Chapter One: Research
It's been nearly three weeks since the X-men battled Magneto on the Statue of Liberty. Wolverine has taken a leave of absence from the team to search for his past, Rogue has began to adjust to her life and new control over slight magnetic fields, and the remaining X-men have basically settled down back into their normal lives. All except Jean.
Since the exposure to the radiation, things have been strange for her. She now spends a lot of her time away from the team in general, staying mostly in the lab. She has been working endlessly researching mutation further than she had before. The X-Men can understand her tireless research, seeing as how she is a government liaison for mutant affairs. What they cannot understand is what is taking her so long. What exactly is she looking for?
The large metallic doors that open into her underground study slide open with a mechanic hum. Her fiance, Scott, enters the room.
"Jean?" He asks into the sterile emptiness of the room. "Are you in here?"
At first there is no sound. He looks around the room for a sign of his beloved Jean, but she doesn't appear to be there. He decides to sit down at the end of the research table and wait for her. It seems to him that the only time he ever sees her is when she is asleep. He notices a writing tablet sitting next a stack of books, including "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin and "Mutation: The Continued Evolution" by Dr. Cameron DiCosto.
He looks at the tablet to see exactly what it is that Jean has been doing for the past few weeks. He sees a lot of equations wrote down; carbon chains, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lots of things that connect together making a human body. The page is divided into four columns, the first identified as Homo sapien, the second Advanced Homo sapien, Homo superior in the third, the final states Advanced Homo superior.
Puzzled by the chart, Scott notices that column one and two are similar to one another, as are three and four. All of them show the codes and keys representing each stage. Attached to this paper is another that is titled "My DNA." Scott begins to look at it but is interrupted.
"Scott! What are you doing?" Jean surprisingly states very harshly. She doesn't look too pleased at her fiance.
"Jean..." Scott begins, laying the papers down on the table. "I was coming to see if you wanted to go into Westchester for a romantic dinner this evening. Just you and me. You've been down here for so long, I just thought you could use a break."
Jean puts her hand up on her forehead and massages it very firmly.
"Is something the matter, Jean?" Scott asks her.
"Hm? Oh...I'm sorry, honey." Jean begins. She walks back to the table and places the tablet into her book and puts them in a drawer. Scott notices her sudden removal of the books. "I'd love to."
Scott looks up at Jean and smiles. "Good...I'll meet you in the garage at 6:00 sharp, okay?"
Jean smiles. As Scott begins to walk out the door, she stops him. "Hey." He turns around and looks at her. "I love you, Scott Summers."
Scott smiles and blows a kiss to his beautiful girlfriend.
"Jean, come to Cerebro."
Xavier's mental message is received loud and clear by Jean's mind. She looks up from her work and notices that is nearly 5:00. She had completely lost track of the time. It seemed like on minutes ago Scott had been in there with her. She removes her glasses from her face and rubs her eyes.
She stands up and takes her hair down and runs her fingers through it. It might as well had been down to begin with, but she pulls it into a tight bun and takes off her lab coat and proceeds out the door of the lab.
She walks down the cold and sterile hall of the Mansions lower levels down towards Cerebro. Its blue retinal light is a relief to the cold metal around her. Ever since she used it to locate Rogue, she has been trying to avoid it. Although she thought she was ready, she couldn't possibly understand the strain the machine would put on her.
She leans down towards the eye of Cerebro as it scans her retina and unlocks.
"Welcome Jean."
Jean walks down to the extended ramp where Xavier sits in his wheel chair smiling.
"Ah, I see you had no trouble receiving my command," Xavier states proudly.
Jean smiles.
Xavier continues, "I brought you in here because it has been a few weeks since last you came into this room. Since you were able to use it and find Magneto, I was thinking it is finally time that we imprint your psionic structure into the machine so that you will be able to use it whenever necessary."
Jean shifts nervously. "Professor, I am so glad that you are allowing me this responsibility, but could it...wait...for a little while?"
Xavier, puzzled, looks up at Jean. "Why?" he asks. "Before you were anxious to use the machine. I imagine that after you have used it, this would be delightful."
"Oh, It is Charles," Jean begins, "but I promised Scott that he and I would go out to Westchester for dinner in an hour."
Xavier chuckles. "It will only take a minute to record your imprint. We'd be done in no time."
Jean, a small smile building on her face, leans down and looks directly at Charles. "I am a woman, you know. We need time to get ready. I need to shower, fix my hair, pick out an outfit, put on my face..."
"Alright, alright..." Xavier says with a smile. "Go. Have fun."
Jean Grey flashes her million-dollar smile and turns to walk out. She turns back to Xavier. "Don't wait up on us."
Scott leans his back against the Silver Jaguar and sighs. He looks at his watch. It is 6:15 and still no sign of Jean. He then looks over his outfit he chose to wear tonight, black pants, white shirt...he even pulled out the tie for tonight. Jean had been working so much that he wanted this night to be special for her. Tonight he was willing to do whatever it took to make his fiance happy.
"Don't you know a girl has to be fashionably late from time to time," Jean says as she walks through the garage door.
Scott turns and looks at her. She has to be the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life. She is wearing a deep navy dress with a slit up the right side, strapless with a small velvet jacket to put on in case she catches a chill. Her hair is brushed to the side, up with dangling curls. Her eyes shimmering in the light. He is absolutely awestruck by the beauty before his eyes.
"Well," Jean begins jokingly, "Are you just gonna stand there and stare?"
"I...I'm sorry, Jean," Scott apologizes. "My mind must have been somewhere else."
Jean giggles. "Where? The gutter?"
Scott smiles and walks over and takes Jean arm. "May I escort you to your chariot, my lady?"
"Why thank you." Jean replies. "Ooh la la...we're taking the Jag."
"Anything and everything for you, my darling," Scott says. "Tonight, we are letting our cares and worries disappear. Tonight, we are not Jean and Scott, the X-Men. Tonight, we are just Jean and Scott."
Jean smiles as Scott lifts her hand and kisses it. She feels so treasured right now, with the man she loves. And tonight, she is going to know just how important that love is...
