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The Wanderer - 106
🕑 Added 2022-12-02 00:35:29 +0000 UTCChapter 106 – Healed
[2009 – September]
“I am very relieved to see that you are well, Jean.”, the Professor stated as he looked at her, sorrow, guilt, and relief in his gaze, “I am deeply sorry for how things turned out this way.”
“I had acted under the assumption that my actions were protecting you from the influence of the entity living inside you. I had been scared for your own and the other's safety, so I tried my best to prevent you from coming in contact with it.”
"I know I shouldn't have kept it from you, but the mental blocks were only so effective because you did not know of them. Not to mention that you were a child and scared of your own power, I didn't want to add to your burden, Jean.", he ended with a heavy voice, shoulders slumping forward a bit while his whole demeanor expressed incredible exhaustion.
Jean fought hard to suppress the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes as she saw the Professor in such a state, the affection in his gaze only making it harder for her to remain calm.
For more than ten years, the Professor had taken care of her and he had become somewhat of a father figure for her like he was for many mutants that lived in the mansion. Jean was sure that his love and care weren't an act, she knew that the Professor truly did care about her.
Still, the sting of betrayal and the incredible disappointment in her heart weren't so easily removed.
The fact that the Professor had manipulated her mind for years and had effectively stunted her growth as well as having interfered with her ability to truly control her powers, pained her deeply.
Through Emma's lessons, Jean knew that she should have been able to protect her own mind from the influx of foreign thoughts easily, considering her power and talent. It was the Professor's deliberate guidance and the mental blocks that had kept her from doing so.
Years of pain and torture, while having nearly been driven insane by the voices in her head, all added up into one single fact – Jean simply could not forgive the Professor for what he had done, and neither could she find it in herself to trust him.
The trust between them had been broken irreversible, especially considering that he had preached to her and other telepaths under his care about what a huge taboo it was to enter the minds of others without their explicit consent.
This though didn't keep her from caring about the Professor, even though she fought to suppress her worry and affection for the elderly man, as there was no denying that he was indeed akin to a father to her.
Jean fought an inner battle, her heart torn in indecision, anger and disappointment fighting off more caring sentiments, her hands resting in her lap were balled into fists as she turned her gaze away from the older telepath.
Suddenly, Jean felt a familiar warm hand grasping one of her fists, Elijah forcing her to open her hand with gentle firmness before entwining their finger and holding onto her hand tenderly, conveying his love and support for her with the simplest of gestures.
Raising her head, Jean saw his beautiful green eyes looking at her warmly, with care and the desire to protect her nearly overflowing from his gaze.
'It's okay, Firefly.', a quiet whisper entered her mind.
She recognized the voice as Elijah's and knew that he had manipulated the mental shield around his and her own mind just enough so that she could hear these soft words of encouragement.
Even though Elijah wasn't a telepath himself, he never seemed to miss it when her mind and heart were in turmoil.
It was still a very rare occurrence for him to let her hear his thoughts though, as he was very adamant about protecting his and her privacy that way.
Feeling his love and presence surrounding her like a warm blanket, shielding and protecting her like a physical barrier, Jean felt her heart settle down while she held onto his hand tightly, her inner turmoil slowly fading.
No longer, did she try to fight off the affection she felt for the Professor despite his actions, as this short interaction with Elijah made her realize that she didn't have to hold anything back. Even if she couldn't trust the man that had been a father to her for the last decade.
She knew that her relationship with the Professor would never be like it was, but that didn't mean that she couldn't be grateful or reciprocate the care and affection he had shown her over the years.
Leaning on Elijah, Jean turned her gaze back to the Professor, taking short note of the surprise and astonishment in his eyes before she addressed him.
“I know you did what you thought was right and while I can't just look past all that, I understand that you tried to protect me, Professor.”, she said quietly.
Jean knew that she hadn't forgiven the Professor just yet, but she still felt much lighter after saying those words as if a burden had been lifted off her shoulders.
Hearing her reply, the Professor nodded understandingly.
"Thank you, Jean.", he said with a calm smile, sighing as if relieved that she knew that his intentions had not been of malicious nature. These simple actions though made it seem as if he had just aged a few years.
Inexplicably worried, Jean finally took notice of the peculiar state the older telepath was in, now that she was no longer preoccupied with her own thoughts. Almost immediately, Jean felt a familiar energy laying dormant inside the Professor's head, while his mental presence seemed strangely 'weak'.
"You are injured.", Jean exclaimed as her eyes widened slightly, rising from her seat as she approached the old telepath in worry.
Smiling wryly, the Professor replied: "It's fine. The entity inside you has not seen kindly to my repeated interference. I know that I am lucky to be alive as it is."
Sighing, Jean explained as she stepped next to the Professor and tentatively placed a finger on his temple: “It's called the Phoenix Force and it only acts to defend me … Please hold still, Professor. This is going to hurt.”
Taking a deep breath, the older telepath closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, readying himself for the coming pain as Jean likewise closed her eyes and concentrated.
Using what she had learned over the last few weeks, Jean drew on the Phoenix's power and immediately felt her whole form lighting up with near-transparent flames.
Feeling the dormant energy inside the Professor's mind reacting to her presence, she didn't hesitate to reach out with her own mind and grasp it. It was like a living flame and it had attached itself to the older telepath's mind, probably causing him incredible pain whenever he tried to use his telepathic abilities.
Jean controlled it to leave the Professor's mind rather effortlessly, as the dormant energy didn't show the faintest hint of resistance to her interference.
Pulling back her finger from the Professor's temple, a small smile sat on the tip of her finger before a moment later it just lost its form and fused into her body, disappearing and becoming part of her strength as if this was how it should be.
The Professor meanwhile opened his eyes while taking a few deep breaths, the pained expression he had carried a few moments before slowly fading as he relaxedly sank back into his wheelchair.
“Thank you, Jean.”, he smiled gratefully, finally freed from the pain while regaining his abilities.
Nodding in acknowledgment, Jean replied as she took a few steps back after reining in the Phoenix's power with ease, sitting back down next to Elijah while snuggling into him as best as she could without being inappropriate.
“I don't want to see you suffer, Professor.”, she said, “I also have some questions that I hope you can answer.”
“Questions?”, the elderly telepath asked, already seeming much less haggard, his mental strength returning bit by bit.
“About my father.”, she answered quietly, causing the Professor to pause, his eyes flickering to Elijah.
Comments
Basilisk Basilisk
Great chapter
Willskys
Thanks!
