Chapter 30 - Triangles

Rocky Mountains, Colorado.

As soon as the Blackbird landed on Warren's front yard, Jean sprinted towards the jet. The hatch was taking too long to unseal, so the woman decided to use telekinesis to force it open.

"Where's Scott?" She demanded to know as she climbed up the ramp. Before anyone could respond, Jean spotted Havok lifting his brother from the med bay bed and ran to them. Her heart started hammering against her chest as she realized the seriousness of Cyclops' condition. "Oh God! What happened?"

"A telepathic assault," Professor Xavier's voice echoed solemnly inside the jet as the X-Men began to exit. "A quite vicious one, I'm afraid."

"W-What?" The redhead was on the brink of tears. "H-How? Who?"

"That Frost bitch," Alex replied, his face red from crying.

Angel, who had followed Jean into the Blackbird, gathered the courage to ask. "Is he…?"

"He's alive," Hank quickly responded, "but requiring immediate care. Cyclops suffered four seizures in the last three hours despite being highly sedated. He's in a coma."

Warren nodded in understanding. "And taking him to a hospital is out of question. I see. Let's get him properly set, then. Alex, follow me," he beckoned his teammate and showed him the way to the cabin.

Jean was about to follow them when Charles held her hand to make her stop. "Jean, listen to me very carefully. I'm going to need your help to pull Scott out of his condition," he said, but the woman seemed to be in trance. Her whole body was trembling, and Xavier concluded she was in a state of shock. "Jean!"

She remained silent for a few seconds, and suddenly uttered a cry. "Oh God!" Tears started falling from her eyes. "Why… Why won't this nightmare ever end? I can't… I just can't take this anymore," her legs gave way and she kneeled down beside Xavier's wheelchair on the floor, sobbing.

The professor used his arms to pull the redhead into a hug and began to stroke her hair. "Listen, Jean… We can't force humankind to stop hating mutants over one night, the same way we can't prevent greedy mutants from wanting to profit at the expanse of that same hatred. But prejudice can't be ignored; it must be fought," Xavier declared, still holding the younger telepath. "That's the reason why the X-Men exist, and that's the reason why Cyclops was injured. I'm sorry you and your daughter were dragged into this fight… I know you've never desired to become an X-Man," he let go of Jean to better look at her face. "But right now, you and I are the only two people who have the power to help Scott. To accomplish that, I need you to concentrate, okay? Scott needs you to concentrate. Can you do that? For his sake."

"Yes," she nodded faintly and stood up, noticing that everyone else had left the jet. "What do we do?"

"What the X-Men do best. Fight against the odds," he smiled. "You and I are going to save Scott."

xxxxx

Once inside Worthington's cabin, the X-Men and the acolytes scattered to different places. Gambit was embracing Rogue and pointing provocatively to the mistletoe above their heads, receiving an annoyed look from the southern belle in return. Forge was applying chamomile compresses to Storm's swollen ribs while she was lying on the living room couch. Candy had locked herself up inside one of the bathrooms, leaving Iceman stuck with baby duty. He kept trying to distract Nathan with some snowball tricks but didn't succeed on the task; the toddler only stopped crying when Colossus transformed himself into organic steel - Nate was mesmerized by his huge shiny form and only wanted to be picked up by Piotr. Amelia and Cortez were exchanging a few heated words in front of the fireplace, the later urging the woman to help him convince Magneto to leave the X-Men immediately. She ignored him. Magnus, for his turn, used the opportunity to invite Polaris to the front porch and ask her a few questions, mostly about her powers and closest relatives. Not one of those exchanges was lost to Wolverine's keen eyes and hearing. After he had taken Selene's mutilated body to the bottom of the nearest mountain -a feast to hungry vultures- he quickly returned to the house. Logan was now perched on one of the counter stools, holding Rachel securely in his arms, and watching them all.

When Xavier and Jean finally made it inside the cabin, they headed straight to the second suite, where Cyclops had been placed. Angel could not take him to the master bedroom since it had been recently turned into a roofless, snowy wreckage. Scott was currently lying in the double bed unconscious, with Dr. McCoy to his right side, checking his blood pressure and heart rate, and Alex to his left, grasping his hand. Angel was leaning against the wardrobe opposite to the bed, his arms crossed over his chest. None of them looked hopeful.

"Hank, how's Scott?"

"His vitals are stable for now, Charles," Beast informed his mentor and was about to speak again about the necessity of taking their friend to a hospital when the professor interrupted him.

"Good. Now, gentlemen, I need you to wait outside. Ms. Grey and I have work to do," Xavier told his pupils.

Angel was the first to move, placing a reassuring hand on Jean's shoulder before leaving the room. He was followed by Hank and a hesitant Havok, who pleaded to Charles. "Professor, please help my brother."

"I promise we'll do our best," Xavier stated as he rolled his chair to one side of the bed. The redhead walked to the opposite side and sat beside Scott on the mattress. "I truly do not believe that the White Queen's mind blocks are strong enough to resist mine and Jean's telepathy combined."

Alex nodded. "I'll pray that you are right," he said before closing the door behind him.

"Now, Jean, follow my lead inside Cyclops' mind," Charles instructed her.

Jean carefully entered Scott's mind and was soon met with the equivalent of a brick wall and ceiling surrounding his entire consciousness. It looked thick and endless. 'Professor? What is this construction? I've never seen anything like this.'

'I believe this is the reason why Cyclops is in a coma. It's called a mental prison. Every time Scott tries to push his consciousness out of these walls, his brain doesn't understand what's happening and he's struck with a seizure. We need to break it down, Jean, brick after brick. It's the only way to set his mind free,' Charles explained, changing his astral form to look like a constructor employee. To the woman's surprise, not only was Xavier standing on his two feet, but he was also looking much stronger and holding a heavy sledgehammer in his hands. He gave the wall a first strike, causing a big crack on its surface. 'Your turn, Jean. Remember, use the astral plane creatively in your advantage. Imagine whatever you like, and let your telepathy make it come true.'

'Got it.' Jean concentrated. In less than a second, her civilian clothes had turned into a yellow constructor's jumpsuit; but instead of holding a massive sledgehammer like the professor, she was driving a stone crusher machine. 'This might be faster. We can't risk Scott having any more seizures, or the brain damage may be too intense,' she told Xavier, who smiled in return and kept on hammering fiercely against the wall.

xxxxx

Forty minutes passed. It was past six o'clock and Gambit had used all his cooking skills and Warren's grocery supplies to fix his teammates the best Cajun sandwich they had ever tasted. Or maybe they were just too hungry to complain about the hot sauce.

Iceman approached Wolverine, his mouth full and eyes wet from the spicy meal. "Hey Logan, how come you arrived in Colorado before us?"

"Chuck warned me there might be trouble here. I had a friend drop me by on his way to New Mexico," the feral explained.

"So it is true, mon amie. You found yourself a new team. Remy's feelings are hurt," Gambit placed a hand over his heart, faking hurt.

"Oh, giv'im a break, swamp rat," Rogue slapped his arm. "I'm sure Logan had a pretty good reason t'leave the X-Men and join some dumb second-class Canadian team," she teased.

"They're called the Alpha Flight, kid. They're good folks, we go a long way back… They hid me after I left the mansion and I agreed to lend them a hand with some shit up in Canada in return," he looked at the baby in his hands in concern as she started crying. "What's wrong with her?"

"How should Ah know? She's yoah kid," Anna Marie shrugged.

"Rachel's probably hungry, Logan," Ororo suggested from the couch, glimpsing at her watch. "Jean feeds her every three hours."

"Every three hours? Jesus fuckin' Christ. Ya're a gluton, kiddo," he stated in awe, glancing down again and flinching as his daughter's cries became louder. "Where's your mom when we need her, huh? Helpin' that brain damaged loser," he muttered under his breath. He tried to soothe Rachel by rocking her in his arms, but the girl's cries only increased. When he looked up again to ask for assistance, Bobby, Remy and Anna had vanished. "Great! Just when I'm itchin' for a smoke."

"Logan, for the love of the goddess, do something! My head's exploding!" Storm complained.

Wolverine rolled his eyes in annoyance, glancing down at his sobbing daughter once more. "What if we feed her with the boy's formula?"

"Jean would kill you. But go on, I'd love to see that," Ororo encouraged.

"Fuck," Logan muttered again, and then added in a much louder tone. "What the hell is takin' them so long in that damn room anyway?"

xxxxx

Meanwhile, Angel was knocking on the bathroom's door. "Candy? Are you all right, honey?"

The door was opened from inside to reveal a recomposed Ms. Southern. "Yes, I'm fine now. I was just trying to… assimilate everything that's happened. This whole mutant persecution thing is kind of new to me."

Warren entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He tenderly held her arms in his hands. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this today… And I'm sorry I haven't given you much attention lately, sweetheart. It's just that, with everything that's happened to the X-Men in the past months, I haven't had the time. I've been a lousy boyfriend. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, Warren. I know you're busy trying to make the world a better place for mutants," Candy replied.

"After this 'cure' ordeal is over, I'm quitting the team. I promise you," he said.

The woman shook her head. "No, honey, you aren't. You can't quit."

Angel lifted a blonde brow in confusion. "I can't? But… I-I don't understand, Candy. I thought you hated the fact that I'm constantly away on missions. I thought you wanted us to be closer."

"I do. But it's different now."

"What? What's different?"

"The world. Our world," she turned around and picked up a white stick from the bathroom sink and showed it to him. Warren's eyes widened as he saw the two pink parallel lines on the stick. "You and the X-Men need to make it safer for mutants."

xxxxx

Another half an hour went by before Jean and Xavier finally managed to destroy the mental prison in Cyclops' head. Still, the mutant hadn't woken up from the coma. At least the seizures hadn't reoccured.

The two telepaths looked exhausted when they joined the others in the living room. Alex was the first to rush their way. "How did it go?"

"Apparently, it all transpired well. We were able to break Emma Frost's mental blocks," Charles explained, and sighed. "But for some reason, Scott hasn't woken up yet."

"I'll better examine him again, then," McCoy spoke and excused himself. Havok followed him inside the bedroom.

"Here, Jean, have a seat. I saved you a sandwich," Bobby said, pulling a chair for her. Then he added. "Though I better get you a jug of water before you start eating it."

"Thanks, Bobby. Where's Rach?" The redhead asked, looking around the room.

"With Logan. She was crying nonstop and he decided to take her for a stroll outside before Storm kicked his ass," Iceman informed her.

"I told him it was too cold to take her outside, but does Wolverine ever listen to advice? No, of course not," Ororo whined.

"Poor thing, she's hungry. I haven't nursed her since before we arrived in the cabin," Jean said. She was about to ask Bobby to go fetch them when she heard Rachel's cries and a fuming Wolverine opened the front door.

"Good, ya're done," he stormed into the cabin and handed the baby to Jean. "Make her stop."

Jean regarded him with an angry look but took the girl in her arms anyway. "Come here, sweetie. Mommy's so late," she unbuttoned her shirt and placed Rachel's mouth around her right nipple. The baby started sucking immediately. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I've been an awful mother today," she whispered, wiping a tear she hadn't realized she had cried from her face.

Logan sat by her side, watching attentively how she breastfed their daughter. They looked beautiful together, and he made sure to memorize the scene in his head forever. "That's bullshit," he spoke so quietly that Jean almost didn't hear it.

"What?"

"Ya're not an awful mother. Ya're a great mother," he said a bit louder, but still quietly enough that only she could hear it. "The best. Rachel's lucky to have ya, Red."

The redhead shook her head. "I'm not. While you were out cold on the floor protecting her, I lost control and almost dropped the whole house over the two of you. You'd probably survive, but Rachel…" A sob escaped her lips. "I can't even think of what could've happened…"

"But nothin' happened, darlin'. Ya stopped it," Logan said and then became silent, recalling what he'd seen when he first arrived in the cabin. "That creep… What did he do t'ya in the bedroom, Jeannie?"

"Nothing," Jean wiped her tears and looked down.

Wolverine sniffed the air. "Ya're lyin'. I can smell your discomfort… your disgust," he had to hold back a growl. "What did that asshole do? Why did ya lose control?"

The redhead's eyes didn't meet his. "I… I'm not sure. He was some kind of telepath or so… He made me believe I was his wife."

"What did he do?" Logan's voice was urgent, his canines bared.

"Not much. When I snapped out of his illusions, I was wearing my underwear only. And he was kissing my neck," her face twisted in repugnance.

"Mother fucker," Wolverine cursed in anger and stood up, inadvertently releasing the claws in his right hand. Jean jumped on her seat, startled. "Sorry," he retreated them, siting back on his chair. He ran a hand through his hair. "Tell me the truth, darlin'. Did he hurt ya?"

Jean shook her head again. "No. But I hurt him, Logan. I used my powers to make him suffer, and then I killed him. The worst part is… something inside of me enjoyed it," she stared at his face, looking lost. "What kind of monster am I, Logan, to enjoy hurting someone? I'm supposed to be a doctor, for Christ's sake!"

"Ya're no monster, Red. Ya were only defendin' yourself," he reasoned, brushing a wild red mane from her face. "Sometimes, we gotta let the beast within out to protect ourselves and the ones we love," he said.

She nodded in understanding. "Still…"

At that moment, Beast came out of Scott's room. He whispered something to Xavier, avoiding Jean's eyes. Nonetheless, she noticed the worried look on his face and saw the professor's head dropping in defeat. "Oh Scott! No!" She cried out loud, covering the new tears that had gathered in her eyes with her left hand.

Cyclops' neurological condition hadn't improved. The information was suddenly out, and commotion took place in the living room.

Wolverine's heart sunk in pain at the sight of the woman he loved hurting for the man. In that moment, Logan realized he had lost her. He asked quietly. "Ya love him?"

But Jean didn't respond - she was too distracted by the dreadful news. The feral nodded. Then he stood up and walked to Hank.

"Hey furball. What's goin' on with laser eyes?"

"I'm afraid I don't have an adequate answer to your question, Logan. Physically, he's fine; all his vital signs are absolutely within normal range. Mentally, Charles has assured me that he and Jean were able to break every block the White Queen has placed in his mind," Hank sighed in frustration. "Honestly, I can't think of any further conventional therapy that could aid Scott's recovery right now."

"Huh," Wolverine's eyes fell on the weeping toddler who kept asking for his 'dada' while his uncle Alex tried to fed him a bottle. "Maybe what he needs is beyond conventional Medicine," he mumbled.

"Pardon me?" Beast asked.

Logan glanced at the miserable frame that was Jean right now. "Nothin'. I gotta make a call."