The Scarlet Witch: Enemy of the Nexus

The Phoenix

Jean was experiencing strange symptoms. Had been for several days now. Things including loss of consciousness and gaps in her memory. There were a few other symptoms, but she couldn't quite describe them. She felt that something was wrong but she didn't know how to seek help. So she dealt with them as they came, avoiding anyone near her as much as possible when they did. Some close friends were starting to take notice of her odd behavior, but trusted that she would come to them if it was serious. Jean didn't think it was, until an incident when a voice in her head that wasn't her own was whispering some strange language she couldn't recognize. She didn't like what it was doing to her mutation. She felt a panic rise inside of her and soon her abilities got out of control and every object in the room she was in began to float. Including the students that she was teaching.

That's when Charles Xavier made the suggestion that she should isolate herself until they could figure out what was going on. Not one to want to put anyone in danger, Jean agreed to be observed for the time being. Hopeful that they could fix what might be wrong with her. They hooked her up to some machines to monitor the symptoms she described, but there wasn't anything to treat them. How could there be? It's not as if there is a doctor properly equipped for such a situation.

She was having nightmares and had dealt with them in the past but never anything like this before. Never with the same monster coming after her. Part of her wanted to believe she was simply sleep deprived. That whatever was causing these lapses in memory was connected to the lack of sleep she was experiencing lately.

There was a theory that she might just be grieving. It made some sense to her. But they had lost you nearly a year ago. Isn't it late for her to be feeling such strong effects of grief? When she asked this question to Raven, her mentor, she didn't have much of an answer.

"Grief doesn't have a timeline. I sometimes get hit with the reminder that a friend I cared for is no longer here. It's hard and I still manage to get through the day. But I wasn't nearly as close with them as you were with Y/n." She looks down at her hands in her lap as she thinks about how good you were for her friend. "I miss them a lot too, you know? They were... they were something special," she says with a deep frown and apologetic eyes that she flashes to the girl in the hospital bed. Your death impacted many at the school and to many, it still hadn't made any sense.

You wouldn't have killed yourself. Jean still strongly believes that. Other's have accepted that was the cause. The evidence was there. You were hanging from the top of the steps, there's no mistaking it. Everyone saw it first thing that morning. The footage from the camera's in the halls, though distorted, only show you making that decision for yourself. Jean argues, to this day, that it's clear you were struggling against something. No one sees it, or believes it.

Some were pissed at you for making that choice. Even more upset that you had done it in such a public manner, knowing that there were children that struggle with depression every day at that school. Another reason that leads Jean to believe it wasn't you. There were a few people at the institution that weren't great with the students, but you weren't one of them. You cared deeply for each and every student and staff member. You just wouldn't have killed yourself.

No one even considered that you had faced many types of monsters head on, none of them able to kill you. Survived many missions that plenty of others wouldn't have. Yet, they believe a rope was all it took. It didn't sit right with her.

"Yeah, they were," she says quietly. As she thinks about you, the symptoms are triggered. She begins to feel dizzy and loses consciousness, objects in the room begin to float, and Raven presses the button to get assistance. Jean is sweating profusely, cracks in her skin glowing, as her body starts to shake. The voice returns, seemingly trying to gain control over her. Thinking of you was where the Scarlet Witch found weakness in Jean Grey's mind. That's when she was most able to access her mind, to try and use her. To help her reach her fullest potential in order to consume that power for herself when the time came.

However, while in her trance, Jean managed to get a sense of what was happening to her. Because of you. You had helped Jean find her strength in her abilities. Taught her a control over them that she otherwise wouldn't have. As she caught a glimpse of this person that was in her head, she saw a version of you. One that wasn't hers. Floating in a red bubble around this witch's body. Something was telling her, this wasn't her first visit.

Once Jean breaks free of the Scarlet Witches manipulation, the objects return to their places with loud crashes. Her friends, who had come in to try and pull her out of it, collapsed to the ground. A couple landing on top of one another. Jean is breathing heavily as she removes the wires from her body. "I know what's happening!" She cries out.

They stand up, waiting for her to explain but she doesn't. Instead, she rushes out of the hospital bed. "Woah, hold on. It's not a great idea for you to leave," Dr. McCoy tries to stop her as he steps in her path.

"No, let her go," Raven defends. "I'll watch after her." The Beast doesn't want to put Raven in harm's way, he still believes Jean is very dangerous and this last outburst only proves as much, but he knows that the shapeshifter won't let him stop her. So he nods and steps out of the way. "What did you see?" Raven asks as she follows the girl through the corridors. "Was it Y/n?" This causes Jean to come to an abrupt stop. "I heard you whisper their name when you were levitating."

"I was levitating?" She asks, confused. She didn't like not knowing what happens during those episodes, it left an unsettling feeling in her stomach. But she couldn't dwell on it much longer. She has a mission. Jean shakes her head to find her focus again. "Raven, what do you know about the multiverse?"

Raven's eyes soften in pity for the telepath. "Jean, I know you miss them. But you can't take their variant out of their universe and you can't go to theirs and expect them to be the same person."

Jean shakes her head, "No, that's not - There's something going on. We have to warn others. We have to travel to other universes. We have to stop her. She's dangerous and could take over everything. She isn't just a myth you read in a book. She's real."

"You're not making any sense, who is real? Who do we need to stop?"

"The Scarlet Witch."