Log: Jean, Charles and Essex

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

Jean and Charles go to visit Doctor Essex and discuss the students Ahab had kidnapped, as well as some of their less-than-comfortable shared history.



"Doctor Essex? Your guests, sir," the hotel employee said as he opened the door with his key. Behind him, Charles Xavier and Jean Grey entered the hotel suite that Essex had been renting for the last six months. Like the man, it was sparse, clean lined, and displayed an understated expression of wealth. There had always been something impenetrable about Essex, and not just his powers' effects on telepaths. Rather the closed manner in which he held himself, containing completely within as his way of dealing with the death of his family so long ago.

"Please, come in." The man rose from the desk at which he'd been working, casually dressed but still seeming neat and freshly pressed. He waved out the hotel employee and crossed over to the black lacquered side board. "Can I get either of you something to drink? I hope the test results, of which I confess being surprised you'd bring anywhere near me, do not justify a stiff scotch before looking at."

"Simply some minor abnormalities that Jean wished to consult you concerning," Charles said quietly. "And no, thank you, Nathan. I thought I would come along," he continued, bringing his chair to a stop, "to discuss the situation." The 'situation' was clearly not the minor abnormalities.

"Just water would be lovely," Jean said, her posture not as stiffly aloof as the last time they'd met, nor as strained. "And I don't think they warrant scotch - the children have all recovered admirably, but when some minor variations showed up in their last physical, Moira and I thought it prudent to get your opinion."

"Hmm," Essex made a non-committal noise as he returned to his desk and sat down with a bottle of water for Jean and a small measure of gin and bitters for himself. Casually he flipped closed the folders spread around his desk, the edges coded with checkered yellow and black tape. He took the file from Jean and opened it, looking over the details.

"Striations in the fourth and sixth sectors. Interesting," Essex muttered, flipping the pages slowly. "Any adaptive progressions? Behavioural changes?"

"There were," Jean said, thinking back to Kyle following Jennie about rather like a puppy, "but they all seem to have passed. If there are any additional ones, they are subtle."

"Well, Charles, you would be the best authority on any residual mental issues." Essex pulled out the three genetic maps from the file and spread them on the desk, running his fingers over certain sections. "Judging by the patterns, I believe you should have no further worries with these children. These two, one with a healing factor and the other... some form of energy manipulation, I would assume. The minor fractaling you are reading is actually normal. In a genetic sense, their bodies are making the usual post manifest alignments that would have initially happened back when their powers first emerged. The wavering of the structure should subside in another month or so, and I strongly doubt there will be any noticeable effects."

The fact that Essex could deduce a close approximation of powers from the genetic configuration was clearly one of the indicators why he was a pioneer in mutant genetics. "The third one has a slight cause for worry. I believe his power is adaptive? Shapeshifting, personal manipulation or something of that order?"

Charles nodded. "A maladaptive mutation, originally. It allows him to mimic other mutations. His system then adapts to produce the physical alterations necessary." He went on for perhaps another minute, further elaborating on Marius's mutation and the repairs Forge had effected.

"That would explain the fluctuations. That sort of transitional overlap could effect the overlays that my process used." Essex flipped back through Marius' readings again. "He's not showing any immediate signs of complication, so the possibility of his body attempting to permanently re-graft itself by accident are slim. However, Doctor Grey, I would closely monitor his active power usage over the next month or so. Look for pattern irregularities immediately following the release of this 'mimicking'. Not entirely dissimilar to our genetic mapping research during your internship."

Essex took a sip from his drink. "If the irregularities persist, or more importantly, if you start to find a pattern of fluctuation outside of this register, we will need to retreat the boy. It's an extremely unlikely possibility, but knowing Charles, I'd imagine even a slim chance of complication will mandate a very close watch," Essex said as he flipped the file shut, his dry comment meant not as a criticism, and very much the humour that Xavier had known from the man during their friendship.

Jean had known Essex too well at Johns Hopkins to take any offense at the wry remark. "Certainly, we can keep a closer eye on him for a while. That shouldn't be a problem." She wasn't entirely sure if Marius had been using his powers recently, but it was certain to come up as he began training.

"Good. I believe you can consider the misadventure of these children safely closed. The potential for complications, based on this information, is very small. Considering the genetic hatchet job Campbell performed, those children are exceeding lucky. Tearaway was finally shutdown because it was simply too great a risk on the volunteers." Essex shook his head. "For all three to have survived even the first process without permanent harm... remarkable fortune."

"Not fortune alone," Charles said quietly. "One of the reasons I came was to offer you my very heartfelt thanks for your assistance, Nathan." There was a hint of real sorrow in his eyes as he went on. "What Rory did to those children was appalling."

"It's the lesser minds that end up the most vicious, I'm afraid. Campbell always had the delusion of being the next Moira MacTaggart, and I dare say the realization that his mental gifts were simply inadequate to his ambitions likely drove him over the edge." Rory had never liked Essex, especially during his time on Muir working to save Moira's son. He knew very well where the seeds of hatred had been sown.

"As for the children, there's no thanks required, Charles. Despite what your Mister Forge and I dare say the rest of your school may believe, you of all people should know that I would never stand idly by and allow innocent children to die. Especially not as a result of my own research."

"Even a few months ago, I would have doubted that, Nathan." Charles's voice was calm. "But it appears this was not the first time Rory misused your research to strike at Moira. That poor boy on Muir Island, years ago, seems to have been his handiwork as well."

Jean's eyes widened slightly as her gaze shifted to Charles, but she didn't say anything. She'd read about the incident at Muir and at the time had had trouble believing it was her ex-mentor's work, but it wasn't as though she had a great track record with past teachers.

"Muir?" Essex shook his head. "Mister Wisdom's staff mentioned something, but I'm afraid I was not given the full details."

"A very unfortunate situation," Charles said, and explained, briefly but without neglecting any of the necessary details, what had happened on Muir Island on New Year's Eve, 2004. "One of Wisdom's people finally, just this spring, discovered evidence suggesting that 'Proteus' was Rory's work. It would make his disappearance afterwards make sense."

"Ah." Essex steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. "Assuming this is not too impolitic, Charles, up until recently, you believed that I was the one responsible for this atrocity." There was no display of anger, or even of strong emotion. Just a certain amount of weariness. "Charles, how did it come to this?"

Charles was silent for a long moment. "The consequences of your choices," he finally said, "however well-intentioned, have been... extreme. For Elisabeth, for the students Kwannon manipulated and assaulted. Whatever did happen on Muir during your time there, Moira was attacked twice, in her own home, as an indirect consequence. The normal human tendency," he said, "is to believe that where there is smoke, there is fire. I certainly bear a share of the responsibility for the poor terms upon which we parted, and for not attempting to contact you after these other incidents. But you would not have been the first old friend of mine to go astray in such a fashion, Nathan," he reminded the other man, a pained edge to his voice.

"Dr. Essex," Jean spoke up suddenly, biting lightly at the inside of her cheek, "you've always been a very personal man, and I respect that, but we both know that intense privacy sometimes comes across as... well, as not being terribly forthcoming. If you never give people your own reasoning, people are liable to come up with their own guesses to motivation, and that undoubtedly becomes colored more by perception and outcome than we might wish."

"Monstrous though?" Essex paused and nodded. "Considering the circumstances, I suppose that I cannot fault you for the belief. After all, if the details are correct, no one would ever assume Campbell would possess the ability to create such genetic manipulation. Although, working with Joseph MacTaggart..."

Essex stopped and leaned forward. "Doctor Grey, I apologize for this, but could I have a moment with Charles alone? It won't take long and I am curious as to the tale of what has happened in the years since you last worked with me."

Jean's eyes narrowed slightly, but at a nod from Charles she simply said, "Of course," and left the room.

Essex waited for the door to shut behind her before speaking. "I dare say that her near death experience did nothing to change Doctor Grey's formidable personality. I always wondered what would have become of her if she had stayed in research with Johns Hopkins." He tapped his fingers together as he mused. "The different roads we take, I suppose."

He took a sip from his drink before continuing. "I should tell you that I am back to work with the government here in New York. While Mister Wisdom has no doubt been tracking me since our collaboration with Xorn, it seems far easier to simply let you know. I cannot say about what, as usual, but it should prove of worth comparable to the genetic scanning processes I developed in the Nineties. However, that does mean I'm once again bound by the rather draconian requirements of military confidentiality. I can only assume that you destroyed Campbell's apparatus after I left?"

"It was reduced to debris the moment it was clear that it was no longer necessary to help the children," Charles said. "It seemed the best course of action."

"Excellent. The government would have been extremely displeased to know the technology had been stolen from Muir, and could have led to difficulties for Moira. It never was a truly safe program in the first place, which is why it was abandoned. I do so hope Mister Campbell's prison stay is an exceptionally long one." Essex nodded, obviously pleased that the technology he had developed was once again limited to a few trusted people to access, and not out on the market. His willingness to face down Forge to have kept it from his powers was an obvious indication.

"Well, now that we've determined that I'm not the next Lehnsherr, I suppose my own admission should be next. Based on what I've seen, in both the media and from various sources, it appears that you were right about your X-Men. I still think it is terribly dangerous to base them out of a school, and that you must concede that your own charisma is significant enough to sway a person's decision," Essex pointed out. "But the dedication in those who I have met is not that of the coerced, and certainly no one can fail to credit your X-Men with the lives that they have saved."

Charles's faint smile was slightly wry. "To be honest, Nathan, they are only 'my' X-Men in a symbolic sense, at this point - they have my support, but rarely need my direction. If I were truly able to sway their decisions... there have been times, over the past few years, that I would have preferred to sway them towards inaction. The risks they take weigh heavily on me."

"As they should, Charles. After all, you did teach them, and once the student has moved on... well, we only have limited control over how they apply our lessons. I must confess to take a certain comfort in pure research. Teaching was... disquieting." Essex actually looked uncomfortable at the admission, a rare glimpse through his normally impeccable control. "The children at the school; it was too easy to see my Adam in them."

"The responsibility of all those young lives can be a difficult burden to bear under the best of circumstances," Charles said, allowing the other man the chance to take a step back from that admission if he so desired, to regain his composure.

"Well, fortunately we are now each back where we belong," Essex said, with a certain level of finality. "Considering the time, I must insist you join me for lunch. The restaraunt downstairs is quite excellent. Louise Barton has been lured back from Circe to reinstate its menu back to the former glory."

Essex paused as he swung on his jacket, tugging the sleeves straight. "There is one last thing, Charles..." He paused, the surest sign that his epicurian offer wasn't the only thing on the scientist's mind. "Miss Pryde. Is she well?"

"Quite," Charles said, turning his wheelchair. "Living in California right now, with her fiance. And I would be pleased to join you for lunch, Nathan."

"Good. That is... good," Essex said, straightening and walking forward to get the door. There was only the barest hint of emotion, but for Essex, it was quite an admission. "And now we get to surprise Doctor Grey, who no doubt is waiting for word that I've locked you in a mind control ray and plan something nefarious as an excuse to pull open the doors with her mind. Ah, Doctor Grey. Can I persuade you to trade telekinetic fury for a lovely veal piccata?"