2/12 Issue: The Space Curse?

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Slarti
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Title: Damn Not Given
Nightscrawlearth Character: :icey :phoenix

2/12 Issue: The Space Curse?

Post by Slarti »

Timelined right after It Made Less Sense in Canon.

Jean: It was hot outside, so she hadn't thought that part through. Jean hoped her sunscreen was up to the task as she found a stone bench in the fancy garden and sat down, digging her phone out of her bag. Her hands were shaking and it took her a minute to get the phone unlocked and pull up her parents' number. Taking a deep breath, she hit dial and waited impatiently while it rang.

John: John glanced at the phone when he heard the ring, then set the paper down and took off his glasses, heading over to it. Ah, Jean. He picked up with a smile. "Hello there, Jeannie!" She probably wanted to speak to her mother about something related to 'girl problems' but he would have a moment with his daughter first and they could deal with it.

Jean: Oh thank fuck it wasn't her mom. She did not have the energy to deal with her right now. Okay, now... how... Jean had to ask her dad a crazy question, but she totally should ease into it, right? Right?! "Are you an alien?" she blurted.

John: That... Was not what he had expected to be asked. Today or ever. "No...? Jean, I was born here. Are you having trouble with some documents?"

Jean: "Documents? There are documents?" No, Jean. There were no 'hello, I'm from the moon' documents. "Nooo, I mean, like... space. Are you from space?"

John: "...From space?" That was even more unexpected. "Jean, did you by chance partake in a bad batch of your inventory?"

Jean: "What?" She flailed a little when something buzzed by her and bubbled herself. "No, I'm not high!" Now she was a little offended. "I'm at a doctor! Well... I'm at his house..."

John: "At a doctor? Who told you to ask your father if he was from outer space? Is this some sort of test? No, Jean, I'm not from outer space." He paused and thought for a minute. "At his house? Is that code for 'he's kidnapped me, send help' then?"

Jean: "Nooo, Jamie is here too!" He was inside, worried about her, and probably would come hunting soon. "Pietro is a mutant doctor. He was one of our professors..." She took a deep breath. "He didn't ask me to ask you, but... like, I couldn't think of what else it could be!"

John: "What else what could be? Slow down, kiddo. You're going to have to walk me through this one." John went to sit back down in his chair, frowning in confusion as his brain tried to work through possibilities that would lead her to that conclusion.

Jean: Jean took a deep breath and tried a breathing exercise. "Okay... oooookay." She blew it out and jumped when the buzzing bug bonked into her bubble. "Heransomegenetictestson usandminecamebackweird!"

John: That was the opposite of slowing down... John made a face and tried to break down what she'd said. He wasn't extremely fluent in Jeanese, but sometimes he could decipher things. "You have weird genetics? Did I get that right?"

Jean: "Yeahuh!" She was more than a little surprised he'd understood her. "Jamie's were normal.... well, his were normal but his dupes' weren't normal since they're not normal, but anyway, mine came back weird!"

John: "Jeannie," he said gently. "You're a mutant. Your genetics are going to be abnormal compared to the genetics of an average homo sapiens. There's nothing to be worried about."

Jean: "Noooo, I know that, but Pietro said it's like nothing he's ever seen, and he's a mutant doctor! It's not my mutation it's something else... and it might be the phoenix!"

Jean: "I caught the phoenix from Rachel when she died, and like... it's a parasite or something! It might make me crazy like Rachel!"

John: That made his frown deepen, creasing his forehead with worry. "From what your aunt and uncle told me about that quote parasite, your cousin went through intense trauma when it showed up. With that psychotic geneticist who kidnapped several students. I highly doubt it will make you crazy if it is indeed the same thing."

Jean: "It's gotta be the same thing! I got it right when she died! I wasn't strong enough to get us away from the explosions when they blew up the school until suddenly I had fire! and then I flew us away!" Although... that wasn't really the first time, was it...

Jean: "I saw it before then... but it was different... like, Rachel even knew I'd touched the phoenix. It was when Jamie was kidnapped..."

John: "It sounds to me like it's a trauma response, kiddo. Not a parasite. Maybe because you're a mutant, trauma makes your DNA shift. I'm no expert in that field, but it seems as plausible an answer as any."

Jean: "But... Pietro said he'd never seen anything like it. He knew Rachel, dad." She chewed her lip. "I thought maybe it was... the family curse. Like... maybe there was a reason for it? I know two people who are half alien and they didn't know! My friend's mom is an alien, dad! It's plausible!"

John: This was all way over his head and he wished he had a glass of ... something. "The family curse? Hun, the family curse is the mutant gene. Not some alien parasite. We've traced it back to the witch trials."

Jean: "...that's real?! I'm a witch?!" Her bubble flared and the bug buzzed away. "There really is a family curse?" Jean looked down at her hand, searching for warts.

John: Okay, clearly he was not helping. "No, you're not a witch. You're a mutant. But since no one knew about that back then, they cried witch." John got up to pace until he could figure out how to make it acceptable to drink this early in the day.

Jean: "If it's genetic how come you aren't a mutant? Or Uncle Brian?" Jean was so confused. "I don't remember grandma Grey that well, but I think I'd totes remember if she floated the noodles at Christmas dinner!"

John: "No one knows. It seems to be mostly random, but the majority of the people who are afflicted by the curse are females. We can't say for certain that it skips a generation since your sister isn't one, but it was a theory for a while." John decided that a mimosa would be appropriate and went to make one. It wasn't what he preferred, but it would do for now. "Until you and Rachel, it was only the telepathy."

Jean: "Oh my God." Jean was still stuck on the whole idea that she was a witch in a family of witches than anything else. "I don't know which is worse - am I an alien or am I a witch or do I have a parasite!" Jean closed her eyes and wished Jamie was here. Well. Outside with her. Baaaaabe, I'm so confuuuuused.

Jamie: Jamie looked up and blinked. You're not a witch, Jeannie. Can confirm.

John: Mimosa poured, John went to sit back down, shaking his head at Jean in exasperation. "You're not a witch. I do not think you're an alien and I'm unsure, but fairly certain you do not have a parasite. Unless you count pets as parasites."

Jean: Are you sure about that?! "The Figaros and Breathless are not parasites!" Jean looked around the garden and sighed, getting up and dismissing her bubble. "I just... this is all so crazy. And the alien lady I talked to said she'd heard of fire birds in space legends."

John: "I was just teasing. Calm down." He drank half of the glass in one go. "But why would one come to earth, much less attach itself to you and Rachel like a symbiote? It makes no logical or rational sense, Jean."

Jamie: He laughed a little and shook his head. Yeah, Jeannie. I'm sure. Not a witch. Although..., he sent a little loving nudge and let her feel his naughty smirk, you have bewitched me.

Jean: "I don't know! It's random maybe! Like getting these powers at all!" She grinned at Jamie's efforts to distract her and nudged back, complete with a mental image of herself in Bewitched. I'll twitch my nose for you any time. "Okay, so you're not an alien... I guess, sorry for freaking out on you." She'd just have to deal with this on her own.

John: "In all honesty, kiddo, I can understand why you freaked out. If someone had told me I was an alien, I wouldn't be extremely calm about it myself." John set his glass down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "No, I'm not an alien," he confirmed again. "And you're not either. Your 'phoenix' may be, but you are not. Neither are you a witch. You're my daughter and you happen to also be a mutant. That's all."

Jean: "If I was an alien that would help maybe explain why a space bird would be interested in, so I'm kinda back where I started," she sighed, then smiled to herself. "But thank you. I'll talk to you guys later?"

John: "Absolutely. Love you, kiddo. Keep a calm head and you'll get this figured out." He was definitely not going to be telling Elaine about that conversation.

Jean: Jean nodded, then realized he couldn't see that. "Yeah... I've got Jamie to help me too. Love you, too! Bye!" She sighed and started back toward the house.

Jamie: Jamie looked expectantly towards the door as he felt Jean getting closer. What'd he say? Is he an alien?

Jean: He is not, she sighed, finding her way back through the big house to the room where Jamie waited. "But he totes admitted that maybe the bird could be..."

Jamie: "...Seriously?! I thought he was totally a logical man. That's nuts, babe." He went over to her and slipped his arms around her, kissing her on the top of the head. "You're too cute to be an alien."

Jean: "Carol and Heather are cute, too," she sniffed, snuggling into him. Was it nuts though? Who knew.

Jamie: "Not as cute as you, baby. They're just okay." Jamie rubbed her back and made a shushing noise. "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out and then we can decide what needs to be done. It's not actively hurting you right now and you seem as sane as you've always been so far.”

Jean: Jean wasn't sure if she should be offended or not, but she was too tired to care right now. "So far..." She prodded the phoenix, who seemed to be ignoring the chaos she was causing. "I found out there really is a family curse, babe..."

Jamie: "Really?? What is it? Who started it? Why'd you get cursed?" This was kind of exciting! He'd never known anybody to be cursed before!

Jean: Jean tipped her head back and parked her chin on his chest to blink up at him. He was all excited, which on one hand was adorable, but also kinda annoying considering. "I guess we're cursed by genetics?"

Jamie: Jamie looked down at her and blinked back. "So it's not really a curse then?" Kind of a bummer. Good news for the kids though. ...Or not, depending on what the curse was. "Is the phoenix the curse?"

Jean: "My dad said something about witch trials, soooo I guess my family has had mutants for a long ass time? Mostly it's been the women, he said, but it was just telepathy..." She swallowed. "Just telepathy until Rachel, and then me..."

Jamie: "Pshhh. That's not a curse. Being a mutant is just like being born with red hair. There's nothing weird about it, just different than most people." Worry? Gone. He gave her a bright smile, "Alien tomatoes was new, huh?"

Jean: Jean wasn't as optimistic about all of this as Jamie was, but she couldn't help but return the smile. "Alien tomatoes were new. I was a teenager when I got that. My empathy and telepathy came first."

Jamie: "Then I think it's safe to say that your genetics have evolved in a pretty awesome way." He leaned down to give her a gentle kiss. "You wouldn't want to be without those tomatoes, wouldja?"

Jean: Ooo, kiss! She happily accepted it, then nibbled her lip, thinking about Cerebro. "Teke is the best, but I had it loooong before the birb."

Jamie: "Right. Metal hat." Now there was a thought. "Maybe the metal hat did it? Attracted it or something?"

Jean: "I always thought it was just... me. Like, Dr. McCoy's best theory was that Cerebro forced my powers to change, they became strong enough to help me find you." She gave him a squeeze. "But maybe the phoenix heard me and came to help?"

Jamie: "That theory made complete sense, babe. Until now." He shrugged one shoulder and brushed her nose with his. "If it really is an alien, then yeah, maybe that's what happened. I do appreciate that it helped find me, but I don't appreciate it not letting you live your life without fire."

Jean: "I don't mind the fire as much as you," she said, thinking of the migraines. What were they really? Was it a side effect of having an alien thing in her head? "That's freaky if the phoenix changed my DNA... like if it wasn't always like this."

Jamie: "Do you know if anyone has any samples from before? Like, did McCoy take any before the bird that we can maybe get our hands on? Then Pietro can test the before and after, at least."

Jean: "McCoy ran his tests after, when i started getting migraines." Jean thought for a moment, then paled. "I know who tested me before..." She swallowed and burrowed back into Jamie. "Trask," she mumbled.

Jamie: Jamie made a face at the mention of that name and held her tighter. "Well, we'll find something else then. No way are we going to make you go back down that rabbit hole, Alice."

Jean: "No more washed brains, nope." Her time at Circle Pines was kind of hazy, but she remembered just enough to know she didn't want to remember the rest. "I don't know if we could find the records without finding the doctor..."

Jamie: "We could tell Pietro and make him do it. Of course, you're also engaged to a PI, so I could do it, but I'm worried that you might get stray thoughts about it." Jamie smoothed a hand over her hair and kissed the top of her head again. "But I'll do whatever you want, Jeannie."

Jean: Jean gave him a squeeze. "Thank you. Love you." She sighed and closed her eyes, making herself relax against him. "Maybe we can see if Pietro can get them through normal doctory ways... and if not then you can try?"

Jamie: "Sounds like a plan, babe." Jamie smiled and held her a little tighter. "I love you, too." He glanced towards the door, "We can ask him over lunch. I bet it's almost ready. You hungry?"

Jean: "No, but that's okay. I can fake it." She smiled and let him feel it, giving him a little wriggle.

Jean: After a moment she craned her neck back to look up at him. "Are you okay? Pietro had weird news for you, too."

Jamie: Jamie's laugh at her wriggle fell a little flat at her next question. "No... not really. If any of my dupes have kids they didn't know about when I re-absorbed them... and then I randomly see them in the world? I'm kind of terrified."

Jean: "I wonder if they'd look exactly like you? Like, just younger?" That probably wasn't helping, she realized. "If your dupes were careful, because they're you and you were always careful, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about, right?"

Jamie: "In theory. But condoms can be faulty sometimes. Girls can be crazy sometimes. I dunno, babe. It's just..." He rolled his shoulders and then his neck. "I dunno."

Jean: She didn't want to know about his body count, but then... she totally did. He probably fucked more girls than she'd ever dreamed of, before or after she'd met him. "You really think it's possible?" Jean didn't like the idea that he might have kids with someone other than her, dupe or not.

Jamie: "At this point? Anything's possible..." Jamie gave her a tight grin and nodded. "I don't like the idea either, Jeannie. I didn't want my dupes to have sex with anyone, but that's obviously not stopped them. Even with you."

Jean: "Hey, I only had sex with one dupe, and I thought you were dead, soooo I think I get a pass." Jean sniffed, then got over it. "I mean, I guess if you see a kid who looks like you then you just need to stay away?"

Jamie: "So long as his mom doesn't see me first." He winced and gave her a squeeze. "Sorry, babe."

Jean: "I can scratch her eyes out? That's a great distraction." She shrugged, but the idea did make her bristle internally.

Jamie: Jamie sighed and shook his head. "We're just going to have to hope that everything went according to plan and none of them created any tiny dupes."

Jean: "Only you get to make tiny yous, and they'll be half me, too." And maybe part space bird? She went up on her toes and kissed him. "We'll be okay. If anything happens, we can handle it."

Jamie: The kiss made him smile and he kissed her again. "Agreed. Anything, anything. You or me. We'll be okay. We're pretty awesome together, Jeannie."
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