Video | 4th Wall

[fireincarnate]

[Jean is in her room, sat cross-legged on her bed. The thick green sheets are scrunched up round her knees, and a menagerie of stuffed animals surround her. She's wearing a loose sweatshirt and faded pyjama pants.

She looks for all the world like a normal woman, save for the portraits behind her - graduation day for the first team of X-Men, standing tall and proud in their battered uniforms; the second team goofing around after a hard mission, with no heed for wounds or bloodstains.]

Hey there. I'm Jean Grey - or Marvel Girl, or Phoenix. I'm a mutant, and an X-Man, and a cosmic host. [She says it all blithely, shedding secrets like an old skin. It won't really matter, probably - but it feels exhilarating, all the same.] I'm also a junior therapist and a former model, but those aren't as exciting.

I'm broadcasting from a place called the Barge; we sail somewhere between dimensions, I think, and sometimes our network opens up to all of them. I'd love to talk to you, even if I don't know you yet, or you've never heard of me.

Comments

[kissthatgoodbye]

Wow, whoever says being a former model isn't exciting, I need to have a short, painful talk with them.

[But he's smirking, broad and easy, and except for that and a much more relaxed hair style and clothing looks exactly like Ben.]

[fireincarnate]

[Jean only stares for a second, before grinning back.] Well, we're speaking relatively.

[kissthatgoodbye]

[He raises an eyebrow at her hesitation but seems to take it in stride as much as anything else.]

And here I thought we were speaking directly, darlin'.

[fireincarnate]

We can do that, too. What's your name?

[kissthatgoodbye]

You can call me Alec. There's a lot of chatter on this channel today, I'm glad you made it through.

[grounded_marine]

Okay, you lost me at "cosmic host."

Actually, I guess you lost me at "mutant" and "X-man," but cosmic host sounds the coolest.

[fireincarnate]

[Her smile turns wry.] What, you've never met one of those before?

...It's the coolest and the scariest, all at once.

[grounded_marine]

Funny enough, I haven't.

So what does a cosmic host do?

[fireincarnate]

Try to keep the universe from falling apart, mostly. And I kind of did that anyway, just...on a smaller scale.

[grounded_marine]

That's... impressive.

And it doesn't sound easy.

[mistressed]

That all seems pretty exciting to me.

[fireincarnate]

Well, I did get to wear some really cool swimsuits.

[mistressed]

A'ight. Tell me more, Marvel Girl. I'm Steve. Steve Montgomery.

[fireincarnate]

Nice to meet you, Steve.

Where should I start, swimsuits or telekinesis?

[magnetic_magpie]

This is an eventful night.

[ There's a familiar face - perhaps, anyway. Save for the red mark which is beginning to bruise running diagonally from the midline of his forehead to his cheek, and what going to be black eye in the morning. ]

I am glad to see you well Jean Grey.

[fireincarnate]

[To say she's stunned would be a laughable understatement. It was always a possibility, really, but - but he's -]

Magneto. [No. He's not wearing that awful helmet, and he's not tearing the world apart around her, and he's not sneering his superiority or proclaiming his dominion.] ...Erik.

...Are you really?

[magnetic_magpie]

[ He probably shouldn't take amusement when people are startled to see him.

P r o b a b l y. It just furthers sinks in that most see him as a monster. He'd bankrolled on that reputation once. And lost. Horribly. But he is amused. ]

Erik, please. And I am.

[fireincarnate]

[He seems utterly sincere, and that's - warmly bizarre, strangely delightful. She's not sure what to do with it.]

...Thank you. [There, that's a start.] You look - well, like you ran into someone's fist a few times.

[magnetic_magpie]

[ He is - he doesn't know her, not really, but he knows how much she's loved. And missed. ]

You're welcome.

[ He laughs and turns the phone, then slides it where he was - there's a heavy wooden desk with wires hanging from a small hole, some stripped, some connected. ]

Just once actually. Looks that bad?

[fireincarnate]

[That laugh - it's entirely different from the one she's used to hearing. It remind her...well, of Erik. Her Erik.

There's genuine warmth in her smile, small as it is.]

It does, yeah. Have you at least put ice on it?

[magnetic_magpie]

[ The smile helps. He needs it. ]

It's only ten minutes old.

[ Which says just how hard he hit. ]

And I don't have any in here. I'll just...deal with it.

[fireincarnate]

[A slight grimace. Ouch.] Do you at least have something to compress it with?

[magnetic_magpie]

No, and it will be a few hours before most pharmacies are open.

No need to fret, I've had far worse.

[ It could be mocking - it's not. He's grateful, in a way. Mutants and Mutants, even if they don't like each other. Community is community - and she's calling to mind Charles. ]

And you my dear, are you well?

[fireincarnate]

[My dear. It's so surreal, and she can't help the laugh tumbling from her lips.

But it's not a cynical sound. She can recognise the sincerity, even if it contradicts everything she's ever known.

...No, not everything.]

Well enough. The Barge is - wild, and unpredictable, but that's not so different from home.

[magnetic_magpie]

[ He can - does - use the phrase to be sarcastic. But in light of everything which has happened...he can't. ]

So I can imagine. If I may ask you a question?

[fireincarnate]

Shoot. [A wry smirk frames the word.]

[magnetic_magpie]

What deal did you make? What are you bargaining for?

[ No point in beating around the bush - but he's quiet as he asks, concerned. ]

[fireincarnate]

[The smile fades abruptly, utterly.

She's silent, for a moment, gaze mournful and searching.]

How much do you know about the Phoenix?

[magnetic_magpie]

Oh-I. My apologies Jean. You don't need to explain.

[ And he is - that clear. And probably says how much he does know, that he'd regret deeply and so instantly bringing the topic up. ]

[fireincarnate]

...You're full of surprises, you know that? [There's a quiet, delighted wonder in the words.]

[magnetic_magpie]

[ And that gets a huffed laugh. ]

Always have been.

[fireincarnate]

Always? [Her smirk is wry.] The supervillainy was getting kind of hackneyed, honestly.