Author's Note: This is one of the chapters I did take a scene from the trailer in. Thank youso much for thekind reviews! I'm proud to say that Seeing Yet Blind hassurpased all my otherfics in page views!(:
Galatea-- Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I hadn't noticed it, but when I submit the chapters, the extended space between scene switches is removed automatically. I'll look through the future chapters to see what I can do.
Summary: My initial take on what X3: The Last Stand would be like. Centered around Scott, Logan,and Storm's grief for Jean...they quickly learn that Jean has grown far stronger than ever imagined.. Magneto is drawn to Jean's sudden growth in power, and is also alarmed by the human's decision to create the "cure"...
Rating: Between T-M. There is a fair amount of language, semi-frequent mildadult-type-themes, and violence.
Main Characters (most main to lesser): Scott Summers, Jean Grey/Phoenix, Logan (Wolverine), Ororo (Storm), Magneto, Xavier, Rogue, Bobby, Mystique, Pyro...more in later chapters.
Pairings: major Scott/Jean, minor Logan/Ororo, moderate Logan/Jean, moderate Rogue/Bobby, and more in later chapters...
X-men is in no way owned by me...because otherwise I would have changed the way X3: The Last Stand was written. This fan fiction is also completely movie-verse.
Chapter 6 -- Recalled
Scott stared at her from the other side of the metal door. A small five by five inches glass cut served as a window, and he was almost surprised she hadn't tried to merely punch the glass out yet.
"Where the hell is she?" he demanded for the fourth time in a row.
Phoenix eyed the man from inside the room. She then parted her lips and her melodic voice replied coldly, "I don't know."
"It's a lie, then," he breathed, raking a hand through his hair as he turned away from the closed door. He put his hands on his hips and then cocked his head as he barked, "You know, damnit! You were the one who said she 'loves' me. Last time I checked that was present tense…"
Phoenix rolled her eyes and then pretended to be interested in her fingernails. At one point she raised an eyebrow to compliment his sarcastic lines, but she never spoke. She wanted to see the man grovel before her.
Finally Scott sighed, "She's gone."
Phoenix arched her eyebrow again and looked to him through the corner of her eye. "Who?" she asked plainly.
"Mystique," he paused and then explained, "The woman who looked like Jean."
The woman grimaced at the last word. She then pushed herself off the floor and strode to the door. Her steps were long and practiced; she looked like she should be on a runway despite her tussled hair and plain black shirt and shorts. "You really think you're safe then? That she won't come back, and everything will be alright?" she paused. Her voice was sharper, yet still pleasant to the ear. "You think you know everything?"
Scott looked over his shoulder through the window. Her face filled the small space, and her eyebrows were slightly curled together. Her dark eyes flickered red for mere seconds, and a shudder traced Scott's spine as he remembered the shade her eyes took for that brief second.
"No," he replied coolly.
"Then what are you doing? Standing around here talking to me…trying to pry answers from me…" she ranted calmly.
"We know nothing about you…" Scott began, he then shook his head and added, "As far as I'm concerned, I've never seen you in my life."
"You think because…because she's gone, and I'm contained…that everything will fall into place soon? Is that it?" she sighed, throwing her arms down to her sides.
Scott shook his head slightly and then replied, "Why does it matter? Time will run its course no matter what…" He seemed unsure of his words.
"Mutants get stronger. Humans remain the same," she stated quietly. "You've been treating me like a human."
"What?" Scott questioned, clearly confused by her words.
"You've been acting as if…as if I won't learn. As If I won't grow stronger. As if I can't see myself…or if I couldn't think for my own," she paused for a dramatic effect as she took a cautious step back. "As if I can't figure out the rhyme or reason as to why I'm in here. As if I can't find my way out of the locked cage." She blinked up at him, and then her lips curled into a smirk.
Scott barely had enough time to dodge the metal door as it flew out of the hinges at an unearthly speed.
-----
She woke, dreary eyed and famished, lying on the cold stone floor beneath her. She gave a quiet moan as she came to realize that she was still contained in what ever make-shift asylum the humans had dragged her to.
"Damn it," she swore as she knocked her head against the ground, punishing herself for getting caught. If it hadn't of been for her leg… she thought. Her gaze flickered to her leg, which was now relatively clean and only supported a minor burn. Mystique then shifted herself into a standing position, testing her balance and pain tolerance.
Surprisingly, there was no pain, only minor pressure where Cyclops had so conveniently hit her with his optic blast. "How is that possible…?" she breathed, skimming the blue skin with her fingertips.
A clatter of a door opening and closing caused her eyes to widen and a sudden burst of adrenaline surged through her. She saw a man in a white coat at the end of the dark and dreary hall, and he was carrying a tray with various foods. As he neared her, he spoke.
"Hungry, I presume."
"What's it to you? Not like humans care for my welfare," she spat.
He fiddled with a ring of keys, and then uttered a "Huh," to Mystique's comment. He then slipped the unique key into the slot, and then Mystique jumped ahead in the game.
She thrust her fully usable legs out at the door, causing it to literally fly open, instantly knocking the man in the lab coat out cold. She laughed at the man's pathetic reflexes, and then she bent down to swipe up the apple that had rolled off the tray as she walked by. She then smirked as she purred, "Thanks."
Surprisingly, as Mystique freely sauntered out of the laboratory, no one bothered to stop her. In fact, the place looked abandoned. She almost jumped when the ear piece buzzed to life.
"Damn, I've still got this? I'm almost surprised they didn't take it…" she mused, pressing the earbud into her ear.
The fuzzy static then formed into words, from a voice she recognized. "Mystique! Get out of there! Now!" It was Magneto.
"What's the rush?" Mystique mused, slicing into the perfectly ripened apple. "No one is here," she added, punctuating each word. "No. One."
"Mystique…I beg of you…" he objected, but the earpiece died.
"They've thrown you into an entirely different dimension…" Magneto finished quietly, after he realized her end had died. He was in his hideout, with Pyro not too far off. Magento suddenly rose and slammed the communicator down as he roared, "They've captured Mystique, and I'm fairly sure they're going to test their 'cure' on her."
And Magneto was entirely correct; Mystique was actually lying on a white operating table just in the room next door to her cell. Lights beamed down on her bright blue skin unbreakingly, causing the huddled mass of human doctors around her to sweat from the tension.
"Now, you're sure she's sedated?" one asked. The man across the table nodded vigorously.
The first man sighed and rubbed his temples, and then murmured, "Go ahead…"
Another man drew a syringe, and fiddled with the woman's arm until he found the exact spot for the injection. Mystique flinched slightly at contact, but after the needle was withdrawn, she eased back into a relaxed state of sedated-ness.
"And now, we wait…" the first man stated.
----
"So Mystique managed to slip into our grounds unnoticed? Strange…"
Logan nodded, and then continued his recollection of the previous days events, "She first disguised herself as Bobby and hung around Rogue, and then she tricked Scott, Storm and I into believing Jean had really come back."
"You couldn't see through her?" Charles questioned, perplexed.
"She used Jean's telekinesis. It was believable," Logan paused and then stammered, "I never thought Mystique could use other's powers…I thought she could only look like us."
"And you are right, Logan. But she must have even further evolved between now and last we saw her for her to be able to fully use another's powers and take on their shape," Charles explained. He sighed, and then closed his eyes. A momentary pause echoed in the air, and then he stated calmly, "Something is happening in the hall outside the Danger Room."
Logan instantly looked to the door leading out of the Professor's classroom, and then he said hurriedly, "Should I?"
Charles nodded, and then sighed again. "Jean…" he whispered, looking out his window, as if the answers to all his questions would suddenly materialize.
----
"You know what?" Phoenix mused, the hints of a smirk creeping over her face as she knelt down beside Scott, who'd stumbled to his knees. She reached out for him, and her hand came to rest on his slightly shuddering chest. She could tell his heart skipped a beat, and she arched an eyebrow at this. Phoenix then parted her lips and whispered, "It's a shame, really. I've caused you so much pain…" her eyes traced his figure, almost as if she was undressing him with her piercing gaze. "But you're so cute," her eyes softened slightly, and then she cocked her head as she breathed, "and she wants you so badly."
Scott's eyebrows quivered with an odd sense of fear for this woman. He didn't dare back away or attack though; he'd already received far more than enough tastes of Phoenix's powers.
"I'll grant you, and her a favor then," Phoenix whispered, with her voice nearly to the point of silence. "I'll release her for a minute…just enough for a taste…" she explained, leaning down towards the man.
Their lips met, and Scott was nearly shocked by how cold they were. The woman's eyes were still dark and sharp, but within seconds they softened and lightened considerably. The woman pulled away only to the slightest degree, leaving a space less than an inch between their lips as she looked to Scott in disbelief.
"Scott--!" Jean cried, throwing her arms around his neck. He propped himself up and returned the embrace forcefully. "Oh my god…I don't want to let go…" she cried, tears that she'd built up during the time of Phoenix's reign threatened to spill out.
"Jean, Jean…It's okay, I'm here," Scott reassured her, his hands pulling harder against her back, forcing their bodies together. He was having a tough time reassuring himself that the moment was real.
She pulled away and cried out as she reached for her head. A searing pain exploded deep within her mind; Phoenix was signaling that time was up for Jean to be in control. Scott reached out and touched one of her arms as he tried to understand.
Jean gasped painfully as she explained, "Phoenix is strong…stronger than me." She paused as she managed to push the pain aside for a moment. "I have to build up my own strength when I am thrown into dormancy…it's the only way I even have a chance of fighting her impossible grip… I swear, Scott, I kill her if I could…she's just too strong…"
He shook his head and murmured, "No. Jean, you are stronger. I know you are…"
"Kiss me," she breathed, feeling exhausted.
"What?" he questioned. Naturally he wouldn't give a second though to this request, but it seemed odd of her to ask him for a kiss when she was fighting to control the demon within.
"It will make me stronger…if I know there's something worth fighting for," she whispered. She then fell forward, into his arms as he steadied her.
The kiss was gentle, yet hasty and erotic. Jean had a hard time pulling away from the sweet indulgence, and Scott wasn't helping much when he only tried to drag out the time.
When they broke, Jean looked shocked. She was pale and her eyes darted between Scott's lenses, and she stumbled backwards, over her own knees, shaking her head. Scott didn't bother to chase after her, for he knew something was devastatingly wrong, but what could he do to help Jean against Phoenix, who was housed within her own body.
The red headed woman drew her forehead against her knees, her hands looking like claws as she gripped her scalp forcefully. "Stop…" she whispered, choking on her tears.
It was then that Logan burst through the end of the hall after hearing the Professor's premonitions. He first saw Scott backing further against the wall, slightly horrified but mostly worried, and then he saw Jean's figure: rocking ever so slightly, and murmuring under her sobs. He rushed to her side, and then knelt beside her crazed-looking figure, pleading with her.
"Jean…Jean…look at me!" he barked, taking her head in his hands. Her eyes were reddened and her cheeks shimmered with the numerous rows of tears she'd shed. She was still shaking her head in denial, but Logan persisted, "Jean…" he saw her softened eyes, and knew for sure it was her. "We can make it back to the way it was…" he begged, "We can make it how it used to be…"
"Please…" she whispered, a fresh wave of tears covering her eyes.
"Jean--stay with me!" he demanded, seeing her eyes flicker darkly, and then he saw fire reflected in them.
"…kill me," she hissed in an exhale.