Leadership and Learning

Posted on Mon Aug 25th, 2025 @ 7:26am by Jean Grey-Summers & Jennifer Bryant

2,116 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 7: Pathogens and Contagions
Location: X-Mansion
Timeline: February 27, 1992

Jean sat at the over sized desk that occupied Xavier’s office on the first floor of the mansion. Since he had been placed in stasis along with the rest of the First Class, Jean had taken over running the school and the Professor’s business and ongoing charity work. Scattered across the desk was a QED report of X-Corporation, adoption papers for an orphan from Beat Street, and the latest scientific journal outlining Moira's research into the Legacy Virus. Aside from the enormous amount of work stretching her thin, there was a perpetual ache of sadness that followed the telepath. A reminder that she deeply missed her husband, her family, her friends, all of whom slept in pods deep beneath them while they waited for a cure to the damning virus that had plagued mutants worldwide.

“Hi Jennifer.” The redhead said as she looked up from her reading. Despite taking over responsibilities for the mansion she had left the office the same as it always had been. Warm wood and soft leather made it a formal but inviting space. “Thank you for coming to see me, I asked you here before I just wanted to see how you were doing. It’s been a rough year, hasn’t it?” Jean gestured to the chair in front of her while the door telekinetically shut behind Jennifer. “Please have a seat. Would you like some tea?”

"It's been a very rough year," Jennifer agreed. "I..." She hesitated a moment. She took her seat. She was a high school graduate now. She was still training with the X-Men but she was no longer in classes. "Yes, I'd like some tea," she said. "Thank you." She adjusted herself a little in the chair, more than just settling in required. She was clearly a bit fidgety today.

"You're free to speak candidly." Jean waved her hand and the teapot on the back table began to move, pouring steaming steeped tea into two delicate china cups. "My door is always open, I'm here to talk about anything." The tea delivered itself along with a bowl of sugar cubes. "And you can always share with me telepathically if saying things out loud feels like it's too much." She attempted to encourage Jennifer with her gentle suggestions. "Or would it be easier if I went first?"

"I don't know," Jennifer said. She took a sip of tea. "This is good," but she frowned. Maybe just because things still weren't coming to her like she wanted. "I feel like I have a lot to say but every time I try to start with something specific, I don't know, just nothing comes. Maybe you should start?"

“I’m scared and I’m overwhelmed.” Jean said with a heavy sigh before she took a sip from her own teacup. “For all the effort that I put into keeping other people’s thoughts and feelings at bay, I absolutely hate being alone… and I feel so alone right now.” She passively straightened and fussed with her wedding ring while she spoke. “I need help with absolutely everything… running the school, helping Cecilia with medical care, training X-Men, organizing my personal calendar, reviewing papers for Moira, checking X-Corporation’s financial statements. All of it needs some degree of attention and it makes my head spin when I think about it all at once. I know I’m capable but all of this means so much to me that it sometimes feels like I might drown in all of it.”

"Could I help?" Jennifer asked. "I'm done with school. I'm still on the team but, outside of that, I am sort of struggling to find a role. I don't have anything to do during the time I used to spend on classwork and I just..." She cut that short. "I would like something concrete to do to help."

"Yes, I would love the help." Jean perked up and smiled from the offer. She would never press any of the adults at the mansion to do more but volunteering to take on something was always a boon in her books. "What interests you? I would feel better if you were excited about it or enjoyed the work. Something administrative or financial? Medical or tactical? Education or culinary?"

"Education interests me a lot," Jennifer said, "but I'm not sure if I'm qualified or how to get qualified with..." she froze and took a deep breath. "With the current situation," she said euphemistically. "I also want to help the sick and I don't mind doing just basic clerical stuff for you. That might help some."

“There are always options available,” Jean replied with that same small, knowing smile that Xavier had so often provided. “Salem Center has a community college for associate degrees and my father is a professor at Bard, he helped Hank with a remote set up for oh, I don’t know… four or five of his degrees. If there is one thing we have available to us it is a large amount of connections to make your desires possible. The Professor was always a huge advocate for education and he never wanted anyone at his school to feel limited based on their situation.” Jean noticed that she had used the past tense to describe Charles, it had been an unintentional slip of the tongue that hurt her more than she had anticipated.

“But there is no need to pick a path right now, if there is one thing I’ve always hated about continuing education is that we ask teenagers to make huge life decisions before they are ready.” Jean opened up her leather bound planner and began to read through everything as she began to build a plan. “How about you do a little bit of everything to start? Grading math papers and reviewing multiple choice answers is fairly straightforward, especially for the younger students and the Beat Street children. Cecilia always needs help in the tent just as long as you stick to a schedule… She's rather grumpy when people aren’t on time. And you can always open mail for me and sort it out.” She gestured to the stacks on a lone end table on the other side of the large office. “I often have to drive into the city and pick up and drop off documents at all of X-Corporation’s offices. Having someone do that for me would actually be a huge time saver… I would provide you with a car, of course.”

"I can do all of that," Jennifer said enthusiastically. "It sounds like a good place to start. Maybe I could help with PE too. I was a cheerleader and if that's too....whatever....I did learn gymnastics and dance for it. And I also do want to continue my education. I was mostly more into the humanities, though science might help some with my powers. And..."

She sighed slightly and leaned back. "I also want to talk about how I feel but on one level I don't even know where to start and on another it's obvious and we're all feeling it. You know?"

"Of course." Jean nodded her head in agreement and matched Jennifer's more relaxed position by leaning back into her own chair. "But even a shared feeling is worth talking about, just because someone else feels that way doesn't mean that your perspective and emotions aren't important. Start with the biggest thing first, what's the thought or feeling that keeps appearing? The rest will follow."

"I'm scared that I'll get sick and die or that people I care about will," she said directly. "I'm scared we won't find a cure and we won't be able to get back our sick friends."

“I’m scared of all of those things too,” Jean admitted with a somber shrug of her shoulders. “We all are. Yet I think it’s important to not let fear control our lives, to let it hamper all of our decisions to the point where we too stop living. I wish I could promise you that those terrible things won’t happen, that there will be a happy ending for all of us… but I can’t.” She took a sip of her tea as she commiserated with Jennifer. Xavier was always so stoic with his sympathy and guidance, Jean seemed to be a bit more emotional and empathetic than the Professor. “What I do know is we can’t give up because we’re scared, surrendering to hypotheticals is its own form of defeat. I would much rather do something rather than nothing because there will always be someone who needs help.”

“But you aren’t alone, Jennifer.” Jean offered her a smile in an attempt to ease some of her worries. “We’re stronger and better together and I believe we can face anything as long as we have one another.”

"No, I don't want to give up," Jennifer agreed. "We have to...I think it'll help to actually have practical stuff to do, but it's also good to not feel alone. A lot of people are out there going through this without anyone. People just...I don't know. I am glad we have each other." She leaned forward and reached out to her hand. "We can...I don't know. We'll face it together."

“I would like that very much.” Jean reached out and took Jennifer’s hand, offering a small reassuring squeeze as she smiled at her. Truth was Jean needed people like Jennifer, those who refused to give up and wanted to do more. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has,” She quoted Margaret Mead before turning back to her notes and planner that were spread out across her desk.

“You’ll of course be paid for any of the work you help with around the mansion. I like the idea of helping with physical education, the younger students practically climb the walls when the weather is bad. And having them read aloud to you is always appreciated.” She pulled out a few sheets of paper that looked like a timesheet of sorts and passed them to Jennifer. “Whenever you help with school work or with Cecilia just log it here and give it to me at the end of the week. You’ll get paid on the first and the fifteenth.” While everyone at Xavier’s was provided for, the idea of pocket money and regular trips into the city suddenly opened up a world of possibilities for Jennifer. “You can also move to the second floor of the mansion now that you’re done with school and are working here. The staff bedrooms have their own bathrooms... Unless of course you would like to stay on the third floor with the students?”

Jennifer took the sheets of paper and looked them over. "That'd be great," Jennifer said. "It'd be nice to have a little of my own. I haven't been comfortable asking my dad for anything for awhile." That relationship had been strained before. At the very start of the plague, he had reached out, tried to do the right thing, but, as things got worse, he had drifted even further away. He didn't want much to do with his mutant daughter. "And, much as I love my teammates, I would not mind having my own bathroom in the least."

"Wonderful. Currently Kennedy, Alaric and Cecilia are on the second floor. Connor was offered a room down there but he declined and wanted to remain in his current room. Feel free to pick any room that's open and move your things in, there is also a private lounge but honestly Cecilia has claimed it more then anyone else... just don't let her bully you, it's communal and she know it." Jean said with a satisfied smile, it felt good to solidify the place of another person at the mansion, while their work at X-Men kept them here it was grounding to have a purpose beyond the uniform. "Is there anything else you'd like to go over, to talk about?"

"I feel like there should be," Jennifer admitted. "But I can't think of anything specific."

"We should be all set then." Jean said with a touch of pep in her voice. She was always glad to have the help and she enjoyed seeing the commitment and camaraderie blossoming among the members of the Alternate Class "Let's touch base in a month or so and see how you're doing." As Jennifer stood and collected her things, Jean offered one more smile. "And Thank you."

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