Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I making any money from, the X-Men movie-
verse. Duncan and Hana belong to Corrinth, as does Ilehana Xavier should
she be mentioned. Star owns Golan, should he be mentioned too. All other
OCs belong to me, especially Blaze and Jessie.
A/N: Post X2 spoilers, and spoilers for Corrinth's Guardians of Destiny, which incidentally is excellent so go read it! Reviews always appreciated.
Scene 03
The phone rang. A stressed out school secretary dealing with a pack of unruly school children at the hatch asked one of the more responsible kids to answer it for her and take the message. That was all it took for Jessie's world to come tumbling down around her.
"Good morning, Eastville School, Mimi speaking how can I help you?"
"Oh, good morning it's Dr McMahon here, ringing on behalf of Jessie Price's parents. They have asked me to update the school with regards to certain tests Jessie has had done with us. Am I cleared to speak with you about this?"
Mimi thought for a moment, glancing round the office, but the secretary had been called away again. Well, she had told her to take the message.
"Yes, of course."
"Right, good. Now as you know Jessie was referred to us after slight unusual discolouration was noticed in her eyes. The tests we have completed imply that the discolouration will continue and accelerate both on the exterior and interior of her eyes, eventually destroying Jessie's vision. It is likely to be a genetic trait, am I to understand Jessica does not know she was adopted?"
"No, she doesn't." Mimi could answer with certainty, Jessie was in her class, and if she'd ever said anything about being adopted Mimi would have remembered. Mimi wouldn't have let goody-two-shoes Jess forget either.
"Well it may well be an inherited disease. Or, possibly, we are looking at the early stages of a mutation..."
"Jessie's a mutant! The freak!" Mimi slapped a hand over her mouth as she realised she'd blown her cover. As the man on the other end of the phone frantically asked whom he was speaking to again, Mimi slammed the phone down and ran to find her classmates.
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"Hey Jess?" Mimi whispered frantically below the teacher's monotone droning. The girl three desks away diagonally ignored the school bully's whispering and tried to concentrate on what the class teacher was saying. "Jess, it true you were adopted?"
"No!" Jess turned in her seat and spat the word back at the bully. Mimi pretended to be both shocked and concerned.
"Really? Only there was this guy on the phone before, Dr McMahon, and he told me you were?"
"Quiet please, girls." The teacher droned as he completely lost the attention of the class, all of who were now avidly listening in to Mimi and Jess' exchange. Jessie panicked slightly, she hadn't told anyone apart from Kerry and Mia about going to the specialist. How had Mimi found out?
"What else did he tell you?" Jessie asked, trying to make her voice sound incredulous and not frightened.
"That you're going blind." Mimi spat at her rival. "That your eyes are breaking down and you won't be able to see at all soon." Jessie froze, if Mimi knew that then maybe she had spoken to Dr McMahon?
"Don't be a freak Mimi." Kerry turned in her chair besides Jessie and growled at the bossy girl. "Jess has got nothin' wrong with her. You're the one with the problems girl!"
"Kerry-Anne Stewart I will report you to the Principal." The teacher warned, but was ignored. Mia rose from her seat across the room and went to stand in support of Jess. But everyone else in the class seemed to side with Mimi, leaning over their desks and staring at Jessie as if she had grown an extra head.
"I know other stuff too." Mimi folded her arms across her chest, enjoying the spotlight. "You're a freakin' mutant, girl. Bet your real parents gave you up coz of it. Bet that's why you were adopted, coz there's something wrong with you."
"No! You're wrong! I'm not adopted and I'm not a mutant!" Jessie stood up suddenly, throwing her chair backwards and scaring her two friends. Her arms were ramrod straight by her sides, fists clenched in anger. "It can't be true! It can't!" And she ran from the classroom, fuming.
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"Jessie, sweetie, let me in?" Her Mom crooned outside the door. Jess leant back against the door harder, bracing herself with her feet against the bottom of the bed. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. Could it? Had everything she had ever believed in been a lie?
"Jessie," Her Dad was speaking sternly for maybe the first time in his life. "Move away from the door. We need to talk to you."
"No!" Jessie screamed, tears welling up in her throat. They weren't her parents, who cared what they said? But if they weren't her parents, who was? Her mind flashed back to the expressions on Mia and Kerry's faces when she had run from school. Did her best friends hate her? Had they thought she was a freakin' mutant? There weren't any mutants at Eastville School, Jessie was sure. But if she was one, then it was a bad thing. Mutants couldn't play sports for school teams, couldn't sit in an exam hall with other students in case they used telepathy to steal the answers... But she wasn't a mutant; she just had bad eyes. And she wasn't adopted either, or she would have been told by now...
"Jessie please?" Her Mom pleaded, "School's phoned us, we know what happened. Mimi shouldn't have been allowed to answer the phone, especially not unsupervised."
"So she was telling the truth!" Jess screamed back through the wooden door, "Not only am I goin' blind, I'm adopted and I'm a stinkin' mutant not even my own mother loved!"
"Jessie your mother and I love you very much..."
"You are not my parents!" What was happening to her hands? Jessica sobbed harder, looked like Mimi was right after all, damn it! She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets, refusing to look at them as they turned blacker than night.
"Jessie..." Her Mom's voice gain, tearful by the tone. "We were always going to tell you. We've had you since you were nearly five months old..."
"Why? You thought it'd be cool to have a mutant kid? Well it ain't exactly the latest trend at school!"
"We don't know you're a mutant Jessie! That's just speculation!" Her Mom screeched back. Jessie pulled her hands back out of her pockets, scoffing that anyone could speculate what she was doing now was normal...
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"What d'problem, Cherie?" Gambit came into the briefing room in a good mood. He'd been stuck in this joint too long, 'bout time Logan stopped hoggin' all the action, Guardian or no Guardian.
"Using Cerebro I have detected a new mutant signature in California." Jean Summers answered, eyes still distracted by the power the Cerebro machine offered telepaths. "She seems both powerful and very, very scared..."
"Not always a good combination." Remy agreed, glancing from Jean to her team leader husband Scott.
"Check it out and see what you think, Gambit." Cyclops ordered. "If the parents are willing we may be able to help."
"Gambit on recruitin' duty then?" He was disappointed, dreams of some serious action gone.
"Yeah, so no screwing things up okay?" Scott less than half teased. Remy nodded, taking the directions from Jean and heading back out the briefing room door.
A/N: Post X2 spoilers, and spoilers for Corrinth's Guardians of Destiny, which incidentally is excellent so go read it! Reviews always appreciated.
Scene 03
The phone rang. A stressed out school secretary dealing with a pack of unruly school children at the hatch asked one of the more responsible kids to answer it for her and take the message. That was all it took for Jessie's world to come tumbling down around her.
"Good morning, Eastville School, Mimi speaking how can I help you?"
"Oh, good morning it's Dr McMahon here, ringing on behalf of Jessie Price's parents. They have asked me to update the school with regards to certain tests Jessie has had done with us. Am I cleared to speak with you about this?"
Mimi thought for a moment, glancing round the office, but the secretary had been called away again. Well, she had told her to take the message.
"Yes, of course."
"Right, good. Now as you know Jessie was referred to us after slight unusual discolouration was noticed in her eyes. The tests we have completed imply that the discolouration will continue and accelerate both on the exterior and interior of her eyes, eventually destroying Jessie's vision. It is likely to be a genetic trait, am I to understand Jessica does not know she was adopted?"
"No, she doesn't." Mimi could answer with certainty, Jessie was in her class, and if she'd ever said anything about being adopted Mimi would have remembered. Mimi wouldn't have let goody-two-shoes Jess forget either.
"Well it may well be an inherited disease. Or, possibly, we are looking at the early stages of a mutation..."
"Jessie's a mutant! The freak!" Mimi slapped a hand over her mouth as she realised she'd blown her cover. As the man on the other end of the phone frantically asked whom he was speaking to again, Mimi slammed the phone down and ran to find her classmates.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Hey Jess?" Mimi whispered frantically below the teacher's monotone droning. The girl three desks away diagonally ignored the school bully's whispering and tried to concentrate on what the class teacher was saying. "Jess, it true you were adopted?"
"No!" Jess turned in her seat and spat the word back at the bully. Mimi pretended to be both shocked and concerned.
"Really? Only there was this guy on the phone before, Dr McMahon, and he told me you were?"
"Quiet please, girls." The teacher droned as he completely lost the attention of the class, all of who were now avidly listening in to Mimi and Jess' exchange. Jessie panicked slightly, she hadn't told anyone apart from Kerry and Mia about going to the specialist. How had Mimi found out?
"What else did he tell you?" Jessie asked, trying to make her voice sound incredulous and not frightened.
"That you're going blind." Mimi spat at her rival. "That your eyes are breaking down and you won't be able to see at all soon." Jessie froze, if Mimi knew that then maybe she had spoken to Dr McMahon?
"Don't be a freak Mimi." Kerry turned in her chair besides Jessie and growled at the bossy girl. "Jess has got nothin' wrong with her. You're the one with the problems girl!"
"Kerry-Anne Stewart I will report you to the Principal." The teacher warned, but was ignored. Mia rose from her seat across the room and went to stand in support of Jess. But everyone else in the class seemed to side with Mimi, leaning over their desks and staring at Jessie as if she had grown an extra head.
"I know other stuff too." Mimi folded her arms across her chest, enjoying the spotlight. "You're a freakin' mutant, girl. Bet your real parents gave you up coz of it. Bet that's why you were adopted, coz there's something wrong with you."
"No! You're wrong! I'm not adopted and I'm not a mutant!" Jessie stood up suddenly, throwing her chair backwards and scaring her two friends. Her arms were ramrod straight by her sides, fists clenched in anger. "It can't be true! It can't!" And she ran from the classroom, fuming.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Jessie, sweetie, let me in?" Her Mom crooned outside the door. Jess leant back against the door harder, bracing herself with her feet against the bottom of the bed. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. Could it? Had everything she had ever believed in been a lie?
"Jessie," Her Dad was speaking sternly for maybe the first time in his life. "Move away from the door. We need to talk to you."
"No!" Jessie screamed, tears welling up in her throat. They weren't her parents, who cared what they said? But if they weren't her parents, who was? Her mind flashed back to the expressions on Mia and Kerry's faces when she had run from school. Did her best friends hate her? Had they thought she was a freakin' mutant? There weren't any mutants at Eastville School, Jessie was sure. But if she was one, then it was a bad thing. Mutants couldn't play sports for school teams, couldn't sit in an exam hall with other students in case they used telepathy to steal the answers... But she wasn't a mutant; she just had bad eyes. And she wasn't adopted either, or she would have been told by now...
"Jessie please?" Her Mom pleaded, "School's phoned us, we know what happened. Mimi shouldn't have been allowed to answer the phone, especially not unsupervised."
"So she was telling the truth!" Jess screamed back through the wooden door, "Not only am I goin' blind, I'm adopted and I'm a stinkin' mutant not even my own mother loved!"
"Jessie your mother and I love you very much..."
"You are not my parents!" What was happening to her hands? Jessica sobbed harder, looked like Mimi was right after all, damn it! She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets, refusing to look at them as they turned blacker than night.
"Jessie..." Her Mom's voice gain, tearful by the tone. "We were always going to tell you. We've had you since you were nearly five months old..."
"Why? You thought it'd be cool to have a mutant kid? Well it ain't exactly the latest trend at school!"
"We don't know you're a mutant Jessie! That's just speculation!" Her Mom screeched back. Jessie pulled her hands back out of her pockets, scoffing that anyone could speculate what she was doing now was normal...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"What d'problem, Cherie?" Gambit came into the briefing room in a good mood. He'd been stuck in this joint too long, 'bout time Logan stopped hoggin' all the action, Guardian or no Guardian.
"Using Cerebro I have detected a new mutant signature in California." Jean Summers answered, eyes still distracted by the power the Cerebro machine offered telepaths. "She seems both powerful and very, very scared..."
"Not always a good combination." Remy agreed, glancing from Jean to her team leader husband Scott.
"Check it out and see what you think, Gambit." Cyclops ordered. "If the parents are willing we may be able to help."
"Gambit on recruitin' duty then?" He was disappointed, dreams of some serious action gone.
"Yeah, so no screwing things up okay?" Scott less than half teased. Remy nodded, taking the directions from Jean and heading back out the briefing room door.