Two Worlds Coming Together

Special thanks to the wonderful JenKM1216 for all her hard work as my Beta.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Phoebe and her husband, Jason Dean, lay in bed making love. Their daughter, Patience, was three months old and had just started sleeping through the night. This was the first time that they were able to go slowly, just enjoying each other as they rediscovered each other’s bodies. Just as Phoebe was about to climax, a large demon shimmered into the bedroom. Phoebe screamed out in fear and threw Jason off of her, but, before she could do much more, the demon threw an energy ball at Jason. It hit him, killing him instantly. Phoebe screamed again, this time in anguish, as a cry echoed through the baby monitor on her night stand.

Phoebe awoke, sitting straight up in bed, drenched with sweat and sobbing. Jason had died six months before and the events of that night still haunted her. She moved to sit on the edge of her bed with her feet on the cold, wooden floor. Blowing her nose on a tissue, she took deep breaths, trying to calm down. Not wanting to go back to sleep, Phoebe got up and checked on Patience before making her way to the kitchen downstairs. Some Chamomile tea would help her nerves.

She was surprised when she opened the door to find that Billie was sitting at the table with the Book of Shadows, her sister’s diary, and a pen and notebook of her own. Billie was a new witch and Paige’s charge. The sisters had started teaching her the ins and outs of being a witch. During the course of this training, she had become another member of the family. It was widely known in the underworld that Billie was under the protection of the Charmed Ones.

“What are you doing up so late?” Phoebe asked the blonde.

“Still trying to figure out what this symbol means,” Billie replied with a frustrated sigh. “My parents died trying to give me my sister’s diary, and I can’t let them down. I have to find Christy and bring her home.”

“I’m sure that you’ll find her, sweetie, it just might take a little more time than what you had hoped. Would you like some tea?” Phoebe asked.

“Sure, thanks,” Billie said distractedly. She glanced up at Phoebe and saw circles under the older woman’s eyes. “Why are you up? Still having nightmares?”

Phoebe paused in the middle of putting the kettle on the stove. “Yes, I had another nightmare,” Phoebe said slowly, placing the kettle on the burner. “But I don’t want to talk about me. Let’s keep talking about you.”

“I just want to say something, and then I promise to drop it—at least for tonight. You need to get out of this house and live a little. I mean, the only time you leave the house anymore is to go to work. You need to go out on a few dates and get back to the world of the living. I’ll watch Patience for you if you need a baby sitter,” Billie said in a rush.

“It’s only been six months, Billie! I’m still in mourning,” Phoebe said in exasperation. “Thanks, honey; I know that you’re worried—that all of you are worried—but I’m just not ready to date yet. When I am, I’ll let all of you know. Have you figured out anything about that symbol yet?”

“No, it seems that I am at a dead end, but I feel like something is close—like something is going to happen to bring us together soon. Is that weird?” Billie asked self-consciously.

Phoebe smiled softly. “No, Billie, that doesn’t sound strange at all. You should always follow your instincts; they won’t lead you wrong.”

“What are yours telling you to do now?” Billie asked tentatively.

“I have no idea,” replied Phoebe sadly.

~*~*~*~*~

Jean Grey-Summers and Storm entered Professor Xavier’s office after he telepathically summoned them.

“You called for us, Professor?” asked Storm in her beautiful, melodic voice.

“Yes, I did. I was using Cerebro, trying to find Logan, when I felt the presence of a young woman. She wasn’t a mutant, but she wasn’t human either,” Professor Xavier replied with a small smile.

“Well, what could she be then?” Jean asked, confused.

“That is precisely what I would like the two of you to figure out. Here are her coordinates. She is terrified and could be in some sort of trouble. I trust the two of you will be able to handle anything that comes your way, however,” he said with confidence and pride.

They set out in the jet immediately for San Francisco, California, making an uneventful trip. When they got to the designated coordinates, they found a small cave. Entering cautiously, they soon found a small chamber with a door. They opened it slowly and found a young woman cowering on the dirt floor.

The young woman trying to melt into the shadows made both Storm's and Jean’s hearts ache. Jean could feel the fear radiating from the girl without even trying, and it made her anxious.

“We’re here to take you to a safe place. My name is Jean, and this is Storm. What is your name, honey?” Jean asked gently but urgently.

The girl didn’t answer her question. She just continued to look fearfully from one woman to the other.

“We won’t hurt you; you don’t need to be afraid. We were sent by someone who knew you needed help,” Storm said softly, attempting to approach her, only to have the girl flatten herself even more against the far wall.

Suddenly, there were a multitude of strange noises, and men appeared all around Jean and Storm, blocking the young woman. Though the sounds were apparently made by the men’s arrival, these newcomers had obviously not teleported.

“Who are you? Who sent you?” demanded one of the men as he looked them over with a leer.

“We were sent for the girl,” Storm replied, trying to bluff. “Who we are isn’t as important as your cooperation.”

“I haven’t received any orders to turn her over to anyone,” the man said dangerously. “Until I do, I’m not giving her to anyone.”

“Then you will be the one to suffer the consequences,” Jean told him.

The man considered them for a few seconds before turning to the man on his right. “Check it out, Vaxus.”

The man ordered to go disappeared in the blink of an eye. Jean and Storm exchanged a quick look as the leader lit what looked like a ball of pure energy.

“You do know that if he comes back and you weren’t sent for her the two of you will die where you stand?” he informed them with a sneer.

Be ready, Jean thought to Storm, who nodded.

The man who had left reappeared in the same place he had disappeared from. “The bosses say they haven’t sent anyone and to kill them. They think that these must be witches to have found her here.”

Vaxus lit his own energy ball, and he and the leader took aim. As soon as they threw the energy, Jean used her telekinetic power to send it right back at them. Jean met her marks, and the men seemed to be electrocuted before catching fire and quickly burning out, leaving nothing behind.

The other men watched in shock as their comrades vanished, then turned furiously on Storm and Jean, each igniting his own bundle of energy in his hand. Storm conjured a strong wind, blowing three energy balls back into their owners. The last two remaining men never managed to launch their attack. They simply caught fire and, screaming in pain, disappeared. Once they were gone, the two women saw the girl that they had come to rescue standing just behind the scorch marks left on the ground. The girl was rubbing her temples like she had a terrible headache. She slowly lowered her hands and timidly asked, “Are you really witches?”

“Not exactly. We’re mutants, and we are here to help you,” Jean replied earnestly.

“Did you make those last two catch fire?” Storm asked curiously.

“Yes. They told me that I was a witch and a fire starter, but maybe I’m a mutant,” the girl said, looking very confused. “They were trying to teach me to control my power. I think they wanted me to do something for them with it.”

“I’m sure that we can help you figure everything out if you come with us,” Storm said with an encouraging smile.

“Okay, I’ll go with you,” the girl said after a brief internal battle. She was terrified to leave, but they had killed the warlocks and wherever they were taking her had to be better than being here. “My name is Christy. That’s what my parents and my sister used to call me.”

~*~*~*~*~

Logan loved the feeling of freedom and of flying that ignoring the speed limit on a motorcycle gave him. Especially since he could abuse the bike to no end, being that it belonged to the “Boy Scout.”

What Jean saw in “Cyclops,” he would never know. The thought of Jean and Scott filled him with jealous anger and a sense of loss that he quickly suppressed as he drove through the gates of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. He slowed down upon entering the school grounds, not wanting to run down some wayward student who wasn’t paying attention to where he was going. He stopped completely when he came to the place where Jean had been married.

She had asked him to be there at the ceremony for her as her friend. Logan had refused outright and tried one last time to make her see that she really belonged with him. Jean hadn’t changed her mind and he left. Or so everyone thought. He had made sure no one saw him as he watched the entire ceremony for her. He had known she knew he was there, and that was all that mattered. When it was over, he had turned to leave, and heard her voice whisper in his mind, Thank you.

Sighing, Logan continued up the drive to the gate, pushing thoughts of Jean to the back of his mind.

Welcome back, Logan, he heard the voice of Charles Xavier ring through his mind.

“Thanks,” Logan said out loud, still unnerved by hearing a voice in his head instead of with his sensitive ears.

Would you please come to my office when you have a moment? There are a few things I would like to discuss with you.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes. Let me put my stuff in my room. I do still have a room, right?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Yes, Logan, you still have a room. I knew you’d be back, replied the professor, voice full of suppressed humor.

After getting settled in, Logan walked through the school, stopping outside the closed door to Professor Xavier’s office and knocking.

“Come in, Logan.”

With a smirk, Logan opened the door and entered the office, closing the door behind him. “How ya doin,’ Chuck?”

Xavier raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on the nickname. “I am doing well, thank you. How did your search at Alkali Lake go?”

“There was nothing left. When you were in my mind, did you see anywhere else that I could go?” Logan asked.

“No, I did not,” Xavier said with a sigh. “We can discuss this at length later, Logan, but we have more pressing issues to deal with just now.

“While using Cerebro earlier today, I picked up on a young woman in need of help. I sent Jean and Storm to help her.”

“So what? You found another mutant to help. Isn’t that what you do?” Logan asked, irritated that the professor was willing to help a stranger over him.

“That is just it, Logan. This woman is not a mutant, but she’s not human either,” Xavier said, leaning forward earnestly.

“Okay, wait a minute,” Logan said slowly. “If she isn’t a mutant, and she isn’t human, what the hell is she?”

“I have no idea. I’ve seen a few of these beings while using Cerebro, but have never had the chance to meet one. Now it appears that we are going to be given that chance,” the professor said with a small smile. He looked far away for a moment before focusing on Logan once more. “Storm and Jean have returned with the girl. We can go down to the infirmary and meet them there. Perhaps now we can answer your question.”