In The Heat
An X-men: Evolution fanfic by Lavender Gaia
Editing and Assistance by Laine
Chapter Twelve: Willpower
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution, any of its characters or Rachel Summers. They are all property of Marvel.
Agatha's house was only a twenty minute drive out of town. Apparently, from what she'd learned from Kurt, Mystique wanted her around in case Wanda's powers got out of hand again. Jean knew, of course, that the next time Agatha helped out had been when Mystique had turned into a statue, so obviously it worked out well for everyone.
Her home residence was exactly what she expected of the elderly witch: small, dark, covered with trees and almost completely hidden back from the road. No amount of creepy surroundings was going to turn Jean away though. The convertible pulled on to a small dirt path that could have been considered a driveway many decades ago, but that was all she was provided.
It didn't take more than a minute for Agatha to open the door. The old woman peered out hesitantly, suspiciously. Jean realized that she most likely didn't get any visitors. "Hello? You're Agatha Harkness, right? I'm Jean Grey."
Agatha didn't answer, and continued to stare at the young redhead impassively, forcing her to continue her blathering. "I know Kurt and Wanda. You helped her control her powers and I was hoping you could help me with mine. Lately, they've just been so out of hand and I'm worried…"
"Come in." The door was opened further; apparently, Mystique's old friend had sensed the desperation in Jean's voice and she gave a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, thank you so much." Jean wrapped her arms around herself. The house was surprisingly chilly. "Everything has just been so crazy lately. I didn't know where else I could go."
She nodded in response, then gestured for Jean to sit on a small round table for two. The witch went about setting up crystals and candles that seemed to be for more than just ambiance. Jean gently placed her hand into the top of the flame of one of the candles, recalling from science classes that as long as she didn't touch the blue part that she would be fine. The flame seemed to wrap around her hand elegantly, dancing over the top of her skin.
When Agatha sat across from her, Jean put both hands in her lap, looking at the older woman for guidance. "Just relax," she instructed. "Let your thoughts flow." Her green eyes drifted shut as Agatha's hands encircled around her head, plunging into her thoughts.
A redheaded child was playing with a blonde girl of about the same age. They were laughing and enjoying each other's company, as best friends tend to do. There was a strong bond between them, an unspoken connection between the two girls. But then the blonde wasn't there anymore and all the redhead felt was a surge of undeniably torturous pain shooting through her body, destroying her heart.
It was a long time before the pieces would come back together. No one quite understood the emptiness, the lack of something Jean felt. It wasn't until she met a boy named Scott Summers did her heart begin to repair. He was a kindred spirit; she'd never felt more comfortable with anyone in her entire life, including family. Including Annie.
Healing is a slow process, and even slower when the world seemed to want to do everything to make sure it doesn't happen. A bit of happiness tried to pull away at any chance. Her fear of losing control, of a rapid leap in her abilities, only made that transition worse. More than anything, she didn't want what had happened with Annie to happen again. But that wasn't her choice.
The world seemed to constantly fall out from under her. Even when she was struggling on the solid ground, something was always missing. A void that refused to be filled. Scott, though he made a otherwise unbearable situation livable at least, was unable to close what was left of her soul.
There was someone else who helped though. The smaller redhead seemed to be a catalyst for her healing. Jean had heard before about children filling up empty space in people's lives, but had never understood that until the day she'd first seen her daughter. But though she filled up a gap within her heart, an open wound still ripped through her soul.
Buried in the deepest depths of her being was more. Things she'd hidden from herself. A fire, a burning passion. But it was slipping away from her faster than she could catch and acknowledge it.
Agatha suddenly pulled away and Jean realized that her cheeks had been flowing with tears that she quickly wiped away. "I can not help you."
"What?" Jean gripped the edge of the table in order to hold herself up. "What do you mean you can't help me? You helped Wanda!"
"You and Wanda are not the same," the witch told her shortly. "Her anger was the barrier from her control. That was something she could work through. Your problem is different."
"I can't work through this?" she insisted. "Why? I don't understand!"
The candles went out together without a single gust of wind. "She had everything she needed. It is missing. You no longer have it."
"What?" Jean cried. "What is missing?"
Agatha fixed her with a steely glare. "You know what is gone. Whether you realize it now or not, you know."
The redhead placed her head in her hands, shoulders shaking with a sob. "What am I supposed to do now? What's going to happen?"
Her face relaxed a bit; she could understand the desperation behind Jean's words. "Whatever you have been faced lately will continue, though worsen considerably as time goes on. I don't know any specifics, as I am not a fortune teller."
"I…I…Thank you for your time, I guess," she whispered, managing to stand up slowly. Her cheeks were stained from the tears that refused to stop.
"I do wish I could help, but this is out of my powers. I believe it to be out of the reach of anyone's powers. Wanda was strong. You seem to have a power of Titanic proportions, one that the gods would have trouble concealing." Agatha fixed Jean with her grey eyes. "If anyone can help you, it's you."
Jean nodded. "Thank you. I…I should go now. Excuse me." She quickly walked past the woman and out the front door down the path to Scott's car. Before even bothering to stick the key in the ignition, Jean rested her forehead against the steering wheel, letting the tears and emotions take over again. Before this meeting, she had believed someone could help her. Now, the only thing she could count on had disappeared.
Jean Grey was out of hope.
On the ride back to the Institute, she practiced what she was going to say and the smile she would have to plaster on her face. Scott was waiting for her as she walked into the house and he intercepted her with a quick kiss. "Hey, you."
"What's up?" She looked at him quizzically. "Did something happen when I was gone?"
"I just missed you. Am I not allowed to miss you?" He put an arm around her waist. "And I missed my car too. It's ok, isn't it?"
Jean elbowed him in the stomach playfully. "I rank slightly above your car? Oh, thanks."
"Yeah, you and Rachel share that number one spot, but I'm thinking of adding some new speakers in the convertible, so you'd better watch out." Scott barely managed to land a kiss on her neck as Jean walked into the rec room in mock anger.
Rachel was lying on the couch with Sarina curled up next to her. Jean leaned over the back of the sofa and kissed her on the forehead. "Scott likes the convertible better than he likes us. Are you offended?"
"Nah, you like me better than you like him, so it all works out," the younger redhead grinned at her father.
"Pick on Scott hour, is it?" He put a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt. Alright, how about I take the two of out you to dinner? Just the three of us."
The dog sat up at the sounds of dinner, tail wagging excitedly. "Sounds good to me," Rachel told him. "My movie's on for another hour, but I'll be ready to go after that."
Scott checked his watch. "Ok, how about we go at six so you're not rushing after your movie's over." He kissed his girlfriend. "I'm going to go take a shower. Logan made me run the New Recruits through a complex field study earlier. You planned not to be here for that, didn't you?"
"Oh, you caught me," she grinned. "Now go shower." He gave a wave to his girls as Jean looked at the movie Rachel on the television. "So what are you watching anyway?"
"It's called Escaflowne. It's good, but a little weird."
"In what way?" Jean sat on the arm of the sofa, stroking Rachel's hair.
"Well…You know, it's nothing. I'm probably just imagining it." Rachel refocused her attention as it came back from commercial.
Her mother smiled and stood up. "Well, I have some things to do. Enjoy."
On her way home, one thing Agatha told her had stuck in her head. She may have not been a fortune teller, but there were mutants who were. After making sure the Professor was in his office, she snuck towards Cerebro. When Mystique had pretended to be the professor, they'd arranged it so that it would respond to her presence as well.
After scanning her eyes, the mechanical voice told her, "Welcome, Jean Grey."
She sat down at the chair and eased the helmet over her head, connecting with the system. "Find Destiny," she requested of the system, powering it with her mind.
Cerebro went through their files of mutants, landing on Destiny's profile:
Destiny:
Name: Irene
Addler
Power: Ability to foretell the future.
The profile changed to a map of the continental United States. As she concentrated on Destiny, the map zoomed in farther and farther until it centered on a certain address. 17392 Cypress Way, Pleasant Ridge, Michigan. From what she could see, it was like a suburb of Detroit, how Kitty's Northridge was right next to Chicago.
After memorizing the address and writing it down on the scrap of paper she'd brought with her, Jean shut down Cerebro and went upstairs to her bedroom, searching a travel website for the cheapest tickets she could find. Her parents gave her a credit card for absolute emergencies, and every few weeks they would put money in her bank account.
She ordered her ticket and packed a small bag, hiding it under her bed when she was finished. When she was finished, Jean laid on her bed, resting her eyes. This day, as well as the ones that had preceded it, had exhausted her.
At ten to six, Jean made herself get out of bed and changed into fresh clothes. Scott and Rachel were already waiting downstairs. "So, where do my girls want to go?" He asked as he pulled out of the driveway?"
"It's up to you, Rach," her mother told her graciously.
The girl thought about it. "Oh, Bobby and Amara said they went to the new Hard Rock Café and that it rocked, for lack of a better adjective. Can we go there?"
"Sounds good to me," Scott said, making a quick u-turn.
It seemed that they had the best luck. The trio arrived right before the dinner rush started and sat in a nice booth. Jean and Scott sat on one side, with their daughter on the other. After they finished dinner, her parents were having coffee as Rachel yawned.
"Why are you so tired?" Jean asked, reaching over the table and squeezing her hand.
"I woke up at five thirty this morning, got beat up by the Wolverine, took a shower, ate breakfast, went through the torture course with the New Recruits—thanks for that, by the way, Scott. Why wouldn't I be tired?"
Scott held his hands up in defense. "Hey, Logan made me. Plus, you're not a New Mutant, you didn't have to do it."
"Well, Uncle Logan said that if I didn't want to after this morning it was ok, and I took it as a challenge," Rachel shrugged.
Jean glanced at her boyfriend. "We all know where you got that from. You know, if you think all this working out is getting too much for you…"
"Oh my god, no way! I mean, that would make me a wimp. The daughter of the two greatest superheroes ever can't be a wimp."
The two looked at her in surprise. "What?"
Rachel shrugged and toyed with the straw in her glass. "You always have been to me."
Her parents exchanged a smile as Scott slipped a few bills into the check and stood up. "Everyone ready?"
The girls followed him outside the door, Jeans arm wrapped comfortably around Rachel's shoulders. Scott had to check on something for Xavier so the mother and daughter pair went up to Rachel's room.
The younger girl just pushed off her shoes and slipped into bed, smiling happily as Jean stroked her forehead. "I love you, sweetie."
"Love you too, Jean," Rachel smiled. "Hey, Jean?"
"Yeah, hon?"
"Would it be ok with you if I called you Mom?"
Her green eyes closed in content. "Of course, Rach. Of course."
The young girl finally drifted to sleep, and after giving her a kiss, Jean went to her room. Her printed tickets glared at her from her desk, only making her feel guilty. "I'm coming back," she told the paper. "I just have to know what I'm going to have to face first."
Her plane was leaving in a few hours, and she needed time to fly into NYC. Even with everything else out of control, that didn't fail. Pulling a pen out of her pencil holder, she wrote a quick note:
"Dear everyone,
I had to go out of town for a few days. Please don't worry, I promise I will be back as soon as possible. As always, if you need to find me, you know how to do it.
Rachel, please watch out for your father for me. We both know he needs it.
Love, Jean."
She placed the piece of paper on her pillow, and grabbing her bag and purse, crawled out her window and took off from the roof. The scenic view was more gorgeous than she could have ever imagined, and she smiled at the Empire State Building as she flew closer.
Jean landed a few blocks away from La Guardia before going into the airport and checking in. With a half hour before the plane left, she was in one of the small stores with a cup of Starbucks coffee, looking for something to read.
A book caught her eye. "'Confessions of a Shopaholic', huh?" she smirked. "Kitty'll love this. Amara and Tabby too probably." Planning on reading it on the plane and giving it to her friends after she got back, Jean purchased it and went to go wait in her terminal.
Of course, she didn't blame the book for not keeping her attention. With so much going through her head, she couldn't help thinking back to a few weeks ago, when she had read the professor's mind. A feeling of complete terror washed over her again. "Am I going to die?" she whispered to herself.
The only answer was a stewardess over the intercom. "Rows 7-15 on flight 3902 to Detroit now boarding."
That was her and she sat in her window seat, knowing there was no turning back now. Not surprisingly, she fell asleep even before they begun to taxi, not awakening until two hours later when the passenger next to her said they had landed.
Luckily, she didn't have to wait for baggage and caught a taxi to the hotel room she'd booked online. It certainly was no Hilton, but it'd do for the day or two she needed it. The address was burning a whole in her pocket, but she doubted that Destiny would help her at this late hour.
So instead, she curled up on the bed and fell asleep, dreaming of Rachel and Scott.
The next morning, Jean showered and used her powers to fly towards Pleasant Ridge, finding Destiny's house after a few minutes of searching. She landed on the side of the house before walking up and ringing the doorbell.
The blind mutant called from behind the door, "Who is it?"
"Miss Addler, my name is Jean Grey. I'm a friend of Rogue's. I was hoping you could help me." The door opened and Jean took that as her cue to step inside.
"I knew you were coming," Destiny told her. "I wasn't sure when, but I knew."
"Yes, well, I'm here now." She took in the bare surroundings besides a few mismatched couches and chairs. "Do you think you can help me?"
Irene sat on one of the couches, gesturing for Jean to do the same. "That depends on what you want me to do."
"Just…My powers are out of control. I talked to Agatha Harkness and she said that there was something missing and no way to hold back anymore. All that destruction I was causing would only increase," she sighed. "I want to know as much detail as you can tell me."
Destiny looked opposite from the woman she was talking to. "It doesn't always work that way."
"But it can, right?" Jean pressed. "Please, I need to know anything at all you can tell me."
"I know…everything." She began. "I've been having visions of you for a while. Since you walked through that door, it has become clear."
Jean reached for the older woman's arm frantically. "Please! Tell me!"
"You're not going to like it…" she sighed.
"I…I have to know."
Irene felt around until she reached Jean's hand and put it to her head. "You are a telepath, are you not? Then see what I have to show you now."
For a moment, everything was just flames. Flesh burning. Buildings burning. What she was in apparently had been a city at one time. Until she'd gotten there that was. Every living thing was destroyed by her hand. And the best part was, she liked it. The power fueled her, fed her, enriched her very being.
The chaos of one part spread over the world. She could hear her loved ones calling her, screaming for her to stop. Scott, Rachel, the X-men, her teachers, her family, the New Mutants: everyone. And then they all died, were ripped apart before they vanished off of the Earth she had conquered.
Soon everything was hers. Solar systems, galaxies, universes and life itself bended to her command. Words rang through her head, "X-men! I am no longer the woman you knew! I am fire! And life incarnate! Now and forever I am--!"
"NO!" she screamed, pushing away. Her shaking hands covered her face, trying to push out the memories. "No, oh no, oh god no!"
"I told you that you weren't going to like it," Irene said.
Jean put a hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her beating heart. "Is…is there any way to change this future?"
"Nothing is ever set in stone," was the woman's reply.
"So, it can be changed? Right?" She took several deep breaths.
"The chances are slim. My visions have never not come true. The only way I know of is if the person the future is about does something the universe would never expect. A personal sacrifice, if you will," Destiny explained.
Jean sighed and looked at the woman as she stood up. "I'll do it. I'll do anything for this not to come true!"
She nodded. "Very well. Because I do believe that is the only way to save our world."
A/N: Yes, I know I was supposed to get the next chapters of Commitment and Bright Lights up, but this was such a mondo important chapter that I really couldn't wait to write it. Pretty much everything that happens in the next few chapters will be very important to the plot.
Just for those that don't know, Agatha Harkness is the witch from Hex Factor and Deep Impact that helped Wanda with her powers and then when Mystique had been turned into stone. Destiny is Irene Addler, Rogue's foster mother from Rogue Recruit and Self Possessed.
By the way, for those of you who haven't seen the Vision of Escaflowne movie, the entire cast is done by the cast of Evolution. Scott is the main male part, Wanda is the main female and other characters include Jean, Bobby (as a bad guy!), Juggernaut and many more that I can't remember off the top of my head. No wonder Rachel was so freaked out, huh?
Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.
Review Responses:
Diaz F.: Yay birthday chocolate! Thank you! The prof and X-men will sense some changes very soon; of course, that's not necessarily a good thing. Later on you will find out how Rachel got here and all about her past.
Whylime: I will be updating my other fics and between you and me, I would have liked to do my fics WHILE cruising the Bahamas, but I wasn't given that choice. I'm glad you liked the scene between Rachel and Xavier, it was fun to write.
Jacx: Thanks for reading!
Wen1: Thank you for the nice birthday wishes. She went to go see Agatha Harkness, who I talked a little bit about in my Author Notes. I hope you liked this chapter!
Rogue14: Well, Aggy kind of helped Jean. Sorta. Maybe. Well, she talked to her and sometimes even talking to people can help. Yeah. Right.
Sweetmidnight: Thank you so much! I had a great birthday. Thanks for reading.
Strayphoenix: I'm glad you like it so much. We do love to build each other's confidence up though. I'm still waiting for updates on your fics! I hope you like this chapter.
Slickboy444: Well, I'm glad you told me the story was dragging a bit. Of course, I know what's going to happen and my beta knows what's going to happen so I guess I didn't notice it so much. In return for being draggy, here's a very major chapter out as soon as I could get it (which includes finishing it at 1 in the morning on a school night). I hope you think it's picking up!
Amazing redd phoenix: I'm glad you liked the chapter. I enjoy stray's fics too. You gotta love Rachel and Nathan (Chris, whatever you want to call him) as animals. I hope you like this chapter too.
DOJ: Yes, Scott and Jean are the greatest couple! I hope you like the Rachel scene in this chapter.
Maddisonavenue: Now you know who Agatha is. Thanks for reading and reviewing.
Reddfire: No worries! I got the next chapter out ASAP! I'm so happy you like it and pray you like this one as well.
