AlienWarlord
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C323 Spider-Man
🕑 Added 2023-04-26 10:41:15 +0000 UTCAs Peter stepped through the portal with a disbelieving and confused Jean Grey following close behind, he couldn't help but feel relieved that he had managed to save her from the destructive influence of the Phoenix Force.
However, as they approached the X-Mansion, his relief turned into shock as he saw the extent of the damage. The mansion was partially burned, though it looks like they were thankfully able to stop the fire before it could spread too far.
Peter walked across the front lawn and quickly drew the attention of the students, who were gossiping about the whole situation.
They were about to rush over and excitedly bombard him with questions, as they did earlier, but they stopped in their tracks when they saw Jean standing behind him.
It didn’t take long for word to spread about the cause of the fire. After all, gossip always travels fast in schools.
Although the little girl that Jean initially protected kept her mouth, to protect the big sister that stood up for her, the same couldn’t be said for the bullies who started all of this.
No, they practically screamed Jean's name from the mountaintops, making sure that every child knew it was her who went crazy and set fire to their precious school.
And now, no one wanted to go anywhere near her.
Well, except for one person.
“Big sister!” The bullied little girl who kept her mouth shut all this time rushed out of the crowd of students. “Are you okay?”
The little girl stood in front of Jean and tilted her head questioningly.
“Yeah... I’m okay now.” Jean answered uncertainly.
She couldn’t remember anything after stepping in front of the girl, separating her from the school's known bullies.
“...” Tears started to form in the little girl's eyes as she smiled and jumped forward, wrapping her arms around her saviors waist.
“?!” Jean's eyes widened as she hesitantly returned the hug. ‘What the hell happened?’
Leaving Jean behind for the time being, Peter walked over to the front of the mansion. There, he saw Professor X, standing near the entrance, looking worried and guilty.
Although he didn’t fully understand the situation, Charles felt that this was somehow his fault.
Of course, he was right.
Storm, Wolverine, Beast, Nightcrawler, and a few other teachers stood alongside him, questioning him about today’s incident.
Even Magneto was among them.
"Professor." Peter called out as he walked over.
“?!” Charles and every teacher beside him turned to Peter with hopeful looks in their eyes. “Where’s Jean? Is she alright?”
“Yeah, she’s over there with the other students.” Peter points over his shoulder.
Instantly, Storm paced passed Peter without a single word, rushing to check on her student.
As the head of the girl's dormitory, Storm is partially responsible for every female student's well-being, and she took that responsibility very seriously.
Soon enough, every other teacher followed after her as well, leaving only Charles, Magneto, and Peter behind.
“What happened?” Erik asks as he knew even less than Charles.
"This idiot...” Peter gestures toward Professor X. “...locked away Jean's powers without knowing the full scope of the situation.”
“I-I didn’t mean any harm.” Charles spoke up in defense of himself.
Erik smirked as he found himself enjoying this conversation. It’s not every day that the great magnanimous Professor X gets something wrong.
“If I didn’t come visit today, the whole school would have probably burned to the ground and it’s very likely that students would have died.” Peter says matter of factly. “This wasn’t just some small f*ck up, Charles. If left unhindered, Jean would have burned this entire planet to ash.”
Professor X looked at Peter, his expression sad and regretful.
"I know you're upset, but I had no choice. Jean's powers were too dangerous, and I couldn't risk letting them get out of control. I did what I thought was best for her and for everyone else."
“Yes, but you should have contacted the Avengers for this sort of thing.” Peter rolls his eyes under his mask. "You had no idea what you were dealing with. This isn’t just some powerful X-Gene. Jean is the host for the universes embodiment of Creation and Destruction."
“What?!” Jean exclaimed as she walked over with her teachers following closely behind.
Peter let out an exasperated sigh as he turned to see Jean's shocked and confused expression.
“I might as well explain now that everyone is here...” Peter quickly explained Jean's situation.
...
As soon as Peter was done speaking, everyone turned to Charles with a disapproving looks in their eyes.
And god, Magneto was loving this.
Jean spoke up, her voice weak but determined.
"Wait... It's not his fault. Like you said, the Phoenix is a force of nature. I'm the one who should be blamed. I let it influence me, and I nearly destroyed everything I care about."
Her nightmares almost came to fruition, leaving a self-deprecating frown on her face.
Peter turned to Jean, his expression softening.
"No, it’s not your fault whatsoever. You’re just a victim of something that's beyond your control. I’ll help you control the Phoenix’s powers, but it’s going to take a lot of time and dedication.”
Jean seemed eager to get her newfound powers under control, though she did feel a bit of hesitation as she didn’t want to go crazy again.
Turning back to Professor X, Peter’s tone was less angry but still firm.
"If you ever come across something that you don’t understand, I expect a Council meeting to be called immediately. Am I clear?"
"Yes. This won’t happen again. You have my word." Professor X nodded, his eyes filled with determination.
“Good.” Peter said as he turned back to Jean. “Go inside and pack your bags.”
“What?” Jean wasn’t expecting that, nor did her teachers.
“You’ll be staying in the Avengers Tower until I’m confident that you can control yourself.” Peter explains, not taking no for an answer.
“But what about school and my friends?” Jean argues as she turns to look over her shoulder.
Standing across the yard, she could see Cyclops, Kitty Pride, X-23, Angel, and a few others worriedly waiting for her.
“You can still attend school as long as Nightcrawler is willing to ferry you back and forth.” Peter said, placating Charles before he could argue as well. “As for your friends, you can see them during school hours.”
“...Fine.” Jean was hesitant, though she ultimately gave in.
Walked into the mansion alongside Storm, Jean went to pack her things, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she also knew that she had Spider-Man at her side, which was a very big confidence booster.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Charles asks hesitantly.
Although he doesn’t like that his student is basically being poached right in front of him, Charles also knows that he has no room to complain.
After all, he is the cause for all of this, and still wouldn’t know where to begin with her training.
When it comes to Meta-Humans and X-Genes, the Professor can be said to be a world-renowned expert, but this wasn’t in either of these categories.
This was an issue that only the Mystic Arts could solve.
At least, as far as he knew.
“Yes, staying at the tower will be much safer, and I’ll be able to set a strict training schedule for her.” Peter explains as Charles frowned, sad that his prized student was being taken away.
Though he understood that it was in her best interest.
“You’re welcome to visit her whenever you want.” Peter added as he noticed the Professor's predicament. “You can even continue to teach her outside of classes, but you’d have to do so at the tower. We can add a slot for you in her new training schedule.”
Suddenly, a small bit of hope returned to the professor's face.
“Thank you, I’d like that very much.” Charles said gratefully.
He didn’t expect Peter to trust him so much after his mistake.
...
Minutes later, Storm and Jean returned with suitcases in hand.
“Is that everything?” Peter asked and received a nod. “Alright, then let’s go and get you settled back at the tower.”
As a portal appeared and Jean followed Peter inside, her friends couldn’t help but frown as they watched her disappear along with her luggage, leaving them and every other student wondering if she was expelled.
Sighing to himself, Charles looked over at his slightly burned mansion. ‘This is going to be expensive to fix...’
A/N: 1438 words :)
