[Age Of Apocalypse] - Jean's Life At The Xavier School

In Xavier's school in New York,

Jean stared at the Cerebro and asked, "What is this?"

"This," Charles picked up the device, latched it on his head, and said, "Is a device that helps me connect to any person on the planet."

Jean stared in awe as the device powered up, and she could hear and see all types of people. She heard Charles say, "With this device, I can hear anybody's thoughts or read their memories. It doesn't matter where they are on the planet."

Jean snapped out of her awe, looked at him weirdly, and asked, "Isn't that an invasion of their privacy?"

"Yes, but," Charles explained, "It also helps us identify a mutant."

He noticed her stare at him weirdly and clarified, "Listen, Jean. This device helps us find mutants who are being discriminated against. Though our country has the Mutant Rights Act and banned so many things from being used against us, it doesn't mean people have simply stopped doing that. A ban on a certain item in our country simply means it would be removed from the public eye. It doesn't mean that it would be stopped."

"These mutants," He looked at the various holographic people in front of him and continued, "Some of them are being beaten, abused, humiliated, forced to fight in underground rings, sold as slaves, or sold to corporations as lab rats. If I can find these people, I can save them. I'm not interested in anybody's thoughts or memories. I simply want to find people who desperately need help, save them, and bring them here so they can be taught to control and use their powers. I want this place to be one of the places where mutants don't have to fear for their lives. A place where they can call home. That is why I do this."

"Ok," Jean nodded and looked at the device with an excited glint in her eyes when Charles pulled it out of his head, placed it on the table, and asked, "Is it my turn now?"

Charles shook his head and said, "No, you won't be allowed to use it."

He saw her angry that she wouldn't be allowed to use Cerebro and explained, "At least not yet. This device amplifies my telepathic powers so that I can connect to anyone. And it comes at a heavy cost. You can't bear that cost right now. You haven't learned to control your powers. If you use it now, it would amplify your powers to such a degree that you would turn erratic and kill yourself and others. This device doesn't allow me to read people's thoughts and memories. It allows me to add new ones in their minds, give them simple commands, or, to some degree, mind control them. That is why this device is dangerous in the hands of evil people and people who can't control their powers. Imagine you use it now and are connected to billions of people. One single mistake and everybody's brain would be fried. Do you understand what I am saying? I'm sorry, Jean, but you will not be using this device for now."

"I understand," Jean said sadly, "But when would I be able to use it? It looks cool."

"You have a long way to go," Charles pointed out, "But you are making great progress. You will use this device when you are ready for it. Don't rush it. I wanted to show you and show you what you could achieve. Now, excuse me, I have a class to teach."

Jean sighed and walked outside of the Cerebro room with him. She walked up from the X floor to the school's ground floor and looked around. The place was bustling with students, teachers, and staff. She could see the students walking around with a smile on their faces, a happy look in their eyes, and a positive attitude. However, when they glanced at her, the look of happiness, positivity, and joy vanished as their eyes became fearful, cautious, and angry.

'They hate me, don't they?' Jean looked at the various groups and thought with a sigh. She didn't blame them, though. Her powers had gone berserk one night and had hurt her roommates. One moment, Jean was sleeping; the next, she was having a nightmare about being hunted and tortured. When she woke up, the whole room was floating, all the furniture was levitating, and all the beds and the people sleeping on them were thrown to the other end. She could still remember the fear in their eyes when they were dragged to the infirmary. It was no wonder she slept alone now.

'I wonder how much more time would be taken before I can gain their forgiveness?' She thought with a sigh and walked through the halls and reached the library. She wanted to return the books she had borrowed last week and see if a book could help her escape her miserable current state. It's something like comics.

The librarian, an older man who always kept to himself and only opened his mouth to either scold the students for entering his library with dirty hands or to remind them that the books had to be returned within the given date or the students would get an 'F' on their next assignment, looked up and smiled when he saw her. He greeted her warmly, "Hello, Miss. Grey. How can I help you today?"

Jean smiled back at him and said, "I would like to return these books, please."

He took the books from her and asked, "Do you want something new?"

She shook her head and replied, "Not today, thank you. But can I ask you something?"

He nodded his head and waited for her to speak.

She hesitated and asked, "Would you recommend me a comic book or two, please?"

The librarian's eyebrows rose when he heard her request and asked, "What kind of comic book?"

"Superhero comic books," She answered, "The ones where they save the world and all."

The librarian nodded and thought momentarily before walking towards the comic books section. Jean followed him as he went to the superhero section, pulled out a series of comic books, and handed them to her.

Jean read the name and title of the comic book series. She thanked him, sat in a corner of the library, and began reading. She didn't have class today, so she had plenty of free time.

She was engrossed in the comic books she was reading. She loved it. When she read the last page and closed the comic, she looked around and realized she had been sitting in the same spot for the past two hours.

She looked at the stack of comics she finished reading, glanced at the section of its bookshelf, and wondered, 'Where would the next issue be?'

She got up, placed the comic books on the library cart, and searched for the next issue. After a while, she found the issues in a section with the other superhero comic books.

'This is awesome,' She thought as she tried to take it when somebody's hand touched hers. Jean looked up and was surprised to find a boy standing before her, holding the comic she wanted to borrow.

She saw that the boy wore weird red glasses, and she heard him ask, "I-I'm sorry! D-Did you need this?"