"Thank you, Professor," said Jean, "This has been very helpful."
"You're quite welcome, Jean," responded Xavier, "We'll resume next week."
"I'm sorry again about the whole Student Leader thing," added Jean.
"I know," nodded Xavier, "It did not reflect well on you of course, but if you keep up the techniques we've been working on I'm confident you'll be X-Men material when the time comes."
Jean smiled. There was a knock at the door. Xavier looked to Jean, who nodded.
"Come in!" called Xavier.
"Hello Charles," said Ororo as she entered, "Oh, hello Jean."
Ororo hadn't been expecting to see Jean in there.
"Yes, what is it Ororo?" asked Xavier.
"The new student is here," said Ororo, "Remy and Rogue just got back from the airport."
"Excellent timing," smiled Xavier, "Jean, it sounds like Jubilee has arrived. Why don't you go out and introduce yourself? I'll be along shortly."
"Sounds good," said Jean, getting up and walking out.
Ororo closed the door behind Jean and turned to face Xavier.
"What were you two talking about?" she asked.
"Jean consulted me and requested weekly counseling sessions to help deal with her anger issues," explained Xavier, "This information is relevant to you and the rest of the staff, but Jean has requested that we not tell the other students."
"Jean has an anger problem?" asked Ororo.
"Yes," confirmed Xavier, "You see, the angrier she gets, the more potent her powers seem to be. At a certain point she becomes destructive and dangerous. She calls it the Phoenix."
"The Phoenix?" asked Ororo, "Is it a separate personality?"
"No," said Xavier, "It's more of a dramatic swing of emotion. It's a rare side effect of telepathy that causes something of an emotional feedback loop. It feeds the anger more and more until there's nothing she can do."
"Charles," said Ororo concernedly, "You're a wonderful teacher, you really are, but I can't agree with your decision to continue to train Jean. What if the Phoenix shows up around the other students?"
"That won't happen," said Xavier.
"But if it did-"
"If it did we would need to consider Jean's expulsion," said Xavier, "but so long as that isn't the case, we will continue to treat her like the other students. Is that understood?"
"Of course," said Ororo quickly, walking out of the room.
Xavier sighed. He didn't need to read Ororo's mind to know she was unhappy. Ororo had no patience for bullying, so she had been upset with the minimal consequences for Jean's previous outburst. That being said, Ororo respected Xavier enough to not actively subvert his wishes. At least he hoped she did.
Jean entered the foyer. The spacious room was enormous and generally free of any clutter. The hardwood floor was partially covered by a beautiful, ornate rug. Two separate stairways across from the entrance led to a second level that wrapped around the exterior of the room, where numerous doors led to other rooms in the mansion. A gorgeous chandelier hung in the center, high above the heads of the students gathered there.
Scott, Kurt, Roxanne, Remy, and Rogue were standing around with the new girl that Jean hadn't yet met. Her name was Jubilation Lee, but she went by Jubilee for short. She was extremely identifiable. The short woman's pink tinted sunglasses rested on top of her hair, which was styled in a pixie cut. She wore a short yellow jacket with a pink T-shirt and high waisted denim shorts. She also wore a pair of shiny brown boots, dangling pink diamond earrings, and fingerless brown gloves. She had dark red lipstick and sharp eyeliner.
"Jean!" waved Scott happily, "Hey, this is Jubilee!"
Jean walked up to the woman and shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Jubilee," she said, "I'm Jean Grey."
"Jean Grey, huh?" smiled Jubilee, "Wow, you look exactly like I thought you would!"
What's that supposed to mean? thought Jean.
"You've heard of me," noted Jean, hoping for an explanation.
"Oh yeah," said Jubilee, "Remy and Rogue gave me the rundown of everyone here."
"Really?" said Jean, eyeing Rogue, "What did they tell you about me?"
Rogue was not Jean's biggest fan. Rogue's rebellious nature uniformly opposed Jean's strict adherence to rules and structure. Their relationship was always tense, but it came to a head when Rogue's antagonism drove Jean to reveal Rogue's deepest, darkest secrets. Jean couldn't imagine Rogue having anything nice to say about her.
"Aw, Jeanie," dismissed Remy, "Don't worry, we didn't badmouth you or anything."
The students laughed. Jean didn't like that. Why were they laughing? Why hadn't anyone answered her question directly? What had they talked about before Jean came into the room? Jean took a deep breath. She needed to stay calm. She had to give this new student a chance before jumping to any conclusions.
"Khaki girl, huh?" said Jubilee.
Jean raised her eyebrows in perplexity and then looked down at her pants. She was wearing khakis, along with a cute white blouse and a blazer. She also had a sharp pair of brown loafers she had paired with a matching brown belt. She was pretty proud of her outfit today. What was Jubilee trying to say?
"Yeah," said Jean, "I guess you could say that."
"You don't think they make you look like a Catholic schoolboy?"
Jean stared back at Jubilee intensely.
"No," she said, not breaking eye contact, "I don't."
The tension lasted for another few moments before Kurt broke the silence.
"Jubilee!" he said loudly, "We should show you around, yeah?"
"Yeah!" smiled Jubilee, "Where first?"
"Let us start with the kitchen," said Kurt in a grandiose manner, strutting across the room toward the kitchen while flicking his tail about in time with his walk.
The students walked after him, except Jean, who stayed behind and continued to stare at Jubilee.
"Jean!" called back Scott, "You coming?"
"No thanks," smiled Jean, "I have a bit of a headache. I'm going to go lie down."
That was a lie. Jean just didn't trust herself to be in the room with Jubilee much longer without saying something she would regret. Instead, returned to her room to practice one of the anger management techniques Xavier had taught her. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
Scott knocked on the door.
"Come in!" called Jean from inside.
Scott walked into Jean's room. He whistled in amazement at what he saw. Jean was standing on one side of the room, concentrating and holding her fingers to her head. Across from Jean, where her bed had previously been, was a pile of bed parts that were quickly being telekinetically assembled.
"One second," said Jean," Almost done…"
The bed was complete. Jean let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Scott.
"Hi!" she said cheerily.
"You training?" asked Scott.
"No," said Jean, "This is one of the anger management techniques Xavier was teaching me. You see, Phoenix always wants to break and destroy things, so I'm constructing things. I've been practicing gently disassembling and reassembling furniture.
"Look at you!" smiled Scott, "That's great!"
"Thanks!"
"Anyway, we should probably get to ethics class," said Scott, "Firestar's guest teaching this one!"
Angelica Jones, also known as Firestar, was a former Avenger who was currently residing in the X-Mansion. As the only mutant Avenger, she held something of a celebrity status here. No one was quite sure how long she was staying or what her plans were, but everyone was happy to have her and excited to impress her.
Jean and Scott walked down to the lecture hall, where most of the students and Angelica had already gathered. Ororo and Angelica stood at the front of the room on the auditorium stage. The students all sat in the audience. Scott and Jean joined them. Several minutes later class began.
"Good afternoon, everyone," began Ororo, "I trust you are all aware of Ms. Jones's experience with the Avengers. She will be assisting the lecture today by providing personal experiences of how she encountered ethical dilemmas in the field."
Oh! realized Jean, This is actually a great opportunity! I can demonstrate my knowledge of the coursework and impress Firestar!
"Okay," began Ororo, powering up the projector, "What did everyone think of the reading?"
Jean immediately raised her hand. Ororo glanced over at her. She paused, which gave Kurt a moment to raise his hand. She called on him and he began to wax poetic about the ethics discussed in the reading.
Huh, thought Jean, Why didn't she call on me?
Jean waited patiently. The lecture continued as they went over specific examples from the reading, which focused on when the use of mutant-powered force was acceptable from both legal and ethical standpoints.
"Can anyone think of a real world example of questionable use of superpowers?" asked Ororo.
Jean's hand shot up. This was the perfect opportunity to talk about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s unlawful apprehension of A.I.M. agents using the Avengers. Firestar was sure to be familiar with it. Jean had written several papers on the subject.
"I thought the stunt Jean pulled as a Student Leader was pretty unethical," said Rogue smugly.
There was some general laughter. Attention fell to Jean, who anxiously lowered her hand and clenched her teeth in embarrassment.
"Relax, Red!" laughed Rogue, "I was joking!"
"I'm sorry," said Angelica, "but I actually don't know what Rogue is referring to."
"Um…" said Jean, "I don't know if we have to go into the whole thing…"
"You should have seen it," grinned Remy, "It was wild!"
"What was it?" asked Angelica.
"Um, Ororo?" asked Jean weakly, slightly raising her hand, "Do we have to talk about this now?"
"It seems relevant to the subject we're discussing," said Ororo, "and I'm sorry, Jean, but you're going to have to continue to live with the consequences of your actions."
"What did she do?" asked Angelica.
"Oh," muttered Jean, "You see, I, um…"
"Go on, Jean," smirked Rogue, "Tell them how you held me down and forcefully probed my mind for the most sensitive and personal secrets you could find."
"Wow!" exclaimed Jubilee, half in shock and half in excitement, "Seriously?"
"What would make you do something like that?" asked Angelica, frowning.
"I'm sorry," blushed Jean, "It was wrong, I know. But you have to understand it was very stressful-"
"I mean they were ridiculing Scott! He couldn't even get hard enough for us to have sex after what they-"
Jean realized everyone in the room was staring at her. Jean's eyes widened. She realized she had accidentally telepathically broadcast that thought to the entire room. Scott and Jean both turned bright red. Various students began snickering.
"To answer your question, Rogue," said Ororo, trying to ignore what had just happened, "Yes, Jean's actions were definitely a questionable use of her powers. In fact, were it a real mission, such actions would have violated international vigilante laws and compromised any legal proceedings that followed."
Jean pushed her butt down harder and harder into her chair. She wanted to sink into it and disappear. Angelica was still looking at her with disappointment. It felt awful. Jean glanced at Rogue, doing her best to keep herself from glaring. Rogue had brought that up in front of Angelica on purpose; Jean was sure of it.
The lecture continued and ultimately concluded. Everyone got up to leave, with multiple students including Jubilee giggling as they caught Jean trying to hide her face as she walked away.
Jean returned to her room and disassembled and reassembled the furniture, calming herself down. She continued this until it was time for field training.
Jean and the other students stood in the Danger Room in their standard issue uniforms. The Danger Room was effectively a highly advanced gymnasium, but its default state just appeared as a large, empty steel room. There was a window looking down from the observation deck, in which Storm sat at the controls.
As a member of the X-Men, Storm's uniform was more unique than the rest of theirs. Hers lacked any yellow, with the spandex being completely black and both the gloves and boots being white. The uniform came with a long black and white cape, which was fastened to Storm's shoulders and could be fastened to her boots if necessary. Her control over the wind allowed her to make use of the cape as a flying apparatus.
"Today we will be going over how to use your powers to adapt," said Storm.
Jean smiled to herself. At least now she was in familiar territory. Her telekinesis reaction time was as fast as her thoughts. This training session would be perfect for her.
"For the sake of today's training," said Storm, "We will be doing one demonstration followed by a discussion. Rogue and Jean, please step forward. Everyone else, please gather along the edges of the room."
Rogue? thought Jean, Why her? There is no way our powers are compatible in the context of this exercise.
"Rogue," said Storm, "You will be the one participating in this demonstration. Please use your powers on Jean to absorb her telekinetic abilities without harming her."
"Wait, why?" demanded Jean, "If you're interested in demonstrating telekinesis, why not-?"
"Don't argue with me Jean," said Storm, "You're not required to participate in the training if you would prefer to leave."
Jean sighed. She didn't want to miss out on the training. She removed a glove and presented her bare hand to Rogue. Rogue removed her own glove and placed her hand on Jean's. Jean hated the smug look on her face. Jean felt a head rush followed by a sudden loss of balance. When it was over she made her way to the edge of the room with the others.
"Rogue," said Storm, "I will activate the rapid fire paintball turrets. Your only task is to prevent them from hitting you without leaving or affecting the turrets themselves. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Alright," said Storm, "Let's begin."
Two automatic trap doors in the floor opened across from Rogue. Large turrets rose out of them. Both turned to face Rogue. One fired a shot. Rogue gasped, but held her hand out and stopped the paintball midair. She sighed with relief. The other gun fired a shot. She caught that too.
The rate of fire slowly began to speed up. Rogue continued to catch the paintballs in the air and drop them to the ground. She was concentrating incredibly hard, but she was catching every one of them. It was impressive, but Jean still didn't know why Storm didn't just have Jean do the demonstration.
Then two more turrets rose up on the other side of the room. Jean's first thought was a telekinetic force field. It was one of the more complicated things she could do with her powers, but it was going to be necessary to block the attacks from so many different directions.
The two turrets behind Rogue both fired a shot. Rogue spun around and held out her hand, catching them in the air. Then the other two fired and Rogue caught those as well, dropping them all to the ground. Then they all began firing in sequence, forcing Rogue to catch them one by one.
Jean watched intensely. Rogue wasn't using the force field. Maybe she wasn't good enough with Jean's powers to do it. She'd have to do it soon enough if she didn't want to get hit though.
All four turrets fired a shot at once. This was it. She couldn't catch these one by one. Then Rogue did something that surprised Jean. She spun in place, waving her hand in a circle around her. In doing so she telekinetically redirected each of the paintballs one by one before they reached her. Jean couldn't believe it. She had done it.
"Excellent," said Storm, "That concludes the demonstration. Thank you, Rogue."
"You're welcome," smiled Rogue as she returned to the rest of them.
"So," said Storm, "What do we all think of Rogue's technique?"
Jean immediately raised her hand. No one else did. Storm waited for a moment before calling on her.
"Yes, Jean?"
"It was impressive," said Jean plainly, "but a force field would have been a more effective approach."
"I agree," said Rogue, "Only I didn't get enough of your telekinesis to do that."
"Indeed," said Storm, "and that was the point. It's true that a force field would have been more effective, but the purpose of this exercise was not to determine the most effective use of telekinesis. The purpose of this exercise was utilizing one's powers to react and adapt. Rogue didn't have access to the force field technique, so she had to quickly find a different technique that would accomplish the same thing. As you all saw, she succeeded. Well done, Rogue!"
The other students applauded. Rogue smirked at Jean. Jean, doing her best not to scowl or glare, began clapping as well. That was infuriating. It made Jean look incredibly incompetent. Fortunately, Jean made it through the rest of training without incident. Then she went directly to her room to be alone.
Come on… Come on… concentrated Jean.
She was disassembling and reassembling her alarm clock. It was less strenuous than doing it with her furniture because it was so small, but the fine details were harder to achieve. Sweat trickled down the side of her head as she finished constructing it. She let out a sigh. She felt better.
Jean heard a knock and telekinetically opened the door. Scott was standing on the other side, smiling nervously. Jean nodded and he walked in.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," she said.
"That was… Unfair," said Scott, closing the door behind him, "what Ororo did, I mean."
"Yeah."
"It was like she was trying to get to you," suggested Scott, "Did you do something to piss her off recently?"
"Well I did degrade and invade Rogue's mind in front of everyone," sighed Jean guiltily, "She's probably not too happy about that."
"Maybe that's it," shrugged Scott, "Either way it's uncool."
"Thanks."
"Do you have any work left?" asked Scott.
"I finished my paper on genetic mutations last week," said Jean, "So no, I don't have any work left."
"Do you wanna go out?" suggested Scott, "Maybe do something fun?"
"I don't know," sighed Jean, "I'd rather stay here. I'm tired."
"That's fine too."
"It's not so boring here," smiled Jean as she strutted up to Scott, "After all, we could always find a way to have fun."
Jean slid her hands around Scott's hips and rested them on his butt, pulling herself close to him so that their noses were touching. She grinned wider as she felt the urge to press herself even closer to him, kissing him and feeling his arms wrap around her and squeeze her tight. There was a slam as Jean telekinetically pushed the bedroom door shut behind Scott.
Before long, the two were on Jean's bed. It was a twin bed, so it was cramped, but they had gotten used to it. Scott's wrap-around sunglasses kept tightly on his face, otherwise this sort of intimacy would have posed a huge risk. Just to be safe, Jean did telekinetically press them against him the whole time.
That wasn't all she did with her telekinesis. Jean and Scott had been together for some time and Jean had found a number of ways to get creative in bed with her powers. Of course, they were limited by the fact that they were in a dorm next to other students. They still managed to try exciting and different things most nights.
This night was no different. It was a good release. Jean forgot all about her frustrations and insecurities. She knew Scott was enjoying it too. She created a light telepathic link whenever they were intimate, which let them communicate without worry of people hearing them and generally allowing them to know exactly how to please one another. The connection was light enough that it didn't broadcast all thoughts to one another, just general feelings or desires. The connection became stronger as they each approached climax.
Jean was overjoyed as both she and Scott reached the peak just before climaxing. She loved the feeling of doing it at the same time, which was easy enough to do when they had the telepathic link. The link was at its strongest during the climax, when both of them received visceral thoughts from the other. There was something primally intimate and satisfying about it that they both loved.
The moment happened and Jean clenched her teeth to hold in her moan. She felt Scott's jaw tense as he did the same. Then Jean opened her mind and received the visceral thought coming from Scott's mind: the most powerful thought in his head during this beautiful moment.
The thought was an image of Rogue.
Jean rolled onto her side, panting. What was that? Why was Scott thinking of her? To be attracted to Rogue was one thing, but to have her on his mind at the moment he finished…
"Wow," smiled Scott quietly, "That was great, huh?"
Jean thought about telling him. He probably didn't realize exactly what thought she had seen. After all, she never rarely knew which of hers he saw. She knew that Scott cared for her, but the idea that he was more attracted to Rogue was incredibly damaging to her self-esteem. Scott would know that, which was probably why he hadn't told her.
"Hey," said Jean after a moment, "I, uh, think I need some space. Is that alright with you?"
"Yeah," nodded Scott, "Of course. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah," lied Jean, "It's just, you know, all this stuff I've been dealing with lately."
"I understand," said Scott, getting out of bed and grabbing his clothes off the ground, "You let me know if you need anything, okay?"
"Okay."
Scott left and Jean sighed sadly. She knew he meant well, but it still hurt. She couldn't help but be mad at him, even if it wasn't fair. Jean turned to her alarm clock, reached out her hand, and began to disassemble and reassemble it.
Jean slowly made her way down the stairs. She was getting ready for her traditional morning ritual of drinking coffee on the back porch before anyone else was awake. It was a Saturday, so most of the others would be asleep. This was just what Jean needed. Some peace and quiet by herself.
She hadn't showered yet and was still wearing what she had worn to bed: a baggy black shirt over a thick, fuzzy pair of green pajama pants with matching socks. Underneath she was wearing her softest pair of high waisted yellow briefs, which she was too embarrassed to wear normally since they would always ride up over her pants.
Jean hummed to herself as she telekinetically made herself coffee in the kitchen while she did her morning stretches. When it was finally ready, she set the pot out for the others and walked out the back door with her mug.
"Scott!?" she yelled.
"Oh, hi Jean!" smiled Scott.
"Morning, Red," scoffed Rogue, "Nice pajamas."
Rogue and Scott were already sitting at the table at which Jean usually enjoyed her morning coffee. There was some orange juice, plates of toast, and a half eaten bowl of cereal on the table. There were only two chairs, leaving Jean to stand beside them awkwardly. Neither got up to offer her their seat.
Rogue was already fully dressed. She had her usual black skinny jeans and combat boots along with a black leather jacket worn over a tight white T-shirt. Her hair was tied up in a black and white bandana. Scott was dressed in his usual baggy jeans, loafers, and polo shirt. It made Jean feel underdressed by comparison, as if she needed more embarrassment.
"What are you two doing up so early?" she asked, trying not to sound suspicious or jealous.
"Just hanging," said Rogue, "Scott mentioned that the sunrise over those trees was something I just had to see."
The sunrise!? thought Jean, I'm not crazy; that seems romantic, right? Why would Scott suggest that to her?
In fact, Scott had told Jean the same thing when she first arrived. It was what had inspired her to even start this morning routine. She didn't realize Scott shared that fact with others too. Jean felt an intense impulse to read their minds and find out if they were involved or lying to her, but she fought against it. She couldn't let her anger or jealousy get the better of her.
"Yeah," said Jean calmly, "Scott showed me too. I get up to see it every morning."
"Huh," said Rogue, "Maybe I'll start doing that too."
Jean scowled. Fortunately, neither Scott nor Rogue saw her do it. Jean did not like Rogue encroaching on this area of her life. She watched the southern goth girl undo the bandana to let her brown and white hair down. It was a bit of a mess from being tied up in the bandana, but Jean caught Scott staring at Rogue as she adjusted it.
"Whoa!" shouted Scott, backing away from the table with milk and cereal dripping off the crotch of his pants.
Okay, admitted Jean to herself, I probably shouldn't have done that. But at least now there's no way he has a boner.
"That's weird," said Scott, grabbing a napkin off the table and dabbing it, "I must have spilled it while I wasn't looking."
Rogue eyed Jean.
"What?" asked Jean, feigning innocence.
She knows, thought Jean to herself, Damn it.
"I should get going," said Rogue, standing up, "I want to see more about what's going on at that festival. Bye now!"
"Festival?" asked Jean once Rogue had left.
"Oh, sorry," said Scott, "Jubilee told us about this music festival thing. She put tickets under our doors and everything. Didn't you get one?"
"No."
"Oh," realized Scott, "Well she must have made a mistake or something. Anyway, it's tonight if you want to come! It'll be a great chance to get to know her."
"I don't have a ticket…"
"I'm sure she has one for you!" assured Scott, "She must have either put it somewhere else by mistake or kept it for when she saw you in person. Do you want me to get you some breakfast or something?"
"No," said Jean, "It's fine. Why don't you go in and clean up?"
"Sure," nodded Scott, "We're all meeting in the foyer at 3:00 to head out, by the way."
Scott walked inside and Jean looked angrily at the ground. She took a deep breath and began to place the individual cereal pieces back into the bowl while stacking the toast and dirty dishes.
Jean popped her lips in the mirror. Her lipstick looked good. She looked good.
Jean was wearing a pair of skinny blue jeans with brown boots, a black T-shirt, and a tight, brown leather jacket. Her hair rested on her shoulders perfectly and her makeup was as good as she had ever made it look. Even if this music festival sucked, at least she'd look hot.
Jean grabbed her purse and headed out, making her way down the stairs to the foyer. She saw all the others had gathered there. She wasn't the only one who had gone all out with her outfit. Scott was wearing an actual button down and a tie for once instead of a polo. Kurt wore an old army jacket and a hood that partially obscured his face. A blue devil showing up at a music festival might actually go over well, but he still wanted the option to hide if he needed to. Remy had a long brown trench coat that flowed as he moved. Roxanne had a black leather jacket, baggy blue jeans, and black sneakers. Jubilee wore the same boots and shorts from the day before, but had traded out her yellow jacket for a yellow tube top that showed off her belly button piercing. Rogue was still wearing her outfit from that morning.
"Hey everyone!" smiled Jean, "Are we good to go?"
"Yeah, I think so!" said Scott.
Jubilee awkwardly looked to Remy and Rogue, then to Scott, and finally to Jean.
"This is… awkward," began Jubilee, "I only had six tickets, Jean. I didn't know you wanted to come."
"I- what?" stammered Jean, "Why was I the one you didn't give a ticket to?"
"I don't know," shrugged Jubilee, "I guess I didn't get the impression you liked stuff like this."
"You mean having fun?" snarked Rogue.
Jean's face was turning red with both anger and indignance. She could feel power welling up inside her as she got angrier, knowing the Phoenix was close. She had to calm down. She had to show that she had the discipline necessary to be a member of the X-Men.
"I'm so sorry, Jean," apologized Scott, "I really thought she had… Here, take my ticket."
"No," said Jean quietly, "It's fine. Go."
"Are you sure?"
"GO!" shouted Jean angrily.
As she shouted, a small telekinetic burst made her hair blow back and her eyes glow for a moment. Everyone backed away nervously except Jubilee, who just seemed confused. Jean took a deep breath and turned to face the armchair in the corner.
"Sorry," she whispered, "I don't think it's a good idea for me to be in crowds right now anyway."
Jean went about deconstructing and reconstructing the armchair. It didn't fit back together as cleanly as the furniture in her room, since this one was never meant to be disassembled. She focused and struggled to build it back together. She needed to focus on this. She needed to keep herself from-
"YEOW!" screamed Jean as a fiery pain burned her butt.
The armchair fell apart as Jean's attention was drawn to the seat of her pants, which had caught fire. Jubilee stood proudly several feet behind Jean, glowing light in her right hand. Jean smothered the flames right away with her powers, but the hole burned into her jeans gave a clear view of her white underwear. Jubilee started laughing.
"Hey, Jubilee!" shouted Scott angrily, "What gives!?"
"Just trying to get this square to lighten up," chuckled Jubilee, "I didn't burn anything but her pants."
Jean was breathing deeply now, practically snarling. She wanted to get back at them all so badly. She wanted to show them what happened when they tried to belittle her. She held it in though. She needed to remember what Xavier said. Keeping the Phoenix in check was what she needed to do if she ever wanted to be on the X-Men.
"Cute undies," snarked Rogue.
Scott smirked.
That was it.
Phoenix spun in place and thrust her arm towards Jubilee. Jubilee was blasted straight backward with such force and speed that she burst out the front doors and kept going until she landed dozens of feet away on the lawn, twitching on the ground.
"Just trying to get you to lighten up!" roared Phoenix.
"Oh no," whispered Scott nervously, "Jean, maybe you should calm down..."
All Phoenix had to do was turn her head and look at Scott to make him flinch and back away. Her eyes were glowing a whitish yellow and the energy radiating off her caused her jacket and hair to look like it was blowing in the wind.
"You'd like that wouldn't you!?" shouted Phoenix, "For me to stay calm and silent while you run off with Rogue!"
"Oh boy," whispered Rogue.
Phoenix flicked her wrist and parts of the armchair flew at high speeds directly into Scott's balls. Scott gasped and grabbed his crotch in pain, tearing up and biting his lip. Then Phoenix flicked her wrist again and again, pelting his crotch with more pieces of the armchair. Scott cried out in pain over and over and tried to turn away, but they would fly around and relentlessly home into his balls no matter what.
"Still thinking about her instead of me!?" demanded Phoenix.
"Jean!" pled Rogue, rushing between her and Scott, "Come on, you don't want to castrate him!"
Scott was now lying on the floor in a fetal position, whimpering and and hugging his knees in as close as he could.
"You think you're hot stuff, don't you?" bellowed Phoenix at Rogue.
"Jean, let's- GRK!"
Rogue grasped at her neck, but there was nothing for her to grasp at. Phoenix's telekinetic powers were gripping her by the collar of her shirt, tightening it around her neck in the process. Phoenix lifted them both into the air levitated both of them out the door.
"Rogue!" cried Remy, running after them.
Phoenix flew into the air, carrying the strangled Rogue with her as they approached a mud puddle near the obstacle course. Rogue's face was turning purple as her air supply was cut off more and more. She was just starting to feel lightheaded when Jean slammed her down into the mud puddle. Rogue let out a cough of pain as she hit the ground. The next thing she knew, she was being smothered by the mud in all directions.
"You think you understand my powers!?" screamed Phoenix, " You don't know half of what I can do!"
She forced the mud to cover Rogue in all directions while filling her mouth and going down her clothes. Waves of the oozing puddle came up and slammed back down on top of Rogue over and over again, with some holding her down or even rubbing her face into the ground.
Rogue sputtered and fought for fresh air, finally gasping as the mud let up. She sat straight up, completely caked in mud. It was starting to dry and had made it into her ears, her mouth, her nose, and even into her underwear. The feeling of it slowly drying made her cringe from discomfort. She looked up as Remy rushed up beside her and knelt.
Remy placed his hands gently on Rogue's shoulders, reassuring her for a moment before they looked into each other's eyes. Remy stared directly at Rogue silently for a moment. Then he spoke.
"Freak," he said emotionlessly.
Rogue's heart stopped for a moment before she realized what was happening. Remy's expression wasn't right. She looked over at Phoenix. She was using her telepathy to control him.
"Cut it out NOW, Jean!" shouted Rouge.
Rogue heard a hissing. She turned back to Remy to see him holding a card close to both of their faces. It was glowing. Rogue knew what that meant.
"Uh-oh."
Mud flew everywhere as both Remy and Rogue were hit with a kinetic blast that knocked both of them out and sent them flying in opposite directions. Phoenix smiled with pride.
"JEAN!" called Storm, "That's enough of this!"
A powerful wind whipped up as dark storm clouds rolled in from the horizon. Phoenix turned to see Storm standing at the entrance to the mansion. She was wearing her X-Men uniform and the cape was latched onto both her shoulders and her boots. A powerful burst of air filled the cape and lifted Storm up and into the air. Thunder and lightning crashed and flickered around her as she blew closer to Phoenix.
"You!" shouted Phoenix back, "Are you going to try to humiliate me in front of everyone again!?"
"I am not here to placate you, Jean!" called Storm back, "You will stand down or face my wrath!"
Storm conjured a bolt of lightning from the sky to frighten Phoenix. When she didn't react, Storm generated a lower voltage bolt and aimed it directly at her. The lightning flashed, but there appeared to be no effect. Phoenix had surrounded herself in a telekinetic force field.
"Let's give you a taste of your own medicine," growled Phoenix, then thrust her arm at Storm.
Storm's cape ripped off of her uniform, fluttering far away. With no parachute to catch the wind, Storm began her plummet to the ground. She braced herself for the impact, unsure of the damage she would sustain. Suddenly she stopped in midair, held telekinetically by Phoenix. Storm kicked her legs and waved her arms, but Phoenix effortlessly moved her helpless body toward the top of the flagpole. Storm felt another telekinetic grip form on the waistband of her underpants.
"You wouldn't DARE!" she said.
"I would," said Phoenix.
Storm clenched her teeth and crossed her eyes as the white fabric of her white stretchy underwear shot into the air behind her. Then she let out a squeal of pain when Phoenix released her hold on Storm's body, dropping her into a hanging wedgie as she secured the waistband to the top of the pole.
"You will let me down this instant!" screamed Storm indignantly, tensing as the cotton cut deeper and deeper.
Phoenix laughed and laughed. Her sadistic laughs of schadenfreude soon became a maniacal cackle of revenge. She had done it! She had shown all of them what happened when they tried to demean the Phoenix! No one could stop her now!
Jean's unconscious body fell to the ground, motionless. At the entrance to the mansion, Xavier sat in his wheelchair with a single finger to his temple. He didn't have the telekinetic powers that Jean did, but his telepathy was strong enough to knock anybody out if he focused enough.
Xavier looked around. Kurt had teleported into his office to get him while Roxanne had gotten Storm. They were clearly the lucky ones. Rogue and Remy were both lying unconscious and covered in mud, Scott was still writhing in pain on the floor, Storm was dangling from the flagpole by her own underwear, and Jubilee was walking around on her knuckles making monkey sounds.
Huh, thought Xavier as he looked at Jubilee, It looks like… She telepathically convinced her she was an ape. Interesting.
Xavier cleared the hypnosis from Jubilee's mind, causing her to come to. A moment later she winced and groaned in pain. Jean had hit her with a telekinetic blast as well. She looked around and saw the same sight of chaos that Xavier did.
"What… happened?" she asked.
Jean looked shamefully down at her feet. She had been waiting for almost 10 minutes now. She was sitting in Xavier's office, awaiting their discussion on how to address her behavior. After everyone recovered from the event the previous day, Jean eventually woke up and considered what she had done. She felt horrible about it. All those years of managing the Phoenix down the drain in one day.
The door opened. Jean spun around in her chair. Xavier wheeled in followed by Ororo. The two of them nodded to Jean and made their way around to the other side of the desk, where they looked at her for a moment before Xavier began to speak.
"Jean," he said, "I believe it goes without saying that your behavior was unacceptable."
"Yes, Professor."
"Furthermore," he continued, "The fact that you bottled in all of your frustration and tried to deal with it yourself instead of coming to me is extremely concerning."
Jean gripped the fabric of her pants and hunched her shoulders in embarrassment. Did Xavier know all the awful things that had happened to her? That was mortifying to think about.
"That being said," continued Xavier, "you are not the only responsible party here. I plan to have a serious discussion with Jubilee as well. Given that and other… unwarranted circumstances…"
Jean saw Ororo frown as Xavier glanced at her. Apparently Xavier had not approved of Ororo's teaching methods. Jean was glad of that at least.
"...you will not be expelled," continued Xavier, "However, all students and staff will be informed of your condition to guarantee everyone's safety. Is that understood?"
"Yes."
"Good," nodded Xavier, "Then I will see you next week for our usual session."
Jean blinked in confusion.
"Wait a minute," she said, "That's it? No punishment?"
"Are you complaining?"
"I mean no, but-"
"It was Ororo's idea," said Xavier, "She didn't think academic penalties would do anything other than upset you. I think we can all agree very little good comes from that."
"Thank you," said Jean quietly, nodding to Ororo.
"Alright Jean," said Xavier, "You're dismissed."
"I still can't believe you advocated for no punishment," said Xavier once Jean had left, "After what she did to you…"
"It's better this way," smiled Ororo.
Jean was on her way back to her room when she turned the corner to see the other students except Scott standing there, arms crossed and looking at her angrily. Jean nearly leapt back. She didn't like the sight of this.
"Um," said Jean nervously, "Hi guys."
"We heard you had a talk with the professor," said Roxanne.
"Yeah."
"What did he say?" asked Remy.
"He, uh…" muttered Jean, "Didn't think any punishment was necessary."
"Really?" asked Rogue angrily.
"Really."
"That's funny," said Remy, "Because from what I recall, you violently attacked all of us and kept us from making it to that fine music festival we were so excited about."
"I'm sorry," said Jean bowing her head, "If there's anything I can do to make it up…"
"There is one thing," grinned Rogue.
"What is it?"
RIIIIIIIIIP!
Scott poked his head out of his bedroom door. What the hell was that noise? It had sounded like fabric tearing, but was far louder than anything like that should have sounded. Then he heard footsteps coming down the hall. The sight shocked him.
Jean was walking slowly, step-by-step with a ridiculous look on her face. Her skin was bright red and sweat was rolling down her forehead. Her eyes were bulging and her mouth seemed frozen in a perpetual grimace. For a moment Scott thought she was wearing a white hat. As she got closer, that proved not to be the case.
Jean's underwear had been pulled up her back and up and over her head like a hood, hooked over her forehead with the elastic. The underwear pulled her head back while ripping up and into her butt, becoming tighter with every step. Jean's legs were trembling as she walked now and she was struggling to keep her balance.
"Jesus Christ, Jean!" exclaimed Scott, "Who-"
"Don't worry," she squeaked in a high-pitched voice, "This is just me accepting the consequences for my actions. I agreed to it."
"That…" said Scott, "Looks extremely painful."
"It is," squeaked Jean, "I let Rogue use my powers to do it. She didn't hold back."
"I can see that," noted Scott, "How long do you have to stay like this?"
"They said I can take it off when I finish walking through the entire mansion."
"Good luck I guess."
"Thanks."
Scott stood and watched as Jean continued down the hall, waddling as the white fabric pulled up more and more. When she passed Scott he saw that the wedgie had caused her to clench her butt cheeks so hard he could clearly see the outline of each cheek through her jeans. He chuckled at the sight. Jean stopped where she was.
Scott immediately regretted that chuckle.
RIIIIIIIIIP!