The Lake House

Summary: Scott moves out of the mansion

The mansion was under attack, intruders have taken over room by room, floor by floor. Many of the children were dead, injured or running for their lives. Scott had no choice, the mansion was too important to fall into the hands of the enemy. His only option was to engage the self destruct mechanism, but always a tactician, he would have to turn off the defenses to the mansion, to allow maximum casualty. But when he was at the controls he couldn't do it, he couldn't blow this place up. The door exploded and that's when he woke up.

His heart was pounding and he was drenched in a cold sweat. Scott got up and figured he wasn't going to have much sleep tonight. He put on a new shirt and went down to the kitchen for a late night snack.

Jean was tossing and turning in her bed. She cursed herself for falling behind on her work and taking those last two cups of coffee. She felt exhausted but completely awake. She eventually gave up and got out of bed. She stumbled her way downstairs to the kitchen and surprised that she saw the light on. She walked in and saw Scott having a drink on the counter. Pleasantly surprised, she walked in. She remembered when they were younger how they often had late night encounters in the kitchen. Scott suffered from nightmares, he still suffered from them.

"Hey Scott, can't sleep?"

"You can say that."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

Jean knew this wasn't going to be easy. "Do you want something to eat? I can whip up some eggs or pancakes."

"No thanks, I remember you're cooking… I'm going to go for a run. Night Jean." Scott got up and left the kitchen. Jean could only put her head down on the counter as soon as he left.

Scott ran across the estate, he didn't have a destination but just ran. He made it to the lake and stopped when he reached the dock. He found the gentle splashing of the water soothing and he sat down by the steps of the Lakehouse to take a breather. He leaned against the railing and soon fell asleep.

--

"Hi Professor, you wanted to see me?" Storm asked as she stepped inside his studies and saw Jean already seated.

"I got word from Hank. It would seem that all roads lead to Dr. Essex and he apparently he worked freelance, offering his services to anyone who would pay for it."

"Like Stryker." Jean commented.

"Exactly." Responded the professor. "His list of clients include him, the Friends of Humanity, and Eric Lehnsherr."

"Erik.. you mean.. Magneto?" Storm added.

"The device Magnus used on Liberty Island was apparently inspired by Essex. Erik somehow acquired a schematic of the device and modified it to his needs. From what we know about Essex and Scott's account on him, I think Scott did all of us a favor by .. eliminating him." The professor was careful to use his words.

"What do we do now?" Storm asked.

"We can't assume Essex worked alone. He probably has had other labs, other projects. It's our top priority to find these things out, as well as Magneto. So until, we get any more leads, we should focus our attention back on the school and the students."

"Agreed." Jean nodded. Storm and Jean got up and were about to leave.

"I almost forgot to mention one more thing. Scott is moving out of the house."

"What?" Storm asked.

Jean responded the same way, with the added, "Where is he going?"

"Out of the house, but not from the estate, he came to me earlier today and asked if he can stay in the Lake House."

"The Lake house? But why?"

"He says that spending too much time in the mansion is uncomfortable for him. When he tried escaping that one night, he thought he was in an illusion. I don't blame him for wanting to get away. I thought that by being surrounded with a familiar setting might do him good, but with the students and everything that's happened to him .. maybe a change of scenery is what he needs."

Jean stepped out into the hallway with a sinking feeling. Now that he would be out of the mansion and essentially living on his own, Scott would isolate himself more. Her heart ached but she didn't know what to do. She tried asking Ororo for advice but all she offered was to give Scott time and when it came to Scott, Jean felt that she was running out of time.

Over the next 2 weeks, Jean's fears came true as she saw him less and less. He would pop in to use the danger room, go to the garage, and have some meals with everyone but that was it. He did spend a lot of time in the Danger Room though, when it was not being used. She would often seem him coming out as if he came from war. One day she was passing by the Danger Room and could hear a simulation running. She was curious to see exactly what Scott was doing in there.

She opened the door to the control room and went inside. She was shocked at the site before her. The simulation running was Level 5, the highest in the training program and the most difficult one, dubbed "Apocalypse." This scenario was specifically designed for the whole team and not just one individual. She could see Scott knocked down on the ground, struggling for his life. She searched the controls and pressed the 'Emergency Termination' key. The simulation stopped and Jean raced down to Scott.

To Be Continued . . .