Among the Strong
Oct. 30th, 2025 02:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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marysuevirusTitle: Among the Strong
Chapter Fifty Four: Intervention
Fandom: the Marvel universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic violence, language, sex, dark themes, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of Marvel. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. Haley belongs todazzledfirestar Morgan belongs toginevra Roxxy belongs tonanaeanaven Jehnna belongs to silverfox_chan and Dare belongs to me. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from dazzledfirestar .
Author's Notes: this is almost entirely Daz's fault. okay. so it really isn't. its actually almost 100% my fault. Daz just did a whole lot of encouraging. this fic is going to be kind of dark, so please keep that in mind while reading.
Among the Strong - the index
The conference room was still and silent, filled with a sense of heaviness that spoke toward some deep and intense emotions. Not that emotions were her specialty. But It was still there to be found, if one knew what to look for. She’d been in this very same room a few times when the emotions flowed along the same path. Which was kind of odd, because she wasn’t sure what she was doing here in the first place.
She let her gaze slide from one occupant’s face to the next. Warren and Morgan sat together on the other side of the table, both wearing looks of confusion that suggested they had no idea why they were there. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, Warren had one hand settled on Morgan’s arm in a touch meant to be reassuring. She thought she saw hints of unease in the way Morgan’s hands fidgeted with one another and in the way her gaze kept sliding from the far end of the table toward the door and then back again. Perhaps she had some kind of idea why they had been called together after all.
Her gaze slid to the next face along the table. Logan sat by himself, his expression shuttered. She knew that look well, had seen it several times over the years. That was the look he got when something had happened to Dare. It had made its first appearance all those years ago when Creed had grabbed her and stolen away with her. If he’d had a cigar on him, it would have been caught between teeth that were clenched hard enough to crack them. Beyond that look, there was nothing else about him that suggested things were not right in his world. His posture was almost relaxed, hands wrapped around one another and settled on the table without movement. It almost looked as if he was a statute.
On her right was the tall and tanned Cajun. Remy, who was usually smiling and laid back, was neither of those things at the moment. He was boiling with rage, jaw set and eyes hard. He sat in his chair with his back rigid and straight, the fingers of one hand drumming loudly against the surface of the wooden table. It seemed as if he wasn’t aware of the room around him, but she got the impression that he was watching the door and waiting for… something.
On Remy’s left was Johnny Storm. He was open agitated, constantly shifting positions. It suggested to her that he would much rather be doing something than sitting in the conference room, waiting for something to happen. She didn’t know him well enough to hazard a guess for the reasons behind his behavior. But she felt certain that the reason they’d been called here played a role in his impatience and agitation.
Lastly, her gaze landed on Scott. She didn’t have to see behind his ever-present ruby-quartz glasses to know the look on his face. He was impatient. And worried. She knew, without having to see the, that his eyes were hard and focused. He was staring at the door, and she knew that the depths of his deep brown gaze were unfathomable. His jaw was set, teeth just on the edge of clenching with anger or irritation. His mouth was pressed into a flat line and his hands were settled just so on the table top. He sat tall in his chair, his back ramrod straight and his broad shoulders tight with emotion.
He was beautiful to look at and she could do it all day. She allowed herself a moment to drink every last inch of him in. If he knew she was ogling him, he never let it show.
She had to admit, she’d been surprised when he’d knocked on the door to the room they’d so recently shared and, without a hint of emotion, had asked her to meet him in the conference room. He’d given no reason for the request and had barely waited for her to answer him before he’d turned and walked away. There had been a moment or two where she’d thought that maybe he’d come to apologize. To tell her he wanted her back, that he needed her in his life. That he wanted to work things through. And then he’d opened his mouth and spoken and those hopes had gone up in flames.
Jean had been left wondering why he’d asked her to meet him in the conference room. The fact that the request had seemed important had convinced her to agree. She’d taken a few moments to get herself together, to make sure she looked presentable, then she’d left her room behind and made her way to the conference room. She’d been surprised to find Logan, Johnny, and Remy there. She’d been even more surprised when Morgan and Warren had arrived, apparently as clueless about their reason for being summoned as she was.
“Dey comin’,” Remy’s voice, terse and rough, broke the silence. It seemed to be some kind of cue, because the four men at the end of the table shifted into what she would consider work mode. Scott looked her way.
“I know you don’t understand what’s going on, Jean. But I promise, you’ll see why I asked you here soon enough. I trust you’ll do what’s needed when the time comes,” Scott said. There was a faint softness in his voice, one she recalled from so many of their missions together. She stared a moment, then nodded to let him know she understood. That motion seemed to set him at ease a little, because some of the tension left his shoulders. And then there was no more time for talk or speculation, because the door to the room swung open and allowed Sam and Jehnna into the room.
She saw them both stop dead, eyes wide with confusion, when they spied everyone at the table. “Sam. Jehnna. Please. Have a seat.” Scott’s voice was as light as he could make it despite the seriousness that filled it. Jean watched as Sam blinked at him. Jehnna didn’t seem to react, which was odd because she’d always been slightly skittish around him. Ever since the days that she and the rest of Purple team had been working hard to becoming an official team. A few seconds passed before Sam stepped forward. Jean saw he had to urge Jehnna into motion.
Sam selected seats for them, not far from where Morgan and Warren sat. Warren offered Jehnna a soft smile meant to reassure. She returned it with a smile that looked like her normal one. But it seemed brittle and painful. She didn’t even acknowledge the smile Morgan tried to give her. Jean shifted her gaze toward Scott and saw that the tension in his jaw had increased. It was there in the telling tic of a muscle.
“What’s going on, Scott? Remy said it was important,” Sam asked after several moments of silence. His gaze shifted from one face to the next in an effort to find some clue.
“Dare is missing,” Scott said. Jean was fairly certain most people would notice the worry in his voice. Scott had always worked to maintain a level of professionalism that often made him seem cold and unapproachable. But she heard it. She knew him well enough to hear just how worried he was.
Sam frowned a moment. “Are you sure she’s missing? I mean, she did stay hidden from everyone before. Are you sure she isn’t doing that now?”
“Petra is gone. Their clothes are gone. Toiletries, Petra’s car seat and baby bag. All of it is gone,” Scott informed him.
Sam blinked, his frown coming fast on the heels of that information. “That seems odd. Why would she leave? I thought things wee getting better,” Sam remarked, his attention shifting Remy’s way.
Remy’s gaze, which had locked onto Jehnna when she’d come through the door, stared intently at her face. Jean could almost feel his anger as it flooded the air around them. She thought that this was maybe the angriest she’d ever known him to be. “Thought so, too,” he said slowly. “But it don’ take much to destroy de delicate peace between us.”
Those words were pointed at Jehnna, sharp as the blade of a sword and meant to draw blood. Jehnna barely reacted, her eyes not quite meeting his stare. Jean thought it odd that there wasn’t much of any emotion on her face or on the air around her. Jean let her attention slide to Scott for a moment and caught the very slight nod of his head. It was an answer to the question she’d asked with her eyes and it saw her turning her focus back to the youngest member of Purple Team.
“What are you talking about?” Sam asked. So far, he’d done all the talking, Jehnna had yet to say anything. Jean didn’t know if that was because she was too scared to speak or if there was another reason for it.
“Did Jehnna tell ya that the girls got together fer a meeting?” Logan asked, as if that was meant to answer Sam’s question. Sam’s glance went to where Jehnna sat, then shifted to Logan. He didn’t need to say a word for everyone to know the answer.
“No,” he said anyway.
“No. I imagine she didn’t,” Logan replied. It sounded like there was the hint of a growl in his voice, which meant he was much angrier than he’d let on. Which couldn’t mean anything good. “Cos then she’d have ta tell ya that she called damn near her whole team a bunch of whores.”
Painful silence filled the room after Logan finished speaking. Even Jean felt a slight sense of shock over the idea that Jehnna would do something like that. She watched as Sam turned to Jehnna and gaped at her a while before he spoke. “Jehnna?”
The woman refused to meet his gaze and, worse, refused to speak.
“Jehnna? Is it true? Did you say that to your team?” There was disbelief in Sam’s voice, in the look her turned on the woman at his side. Jehnna’s gaze moved, then, seeking out the spot where Johnny sat. Jean found that curious.
Silence filled the room for several uncomfortable moments. It became obvious that Jehnna wasn’t going to answer the question. Not without being prodded or forced into it. Jean considered, for a moment, using her gifts to edge Jehnna in the right direction. But some voice cautioned her against it, told her to wait and see what would happen. She was starting to think that Scott had called her into this meeting for two reasons. First, to give the appearance that someone was here to act in Jehnna’s best interests. Thus far, the other woman had avoided looking almost all of the men in the eyes. Which suggested she was, on some level, afraid of how they might react and what they might do. So Jean’s presence was meant to be a balm for Jehnna. A safe harbor. Second, and Jean felt this was the more important of the two reasons, she was there to take a peek into Jehnna’s mind and see why she might think the things she’d supposedly said.
“Jehnna?” Sam’s voice was soft, touched with confusion and a hint of fear. He reached out and took a hold of her hands, drawing the woman’s attention his way. For a moment, there was a soft look on Jehnna’s face. A look that slid away into anger when Sam spoke again. “Jehnna, honey. Did you call your team whores?”
Her face twisted with anger and rage. Worse, there was madness in it. Madness that shouldn’t have been there. Jean felt a finger of worry slide down her back. “Yes,” Jehnna snapped. There was so much… hatred in the woman’s voice, in that single word. And then her eyes were flashing as they turned toward Remy. Toward Logan. Toward Scott. “Yes. Yes. Yes! I called them all whores!”
At last, Jehnna’s gaze turned to where Morgan sat with Warren. “All of you are whores! You take and take and take and don’t have any concern for what it must be like for the people from whom you take! You’re a lying bitch and you stole Warren from me!”
Morgan’s expression filled with pain. It almost looked as if she was going to cry. Warren reached out to offer solace, his hand resting gently on Morgan’s shoulder. His action drew Jehnna’s gaze his way. “And you! You faithless piece of shit! I gave you ten years of my life! I gave you children! I gave you everything. After one quick fuck in her bed, you decide to throw me over for her whorish ways! You’re as much a piece of trash as she and her friends are!”
There should have been tears in Jehnna’s eyes. There weren’t. There was nothing but rage and hatred. A quick look around the room showed her faces set with sadness and disbelief. And anger. Jean let her gaze move back to Jehnna. And she knew why Scott had her here. This was so unlike the woman. Jehnna had always been the sweetest member of Purple Team. She’d always been a good friend to them. What she was spouting now was like some kind of poison, seeping from invisible wounds in an attempt to infect everyone else with her misplaced anger. Without another word, Jean opened her gift and let it slip into Jehnna’s mind.
“Jehnna,” Warren began. He sounded as if he was at a loss with her behavior. “Sweetheart, I didn’t want to hurt you like this.”
“Well you did, Warren! You hurt me so much! You decided you wanted that floozy more than you wanted me! It isn’t bad enough that I had to put up with everything Sinister said and did! But I had to come home to you caught in her web or lies and deceit. What is it about her cunt that drives men mad?”
There was a faint gasp from Morgan at that. But she said nothing. Jean felt Morgan withdraw into herself. And she knew that Warren’s temper was taking hold, felt it in the way his mind became heavier and darker. Jehnna gave a smug smile of satisfaction before turning her attention Logan’s way. “You’re no better, you neanderthal. It didn’t take much for her to convince you to fall dick first between her thighs. Then again, you’re nothing but a fucking animal so I suppose that kind of shit is to be expected.”
“There’s no call for this kind of attack, Jehnna. We know you suffered abuse and trauma at Sinister’s hands. So did the rest of us,” Scott told her calmly. His words only saw her temper spike.
“I’m sorry. Did you just tell me you suffered trauma and abuse at Sinister’s hands, Mister I Fucked Someone Else and Screwed Over My Wife?” Jehnna asked, her tone almost strident. She finally turned her attention to Scott and Jean was nearly blasted by the loathing the other woman had for him. Jean also felt the first stirrings of memory from someone else in the room. She took a moment to step away from Jehnna and focus on Scott. And she saw the memory of his attempt to keep his hands to himself. Of his desire to not hurt her by involving himself with someone else.
She also saw the way he and Haley finally fell. The way they simply gave in. Because there was no choice. She saw a detestable clear cube and the bed within. She saw Sinister as he watched. And leered. She heard the words he whispered to Haley. To Scott. She saw Sinister’s science experiments, things he called goblins. Things that inflicted pain with their touch. She was flooded with so many memories and the feelings that came with it. It was almost too much, forcing her to pull back before she lost herself in the things that happened. That Sinister had forced them to do.
“Yer tellin’ me you think yer the only one who suffered because of Sinister?” Logan asked. The growl was definitely there and Jean found herself lost in his remembered pain and fear and determination. In the loneliness he felt while he sat in the desert and waited for something to happen. Hoped and prayed that Dare would come home.
“Oh, look. It thinks its got a brain!” Jehnna sneered.
“You so full of anger and self-loathing that you don’ see de truth in front of you face,” Remy said, his words tight and controlled. They brought Jehnna’s gaze his way. The look she gave him was filled with contempt. He weathered that look, his eyes bright and blazing with the flames of rage. A cloud of that emotion clung to him, fueled by the memories that boiled at the surface of his mind. Jean found it shockingly easy to grasp them, which was a far cry from a normal day when his own mutation made it next to impossible to access his thoughts and memories.
Jean found herself awash in Remy’s own personal hell. She saw how Dare pulled away from him time and again. How she seemed to crawl deeper inside of herself with each moment in Sinister’s presence. She experienced his worry and his fear like they were her own. She was almost assaulted by an image of Dare hanging from one of Sinster’s hands, her fingers curled tightly around his wrist to prevent him from strangling her with that hold. She felt Remy’s paralyzing fear and heard his voice, raw and hoarse from shouting, as he demanded Dare do as she was asked.
She felt the joy that filled him when Dare announced she was pregnant. And the despair when he realized that she wanted nothing to do with the child she carried. There was a sense of confusion when she haltingly, with tears clogging her eyes and nose and voice, told him she loved him and didn’t deserve to do so. The anger and concern when she kept denying him her affections and the love she had for their child. At the way she kept drawing herself inward. That was followed by and tangled up with the same emotions, only in larger quantities, when he discovered upon their return that Dare had cut herself off from him so completely that he couldn’t find her. When he learned she was in labor and in danger of losing her life.
Jean had to tear herself away from his memories, away from the emotions that highlighted every one of them. It was to find Jehnna still staring Remy down, ignoring the warning that burned brightly in his eyes. Because Jean could tell she was gearing up to try and tear into him, too. “What truth is that? That you grabbed the first opportunity handed to you to push Morgan aside and give into your own slavering lusts? How long did you wait to take Dare to bed? Some friend you are, stealing her from Logan behind his back.”
Remy said nothing. But his intense gaze dared Jehnna to go on. Dared her to follow that ludicrous line of thinking to its end. She did not disappoint. She sat back in her seat, arms crossed over her chest in a posture that screamed she was winning, and pinned him with her best withering glare. “Or are we talking about the truth where Dare is concerned? The one where she’s a poor, misunderstood baby who uses her supposed trauma to get away with fucking murder! She’s as big a whore as Morgan. And she’s a fucking liar. She acts like the world owes her so much for the wrongs she perceives it perpetrated against her. Dare? A victim? Hardly.”
The scoffing sound that came from Jehnna’s throat was an ugly thing, filled with scorn and mockery. Then a sly smile slid over her face and she leaned forward once more. “We all know just how badly she wanted in your pants. She’s as faithless and unfaithful as the rest of you. Did she pretend to deny you before she gave in and let you take her to bed? Or did she rip her clothes off in joy when it came time to get naked and fuck?”
For a moment, there was a flash of Dare doing everything she could to defy Sinister. And of how Remy had to more or less manhandle her into doing what was expected of her to keep her from getting hurt. Then the image was gone. Hidden behind iron walls that reached to the sky. “I don’t know what happen to you, Jehnna, but dere somet’ing wrong wit’ you. None of you friends ever speak about you like dis,” Remy replied, his voice soft and low. His actions saw Jehnna laughing.
“My friends? That’s rich. None of those bitches cared about what happened to me! None of them! Did any of them come to check up on me when we got back? Did any of them care about what happened to me? No.” The air around them vibrated ominously. Jehnna rose to her feet and glared at everyone around the table.
“Jehnna,” Sam said, one hand reaching up to take hold of her hand. She tugged it free almost violently and pointed a finger at the room. There was another shift of the air, making things like pens and photos and plaques jump where they rested on the tabletop or on the walls. Jehnna was rapidly losing control. “Honey, stop. This isn’t like you. This isn’t who you are.”
Jehnna jerked her arm away from Sam’s touch and faced the rest of the table. “Every last one of you is a lying sack of shit with absolutely no redeeming qualities! None of you is free of guilt! None of you even understand what I went through!”
In a moment, Jean found herself being buried under Jehnna’s memories. Under the mountain of emotions that came with it. She saw how Sinister spoke to Jehnna in words laden with kindness and cruelty. He used words like virginity and pure as if they were weapons, making Jehnna feel small and somehow wrong. She swam in the remembrance of Jehnna’s burgeoning love for Sam. The guilt she had about that when she thought of how much it would hurt Warren. She lived with the same guilt and fear and anger that Jehnna had lived with all those months she’d been locked away in Sinister’s cell.
More filled her head. She had visions of Sam watching Jehnna when the woman wasn’t looking, of the longing that filled him. The guilt that he was sleeping with Warren’s wife. Of being in love with a woman who was promised to someone else. She felt his fear when those weird little goblin creatures put their hands on Jehnna and hurt her. She tasted his determination when they were locked in that clear box, Sinister’s eyes on them almost hungrily. And there was worry when the goblins came to take Jehnna to see Sinster and she’d come back unconscious. That had happened after the pregnancy test, when Sinister had barged into their cell, their only sanctuary, and demanded Jehnna take the test. Hope and wonder and so many other things peppered his memories that Jean felt stuffed full of it all.
She found herself sliding under the weight of Morgan’s memories. Of her heartache at the idea she was betraying Remy. At her certainty he would leave her anyway, a certainty she’d lived with since almost the beginning. The worry she’d had when she’d realized that Dare was being forced to relive her worst nightmare all over again. She lived through the way Morgan had used sex to distract Warren from anything serious, until she couldn’t anymore. Until both of them were so firmly caught up in one another’s spells that it was useless. And then there was the despair when Morgan had wondered if they’d make it home. When she’d wondered if, when they did go home, things would go back to how they’d been before being taken. And she wallowed in Morgan’s sense of self-loathing when she wondered, not for the first time, what was wrong with her that she kept going from man to man to man all while expecting the worst.
She’d barely struggled up out of the mire of Morgan’s emotions when she was buried under Warren’s memories of their time in captivity. He’d fretted over and over about Jehnna, worried that she wouldn’t be able to forgive him for wanting Morgan. Worried that she’d come out of the experience so changed that she wouldn’t be able to function anymore. She saw how he’d tried so hard to stop himself from falling in love with Morgan. She saw his joy and pleasure when they knew Morgan was pregnant and felt how much he’d wanted that baby with her. She saw, too, his desire to protect Morgan from Sinister. And she saw how much he despised what Sinister had done to them.
There was too much to see and feel and know. It was all too much. Her head was trying to split open with all of the information she’d gotten from everyone. She couldn’t quite stop the cry that came from her throat. Nor could she keep her head up anymore, simply let it fall forward so she could catch it in her hands and hope that the agony died soon.
“Jean?” Scott’s voice was soft and soothing in a room boiling with memories and emotions.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t know. I didn’t understand. I’m so, so sorry.”
The room remained silent around her for the long moments it took her to get her head back together. To raise it from her hands and let her gaze slide from one face to the next. There were looks of concern and surprise on every face in the room. Jean let her gaze slide from one to the next, let them all see the sorrow in her gaze. Finally, she shifted her attention to Jehnna. The woman still stood, still leaned against the table, and still glared defiance at the rest of the people there.
Jean reached out with her gift once more. And, this time, she used it to slowly calm all the noise in Jehnna’s mind. Eventually, the rage the woman felt slipped away like the last drop of water going down the drain. Jehnna sagged and nearly toppled over, but Sam was there to catch her and lower her into her seat. Her head lolled on her neck, prompting Sam to reach up and stroke her hair back from her face. “Jehnna? Honey?”
“Sam?” she asked, and there was a deep sense of confusion in her voice.
“I’m here, honey,” he replied, a touch of something soft touching his words. Jehnna offered a weak smile, then kind of slumped over so that her head rested on Sam’s shoulder. A moment later, her eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell with a slow, steady rhythm that said she’d fallen asleep.
“What did you find, Jean?” Scott asked. He sounded as if he was untouched by the entire thing, but she knew better. She knew him better. He was worried about Jehnna. Worried about Dare. And no doubt he was hurt by what Jehnna had said to him, though he’d never give voice to it.
Jean licked her lips and searched for the best way to phrase it. She finally sighed and offered him a pained smile. “Its a combination of the trauma and her own guilt. She feels terrible about falling in love with Sam and its fed into the way she views everyone else. She’s lashing out because she doesn’t know what else to do with the things she’s feeling.”
“That warrants her calling her friends whores?” Scott asked. She noticed he didn’t mention anything about how she’d treated the men.
“In her mind, it does.” Jean frowned as she was struck with the idea that she’d acted in a similar fashion. She hadn’t really understood what had gone on with Sinister. And she hadn’t really given thought to what it had to have been like for everyone involved. She’d only considered her own feelings and how it had affected her. She turned a considering gaze Jehnna’s way. “Its a tangle up there, with all her thoughts and feelings warped. It will take a lot of work to see it untangled. But I believe its possible. And I’d like to help her. If Warren and Sam are okay with that.”
The two mentioned men were silent for a while, staring at each other as if looking for something in their gazes. Jean didn’t blame them. She’d acted horribly lately. They would be justified if they denied her the right, but she wanted to try. Jean’s personal feelings had no place in the face of a fellow X-Man’s health and welfare. If she could help find the real Jehnna back, it would be a start toward unpacking her own problems.
“I’m okay with it,” Warren finally said. Sam nodded his head in agreement.
“Me, too. I want my sweet Jehnna back,” he said.
“Thank you,” Jean told them both. “I think its possible to do that. She’s going to need to speak to a therapist about her trauma. I can’t fix that. But I can help her get back to a place where she’s more the Jehnna we all know.”
“No,” Warren replied. There was a faint smile on his face as his gaze slid toward Jehnna. Jean could tell, no matter what had happened, that he still loved his wife. He still cared for her. That thought saw her eyes seeking out Scott again. And she wondered if, maybe, he felt the same. “Thank you, Jean. You can’t know how much this means to me.”
“Logan?” Morgan’s voice came, soft and hesitant. It shattered the warm feeling that had suffused the room. All eyes turned to her and Jean saw she looked faintly lost. Jean had to wonder if that was because of what had just gone on. “Is it true? Did Dare run away?”
“She did,” he nodded. There was a softness in his voice that Jean felt was meant to help soothe Morgan.
“But why?” Morgan asked, then turned her attention toward Remy. “I thought she was getting better. You said she was opening up to you more.”
“She was. But she don’ like bein’ called a whore. She don’ like Jehnna sayin’ she got no trauma,” Remy replied.
“So what do we do?” Morgan asked, some of the shock of the past few minutes wearing off. “We aren’t going to sit back and wait for her to come home, are we? Or wait and see if she comes home?”
“No. We ain’t gonna leave her out there on her own,” Logan informed her. “But we gotta figure out where she went before we can go get her. And I’ll be damned if she could have made it anymore difficult than she did.”
There was a growl in his words that said he was very unhappy with that. Jean glanced around the room to find that everyone was staring at him, with exception of Johnny and Scott. The two of them seemed to give her the impression that there was more going on than they’d heard about yet.
And, now that she thought about it, she felt it was not only odd that Johnny was here, but that he hadn’t said anything. Jehnna hadn’t said anything about his presence, but Jean had gotten an impression from the other woman, while lost in her memories, that Jehnna considered Johnny as much a victim as she did Jean. Which seemed odd, but there was no telling how the woman’s mixed up brain had come to that conclusion.
“What do you mean?” Morgan questioned. She sat up taller in her chair and stared intently at Logan, waiting for him to give an explanation to that.
“We did some checking.” The statement came from Scott and he sounded both pleased and displeased. Which was odd, but Jean didn’t have time to consider why he would feel that way because he was pressing on. “Dare laid a trail a mile long as to where she could have gone. Its going to take time to sort through all of that and figure out which location is likely.”
“She booked flights to domestic cities. Places like Houston and Los Angeles. Big cities here in the states that would make it harder to find her because they’re so packed,” Logan said. He sounded a little discouraged by what he was revealing. “Even with a baby, it’d be easy fer her to slip in and outta places where ya’d think she’d be noticed. Walk around like ya belong there and no one really knows that ya don’t.”
“She also book flights to foreign cities. Moscow and Tokyo. Paris,” Remy added.
“I don’t think Dare would go to Paris. She’s got bad memories associated with Paris,” Morgan said, sounding certain. Jean recalled how Dare and Haley had been in Paris when Doom had attacked. She could well imagine what kind of memories Dare had with Paris. “Moscow seems odd. Tokyo? Maybe?”
Logan shook his head. “She spent a big chunk o’ cash for places she ain’t gone to.”
“You’re so sure about that?” Jean asked. It brought his bright blue gaze her way and, for a moment, she worried he’d take the question the wrong way. She’d deserve it if he got cranky with her. Hadn’t she insulted Dare to his face time and again? But Logan heaved a sigh and shook his head, then reached up and scrubbed at his face with his hands.
“”Course I’m sure. She used her name. Ain’t no way she’s going to go someplace where she used her name. Too easy to track her. My girl’s too smart for that. No. She went some place else. I just ain’t sure where that place is,” he told them, his voice heavy with concern and the need to find her.
“She’ll be no easier to find than Haley,” Johnny pointed out. That drew Jean’s attention his way. There was a look of disgust on his face, touches of worry and fear there. That saw Jean frowning.
“Haley’s missing, too?” she asked, letting her gaze slide from Johnny’s face to Scott’s. He gave a short, sharp nod but said nothing else. “She took Emilia with her?”
“And TJ,” Johnny confirmed. “We think she might have gone after Dare, but there’s no guarantee on that one.”
“Has she left a trail?”
“We found one,” Scott said. “But it looks odd and I’m not sure why. Some of the cities match with the ones Dare chose. Some of them do not. I don’t know if she did it intentionally to make us think she’s looking for Dare or if she’s going her own way. But Johnny and I have a place to start. We’re going to go see her aunt, Edie.”
“I don’t think it’ll do us any good, but we’re going to try anyway,” Johnny added. Jean thought he didn’t sound very optimistic about that. She might have asked him why, but there was a faint disturbance to the air, then Faye was just suddenly standing behind Morgan. That was odd. Jean couldn’t remember Faye ever disturbing the air before. She thought it had to mean something, but she didn’t have much time to consider what that something might be.
“Morgan, Dee sent me to fetch you. She said Kayla is getting fussy and needs you,” Faye told her twin.
“Faye!” Logan’s voice cut across the room like a knife slicing through butter. The doppelganger turned her attention his way, her face very carefully neutral. “Dare’s missin’. Can ya find her?” he asked. There might have been a hint of desperation in his voice.
“Of course I can find her,” Faye responded, her tone suggesting he was a simpleton for even thinking otherwise. “But I’m not going to.”
“What? Why?” This from Morgan. Faye never took her attention off Logan as she stared at him with an empty expression. Almost like she wasn’t actually there.
“Because she left for a reason. And I am not going to take that from her,” Faye replied steadily.
“You’ve looked fer her before,” Logan pointed out.
“I did. But I am not going to do it now. Dare needs time to figure things out. And you need time to decide if you really love her the way you say you do.” Faye stared a moment, then sighed and spoke again. “If you deserve her.”
“Dat a low blow to land, Faye,” Remy chided. Morgan’s twin turned to look at him and Jean could see by the woman’s eyes that she wasn’t going to be any kinder to Logan. “You know we just concerned.”
“Of course you are. But you need to decide, too, if you actually deserve her. Both of you have been acting as if she’s something to be kept and displayed, like a doll on a shelf. She’s a thinking, feeling human being and she’s been through more than her fair share of hell. Neither of you have tried to help pull her out of that. Dee was right. You are so stupid.”
Jean saw Remy’s expression close off. Logan’s simply fell off his face. And, for what might have been the first time, Jean saw true fear and desperation on his face. “Please, Faye. I’m beggin’ ya,” Logan whispered.
“I am not a dog, Logan! It is not my fate to constantly find Dare for you so you can hide her behind glass walls. If you are going to find her, you will have to use your wits to do so.” Faye stepped back and let her gaze slide around the room. It lingered on each of them a moment, landing lastly on the sleeping Jehnna. Finally, she turned back to Logan and offered him a frown. “For too long, I have sat back and watched you with Dare. I know you love her. You and Remy and Morgan. But you treat her like she is fragile and breakable. Perhaps that is what she once needed. But no longer. She is so much more than you give her credit for. Decide, Logan. Decide if she is meant to be coddled or if she is meant to be held up and loved. Follow her only when you know what it is you mean to do when you find her. But know this, Logan. Know this, everyone. If you decide incorrectly, know that she will never be the person she was meant to be. And she will never be happy.”
“Faye?” Morgan asked, sounding as if she didn’t quite understand what her twin was saying.
“She loves you, Morgan. All of you. More than she feels she should. If you do not make the right choice, she will come to see that love as a burden. For you. And for herself. And the next time she leaves, you will never be able to find her.”
“Please, Faye.” Logan tried once more. His voice was a whisper, filled with hope and fear and despair. Faye gave him an empty look and shook her head. Then she was gone and Jean was left thinking that had to be the loudest unspoken ‘Go fuck yourself.’ she had ever witnessed.
Chapter Fifty Four: Intervention
Fandom: the Marvel universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic violence, language, sex, dark themes, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of Marvel. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. Haley belongs to
dazzledfirestar Morgan belongs toginevra Roxxy belongs tonanaeanaven Jehnna belongs to silverfox_chan and Dare belongs to me. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from dazzledfirestar . Author's Notes: this is almost entirely Daz's fault. okay. so it really isn't. its actually almost 100% my fault. Daz just did a whole lot of encouraging. this fic is going to be kind of dark, so please keep that in mind while reading.
Among the Strong - the index
The conference room was still and silent, filled with a sense of heaviness that spoke toward some deep and intense emotions. Not that emotions were her specialty. But It was still there to be found, if one knew what to look for. She’d been in this very same room a few times when the emotions flowed along the same path. Which was kind of odd, because she wasn’t sure what she was doing here in the first place.
She let her gaze slide from one occupant’s face to the next. Warren and Morgan sat together on the other side of the table, both wearing looks of confusion that suggested they had no idea why they were there. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, Warren had one hand settled on Morgan’s arm in a touch meant to be reassuring. She thought she saw hints of unease in the way Morgan’s hands fidgeted with one another and in the way her gaze kept sliding from the far end of the table toward the door and then back again. Perhaps she had some kind of idea why they had been called together after all.
Her gaze slid to the next face along the table. Logan sat by himself, his expression shuttered. She knew that look well, had seen it several times over the years. That was the look he got when something had happened to Dare. It had made its first appearance all those years ago when Creed had grabbed her and stolen away with her. If he’d had a cigar on him, it would have been caught between teeth that were clenched hard enough to crack them. Beyond that look, there was nothing else about him that suggested things were not right in his world. His posture was almost relaxed, hands wrapped around one another and settled on the table without movement. It almost looked as if he was a statute.
On her right was the tall and tanned Cajun. Remy, who was usually smiling and laid back, was neither of those things at the moment. He was boiling with rage, jaw set and eyes hard. He sat in his chair with his back rigid and straight, the fingers of one hand drumming loudly against the surface of the wooden table. It seemed as if he wasn’t aware of the room around him, but she got the impression that he was watching the door and waiting for… something.
On Remy’s left was Johnny Storm. He was open agitated, constantly shifting positions. It suggested to her that he would much rather be doing something than sitting in the conference room, waiting for something to happen. She didn’t know him well enough to hazard a guess for the reasons behind his behavior. But she felt certain that the reason they’d been called here played a role in his impatience and agitation.
Lastly, her gaze landed on Scott. She didn’t have to see behind his ever-present ruby-quartz glasses to know the look on his face. He was impatient. And worried. She knew, without having to see the, that his eyes were hard and focused. He was staring at the door, and she knew that the depths of his deep brown gaze were unfathomable. His jaw was set, teeth just on the edge of clenching with anger or irritation. His mouth was pressed into a flat line and his hands were settled just so on the table top. He sat tall in his chair, his back ramrod straight and his broad shoulders tight with emotion.
He was beautiful to look at and she could do it all day. She allowed herself a moment to drink every last inch of him in. If he knew she was ogling him, he never let it show.
She had to admit, she’d been surprised when he’d knocked on the door to the room they’d so recently shared and, without a hint of emotion, had asked her to meet him in the conference room. He’d given no reason for the request and had barely waited for her to answer him before he’d turned and walked away. There had been a moment or two where she’d thought that maybe he’d come to apologize. To tell her he wanted her back, that he needed her in his life. That he wanted to work things through. And then he’d opened his mouth and spoken and those hopes had gone up in flames.
Jean had been left wondering why he’d asked her to meet him in the conference room. The fact that the request had seemed important had convinced her to agree. She’d taken a few moments to get herself together, to make sure she looked presentable, then she’d left her room behind and made her way to the conference room. She’d been surprised to find Logan, Johnny, and Remy there. She’d been even more surprised when Morgan and Warren had arrived, apparently as clueless about their reason for being summoned as she was.
“Dey comin’,” Remy’s voice, terse and rough, broke the silence. It seemed to be some kind of cue, because the four men at the end of the table shifted into what she would consider work mode. Scott looked her way.
“I know you don’t understand what’s going on, Jean. But I promise, you’ll see why I asked you here soon enough. I trust you’ll do what’s needed when the time comes,” Scott said. There was a faint softness in his voice, one she recalled from so many of their missions together. She stared a moment, then nodded to let him know she understood. That motion seemed to set him at ease a little, because some of the tension left his shoulders. And then there was no more time for talk or speculation, because the door to the room swung open and allowed Sam and Jehnna into the room.
She saw them both stop dead, eyes wide with confusion, when they spied everyone at the table. “Sam. Jehnna. Please. Have a seat.” Scott’s voice was as light as he could make it despite the seriousness that filled it. Jean watched as Sam blinked at him. Jehnna didn’t seem to react, which was odd because she’d always been slightly skittish around him. Ever since the days that she and the rest of Purple team had been working hard to becoming an official team. A few seconds passed before Sam stepped forward. Jean saw he had to urge Jehnna into motion.
Sam selected seats for them, not far from where Morgan and Warren sat. Warren offered Jehnna a soft smile meant to reassure. She returned it with a smile that looked like her normal one. But it seemed brittle and painful. She didn’t even acknowledge the smile Morgan tried to give her. Jean shifted her gaze toward Scott and saw that the tension in his jaw had increased. It was there in the telling tic of a muscle.
“What’s going on, Scott? Remy said it was important,” Sam asked after several moments of silence. His gaze shifted from one face to the next in an effort to find some clue.
“Dare is missing,” Scott said. Jean was fairly certain most people would notice the worry in his voice. Scott had always worked to maintain a level of professionalism that often made him seem cold and unapproachable. But she heard it. She knew him well enough to hear just how worried he was.
Sam frowned a moment. “Are you sure she’s missing? I mean, she did stay hidden from everyone before. Are you sure she isn’t doing that now?”
“Petra is gone. Their clothes are gone. Toiletries, Petra’s car seat and baby bag. All of it is gone,” Scott informed him.
Sam blinked, his frown coming fast on the heels of that information. “That seems odd. Why would she leave? I thought things wee getting better,” Sam remarked, his attention shifting Remy’s way.
Remy’s gaze, which had locked onto Jehnna when she’d come through the door, stared intently at her face. Jean could almost feel his anger as it flooded the air around them. She thought that this was maybe the angriest she’d ever known him to be. “Thought so, too,” he said slowly. “But it don’ take much to destroy de delicate peace between us.”
Those words were pointed at Jehnna, sharp as the blade of a sword and meant to draw blood. Jehnna barely reacted, her eyes not quite meeting his stare. Jean thought it odd that there wasn’t much of any emotion on her face or on the air around her. Jean let her attention slide to Scott for a moment and caught the very slight nod of his head. It was an answer to the question she’d asked with her eyes and it saw her turning her focus back to the youngest member of Purple Team.
“What are you talking about?” Sam asked. So far, he’d done all the talking, Jehnna had yet to say anything. Jean didn’t know if that was because she was too scared to speak or if there was another reason for it.
“Did Jehnna tell ya that the girls got together fer a meeting?” Logan asked, as if that was meant to answer Sam’s question. Sam’s glance went to where Jehnna sat, then shifted to Logan. He didn’t need to say a word for everyone to know the answer.
“No,” he said anyway.
“No. I imagine she didn’t,” Logan replied. It sounded like there was the hint of a growl in his voice, which meant he was much angrier than he’d let on. Which couldn’t mean anything good. “Cos then she’d have ta tell ya that she called damn near her whole team a bunch of whores.”
Painful silence filled the room after Logan finished speaking. Even Jean felt a slight sense of shock over the idea that Jehnna would do something like that. She watched as Sam turned to Jehnna and gaped at her a while before he spoke. “Jehnna?”
The woman refused to meet his gaze and, worse, refused to speak.
“Jehnna? Is it true? Did you say that to your team?” There was disbelief in Sam’s voice, in the look her turned on the woman at his side. Jehnna’s gaze moved, then, seeking out the spot where Johnny sat. Jean found that curious.
Silence filled the room for several uncomfortable moments. It became obvious that Jehnna wasn’t going to answer the question. Not without being prodded or forced into it. Jean considered, for a moment, using her gifts to edge Jehnna in the right direction. But some voice cautioned her against it, told her to wait and see what would happen. She was starting to think that Scott had called her into this meeting for two reasons. First, to give the appearance that someone was here to act in Jehnna’s best interests. Thus far, the other woman had avoided looking almost all of the men in the eyes. Which suggested she was, on some level, afraid of how they might react and what they might do. So Jean’s presence was meant to be a balm for Jehnna. A safe harbor. Second, and Jean felt this was the more important of the two reasons, she was there to take a peek into Jehnna’s mind and see why she might think the things she’d supposedly said.
“Jehnna?” Sam’s voice was soft, touched with confusion and a hint of fear. He reached out and took a hold of her hands, drawing the woman’s attention his way. For a moment, there was a soft look on Jehnna’s face. A look that slid away into anger when Sam spoke again. “Jehnna, honey. Did you call your team whores?”
Her face twisted with anger and rage. Worse, there was madness in it. Madness that shouldn’t have been there. Jean felt a finger of worry slide down her back. “Yes,” Jehnna snapped. There was so much… hatred in the woman’s voice, in that single word. And then her eyes were flashing as they turned toward Remy. Toward Logan. Toward Scott. “Yes. Yes. Yes! I called them all whores!”
At last, Jehnna’s gaze turned to where Morgan sat with Warren. “All of you are whores! You take and take and take and don’t have any concern for what it must be like for the people from whom you take! You’re a lying bitch and you stole Warren from me!”
Morgan’s expression filled with pain. It almost looked as if she was going to cry. Warren reached out to offer solace, his hand resting gently on Morgan’s shoulder. His action drew Jehnna’s gaze his way. “And you! You faithless piece of shit! I gave you ten years of my life! I gave you children! I gave you everything. After one quick fuck in her bed, you decide to throw me over for her whorish ways! You’re as much a piece of trash as she and her friends are!”
There should have been tears in Jehnna’s eyes. There weren’t. There was nothing but rage and hatred. A quick look around the room showed her faces set with sadness and disbelief. And anger. Jean let her gaze move back to Jehnna. And she knew why Scott had her here. This was so unlike the woman. Jehnna had always been the sweetest member of Purple Team. She’d always been a good friend to them. What she was spouting now was like some kind of poison, seeping from invisible wounds in an attempt to infect everyone else with her misplaced anger. Without another word, Jean opened her gift and let it slip into Jehnna’s mind.
“Jehnna,” Warren began. He sounded as if he was at a loss with her behavior. “Sweetheart, I didn’t want to hurt you like this.”
“Well you did, Warren! You hurt me so much! You decided you wanted that floozy more than you wanted me! It isn’t bad enough that I had to put up with everything Sinister said and did! But I had to come home to you caught in her web or lies and deceit. What is it about her cunt that drives men mad?”
There was a faint gasp from Morgan at that. But she said nothing. Jean felt Morgan withdraw into herself. And she knew that Warren’s temper was taking hold, felt it in the way his mind became heavier and darker. Jehnna gave a smug smile of satisfaction before turning her attention Logan’s way. “You’re no better, you neanderthal. It didn’t take much for her to convince you to fall dick first between her thighs. Then again, you’re nothing but a fucking animal so I suppose that kind of shit is to be expected.”
“There’s no call for this kind of attack, Jehnna. We know you suffered abuse and trauma at Sinister’s hands. So did the rest of us,” Scott told her calmly. His words only saw her temper spike.
“I’m sorry. Did you just tell me you suffered trauma and abuse at Sinister’s hands, Mister I Fucked Someone Else and Screwed Over My Wife?” Jehnna asked, her tone almost strident. She finally turned her attention to Scott and Jean was nearly blasted by the loathing the other woman had for him. Jean also felt the first stirrings of memory from someone else in the room. She took a moment to step away from Jehnna and focus on Scott. And she saw the memory of his attempt to keep his hands to himself. Of his desire to not hurt her by involving himself with someone else.
She also saw the way he and Haley finally fell. The way they simply gave in. Because there was no choice. She saw a detestable clear cube and the bed within. She saw Sinister as he watched. And leered. She heard the words he whispered to Haley. To Scott. She saw Sinister’s science experiments, things he called goblins. Things that inflicted pain with their touch. She was flooded with so many memories and the feelings that came with it. It was almost too much, forcing her to pull back before she lost herself in the things that happened. That Sinister had forced them to do.
“Yer tellin’ me you think yer the only one who suffered because of Sinister?” Logan asked. The growl was definitely there and Jean found herself lost in his remembered pain and fear and determination. In the loneliness he felt while he sat in the desert and waited for something to happen. Hoped and prayed that Dare would come home.
“Oh, look. It thinks its got a brain!” Jehnna sneered.
“You so full of anger and self-loathing that you don’ see de truth in front of you face,” Remy said, his words tight and controlled. They brought Jehnna’s gaze his way. The look she gave him was filled with contempt. He weathered that look, his eyes bright and blazing with the flames of rage. A cloud of that emotion clung to him, fueled by the memories that boiled at the surface of his mind. Jean found it shockingly easy to grasp them, which was a far cry from a normal day when his own mutation made it next to impossible to access his thoughts and memories.
Jean found herself awash in Remy’s own personal hell. She saw how Dare pulled away from him time and again. How she seemed to crawl deeper inside of herself with each moment in Sinister’s presence. She experienced his worry and his fear like they were her own. She was almost assaulted by an image of Dare hanging from one of Sinster’s hands, her fingers curled tightly around his wrist to prevent him from strangling her with that hold. She felt Remy’s paralyzing fear and heard his voice, raw and hoarse from shouting, as he demanded Dare do as she was asked.
She felt the joy that filled him when Dare announced she was pregnant. And the despair when he realized that she wanted nothing to do with the child she carried. There was a sense of confusion when she haltingly, with tears clogging her eyes and nose and voice, told him she loved him and didn’t deserve to do so. The anger and concern when she kept denying him her affections and the love she had for their child. At the way she kept drawing herself inward. That was followed by and tangled up with the same emotions, only in larger quantities, when he discovered upon their return that Dare had cut herself off from him so completely that he couldn’t find her. When he learned she was in labor and in danger of losing her life.
Jean had to tear herself away from his memories, away from the emotions that highlighted every one of them. It was to find Jehnna still staring Remy down, ignoring the warning that burned brightly in his eyes. Because Jean could tell she was gearing up to try and tear into him, too. “What truth is that? That you grabbed the first opportunity handed to you to push Morgan aside and give into your own slavering lusts? How long did you wait to take Dare to bed? Some friend you are, stealing her from Logan behind his back.”
Remy said nothing. But his intense gaze dared Jehnna to go on. Dared her to follow that ludicrous line of thinking to its end. She did not disappoint. She sat back in her seat, arms crossed over her chest in a posture that screamed she was winning, and pinned him with her best withering glare. “Or are we talking about the truth where Dare is concerned? The one where she’s a poor, misunderstood baby who uses her supposed trauma to get away with fucking murder! She’s as big a whore as Morgan. And she’s a fucking liar. She acts like the world owes her so much for the wrongs she perceives it perpetrated against her. Dare? A victim? Hardly.”
The scoffing sound that came from Jehnna’s throat was an ugly thing, filled with scorn and mockery. Then a sly smile slid over her face and she leaned forward once more. “We all know just how badly she wanted in your pants. She’s as faithless and unfaithful as the rest of you. Did she pretend to deny you before she gave in and let you take her to bed? Or did she rip her clothes off in joy when it came time to get naked and fuck?”
For a moment, there was a flash of Dare doing everything she could to defy Sinister. And of how Remy had to more or less manhandle her into doing what was expected of her to keep her from getting hurt. Then the image was gone. Hidden behind iron walls that reached to the sky. “I don’t know what happen to you, Jehnna, but dere somet’ing wrong wit’ you. None of you friends ever speak about you like dis,” Remy replied, his voice soft and low. His actions saw Jehnna laughing.
“My friends? That’s rich. None of those bitches cared about what happened to me! None of them! Did any of them come to check up on me when we got back? Did any of them care about what happened to me? No.” The air around them vibrated ominously. Jehnna rose to her feet and glared at everyone around the table.
“Jehnna,” Sam said, one hand reaching up to take hold of her hand. She tugged it free almost violently and pointed a finger at the room. There was another shift of the air, making things like pens and photos and plaques jump where they rested on the tabletop or on the walls. Jehnna was rapidly losing control. “Honey, stop. This isn’t like you. This isn’t who you are.”
Jehnna jerked her arm away from Sam’s touch and faced the rest of the table. “Every last one of you is a lying sack of shit with absolutely no redeeming qualities! None of you is free of guilt! None of you even understand what I went through!”
In a moment, Jean found herself being buried under Jehnna’s memories. Under the mountain of emotions that came with it. She saw how Sinister spoke to Jehnna in words laden with kindness and cruelty. He used words like virginity and pure as if they were weapons, making Jehnna feel small and somehow wrong. She swam in the remembrance of Jehnna’s burgeoning love for Sam. The guilt she had about that when she thought of how much it would hurt Warren. She lived with the same guilt and fear and anger that Jehnna had lived with all those months she’d been locked away in Sinister’s cell.
More filled her head. She had visions of Sam watching Jehnna when the woman wasn’t looking, of the longing that filled him. The guilt that he was sleeping with Warren’s wife. Of being in love with a woman who was promised to someone else. She felt his fear when those weird little goblin creatures put their hands on Jehnna and hurt her. She tasted his determination when they were locked in that clear box, Sinister’s eyes on them almost hungrily. And there was worry when the goblins came to take Jehnna to see Sinster and she’d come back unconscious. That had happened after the pregnancy test, when Sinister had barged into their cell, their only sanctuary, and demanded Jehnna take the test. Hope and wonder and so many other things peppered his memories that Jean felt stuffed full of it all.
She found herself sliding under the weight of Morgan’s memories. Of her heartache at the idea she was betraying Remy. At her certainty he would leave her anyway, a certainty she’d lived with since almost the beginning. The worry she’d had when she’d realized that Dare was being forced to relive her worst nightmare all over again. She lived through the way Morgan had used sex to distract Warren from anything serious, until she couldn’t anymore. Until both of them were so firmly caught up in one another’s spells that it was useless. And then there was the despair when Morgan had wondered if they’d make it home. When she’d wondered if, when they did go home, things would go back to how they’d been before being taken. And she wallowed in Morgan’s sense of self-loathing when she wondered, not for the first time, what was wrong with her that she kept going from man to man to man all while expecting the worst.
She’d barely struggled up out of the mire of Morgan’s emotions when she was buried under Warren’s memories of their time in captivity. He’d fretted over and over about Jehnna, worried that she wouldn’t be able to forgive him for wanting Morgan. Worried that she’d come out of the experience so changed that she wouldn’t be able to function anymore. She saw how he’d tried so hard to stop himself from falling in love with Morgan. She saw his joy and pleasure when they knew Morgan was pregnant and felt how much he’d wanted that baby with her. She saw, too, his desire to protect Morgan from Sinister. And she saw how much he despised what Sinister had done to them.
There was too much to see and feel and know. It was all too much. Her head was trying to split open with all of the information she’d gotten from everyone. She couldn’t quite stop the cry that came from her throat. Nor could she keep her head up anymore, simply let it fall forward so she could catch it in her hands and hope that the agony died soon.
“Jean?” Scott’s voice was soft and soothing in a room boiling with memories and emotions.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t know. I didn’t understand. I’m so, so sorry.”
The room remained silent around her for the long moments it took her to get her head back together. To raise it from her hands and let her gaze slide from one face to the next. There were looks of concern and surprise on every face in the room. Jean let her gaze slide from one to the next, let them all see the sorrow in her gaze. Finally, she shifted her attention to Jehnna. The woman still stood, still leaned against the table, and still glared defiance at the rest of the people there.
Jean reached out with her gift once more. And, this time, she used it to slowly calm all the noise in Jehnna’s mind. Eventually, the rage the woman felt slipped away like the last drop of water going down the drain. Jehnna sagged and nearly toppled over, but Sam was there to catch her and lower her into her seat. Her head lolled on her neck, prompting Sam to reach up and stroke her hair back from her face. “Jehnna? Honey?”
“Sam?” she asked, and there was a deep sense of confusion in her voice.
“I’m here, honey,” he replied, a touch of something soft touching his words. Jehnna offered a weak smile, then kind of slumped over so that her head rested on Sam’s shoulder. A moment later, her eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell with a slow, steady rhythm that said she’d fallen asleep.
“What did you find, Jean?” Scott asked. He sounded as if he was untouched by the entire thing, but she knew better. She knew him better. He was worried about Jehnna. Worried about Dare. And no doubt he was hurt by what Jehnna had said to him, though he’d never give voice to it.
Jean licked her lips and searched for the best way to phrase it. She finally sighed and offered him a pained smile. “Its a combination of the trauma and her own guilt. She feels terrible about falling in love with Sam and its fed into the way she views everyone else. She’s lashing out because she doesn’t know what else to do with the things she’s feeling.”
“That warrants her calling her friends whores?” Scott asked. She noticed he didn’t mention anything about how she’d treated the men.
“In her mind, it does.” Jean frowned as she was struck with the idea that she’d acted in a similar fashion. She hadn’t really understood what had gone on with Sinister. And she hadn’t really given thought to what it had to have been like for everyone involved. She’d only considered her own feelings and how it had affected her. She turned a considering gaze Jehnna’s way. “Its a tangle up there, with all her thoughts and feelings warped. It will take a lot of work to see it untangled. But I believe its possible. And I’d like to help her. If Warren and Sam are okay with that.”
The two mentioned men were silent for a while, staring at each other as if looking for something in their gazes. Jean didn’t blame them. She’d acted horribly lately. They would be justified if they denied her the right, but she wanted to try. Jean’s personal feelings had no place in the face of a fellow X-Man’s health and welfare. If she could help find the real Jehnna back, it would be a start toward unpacking her own problems.
“I’m okay with it,” Warren finally said. Sam nodded his head in agreement.
“Me, too. I want my sweet Jehnna back,” he said.
“Thank you,” Jean told them both. “I think its possible to do that. She’s going to need to speak to a therapist about her trauma. I can’t fix that. But I can help her get back to a place where she’s more the Jehnna we all know.”
“No,” Warren replied. There was a faint smile on his face as his gaze slid toward Jehnna. Jean could tell, no matter what had happened, that he still loved his wife. He still cared for her. That thought saw her eyes seeking out Scott again. And she wondered if, maybe, he felt the same. “Thank you, Jean. You can’t know how much this means to me.”
“Logan?” Morgan’s voice came, soft and hesitant. It shattered the warm feeling that had suffused the room. All eyes turned to her and Jean saw she looked faintly lost. Jean had to wonder if that was because of what had just gone on. “Is it true? Did Dare run away?”
“She did,” he nodded. There was a softness in his voice that Jean felt was meant to help soothe Morgan.
“But why?” Morgan asked, then turned her attention toward Remy. “I thought she was getting better. You said she was opening up to you more.”
“She was. But she don’ like bein’ called a whore. She don’ like Jehnna sayin’ she got no trauma,” Remy replied.
“So what do we do?” Morgan asked, some of the shock of the past few minutes wearing off. “We aren’t going to sit back and wait for her to come home, are we? Or wait and see if she comes home?”
“No. We ain’t gonna leave her out there on her own,” Logan informed her. “But we gotta figure out where she went before we can go get her. And I’ll be damned if she could have made it anymore difficult than she did.”
There was a growl in his words that said he was very unhappy with that. Jean glanced around the room to find that everyone was staring at him, with exception of Johnny and Scott. The two of them seemed to give her the impression that there was more going on than they’d heard about yet.
And, now that she thought about it, she felt it was not only odd that Johnny was here, but that he hadn’t said anything. Jehnna hadn’t said anything about his presence, but Jean had gotten an impression from the other woman, while lost in her memories, that Jehnna considered Johnny as much a victim as she did Jean. Which seemed odd, but there was no telling how the woman’s mixed up brain had come to that conclusion.
“What do you mean?” Morgan questioned. She sat up taller in her chair and stared intently at Logan, waiting for him to give an explanation to that.
“We did some checking.” The statement came from Scott and he sounded both pleased and displeased. Which was odd, but Jean didn’t have time to consider why he would feel that way because he was pressing on. “Dare laid a trail a mile long as to where she could have gone. Its going to take time to sort through all of that and figure out which location is likely.”
“She booked flights to domestic cities. Places like Houston and Los Angeles. Big cities here in the states that would make it harder to find her because they’re so packed,” Logan said. He sounded a little discouraged by what he was revealing. “Even with a baby, it’d be easy fer her to slip in and outta places where ya’d think she’d be noticed. Walk around like ya belong there and no one really knows that ya don’t.”
“She also book flights to foreign cities. Moscow and Tokyo. Paris,” Remy added.
“I don’t think Dare would go to Paris. She’s got bad memories associated with Paris,” Morgan said, sounding certain. Jean recalled how Dare and Haley had been in Paris when Doom had attacked. She could well imagine what kind of memories Dare had with Paris. “Moscow seems odd. Tokyo? Maybe?”
Logan shook his head. “She spent a big chunk o’ cash for places she ain’t gone to.”
“You’re so sure about that?” Jean asked. It brought his bright blue gaze her way and, for a moment, she worried he’d take the question the wrong way. She’d deserve it if he got cranky with her. Hadn’t she insulted Dare to his face time and again? But Logan heaved a sigh and shook his head, then reached up and scrubbed at his face with his hands.
“”Course I’m sure. She used her name. Ain’t no way she’s going to go someplace where she used her name. Too easy to track her. My girl’s too smart for that. No. She went some place else. I just ain’t sure where that place is,” he told them, his voice heavy with concern and the need to find her.
“She’ll be no easier to find than Haley,” Johnny pointed out. That drew Jean’s attention his way. There was a look of disgust on his face, touches of worry and fear there. That saw Jean frowning.
“Haley’s missing, too?” she asked, letting her gaze slide from Johnny’s face to Scott’s. He gave a short, sharp nod but said nothing else. “She took Emilia with her?”
“And TJ,” Johnny confirmed. “We think she might have gone after Dare, but there’s no guarantee on that one.”
“Has she left a trail?”
“We found one,” Scott said. “But it looks odd and I’m not sure why. Some of the cities match with the ones Dare chose. Some of them do not. I don’t know if she did it intentionally to make us think she’s looking for Dare or if she’s going her own way. But Johnny and I have a place to start. We’re going to go see her aunt, Edie.”
“I don’t think it’ll do us any good, but we’re going to try anyway,” Johnny added. Jean thought he didn’t sound very optimistic about that. She might have asked him why, but there was a faint disturbance to the air, then Faye was just suddenly standing behind Morgan. That was odd. Jean couldn’t remember Faye ever disturbing the air before. She thought it had to mean something, but she didn’t have much time to consider what that something might be.
“Morgan, Dee sent me to fetch you. She said Kayla is getting fussy and needs you,” Faye told her twin.
“Faye!” Logan’s voice cut across the room like a knife slicing through butter. The doppelganger turned her attention his way, her face very carefully neutral. “Dare’s missin’. Can ya find her?” he asked. There might have been a hint of desperation in his voice.
“Of course I can find her,” Faye responded, her tone suggesting he was a simpleton for even thinking otherwise. “But I’m not going to.”
“What? Why?” This from Morgan. Faye never took her attention off Logan as she stared at him with an empty expression. Almost like she wasn’t actually there.
“Because she left for a reason. And I am not going to take that from her,” Faye replied steadily.
“You’ve looked fer her before,” Logan pointed out.
“I did. But I am not going to do it now. Dare needs time to figure things out. And you need time to decide if you really love her the way you say you do.” Faye stared a moment, then sighed and spoke again. “If you deserve her.”
“Dat a low blow to land, Faye,” Remy chided. Morgan’s twin turned to look at him and Jean could see by the woman’s eyes that she wasn’t going to be any kinder to Logan. “You know we just concerned.”
“Of course you are. But you need to decide, too, if you actually deserve her. Both of you have been acting as if she’s something to be kept and displayed, like a doll on a shelf. She’s a thinking, feeling human being and she’s been through more than her fair share of hell. Neither of you have tried to help pull her out of that. Dee was right. You are so stupid.”
Jean saw Remy’s expression close off. Logan’s simply fell off his face. And, for what might have been the first time, Jean saw true fear and desperation on his face. “Please, Faye. I’m beggin’ ya,” Logan whispered.
“I am not a dog, Logan! It is not my fate to constantly find Dare for you so you can hide her behind glass walls. If you are going to find her, you will have to use your wits to do so.” Faye stepped back and let her gaze slide around the room. It lingered on each of them a moment, landing lastly on the sleeping Jehnna. Finally, she turned back to Logan and offered him a frown. “For too long, I have sat back and watched you with Dare. I know you love her. You and Remy and Morgan. But you treat her like she is fragile and breakable. Perhaps that is what she once needed. But no longer. She is so much more than you give her credit for. Decide, Logan. Decide if she is meant to be coddled or if she is meant to be held up and loved. Follow her only when you know what it is you mean to do when you find her. But know this, Logan. Know this, everyone. If you decide incorrectly, know that she will never be the person she was meant to be. And she will never be happy.”
“Faye?” Morgan asked, sounding as if she didn’t quite understand what her twin was saying.
“She loves you, Morgan. All of you. More than she feels she should. If you do not make the right choice, she will come to see that love as a burden. For you. And for herself. And the next time she leaves, you will never be able to find her.”
“Please, Faye.” Logan tried once more. His voice was a whisper, filled with hope and fear and despair. Faye gave him an empty look and shook her head. Then she was gone and Jean was left thinking that had to be the loudest unspoken ‘Go fuck yourself.’ she had ever witnessed.
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(no subject)
Date: 2025-11-04 07:29 am (UTC)Jean seems like an odd choice for this at first but given Jehnna's victim complex and her surity that Jean is a victim too, she is a pretty smart pick to help Jehnna work through some of these emotions. And boy are those emotions all over the place! Wow! that's a lot of rage!
I do find it interesting that she took more time looking at the memories that weren't as tied to her own anger and that seems to be what broke through her own biases around what happened to everyone. I'm sure lingering on Scott's memories would have been painful for her but I think she needs to take a good long look and see what she missed in her own hurt feelings.
The surprsise that Dare's gone is a good indicator of just how seperated they've all become, and the fact that no one noticed Haley was missing too drives it home.
Hopefully Jean can work Jehnna back toward something reasonable and set her on the right track.
Great work hun. And sorry I didn't reply sooner. I keep forgetting to hit the post button!
(no subject)
Date: 2025-11-06 12:49 am (UTC)Jean does seem like an odd choice, but, yes. Jehnna has a full on victim complex happening. and we know she sees Jean as a victim, too. so giving her what she might see as a sympathetic shoulder and a strong ally is a very good idea. yes. there is much rage to be found in Jehnna. and a lot of other emotions, too, i imagine. just... hard to see them under the rage and the victim complex...
i think, up until this point, Jean was seeing it all from her own perspective. how it was terrible that this happened to her. and she didn't really see what had gotten them all to that point. she might have chosen not to see what had gone on. so not only is this meeting meant to help Jehnna with her issues, it can also help Jean with hers.
it is very telling just how separate they've all gotten when Morgan doesn't even look to see if there's anything going on with Dare. i suspect Faye was more than aware that both Dare and Haley left. she's just beyond the point of feeling like she owes it to anyone to tell them. because no one, not even the people who didn't get taken, are acting the way they should be. and she has, quite honestly, had enough of it.
i hope Jean can help Jehnna, too. and maybe, in doing so, Jehnna can help Jean.
no worries, bb. the words are not going anywhere and i knew you would get this here when you could. glad you enjoyed! <3
(no subject)
Date: 2025-11-11 01:49 am (UTC)I'm glad Faye said it, because somebody needed to. And they really needed to hear it. *Fingers crossed* that they take it to heart.
Well done, bb. I enjoyed it muchly. *smooches*
(no subject)
Date: 2025-11-11 11:56 pm (UTC)Faye is not afraid to say it. in fact, she's highly likely to say it. even if no one wants to hear it. let's hope that they listen to her.
glad you enjoyed, bb. thanks for reading. <3