A/N: I feel a weird sense of satisfaction knowing that for all of BMBullshit's talk of sexism in the comic book industry, he whores-out Laura Kinney to market his professional comedy fanfic, ANXM. Lulz.
I probably never will respect or be impressed by his writing, but I do respect him as an entrepreneur and businessman.
I do hope the Cyclops solo will be a success, since it will likely be my last anchor to the Marvel-verse with how current storylines seem to just kill mine interests in the X-Men, rather than keep.
Anyway.
This is a simple idea that I couldn't get down to finish writing until now for lack of inspiration.
Leader of the Band
They were at it again.
The time-displaced Jean Grey trembled with a rage she struggled to contain.
How easy would it be to rip those two apart with her newfound telekinesis? How easy would it be to plant mistrust and mutual disgust in their minds with her telepathy? How easy would it be to simply walk between them, take Scott's hand, and mock that little monster that whatever she might think, Scott will always return to her.
They were destined to be together.
But that scared her.
It scared her, because a life with Scott meant her death. The young Jean Grey had seen it all through the memories she had pilfered in the school named after herself—the school that knew how her story would end and, rather than help her, nearly threw her down that road. All the highs and lows, the exhilarations and frustrations, were shovels that dug a deep hole to rest her body in.
Death was what awaited her if she chose to love Scott Summers…
…and death, again, awaited her if she chose otherwise.
This time, her death was less noble and more an inferno that raged against herself and her misfortune. The future she glimpsed from the woman Xorn was anything but pleasant; it was filled with less exhilarating highs and much more frustrating lows that now left the young Jean Grey desperate and even more confused.
She had hoped—the young Jean Grey desperately hoped that sacrificing the budding love she felt for her stoic but sweet teammate would prove enough to buy her life. It crushed her how mercilessly bad that gambled paid.
And now, here, in the present, Scott's arms were around another girl—a monster in human flesh, a time-bomb with green doe eyes.
Laura Kinney was attracted to the kindness in Scott Summers—a warm passion that soothed her lonely heart.
It grieved Jean Grey to know that Scott Summers was attracted to the green-eyed monster just the same.
-0-0-0-
"Don't get close to her."
Scott turned around in surprise when Jean stepped out of the shadows. He had just returned from another cathartic Danger Room session with their newest teammate, and the last thing he expected was an ambush.
"What?"
"Don't play clueless with me." Jean's eyes narrowed and she pointed a finger at her temple. "I'm a telepath."
"And I didn't forget." Scott folded his arms, eyes rolling beneath the glare of his visor. Still, with a sigh, the young Scott Summers let the sliver of apprehension he felt at Jean's sudden appearance wash away from him. "It's good to see you."
"Don't change the subject." Jean whispered hotly even as her heart twisted upon itself. She had ignored him longer than he evaded her, so she didn't need any telepathy to understand how surprised he must have felt that she sought him out. Surprise or no, however, there was still a warning that she needed to give; it was her duty as his… friend.
"Don't get too close to X-23, Scott." Jean cautioned and inwardly flinched when she saw his jaw tighten.
"She has a name." He reminded her sternly. "Laura Kinney."
She had rehearsed her words in her head and she knew what it sounded like, but he needed to know. "That girl—that girl's done a lot of horrible things and she's—she's not completely in control of herself." She refused to avert her gaze even as his unreadable stare bore into her. She used to be so good at reading him without her telepathy… but now? "I don't want you to get hurt."
That wasn't quite right. She didn't want him to change, is what she wanted to say, to truly say.
But she dared not say it—dare not even think of it for that would tempt her telepathy to betray her. To do so was to admit that she needed Scott...and Jean couldn't admit such a notion. To need him was also a death sentence, right?
Scott exhaled, his countenance softening as if his tension left with his breath. A warmer, firmer smile replaced the unreadable stare on his face.
He mustered all his sincerity and conviction and promised her in the gentlest tone she had ever heard.
"And I won't."
Jean's breath quietly hitched. Scott had likewise been able to read her to an extent… but now?
"Laura needs help." Scott continued, unaware that by doing so he had answered Jean's hopeful musing.
The answer left her inwardly distraught and she nearly choked. Outwardly, Jean Grey remained hard as steel. "She doesn't."
"She does." Scott countered and crossed his arms again. He wouldn't budge on this point. "You remember how we found her? And what came after?" His lips curled into a contemplative frown. "I know you read her mind. Tell me I'm wrong."
"You're-!" Jean's chest tightened; for all the monster that Laura Kinney was, she was not an evil…girl. A tormented mutant was what the emerald eyed clone was. "You're not completely right." She reluctantly admitted.
Scott nodded his head. "That's good enough for me."
That sense of certainty reignited her fire.
"It doesn't have to be you! There's- there's Hank, there's Warren, even Bobby!"
"They were afraid of her."
"They're not. Now." She added quickly when his mouth opened, and in a quieter whisper, "It doesn't have to be you."
"Why?"
"Because-!"
Jean Grey abruptly stopped.
She turned.
She walked away.
She paused by the large computer monitor, and turned towards the unmoving boy, and finally back to the monitor that stared back at her.
Jean recalled something about how it was configured to be untraceable.
She knew this was wrong. She knew that some secrets, no matter how accessible, should still be kept.
However…
This is for Scott… right?
Throwing caution to the wind, she turned it on. For a few seconds, Scott watched silently as Jean typed on the computer, navigating towards a page called YouTube that Scott recalled shared a lot of videos.
"This is X-23." Jean said, her tone low and ominous to Scott's ears. "This is Laura Kinney. No," She shook her head and turned her resolute green eyes towards the stunned Scott. "This is only a fraction of what she's capable of—of what she has done."
Her lips drew a line.
"Now you know."
With that, Jean Grey walked away, feeling not even an ounce of satisfaction as Scott wordlessly watched all of Murder World and X-23's rampage.
Even as she told herself that this was for Scott's own good, Jean was not delusional enough to believe that. She knew the truth, after all.
It was she that was the green-eyed monster, too.
-0-0-0-
She pushed him away when he needed her the most. She pushed him away and left him stranded amidst the glares and whispers of the present, and he had only in himself, not even his counterpart, to turn to.
Was it truly any wonder that he had listened to Mystique? Was it truly any wonder that he had reached out to a soul as lonely as he?
The greatest wonder, truly, was that he hadn't run away from it all.
-0-0-0-
They were at it again.
Jean Grey's eyes narrowed as Scott and X-23 slowly disappeared into the snow-covered forest. Frustration filled the time-displaced redhead.
Scott still accepted X-23 as part of their team. Distantly, Jean should have expected such a reaction for it was as much his heart as it was his steadfast loyalty that captivated her, but all she could feel was frustration.
Why couldn't events play out as she had planned?
Why was it that the world spun opposite to what she wanted?
Why was everything so very unfair?
Jean wanted to lash out. She wanted to scream—but couldn't.
Confusion paralyzed her.
What was it that she wanted?
A future with Scott, while happy, was an absolute death sentence.
A future by herself was one of torment and a death sentence.
There had to be a third option. There just had to be an option where she lived.
But, was such a future worth sacrificing all that she loved?
Just how much longer did she need to harden her heart?
Just how much more did she need to throw away?
With emerald eyes glistening with unshed tears, Jean Grey turned away and stiffly walked back into their base.
She had never felt so unbearably cold in her life.
-0-0-0-
It thrilled her to know that Scott would even stare down beings that could effortlessly crush him for her sake.
Jean Grey had seen the power that the Shi'Ar Imperial Guard wielded and, hard as she would fight, unprecedented her newfound powers may be, she knew she was too inexperienced to defeat Gladiator if the battle drew out further.
A Strontian's strength stemmed from his belief and Kallark believed nothing more than the need to kill her. It was an emotion that could not even be described by any degree of hate—and it scared her.
But not Scott.
Scott stood up for her sake and threatened to kill Kallark if he so much as thought about harming her again.
It made her feel special to him again.
It made her happy.
Ever since her abrupt kidnapping, Jean had thought long and hard about the choices she made and the paths she could choose from. In all of them though, she realized that she needed Scott.
Jean didn't know if she and Scott could ever become lovers, but Jean knew that she needed Scott's stubbornness—his unyielding will and unbreakable determination—to see her through.
Which was why she was crushed by his sudden declaration.
"What?"
"You and I, Jean…" Scott continued, a pained but somehow confident smile lightly tugging his lips. "We both know we don't live happily together. Maybe, this way—with us taking our separate ways—we finally get to be happy."
"That's not true." Jean whispered to him, her mind a storm of confusion. Maybe she—maybe she should compel him to stay—to not go back out to space with his father. Scott was just confused, too; Scott would see that he was meant to be there alongside her after a night's rest!
"Living with you will be your death sentence." Scott softly verbalized the ghost that tormented her. "And I don't wish that upon you."
"Scott…" Jean whispered to him longingly, wishing for him to see reason; to see her and how much she-
He pulled away and turned to his stunned companions.
"I love you guys." He bared his heart to them and waved. "Stay safe."
Jean wordlessly watched as Scott walked passed her—and almost blew up when he took both of X-23's hands in his.
"Laura, come with me." Scott urged the monster gently.
Why!
The killer looked surprised at Scott's declaration. "Why?"
"You can leave all the pain of this place. You can search for yourself again—and I'll be there with you every step of your way as your friend." Letting go of her, he tilted his head towards where the Starjammers were waiting. "We both need a break."
Jean's blood froze at the warmth in Scott's words. Why couldn't he offer her the same!
"Yes." X-23 nodded her head and, for the first time since they met, smiled. Together, the two good friends boarded the starship without so much as a look back—only forward.
"No!" Jean whispered when her body finally chose to respond, horrified at the sudden turn of events—at how badly her bid for a brighter future tanked.
But as always with regret, it was too late.
It was too late for her to remember that the leader of their band was human, too.
The greatest wonder was that Scott Summers hadn't run away from them to face his own problems.
Until now.
Now, truly, the greatest wonder was something that tore Jean Grey apart.
Would the Scott Summers she had fallen in love with ever return?
A/N: *shrug* I consider the O5 and the 616 X-Men different characters. Tyke isn't Cyke, and while I don't think Jean is insane, Jeen sure is and for good reason.
So here you have it. Short and precise; could be longer, but I couldn't be bothered to type more. Just a Tyke-23 story from Jeen's point of view, ending with Tyke-23 leaving ANXM because fuckit, teehee~ The coin toss, really, was whether Laura would jump on Tyke's bike and travel the world, or if they'd go on a space odyssey together. In celebration of Tyke's solo, space odyssey it was.
