17 - Video

[burnmythoughts]

[Some might not recognise the woman on the network. Her face is obscured by a flaring gold mask. She's wearing a green skirt, complete with a gold belt and matching gloves. Her composure, too, is different; she holds herself with a quiet confidence.

Her voice, though, is as warm as it's always been.]

Hey, Barge.

[Jean pulls the mask from her face, revealing an older, wearier gaze.]

How long was I gone? What did I miss?

[Private to X-People]

[Her smile falters, a little, as she leans forward.]

Please tell me you're all okay.

[Filter to Bruce Wayne]

[A cheerful wave.] Hey! How are you? I've learned a ton, we should spar in the CES. [And catch up, but that's what 'spar' means.]

[Private to Morgana]

[Jean suddenly looks younger; bashful and uncertain.]

I got you those books. And - um, I didn't know your size, exactly, but...

Comments

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[tolaywaste]

Jean.

[omg Jean's back omg c':]

Hey.

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[burnmythoughts]

[And she's beaming, relief flooding her chest.]

Alex! [Unfortunately, she cannot actually hug him through the screen, but the impulse is there.] How are you? I missed you!

[There's an ache, a wistfulness, that she's trying not to show, but it's there in the tilt of her lips, the corners of her eyes.]

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[tolaywaste]

I missed you too. I'm doing okay.

[Despite the Bruce thing. Which he can't quite . . . bring himself to bring up yet. But soon.]

How long have you been gone? [Because it seems like a lot's happened, just looking at her face.]

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[burnmythoughts]

Um...about two years. [She hadn't meant to stay away that long, but - Annie was there, and she was in university, and then Scott told her how he felt, and then Xavier was honing her powers, and then - ] It was easy to get caught up in - you know, life.

[A small, soft smile.] But I never forgot. Thinking of you guys - it's helped me through a lot.

[Private]

[wedonot]

We're alright. That's a different uniform.

[Private]

[burnmythoughts]

[And Jean's beaming again. She missed Charles, maybe even more than the others. She had her Xavier, but and while she loves them both - while there's a familiarity there - they're not the same man.

And she's yearned for this one all the more, the last few months.]

Good. And - yeah, the Professor let me design new ones for us! [Cue twirl.] Do you like it?

[Private]

[wedonot]

[Flatterer. :c Seriously, that's a huge compliment. :c]

It's very groovy.

[Private]

[burnmythoughts]

[Give her a bit she might say it out loud :c

For now, though, she just giggles.]

Thanks! The boys look groovy, too, I've got pictures.

[hellofleshyones]

[HE KNOWS YOU. ...well. Her face looks familiar, anyway. "Knows her personally" is a little more complicated to sort out, particularly when he's got memories downloaded from an earlier model who is....pretty much exactly like him except for the part where it was actually destroyed.]

You fleshy ones really don't age well, do you.

[...the new and improved Aaron Stack, ladies and...ladies. Guess who learned how to be a jerk in the years since you saw him last.]

[burnmythoughts]

[Jean's lips purse.] Excuse you, I am completely - [Wait.

Jean stares.

When she realises her mouth has dropped opened she snaps it shut because that is seriously not attractive.]

Aaron?

[hellofleshyones]

Yes. And you are Jean. Codename Marvel Girl. Now that we have established that we have functional optic nerves. You are completely what?

[Yeah, give him a bit, he'll figure out why she's surprised in a minute.]

[burnmythoughts]

...Stunning. [What, she totally is.] But that's really not the point, here. I - the last time I saw you - [A slight, guilty grimace.]

[persecutioncomplex]

Why would anyone come back?

[burnmythoughts]

[That's a good question, and there are entirely too many answers.]

Turning my back on this place would feel - wrong. Like I was abandoning my responsibilities.

And there are people I care about here.

[persecutioncomplex]

You have what you wanted from this place, and those people are still at home, aren't they?

[burnmythoughts]

No. Most of them are from different worlds, or - times. [She's not sure what she should call Charles' home. Alternate universe?

Her voice softens.] Haven't you made any friends here?

[Private]

[youwillgotohell]

[The mask is startling a little, but Morgana clicks on her video feed after it's removed. She's wary, closed off, but maybe just a little glad to see Jean again.]

My size? [What are sizes.]

[Private]

[burnmythoughts]

[Jean's smile is faint, but warm.] Dress size. I - um, I made one. For you. [She'd been hard at work on the new costumes, and she found this fabric that - it made her think of Morgana.]

[Private]

[youwillgotohell]

I - don't know. [It's not like she's taken her measurements lately, either, but there's something very like bewilderment in her voice: why? She nods at the video, indicating Jean's uniform.]

Did you make this?

[Private]

[wecanavenge]

[Oh Jean he missed you :C]

Are you?

[Private]

[burnmythoughts]

[Jean's chest tightens, and her eyes widen, and it's been so hard, remembering Erik and fighting Magneto. Their last battle, seeing him again - it's one of the reasons she finally came back.]

I - yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. [Her smile is a bit shaky, but it's sincere, brimming with affection.] I missed you.

[Private]

[wecanavenge]

[He doesn't like the shakiness, and the affection is, well - he's so much better at brushing off affection than accepting it. So he only manages a very small smile.]

Welcome back, Jean. [He can tell there are things she's not sharing, and he's trying very hard to be patient.]

[spetsnaz]

You missed I was invisible.

[burnmythoughts]

[Oh, here's a grin. She was hoping he'd still be here. Well, sort of.]

Yeah? How'd that happen?

[spetsnaz]

I picked up gun, suddenly I was invisible.