It was a bright and sunny day today, which was why a lot of students had chosen to go outside. Harry was currently sat up on the branch of a tree, leaning against the tree trunk, content with enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. From his position he could see the lake, the mansion, groups of students playing, other trees and the beautiful green fields.
Sitting on the ground and leaning against the tree trunk was Jean and Laura, both of them were currently reading books, Jean reading one about history while Laura was reading a story book.
"Hmm, this is nice." Jean said as she closed her book to take a break from reading. "This is very peaceful."
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "I don't know if it's going to stay that way though." Harry said as he stopped leaning against the tree.
"What do you mean?" Laura asked as she closed her book.
"I mean that 'no-eyes' is coming over here." Harry said as he dropped down onto the ground, the distance he had jumped not even bothering him thanks to his enhanced body. The girls all looked in the direction that Harry was looking in, they saw Professor Xavier wheeling towards the lake with Scott and Alex behind them, Alex was guiding his brother who was still wearing the blindfold.
"What do you think his powers are?" Laura asked.
"I don't know," Harry shrugged as he leaned against the tree. "obviously something to do with his eyes." Harry said just as the Professor and the two brothers stopped at one side of the lake, Alex then grabbed Scott and moved him so he was looking at the archery targets on the other side of the lake.
"I think we're about to see what he can do." Jean commented. A few seconds later Scott's bandage was removed, the trio couldn't really see anything happening.
"Hmm," Laura hummed. "maybe he is just..." Whatever Laura was about to say was interrupted as thick red beams shot out from Scott's eyes when he opened them, the beams attacked the water before Scott raised his head slightly. The beams destroyed the target and ended up cutting through the tree behind it before Scott was able to close his eyes, cutting off the beams.
"I guess we just found out what he can do." Harry dryly commented just as the damaged tree fell apart and fell in two pieces. "I really liked that tree." Harry also added with a sigh, causing Jean to let out a snort of amusement.
"It was a nice tree." Laura agreed.
"Do you think Scott will be in trouble for destroying the tree?" Jean wondered.
"I don't think so," Harry shook his head. "there have been people here who have done much worse. Plus Professor Xavier will probably see this as a challenge."
Later that night Harry and Laura were sleeping in their beds when they were both suddenly disturbed, not by a person or even a small noise, no it was by the fact that the whole mansion was shaking. Harry snapped up to a sitting position, his claws instinctively popping out. He looked around to see if they were both safe, he saw Laura had woken up and was now looking around the room. After a few moments Harry saw there was no immidiete danger and put his claws away.
"Laura," Harry said as he stood up. "I'm going to check on Jean, stay here." Harry said before he opened his door and rushed to Jean's room. "Jean!" Harry called as he opened the door. Once he entered he found Jean was still asleep in her bed but she was shaking and thrashing. "Jean!" Harry called out as he rushed forward, as he got near the bed she let out a scream and Harry found himself thrown out of the room and he hit the wall opposite.
Harry let out a small groan and shook his head before he went back into the room, this time it was to find Jean sitting up, awake and looking terrified. Sweat was pouring down her face, strands of her red hair was sticking to her face, her green eyes filled with worry. Harry also could not help but notice that the mansion had stopped shaking.
"Harry..." She gasped. "did...did I hurt you?"
"I'm fine," Harry said dismissively as he walked up to her and stopped next to her. "are you okay?" He asked as he grabbed her arms.
"I...I was...I was having a nightmare...and...what happened?" Jean asked, looking very scared.
"The whole mansion was shaking," Harry answered. "I woke up and came here."
"Miss Grey," A voice said, both turned to see Professor Xavier wheeling in, followed by Logan and Ororo. "are you okay?" Professor Xavier asked.
"I...I had a nightmare." Jean admitted in a quiet voice.
"A nightmare?" Logan repeated, his voice holding a hint of disbelief.
"Does this have something to do with that 'foreign entity'?" Ororo asked in a worried voice.
"It might be," Professor Xavier said as he wheeled forward and stopped next to Jean's bed. "what happened in your nightmare, Jean?" He asked.
"I...I just saw a lot of fire." Jean answered after a few moments of silence. "And then I woke up here."
"Hmm, that is troubling." Professor Xavier frowned as he looked at Jean for several long moments. "Jean, I do believe I have one idea that might help you deal with the situation, I will need some time but tomorrow I will try to help you. Can you go to sleep now?" He asked.
"I...I think so." Jean nodded.
"I'm taking you to my room." Harry suddenly said.
"What?" Jean blinked as everyone looked at him.
"If you have another nightmare then you need someone to wake you up, me and Laura will look after you." Harry said in a 'it's really obvious' voice.
"That does seem like a good idea." Logan yawned, he was very eager to go back to sleep.
"Very well." Professor Xavier nodded to Jean and Harry before he and Logan left the room.
"Remember Harry, if anything happens then you or Laura quickly come and get us, got it?" Ororo asked.
"Got it." Harry nodded before he looked at Jean who was looking very tired. Harry pulled her bed covers off then hooked one hand underneath her legs and the other around her upper back and picked her up.
"What are you doing?" Jean asked.
"You look tired, so I'm carrying you." Harry shrugged before he walked out of the room while carrying Jean. If he had looked back then he would have seen an amused smile on Ororo's face.
The next day Harry along with Laura and Jean were sat outside in the same spot as last time, the three weren't reading though, they were simply relaxing, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and the nice weather. The other students made sure to keep their distance from the trio, many were able to work out that it was Jean who was responsible for the whole mansion shaking. One of the kids had called Jean a freak, he wasn't quite so mouthy after Harry had heard him and growled at him. Fortunately for him Ororo was able to get to him before Harry did.
"Hey." A voice called, the three looked up and saw Scott walking towards them, except now instead of a blind fold he was wearing a pair of red sunglasses.
"You can see?" Jean asked.
"Yeah," Scott smiled. "that furry guy, um...Mr Macy..."
"Mr McCoy." Laura corrected him.
"Yeah, him," Scott said as he nodded to her before looking back at Jean. "he gave me these special glasses, said they were made out of something called 'Ruby Quartz'. It stops the...um...the beams...from...you know..."
"Destroying everything?" Harry finished for him.
"Yeah, that." Scott replied. "I..." Scott paused as he noticed several students walking past and whispering to each other as they looked in his direction. "They're still scared of me." Scott sighed. "It's alright, I have special glasses now."
"Don't flatter yourself." Harry replied. "You're not even in the top five most dangerous people here."
"They're not scared of you, they're scared of us." Jean said as she gestured to herself and the twins.
"You guys?" Scott asked in a confused voice.
"They're scared of me and my brother because we're not letting them say bad things about Jean." Laura replied.
"Why are they scared of you?" Scott asked Jean. "Wait a second, were you the one who made the house shake last night?"
"I didn't do it on purpose." Jean sighed. "I have 'telekinetic' powers, that means I can move stuff with my mind."
"Oh, what can you two do?" Scott asked as he looked between Harry and Laura.
"This." Harry said as he showed Scott the metal claws in his right hand while Laura showed him her left hand's bone claws.
"Wow." Scott said as he took a step back, the twins retracted their claws. "That's...a bit..." He trailed off, trying to think up a word to accurately describe how he felt about it, because it might look cool but it also felt a little gross.
"We get it." Harry said as he rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, I'm Scott Summers." He said, "I'm sorry about bumping into you before." He added to Jean.
"It's fine," Jean replied. "I'm Jean Grey, she is Laura Potter," Jean said as she pointed to Laura. "and that's her twin brother Harry." She said as she gestured to Harry.
"Hmm, I..." Whatever Scott was about to say was cut off by someone calling his name, he turned around and saw his brother calling him. "I have to go," He said as he looked back at them, though his focus seemed to be more on Jean than the others. "I'll see you later." He said before he walked off.
"Hmm, he wasn't so bad." Jean said once Scott was out of hearing distance.
"Hmm." Harry grunted. "He seemed alright but I'd wait before we decide if we like him."
Later that day Harry, Laura and Jean were in the medical center of the mansion along with Professor Xavier, Hank McCoy, Logan and Ororo. Technically Harry and Laura didn't have to be there but they both insisted on being there to help Jean. The adults knew better than to try and stop them. Not only were they stubborn mutant children, but they were also the grandchildren of the Wolverine, so they came with an extra slice of stubborn with a bit of 'fuck you' sprinkled all over the top.
"So, what is the plan here?" Harry asked as Jean was now sitting on one of the beds.
"My plan is to link my mind along with Jeans," Professor Xavier began explaining. "then what will happen is I will go into Jean's mind and assess the situation, when Jean had first arrived I tried to communicate with the new entity but it did not respond. It is possible that it couldn't speak and has since learned how to communicate thanks to being in Jean's mind for so long, but I can't be entirely sure. I will try to see what can be done without harming Jean."
"I'm coming with you." Harry suddenly said, looking at Professor Xavier with crossed arms.
"Harry," Professor Xavier sighed. "I know that you care for Jean but..."
"But nothing, I am her friend and I know her better than you and all of the other adults in the room." Harry cut him off. "She might need my help, I can help calm her down from inside of her mind while Laura can help keep her calm in the real world." Harry argued.
"Harry, I..."
"Plus I don't really want to leave you alone in her mind." Harry said in a cold voice.
"Professor," Jean spoke, cutting off whatever response Professor Xavier had. "would he get hurt if he went in my mind?"
"No, no he wouldn't." Professor Xavier shook his head.
"He can go in then." Jean said, smiling at Harry.
"Jean, are you sure?" Professor Xavier asked, looking at her with a serious expression on her face. "You would be giving me and Harry full access to your mind."
"I'm sure, I trust him." Jean replied. Professor Xavier nodded but he did feel a slight sting due to the fact that to him it sounded like she was saying she didn't trust him, which was why she wanted Harry in there with him. That did hurt but it was understandable.
Harry and Professor Xavier eventually found themselves in Jean's mind. Harry could see various memories hanging around in the air, it was like having lots of TV screens. Most of the memories Harry could see involved himself and Laura in some way, though he also noticed a few involving a small brown haired girl. Once they were in Harry was amazed when Professor Xavier suddenly stood up from his wheelchair.
"You can walk?!" Harry gaped at him.
"No, Harry, I can't walk." Professor Xavier chuckled. "Not in real life anyway, remember that right now we are in Jean's mind, in the mind is the only place where I am not limited by the physical limitations of my body. Now, come on, forwards we walk, Harry." Professor Xavier said before he began walking forward with Harry following after him. "Harry," The Professor suddenly said. "your comment...on not trusting me in Jean's mind. I...I want you to know that I..."
"What?" Harry interrupted. "Are you going to say I'm wrong for not trusting someone who was supposed to look after us but tried to mess with Jean's mind without permission?"
"Harry, I apologized, I..."
"That isn't something that you can just say sorry for!" Harry shouted angrily at Professor Xavier, they both stopped walking and turned to each other. "I've talked with Ororo and she said that the Dursley's were messing with our minds and trying to make me and Laura think that we are worthless freaks! Then Stryker was going to try and mess with our minds and make us slaves so we could attack Grandpa or do whatever else he wanted! YOU were supposed to be different! We trusted you! I didn't want to but I trusted you!" Harry said as he jabbed Professor Xavier in the chest with his finger. "If it wasn't for Laura and Jean then I would have left here already! The Dursley's hit us, Stryker did all of his stupid experiments on us and then you start messing with our minds! WHEN IS IT GOING TO STOP?!" Harry roared, glaring at Professor Xavier.
"Harry..." Professor Xavier spoke in a pained voice, tears dripping own his eyes. "I...I am sorry." He said, and he truly meant it.
"I know," Harry sighed as his glare increased slightly. "I...Ororo and Laura tell me I need to forgive you, but I can't. I tried but I can't."
"I...I understand." Professor Xavier said as he wiped his eyes. "I just hope that I can earn your trust back, now come on, we have work to do." He said. "Now hold on," The Professor paused, a few seconds later Jean appeared in front of them. "there we go." He smiled.
"What? Where am I?" Jean asked herself as she looked around before stopping when she saw Harry and Professor Xavier.
"You're in your mind," Harry quickly began explaining. "he can only stand because he's in your mind," Harry added as he gestured to Professor Xavier, he chose to get that question out of the way before Jean could ask. "and now we've got to deal with whatever is in your mind. Lovely, isn't it?"
After a minute or two the duo found what they were looking for, or rather it found them. Standing in front of them, reaching quite high, was a large amount of flames that were shaped like a bird. The flames extended upwards so that they looked about twenty feet tall.
Harry gulped, his animal instincts telling him that this was a very dangerous thing in front of him.
"H...hello?" Harry spoke, his voice definitely did not come out as a squeak, he just had something in his throat.
"Greetings." The flames replied in a deep voice.
"You can speak?" Jean asked.
"Yes, I can." The flames replied, its voice felt softer when it spoke to Jean. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Really?" Jean blinked.
"Indeed, I know who you are, you are my container."
"Container?" Professor Xavier asked.
"You," The flame's voice has become noticeably deeper when talking to Professor Xavier. "you were the imbecile that had nearly locked me away." It said, the flames flared out.
"I...I had only intended to protect Jean." Professor Xavier protested.
"Yes, but by doing so you had nearly doomed her mind!" The flames shouted, causing Professor Xavier to wince. "I had intended to leave her mind as soon I was capable of doing so but your interference could have prevented me from leaving, I would have been trapped in her mind if not for the green eyed boy. You could have caused immense harm to not only myself, but the girl as well."
"I...I only wanted to help." Professor Xavier weakly responded. It was one thing to be told that you were wrong by your students, but when your colleagues, friends and even the thing that you're trying to protect your students from is telling you that you're wrong then that was about the biggest wake up call that you could get.
"You let your hubris and arrogance blind you to what was best," The flames responded, unsympathetic to the silly mortal's feelings. "see that it does not happen again." It said, it was clear to everyone that it was giving him a warning. There was a short pause before the Professor finally replied.
"I shall endeavor to do so." He said, bowing his head.
"What...are you?" Harry asked the flames as his claws popped out of his hands.
"Do you wish to attack me?" The flames asked, sounding very amused.
"Not really," Harry admitted, and he really didn't. "but if you're hurting my friend then I will stop you."
"You wouldn't be able to." The flames said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"I'd still try." Harry said without hesitation.
"Hmm, you are an interesting mortal." The flames replied. "I am the 'Phoenix Force', one of the oldest known cosmic entities, representing life that has not yet been born, as well as the forces of creation and destruction. I do not intend to harm your friend at all. When she was slightly younger she had another friend."
"Do...do you mean Annie?" Jean asked. Annie Richardson was Jean's first ever friend, she had been Jean's neighbor and the two had gotten along greatly. They probably would have stayed best friends for a long time if not for the fact that Annie had sadly died one day when she was hit by a car when Jean was five years old. Jean had tried to help her but wasn't able to keep her alive, that had been a harrowing experience for Jean. She was sad that Annie died, she still was, she also had thought that she would never ever get another friend again, or at least she did until Harry came along.
"Yes, you had telepathically linked your mind to your dying friend to keep Annie's soul from moving to the afterlife. In doing so, your mind was being dragged along to the "other side" with Annie. You had tried so hard to save your friend, I had wished to help you. I lent you some of my energy to break the connection, which in turn created a connection between us. After that I kept a close watch on you, I spent the better part of a human year keeping an eye on you. I offered you support however I could, I even helped you with your feelings about Annie. After that I had intended to stay for a short while longer to make sure you were fine before I broke the connection between us, then you were suddenly taken to this meddling old fool's mansion."
Professor Xavier coughed slightly just as Harry snorted with amusement, the Professor wanted to interrupt but felt like it would be better to just remain silent, so he did so.
"I was about to break the connection when I realized he wanted to seal me away, but I realized I wouldn't be able to break it fast enough without hurting you. Fortunately your friend was able to intervene."
"But...why are you still here?" Jean asked, doing her best to not sound rude. "I'm fine now, aren't I?" She asked, a bit of worry in her voice as she wondered if she had some other problems that she was unaware of.
"You are perfectly fine," Phoenix replied. "I had stayed here to make sure that you would be safe here. I was sure you would be when Harry and his sister became your friends, but then I realized something. I no longer wanted to leave."
"Why not?" Jean asked curiously.
"I have been alive for longer than you can ever imagine, I was here the universe was created and I'll be here long after it dies. I've had purpose, I've worked through people but I've never had a connection such as the one I have with you. I have never stayed with any single being long enough to feel their emotions. Your emotions, they fascinate me." Phoenix admitted.
"Really?" Jean asked, looking like she struggled to believe it.
"It's true," Phoenix responded. "I find them interesting but with that comes a problem, I can't experience too many emotions for a long period of time."
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"Because they would distract me from my duties. I do not want that, I cannot stay with Jean for much longer as I am already putting more focus on her than I have any other mortal, but I also wish to stay here, so I am willing to make an offer."
"An offer?" Professor Xavier echoed.
"A trade if you will," Phoenix replied. "I will leave a part of me with Jean, only a small part, so I may experience these emotions. It must be separate from the rest of me, I won't...can't be around to protect Jean anymore, however the small piece of me will assist her but will also provide me the chance to learn about her emotions without interfering in my duties. It will also gradually increase her powers overtime, it will grow as she does. It will not influence her or me, letting us both continue with our existence. Do we have a deal?" She asked Jean.
"Jean," Professor Xavier spoke. "I..."
"Quiet," Phoenix hissed. "you will not influence her decisions in any way." She said, it was quite clearly a command.
"You promise that it won't hurt her?" Harry asked before Jean could say anything.
"I promise." Phoenix said without hesitation.
Harry and Jean exchanged looks, a silent conversation happened between them, something that felt a lot more odd since they were in Jean's mind. Eventually Jean looked at the Phoenix.
"So...I get stronger and you don't mess with my mind and you'll be happy?" She asked.
"That is correct." The Phoenix nodded.
"O...Okay then." Jean nodded. "Deal." She said.
"Excellent." The Phoenix replied, Jean got the sense that it was smiling.
In the outside world, the others looked at Jean, Harry and Professor Xavier, all three were in their own beds. Suddenly, almost like a switch was pressed, all three snapped awake. Everyone immediately turned to Jean whose body began glowing brightly, flames began dancing all around her. The others moved closer to help her but it turned out to be unnecessary as the flames and light died down almost as fast they came.
"Jean! Are you alright?!" Laura quickly asked.
"I...I'm fine." Jean said with a small smile as she looked around. "Just...very...very tired."