucker."
"So much for psychological knowledge," Hank muttered.
The woman sighed. "I don't know, Warr. I'd rather not have telekinetically blown Mastermind to pieces. I should have found another way of dealing with him, telepathically maybe. Like the professor's dealt with Leland and Frost. As far as we're concerned, he didn't kill them."
Scott spoke next. "Considering the circumstances, I think you did the best you could, Jean. I agree with Warren on this. I'm usually against violence, but I wouldn't hesitate to blast someone down if he or she was threatening my life, my son's life, or yours for that matter."
Angel responded with a nod and a small smile. "That's exactly how it is."
The five friends became quiet for a few moments, only the tv filling the room with irrelevant noise. Iceman, as usual, was the first to break the silence.
"Oh man. This sucks!"
"What?" The other four asked.
"This! The X-Men. The five of us not being able to remain as a group," he blurted out. "We kicked ass escaping the Hellfire Club idiots when they attacked the mansion, we kicked ass traveling undercover in the U.K. and we kicked ass saving that little mutant girl in Edinburgh. And now we'll have to join the others in a damn hot desert across the globe!"
"Bobby, I know the weather is a big issue to you. I get it. But what's so wrong about joining the others?" Jean inquired.
"Nothing's wrong. They're great. Ororo, Kurt, Remy… even Logan… they're all great. But this…" he pointed his index finger at each one of them, "this feels righter."
"It does," Scott agreed after a brief pause. Beast and Jean couldn't argue with them.
Warren thought about Iceman's words for a moment and did a quick calculation in his mind. "Maybe this could go on, and far from the desert," he mumbled. It would probably cost him a small fortune, but hey, what was money worth for, right? "How would you guys feel if the five of us moved back to New York?"
- Four months later
North Freemantle, Perth, Australia
"Hurry up, Jean, or we're going to be…"
Scott was going to say 'late', but the word got caught up in his mouth as he saw the redhead stepping out of the bathroom. She looked absolutely gorgeous in the knee-length green dress, her long red manes fixed up in a complex braid and light make up emphasizing her already beautiful features.
"How do I look?" She asked while putting on her high heels.
Cyclops didn't reply immediately - his mouth was agape. Insecure green eyes studied his face.
"Should I change the dress?"
Scott found his voice. "Probably. Otherwise no one will look at the bride, and Candy will be mad," he teased. "You look absolutely amazing, honey."
Jean blushed under his gaze, and came closer to adjust his already perfect tie. "You don't look half bad either, Mr. Summers."
He pulled the redhead closer and started placing soft kisses on her bare neck. "You know, maybe we should arrive a few minutes late," he mumbled against her skin.
"Oh, stop this right now, mister! You're the groom's best man, you know you can't be late," she slapped his arm playfully. "Where are the kids?"
"Alex and Lorna came by and took them a few minutes ago," he explained.
"Let's go then," Jean telekinetically grasped her golden clutch purse and closed the door behind her, exiting the hotel room hand in hand with Scott.
Warren Worthington the Third hadn't bothered saving one dime on his wedding day. On the contrary, he had insisted on hiring the best and most expensive catering and décor company his money could buy. Only the very best for his lovely and pregnant future wife.
The ceremony was extremely exclusive - only a few family members and close friends had been invited. Even so, the luxurious five-star beach resort had been thoroughly booked for the occasion, and the Worthington family was adamant to pay for it all.
Candy looked absolutely beautiful in her high-end bridal dress, a yet small bulge showing under the fine white cloth. Behind the bride and groom, the sun was starting to set over the ocean, the paradisiac landscape adding more beauty to the ceremony. Jean thought she'd never seen Candy or Warren happier.
Vows of love were declared, and tears of joy were shed by the newly-weds and some of the guests. After the formalities were over, dinner was served and the party began.
Storm, Rogue and Jean were cheerfully catching up in one of the resort docks, the later holding her six-month-old daughter in her arms. The girl was wearing an off-white tulle dress with matching baby sandals and was currently occupied babbling and playing with her mother's gold necklace.
"Rach's grown up so quickly, Jean. She looks adorable in that dress."
"Thanks, Ro. Believe it or not, Warren made sure to personally choose her outfit."
"Oh mah. If Angel's this picky with his godchild, imagine what he'll do to his own son," Anna remarked. "By the way, great weather this evening, Ro. Yoah doin'?"
"Well, the forecast did predict rain for tonight, but I figured an X-Man's wedding deserved a clear sky," Ororo admitted.
Scott was sitting in one of the bar stools with a glass of sparkling water in his hands, watching his friends around him. Warren and Candy were busy greeting their families, beaming like never before. Charles and Moira were quietly chatting and sipping their cocktails. Remy, Forge, Piotr and Kurt were sitting at a dinner table, enjoying their meals and laughing at some joke the Cajun had cracked. Bobby had dragged Hank away from them and had momentarily disappeared, probably trying to convince his best friend of helping him pull a prank against the groom. Lorna and Alex were kissing barefoot on the waterfront, while Jubilee was building sandcastles with Nate, Illyanna and Rahne - Cyclops was glad to know that the Scottish girl had recently been adopted by Dr. McTaggert.
His eyes darted to Jean and Rachel again, and he grinned. He was one lucky fella.
"Ya don't drink?" He suddenly heard a hoarse voice beside him.
"Not when I'm driving," he responded without glancing at its owner.
"Ya're drivin' tonight?"
"We're undercover outlaws at a fellow mutant's wedding. Better stay sharp and ready in case a pilot is needed," Cyclops justified.
"Always on alert, huh?"
A young bar tender approached them. He filled Scott's glass with more water and was about to pour another dose of whiskey into his companion's glass when the bottle was taken from his hand. "Can do it myself, kid," the man told the young employee, treating himself with a generous amount of whiskey. "Nice weddin'. Great booze," he took a swig.
"It is. Makes one wonder about getting himself married as well," Cyclops replied, eyeing the man beside him for the first time. "I don't think we've been officially introduced, Wolverine."
"Cut the crap, Summers. I know damn well who ya are. Ya're the guy who stole my girl," Logan retorted.
"And you're the guy who let it happen," Scott gave back. He didn't want to fight the man beside him, not during his best friend's wedding, and not ever. But he'd heard enough brawl stories to know Wolverine's temper by now. If the feral wanted to fight him, he'd better be ready to have his adamantium skeleton blasted.
"Hah. Guess I deserved that," Logan scoffed and took a big gulp of whiskey, missing the shocked look on his opposite's face. He glanced at mother and daughter a few meters away. "How's Rach doin'?"
"Rachel's doing great. She's an angel," Cyclops told him. "Though she could probably do even better if her father was around."
It was Wolverine's time to become surprised. "Thought ya had the parentin' part covered."
"Oh, I'll gladly have. I just don't think it's fair… to Rach, I mean."
"Easier said than done," Logan grumbled. "We don't even live in the same fuckin' continent anymore."
"Well, the X-Men do owe a supersonic jet, and I'm sure I heard something about an aboriginal teleporter helping the team every now and then," Scott remarked, and added. "Look, I just want you to know that I'm not trying to keep your daughter away from you. You're welcome to visit her whenever you want."
"I don't think that's up t'ya to decide."
"Of course not. But I'm sure Jean wouldn't oppose either," Cyclops straightened his back and continued. "And since we're here… l also wanted to thank you for saving my life back in Colorado. I wouldn't be here if you hadn't called your friend to help me."
Wolverine grunted something unintelligible and gulped the last of his drink, putting his glass back on the counter a little too fiercely. He stood up and strode towards the group of women.
"Can we talk?" He asked Jean. Storm and Rogue exchanged a quick look and left.
"Oh. Hey, Logan. I… I didn't know you were coming," the redhead stuttered.
"Neither did I, but believe it or not, I got an invitation," he told her. At the sound of his voice, Rachel let go of her mother's necklace and extended her arms in her father's direction.
"She wants you to pick her up," Jean explained. He hesitated. "She won't bite you, you know?"
Wolverine regarded the woman with an annoyed look and took the baby from her hands, easily holding her in his right arm. "Hey pumpkin. Ya're way heavier than the last time."
"Babies tend to grow in four months," the redhead retorted. "You'd have realized that sooner if you were around."
"I'd be around if ya'd come down to Australia with her. But instead ya chose to team up with your boyfriend and the rest of Worthington's crew. How's the mutant-huntin' goin' by the way?"
"The X-Factor does not hunt mutants, Logan. You know that!" Jean took a deep breath before her temper got the best of her. "We rescue mutants from dangerous situations and teach them to control their powers. Like the X-Men once did."
"What 'bout the whole anti-mutant propaganda crap? Ya think that'd do any good for our kind?"
"That's temporary. Our attorneys are trying to repeal the Registration Act Law. In the meantime, pretending to be a mutant-hunting group is our only way to remain in the States and help mutants in need," she defended.
"If it makes ya sleep better at night…" he scorned, and Jean was about to reply when he continued. "Look Red, I don't wanna fight."
"Then don't!" She yelled.
Wolverine sighed. Talking to Jean was never easy. Meanwhile, Rachel's little hands had reached up to grip both his muttonchops. "I've missed ya, kiddo," he placed a peck on her right cheek, his stubble tickling the baby girl and making her giggle.
"So, where's your fake girlfriend?"
Logan raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"The blonde, from the pictures. Why didn't you bring her tonight?"
"What make's ya think she's fake?" He asked. "Ya think she's not my type? I'm not only into redheads, ya know?"
"Oh, I know. She's definitely your type."
"So why d'ya think Narya and I ain't datin'?"
"You could be dating her all right. You just wouldn't be caught off guard by a private detective from such a short distance. You'd have heard the click of his camera or smelled his scent," the woman explained.
Wolverine smiled inwardly. Jean was a smart woman; plus, she knew him just too well. And to think that all this time he thought he had tricked her. "If ya knew she ain't my girlfriend, why did'ya get so fussed over the pics?"
"Because they sent a message. A very clear one," she replied, adding angrily. "You shouldn't have made Warren lie to me."
"I did it to keep ya away, to protect ya two. It was the wrong call, I see that now. I'm sorry," Logan said, truthfully. He ran his left hand through his daughter's messy hair. "I wanna visit the kid, Jeannie. On a regular basis."
The woman furrowed her brows. "Do you?"
"Yeah."
"Fine. We can arrange that," she responded nonchalantly, but Logan noticed the relief in her tone. He knew how much Jean's dad had hurt her by abandoning her family when she was a just child. She couldn't bear to think that Rachel would have to go through the same.
"There's one more thing," he told her and reached inside his black suit for a manila envelope. "This' for ya."
"For me?" Jean asked suspiciously, quickly tearing the envelope. Tears gathered in her green orbs as she read the piece of paper in her hands. "Is this… is this official?"
"Yeah. Ya can check the dean's signature at the bottom," Logan's eyes darted to his feet as the redhead looked from her Med School diploma back to his face. "Also, the information 'bout ya bein' a mutant was erased from the University's archives. Ya can be a doctor now."
"How?"
"Doesn't matter."
Jean nodded, clearly touched by his deed. At that moment, she ignored all the reserves she had towards Wolverine and stepped ahead to hug him. "Thank you, Logan. This… this means a lot to me."
He used his left arm to pull the redhead closer and return the embrace. "I know, darlin'. Ya deserve it," he said, trying to ignore how good her scent was. In his peripheral vision, he could see Cyclops' jaw tightening as he watched they embracing. Logan hugged Jean even closer, and a mischievous smile formed on his face. Making the boy scout lose it would be his favorite pastime from now on.
xxxxx
Scott whipped his head away from Jean and Logan's embrace and almost bumped his nose into the groom's chest.
"Hey, Cyke! You'll let Wolverine hug your girl like that?" Warren asked, perching himself on the vacant bench to Scott's right. "That's what I call a demonstration of extreme self-control." His voice sounded a little tipsy.
Cyclops sighed. "I'm itching to break them apart, but that would make him the good guy and me the jerk," he considered. "As my friend, shouldn't you be telling me otherwise?"
"Don't know, man. Guess the champagne bubbles went straight to my head," Angel hiccuped and pointed to the dance floor. "Look, there's Bobby and Hank with their dates."
"Dates?"
"Vera and Zelda, the girls from Camden Town. I sent them the invitations, but didn't thought they'd actually make it here."
"Why would you invite them to your wedding? They're practically strangers," Scott asked in disbelief.
"Because I knew Bobby and Hank would be pleased. And… because their presence ended up preventing me from falling head-first for one of Drake's pranks," he explained. Having a telepathic best friend did have its perks. "By the way, thanks for the heads up, Jeannie."
Scott turned around only to see his girlfriend standing right behind him.
"No problem, Warr. I love Bobby, but I'd never let him dye your feathers black in your wedding night. You're no 'Angel of Death'," she told him.
"I owe you one," he stood up to peck her cheek and left.
The redhead glimpsed at the counter from over Scott's head. "Water only?" She questioned him, smiling.
"You know me," he shrugged and smiled back, pulling Jean to his lap to give her a passionate kiss.
The End.
A/N 1: First, I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I hope you've enjoyed it. This was my most ambitious fic project so far, and I had a lot of fun writing my favorite characters' adventures. Special thanks to Argentum, Angz14, elisegobraugh, Emilio-Garra, Bothwell, AyaBethly, Jottma, Zmonsta, Glau and MAB86. I know some of you were disappointed when you realized this was not going to be a JL fic, and I promise to make it up to you in the future. But don't expect free love or threesomes. Ugh!
A/N 2: As an avid reader of old X-Men comic books, I've put a lot of cool (in my opinion) references in this story. One I'd like to call your attention to was the scene where Warren carries Rahne in his arms back home. To write that I visualized the cover of Marvels miniseries by Alex Ross, where Angel is flying a mutant girl away from a mob. If you are a Marvel's fan and haven't read that miniseries, I strongly suggest you to. And of course, there's a lot of Louise Simonson's 1986 X-Factor in my fic. She's one of the best comic writers ever, and helped create the unfortunate mutant-hunting façade. Curious? Go read X-Factor.
