A TWIST OF FATE
Chapter Five
Jean's alarm woke her up earlier than what she wanted. She turned around to shut it off.
She half expected to see Scott in the bed next to her. She smiled, that had been years ago and at that time it had become normal for her to cuddle up next to Scott in the early hours of the morning. It wasn't like that anymore though, and it had been days since their nightly encounter.
They had talked on and off during the days that followed, but it was just awkward and Scott knew of her doubts. He wanted something from her that she couldn't give him. He wanted something that she didn't have room for in her life.
She stretched her arms and clutched the sheet around her bare body. She wrapped the sheet around her as she got up to open her blinds letting the early morning sunlight shine through.
She decided it was a good idea to jump in the shower before anyone else. She hadn't been here in a while, but she still remembered what it was like to take a shower after everyone else. During the rebuilding construction of the Mansion, years back, Xavier had the workers install a large water heater, it was a good call on his part.
This morning her mind had been preoccupied on what had happened days before. For some reason she just couldn't get her mind off it.
It had felt incredible and completely right. She thought at first that it should feel that way. Because it was right and it had been right years ago it had. But that time had passed, and now, now it was a mistake.
That's what she planned to tell Scott anyway.
She wrapped herself in a purple silk robe and walked the few paces back to her room to dress.
She picked out a few items out of her dresser and loosened the robe as it fell to the floor. After dressing in her underwear Jean pulled on a pair of denim short waist blue jeans and pulled the short red top over her head and slipped it unto her arms.
She briefly brushed through her hair before tying it up in a ponytail. She examined herself in the full length mirror hanging on the back of her door.
She brushed a hand through her bangs, fluffing them up. Her eyes drifted down to her waist where there was a small hardly noticeable scar. She traced her hand along the line of the scar. At one time there were abrasions, but it had been healing good over the past few years and now it was like is was drifting into her skin. In a few months it would be completely minimized and probably gone.
Jean shook her head, but even if the physical reminder would be gone unfortunately it was forever etched in her mind, always fading, but always still as clear as day.
It was a scar deep in her mind that she would never forget yet couldn't bring herself to remember. Either way, it would always be in her mind, the hurt and the pain, would always be with her, she would always carry the wound that had been inflicted mentally. She always wanted to remember, because to forget would be to lose hold, on something so precious to her, something so close to her heart, that she never wanted to let it go.
She shut her eyes remembering the day that plunged her life into a forever pool of hurt and pain. The day that everything changed. The day the ended the best years of her life. She didn't want to remember, but she always did.
She knew that she could never forget. She would never forget what he did. She hated him even more knowing that she would never forget what he took from her life.
Flashback
Jean stirred. Her head hurt and felt heavy. Her first intention was to run a hand to her forehead. But her hand wouldn't move. Jean blinked back her eyes, clearing her blurry vision. She looked down towards her arm and noticed her arm was strapped down. She was strapped down to a table. But someone had lifted the table up, she shifted trying to loose her hands. It was of no use. Jean couldn't move. Someone had gone through all the trouble of making sure she couldn't get loose. But perhaps that someone didn't know she was a mutant. Jean tried to use her telekinesis to loosen her bonds, but her mind was still weak. And Jean noticed she couldn't even lift a flowerpot with the level her TK was on right now.
Jean tried to shut her eyes and remember what happened to her. But she couldn't. All she knew was that her head hurt like hell. She tried moving her neck, she could move it, but someone had attached some kind of collar on it. So of course, moving her head was uncomfortable.
Jean groaned and shifted uncomfortably.
"Uh, you're up. I was wondering when you'd wake."
Jean's eyes darted to the location of the male voice. He's voice was deep and harsh. She wouldn't doubt for an instant that he wasn't good. She squinted her eyes, But everything was so dark around her, all she could see was the shadows.
"Wh-Where am I?" Jean asked instead.
"In a lab, far away from civilization."
Jean couldn't understand what anyone would want with her. But than she couldn't remember the past few days.
"Why?" Was all Jean could gasp out.
"Why what My dear? Why here? Why you?"
Jean just nodded hoping the man could see her.
"I have waited many years for you." The man said walking a little closer to her, but he remained in the shadows.
"But-what have I done?"
"You have done nothing wrong. It isn't you."
Jean was having a hard time understanding.
"Than what?"
"You're a mutant are you not?"
"Wow thanks for shedding some light on that for me." Jean said sarcastically.
The man ignored her comment.
"Don't bother using your powers to try and free yourself. It would be of no avail. That collar I placed on your neck prevents your special 'X-gene' as they call it, from flowing into your bloodstream, therefore preventing you of use of your powers, Miss Grey."
Jean was shocked, how did he know her?
"How do you know my name?"
"Ha, believe me Miss Grey, I know all about you." The man replied not answering the question in it's entirety.
"Can I at least get your name?" Jean asked, knowing she'd have to be satisfied with the answer he had given her.
The man seemed to know a lot about her. Normally this would have frightened her. But for some reason she didn't seem frightened. Just angry at the man for kidnapping her, and than of course bonding her. But than again, Jean wasn't so sure if she had been kidnapped.
"For now, Miss Grey, you may call me a friend."
"If you're such a friend, than why do you cower in the shadows? I hope you're not afraid of me?"
The man chuckled. "Ha, no of course not. I'd just like to remain anonymous until the rest of my plan is complete."
"The rest of your plan?" Jean repeated. "I'm part of your plan?" Jean asked feeling the anger rise within her. She hated being used.
"Well, you're one half of it."
"One half? What do you mean?"
"I mean what I mean Miss Grey. You're one half of my plan."
Jean glared at him, not knowing if he saw her or not.
"You do know my friends will search for me? They'll find you."
"Ha, ha, will they?"
Jean gave him a puzzled look.
"Your friends will come looking, I guarantee that. But they will not find me, oh no, on the contrary my dear, they'll find you…" He paused before continuing, "But how can they save a dead woman?"
Jean felt her heart beat harder at the notion of death.
"What- What do you mean?"
"You'll be long gone by the time your friends find this place."
"But-they'll-how…."
Jean's voice trailed off as she came to terms with the reality of the situation.
"Scott will come looking for me!" Jean shouted at him.
"Is that a threat Miss Grey? Because believe me, I look forward to his coming."
Jean just wasn't understanding any of what he was saying.
"Please you have to let me go. You don't want to leave me here."
There was a pause in which Jean hoped he was considering freeing her. But unfortunately he had not thought all that hard on it.
"Shhhh….hush now. You need your rest." He walked towards the door and Jean had to assume he had it opened because a splinter of light flooded across the cell.
"No I don't! Please! Tell Me what I'm doing here!" Jean pleaded.
The man hesitated, thinking, she heard ruffling and than the door slammed shut as the man changed his mind.
Jean remembered only blackness then for a time, until the man came to talk to her a second time.
"Alright," He said, "I spoke to one of my acquaintances… And he told me that the preparation is ready and that I can now proceed with my plan."
"What do you want?"
He smiled.
"What I want is you. I believe we've been through this already."
"But why?"
"Why?" He walked closer to Jean.
Finally Jean was able to see his face. It was very pale and hideous. His eyes were colored blood red and black markings ran across his cheeks and forehead. His thin lips were colored a deep red and formed into an evil smiled as he saw the reaction on her face.
"Ah yes, my typical reaction."
"W-What are you?"
"Now, now Miss Grey, Is it that hard to believe that someone like me exists? Surly, you've seen mutants more hideous than I."
Jean remained silent.
"Ah giving me the silent treatment are we?"
"I suppose it's alright if I give you my name." He traced a cold pale finger across Jean's cheek.
"Nathaniel Essex. Well that was my name… a few centuries ago. But now, well, you may call me Sinister."
"Sinister?"
"Ha, that's right. You catch on fast. Of course I myself am not a mutant. Ha, no. I was created, transformed, into who I am today."
"But what-why are you doing this! What do you want from me!"
"I am a scientist Miss Grey, I only want what all scientist's do."
"What?" Jean was almost afraid to ask.
"DNA, Genetics, Human bodily tissues, vaccinations, anything… including blood."
Jean's eyes widened. "W-What?"
Sinister grabbed a knife off the table to his side.
"From your blood I can attain your DNA."
"But why? Why mine?" She asked frightened and confused.
"Because Miss Grey, your mutant powers have a huge potential. You see you have the potential to become a very powerful mutant. But you see the future for mutants isn't looking all that bright, and you are one of the very few mutants whose powers have the potential to make them very powerful, you are liabilities for the future. I picked you my dear, because you are at the top of that list. You are of course perhaps the only mutant as of now, to have so much potential. Obviously that power and potential must run in your DNA, your blood. Your offspring will inherit those genes, that potential."
Jean struggled with the restraints placed across her arms and legs pinning them to the standing table. "What are you going to do to me?"
He traced the knife from her cheeks and coursed the blade down her body slowly.
"Please don't do this."
"My dear, I am a scientist this is what I do. With you blood and that of another mutant like yourself, I can created the ultimate mutant! The mutant to start the war, and the mutant to end it!"
"Why do you want to kill me?"
"Well I'll have to. You see once I extract your DNA through your blood you'll be forced to have to die a slow and painful death."
The blade came to rest on her abdomen.
"But perhaps I can just extract the DNA from your unborn child, after all it is Grey-Summers DNA, isn't it?" Jean remained silent obviously shocked that he knew.
Sinister continued, "Well so I'm told. What do you think?"
"Please…No…"
"Ah… but why not? Do you realize the future potential of this child? Think of the potential for evil!"
"But why now! Why this way?" Jean pleaded.
"Because I have waited for this opportunity for years, why wait any longer?"
"What do you think you're going to accomplish by extracting my DNA?"
"Uh, not your DNA. I want the DNA from your baby to be exact. I can than used it to create a whole army of powerful mutants."
"How are you going to do that?"
"No, No it's nothing like what you think., I'm going to clone her. Cloning to me is a much more effective method, you see it's faster and brings the same results; strong healthy babies which I can than rapidly age progress into a young adult in the matter of an hour. You see it's much simpler that way."
"So okay, once you get what you want, What's going to happen to me?"
"Well I believe you have a good idea of your fate, but I'll fill you in. Once my extraction is complete I'll have no further need for you or the child."
Sinister held up the knife in his hand Jean squinted as the light bounced off of the shiny blade.
"Have you ever heard of the legacy virus?" He asked setting down the knife and picking up a cylinder canister from the small tray sitting to his left.
"The what?"
"It's a very rare incurable highly lethal genetic disease, that proves very fatal to homo sapiens with mutagenic DNA."
"In other words it targets only mutants?"
"Yes it is attracted to your genetic molecular structure, because of this it affects only mutants and no one else."
"So you're going to kill me?"
"I don't believe I stuttered, of course I am. Just so you know You'll begin to feel it's effects almost immediately as it slowly flows throughout your bodily system. Little by little the virus will eat away at your flesh and leave in its place pure organic steel. Until finally it reaches your heart and painfully eat away until your heart is left hard, cold and motionless. I'm afraid the whole procedure is extremely painfully slow, by the time it's entered until the time it's finished you'll be wishing for death."
"What's going to happen to my baby?"
"My dear by infecting it directly your baby will be the first thing the virus comes in contact with."
"You bastard! Go to hell!" Jean shouted tears running down her face.
An angry scowl erupted on his face. He grabbed Jean's face with his hand. Jean tried to free herself but his grip on her was tight.
Sinister's red eyes glared. "Suppose I take you with me?"
Jean glared at him, she spit on his face and he pulled back dropping the knife.
He wiped his face with the back of his hand.
"A feisty girl, you're more trouble than I interpreted you would be."
"Get used to it." Jean's said eyes flaring.
"Indeed." Sinister grabbed the knife off the floor. He held it upright in his hand. It glinted off the lights as he stared at it.
"The normal way to go about this is to stick a needle in your arm and suck your blood up from it. It is a fast and merely painful procedure.. But with this procedure I think I'll try something a little different."
"Do whatever you have to, to me, But leave my baby alone."
"Aw how sweet. But I'm afraid I can't do that. However I will promise you that your baby will suffer none. On the other hand, you my dear, will suffer greatly."
Sinister walked close to Jean. He traced the knife around her face.
"You are such a pretty girl. I hate to do this to you."
"No you don't. A being such as yourself cannot hold such remorse."
Sinister's eyes flashed but the moment passed as he suppressed his anger.
"Is that so?"
"How could it not be? You're all alike, evil and cold hearted. You cannot feel a single thing."
"I'm not like the rest! I'm a scientist!" Sinister shouted pushing the knife closer to her chest, but not hard enough to pierce her skin.
"I am a scientist, Miss Grey." Sinister repeated calmer. He traced the knife slowly down from her chest.
"You may think that but you're all the same."
"Keep it up girl, and you'll grant yourself an early death warrant."
"I do not fear death and I sure as hell don't fear you!"
"You're courageous I'll give you that. But lets see how long your fearlessness lasts."
Sinister traced the knife down her body and rested it at her mid section.
"You know a girl like you must be frightened of something."
"I have my fears."
"Is that so? Care to share my dear?"
"I'd rather not, especially with you."
"Well don't worry much longer child, we're almost finished. I just have to extract the DNA from your child, and I'll leave you alone to suffer."
"You're one sick bastard, you know that?" Jean shouted her teeth clenched from the pain.
"On the contrary my dear, I am merely a scientist doing his job."
Jean face stung as her tears merged with the open cuts on her face.
Her eyes blazed as tears filled them. Her face became angry and she clenched her teeth.
"I swear to god if you hurt me I'll—
"You'll do what? Kill me? Of course you can't. You'll be long dead by that time and so will your baby."
Jean felt the heat rising in her chest, her anger, she was so angry that someone could do this.
"Oh how I wish I could hurt you right now, You slimy, cold hearted, evil, son of a-
Sinister's eyes glared and he could no longer contain his anger.
"I will not give you the pleasure of finishing that sentence!"
He pressed the blade against Jean's abdomen hard enough to puncture the skin.
Jean face coiled up in pain and she held her breath until he withdrew the blade.
He picked up the canister and opened the lid.
"By exposing the virus into the atmosphere in this room it will be drawn to your mutant DNA and infect you through your open wound. You see it can't do anything to harm me."
At that moment, Jean felt useless. She couldn't do anything to stop him. And that made it hurt worse.
It was a long memory but flashed in Jean's mind for mere seconds.
She shook her head trying to shake it away. It lingered in her head faint and distant, but she could remember it as clear as if it were just yesterday.
But it hadn't been yesterday, it had been years ago, and just by remembering, it hurt her. She still wasn't ready to face all that. It was an emotionally open wound that would probably never heal, unlike her physical wound, Hank had healed it up real well.
Jean turned away from the mirror and dismissed her thoughts. She couldn't live caught up in all that, but there was something she had to do, someone she had to talk to.
"Warren! It's about time you made it here!" Kitty exclaimed running out to greet him.
"Hey." Warren paid the limo driver as he unpacked his luggage from the trunk, before the limo drove out.
"So like how are you?" She asked.
"I can't complain." He shrugged.
"Is there a place I can put these?" He asked motioning towards the suitcases in his hand.
"Oh yeah, like, follow me." Kitty phased through the double doors.
Warren stopped dead in his tracks. "I'm kidding." Kitty said reappearing and phasing a surprised Warren in with her.
"You're room is straight up the stairs and two doors to the right, I assume you're sharing a room with Jean?" Kitty asked once they entered the foyer.
Warren shrugged, "Ah yeah I guess so."
"Like have fun." Kitty said beginning to leave.
"Hey, is Jean around?" Warren asked stopping her.
"Like, I think she's around here somewhere." She said looking around the room.
"Okay, thanks."
"Oh hey and ah, like you might want to give her some space. Being here is kinda bringing up some repressed memories for her."
"Yeah, I understand, but everyone's gotta face their demons sometime."
"I know, it's just, like, I think maybe Jean needs some time alone, to talk to Scott."
"I can understand why she might want time alone, but are you sure she needs time with Scott?"
"Look Warren, Jean's loves you. She's marrying you. But she does have some issues with Scott. With everything that they've been through, and like, everything that's happened, I would think you'd understand."
Warren scratched the back of his neck and frowned.. "Yeah, Yeah, I do. Is she with him now?"
Kitty shrugged.
Jean sat in the kitchen looking out the window at the Mansion's gardens. She remembered many years when she would walk out and sit on a bench let the wind ruffle her hair, as the scent of all the flowers filled her with a sense of peace.
But now the gardens held much more meaning to her than that. Whether it was still the sense of peace she didn't know. She hadn't been out there for two years at the most, whereas the gardens used to be the first place she'd go now it'd seemed to be the only area of the mansion she tried to avoid with good reason of course.
She felt arms wrap around her shoulders.
"Hey."
Jean turned around. "Warren!" She exclaimed. She stood up to hug him.
"I'm so glad you're here!"
"Me too."
"I've missed you." She sighed before kissing him.
"Wow, maybe I should leave more often." He said with a smile after they parted.
"Please don't." Jean said sitting down again.
"Well I won't. I shouldn't anyway at least not until a few weeks." He answered as he sat down opposite her.
"So, what are you doing?"
"I was just thinking." She said gaze drifting back to the window.
Warren watched her gaze and looked out to the gardens as well. "Have you been out there at all?"
Jean shook her head. "I've been trying to conjure up the strength to walk out there. I guess maybe I'm afraid of my reaction. I mean I thought everything was behind me but coming back here, everything just brings up a memory from my last year here and it's never a good one. I never thought I'd have to face my demons so close up and personal."
Warren reached across the table to place a hand on hers. "Look if you don't want to get married here, just say the word."
"No, No, I do. Besides by than I'm hoping all of this will be completely behind me."
Warren withdrew his hand. "So have you talked to Scott at all?"
"Yeah, a little. He was avoiding me or maybe it was the other way around. I don't know, I mean for years I loved him and than everything just crumbles like a house of cards. I mean with everything we had to go through, the death, than the repercussions, we were fighting all the time, we were hurting, it was pure hell. I guess neither one of us knows how to comeback after something so devastating."
"Well I think that before we leave here, you should spend more time with him. Working on sorting things out."
"Really?"
Warren nodded. "Yeah, Obviously you haven't quite moved past everything, I just want to see you truly happy, and I more than anyone would love for your pain to go away. But sometimes the only way for that to happen is to face your demons head on."
"I know, but it's so hard. I'm trying to avoid facing my past but it's jeopardizing my future."
"I can tell you one thing Jean, I know what happened you've told me. I believe that maybe you have a lot bottled up. Whether it be emotions, or feelings I don't know. But what I do know is that Scott is probably the only one who can help you to release them."
"So you're encouraging me to talk to him?"
"Look, Jean I know it's a little different for your fiancée to be encouraging you to talk to your Ex with whom, at one time, you shared a lot of love and lot of history, but I don't feel threatened by him. I know you love me, you want to marry me. I wouldn't do it if I didn't truly trust you. And I believe you guys need to work through this amongst each other. You can't solve anything through outside sources, this is something you need to sort through with him."
She sighed and couldn't help but feel guilty. Great, Warren was being completely understanding about this whole mess. And it was a mess, a mess more complicated by what she did the other night. She knew she needed to tell Warren the truth. Otherwise she'd be betraying his trust. She just couldn't bring herself to tell him.
"Mahn this totally sucks!"
"What sucks?" Kitty asked looking up from her place of lounging in the living room.
Rogue flipped through channels on the TV. "Nothin'. The Weather Channel's just reportin' that it's supposed ta rahn on Sunday."
"Like, yeah so?"
"Well that's the day we gotta hitch a ride ta New York. And if it's rahning we'll probably have to wait it out a day or two."
"Well I think it's like a good thing."
"Yeah but you actually wanted to come. Ah can't wait till I can get away from Remy."
"You two like havin' a fight?"
"Well he just doesn't get the fact that Ah'm totally not interested. He follows me around like a little pest always showin' off."
"Well I for one think it's sweet."
"Yeah well you weren't tryin' ta take a shower this mornin' with Remy consistently makin' quirks 'bout how we'd have so much fun in the shower together, or how it won't hurt if I kiss him."
Kitty laughed. "Like he actually walked in the bathroom with you in it?"
"Well no, Ah had a towel on. But Ah had to practically threaten to touch him and use his power against himself, just so he'd leave."
"Like, C'mon Rogue cheer up, I mean the guy's like totally crushing on you."
Rogue stood up, "Yeah, whatever." She tossed the remote on the couch next to Kitty. "Ah'm oughta here. Ah'm gonna go get some fresh air 'fore the rahn sets in."
"You'd think with all the time we've been together, she'd actually seem to change, but nope, she's like the same old Rogue from day one."
Kitty whispered to herself flipping the channel until it settled on The Young and the Restless.
Kitty smiled satisfied with her choice and set the remote down on the couch next to her. She sat in complete silence enjoying her privacy. She figured it would be about 20 minutes until someone walked in looking to disturb her for some reason. And sure enough 25 minutes gone by and someone disturbed her.
"Hey Kitty, you haven't Scott around have you?" Jean asked as she and Warren walked in hand in hand.
"Like, no I don't think so. You might wanna like try outside I think he want out there with Logan."
"For a training session?"
"No, I think they're like gonna go wash the cars."
"Thanks."
Kitty nodded.
Jean parted her hand from Warrens' and walked out the large glass double doors.
Kitty looked up at Warren. "You're like gonna go let her talk to him, alone?"
"Well ya know, you were right." Warren sighed sitting next to her.
"Well that's like cool, I mean it's not everyday somebody takes my advice."
"Just to let you know, as much as I believe you were right, I still don't know if it was
a good thing."
"Like, don't fret it, Scott and Jean are adults, I think they understand where their boundaries lie."
Warren shook his head, looking at the TV, but Kitty could tell his mind was wondering.
Well this chapter you finally found out what happened! Sorta. Well, you know what happened to Jean with her flashback. And next chapter we have a flashback from Scott coming up as Jean confronts him about that night they shared together. And we'll find out what the tragedy was, or at least we'll found out how the tragedy played out. Those of you who've read this before, it's the same thing. But I'm leading to a point where we'll deal with the aftermath of the tragedy and we'll get a peek into Scott and Jean's psyche and kinda figure out where they're coming from.
So...clickity-click on the button to your right!