Before she could open her mouth there was a wolf like roar followed by a scream that ended abruptly.
"Um, can someone help rescue John from Rose?"
Logan jumped up and stalked out of the clearing in the direction Rose had gone. He found John pinned up against a nearby tree, his feet several inches from the floor. Rose had grabbed a handful of the front of his t-shirt and had lifted him up. She had one claw out and was waving it in front of his face while she spoke. John continuously watched the claw, not daring to take his eyes off it.
"I have had enough of your crap. You are not that great. Stop acting like the sun shines of your ass. It doesn't. You need to get your head out of your butt because it's so far up there you could lick your own brain. I have had enough of it. One more ass wipe thing from you and you should be surprised if you live to regret it. Do I make myself outrageously clear?"
John was shaken but had clearly been shocked enough to realise how deadly serious Rose was. He nodded mutely.
"Ro put him down. You don't know where he's been." Logan said. Rose dropped the handful of t-shirt she had been holding.
"Good. Now back away from the idiot." She glared at Logan but backed away. She turned her back to them all and carried on walking through the trees. When the sounds of her muttering and pushing through the undergrowth.
Storm had trailed in behind Logan. "What did you do?" She said to John.
"I did nothing." he yelled.
"You better watch yourself around her. She's serious." said Logan.
Jean was still thinking about what Rogan had said long after everyone had fallen asleep. Well she believed everyone had gone to sleep. She jumped slightly when Rogan appeared next to her.
"Look I'm sorry. I know I should have told you all that but I figured that on this occasion ignorance is bliss," Rogan waited for Jean to reply. She hoped it would be soon. The silence was painful. Jean turned to face Rogan,
"Through out my childhood I was told that my older sister had died before I was born then you show up screaming that you're my older sister. Look at you. You can't be older than me. But they told me you had died."
"They probably wished I had died." Rogan grimaced. "I don't want to tarnish your image of them but they weren't the easiest to get on with."
"I found them relatively easy."
"Did they know you're a mutant or were they like Bobby's parents did they just think you were going to a normal boarding school for smart lids? You know that's the last time the professor didn't check whether someone's parents knew whether they were a mutant or not. I wouldn't have been kicked out if it wasn't for the professor. Mom didn't much like there being another mutant in the family."
"Another?"
"Think about it," Rogan said turning round properly to face her "in all your memories do you remember mom looking any different? Do you remember her ageing at all?"
Jean thought. Now she thought about it she couldn't remember.
"Now my point is proven."
Jean turned away from her.
"And as far as Scott is concerned," Rogan added hastily "he really did tell me he was single. If I'd have known otherwise I swear to god nothing would have happened."
"Right now I'm not really worried about that. I just want to find him and the professor."
They stood in silence for several minutes. The silence wasn't uncomfortable and the air almost crackled with telepathic energy.
Jean focused hard. She wasn't that great at looking into someone's mind when she wasn't up close with them. But Rogan seemed to be inviting Jean to into her mind. Jean closed her eyes to block out other sounds and images. Before she had chance to brace herself she was whooshing through an array of sound and images. Some images lingered longer than other. The snippets of conversation that she caught were mainly with either Logan, the professor or the tall guy she'd argued with.
"Looking for anything in particular?" Rogan said. Jean opened her eyes and looked over at Rogan. Rogan was smiling slightly.
"No. just curious." jean said. She felt slightly embarrassed and didn't look over at Rogan. She didn't try prying into Rogan's memories again until Rogan said "I don't mind. You might find something of interest to you."
Jean found it easier to start exploring Rogan's memories this time. She, rather horrifically, discovered she was seeing things from Rogan's point of view and feeling exactly how she felt at the time. The first thing she came across was and image of an island. She was watching from a safe distance a man walking up behind Logan. She saw he had a gun and wanted to call out, to warn Logan. She opened her mouth but the words wouldn't come out. She couldn't move either. She was forced to watch in fascinated horror as Logan was repeatedly shot in the head. She watched knowing that when Logan came round he wouldn't remember her, or anything, he wouldn't remember anything that had ever happened to him. But she desperately wanted him to remember her. He was the only friend she'd had since she left home. But she would make the most of this opportunity. "Dude, you ok?" she said when she was eventually able to run up to him.
"Where am I?" Logan looked younger, healthier.
"No time to explain. We need to get out of here." she pulled him up. She looked round "Remy! Get here now!" she shouted
Within a few seconds a tall rather dashing looking man was by her side. It was a few minutes before Jean realized who it was. Then all of a sudden she was running. Running into what looked like ruins. There was a group of people. At the front of this group was a shaggy haired teenager in sunglasses with dark red lenses. This was unmistakably a teenage Scott. The teenage Scott looked over at her and smiled. She felt herself grinning back.
"This way." she said running back out again. When they got outside a helicopter had landed. Standing in front of it was the professor. "My part is done. They're all yours and no I don't want to come." she turned on her heels and ran.
This image faded dramatically.
Suddenly she was sat on a bench in a park over-looking a duck pond. The professor was sat next to her.
"Did she accept the offer?" she asked
"She most certainly did. She's more unlike you than you could possibly imagine. At the minute anyway," neither the professor nor Rogan turned to face the other while they were talking. "She's incredibly powerful. I've had to put up several psychic barriers,"
"Wow. She really isn't like me," Rogan snorted.
"How is Persephone?"
"Ah I'm afraid she is one Grey you won't be getting your hands on. No signs of mutation at all. Lucky cow."
This scene faded as well.
Her hair was in her eyes. She brushed it away. She looked down. She wasn't Rogan. But yet she was. She looked around. She was in the grounds of the school, sat on a solitary bench under a tree. Jean was surprised to see a much younger version of her not far away.
"Do you come here just to watch her grow up?" she looked round as the professor took the vacant seat next to her.
"Yes I do. Why else would I come here?" she replied.
"She's showing a lot of potential. But I can't help but think that she would be doing much better with an older sister there to look up to." Rogan turned to face the professor. "I highly doubt that sir."
"You insist on disguising yourself knowing that she is under the impression you are dead and doesn't even know what you look like."
"Yes thank you for reminding me. Anyway I'd stick out like a sore thumb otherwise," she smiled.
"Do you honestly enjoy watching her grow up from a distance Rose?"
"You are fully aware I don't and I'd prefer it if you stayed out of my head and don't call me Rose." she turned away from the professor and went back to watching Jean.
"She seems perfectly fine without me. But I'll kill someone for her if I have to."
Jean was amazed and ever so slightly freaked out at the thought that she had been carefully watched by Rogan throughout her schooling.
The next memory that Jean found herself thrust into was of a slightly battered pick-up truck being driven by Logan. The windows were down and the music was loud. There seemed to be a permanent smile fixed on Logan's face. She was feeling both happy and scared and overly excited all at the same time. Logan pulled up on an empty road.
"Wait here," she said then leapt out of the pick-up.
"This better be good Ro," Logan said as she slammed the door. She felt a surge of affection. She walked round to the driver side and leant in through the window. "it is," she said. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and said "you'll see one day." she walked up another empty road and up to a drive way. "Here we go." she said as she pulled herself over the gate of Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters. At least Rogan pulled herself over. A tall, long, dark haired woman landed softly, swore under her breath and rolled. "I planned that." She muttered to herself. Then instantly felt stupid because there had been n one there to see her fail the landing so she had no reason to justify the roll.
She stalked her way down the halls and let herself into the professor's office. She knew he'd be teaching. She scribbled a quick note that said "I'll do it. But only for a month or two because I have stuff to do."
Suddenly Jean was looking at a younger version of herself. She suddenly realized that the person who had taught her to control her telepathy and taught her the stuff she could do with it, the person she had known as Lilith Carson had in fact been Rose Greyson.
"My God! That was you!" Jean's eyes snapped open and she whirled round to face Rogan. Only to find she was looking at thin air. A small cough made her look down. Rogan had stretched out on the floor and was looking up at the stars.
"The professor was right of course. I really couldn't just sit and watch. For all my protests he continuously offered me the job. I could appear as I wanted and you never had to know who I really was. I think one the reasons he did it was to keep an eye on me." Rogan said "I don't think he ever believed I turned down the placement at the school through choice." They remained in silence until Jean could no longer keep her curiosity at bay. She sat heavily onto the floor next to Rogan. Rogan propped herself up on her elbows and looked at her.
"I don't want to cause any offence but is Persephone your daughter?"
Rogan lead back down "yes she is. And the lucky cow escaped the mutation." She looked sideways at Jean "and before you ask I don't know where her father is and I don't care either. We've got along fine without him and Logan is a surprisingly good influence."
Jean laughed "Logan? Good influence?"
"You'd be surprised." Rogan retorted. She went back to looking at the stars. "See that constellation?" she said pointing up. Jean led on the floor and glanced up at the stars that Rogan was tracing with her finger. She made a general noise of consent. "that is supposedly meant to be a guardian angel. Looks like a childish attempt at drawing a bird to me. But that one was first spotted the day you were born."
They spent the rest of the night looking at the stars. Neither of them spoke and neither slept until the sun started to rise.
When Storm emerged from her tent she was meant by a curious sight. Jean was led on the floor, near the centre of the circle of tents, her hands behind her head, asleep. Rogan was led on her side next to her, watching Jean fixedly. She sprang to her feet when she realized Storm was watching her and grinned sheepishly.
"Did you sleep at all?" Storm asked, noting Rogan's sleep deprived appearance.
"No. Couldn't sleep. And Jean's only been asleep for about an hour."