Chapter 99: Visiting Sorcerers

Chapter 99: Visiting Sorcerers

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2nd September 2005, New York City

(Jean POV)

Jean was in the car, watching the city go by as it moved forward. She had no idea who would buy a car in New York as it would be easier to just take a cab or something. However, she was sitting in the backseat of the christened X-Car, which was just a normal back car. She had no idea why Scott always adds X before the name of any vehicle if it belonged to the institute. They even had an X-Van for crying out loud.

This car in particular was the Professor's. It was a black and gold Bentley who exuded luxury and prestige. Just how rich was the Professor? He always had enough money to access state of the art technologies like the danger room, the Blackbird or Cerebro. He also paid to fix whatever damage they caused while training or outside. Considering how destructive their mutations are, he must have cost him millions.

Anyway, Jean was sitting in a car that was too expensive for her to be comfortable sitting in, trying to ignore the awkward silence. Jean more or less understood where the Professor came from when he decided to put his bindings. It must be terrifying to encounter a little girl as powerful as he described her to be. It was surprising that she was as powerful as the Professor who is considered the most powerful telepath in the world, when she was a child.

As understanding as Jean could be, there was a line and the man had crossed it. He took ten years of her life out of fear and it wouldn't be wrong to say that his arrogance stopped him from checking further. And while Jean wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face, she couldn't bring herself to hate him. She was furious beyond belief but she still couldn't hate him. He had a hard choice in front of him and if she was honest with herself, she didn't know if the one he made was the correct one. She doesn't remember what happened in the desert when the bindings were removed but she had lost herself to her power, something that she can't allow to happen again.

Nevertheless, confusing feelings aside there was something that the redhead was sure of. She will never be able to trust Charles Xavier again. Which brings her to the matter of her teammates. Jean doesn't know how to deal with them, or even if she wants to stay at the mansion. She had once thought that the institute was the only place in the world where she felt free, but now it stifled her. It was a memory of her fake life and the redhead didn't know if her bonds with the rest of the X-men are as deep as she thought.

But here she was, sitting next to the man who practically killed her for no other reason than the fact that he was scared. They both knew that there was a lot to talk about but neither of them knew how to start. Logan was driving the car, so she was left alone with the Professor.

Trying to break the awkward silence, Jean asked, "Who was this guy again?"

The Professor pretty much jumped at the chance, "Doctor Stephen Strange, he was once considered one of the most skilled neuro surgeons in the world. Unfortunately, he was in a car accident and his hands were greatly injured. Trying to find a way to heal them, he traveled the world and found the answer in mysticism. Fascinated by it, he stopped practicing medicine and focused entirely in the art of sorcery."

"So, how did you meet?"

The former doctor looked worriedly at her and just raised his hand. An orange Magical circle came around his hand and another one came around her and went through her body. The glow came out and flew towards Strange's magic circle. Immediately, an exact copy of her tattoo materialized in front of him. At least she didn't have to strip

Dr. Strange, on the other hand was gaping at the symbols in front of him. She heard him mutter, "Magnificent!!"

The man kept looking at the runes in reverence for what seems to be ten minutes straight. It kinda made her uncomfortable, Logan lost his patience and asked, "So what's the verdict, Doc?"

Dr. Strange was startled by the sound, having lost himself in his study of the runes, "Oh, yeah. This is the most magnificent and outstanding usage of runes I have even seen in my life. Whoever did this is more than just a master, he or she could revolutionize the field if they so wished. I have learnt more studying this array in the last ten minutes then thousands of hours in the library."

Logan growled, "That's great and all but what's it doing"

The formed doctor seemed unperturbed by Logan's hostility, "I have no idea what the big rune is but I assume it's some sort of power source. The rest are a mix of Hieroglyphics and Sumerian runes. Few people tend to study them due to their complexity and even fewer have mastered them. Lucky for you, I am one of them. It's some sort of power regulator. More specifically with Psionic Energy."

"Psionic energy?" Jean asked.

"Psionic energy is the energy used only by the mind. It's often represented as telepathy and telekinesis but can be used in creating energy construct and much more. The array on you has a simple goal but it's extremely powerful hence its complexity. There are backups over backups in case something happens. The goal of the runes is to evaluate your control over psionic energy and only allows you to use what you can control. In its basis it's a training tool for someone with too much power and too little control. It also considers your mentality to make sure that you don't lose yourself to power. It also stops any attempt at mental manipulation. It's truly a piece of art."

Jean's shoulders slumped in relief, tension leaving her. She needed this, a way to help her control over her powers. And she was now reassured about the runes as well. Two birds, one stone. And now the Professor can't out the bindings on and even if he could, there would be no reason to do it; she was going to be able to control her powers properly. For the first time, the redhead thought that she was free.

The former neurosurgeon asked, "Do have any idea who did that?"

Jean just shrugged; everything was a blur after the Professor removed his bindings. The bald telepath was just as clueless as her as he was away from the conflict. Surprisingly, Logan grunted in response, "Apocalypse recognized her. He called her Wadjet."

Dr. Strange hummed thoughtfully, "The Wadjet. An old Egyptian Goddess, if I remember correctly. The Goddess of serpents and Magic. Here let me check for a second. My master, the Ancient One, has notes dating back to Atlantis. There should be one about Wadjet somewhere."

He raised his hand and an orange portal appeared. He put his hand in and got a book from inside. He closed the portal and opened it. He rifled through the book until he found the page, "Ah, here it is, the Wadjet."

Suddenly, the man paled in fear and his scarred hands started to shake, he muttered a single word in a terrified tone, "Morrigan."