"Jean, open the door. You haven't come out for days. This isn't good for your health!"
At Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Scott stood outside Jean's room, knocking as he always did.
Ever since Jean had met that human man, the connection between her and Scott had stalled, unable to progress further.
It wasn't just stagnation. Scott could feel their relationship growing increasingly distant.
Whenever Jean left her room, she always had that handkerchief tied around her wrist. No one else was allowed to touch it. If anyone tried, Jean's powers would often spiral out of control, leading to an attack.
At first, Scott could still invite Jean out occasionally or even enter her room to talk.
But over time, Jean began avoiding him, actively keeping her distance.
If Scott still hadn't realized what was going on, he might as well admit he'd been blind his whole life.
Jean had fallen for that human man. Even though the man wasn't at the school, her feelings for him only seemed to grow stronger day by day.
Scott sighed. She probably wouldn't come out today, either.
Disappointment and frustration welled up inside him, but so did an unmistakable surge of hatred toward that man.
...
Inside her room, Jean sat quietly on her bed, holding the handkerchief tightly in both hands, a blissful smile gracing her face.
"Reid, you're so funny."
Her words sounded like self-talk, but in Jean's mind, Reid was there, sitting beside her. He was still dressed in that black suit he'd worn the day they met, calmly telling her witty and humorous stories.
When Batman contracted the Joker Infection, even though he knew the Joker was dead, he could still see hallucinations of him.
These illusions behaved just like the real Joker, tempting Batman with words and tricks, but Batman relied on his unshakable will to resist the virus and the Joker's influence.
However, Jean didn't have that kind of strength of will. She didn't notice the changes in her body, didn't realize that the virus was slowly altering her thoughts, and couldn't recognize that the Reid before her was merely a virtual illusion.
With her will not as strong, she could even feel warmth in the embrace of the illusion.
At the same time, the illusion couldn't be harmed by her powers. A humorous, witty, handsome, and elegant person who wasn't afraid of her strength—wasn't he the perfect companion?
In this comforting presence, Jean's feelings for Reid deepened further.
At that moment, she also heard Scott's knock and his voice.
"Really… Why does Scott always come to bother me at times like this?"
Jean's tone was filled with frustration, clearly unhappy that Scott was interrupting her time with Reid.
"But isn't he your good friend?"
Reid's illusion didn't stir any tension between them, instead continuing to show his understanding and gentleness.
This made Jean feel even more touched.
"But I want to be with you, Reid. I don't want to be apart from you."
The future wielder of the Phoenix Force, now so dependent and nestled in Reid's embrace, looked so vulnerable. Unfortunately, this Reid was only a mere illusion, while the real Reid was somewhere in New York, pondering which company to join.
"But you also need to maintain your relationships with your friends."
Reid gently patted Jean's shoulder, signaling her to open the door.
"Alright, since you say so, Reid."
Reluctantly, Jean stood up and, with Reid's encouraging smile, opened the door.
"Jean? You're opening the door?"
Scott didn't expect Jean to actually open it today.
"What? Don't you want me to open it?" Jean glanced back and noticed that the moment Scott appeared, Reid had disappeared. A trace of loss flickered in her eyes.
To Scott, this expression suggested that Jean still hadn't forgotten the human man. But over time, she seemed to be gradually coming to her senses.
Seizing the opportunity, Scott rushed to get closer, hoping to convince Jean to forget that man. He moved aside, squeezing into the room.
But the moment he stepped in, a surge of anger stirred within him.
Because everything had changed.
Jean's room, in just two months, had undergone an incredible transformation.
The once-shared photos of the two of them and the charming landscape shots were now gone, replaced by portraits of Reid, each drawn in different styles—sketches, oil paintings, watercolors, and more—that Jean had painstakingly created over the past two months.
The most excessive one hung above Jean's bed: a colorful sketch of her in a pure white wedding dress. As the bride, Jean was holding onto that damn human, Reid.
At this time, the jealousy burning inside Scott was impossible to contain. He grabbed a half-drawn piece of paper from the desk and tore it apart.
"What's so great about that man!?" he yelled.
"Reid!"
Jean, unbothered by Scott's outburst, immediately crouched down to pick up the torn pieces of paper, desperately trying to salvage every fragment.
Once she stood up, with suppressed anger in her eyes, she spoke.
"Scott, you're being too much. That was a portrait I made of Reid."
As Jean's emotions flared, the room began to tremble. The furniture around them shook violently.
But blinded by anger and thinking Jean wouldn't dare to do anything, Scott continued.
"Too much? Jean! What's so special about that man? He's just an incompetent human! We're mutants! Noble mutants! A filthy human like that shouldn't even be close to you!"
Scott continued to berate Reid, using every derogatory term he could think of, completely oblivious to the fact that Jean was trembling with anger from his words.
"You... you bastard!"
With a roar, Jean unleashed her telekinesis, immediately suppressing Scott's body and lifting him high into the air.
"Ah... urgh..."
Scott opened his mouth, trying to beg for mercy or say something, but he found that no sound came out. Jean had complete control over his body, immobilizing every part of him. The only thing he could do was think.
"I won't let you speak badly about Reid!"
With that, Jean used her telekinesis to hurl Scott out of the second-floor window. Fortunately, the ground below was covered in thick grass, and Scott didn't land headfirst, so he was unharmed.
However, this action only deepened Scott's hatred for Reid.
"Damn human, I won't let you get away with this!"
Scott didn't blame Jean. The academy's teachings emphasized seeing their fellow mutants as family, but Reid? There was no doubt he now hated him.
"Reid, is it?"
Scott recalled the portraits in Jean's room, remembering Reid's appearance.
"I'll find you. Alfred's adopted son, huh? You can't run far."
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