Author's notes: VERY VERY VERY sorry for not posting up a new chapter for a couple months.. and I didn't know I had fans waiting for my story until some of u reviewed! Sorry! Okay, a brief explanation of WHY I haven't posted a new chapter: I had writers block, my laptop broke, since November I'd been working like a dog to get ready for xmas rush at work, THEN went on a 2wk holiday! Haha I wrote half of this chapter in October, and I finished it off yesterday. phew hope ya'll like it! I got ideas for ma next chapter and hopefully I find time to write it! Plz review!s

ch13: can we switch back now?

"This is very serious. The two of you went out shopping hours ago. Why didn't you girls come to me sooner?" The professor asked. He was pissed off that serious matters, like an attack on the mansion, weren't taken to him immediately. But given the situation, there were more urgent matters to attend to.

Rogue shrugged. "Ah wanted to tell you as soon as we got home, but Jean insisted that we wait until later tonight," Rogue dobbed Jean in. After all, she had warned Jean that she'd be the one to get in trouble if they waited too long to tell the professor.

The professor turned to Jean. "Jean," He said, in his deep authoritive voice. "Care to explain?"

Jean thought about it for a minute. When she first told Rogue to wait until later that night, it was because she thought that maybe she could handle the situation herself. She was sick of Mystique picking on her, and so she wanted to handle it herself. But now, Jean felt like it was a stupid thing to think, so now she had no good response to the professor's question.

"It's a stupid reason. Now I wish I went to you sooner," She replied.

The professor eyed Jean for a moment, but he didn't want to pry into her mind. If she wanted him to know, she would have told him. "Well then, let's go eat our dinner. After dinner I want the both of you to go see Mr McCoy. He's going to try get you two back in your rightful bodies before those three days are up. As for Mystique, we'll have three days to stop her from unleashing the arcolytes and brotherhood on us."

Jean and Rogue returned to the dining room with the professor in tow. By the time they got back, most of the students had finished their meals and were talking amongst themselves. Rogue sat herself in between Kurt and the empty chair that was usually reserved for Remy. She hoped he would be back soon. She needed him there for moral support. She was forced to get used to looking like Jean, now if Beast couldn't switch them back, she didn't know what she'd do. As she began to dig into her grilled chicken, the professor cleared his throat, gaining the attentions of all the x-students.

"Some frightening news has come to my attention. Mystique has sent us a message. She claims that if we do not give her the device that switched Rogue and Jean to her in three days, the arcolytes, brotherhood and Juggernaught will attack the mansion.."

The students all began talking to each other, expressing their concerns. The professor raised his hand and waited for silence once more. "After dinner, Hank, I want you to try find a way to switch the girls back before the three days are up. Since it is now the weekend, I want all students to remain on the school grounds until this is all over. Is that understood?" The professor waited for all the students to nod in acknowledgment. Once his announcement was over, most of the students left the dining room, leaving only Rogue, Jean, the professor and Logan behind.

The professor cut his chicken with his knife and fork. Unlike most of the students, Professor Xavier ate like a perfect gentleman. Logan sat to his right. Even though Logan had finished his meal, he remained at the table in case there were any instructions from Xavier. Logan already knew that it was his duty to act like head of security around the mansion, but some days Xavier had some special tasks for Logan. Today was not one of those days.

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Scott paced up and down the hallway. Logan had already taken prime position outside Hank's lab. Hank didn't want a bunch of student hanging around his lab as he concentrated on how to get the girls back in their own bodies. He only allowed Jean, Rogue and Storm to accompany him in the lab. Scott, as leader of the x-students, wanted to be there for them. He knew that his own technical knowledge is nowhere matched to Beast's, but it made him feel like he was helping in some way if he were there in the lab, or outside it incase they needed him. But of course, Logan already took that position.

Feeling totally helpless, he went to the rec room to watch T.V. The junior students were all in Bobby's room, watching some scary movie. Kurt was in the backyard with Amanda, Spyke was out the front playing basketball, and so, he had the rec room all to himself. He was feeling low, so it suited him just fine. He still had things to say to Jean, but it wasn't the time yet.

He hoped that the girls would switch back soon. Even though Rogue seemed to be a little more social since she inherited Jean's body, she still seemed to be her usual solitary self. Jean switched bodies with Rogue so that Rogue could have a chance at a normal life with Remy. But in an uncanny twist of events, Remy leaves the mansion one month later and Rogue turned into the solitary person she was before she switched bodies. The purpose of Jean's sacrifice was fizzled because Rogue never looked happier than the day before she was forced out of her own body. Jean tried her best to not turn out like Rogue was- solitary, cranky, pissed off if anyone got too close to her. But even though Jean wore t-shirts and gloves that covered only her hands, she still kept herself at a distance to everyone nearby. She may have been able to keep a happy exterior, the opposite of Rogue, but Scott could see that on the inside, Jean wasn't happy. He saw it in her eyes that moment she looked at him when he went to tell him he was sorry about going out with Taryn. She was lying when she acted like she didn't care and he knew it.

He sat himself on the couch in the rec room and picked the remote off the couch next to him. He flicked channels, but no matter how many channels he went through, he couldn't find anything worth watching. He had other things on his mind and it was bugging him. Letting his frustration get the better of him, he threw the remote across the room and groaned, "Forty channels and nothing to watch!" Of course, Scott's frustration was directed at the wrong thing. Correction, the wrong person. The T.V was stuck on a channel with no reception, and the sound of the fuzz filled the room. Scott watched the snow on the T.V for a minute before getting up and turning off the T.V. He was in that mood where he didn't know what to do with himself. He couldn't help the girls in any way, was confined to the mansion and was pissed off at Jean- and at the same time, he longed for her. He had hardly hung out with her since she changed and he missed that.

Scott walked out of the rec room and headed down the long and winding hallways towards his room. He changed out of his jeans into his blue sweatpants and white T-shirt. He picked his runners off the floor and walked to the danger room with his runners in his hand.

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Jean lifted her head off the table and looked impatiently at Hank. "We've been through all this before," she said as Hank suggested the girls hold the device together again, just like they did a few months ago, when they first switched.

Hank, Storm and Rogue all turned their attentions to Jean. Hank took off his glasses and rubbed his temple. "Jean, please. We're trying the best we can," he said, trying to keep a calm voice. He too was getting a little frustrated because he couldn't find the answer, but he tried to remain optimistic because he still had 3 days to figure it out.

Jean snorted and put her head back on the table. Storm rolled her eyes and went back to reading the translations. Rogue glared at Jean. "And how are YOU helping this situation," Rogue asked snidely, in true Rogue fashion. Jean kept her head rested on her arms, which were on the table.

"What's there to help with? We've tried everything!" Jean grumbled.

Rogue glared at Jean. She used her telekinetic powers and forced Jean to sit up and look at her. "What the!" Jean called out, being caught off guard.

"What is your problem lately!" Rogue asked loudly. "Obviously we HAVEN'T tried everything, because otherwise we'd be back to our normal selves!" Rogue said. "And you're the one who CAUSED this whole thing and you're acting like you don't WANT us to change back!" She yelled.

Jean huffed as she felt Rogue release her telekinetic hold on Jean. Beast and Storm had remained silent, wanting to see how the argument would play out. Jean was pissed off that Mystique kept picking on her, and that she was stuck in Rogue's body. She was pissed off that she never even kissed Scott, when she thought she did. And the real kicker was that everything had had happened in the last couple of months was her fault. She thought she was doing something noble and everyone saw it as a major screw up, and she hated to admit that she was wrong. That last reason is the last thing she would admit out loud.

Rogue was still waiting for an answer. "Forget it," Jean replied, glaring back at Rogue with equal intensity.

Hank cleared his throat in a small attempt to break it up between the two girls. "Jean, why don't you go burn some of that frustration off in the Danger room," He suggested. Jean knew that was more of an order than a suggestion, and she was glad to have the opportunity to leave the lab. She stood up, giving one last look at Rogue, and left the lab.

When Jean left the lab, she saw Logan leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. When he saw her come out, he uncrossed his arms and stood up straight. "How's it goin' in there?" He asked. He could tell from the look in her eyes that it was still Jean in Rogue's body. Rogue always gave Logan this special look. He protected her like a daughter he never had, and it gave Rogue and he a special bond. When Jean looked at him, she just looked at him like she did everyone else.

Jean glared at him. "Not well," She replied. "I'm going to the Danger Room."

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Scott reached the Danger room and opened the door. No one was in there, just like he'd expected. He walked over to the console on the wall, to the right of the doors and typed in 'Scott'sRun2.8' and pressed 'Enter'.

The lights dimmed and a hologram of Lance appeared. "What are yah waiting for!?" The Lance hologram called. "Let's go!"

Scott smiled as he ran towards holographic Lance, ready to give him a right hook.

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Jean reached the danger room and saw the red light on above the door. It meant that someone was already running a simulation. She walked over to the monitor on the left of the door and pressed the button to see the simulation taking place. She saw Scott trying to battle it out with Lance. Scott had Lance pinned to the ground by sitting on his chest, and he was pummelling Lance in the face. The hologram had no chance. Jean was pissed off and figured that she needed to use the danger room a lot more than Scott did. And so, she pressed the emergency stop button and ended Scott's simulation.

Scott watched as his holographic Lance fade away. Scott's body fell to the floor as the body under his disappeared. He had no idea why the simulation terminated, especially since he was winning. He heard the doors swoosh open and turned his attentions to the doors to the danger room. He watched as Jean entered the room. She came in and crossed her arms. Scott got up off the floor and walked towards her. "What the hell, Jean! Why'd you turn it off for?!" He complained.

"Because I need to use the danger room. So, get out," She said in a pissed off voice. She pointed to the doorway with her thumb to emphasise her point.

"Excuse me!?" Scott said back. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Jean was never like this. She would always wait her turn, and always tried to be polite in every situation.

"You heard me. Get out," She replied. She kept her voice calm, but Scott knew she was serious.

Scott crossed his arms and stood his ground. "No." He watched as Jean's face showed surprise and he could see that she was now getting pissed off. He watched as Jean walked towards the door, and he thought that maybe she was going to leave. Instead, Jean walked up to the console on the side of the door and pressed the button to close the doors. Jean typed in something on the computer and the lights dimmed once again and the room's look changed. The floor had mats on it and there were various weapons on the floor around them.

"If you're not going to leave, then I won't need to make a holographic sparring partner then."

Scott was glad to finally be able to take out some of his frustration on the right person this time. He had strong moral values to never hit a girl, but as Jean said, it was only sparring, so he wouldn't really be hurting her. He readied himself into a fighting stance and raised his hands up in front of his face.

What he wasn't prepared for was Jean removing her gloves.

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Remy stopped his motorbike on the side of the highway. He'd been riding for six hours straight and he was dying of thirst. He removed his helmet and ruffled his wavy hair around to try help remove the hat hair shape. The sun shone in his face as he lifted his head to drink from his drink bottle. As Remy lowered his head after taking a good drink, he realised he had parked his bike next to a road sign. He smiled as he read it. Out of anticipation of seeing his girlfriend, Remy replaced his helmet back onto his head and rode towards home as fast as he could. He smiled again as he read the sign. Bayville 16miles.

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Rogue sat quietly as Hank and Storm talked amongst themselves about the writings that came with the device that Jean had stolen from Mystique. She zoned out of what the others were talking about and thought about Remy. He'd been gone for over a month now, and she hadn't heard from him in a week or so, not including her brief astral projection to tell him that Romeo wasn't biologically his. She also wondered why Jean was so crabby lately and most of all, Rogue wished that she could get her own body back soon.

"Still, it is quite fascinating," Hank replied, taking Rogue out of her own little world.

"What is?" Rogue asked.

Hank passed the untranslated papers to Rogue. She didn't know why he passed her those for, because she couldn't read it. "Yes, ancient writing that I cant read is all well and interesting.." Rogue said sarcastically.

"It's ancient Mayan. Not all the texts were translated. These bits," Hank pointed to two particular sections of the writings, "Talk about the device's origins."

"So, where'd it come from?" Rogue asked.

"It says that thousands of years ago, a man who's name is loosely translated as Hyan, met an oracle who told him that one day he would one day inherit mystical powers by living in the body of another man. For years, Hyan did not know what the oracle meant by that. Many years later, Hyan came across a man with no face.."

"How can someone have no face?" Rogue interrupted.

"We believe that it means that he kept his face hidden," Storm explained. "Possibly with a mask, or a hood over his face."

Rogue nodded and listened to the rest of Hank's explanation. "Anyway, the man said that Hyan was destined for great things that could alter the course of history. The man also instructed Hyan to a place where a king with great power lived. The man with no face spoke of a king who could never be killed. Hyan was told that to gain this king's supernatural strength, all he had to do was shake his hand."

"This is all getting so confusing," Rogue complained. "Who is this guy without a face? And why would he want tah help this Hyan guy?"

"Do you want the short version, Rogue?" Storm asked. Rogue nodded. "Hyan met this king and used the device on him when he went to kiss the king's hand. The device forced Hyan's mind into the body of the invincible man and vice-versa."

"So what ended up happening to Hyan then, if it meant that he couldn't be killed anymore?" Rogue asked.

Hank removed his glasses. He looked at Rogue with all seriousness as he told her, "We believe that Hyan is now the man we know as Apocalypse."

"Holy shit!" Rogue said in shock.

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Scott knew that even though Jean had been practicing her fighting skills over the last couple months with Logan, she was still no match for him. However, she had a distinct advantage. Her arms were bare as she wore a tight t-shirt and jeans. Scott could feel his energy slightly sapping away every time Jean hit him. He also felt his energy slightly sap away every time he hit her too.

"Jean!" Scott called out. "Why did you change?" He asked as he dodged her swings. He'd decided to take a purely defensive stance against Jean.

"Why did you?" She returned the question.

"Why are you answering my question with another question?" Scott asked back.

"Why are you avoiding the question also?" Jean asked back. She tried a right undercut aimed at his stomach, but Scott managed to jump back in time to avoid it.

"Fine then. How have I changed?" he asked. Scott wasn't prepared for the line of questioning to be focussed on him.

"The Scott I knew would never have gone out with Taryn," Jean growled as she quickly crouched, kicking Scott behind the ankles, causing him to fall. Scott rolled backwards out of the way of Jean's fist heading towards his face.

He stood back up, in his defensive stance. "Is that what all this is about?" He asked. "You've been pissed off at everyone for the last couple months all because you're jealous of me and Taryn?" Scott asked, dodging another one of Jean's punches.

"Stop moving away! How are we supposed to spar if you keep dodging me!" Jean growled.

Scott continued to dodge Jean. He couldn't spar with her if he couldn't touch her. And this way he was getting on her nerves. "You didn't answer my question," he replied.

Jean picked up a bo from the floor and swung the long wooden stick around. She wasn't really an expert at it, but she figured it was pretty self-explanatory. Jean didn't want to tell Scott that she was mad that he went out with Taryn. He pretty much figured that out all by himself. She didn't want to tell him that she wanted everything to be back to normal, before the change. She didn't want to tell him that she missed hanging out with him at school. She didn't want to tell him that she wished she'd never taken the device from Mystique to begin with. Instead, she avoided his line of questioning and kept on trying to hit him.

Scott waited for an answer, but Jean didn't reply. She only kept trying to take out her frustrations on him. He was getting under her skin, and it made him feel good. "Okay, if you're not going to answer, then I will," Scott said.

"And what question would that be?" Jean said in a bitchy voice.

"Um, the question about why you've turned into such a withdrawn, selfish, crabby bitch in the last 2 months!" He replied. He smiled. Calling her names was low indeed, but he felt she deserved it.

"Sure, whatever floats your boat," Jean said sarcastically.

Scott grabbed another bow from the floor and quickly used it to clip Jean behind the ankles. Jean was knocked onto her back and her arms flew over her head, onto the floor also. Scott managed to quickly pin Jean's arms down to the floor with his bow. His left knee rested on the ground next to Jean's head, and his right foot on Jean's stomach, stopping her from attempting to flip over.

"Hey!" Jean screamed. "Get off me you dumb ass!"

"Would you shut up for once!" Scott said more harshly then he intended. Even Jean was surprised at his tone. She stopped talking. She couldn't get up from under Scott's hold.

"Listen. We all know you TRIED to do something good to help Rogue, but you can really be dumb sometimes!" Scott said. "You didn't even consider Rogue's feelings about being in your body. You know how much she hates you at times! What made you think she'd want to look like you!?" Scott said. Jean tried to reply, but Scott cut her off. "Shut up. Gambit fell in love with Rogue, not you. What made you think that Remy would love Rogue if she looked like you!? Did you even ask him, or ME if us guys would mind if you switched?"

"You!" Jean butt in. "Why would you care!? You're dating-"

Scott cut Jean off again. "What I did was because of you," Scott said honestly. Jean was shocked at his reply. Scott could see it in her eyes.

Jean didn't understand what he meant by it. She wondered about it. 'If Scott really liked me, he wouldn't have gone out with Taryn. He would have stayed by my side, regardless!'

"How," Jean asked.

Scott lowered his head closer to Jean's. He could see tears welling up in her eyes. No one had gotten to her like this since the switch. He was glad to finally get her to listen, even if it meant pinning her to the ground. He paused. He started this, but now he couldn't answer question. It was so personal, and the answer makes him feel so degraded. He tried so hard to be the strong leader, and his response would change all that. But it would only be fair to tell her the reason why he went out with Taryn.

"How is it because of me!?" Jean asked again.

He could see that she was holding back the tears. He wanted to let go of the bow that held her down, but he knew he couldn't hug her, or risk letting her go just yet, in case she ran off before hearing him out.

"Because I'm not strong enough to wait for you," He replied. He watched in pain as Jean's tears flowed down her face. He wished he could wipe them for her, but he couldn't touch her. "Remember how I used to like Rogue when she first came to Bayville?" Scott asked. Jean nodded in response. "I realised that I couldn't have the type of relationship I wanted with her mutant powers. So, I moved on and got over Rogue. Then when you decided to switch into Rogue's body, all that came back. The personality of the girl I liked was now in the body of a girl I got over years ago. Remy is a stronger man than me. He stayed by Rogue's side, even though he now looked like you. I'm not a strong man, Jean. I couldn't stay by your side, for a relationship that might never happen. So, I tried to move on. Taryn asked me out, and I felt it was the only way to get over you," Scott lowered his head and closed his eyes.

He couldn't look into Jean's eyes anymore. They had so much hurt in them. Scott looked back up at Jean and released his hold on the bow that held her hands down. He took his foot off her stomach and stood up. "I'm sorry."