Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters.
9:00 PM.
"Children, get inside your rooms," Professor Charles Xavier said to the mix of pre-teens and small children.
The children giggled and ran around the hallway making the mansion a little bit chaotic.
Professor Xavier sighed helplessly.
"Jesse, you'll have all the time to play tomorrow," he said to a blonde boy that ran past him.
"Okay, Professor," the boy named Jesse cutely smiled before entering his room.
"Everyone, it's time for dreams," Professor Xavier said with finality and clapped his hands.
Dr. Hank McCoy, in all his furry glory, arrived beside the Professor.
His presence immediately hastened the steps of the children and soon, the hallway fell into pin-drop silence with the occasional giggles behind the doors.
Hank slowly shook his head before shrugging.
"I should've called you sooner, Hank," Professor Xavier said with a playful smile.
"Ugh, c'mon," Hank groaned while fixing his small glasses.
"Even though I'm the Beast, I don't like being used to scare the children."
"Commit to your role for some time before Logan comes back," Professor Xavier said while laughing as his wheelchair began moving.
Hank rolled his eyes and walked beside him.
"So… Did you find what you were looking for?" Professor Xavier suddenly asked.
"I have already found the solution, Charles," Hank answered in a low tone.
"And what is it?" Professor Xavier inquired, giving him a side glance, expectation in his intelligent eyes.
"It was… Nothing. The solution was simply nothing. I stopped trying to find the solution to cure this… The Beast. All the iterations of the serums I have made all have flaws," Hank explained.
"Instead of accelerating the mutation of the latent genes, I'd rather just accept that the Beast has become a part of my individuality," he then continued.
Professor Xavier halted the wheelchair and turned to look at Hank.
"You've grown, really grown, Hank," Professor Xavier said warmly. "I'm proud of you."
Hank sheepishly grinned, fixing his glasses with his index finger. "It's embarrassing when you say it like that."
"Still weak to compliments, huh?" Professor Xavier chuckled lightly before starting the wheelchair.
"Um, have you, uh, talked with Jean? Anything… abnormal?" he asked with some difficulty.
"Jean's her usual self. Nothing out of normal. She's a teenager, Charles," Hank replied.
"I know. That's why I'm just asking. I'm worried about her," Professor Xavier said, his brows creased with worry.
"She's fine. Just… give her some time. She'll come around," Hank said coolly.
"Okay. She reminds me of Raven at her age. She was pretty difficult at times," Professor Xavier chuckled dryly as he finally reached his study.
Hank opened the door for him but didn't enter.
He had a small smile etched on his blue lips. "I can see slight similarities. But hey, it's a good thing Jean looks stable nowadays."
Professor Xavier nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, now that you mention it, the frequency of her nightmares have decreased."
"Okay then. Have a goodnight, Hank," Professor Xavier said, looking up at the blue furry.
"You too, Professor," Hank lightly responded before closing the door and walking away.
In the silence of his own room, Professor Xavier released a tired sigh.
He concentrated a bit and sensed her psychic waves but didn't dare to probe.
He quickly retracted his senses lest he incited her annoyance.
'What is she doing?' he wondered before shaking his head.
'I just hope she will soon talk with me,' Professor Xavier thought, hope in his eyes.
The relationship between them had always been great.
A slight argument between them didn't have to make what they shared turn sour forever.
While the Professor was thinking about mending relationships, Jean was in her room trying to meditate.
She sat cross-legged on top of her bed.
Her old Biology textbook was laid wide open in front of her.
The daisy stared back at her, offering fresh solace.
Jean stared at it, trying to silence the chaos in herself and her surroundings.
She could hear Seol Hwa's words right next to her ears.
Gentle. Serene. Sensual.
Those lips…
'Focus, Jean,' she reminded herself, tethering her mind back to the daisy.
She slowly closed her eyes.
She then inhaled and exhaled gently, trying to find rhythm in her breathing.
The emotions of the people around her, their thoughts, their dreams… Jean steadily eliminated them, leaving only the petals of the daisy.
Yes, the serenity.
That's what meditation gave to an individual.
In that instant, she got it.
The physical world faded and her consciousness descended into a world of non-being.
The visualization of the flower gave her stability but intertwined within the stability, there were still disturbances she couldn't anticipate.
There was Fire—Frenzied flames of destruction threatening to burn the world into cinders.
Then there was blood—an infinite sea of blood that embodied cyclic slaughter, promising cessation.
In the center of it all was the daisy.
The fire was within her, deep inside her soul, simmering.
Jean didn't understand it, felt it was an extension of her dreams… her nightmares.
But the blood and silver eyes were part of her reality. Absolute.
She had to overcome them, make peace with them or coexist with them.
Time passed and her breath hitched, prompting her to snap her eyes open.
She picked up the phone beside her and looked at the time.
'Only fifteen minutes,' Jean noted with a sigh before setting her phone aside.
She had assumed this time around her meditation session would have been longer, but she had been mistaken.
It was then that the doorknob suddenly turned and her door opened.
Scott stood at the doorway, arms crossed as he looked at her.
He didn't have his usual glasses but a pair of new visors that gleamed with a pink-red light.
"Hello Jean. I have something important to tell you," Scott slowly began with a serious yet contemplative expression.
Jean arched her brows.
"You know I can read minds, Raven," she scoffed in slight amusement.
Scott pretended to have an oblivious face before a smile eventually broke on his face.
His skin began rippling like waves as blue layers of beautiful scales surfaced, morphing the body into a curvy, feminine figure.
The black hair shimmered and changed into deep red, long hair.
"When will I ever manage to fool you?" Mystique chuckled softly before stepping inside, closing the door behind her.
"Like… Never," Jean replied with a confident smile.
"Please chose another form next time. Preferably…" she almost said something she wasn't supposed to say.
Mystique's yellow eyes burned with curiosity as she sat beside the cross-legged Jean.
"Continue. Preferably…?" she insisted.
"Nothing," Jean replied with a bland expression.
"Nothing means something. I can see it in your eyes even though I can't read minds like you," Mystique grinned playfully.
She couldn't help but notice the daisy lying on the book pages.
"Who gave you that?" she asked, pointing toward the flower.
Jean frantically closed the old textbook.
"What were you asking, Raven?" Jean smiled innocently.
"Ooh, is that the game we're playing?" Mystique smirked.
"You saw nothing," Jean said.
"I saw a daisy, one that seems to have been sandwiched between your pages for quite some time," Mystique countered smugly.
"Which boy was it? I doubt it was Summers," she continued, edging closer to Jean, wrapping a slender arm around her shoulder.
Jean chose to remain silent, duly exercising her rights.
Mystique had a cat-like grin, her yellow eyes narrowing.
Jean gave Mystique a momentary side eye.
"It was a girl then," Mystique concluded and felt Jean's body briefly tense before returning to normal.
There was some silence. Jean gulped.
"Gotcha." Mystique smiled victoriously.
Jean's shoulders visibly slumped in defeat.
"You're always so persistent, you woman," she grumbled in mock annoyance.
"Blame it on my experience. I've been around long enough… kid," Mystique chuckled, retracting her arm from Jean.
"So what brings you to my room this late?" Jean questioned her while picking up the old Biology textbook and placing it on the bedside table.
"I missed you?"
"Hmph, I know you want to talk about something," Jean subtly scoffed, not buying Mystique's words.
"Okay," Mystique said, briefly raising her blue arms in defeat.
"There's word going around that you've changed?"
"Change is inevitable. Did the Professor send you?" Jean asked in a neutral voice.
"Not really but he mentioned you at some point," Mystique honestly replied.
Jean could sense Mystique was telling the truth. She had no reason to lie and had always been upfront with her.
She was kind of a role model to many girls her age. Her confidence was always admirable.
"Well, I'm alright now. There's nothing to worry about," Jean said reassuringly.
She then paused for a moment.
Mystique didn't interrupt.
"I… I talked back pretty harshly to the Professor. But he wasn't without fault. He tried to read my mind," Jean shared while looking at Raven.
"I locked him out."
Mystique raised her brows in astonishment. "You did that? You've grown stronger, Jean."
"I know Charles very well. We've basically grown together. He can be… Very pushy sometimes," she added, weakly bumping her shoulder against Jean's.
"He always thinks he can solve everyone's problems but that's not how the world works." Mystique smiled.
"Anyway, you're his best student. So just make sure to mend things with him, okay? 'Cause I know he won't come to you due to guilt and embarrassment." She placed her hand on Jean's thigh and gently squeezed.
Jean slowly nodded.
Mystique rose from the bed, preparing to go.
"Are… Are you still looking for Erik?" Jean muttered.
Mystique sighed heavily, complicated emotions on her gorgeous face. "He doesn't want to be found as of late."
"Anyway…" she lightly exhaled. "Goodnight, Jean."
"Goodnight, Raven," Jean replied with a small smile.
Mystique walked to the door and opened it.
Before leaving, she looked back at Jean with a mischievous grin.
"I'll find out who the mystery girl is. Soon."
The door closed and Jean was left alone, silently gritting her teeth.
She plopped her face directly onto the pillow and let out a muffled, frustrated groan.
Now, Mystique wasn't going to let it go.
She rolled over on her back and sighed.
"What are you doing to me… Seol Hwa?" she sweetly murmured.
~~~<>~~~
On the other side of the city.
Inside her room, Seol Hwa sat in a lotus position, steadily absorbing the heaven and earth energy that was starting to thin out.
There was so little to steal from the heavens of this world.
Seol Hwa's eyes fluttered open.
She stretched her arms with feline grace before standing up.
'72%. Not bad, but still slow. Maybe I should have gone to that park,' she thought.
'Mom, hasn't arrived yet?' Seol Hwa couldn't sense Min-Seo in the house.
'Hmm?' One of the corners of her lip twitched.
'She's here.' Seol Hwa's ears picked up on her car entering the parking lot.
She then exited her room.
~~~<>~~~
"I'm home."
"Hi, honey. How are you?" Min-Seo greeted her daughter the moment she saw her in the living room.
"I'm fine. I'm the one who's supposed to be asking you. You look mentally exhausted," Seol Hwa said as she walked toward her and took the bag out of her shoulder.
"Don't even mention it. The number of ER cases has been on the rise. There's pure chaos in the hospital," Min-Seo replied with a tired sigh.
She then looked at Seol Hwa caringly. She palmed one of her cheeks and smiled.
"I'm just glad you're alright and safe. Seeing you waiting for me after a long day is already enough to wash away the lethargy. So don't worry too much about me," Min-Seo said in a motherly voice.
Seol Hwa wordlessly removed Min-Seo's hand from her cheek and pulled her toward the kitchen.
Min-Seo could only helplessly follow her.
Seol Hwa pulled a chair for her mother and guided her down.
"Apparently, worrying about you has become my eternal job. So eat some food first," Seol Hwa said in a no-nonsense voice.
Min-Seo thanked the deities that she had such a wonderful daughter.
Where else could you find such a caring child?
Min-Seo ate her food while Seol Hwa watched.
Her skin was still vibrant, the aftereffects of the Qi massage lingering.
Soon, fully stuffed with delicious food, Min-Seo could only surrender to the call of her comfy bed.
She immediately slept.
Seol Hwa entered her room and sat on the edge of the bed.
It was a moonless night but the sheathed sword lying across her lap radiated some light and threatening sharpness.
Seol Hwa looked outside.
Surrounded by the darkness of the night, she was like an aberrant creature.
So terrifying.
'It's time,' she thought.
And then vanished like mist.
~~~<>~~~
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