Chapter 102: The Phoenix Force
3rd September 2005, New York City
(Jean POV)
“Human nature doesn’t change child. Believe me, they will find a loophole in their laws to condemn you. You will not be considered humans and they will hunt you down like animals. The only reason that you haven’t already been revealed in because of my mist. While it isn’t as effective as with mages. It still helps you retain your secrecy.”
“How?”
The history teacher grinned at her, “Where do you think mutants came from in the first place?”
Jean looked confusingly at her teacher, “A mutant is a human being that possesses a genetic trait called the X-gene. It causes the mutant to develop superhuman powers that manifest at puberty.”
Ms. Sayre nodded, “A text book answer. Probably Xavier’s answer. But it’s only partially correct, it’s also wrong. The so called X-Gene did not just appear one day. To do understand where you come from, you have to understand how mages exist. The truth is quite complicate but it mostly manifests due to the flexibility of human DNA. Humans have a much higher chance to adapt to their environments than any recorded species in the universe. I’m not going to go specifics, but millions of years ago, Gods and Demons roamed the Earth. They were later banished by the founder of the order of sorcerers, Strange’s order to be exact.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It has everything to do with it because, every single God and Demon was banished. Except for one. Gaia or the Earth mother was the personification of the planet itself. To banish her was to banish the planet itself and that was impossible. Agamotto chose to not banish her so she still here to this day, not that it matters much, she’s a very peaceful goddess and doesn’t involve herself much to mortal affairs.”
Jean spluttered for a moment, “Are you telling me that we have a legit Goddess walking around.”
“Of course not. A God is a being of pure energy but Gaia is special. She is the very Earth itself, you walk on her body, breathe her air, use her energy. Gaia’s own power flows through the earth to ensure the growth of every living thing. From the smallest bacteria, to the largest animal. She spreads her powers evenly using what we call Ley Lines who in turn enrich the environment with what we call ambient magic or mana. As I said before, humans have a very flexible DNA and slowly, when children started to get conceived near a Ley Line, their DNA adapted to the energy around them, causing them to be able to absorb the energy in large quantities which we now call Mages.
Mages are able to shape their energy to affect the world around them, to manipulate reality itself in small amounts. However, after the mage population grew, they noticed that a few of them could absorb the magic but couldn’t shape them. This was the first mutation of the magical race and they called them squibs. This is where mutants come in. Sometimes, someone is born with their magic already in a certain shape. Generally, they just become mages that are very specialized but if they suffer from the squib mutation, they become locked into a single spell. You called them mutants. It’s funny, you call yourselves homo superior but you’re really are just downgraded mages.”
Jean was stupefied, is this where their kind came from, “So we are mutants of mages but not of the human race!”
“Precisely. It doesn’t mean that you’re any weaker. In fact, you’ll rarely see a mage with the same proficiency in their powers as a mutant. We have to shape our magic to cast spells but your magic is already shaped. This allows you to have a masterful control over your one spell and channel far more power through it. This is why there are no such things as mutant mages. I though I was one when I was younger, when I first used my telepathy and my telekinesis but I noticed as I grew older that I was using the same energy for both my magic and mutant powers.”
“If we’re all using magic, then why doesn’t your mist work properly on mutants.”
Ms. Sayre chuckled, “Names have power, child. I created the mist to stop magic from being discovered and while you’re not technically mages, what you’re doing is technically magic. Unfortunately, you’re not recognize what you’re doing magic. You called yourselves mutants, and the mist is starting to recognize you as mutants, entities separate from magic. Every day, the mist protects you less and less and you can thank Xavier and Magneto for this. One day it will completely stop working and your fate will be completely in your hands. But we’ve gone off track. Your society will be completely revealed and then you’ll understand that human nature does not change. It’s simply better hidden.”
Jean glared at her history teacher, “Is this why you called me here? Why you are here in the first place? To make me abandon the Professor?”
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Ms. Sayre burst into laughter, “Honey, I don’t care about Xavier’s boy band. I’m playing the long game and my goal, for now, is to make sure you don’t blow up the planet.”
Jean’s mind blanked, “What?”
“I’m came all the way from my home just for you. Why do you think Xavier is scared shitless from you? You’re powerful, far more powerful than he could comprehend. Your potential is staggering, only rivaled by my own. We’re very similar in that regard.”
“I am nothing like you!!” the redhead exclaimed, disgusted.
The black haired teacher just smirked at her, “I have been where you are. You are so angry, so furious, it feels like everything is going to burst all the time. And all you want is to let go, let things explode out. But you’re scared, terrified of hurting everyone around you. Did I say something wrong?”
Jean blanched on the accurate description of her feelings. She looked at her teacher pleadingly, “What did you do? How did you make it go away?”
“I let it explode.” The green eyed teacher answered calmly.
She raised her hands and suddenly the world fell apart. She continued, “We are now in the mirror dimension. What happens here does not affect the real world. Go nuts, let go of your anger. You’ll hurt someone if you keep it in.”
There world shattered the fragile control Jean had over her emotions and her powers responded accordingly. A Giant pulse of telekinetic energy came out of her, crushing and destroying the entire school in the mirror dimension. She screamed in anger at the Professor’s teachery, his manipulation of her mind. She sobbed in sadness at her relationship with her parents. Sending pulse after pulse, destroying everything around her. The redhead fell to her knees, exhausted but feeling better than she has in years. It was like a weight had lifted from her shoulders. She was free.
A voice broke her trance, “Better now?”
She looked up and saw her teacher smiling kindly at her, she just nodded in answer.
“Alright, I’m taking us back.” The world righted itself once more.
They both stayed in a comfortable silence, Jean being exhausted emotionally and with her powers as well.
Jean spoke up, “When you said that you’re here for me. You didn’t tell me everything. There’s something else.”
Ms. Sayre nodded, “Yes, there is.”
“Tell me, please.” The redhead begged.
Jean’s teacher looked hesitant for a seconds before sighing at her pleading look, “It’s a very complicated, and I don’t want to pressure you or anything. I wanted to let you have a childhood for the first time in your life. Are you sure you want to know?”
“Yes. I need to understand what’s happening to me.
“I came here because you’re more than just some powerful telepath or telekinetic. You’re the avatar of the Pheonix Force.”
Jean was confused, “The what now?”
“The Phoenix force is a cosmic entity and it is the source of all Psionic Energy.”
“Cosmic entity?”
“Ah, yes. A cosmic entity is a concept given form. An idea. For example, there is Death, the end of everything, destruction. There’s life, the beginning of all things, creation. And there’s the Phoenix Force, the personification of rebirth, of progress. I am the avatar of Death just as you are the avatar of the Phoenix Force.”
Jean was stupefied by that answer. What the hell was happening? Before she could voice her confusion, Ms. Sayre continued, “There’s a reason you have an instinctive dislike of people. Take Scott Summers for example, he has done nothing to make himself better, to control his power. You, as the avatar of the Phoenix, hate stagnation. As Avatars of a cosmic entity, we are given mission, guided by our patrons, to represent them in the physical world. I have mostly dealt with people who are breaking the natural laws of the universe.”
“How can I stop it from possessing me?”
Ms. Sayre burst into laughter at that, “Stop the Phoenix Force? That’s funny. You are so inferior to a thing like that it’s funny. Do you honestly think you’re anything special for something like the Phoenix Force? There are an infinite number of Jean Grey in the multiverse and yet there is one Phoenix Force. To a thing like that you are so small and inconsequential that it’s not even funny. Let me make you an analogy, how would you feel if a bacteria sat at your table and started acting snarky, and refused doing its job. Trust me, you are not that special in the grand scheme of it all.”
“Then why are you helping me then?”
“Well, first of all, I have to make sure you don’t blow up the planet. But also, I kinda messed up. I accidentally let one of the anchors of the Phoenix force in the world be destroyed. This accentuated the violent tendencies of your patron’s commands. And since I couldn’t kill you, I wanted to train you to be a somewhat balanced individual and misinterpret your orders and commit genocides for the hell of it. I didn’t expect Xavier to have screwed up this badly, and I couldn’t break the bindings without accidentally awakening the Phoenix Force inside you. And considering how messed up you were, it would have been a disaster.”
Jean stayed silent at this, processing the information given to her.
“What now?”
“I have bound the Phoenix force inside of you, and so is a significant amount of your original powers. As you gain more control, more will be accessible to you. When you’re done mastering your own power, the Phoenix will reveal itself to you, and you’ll fully become the avatar of the Phoenix. But don’t take too long, your patron is being cooperative for now, if it wished, it could break the seal easily. Now, you have a choice, you can either have me as a teacher, helping you control your mutation, you can take Strange’s offer to train with him, or you can return to the Institute. Either way, you’ll have to come to me to train your cosmic power when the Phoenix awakens. But believe me, no one has taken Psionic energy manipulation as far as I did. You’ll learn much more from me.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
Ms. Sayre chuckled, “Of course you don’t but you can take as much time as you want. My offer still stands and I assume so is Stephen’s. That’s the beauty of life, you get to have your own choices. Now go on, you’re already late to class.”
Jean understood that she was being dismissed and slowly turned to get out of the classroom. Before she could exist, she asked, “If you’re the avatar of Death, and I’m the avatar of the Phoenix, who is the avatar of Life?”
The history teacher smiled, “Everything that possesses a soul represents life. Every living thing is technically an avatar of life.”
Jean turned around and left the classroom. She had a lot to think about.