The rest of the weekend passed in a peaceful and happy blur.
By Monday morning, the quiet mansion was empty again.
Natasha had put her suit back on and left early for S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
The world always needed saving somewhere.
Sam found himself with a completely free day.
He didn't have any Heavenly Pills to make or monsters to fight. So, he decided to take a trip.
He wanted to see the famous Xavier School for himself.
They packed their bags and got into the car.
Ororo sat in the front, driving them smoothly down the highway.
In the back seat, Jean sat as close to Sam as possible.
She had both of her arms wrapped tightly around his right arm, and her head was resting comfortably on his shoulder.
A soft, happy smile was stuck on her face.
She was officially his girlfriend now.
Even though they weren't sharing a room at night yet, she felt completely secure.
She belonged with him, and she was happy to wait until she was ready.
For a while, the car ride was quiet and filled with comfortable warmth.
But as they got closer to the school, Sam's expression slowly turned serious.
He looked out the window, and then he looked down at the girl holding his arm.
"Jean,"
Sam said softly, his deep voice cutting through the quiet music in the car.
"There is something very important we need to talk about before we get to your school. It is about your mind."
Jean looked up. The serious tone in his voice made her feel a little nervous.
Ororo also turned the radio down and looked at them in the rearview mirror, listening closely.
"When I placed my shield over your mind at the mall,"
Sam explained, choosing his words carefully.
"I felt the mental walls your Professor put inside your head. He built those walls to block your telepathy, to protect you from the loud voices. But that is not the only thing he locked away."
Jean frowned, confused.
"What do you mean?"
"There is something else sleeping deep inside you, Jean,"
Sam told her the honest truth.
"It is a massive, ancient fire. It is a cosmic energy that is older than this world. It is called the Phoenix Force."
Ororo's eyes widened in the mirror.
She could feel the sudden, heavy weight in Sam's voice.
"The Professor's walls are acting like a dam,"
Sam continued, gently holding Jean's hand.
"But you cannot lock fire inside a wooden box. The tighter you cage it, the hotter it gets. That mind blockage must be removed as quickly as possible."
"Why?"
Jean asked, her voice shaking just a little bit.
"What happens if we leave the walls up?"
Sam looked deep into her green eyes.
He wanted her to understand the danger, but he also wanted her to know she wasn't alone.
"It is exactly like my Golden Core, but much more dangerous."
Sam explained simply.
"My core is pure, hot Yang energy. If Natasha and Ororo don't help me release the heat, the fire will eventually build up and burn me from the inside out. Your Phoenix Force is the same. If we don't take those walls down and let the energy flow naturally, it will eventually explode. You will burn, Jean. And the fire will be so big, the rest of the world will burn with you."
The car was completely silent. The thought of a cosmic fire destroying the world was terrifying.
Jean felt a cold chill run down her spine. But then, Sam squeezed her hand.
His warm, steady Qi flowed into her skin, chasing the fear away.
"But you do not need to be afraid,"
Sam promised her, giving her a reassuring, confident smile.
"You are a Cultivator now. You are learning how to flow like water. When we get to your school, we are going to take those walls down. And when the fire comes out, I will be right beside you. I will help you control it."
Jean took a deep breath.
The panic faded away, leaving only pure trust.
She leaned her head back against his shoulder and held his arm even tighter.
"Okay,"
Jean whispered bravely.
"I trust you."
Ororo kept her eyes on the road, her heart beating a little faster.
They were returning to the school, but everything had changed.
They were bringing a god-like Cultivator right to Charles Xavier's front door.
At the Xavier School, Scott Summers was pacing back and forth near the front doors. He was furious.
He had been waiting all weekend for Jean and Ororo to come back. He hated that Jean had left with a stranger.
Logan was standing nearby, leaning against a stone pillar. He let out a low chuckle, a cigar hanging from his mouth.
"Relax, slim,"
Logan smirked.
"They stayed out the whole weekend. They will probably just roll in this Monday morning."
Those words made Scott almost explode. His jealousy felt like a hot, burning poison in his chest.
Just then, Ororo's car drove through the front gates and parked near the entrance.
Scott immediately marched toward the driveway, his fists tightly clenched.
The car doors opened. Ororo stepped out from the driver's side.
Then, Jean stepped out of the back. But she wasn't alone. Sam got out right after her.
Scott stopped in his tracks. He watched as Jean immediately wrapped her arms around Sam's arm.
She hugged him intimately, leaning against him with a bright, happy smile.
She looked at him the way Scott always wanted her to look at him.
Scott couldn't hold it in anymore. His mind snapped.
"Get away from him, Jean!"
Scott yelled.
He ran straight at Sam, pulling his arm back. He wanted to punch the handsome stranger right in his calm, perfect face.
But before Scott could even get close, Jean stepped in between them.
She held up her hand. A gentle wave of her newly awakened Qi pushed Scott back a few steps.
"Stop it, Scott!"
Jean shouted, standing firmly in front of Sam to protect him.
Seeing Jean protect another man made Scott lose all of his control.
His face turned completely red. He felt totally betrayed.
"Are you crazy?!"
Scott screamed at her. He started yelling terrible things. He cursed at Jean, calling her a fool for running off with a stranger.
His words were cruel and full of pure hatred.
Jean shrank back a little. She had never seen Scott act this evil before.
Sam didn't get angry. He didn't yell back.
Instead, his deep, Golden Core eyes focused perfectly on Scott.
Sam could see energy. And right now, he saw something very wrong.
Wrapped tightly around Scott's brain was a dark, ugly, invisible string. It looked like a black spider web.
Someone was forcing Scott to be this angry. Someone was controlling his negative emotions from the shadows.
Sam knew exactly what it was from his memories of this world.
Sam stepped around Jean. He moved so fast that Scott didn't even have time to blink.
Sam raised two fingers and tapped the center of Scott's forehead.
He pushed a tiny drop of pure, pink Qi directly into Scott's brain.
Crack!
The dark, invisible string shattered instantly.
Scott stopped yelling. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed onto the soft grass, completely unconscious.
Jean gasped and kneeled next to him.
"Sam! What happened? Is he okay?"
Jean asked, her voice full of worry.
Ororo ran over, looking at Scott's sleeping face.
"He is perfectly fine,"
Sam said calmly, looking down at the young mutant.
"He will just have a long sleep. But I had to stop him."
Sam looked at Jean and Ororo. His face was serious.
"He was not just acting out of jealousy, Jean,"
Sam explained gently.
"Someone was playing with his head. There was a dark mental block placed inside his mind. It was twisting his emotions, making him angry and easy to control."
"Who would do such a thing to a student?"
Ororo asked, her blue eyes flashing with anger.
"A man who likes to experiment with mutant genetics,"
Sam answered simply.
"Mr. Sinister."
Ororo took a sharp breath. She knew that name. It was a name that brought fear to many mutants.
"Sinister was secretly feeding his anger, probably planning to use Scott for something bad,"
Sam continued.
"I just sealed the connection and broke Sinister's control over him. When Scott wakes up, his head will hurt, but his mind will finally be his own again."
Jean looked at Scott sleeping on the grass, and then she looked up at Sam.
She felt a massive wave of relief.
Sam didn't hurt her friend; he saved him.
"Now,"
Sam said, looking up at the large mansion in front of them.
"Let us go inside. I believe your Professor and I have a lot to talk about."
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