Child of Light and Darkness
~
Chapter Ten
"Can you feel it Jean? Can you feel the power running through your body? You must learn to overcome the feelings."
Jean could hear Jason talking to her telepathically. She understood what he was saying to her. She felt the power rushed everyday. Each day she understood they got stronger and more persistent. But she had to fight them, if she didn't the feelings would consume her.
"Yes I feel them, but if I overcome these feelings in the end they'll consume me."
"No. That is not true. You must give into them. You mustn't fight them any longer. It is your mutation, it is your destiny. By fighting them each day you lose more and more control, you must overcome them, give into your desires, Jean."
"No I can't. I won't."
"Yes you can. You must."
"No I can't. I can't do that!"
"You want help? I'm giving it to you. You want control? You can gain it! Stop fighting Jean! I know you feel the sensations the power rushes bring, I know how much the deep dark repressed part of you wants these sensations to last forever. You must give in!"
"But I-"
"You can gain peace and the relief you so badly want. Welcome those sensations, embrace your mutation and release you're ultimate potential as a mutant. Deep down you know it is the only way."
"I understand what you're telling me. But to give in now-I can't do it."
"Do you want release? Do you want freedom? Do you want to leave in this state forever?"
"No I don't."
"Than you know what to do. That it is the only way. Stop fighting. Embrace your mutation."
Mastermind could sense Jean's hesitation , But knew that she was considering what he was telling her with deep thought. It wouldn't be much longer now. Once Jean gave in, once she embraced her mutation, he could easily sway her into the side of evil. And with her devastating powers she would be a great asset to Apocalypse. She just needed a little persuasion.
Mastermind focused his powers unto Jean's emotions. If he could only make Jean believe she was feeling more sensation than she truly was, he knew than that she'd give in. The sensations were more than her mortal mind could take and her need for release was greater than she knew.
Jean could feel the sensations rising within her, she could barely contain her deep want of more. The power rushes were so persistent she could taste it. It was so much harder to fight it that it was to simply embrace her powers. She couldn't keep it up forever, sooner or later she'd have to give in. And sooner rather than later.
Jean concentrated on her feelings instead of fighting them, she let her defenses down and slowly welcomed them. She felt the power running through her veins changing her from the inside out. She felt more secure and free with each passing moment.
In a matter of seconds the transformation was over and Jean felt released of the binds that had bound her. Her mind felt clear and carefree, yet she knew it shouldn't feel that way.
"What happened? I feel free, relieved. I feel normal but yet somehow I feel different."
"As you should my dear, you have embraced your secondary mutation. You have welcomed your powers to run freely throughout your mind, body, and soul. And you are in control of it all. Go ahead, try your new powers."
Mastermind cast the illusion of fog in Jean's mind.
"Remember all you have to do is imagine it."
Jean hesitated, she concentrated on the fog, she envisioned it disappearing. With a simple thought Jean dispersed the fog.
"That's it! You're doing what you should! For and omega-level telepath like yourself that was hardly a strain on your mind. Go ahead, learn to use your powers, learn to control them, embrace them, welcome them! Feel the power running through your veins! Imagine it crawling through the deepest darkest place in your soul. I know you can feel it! Every tingle, every sensation! I know you lust for more! You must listen to your mind, concentrate on what you're feeling, let the power consume you until you've had your fill!"
Jean realized Jason was right. What she was feeling right now was so incredible! She wanted more! She wanted it so bad her soul ached! She needed it, she ached for it! She wanted it more than anything!
It was power beyond comprehension, it was a hunger she had to feed. Finally with a single thought Jean succumbed to the hunger of her soul. She let the power consume her, transform her. Her powers worked outward transforming her physical self to match that of her newly altered soul.
She had never tried this before, but she was going to try and psychokinetically rearrange the molecules of her clothes.
She was powerful enough to do this months ago but at that time She didn't want anyone to know, so she hid it. Maybe deep down she was afraid of being very powerful. She was afraid of unleashing the dark side to herself, the side she knew she had. She knew she had a fiery temper, and she was in control of her emotions. But she was afraid that maybe by unleashing the full potential of her powers, that maybe…she wouldn't be so in control anymore.
But those fears were gone, in fact she had relinquished them. The doubts and fears were now replaced with a sense of power and security. And a deep wanting a deep hunger to have all that she could get. Now she yearned for that dark side of herself, that side that never felt, the side that never loved, that side that never cared. But the power was so overwhelming that she didn't care how she felt she just wanted the power and the joyous sensations the power brought with it.
Jean didn't care how her costume turned out. She just felt different, she felt new, so she let herself follow her feelings as she psychokinetically rearranged the molecules of her clothes.
It was fairly simple for Jean, but she had this strange sensation throughout the whole process. Like something knew what kind of costume she wanted. To Jean it was a good feeling, but an evil good feeling…yet she didn't mind.
The main colors were green and gold. Her two-piece, tight fitting outfit, was green and the high-legged boots, and gloves and such were gold.
The first section of her costume was her pants; they were tight around her, but the tightness gave her room to maneuver. Surprisingly they were very comfortable.
Her shirt was the second part. Her midriff was bare, because the shirt was short, but a gold sash ran across her waist somewhat covering the part of her waist that was bare.
Her hands were bare, but she had a gold glove on each arm with no fingers, so her hands were free to move around, since they had no fingers the top ended with a point, and the gloves ended at the joint of her arm and her elbow.
She had no sleeves, well very short sleeves, almost like a tank top but it was very, very short sleeved. And the curve for the sleeve, curved around her shoulder.
So the part of her arms before her shoulder, and after her elbow were both bare.
The shirt had no neck, and if it did it was very short.
The most interesting part of the costume was a gold symbol on the chest of her shirt. It was in the shape of a bird. It's wings were outstretched like it was rising from the ground, or maybe it was victorious because it could never die.
But to Jean the symbol seemed like it was saying that no matter what, if she died, she would rise again.
All in all the costume fit nicely, and the tightness of the shirt and pants, gave Jean room to move around in a battle and were very, surprisingly comfortable.
The costume also made her red hair stand out, the gold and green colors went really nicely with her hair and Jean thought that the costume was in the perfect fashion for her.
But something deep down told Jean that it hadn't been her psyche that had rearranged her molecules, but that it was something else, something that was helping her along onto a path she had yet to choose, but one that was inevitably chosen.
Mastermind chuckled inside himself. She was doing all the work for him. She didn't know it now, but whatever was left of Jean Grey's mind had been consumed into the darkness of her mutation, and she was slowly being corrupted into the side of evil by the power of Phoenix.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~
"I don't understand it. How could I have let things get so out of hand?"
Scott sighed. "I don't know Professor."
Xavier looked out the window of his study from his place behind his desk. It was almost sunset.
He loved to look at the sky all luminescent by the orange glow the sun cast. The clouds were scattered about like someone had easily pulled them apart like a cotton ball. The clouds and light blue of the sky seemed to merge with the sun as it slowly touched down the light blue swirled in among the orange and yellow, casting a relaxing picture of a beautiful sky amongst a beautiful world.
Unfortunately he knew the world all to well. It wasn't beautiful, although the nature could make it seem that way. In fact the world was full of hatred, and evil. Everyday was filled with so many threats of life and death. He knew it all to well.
The sunset was relaxing for him, because for just a moment he would get lost and everything that the world stood for to him seemed to disappear as he focused on the beautifulness of something that in truth was so horrible. And just for a moment it would seem that maybe all his dreams would come true, that just for one moment everything was right in the world.
Xavier turned his head away from the window. But everything was night right with the world.
He sighed. "I'm really sorry for this Scott. I truly am."
"Professor, I should apologize I'm sorry for not trusting you."
"No. Scott My judgment of Jean's situation was not correct. At the time I thought it was the only way to go, but now I see I should have taken a different approach."
"Yeah, but you didn't know how to handle the situation."
"I should have. That's why she's here. I promised her family that she would be safe here. That I would teach her everything I know and that in these walls she would be protected."
"But at the time that was right. You were coming from the right place. I mean you couldn't have prevented this."
"Perhaps. But what kind of mentor am I if I can't even protect my own students?"
"But you can. You can protect us. And you have. You've gotten us this far. But we're getting older and more mature in our powers, there comes a time when you can't always watch us and we have to be free to do our own thing."
"But I promised I would do everything in my power to protect her. I'm breaking that promise."
"Yes you did promise to protect her. But you can't feel guilty."
"Why? I have every reason to. Jean is out there, scared, vulnerable and I don't even know where to look."
"Professor you made that promise to an extent. You promised to keep her safe from the anti-mutant organizations, from Magneto and his lackeys and anyone like him. Your heart was in the right place. You didn't stop to think for even one moment that you'd have to protect Jean from herself."
"But that's what I have to do now. And I don't know how to do it."
Xavier sighed and wheeled away from his desk.
"I was warned years ago about this. But I never took action, I never did anything. And now here it is, upon me and I don't know what to do."
"There has to be a way around this Professor."
"Scott…I know you don't want to admit this and neither do I. But we've both seen Jean's statistics. Cerebro can't track her because her mutation is changing her. Somehow, I can't begin to explain it. But what I've seen, I know is truth. I can't put into words exactly what I saw. But I know that Jean is not ready to have the power that ultimately she will. She had neither the will nor the strength."
"Yeah but Professor if she's out there…if she's as unstable as we think she is…it could be-it could be…"
Scott hesitated searching for the word.
Xavier nodded and finished for him. "-Catastrophic."
Scott nodded. "I don't think that's good."
"No it's not. And we're running out of time. There's no saying what is happening to Jean as we speak. She could be in grave danger."
Xavier nodded worriedly as he wheeled out of his study and made his way to the lab.
Scott followed him as they talked.
"These powers that she's supposed to wield they lie inside her, right?"
"Well yes Scott. Jean hasn't always had them. They stem from her powers of Telekinesis and Telepathy. You see what Jean will be able to do, is similar to what she does with her powers already. But the span of her powers will be limitless. Her telekinesis and telepathy will grow and as she matures she will have to face sides of her powers that she won't know she has until she's mature enough to know all there is about her present powers. But sooner or later those sides will become so much more and Jean will literally have the power of a god just lying inside her, whether she chooses to use them or not the power will always be within her."
"So it's fair to say that as of right now, Jean has the power of a god inside her, and it's a threat because with the slightest hint of provoking Jean could awaken these powers that she's not supposed to have until her mind matures."
"Yes that's absolutely right."
Scott sat down in a chair next to Hank who was busy typing on the keyboard running commands through the large complicated cerebro/computer system.
Scott sighed and ran a hand through his hair before continuing.
"So have you found out anything more about Apocalypse?"
"Quite a lot actually." Hank spoke up for the first time.
"Yes we have." Xavier sighed deeply as he stared at the monitor. Images ran wildly among the monitor as Hank typed in commands.
"Uh, it's not good is it?" Scott sensed by Xavier's reaction that something wasn't right.
"Unfortunately not."
"So, what is it?"
"As far as we know right now, all the facts we had on Apocalypse were correct. We've managed to research Apocalypse, and pull up quite a few things on him."
"Hank's correct. We've been working on this all night. Now I'm only going to tell you what we know so far, but I don't want it worrying you."
"Of course not Professor."
"Alright than. What we do know is that Apocalypse didn't die. He lies in suspended animation in the Lazarus chamber, which was hidden deep within an ancient Egyptian cave. When Apocalypse was alive, he was known for doing what he called 'survival of the fittest' that is, he would track down mutants and he would enslave and exterminate all but those mutants that he considered the strongest. He dedicated himself to it. He believed that only than mutants would grow powerful enough to dominate the whole world under his ruler ship."
"It didn't work?"
Xavier shook his head.
"No. He died before he could finish it. But of course his incredibly long life span helped him to rise once again. During the 19th century. Again he failed. As far as we can figure he lies in suspended animation in the Lazarus chamber. But I feared it would come to this. When I tried to fight Mesmero mind to mind, someone was controlling Mesmero's mind, just like Mesmero controlled Jean's. I could sense that it wasn't Mesmero. Whoever it was held great power. When Mesmero first appeared, I didn't know what he was using the Tibetan artifacts for. But I believe that somehow Apocalypse was able to communicate and control Mesmero's mind from within the chamber. Now I fear, that Mesmero was using the artifacts to free Apocalypse…and he has succeeded."
"But Apocalypse does have his own band of lackeys."
"Ah yes, Hank I almost forgot. The four horsemen serve Apocalypse. They are named after the four un earthy figures in the last book of the bible, Famine, War, Pestilence and Death."
"Okay, say this is correct, Why would Apocalypse want freed? What do you think he'll do?"
"Honestly Scott, I do not know. But I fear this goes deep. If in fact, Apocalypse was using Mesmero to first, free him, and now, to somehow corrupt Jean, I fear that Apocalypse wants more than to dominate the world. If Apocalypse were to get a hold of Jean, being as vulnerable and confused as she is, it would be easy to sway her, and by using Jean He could have the control of infinite powers. You have to understand, that Jean with all her powers will be invincible. And if Apocalypse manages to somehow keep her mind jumbled and free to do his will, through her he could have infinite powers. And if that happens, he would have the power to destroy the universe, and no one would be able to stop him from doing just that."
"So what you think that Apocalypse's namesake will hold true, and this could be the end of the world?"
"If Apocalypse were to get a hold of the crystal there is no telling what he would do with it. But he will have the power to destroy the universe. Basically he will have us all at his mercy."
"But why exactly would he want to destroy the universe if all he wanted was to dominate the world?"
"That was than, Scott. Now the world has grown stronger, it's not as defenseless, there are many more mutants, Times have changed and I'm sure so has Apocalypse."
" I don't know Professor, with everything that's going on now, this is just so hard to believe."
"That it is Scott. But it is the dawn of a new age, and this is very well a threat we should consider."
"I know, but if This 'Apocalypse' is as strong as you say he is, if this whole thing were to happen, how could the X-men stop him?"
"I don't know, we probably can't. But perhaps we'll be able to stop it before it happens."
"Like what? Track down Mesmero?"
"That is one possibility. Mesmero most likely is working for Apocalypse and if we find him, he might very well lead us to Apocalypse. We have to consider every possibility and right now, the threat of an Apocalypse might very well be behind us."
"So what you're saying is this could be the end of the world?"
"Apocalypse is very dangerous and he is not to be underestimated. If Apocalypse's name suits him well, than it very well could be."
"Wow, Professor this is pretty big to consider, but you're right. At this point in the world it is best to consider this possibility as well. But I just don't see how we're going to be able to stop it."
"Well Scott…."
"Professor I have movements on Mesmero!" Hank yelled out.
Xavier turned around.
"Good, keep tracking him."
"I can't. He stopped."
"Where at?" Scott moved in closer to the computers.
After a short pause, in which Hank searched around the database for the coordinates, he spoke up.
"Ah, it's an old abanded laboratory located in the outskirts of Egypt."
"A laboratory? But why would Apocalypse need a laboratory?"
"Maybe he's cooking up trouble."
"Or just biding his time. Hank keep me updated." Xavier patted Hank on the shoulder.
"Sure Professor. But what if something drastic happens?"
"Than the X-men will be there to stop it."
"Yeah…but the end of the world?"
"I don't know if the X-men will be able to stop it. But we have dedicated our lives and powers to protect the safety of the world and all those in it. We must try to stop it."
"Professor, do you think that maybe we should check out this laboratory?"
"Yes I do think we should Scott. But right now, we have little information and we don't know exactly what lies in that laboratory. But Mesmero seems to be staying put for now, so until we have something further, than it is best if we stay put also."
"I disagree Professor. I mean it's only a few miles short of where we're going. I mean maybe there's something there worth checking out."
Xavier sighed thinking.
Scott waited while he thought.
"Alright. You may have a point. But take Logan, Ororo and the more experienced students. If you find Jean you'll need all the help you can get, and if you find Apocalypse you'll need all the help you can get."
Scott nodded. "Ah huh…hence Logan and Ororo?"
"Right."
"Okay we'll be suited up and ready to go in 15."
"In this case Scott, I think you should make it 10."
~x~x~x~x~x~x~
"Are you sure 'bout all this Chuck? You sure this is necessary?"
Logan was the only person besides Xavier in the library.
"Well, as I told Scott and the students, it is only necessary that we keep all possibilities open."
"Yeah I know, but this is a major thing. This ain't no kids game anymore. Are ya sure these kids are ready for this?"
"Yes I believe they are. I'm sure they could be more prepared, but I have faith in them."
"Faith ain't gonna help 'em live Charles."
"I've already told all this to them. They seem to be pretty supportive, and as always they're ready to do anything they have to; to stop this whole thing before it happens."
"We can't just be runnin' on assumptions here either. I mean we have to know what we're gettin' into. I've been 'round in my life, Chuck, n' I know that Apocalypse ain't one to be messed wit'."
"You're right Logan. But I've already thought this through. Apocalypse is serious about what he's doing, but it's our job as X-men to stop him from doing it."
"What exactly is he doin'?"
"What I know I've told you. But I'm sure Apocalypse will use Jean for her potentially dangerous and catastrophic powers, and by doing so he threatens the entire universe."
"Do ya' know when it's gonna take place?"
"No I'm afraid not."
"Well perhaps we should go check out that laboratory. If Mesmero is down there, maybe Apocalypse is too. If we're lucky we'll find Jeannie. And maybe we can stop this 'fore it happens. But I'm sure that lab will tell us what Apocalypse plans to do. I mean for all we know, we could be sittin' 'round here well Apocalypse is plannin' somethin' big. I think it is worth a look-see huh Charles?"
"I believe so. Yes perhaps we should go check it out. I don't see the harm in it, unless of course Apocalypse is hiding out there. In which case, we should be prepared for a fight."
"You do know Charles that this fight might not be pretty?"
"Yes of course I do Logan. And I know this could get to be a life and death fight, but I think we will prevail."
"Against Apocalypse? I know you don't want to believe it Chuck, but some o' the kids could die."
Xavier closed his eyes, letting that realization slip in.
"Yes I'm very well aware. And so are they. But I also believe they are very well trained. But my greatest fear doesn't involve Apocalypse. If Jean has somehow been corrupted into using her powers…She and she alone is their greatest threat."
"Yeah but they ain't never been up against somethin' this big Charles, 'cept maybe Trask's Sentinels. But even those robots seem like mice compared ta this. What if yer right? If Jeannie is out fer blood than their ain't no way we can let 'er take us down easy."
"I know the risk involved Logan, but I don't see any other choice in the matter. Apocalypse might very well hold the fate of the entire universe in his hands, As much as I would hate to admit so, but the lives of few may save the lives of many. I believe they're ready. I have faith in them."
"Alright you're the boss Chuck. I'll let them in on the detail, not the nitty n' the gritty, but I'll let 'em in on what's goin' on. I'll suit up n' start the blackbird."
"Sound's good Logan."
"That's the idea Chuck."
~x~x~x~x~x~x~
Okay longer chap. Um I believe they start heading out for action in the next chap. Um…that's action against Apocy BTW. Not Jean. That comes later.
'kay as you've probably noticed I'm not asking you to R&R cause u know to do that already and if you want to review this chap and all the other chaps you'll do it on your own accord and my motivation for you 2 do it won't help to push u 2 review if u weren't gonna…than u still won't if I ask u…get it? …Well I do…anyway. But yeah…and no I'm not rejecting reviews…I'd actually appreciate them.
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