In the Med Bay, Logan lets out a pained grunt while Beast treats his gradually healing hand.
Beast: "If you didn't all stand as witnesses to the fact, I'm not sure I could believe this was done on purpose. Even considering your and Scott's prickly relationship."
Jean (still irritated yet compassionate): "Not that it's any excuse, Scott's been having trouble readjusting to everything."
Logan: "You're sure it isn't just one thing?
Jean looks to him: "Yes, Logan. That's not it."
"He couldn't deal with it the last time."
"He got through that. He's been ready to let me go since I came back."
"Sure, until now when he's lookin' that day in the face -aghh!" He looks to Beast. "I'll manage the rest on my own, thanks."
Jean's eyes have shifted away uncertainly.
Beast: "I can assist with the de-vesting of your combat attire for improved comfort. I have to go that way anyway." He is still in his X-Men uniform himself.
Logan gives a disagreeing look: "I'm sure we'll have company. For your sake, Jean, I'll wait." He settles for unzipping his jacket.
Beast: "Then I shall return shortly."
"Return in a while. I'll be fine without a constant doctor's watch."
Beast makes a 'very well' sort of shrug before heading out.
Jean turns as well, adding caringly before she goes: "Rest well."
"Mm-hm," is all Logan gives in response, though you can tell he appreciates it.
Jean manages a small smile at his way, then departs, leaving only Kurt behind with Logan.
"Company vhile you heal?"
"...sure. Why not."
BAMF
BAMF
Kurt has gone and returned with a deck of cards. "To distract your mind from the pain."
"You know what would do the trick better?"
Kurt considers. "That vill take a few more BAMFS."
Logan tries to get comfortable. "Take as many as you need," he half sighs, half groans at the state of his hand -left unbandaged but in a solution to support his healing, "I'll be here a little while."
Kurt shrugs and vanishes again.
On his way to the change room, Beast crosses Scott just coming out.
They pause. Scott looking at him, Beast raising his brows.
Scott has nothing to say and at that, it seems neither does Beast.
They continue on their separate ways, with Scott joining Jean at the elevator.
". . .Is Logan alright?"
Jean (a little closed-off): "He will be." After a beat. "You should apologize to him once he's healed." She heads into the elevator ahead of him.
Scott looks down.
That night is a restless one for Scott....
In his dreams he's in a classroom; the Ready Room; the garage. In all cases all seats are taken.
Flashing between these scenes, gradually less brief until it's the scene we land on, is Cyclops POV when he absorbed the Sinister Ray*
*Conclusion of Vol.#2
His words from then repeating in his mind: 'It has to be me.'
Scott wakes.
The bedroom is shaking. He turns to Jean, but even as he does the room, and Jean herself, settles.
He settles back down himself.
That Morning.
Scott is sitting up in bed, one knee up while the other hangs over the side, waiting his turn for the ensuite.
"What was your nightmare about?" he asks as Jean comes out.
She busies herself at the dresser, selecting her day clothes. "Who said I had one?"
"The bedroom shook."
Jean pauses, closing her eyes briefly then staring off, hoping this hadn't been the case. Hoping she could distance herself from it.
". . .Jean?" Scott gets up. He recognizes this. "I thought nothing was supposed to precipitate this time, that there was nothing to be worried about?"
Jean nods. She'd thought the same. "The dreams felt matter-of-fact before. This one. . .it was threatening." Scott is right there. She turns to him, fear in her eyes. "Someone might be planning to manipulate me again."
"We overcame it the last time," he's resolute; holding her.
Jean holds to his comforting words and touch, but over his shoulder she doesn't look quite convinced.
Over hers, Scott's expression creases with a new thought.
At breakfast, Rogue takes her plate to where Bobby is sitting.
"So ah found out whah we didn't see Logan yesterday after training."
"Besides Logan just being Logan?" Bobby samples his food. It's too hot. He uses his powers on his plate to chill it just a bit while Rogue continues.
"Ah guess that was part of it. Something he said got under Cyclops' skin so much he blasted Logan's hand nearly clear off."
Bobby pauses in his reach for a plate stacked with toast.
Rogue nods to his shock. "Logan just got out of Medical this morning."
At just the next table over, young Holo has overheard this.
Her wide eyes stare off into space where soon, a small, soundless projection shows her imagining of an optic blast nearly blowing Wolverine's hand off. Her image doesn't quite reflect the reality of it, but it's still graphic.
She shuts her eyes and shakes her head to rid it of that image, then concentrates on thinking of something else. Anyone who were to look over now would see images projected in front of her of the flowers she's been reading about; one changing into another like a fade transition.
Albeit, the flowers with petals pointed up take on a sharper look than they should, not too unlike Wolverine's claws, and the ones that are ruby-hued "stream together" a bit in an imagined breeze.
Afterward, outside the cafeteria, Scott approaches Logan. He pauses while some students file past.
"You got something to say, or what?"
Scott doesn't beat around the bush. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, sorry you didn't dial it up enough to finish the job," he responds on impulse, running his good hand over the blasted one which he's flexing into a fist. The injury all but undetectable now except for the skin being more red than the rest of his arm and his other hand. "Thanks," he adds as he goes on his way; hard to say if his words are forgiving or sarcastic.
Scott's voice halts him: "I don't know what you're complaining about."
Logan looks back at him.
"Was that shot too unexpected for you?" and there's that uncharacteristic smile again, bleeding this time into his tone.
Logan looks at him askance, but by then the rest of the students are filing out of the cafeteria and Scott has turned on his way.
Later on in the day, Scott enters the lab, finding only Beast. "I thought Jean would be here."
"She just stepped out."
Scott holds his hands behind his back, looking around at the materials, experiments in progress etc. while he waits.
Beast: "I shall answer the question unasked-"
Scott looks up at him.
"-I have been attempting to synthetically recreate what occurs in Mystique's cells when she shapeshifts. So far my results have been less than I would've hoped at this stage. However, hope and impulse do persevere."
". . .You make useful things, Hank."
Hank turns from his work station, smiling. "Why thank you for recognizing that."
"You should stick to doing that."
At first, smile fading, Beast furrows his brow. As though Scott is among the last people he would've expected such a slight from. Then Beast merely sighs, as though the mind before him just cannot comprehend the scientific pursuit.
He turns back to his work.
"Well, I have also been designing what I like to think of as the next level of solar panels. Ever since the Sinister Incident. Something that can absorb and convert energy as ubiquitously and effectively as your own body, after which I've been modelling it--"
Reaching for the prototype in question, Beast watches as an optic blast reduces it to smithereens -- nearly at the cost of Beast's own hand, if he'd been just an inch closer.
For a moment he's merely agape.
Scott responds before he can any further: "Didn't the Sinister Ray teach you anything?! That technology in the wrong hands -at worst my optic blasts will be even more dangerous and at best they'll be obsolete." He's turned, leaving.
Out in the hall, Angel just happens to be exiting the elevator: "You look like you could blow off some steam. Or someone's else's hand."
Scott stares at him. There's no way he could know what just transpired in the lab.
Angel tries again: "How about I work the controls?"
So we're back in the Danger Room, where Cyclops is undergoing time trial sessions -- and growing frustrated. It seems he's not quite back to form since the events of the last few months*.
Angel (through comm.): "Maybe you need a little less direct focus on the time, and a little more motivation."
Cyclops looks at him through the glass paneling separating the control room from the Danger Room proper; not clear what he's getting at.
Angel smiles: "How about a head-to-head?"
And so the session is restarted, this time with Angel -now suited up- joining him. As the practical session is more of an obstacle course than anything particularly dangerous, and will shut down on its own after the few minutes it's been programmed for, nobody stands in the Control Room.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Jubilee comes up on Bobby and Rogue.
"Hey, guys! What's up?"
Rogue: "Nothing much, Jubilee."
Bobby: "Yeah. What are you doing?"
Jubilee grins: "Actually, I was hoping you two could help me out! If I can get some extra training in, I just know I'll be top of the next Danger Class! So what d'you say?"
The older youths look at each other before smiling.
Bobby: "Sure. Let's go."
They've suited up but as they open the door to the Danger Room--
Rogue: "Guess it's occupied."
Bobby: "Hey, free show. Maybe you can get some ideas, Jubilee."
The three settle into the empty Control Room, just in time to watch Cyclops and Angel go for a second time.
They're off--
In the beginning the spaces are too tight for Angel to make much use of his wings, but once he can he soars ahead, weaving up and around suspended platforms that Cyclops, meanwhile, has to jump and climb up on.
He has limited time to get to the next before the preceding one goes vertical. His timing just falls off about 2/3s of the way up and he falls with it.
A grunt as he hits the floor, though it's hard to say if it's from the impact or the ground he's lost. While some of the platforms return to their upright positions, others have broken off completely. The gaps are too far.
But Cyclops isn't out of options --Aiming his blast downwards he actually propels himself up like a rocket.
Angel spies this: "Whoa! I knew it was the ticket to join you -you've already seen the wisdom in flying! Of course that's nothing on experience." And with a flap of his strong wings, Angel maneuvers himself effortlessly higher.
There are more obstacles up above that render Cyclops' technique -which requires him to look in the opposite direction than he's propelling himself- impractical past here, but it's gotten him back in the game.
Or it had. Not used to regaining his footing on landing from this, Cyclops steps back unintentionally -right onto a triggering mechanism for a pitfall.
In the seconds its taken to recover, Angel has just about navigated past the skyward obstacles to the freer space up above. "Oof! Guess this one's also mine, Scotty!"
There's no way Cyclops can make up this ground - though the actual objective to pass isn't to reach the highest platform, but to press a button once there.
From his vantage point, Cyclops sees how his position in the pit can actually be to his advantage. Sees the edges of obstacles above and knows where in the wall the button is located.
He processes all of this as if instantly, including Angel's position and rate of ascent, and with the concentration of someone who needs the win, makes the shot--
--the final ricochet point being off Angel's wing "Aaagggghhh!!"
Fallen.
Inside the Control Room, the two younger X-Men and one X-Man hopeful look on in shock.
Cameras built into the Danger Room allow training sessions to be reviewed from multiple angles to better assess and correct.
In this instance, they allow Iceman, Rogue and Jubilee to see Cyclops in the pit when and after he's fired towards Angel.
Allows them to see the lack of emotion across his face.
A lack of shock or concern as his blast collides with his comrade.
The shot was a calculated one - all risks taken into account and deemed acceptable.
The obstacles retract back into the floor and walls of the Danger Room while Cyclops gets up at an unconcerned pace.
We next see Jubilee bursting into the lab, which now houses only Jean -Beast having gone to replenish his equipment after Scott's incorrigible blast.
"Jean! Angel just took a direct hit from Cyclops! His wing looks pretty bad."
Concerned on multiple levels, Jean gets up at once. She's met in the corridor by Iceman and Rogue helping Angel to Medical.
The quintet enter.
See: https://telkjplang.wixsite.com/xmenenvisionings/post/part-4-scene-correction-part-5-delayed-release for revised scenes.
After hearing it happened in training, a bit of Jean's concern dissipates. "It was an accident, then," she speaks her thought aloud, while assessing the extent of injury to Angel's wing.
Angel scoffs: "Right! Like Scott regularly makes mistakes like this," he grimaces with pain.
"I know what he did to Logan. But there's nothing between you two."
Iceman insists: "He's right though. Cyclops did this on purpose."
Jean pauses enough to cast them a questioning look.
Rogue (impatient): "We saw on the monitors. He wasn't even surprised when it hit 'im."
Jubilee (indignant): "Not even a little!"
Jean is disturbed. "Where is Scott, now?" she asks while returning attention to Angel.
Rogue: "Still in the Danger Room ah guess."
Jubilee: "If I didn't have to go find you I would've given him more a piece of my mind!" -minor sparks fly as she clenches her fists- "He just watched while Rogue and Iceman helped Angel!"
Jean looks like she can't quite comprehend what they're relating.
And as for Angel, his prognosis isn't good. Though it also isn't the worst. If he can manage to keep his wing relatively still and absolutely unstrained, there's a good chance he'll be able to regain the use of it.
Exiting the Med Bay afterward, Jean is intent on finding Scott, and now that she's concentrating knows exactly where to find him.
Scott is standing in something of a daze after switching from his X-Men uniform back into civilian clothes.
Jean watches him a moment before approaching. Her disposition softening somewhat by the affected look of him. "Scott, what is going on? I've never known you to act out like this."
". . ."I don't know."
"That's not good enough."
He seems like he's about to say more, his mouth moving with the beginning formation of words, yet none come. Only an exhale as he massages his forehead with the L of his hand.
Watching this, Jean has an idea. "Perhaps it's something you've been suppressing.
Let me take a look?"
If his eyes could've been seen in that moment, something would've flashed in them. "No.
It's going to be hard enough you leaving with our link in place this time."
Jean looks surprised. This is not something he's brought up before, nor something she's considered.
Scott (CONT'D): "We should just break it."
She's hurt by the conviction in his voice. "Scott. . ?" He starts to walk past her. Authority returns to Jean's: "Don't just walk away from this."
He doesn't stop.
"Warren may not fly again."
Scott pauses, though only briefly. As if the better part of him urges him on.
--Until his movements arrest again; Jean's telekinesis.
"Scott, you're hurting people we both care about. Let's figure this out."
"Let me go."
There's a level of threat in his voice that alarms her. He's never spoken this way -not to her.
But Jean Grey is no shrinking violet; a part of her wanting to put him in his place for that. Yet this isn't simply a misbehaviour he has to realize won't fly with her - Jean can feel the intent exuding from him. Growing with each second he's kept in place.
What Jean can't perceive from their angle to each other is a purple glow rising up behind the lenses of Scott's ruby quartz glasses.
This fades once Jean relents; now not being the moment for confrontation.
"Thank you," Scott says coldly.
She watches as he proceeds only a step, nearly but not looking back, then leaves without another word.
Leaving Jean confused, and deeply troubled.
Soon it becomes apparent by their telepathic link, that Scott has left the Mansion premises altogether.