Romana takes a deep breath as she stares at the door to Jean's room.
-What are you waiting for? You were afraid to tell Kurt about how you
blacked out when Selene attacked you on the Hill and didn't wake up till he
called your name.and now that there's someone who can help you remember,
you're terrified to!- With a determined shake of her head, Romana squares
her shoulders and lifts her hand to knock.
**Come in, Romana**
With an embarrassed grin on her face, Romana opens the door into Jean's room. "I guess that's how I make people feel when I give them answers to questions they're about to ask."
Jean laughs as she finishes putting the braid into her hair. "My fault.force of habit I guess. Most everyone is used to my telepathy by now, so sometimes I forget to talk out loud. Forgive the frumpy look, but I was going to head to the gym after we talked," she says as she gestures over her baggy gray sweat suit with the words 'Xavier University' printed on them. Romana smiles as she reads the words, and Jean giggles. "I know.I couldn't resist."
"I have never had a telepath dive into my mind before," Romana says as she looks at a picture on the wall of five kids in yellow and black jumpsuits standing around an older bald man in a wheelchair. "Is that." she starts as she notices the visor on one of the boys.
"Cyclops?" Jean asks as she comes up behind Romana to look at the picture. She laughs as she gazes fondly at the picture. "Yeah, that's Slim.that's also me, Bobby a.k.a Iceman, Hank before the fur, and Warren, he's called Angel."
"I wonder why," Romana says sarcastically as she traces the long expanse of white-feathered wings from his back. "And the man in the wheelchair?" she asks with an arched eyebrow.
"That would be Professor Xavier. He recruited us, goodness.has it been that long.over twenty years ago when he founded this school. He trained us, and we formed the X-Men as a way to help humanity and try to save other mutants. His powers of telepathy are unmatched on this planet as far as I know. He should be the one helping you right now," Jean says with an apologetic grin as she scratches the back of her neck. "Unfortunately, he is off in Washington D.C., once again trying to lobby for mutant rights."
"Personally, I'm just glad that you are willing to help me." Romana says as she turns from the picture to check out the rest of the room. "So.where do you want me?"
"First," Jean says as she scans the room and hurriedly picks up some dirty laundry off of her couch, "why don't you make yourself comfortable, and tell me what exactly you want me to look for."
"Well," Romana sighs as she sits back and is engulfed in the plushy blue couch, "ever since I can remember I have had these 'blackouts.' Sometimes it happens when I am really stressed out or in danger, and the other times it happens when I am hit with the energy."
"The energy? What do you mean?" Jean asks as she pulls up a chair behind Romana on the couch.
"I don't know.it seems to happen when people die. This green energy shoots out of them and hits me, and then I wake up again when it's over. It can't be everyone that dies, though." frustrated, Romana sits up and runs her fingers through her hair. "I mean, if I absorbed the energy from everyone who died, I'd be hit with this stuff almost all the time, wouldn't I?" she gestures into the air, and then drops her hands between her knees.
"So you want to know what happens to you when you blackout, and what this energy has to do with it?" Jean asks as she rests her arms on the back of the couch.
"Right."
"Then lay back and relax, and let the Marvel Girl do her work." Jean jokes as she rubs her hands together and then hovers them over each side of Romana's temples.
Romana relaxes, and Jean can feel the flow of Romana's thoughts and memories rushing into her mind. She can't help but smile at the feelings of love and friendship Romana has for Kurt, but quickly moves away from those thoughts. -Now is not the time to be nosy, Jean, leave the lovebirds alone-
She begins to rewind Romana's memories like videotape, until she reaches the point behind the church where Selene confronted her and Kurt. She sets the memories in motion again, and watches as someone is killed in the limousine and the green energy shoots out from them into Romana. -Let's see if I can follow the trail-
Jean focuses on the green energy and follows it as it shoots into Romana. While her body absorbs much of the energy, the core of it shoots directly into Romana's psyche. She zooms past various memories, as if she is traveling back in time. Jean tries her best to identify some of the memories as she goes:
-Romana stuffing books into a hole as Nazi soldiers walk by her window-
-Romana laughing in joy as she watches one of the first moving pictures -
-The weight of the rocks as the Inquisitor ties them to Romana's back-
-Romana and her family being ordered off a Duke's land by armored knights-
The memories come quicker now, until they all zoom past in a blur. Finally the energy stops as it zooms through a door, Jean's astral-self trying to follow, but thumping against it and falling to the ground instead. As she shakes her head and looks up at the door, she notices various runes around the edges and a large symbol carved into the middle of it, glowing with the energy.
-This is where the energy goes.I wonder what could have happened to Romana that the knowledge of it has to be locked at the root of her psyche? These runes seem magical in nature, but I'm not sure-
Jean runs her fingers over the intricately woven runes and comes to a handle. As she wraps her hand around it, however, words whisper into her mind and the rune in the middle of the door glows blindingly with energy and shoots out into Jean's astral form. The power of it forces her back, the memories going in fast forward now as she is ejected out of Romana's mind and slammed into hers. The blast is so strong that Jean is thrown back into her chair and falls onto the floor, dazed.
"Jean!" Romana exclaims as she quickly sits up and over the couch. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, Romana.serves me right for not having my shields up fully." Jean says as she rubs the back of her head. "I'm okay, but I think I am going to have one heck of a migraine coming on. I may skip that workout after all."
"Did you find anything that could help me?" Romana asks as she winces, preparing for the worst.
"All I can really tell is that it seems magical in nature. I found somewhere to start looking, but I want to check some things out before I can really tell you anything positive."
"Magical."Romana whispers as she bites her lip, a sad and worried look on her face.
"What's wrong?" asks Jean.
"Kurt, he.I'm sure you know this more than I, but he's been hurt a lot by magic in the past. Now that he finally seems happy, I don't want to scare him with the knowledge that I am being affected by a magical energy that's beyond my control."
Jean smiles with a sad look in her eyes as she says, "You know, I actually know what that feels like, being affected by an energy beyond your control, and the hell it put Scott through. Maybe someday I'll tell you why they don't call me Phoenix anymore."
"Thank you for everything, Jean." Romana says with a smile. "I'd love to hear about you and the X-Men someday. Please let me know if you find anything." Romana opens the door, and with a friendly wave she leaves.
"I will, Romana." Jean says with a wave as Romana leaves. -As soon as I can figure out what that voice was that I heard when the energy hit me, and what exactly it meant by "Now is not the time." Time for what? What will happen to Romana when it is time? -
**Come in, Romana**
With an embarrassed grin on her face, Romana opens the door into Jean's room. "I guess that's how I make people feel when I give them answers to questions they're about to ask."
Jean laughs as she finishes putting the braid into her hair. "My fault.force of habit I guess. Most everyone is used to my telepathy by now, so sometimes I forget to talk out loud. Forgive the frumpy look, but I was going to head to the gym after we talked," she says as she gestures over her baggy gray sweat suit with the words 'Xavier University' printed on them. Romana smiles as she reads the words, and Jean giggles. "I know.I couldn't resist."
"I have never had a telepath dive into my mind before," Romana says as she looks at a picture on the wall of five kids in yellow and black jumpsuits standing around an older bald man in a wheelchair. "Is that." she starts as she notices the visor on one of the boys.
"Cyclops?" Jean asks as she comes up behind Romana to look at the picture. She laughs as she gazes fondly at the picture. "Yeah, that's Slim.that's also me, Bobby a.k.a Iceman, Hank before the fur, and Warren, he's called Angel."
"I wonder why," Romana says sarcastically as she traces the long expanse of white-feathered wings from his back. "And the man in the wheelchair?" she asks with an arched eyebrow.
"That would be Professor Xavier. He recruited us, goodness.has it been that long.over twenty years ago when he founded this school. He trained us, and we formed the X-Men as a way to help humanity and try to save other mutants. His powers of telepathy are unmatched on this planet as far as I know. He should be the one helping you right now," Jean says with an apologetic grin as she scratches the back of her neck. "Unfortunately, he is off in Washington D.C., once again trying to lobby for mutant rights."
"Personally, I'm just glad that you are willing to help me." Romana says as she turns from the picture to check out the rest of the room. "So.where do you want me?"
"First," Jean says as she scans the room and hurriedly picks up some dirty laundry off of her couch, "why don't you make yourself comfortable, and tell me what exactly you want me to look for."
"Well," Romana sighs as she sits back and is engulfed in the plushy blue couch, "ever since I can remember I have had these 'blackouts.' Sometimes it happens when I am really stressed out or in danger, and the other times it happens when I am hit with the energy."
"The energy? What do you mean?" Jean asks as she pulls up a chair behind Romana on the couch.
"I don't know.it seems to happen when people die. This green energy shoots out of them and hits me, and then I wake up again when it's over. It can't be everyone that dies, though." frustrated, Romana sits up and runs her fingers through her hair. "I mean, if I absorbed the energy from everyone who died, I'd be hit with this stuff almost all the time, wouldn't I?" she gestures into the air, and then drops her hands between her knees.
"So you want to know what happens to you when you blackout, and what this energy has to do with it?" Jean asks as she rests her arms on the back of the couch.
"Right."
"Then lay back and relax, and let the Marvel Girl do her work." Jean jokes as she rubs her hands together and then hovers them over each side of Romana's temples.
Romana relaxes, and Jean can feel the flow of Romana's thoughts and memories rushing into her mind. She can't help but smile at the feelings of love and friendship Romana has for Kurt, but quickly moves away from those thoughts. -Now is not the time to be nosy, Jean, leave the lovebirds alone-
She begins to rewind Romana's memories like videotape, until she reaches the point behind the church where Selene confronted her and Kurt. She sets the memories in motion again, and watches as someone is killed in the limousine and the green energy shoots out from them into Romana. -Let's see if I can follow the trail-
Jean focuses on the green energy and follows it as it shoots into Romana. While her body absorbs much of the energy, the core of it shoots directly into Romana's psyche. She zooms past various memories, as if she is traveling back in time. Jean tries her best to identify some of the memories as she goes:
-Romana stuffing books into a hole as Nazi soldiers walk by her window-
-Romana laughing in joy as she watches one of the first moving pictures -
-The weight of the rocks as the Inquisitor ties them to Romana's back-
-Romana and her family being ordered off a Duke's land by armored knights-
The memories come quicker now, until they all zoom past in a blur. Finally the energy stops as it zooms through a door, Jean's astral-self trying to follow, but thumping against it and falling to the ground instead. As she shakes her head and looks up at the door, she notices various runes around the edges and a large symbol carved into the middle of it, glowing with the energy.
-This is where the energy goes.I wonder what could have happened to Romana that the knowledge of it has to be locked at the root of her psyche? These runes seem magical in nature, but I'm not sure-
Jean runs her fingers over the intricately woven runes and comes to a handle. As she wraps her hand around it, however, words whisper into her mind and the rune in the middle of the door glows blindingly with energy and shoots out into Jean's astral form. The power of it forces her back, the memories going in fast forward now as she is ejected out of Romana's mind and slammed into hers. The blast is so strong that Jean is thrown back into her chair and falls onto the floor, dazed.
"Jean!" Romana exclaims as she quickly sits up and over the couch. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, Romana.serves me right for not having my shields up fully." Jean says as she rubs the back of her head. "I'm okay, but I think I am going to have one heck of a migraine coming on. I may skip that workout after all."
"Did you find anything that could help me?" Romana asks as she winces, preparing for the worst.
"All I can really tell is that it seems magical in nature. I found somewhere to start looking, but I want to check some things out before I can really tell you anything positive."
"Magical."Romana whispers as she bites her lip, a sad and worried look on her face.
"What's wrong?" asks Jean.
"Kurt, he.I'm sure you know this more than I, but he's been hurt a lot by magic in the past. Now that he finally seems happy, I don't want to scare him with the knowledge that I am being affected by a magical energy that's beyond my control."
Jean smiles with a sad look in her eyes as she says, "You know, I actually know what that feels like, being affected by an energy beyond your control, and the hell it put Scott through. Maybe someday I'll tell you why they don't call me Phoenix anymore."
"Thank you for everything, Jean." Romana says with a smile. "I'd love to hear about you and the X-Men someday. Please let me know if you find anything." Romana opens the door, and with a friendly wave she leaves.
"I will, Romana." Jean says with a wave as Romana leaves. -As soon as I can figure out what that voice was that I heard when the energy hit me, and what exactly it meant by "Now is not the time." Time for what? What will happen to Romana when it is time? -