Chapter 1

It was when I was eight years old, if I remember it right when I noticed that I was different and in the Marvel universe and that my hair color, full name and early life weren’t just happenstance and that I panicked about the dire destiny awaiting me. It was when I heard about Steve Rogers, Captain America in the history books. As I was a particularly knowledgeable individual in my past life about Marvel comics and its derivative media -Yes, I was a geek- I began to really take care of my friend Annie.

Annie Richardson was my best friend, she was a sweet and rambunctious girl that I had to steer clear from mischief. Knowing her fate, I couldn’t just let that happen even if I didn’t get powers. She was my first friend, a sister. 

This was my first mistake, assuming that I could change Annie’s fate. This is where the Marvel universe showed its cruelty by opening its maw and taking her from me. We were ten years old, when we were playing with a soccer ball; Annie was a really athletic girl and as I couldn’t control her spunky attitude, I allowed her at least that, she had an outgoing personality and you couldn’t tell her no with her mastery of the puppy eyes fu. Even as I tried to be careful with everything that car still reaped her life, and as she bled internally I felt her life fading… her mind slip away.

The universe taught me a lesson this day: some things cannot be changed. This event awakened my latent telepathic powers.

After that I had withdrawn, hiding myself in my room, I didn’t go to school, I barely ate and worse people’s mental voices were invading my every waking moment. I even felt my mother’s thoughts while having sex with Dad and it wasn’t pleasant…

This couldn’t go on, I needed to take control. I used a combination of meditation and the method of loci to be able to shut the voices off. I compartmentalized my powers and with enough information and imagination I took control of my telepathy, well not easily… At first, I had imagined a house, my house to lock up my powers and stop them from picking up thoughts.

It was in vain.

I discovered that you couldn’t turn off telepathy the hard way; it was when I discovered that I had no friends around me beside my parents. Kids in primary school were the cruelest beings that I have ever met, they were often insensitive and egotistical to a horrible degree.

In their minds, the girls Annie and I were friends with thought that I was making her death all about me. They couldn’t understand or refused to comprehend that I was mourning the loss of my best friend. My anger caused me to lash out when Betty Olsen visited me and ended up in a coma for a week after I lashed out at her with a psionic blast.

This horrified me and I withdrew from myself even more. It was another two days before I revised the model of my mind palace after watching Star Trek the Next Generation and turned it into a model of the Enterprise-D.

I had a forcefield around my mind, but could still receive thoughts passively and actively with the antenna, communicate, or attack with the ship weapons to devastating effects. I am not proud of this period of my life as I tested my powers on animals, birds, rats and annoying squirrels.

With this model in place my life became easier, but it did change.

I no longer had any friends, the dire reality of having telepathy is knowing when people have opinions bad or good about you, or want something from or want to use you. Having telepathy made me more jaded and cynical and it became difficult for me to ever trust people.

When I caught sight of Nathaniel Essex or more commonly known as Mister Sinister creeping upon me one week later I knew I was in deep; his thoughts were shielded, as soon as our gaze crossed he attempted to invade my mind but my shield held under his assault. In this monster’s expression I saw that he didn’t have any good intentions toward me. I escaped him by running into a public place where he couldn’t get me without attracting attention to himself of course.

We looked at each other for a while, before he left by smiling and tipping his hat to me. I knew he wasn’t done with me, I stayed in the mall for a longtime, till dark in fact as I was scared out of my mind.

But this second event caused me to revise everything I knew about the Marvel universe and more precisely about Jean Grey’s life.

This was a reality check, I couldn’t just coast through life anymore. The universe was out to get me, and I couldn’t be on the defensive or stuck reacting.

# # #

Annandale-on-Hudson
New York
1996

 

"And that is how I got my powers." I said sadly.

I didn’t like the fact that I had to tell half truths, I didn’t tell them about having memories of another life where I knew they were characters of a story, or about Mister Sinister. Though I saw that Xavier detected that I censored most of what happened; cunning baldie...

Mom, held me tighter. "It happened because of Annie."

"You couldn't do…" Her Father, John said in a little voice.

"I know Dad. Intellectually I know there's nothing I could've done to save Annie's life. I was just a kid, I am still a kid." I chuckled derisively.

This wasn’t the first time I recriminated myself about what happened, if I had recognized in which universe I was earlier this may not have happened, or it would have happened later if I had prevented it. Death would have intervened in the process knowing her obsession with paperwork; see, the universe worked on paperwork, each death generated one, and those who try to become immortal or try to lengthen their lifespan always end up on Death’s shit list.

How can you escape her if you aren’t a sorcerer or Celestial? Well, one day I will be able to tell Death that I didn’t like how she did her job.

“Jean, I want to be sure. Are you truly not interested in joining the Institute?” Xavier intervened, annoyingly disturbing the moment I was having with my parents.

But I had to be more mature about this, the Jean part of me wanted nothing to do with Baldy the mind rapist; but the other me who joined consciousness with her and knew all about that nice little reality Jean lived in knew that in the Xavier Institute there were people there that could help in the cause I was going to champion.

I didn’t intend to stay in my cushy life doing nothing while the world burned around me. People needed to be called out on their bullshit after all.

So, with honesty I said to Xavier what I wanted to do. “Not right now, I have things to do. But once I am done, I am going to visit your institute and see if it’s not like I thought and then I might join.”

“Might I ask what those things might be?” He asked, curious.

Was it worry that I sensed in his tone? I knew that Xavier didn’t entirely focus on his telepathy to do things, he was a decent psychologist and he might be superficially psychoanalyzing me since he met me. It made me chuckle, he might have thought to find a wounded waif of a girl unable to control her powers that he could save and make her indebted to him; just like in the original timeline.

But fuck that! I am not a victim, and I don’t wish to have that guy in my head patronizing me. I saw Xavier more like a Dove of peace, someone who is unable to make the right decision to achieve his goals. 

He was the antithesis of Magneto. Oh, I had a plan for old bucket-head.

I straightened my position on the Sofa, but Mom wouldn’t let go of me… as if afraid to do so. I put a hand on her arm and sent soothing warmth into her mind, telling her that whatever happens I am not going anywhere. 

After smiling at Mom, I turned to the Professor and said, “That’s for me to know, and for you to learn later.”

Xavier looked really disappointed, but at least he did something about his trust me field. My shields were raised at their highest setting and I will never let them down in his presence. Xavier was almost my match after all and he knew tricks I didn’t yet.

“Very well, your father has my number and when you are able, you can join us and the others.” Xavier put his hand on his armrest and nodded to me, maybe he was sure that I would change my mind after seeing the others or use group mentality to pressure me. Humans were gullible creatures, easily manipulated.

“Yes Professor, I can’t say it was nice to meet you, but I hope our next meeting will not be like this one.” I stood up and came up to him to shake his hand. 

<Adieu and while we are being nice I will give you a warning, the next time you try that shit with me, I will vaporize you.> I threatened while smiling.

“I wish you a safe trip professor, and please tell Ororo and Sage that I send them my regards.” My parting words were sweet and belied the subtle threat that I just dropped on him, after all Sage was one of his most intimate secrets.

He looked utterly terrified when he left and wheeled away from my house while I waved at him. Ok, now that this threat was gone I needed to speak with Mom and Dad about mutant things and what I want to do in the future. Closing the door of the house, I sighed as I saw the uncertain looks of Dad and Mom; they felt afraid, and even though they loved me to bits they didn’t know what the future entailed.

Putting on a serious expression I said, “Mom, Dad. We need to talk.”

Crossing my arms I gazed at them, but Dad broke the atmosphere as usual with levity. “Oh, no, it's never good when a woman says that.”

Despite me I snorted in hilarity. Dad, John smiled at me, happy to have made me laugh; Mom just rolled her eyes and slapped his arm. I was sixteen years old now, but I never thought that my dad’s jokes were cringey.

“Dear be serious.” She told him.

“He is right Mom.” I giggled. “But we are going to speak about this over dinner! So Mom, come help, we are doing lasagnas tonight.”

And we did just that in our modern kitchen with an island and all appliances, I was glad that I offered to do this as it calmed Mom down at the same time. I was cleaning the pots when we finished making the lasagnas and Dad put out a wine bottle in ice. As I am a good girl I made the table and served food to my parents and then after two wine glasses I began to speak business.

“Now that we are all at ease, Mom, Dad; we need to speak about what I call my life project.” I said leaning in my seat, replete with food. I was a glutton, but I didn’t allow myself to get fat as I exercised every morning before going to school since I knew what was awaiting me in the future.

“We are listening.” Mom narrowed her green eyes and straightened her glasses on her nose.

It made me nervous, Mom wasn’t too open minded. But love wins all, right? My hands were visibly shaking, I was scared, scared that they would reject me. After all, plenty of mutants get thrown on the street just because they are different.

It took me one minute to calm down, my parents looked worried about what I was going to say. I felt it from their emotion, it radiated from them almost endlessly. But I took my courage in my hands, I couldn’t just stop talking right now.

“Well,” I began to say. “I don’t know if you are going to like it but first we need to speak about what a mutant is, as this is what the world will classify me as and about what I predict will happen in the far future.”

I recognize that this has never been done in the original comics and other earth in the marvel multiverse; Jean’s parents only learn later that she is a mutant.

“So, Dad, Mom a mutant is someone who has a genetic mutation called an X-Gene that causes his or her body to develop abilities that regular humans are unable to. The majority of mutants develop these abilities, which vary from person to person, usually upon puberty, though there are some mutants who display powers or physical mutations from birth, or in their twenties. Some mutants even display abilities from within the womb and posthumously.”

Those were all facts I collated from the weirdly detailed information from my otherself’s memory. So being a mutant was genetic and the human race would sooner or later be full of them.

“That’s what the world and those dumb scientists who found out about it call people like me. You might not know it but the government is already aware of them and… let’s say that they intern them to study them or enslave them.” I grabbed the alcohol in my wine glass with my mind and made the liquid slowly come out of it and float around me.

Mom and Dad looked at the floating liquid with transfixed eyes, until I made it go back in the wine glass and drank it in one gulp.

“Jean how do you know this? Is it true?” Mom asked looking at me now.

Just like I predicted, she was even more afraid, putting the glass on the table near me I said, “Mom, my superpowers are all about reading thoughts, feelings, emotions and moving things with my mind. So yeah, I am sure of what I say. Do the math, there are a lot of mutants out there.”

*Hmm… I need a better name for powered people, mutants make us seem like we are monsters or something. Another thing to add on the list.*

<Did she ever use her ability on me?> Mom thought.

Dad felt concerned all of a sudden. <Jean has changed that much? What if… she did bad things with her power?>

The thought coming from Mom and Dad kind of shocked me, how could they even think that I would try to use my abilities on them? This was… not just ethically bad but you didn’t do this to family, ever! Mom voiced her fearful thought and said, “Did you ever use…”

But I interrupted her.

“Mom, sometimes I just can’t help hearing things if you shout things in your mind, just like you thinking that I would ever try to read your thoughts consciously! You are my Mom! Your mind is your own and I respect you too much.”

“Then, Jean what about people who want to hurt you?” Dad asked me, as if he didn’t already know the answer to that.

I didn’t go out of my way to kill or mess around in people’s heads; but it seems that my ability to tap into the Astral Plane like all the other telepaths made me more receptive to the intentions of people. I knew when someone didn’t have my best interest in mind or wanted to hurt me physically or mentally.

My gaze speared Dad as I said, “Do you want the truth or me to lie, Dad, for your good conscience?”

I closed my eyes and massaged my temples in frustration. Then bluntly I said, “Dad did you know that Mister Brugaher was a child Molester? Or that Mrs Fuller killed her mother for her inheritance?”

This complete switch of topic had two goals, show Dad that this world was dangerous and that I only used my power to protect myself. Well, for now.

“I-” Dad tried to say, ashamed and disgusted by my revelations.

Yes, I actively bored into those people’s minds as mister Brugaher was eyeing me when I was eleven. It’s on him that I tested how to control and reprogram people’s thoughts on him as I didn’t consider the man human anymore because of his vice. I basically neutered him mentally, he couldn’t get it up or feel attraction.

“Jean that’s enough we understand, you have a right to defend yourself.” Mom said, she was almost crying.

“I am sorry, I didn’t want to shock you. But Dad seriously, would you refuse me the right to keep myself safe? These powers were given to me at birth, they are like a tool, a natural ability and extension of my mind and there’s nothing I can do about turning them off. Telepathy doesn’t work like that. I almost went mad you know? When they first activated, I was hearing everyone around me. Everyone.” My parents went silent at that, yes I almost went bonkers; and I was not sure that I was totally sane either. I could be… let’s say a little meaner than before.

I hugged them all mentally and they stopped as I made them feel how much I loved and respected them, that I will always be there for them. After this, Mom calmed down and I felt this feeling of acceptance from them that made my heart melt and tear up a bit.

After dinner we all went into the living room and watched a family movie, Independence Day. I always thought that Will Smith was sexy, and my Mom was of the same opinion as we were all speaking mentally about everything while still watching the movie. This was the best family talk I have ever had, I regret not doing it sooner as they were not afraid of my powers anymore. 

I will protect them, I couldn’t let anything happen to them; and for that I must kill all of my enemies, and unfortunately, the Marvel universe was full of them.

After the movie we all went to prepare for bed, after taking a shower and brushing my teeth I went to sleep still thinking about my confrontation with Charles Xavier and the use of his powers. He taught me how to use the Trust me field that I planned to abuse with people I didn’t care for. Tomorrow, school would be wildly different.

# # #

After this night of revelation and family time, I woke up on my bed staring at the white plaster ceiling of my bedroom, still thinking about what needed to change. The time was 5:00 AM, my usual time of awakening; my thought detection field didn’t detect anyone coming in the house. Sinister’s agents have been trying to get genetic materials from me for a while, but I have been torturing them and turning them into vegetables each time I found them roaming around in my one kilometer psychic field around the house. Even if they succeeded in entering the house, I always vaporized any traces of DNA in the house since I learned this handy telekinetic trick. Though he has resorted to placing bugs around.

The guy was tenacious and didn’t give up, he really wanted his super mutant Summers and I, were supposed to make him if we married, huh. 

There was no way it would happen, not with me, not in this dimension. I am no broodmare.

Something needed to change, I couldn’t stay on the defensive forever. It was time to take this danger seriously.

I needed to know how to fight without my powers, and train the use of said powers too to see what I am really able to do; still, my time will dwindle even more because of it. I know of several people that could teach me martial art and how to better use my telekinesis by copying their knowledge, and  skills. I only recently discovered that I was able to replicate the learned knowledge and skills of others. My telepathy gave me the ability to quickly process, store, or download information through mine or another's mind.

My best chance to learn decent martial art is to find Matt Murdock and his girlfriend Elektra, and fortunately for me I already knew where they were. Matt Murdock worked out in his law firm out of Hell’s Kitchen and I was sure that he was still dating Elektra.

So, I got up from bed using my power to levitate the cover sheet and do my bed almost instantly. Once satisfied I nodded and yawned, then I walked to my bathroom. After doing my business, I put on light clothing including my tight blue jeans ripped at the knee, converse sneakers, AC/DC sweatshirt and opened shirt. After all it was September and still rather warm. I took care not to get any metal on me for you know who to grab me if he ever came to me. After this I went to make breakfast for everyone.

For an hour I spent the time cooking waffles without too much sugar since my father had a cholesterol problem, as well as toasts, sausages, coffee and orange juice. While doing so I thought about the things I needed to do today: go to school, test the trust me field, go train this new power configuration I thought about and later this night try to find Matt Murdock.

Easy, right? Maybe I should just shut up and go do it.

Dad and Mom slowly woke up, I felt their mind awoken through my Thought detection field, ten minutes later they stumbled in the kitchen while mumbling “Coffee.”

I made the warm cups of coffee fly in their hands and they were so half asleep that they didn’t give me looks at the usage of power.

“Hi Dad, Mom. Good morning.” I said as I placed the dish full of breakfast food.

Mom waved at me while Dad blew on his coffee, it put a smile on my face to see them like this after staying up late watching a movie.

“I’m going to school in one hour; Dad, I think I don’t need the car anymore.” I announced, yes I wanted to use my telekinetic stealth. I made my hand disappear as I completely surrounded myself by a field of telekinetic energy and bent the light around me. I had this idea when I watched Star Wars two night ago; Jedi were able to do that Jedi Force Cloak thingy, and as I got similar ability as the force user, why not try to emulate them.

Mom was awake now and watched my arm missing a hand with her mouth agape, it made me quickly undo it.

<She did it again, I think I need to come to term that Jeany isn’t normal and never will be....> Mom thought, it made me chuckle.

I will need to teach them how to shield their thoughts one day.

“What?” Dad was finally awake, and I repeated what I told him.

“I can just fly there.” I assured him by levitating, a scarlet red aura surrounded me and my feet left the ground. I levitated one meter from the ground. 

I loved to fly and it has become my favorite way of travel; I discovered telekinetic flight when I almost fell down the stairs of the house in my hurry to not be late for school. Since then I have been testing at night how fast and how high I could go. Well let’s say that I was really near Mach one in speed, I needed to train more with it. I was going for a superboy type of build for my powers, and let people think that Telekinesis is my main power. I am not about to scream on all the roofs that I can manipulate minds…

Dad narrowed his eyes at me, he shook his head and said, “No, you’ll go there by car like usual. You need normalcy, Jeany. You are not defined by your powers, ok?”

We looked at each other, and I saw that he didn’t want me to use my abilities in plain view like this. Dad felt fiercely protective toward me, it must have been because I told what the government does with Mutants, he didn’t want to see me enslaved or as a lab experiment.

I brushed his mind by giving him a mental hug, he smiled at me knowing that he won.

“Ok, ok.” I said, as I rolled my eyes.

Another set of plans going down the drain, fine. The plan I had to fly everywhere and use my abilities to constantly work on my stamina and strength. Using their powers for mutants was often draining if they didn’t train.

It was already 07:30 when breakfast concluded, and Dad watched me leave with my Chevrolet Camaro Z28 that he bought me three months ago. It was a muscle car and to my other self it was an ancient as the Earth she came from was more advanced. I was still waiting for the Cellular phone advent; I switched gear and sped to Midtown High School.

It was an excellent way to test my perception of my surroundings thanks to my telekinesis. Everyday was an occasion for me to train and learn and I didn’t mind that, I would rest when my enemies were buried and… I enjoyed studying their use at the same time. There was so much I could do with my mental  powers.

When I arrived at the school’s parking lot fifteen minutes later, I wasn’t surprised to attract the same looks of envy and hear the assholish thoughts of the teenage girls when I parked my car. Some of the guys waited for me to get out of the car and salivate at my appearance. I am not vain but I consider myself attractive, I long red hair, green eyes, I was tall one meter seventy centimeter and my body was straddling the line between fit and curvy.

The boys lusted after me, but I wasn’t interested in them. I was there to study, not make friends. However, my standoffish behavior has caused me to be labelled the bitch of Midtown High; it didn’t make it better that the teaching staff loved me and that I was smart. Some cheerleaders loved to call me mockingly  miss perfect for some reasons. I was an outcast but sometimes it was tiring.

Maybe I should change that? I knew that Peter Parker and Jessica Jones were in this school, could I befriend them?

*Later.* I said to myself.

Speaking of the devil, Peter Parker passed me and ran to his locker; some dumb guy tried to trip him as he passed but the cutie ignored him and agilely dodged his leg. What was this guy’s name already? Flashy Flash? Oh, yeah. Flash Thompson, I saw him in the first spiderman movies.

Flash was an attractive boy, with blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair; clearly a jock from the red and white blazer he wore and the tall muscular form of his body. In the movies he loved to bully Peter Parker for no reasons I could remember. The dumb jock didn’t like that his prank didn’t work and tried to grab Peter but I made him stumble by tripping him with my TK.

Everyone laughed at him when he fell like a tree, Liz Allan, his girlfriend looked at him with disgusted eyes and Marie Jane Watson giggled at his trouble. What good friends…

Yep, that’s why  I don't socialize, everyone was fair game in this school.

As I passed Flash, I snorted and said, “Pathetic.”

Flash looked up and I saw rage in his eyes, but I just smiled sardonically at him and went my way to the part of the hallway with my locker. Through my empathy I could still feel rage, anger and feelings of inadequacies rolling in waves from the jock. Maybe I added oil to the fire. I shrugged, this was his own problem. This Flashy guy needed to stop antagonizing Peter, from how he moved it was clear that the cutie was already spider bit.

*Wait! What about Cindy Moon? She’s my locker buddy, I hope she wasn’t kidnapped.* I told myself as I walked faster.

Ah phew yes she was here, Cindy Moon was of asian descent, brown eyes, black hair and of taller height than me; she was a really athletic girl. And as I probed her mind I saw that she was spider bite free, this meant that if she wasn’t bitten, then I am not the Jean from Earth 616 and that this dimension had another number and I didn’t know which one. In a sense I was relieved, this was a big burden! The Jean from there had it rough.

So I couldn’t entirely rely on my comic book knowledge of the marvel universe if I didn’t know which Earth I lived on. But did it truly matter? When I get the Phoenix Force I will be able to go from reality to reality.

“Hi, Cindy.” I said as nonchalantly as possible.

Cindy was a really active girl, always doing something and she was really smart. She wore a cropped top, jacket and jeans with ankle boots; her lithe frame showcased her outfit. The young woman looked at me, beamed a smile and closed her locker and said, “Hello Jean. Are you finally going to try out for hockey?”

My mood sank, why did this girl always want to get me to join her sporting activities? “I don’t have the time Cin…” I told her, for real I didn’t. 

“We could hang out more this way, you know.” The girl took my hands in her, tilted her head cutely made puppy eyes at me.

Tssk, the bleeding heart and lonely part of me really wanted to take her on her offer. Some people wanted to be friends with me, but Annie’s death was still kinda raw and getting people close this way again? Maybe I should give it a try and if it doesn’t work for me I will leave.

“Okay, I might join but weren’t the tryouts already concluded, Cindy?” I thought that the team was already full. Weirdly, we got a good Hockey team, another difference in the dimensions, they piled up today!

“You are in luck. I spoke about you to the coach and he is going to give you a chance. I saw you in Gym… you have perfect balance and have good reflex.” She said. 

<Finally I’m going to get Jean to join the team! This girl is attractive and she’s got such a nice ass.> The asian girl gushed mentally.

Ok… another difference with the comic book knowledge, the Cindy in this Earth might be lesbian. But I appreciated the attention, I was Bi after all. I brushed her arm with mine to test this theory and she looked at me, then smiled.

<I-is she interested?> Cindy thought startled.

Through my empathy I could tell that there was hope leaking from her; looking from head to toe at the attractive teen, I told myself, why not? She was my kind of girl after all.

“Hey would you want to hang out some other time?” I asked bluntly, subtly caressing her hand and using my telepathy to make everyone ignore us.

The asian girl smiled at me dashingly and after we secretly exchanged phone numbers that Cindy gave me we began to converse about what we liked, about school and sports until the bell signalling that class started rang.

Later, Homeroom started and I put my homework on the table and consulted the science essay that I wrote. We were studying mitosis, a type of cell division that results in two daughter cells each having the same number and kind of chromosomes as the parent nucleus, typical of ordinary tissue growth. This! This was the door to longevity if each time the cells divided perfectly without getting damaged we could become immortal.

It was fascinating and I just couldn’t wait to learn more about it. I wanted to study DNA, become a scientist. 

We had science class after this, we had Mrs Daphne Smith one of my favorite teachers as she made everything interesting! Peter Parker was in my class and as I looked at him he was listening avidly and taking notes when the teacher spoke or explained things. Today we learned about mitochondria, an organelle found in large numbers in most cells, in which the biochemical processes of respiration and energy production occur. It has a double membrane, the inner layer being folded inward to form layers.

I couldn’t wait to just see all those information on Wikipedia when the Internet will really take off. I felt like I was in the dark age without a cell phone or internet and a big computer. I had to make do with TV and books! Pollution was everywhere and there were a lot of things happening that I wish I could change. I liked humanity, but I wasn’t blind to their flaws thanks to my other self guiding me.

Time passed and we were already at lunch time,  I looked at the table in the cafeteria and looked for Peter Parker. He was alone on a table far from the other ones with all the different cliques. Taking my courage in my hand I went up to him and sat at Peter Parker’s table. 

He immediately looked at me.

I waved at him and with my most beautiful smile said, “Hi, there. Can I sit with you?”

Like a deer in the headlights, Peter looked uncertain. “Hum…”

“I promise I am not going to bite.” I said, as I continued to smile.

“Okay.” He said as he nodded and took a bite of his sandwich.

I sat and placed my backpack at my side as the table was kind of empty, I took out the tupperware box with my lunch in it. Yeah, there was no way I was going to eat the yucky food from the cafeteria. Lasagna from last night with a water bottle, this was everything I needed. Taking my fork I began to primly eat the delicious food I had cooked the previous night with my Mom.

“So Peter, I am Jean Grey.”

He looked at me, “I know who you are, you are the smartest girl in this school after Gwen Stacy.”

“Oh, he speaks!” It made me giggle.

He rolled his eyes and took another bite of his sandwich. The guy wanted to be left alone it seems, I felt this dark cloud hovering in his mind. There was tons of grief, guilt and self loathing. I knew the only reason for him to feel this way was because he lost someone dear to him. 

“I am sorry for your uncle.” I said.

He kept looking as if I was surprising him each time.

“How do you know?” There was a threatening tone in his voice.

“Because I care, and you feel responsible for his death.” I said.

I felt a flash of anger coming from him through my empathy. “You know nothing, don’t bother me anymore.” He said and rose from his seat and left.

Well it could have gone better, I guess? Fortunately no one saw this scene as I had cloaked the both of us in a bubble of what I call ignore field. Something that I had a bad time using in duo with the trust me field that I saw Charles Xavier use. I continued to eat and rehashed the conversation with Peter in my mind. So I came on too strong huh?

After this debacle, I went to brush my teeth in the Lady’s restroom and enabled my trust me field. What wasn’t my surprise to find three girls surrounding one brown haired mousy girl with glasses. I cocked my head, she looked cute. Decision, decision; do I help her? As usual the choice was taken away from me.

“Hey what’chu lookin’ at?” It was a black girl who said that.

I didn’t know her, but she looked like one of those reject gangsta girls from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Long curly hair, milk chocolate skin, athletic and clothed in pink t-shirt, jacket and black pants. The others with her had short tops, skirts and jeans with the same kind of jacket as she.

Rolling my eyes and putting a hand on my hip I said provocatively, “Seriously, you are going with that cliché shit? Why don’t you leave this girl alone?”

“Mind your own business!” One of the girls shouted.

It made me laugh at her, why were bullies so predictable? I had no intention of getting with them as they weren’t worth it. From my standpoint I could see who they really were thanks to my telepathy; they were petty, vain and troubled. Making others suffer to forget the problems they have at home. I didn’t feel like talking more to them.

I narrowed my eyes and with perfect diction I said, “I told you to leave her alone, now.” I pushed the suggestion in their mind.

Pushing. This was the ability to implant memories, thoughts, and emotions into others, it wasn’t something I was proud of doing, but sometimes it was warranted when I wanted to not be hindered by anyone or to avoid losers like those three girls.

To pacify me the girl raised her hands and said, “Hum, ok. We will leave Sharon alone now.”

I smirked at her, “Great, now get out.”

They filed out of the toilet, one of them even sneered at me; but stopped when I narrowed my eyes. They do know who is the most dangerous it seems. Their victim, Sharon looked at me with big eyes and tried to speak to me. Sharon was a brunette, and had blue eyes. She wore a sweatshirt, jeans and boots; her big glasses let me know that she was nearsighted.

She was such a shy girl. “You can go too, be careful with them. I don’t think they will ever want to stop next time.”

“Thank you.” She mouthed.

I smiled at her and said while waving, “You’re welcome.”

I hated bullies, and I knew that sometimes they too needed help. But making others suffer for your own problems was too petty and showed how much a coward you were. 

After brushing my teeth I participated in the last class of the day, French two. I didn’t want to show that I already spoke the language thanks to my power, with telepathy it is possible for me to understand all languages. This was a cheat and it kinda made learning anything normal to me.

I passed the time reading the students' surface thoughts, some despaired in never understanding French or any other languages, some didn’t even care and communicated via notes and gossip. High School was a weird place where everyone didn’t understand that this was an important moment of their lives. Reputation, and who slept with who wasn’t important.

Once class was done I got out of here, went to my locker and wasn’t surprised to find that someone was already trying to hinder me. Flash Thompson was there waiting for me.

“Great.” I whispered.

I walked up to my locker and tried to bypass him but he slammed his hand on my locker and glared at me.

“So Grey, who is pathetic again?” The blonde boy said as he grit his teeth. 

His entire body stance and mind showed to me that he was ready to slap me if I didn’t apologize. It made me laugh at his face. “The fact that you are here shows it to me, loser. Why don’t you go back to your sissy friends to feel strong?”

“Bit-”

I put my hand on his cheek and mind walked into his head; there weren't a lot of things in here, mainly girls and football oh and a shitty home life. His Dad was an alcoholic. How sad, not really. I pushed instructions into his mind and told him to fight his father and to not abuse others if it wasn’t warranted. But I decided to go farther and to make him face his inner good, in a mental struggle. Time passed fast into the astral realm and while young Flash was busy seeing everything bad he did and put into the shoes of his victims.

I hoped that this guy redeemed himself thanks to this Lightside view in his own head. Placing my book in my locker, I slammed it shut and looked at my side as Flash was standing there with glassy eyes. 

“Bye bye Flashy.” I said and turned heel.

Someone was bound to wake him up, but he will be a different person at this point. Walking down the aisle I thought about what I just did; I basically pushed three girls and rewrote a personality today and hoped this wasn’t going to become a trend. I was out in the parking lot, and went up to my car.

<Where’s Flash?>

<Didn’t he go deal with Grey?>

<The bitch is here, look; Flash didn’t do anything?>

I heard the mind voices of the football guys who are friends with Flash, turning to four different boys behind me I glared at them. Making them stop to look at me, weirded out by the situation. Taking my keys, I opened my car door and climbed aboard my vehicle. As usual I put my seatbelt and pre-checked everything and my vehicle roared as I turned the key.

In thirty second I was out of the parking as the school buses and everyone else already left. I really liked to drive, I loved fast cars and powerful motorcycles; I hoped to have one of those. I passed before the four stories school building and momentarily caught sight of Jessica Jones. She looked alone and I stopped the car and honked and shouted “Jessica!”

She looked at me and made a gesture to her to come here. Miraculously, she did. Jessica had pink dyed hair, brown eyes and wore a black t-shirt and jeans. 

“Grey, is that you?” Her voice seemed uncertain.

Everyone knew what my car looked like and my hair color was pretty distinctive. I was popular but not in a good way, was it what’s called notoriety?

“Please climb in, Jess.” I asked her.

“Um…” She hesitated.

We were never friends, but we knew each other as we were the two biggest loners there with Peter Parker. 

“Please we need to talk. I know about your powers.” I said bluntly what I knew. I hope it wasn’t a mistake.

She stepped back from the car with surprise etched on her face. “What?”

“I know you can fly and that you are super strong.” I listed her powers.

“You are crazy.” She averted her eyes, but in her mind she was panicking and almost fled but I pushed hard with the trust me field.

“We are the same,” I added and I lifted her backpack with my TK before her eyes. “I have powers too, and I feel that if I don’t help you, you are bound to do something bad in the long term.”

“Bad?” There were a lot of memories flashed through her brain, her parents dying, the orphanage and the people trying to bully her. 

I sent a soothing feeling through her and she calmed down. Continuing to push I told her, “Yeah, please I… I need a friend. Someone like me, and you are the only one at school who I can speak to.”

It seems that the trust me field got through to her as she climbed in the car with her backpack. I started the car and I drove in silence until we reached Honey Field. I stopped the car and went out of it, Jessica followed me and I found my usual bench near the baseball field.

“How do you know?” Jessica asked as she sat at my side.

“I could lie to you and tell you that I saw you fly when Peter and you had this altercation. But I will be straight with you, Jess. I am a telepath and telekinetic.” To prove to her what I revealed I lifted from the bench with the force of will surrounded by a red haze of psionic energy.

Jessica looked at me in amazement and frowned a bit and her mind screamed with the fact that I was also a telepath, a mind reader.

I began to say, “I’m a telepath yes. I can read minds and…”

Jessica caught me by the collar and lifted me as easily as a dirty cloth basket, she looked furious, “Don’t ever read my mind again, you get it?”

I laughed at her spunk and surrounded myself in a telekinetic energy field and made her unhand me. I was basically mimicking super strength while enhancing my physical strength with psionic energy and news flash, I was stronger than Jessica Jones.

She looked at me with frightened eyes as I showed her who was the strongest of us two.

“Jess, if you ask nicely I won’t ever do it again… but you must also take into account how telepathy works.” I explained. “It’s always on.” I tapped my head with my index. “and when people who don’t know how to shield their mind say their secrets as if they shouted, I can’t help to hear it. For example, I discovered what you could do when you thought about how you flew in the sky and bench pressed a van.”

Surprisingly, she looked sheepish when I told her that. It was also an effect of the trust me field that she was believing me. No wonder everyone listened to what Xavier said.

“Sorry.” Jessica said.

I waved her off, but I still straightened my clothes while she looked down on the ground. “Well, it’s ok. You had a right to be angry, your mind is sacred. But you must know, I don’t want to read your thoughts. If you want I can teach you how to shield.”

She looked at me startled. “You would do that?”

I nodded. “Sure, I am super happy to have found someone like me. I want to be friends with you Jess. ”

I held my hand to Jessica who looked at it, then my eyes; something warred in her, she was afraid but also filled with hope. After five seconds she took my hand in hers and said, “friends.”

“You won’t regret this Jessica!” I said while slapping her shoulder lightly.

She smiled at me, “Ok, Grey.”

She was still calling me by my surname.

“Jean, my name is Jean.” I insisted.

“Jean, it’s going to take time to get used to it.”

I noticed that it was kind of late and I had to bring Jessica back to her home, and this was the least I could do after taking so much of her time. We even exchanged phone numbers, and I invited her to come this Saturday to test our powers in the junkyard. I promised to come get her tomorrow for school, I couldn’t wait. This was a great day and the start of a new friendship.