Echoes

Posted on Fri Nov 3rd, 2023 @ 12:29pm by Charles Xavier & Scott Summers & Aurora Summers

Mission: Episode 3: X-Tra Ecclesiam
Location: The Mansion
Timeline: August 14th, 1990

~Aurora~

~I'm here, Aurora~

Aurora slowly awoke, her hand raising to her head as she opened her eyes. She had the mother of all headaches, but at least she was conscious. She looked around seeing two people talking. “Scott?...Professor?” She tried to move to sit up but her thumping head told her it wasn’t the best idea right now.

"Yes..." said Professor Xavier's voice in a soft tone. "It's me, Professor Xavier. You took quiet a tumble, in a manner of speaking. How are you feeling?"

Aurora looked around then looked back at Xavier. “Like someone hit me with a sledgehammer!” She offered a wry smile. “What happened?”

"Cerebro happened." While the Professor's tone was gentle, his face was firm with fret and worry. And, perhaps, a touch of wonder. "It can be a dangerous tool in the wrong hands... or an untrained mind." The edges of his mouth ticked up in the makings of a smile despite himself. "Cyclops knows better than to allow an unsupervised student to access it, but now that you are awake and appear to be unharmed, perhaps all is well that ends well. You certainly did well under the circumstances."

Familiar whispers tickled at the corners of Aurora's mind. ~But do not access Cerebro without my supervision again, at least until I have trained you. The consequences could be disastrous~ It was a directive that Xavier projected directly into her mind so as not to sully the pride in his spoken words.

Aurora gave the Professor a nod of her head. “What about... Jean?” She looked towards Scott who seemed to be keeping his distance for the moment. “I heard her...she...” She massaged her temples as she thought about it. “She’s hurting... They’re hurting her, Professor!”

The air pulled from Xavier's lungs, leaving him to speak in a faint whisper. "Jean..." It was all he could do not to invade Aurora's mind like a hobo pushing his fingers through a payphone coin return slot rutting for loose change. "Relax, breathe, and think carefully. Tell me... exactly... what you saw, Aurora."

Aurora took a deep breath. “I was...focusing on the team, the rescue of the mutant.” She sighed. “I sensed something...saw what looked like...flames.” She paused and closed her eyes trying to fully picture. “I thought it was something trying to show me more about my powers, so I followed it.”

The readings on the bedside monitor started registering an elevation in blood pressure, and in bodily temperature.

“She was...in a lab, I don’t...know where!” She opened her eyes and looked towards Scott. “She called out...to you...”

That revelation stung Xavier deep in his heart, but he covered the pain for now. He needed to be actively listening. "A lab. Guided by flames..." He shook his head. These were riddles in the dark which eluded him, serving only to tease him like the enigma which served as Aurora's codename. "None of that bodes well. Did you see anything else? Anything at all?"

Aurora tried to focus but found it difficult. “Help me, Professor, look inside my mind.” She closed her eyes letting her defences drop to allow Xavier inside her mind to see for himself.

"Perhaps a superficial look..." The Professor took Aurora's hand in order to comfort her before his mind touched her own. It was a citadel rather than a cottage, difficult to penetrate without causing damage. "You are frightened," the Professor said. "Don't be. You are safe."

~Safe" The word repeated inside her mind.

And with that last assurance, their minds converged in a congress of thought.

For Xavier's part, he first saw a flurry of images -- Aurora wearing the Cerebro helmet, Cyclops in full uniform, the two of them standing together under the willow tree. He inwardly frowned at that, but put it away for later deliberation.

Once a consensus formed between their thoughts, Xavier found himself standing upright on two feet in a dark landscape of pure subconscious thought. Before him stood Aurora as well, though she appeared bruised and battered, as well as a little singed about the edges as if touched by flame.

"Hello, Aurora..." the Professor said. His tone was gentle as before, but his vast telepathic power manifested as a reverberation in his voice in this place that was not a place. "We are connected now."

“Hello, Professor.” Aurora offered a more relaxed smile. “I can show you now, but I warn you what I saw... it isn’t pleasant. What they’re doing to Jean...” she hung her head. “I didn’t want to verbalise it in-front of Scott, I know what Jean means to him.”

The Professor's face turned grim. He had seen a great number of terrible things in his lifetime and he would not refrain from witnessing one more. Not with a student's life potentially hanging in the balance. "Scott was called away, so he would not have heard. All the same, though, it is wise of you to choose discretion with what you glean with your gifts." Then, giving a nod, he said, "Go on. Whenever you're ready."

The air around them changed, they were standing looking at a barely conscious Jean Grey, the room around her obscured by a haze that couldn’t be penetrated. Her body bore the signs of numerous medical tests, and procedures, the air of voices around her was a jumble, and monitors bleeped as they registered her bio-signs. “I don’t know what they’re doing to her, Professor! But she called out for help.”

As the Professor focused, pulses of light shot out from him that illuminated the surroundings. Or, rather, were meant to. Instead his psychic sonar rebounded straight back at him. He groaned a bit at the feedback loop.

"What you're seeing is an inexact representation of... of something foreign to your mind," Xavier said once he recovered. "I attempted to coax more context from the recesses of your inner mind, but there wasn't anything to glean. Less than nothing, in fact. It was as if you were blocked by some sort of filter." The Professor shook his head. "I don't understand how she could have reached out to you and yet be so distorted."

At that, he lowered his head and tried not to grieve. "It will make locating her via Cerebro that much more difficult. But that was always a possibility that I would have to face. Bobby was amnesiac when we found him... with you. Yet Jean is more than amnesiac. Whatever they're doing to her, whatever she is fighting against... it's changing her. That is going to make it even harder to find her."

“I know...” Aurora sighed. “When she reached out for help, the connection was so...strong, then she just faded away. Maybe if I try harder? I don’t know what my abilities can fully do. What if I can find her!?”

"Believe me, Aurora, if there were a way for you to safely aid me in locating Jean or any of the others, I would not stand in your way." Now the Professor sighed as well. "Alas, I am afraid we may have reached the end of Jean's pertinence to your vision, but... there may be something else to them." A dark frown came over the Professor's face as he pondered.

“What else, Professor?” Aurora looked at Xavier worriedly. “Do you think they’re trying to find a way to use Jean’s abilities to control other mutants?”

"What they are doing is anyone's guess," said the Professor. "What I meant is that your vision may have as much to do with you as with Jean, but as to how, I can only speculate." He stared at her pensively. "Have you had any such visions before?"

Aurora paused. “I...I’m not so sure anymore, Professor, are you saying I might be having premonitions or something?”

"Or something," the Professor confirmed. "The realms of the mind are not bound by space and time like the universe as we know it is. Powerful entities roam free of incarnated forms, such as the ones you saw fight over us in the Astral Plane. The X-Men have stood against extraterrestrial attacks as well as ones originating on Earth. We must be on guard for anything that may come from anywhere. Your visions may speak to something for which we've had little to no encounters."

Aurora nodded. “Does that make me...a danger? To you and the students here?” She was worried what would happen if Xavier deemed her a risk. “What about Scott, is he okay? I wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt him.”

"No, I do not believe you to be a danger," the Professor replied, "and even if you were, you are right where you would need to be." His eyes closed for a moment as his awareness shifted elsewhere. "Scott has returned to the room. If you wish to speak to him, then we should part our minds so that you may awaken."

Aurora nodded and concentrated on closing her mind off from the connection with Xavier. Opening her eyes she looked towards Scott feeling more than a little awkward. “Scott, I...I’m sorry.”

At first Scott said nothing. There was not a twitch or a flinch or any sign of emotion. Not that Xavier was fooled. He could feel the intensity roiling beneath the surface. Out of respect for the two young mutants, the Professor excused himself.

"I must see to some other matters. Scott, please see to anything Aurora may need."

Scott nodded at the request and waited for the Professor to leave the room before he responded to Aurora. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said at last. He wore his Cyclops visor rather than his red-tinted sunglasses. It framed his face and veiled his emotions all the more. Even so, his chin quivered ever so slightly. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I never should've..."

Aurora slowly sat up. “Scott, don’t! You have nothing to be sorry for. I wanted to help and you gave me the chance. At least you know that Jean is alive. The Professor isn’t sure exactly what happened, all I know is that I never want to hurt you.”

"You never hurt me," Scott said, then cracked a smile. "Scared me to death, though, but that was my own fault. I shouldn't have let you go as long as you did—not in your first session with Cerebro."

Aurora shrugged her shoulders. “I was managing until...” she didn’t say Jean’s name. “What I sensed was totally overwhelming. My head still hurts!” She grinned a wry grin. “I promise no more Cerebro unless the Professor says it’s ok. I don’t want to be getting you into trouble.”

Overwhelming was one word for it, Scott thought. More than anything, he wanted to ask Aurora about Jean, but how could he do that with her laying there in that bed? It... it felt wrong. He forced a wan smile of his own. "I'm already in trouble with the Professor—a 'forced sabbatical,' he called it. Might as well invite more trouble if it's a good cause." As he said that, though, he regretted it. "Not much of a faculty member now, am I? Just... try and forget I said that. The Professor's rules are to be followed. Most of my regrets come from when I didn't."

Aurora gave Scott an unhappy look. “I’m sorry! If I'd have known I wouldn’t have suggested trying to use Cerebro to start with.” She sighed. “You haven’t asked about...Jean.” She gave him a look that said she knew he wanted to know. “She was trying to reach out to you, Scott, or something that was part of her was. It’s hard to explain...” She paused. “If it was Jean, she wasn’t in a good place Scott, I just wish I could have found out where she was for you.”

"So do I," admitted Scott with a bit of reluctance. It felt so selfish. "But I'm glad you're all right. We'll find her. We'll all of them. I just don't want to lose anyone else along the way." The fact that Jean's voice had called out through Aurora's lips had given him no small amount of confusion. Aurora wasn't Jean, he reminded himself for the umpteenth time. But, standing here at her bedside just as he'd done so many times before when Jean's telepathic training had gotten the better of her, part of him found it hard to tell them apart. His hand reached for hers without thinking and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Only when he actually thought about the action did he release and sheepishly withdraw his hand. "Uh... can I get you anything?"

Aurora couldn’t help but smile, she liked Scott and having had what brief contact with Jean’s mind she’d had she couldn’t help but feel what Jean felt for him. “How’s about getting me out of here? I’d rather be resting in my room instead of here in the infirmary. I promise no exerting myself, I don’t think I could if I wanted to.”

"I..." Scott glanced at the medical readouts on the display monitors. He was no doctor but nothing looked critical. "I guess that would be all right." He offered his hand to help her out of the bed, then remembered she may not be decent. Turning around, he said, "Maybe I should wait for you outside?"

Aurora gave an embarrassed smile. “I’ll err...I’ll be there in a minute.” She waited for Scott to head outside before she slowly got up and got herself dressed. It didn’t take long before she emerged to join him. “I’m ready to go, Scott.”

"Are you doing all right on two feet?" Scott asked before escorting her to the lift. "You're looking good so far." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Scott's cheeks turned as red as his sunglasses. "Your gait, I mean. You're walking good."

Aurora’s cheeks turned a flushed colour as she smiled. “It’s okay, Scott, maybe it’s because I touched Jean’s mind. Her thoughts and feelings for you, but I...” Aurora paused as she looked up into his sunglass covered eyes. “I’d like to spend more time with you, that’s if it’s allowed? I feel safe with you, and I...like you.” She smiled warmly.

There was the makings of a storm brewing inside him. Scott never was one to open up to people, at least not casually. And there was the fact of some sort of chemistry brewing as well even though he was in a relationship with Jean. Maybe Aurora had hit it on the head. There were similarities between Jean and Aurora, enough that Jean had somehow reached out to him through her mind when accessing Cerebro. That memory made his feelings all jumbled up inside, as if he could take Aurora in his arms and find Jean somewhere in there. But that wasn't fair to her, was it? How safe could Aurora be with him if he let his aching heart use her as a proxy for his missing love?

"I know better than to be dishonest with a telepath," Scott began as they entered the lift, "so I'll level with you." He took both of Aurora's hands in his. "I can't deny there is a connection between us. Jean... Jean contacting me through you is evidence of that. Undeniable evidence. But... Aurora... I am dying inside. No matter what anyone says, I can't ignore the fact that I'm here and the rest of my team is not. Even though we found Bobby, he's out of commission. Whatever happened to the rest could be even worse. If..."

Scott hesitated and tried to take a steadying breath, but all it did was make his voice sound jerky and stilted. "... if I let you spend time with me, I'm afraid of what might happen." The upward momentum of the lift signaled there were ascending. "I can't lead you on like that, Aurora." And I can't use you like that either. Oh, it was tempting. Scott's honor refused to entertain it. "I'll do whatever I can to help you, but..."

The lift nearly reached the top floor, so Scott hit the emergency stop button which held it in place. He was so close to losing it—his taciturn expression, his stiff upper lip, his stoic personality—and going into a total breakdown that he just need the world to halt in place for a moment.

Aurora offered a nod of her head and gently placed he hand on Scott’s arm. “I understand, Scott, but just remember this isn’t how Jean would want you to be. She’d want you to carry on, to be strong, and I don’t think she’d want you to spend the rest of your life alone.” She paused to let that sink in. “In the meantime I’m here as your friend, and a student who needs your help.”

Alone. That was how Aurora saw him. And, worst of all, Scott couldn't argue. But she was a student. She'd just said as much. "Thank you," Scott said, taking a few steps backward. "You're... very kind." He released the emergency stop and allowed the lift to take them to Aurora's floor. "You're down this way, right?"

Aurora nodded. “I didn’t mean for you to take what I said to heart Scott, I wouldn’t say or do anything that would hurt or offend you. I’m not Jean, I know you’re confused. I would be too in your place. Ever since you & the others saved Bobby and I from that place I’ve felt a...” she shrugged her shoulders. “connection to you, maybe it’s whatever the Professor is worried about. Maybe it’s pushing me in your direction, I honestly don’t know! I just want you to know that I’m here for you, if you want me.” She offered a warm smile.

"Pushing is wrong..." Scott said as they strolled along to her door. "There should be no pushing here from anyone." When they came to a stop outside her door, he blatantly avoided her eyes. It was becoming hard for him to tell where Aurora ended and Jean began. Was it her power? Was it his grief? How did Jean make contact with him through Aurora and not the Processor who was eminently more powerful and experienced with Cerebro? His mind told him to walk away but his feet felt planted in cement. "I can't..." Stay. Leave. Think. There were so many things he couldn't do in that moment.

Aurora could see and sense the turmoil she’d caused in Scott, she wished she could take it all away, make him forget what had happened with Jean, but then that would be wrong. She gently reached out her hand and placed it on his arm. “I don’t want to cause such turmoil, I remind you too much of Jean and what happened doesn’t make that any easier.”

"It's not your fault," Scott said. "You've done nothing wrong." Technically neither had he. He had kept strict boundaries so far. "This is just White Knight Syndrome. I helped save you and you'll be eternally grateful. And I'm glad to know you, Aurora."

Embracing. Kissing. Caressing. Holding her tightly and just weeping.

NO.

"Get some rest," Scott said at last. He looked strained as if he had overcome a great difficulty.

Aurora nodded. “I will, thank you Scott.” She turned to head inside before pausing and looking back at him as though to ask him to join her. “Goodnight.”

The sidelong glance, the coy play at her lips, the sad yet hopeful glint in her eye, the long red tresses of her hair. Scott felt his breath flush right out of him.

"Jean..." he whispered as the air fled his lungs in a sullen gasp. Before he knew it, his hands had cupped the face of the young woman before him and pressed his lips against hers. Realization set in, though, once contact had been made. This was not Jean. This was a young woman he held a position of authority over. The age difference was negligible but still did not make it any less wrong. And to say nothing of kissing one person while thinking of another.

"Oh, God..." Scott dropped his hands and took a step back. "I am so sorry. I... I should never have..." He started shaking his head. "Aurora, I... I should go... I..."

Aurora stood in shock at what had just occurred, she knew Scott was confused, but she hadn’t expected that to happen. “No, Scott... don’t regret what just happened. Maybe... just maybe it’s meant to be. Jean chose me for a reason, maybe this is it...” She knew she shouldn’t but she stood in the open doorway. “You don’t have to leave...”

Despite her subtle invitation, Scott took a few more steps back. "I do. I have to. For your sake if no one else's..." Scott clenched his jaw and forced himself to turn away. One step after another led him away from where every fiber of his being demanded he spend the night, save for the strands of his mind that made up his conscience. No temporary comfort or relief was worth searing that. "I'm sorry, Jean," he whispered as he hurried away without watching where he was going.

Heading inside her quarters Aurora headed to the bedroom and flopped onto her bed. Had she let herself get too involved? Would Scott ever look at her again, let alone talk to her? Maybe she’d be better off just packing up and leaving, at least that way Scott would be able to move on with his life without staring at a near replica of his lost love.