Date: Sat, 12 May 2001 17:14:38 -0000
From: Ann Douglas <ann_douglas@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Sisterhood Of Mutants(1/2)

	The Sisterhood Of Mutants
           by Ann Douglas
	 (ann_douglas@hotmail.com)


The following is a work of erotic fiction
and includes scenes of sexual activity. It
includes characters that are copyrighted
by Marvel Comics. This story is intended
for the non-commerical enjoyment of fans
and should be considered a parody . No
copyright infringement is intended and no
profit will be made from the distribution
of this story.

Part One

	Jean Grey was a mutant, a fact she
had known since she was eleven years old.
The year previous to that, her telepathic
abilities had unexpectedly manifested
themselves  following the fatal injuring of
her best friend in an automobile accident.
	The shock of her friend dying in her
arms had triggered latent talents at an
age where she was unable to handle them.
They caused her to become withdrawn and
depressed.
	It wasn't until her parents had
sought out the aid of Professor Charles
Xavier, an expert on mental trauma
suggested by her doctor, that she was
able to emerge from the introverted state
she had retreated into.
	Unknown to her parents, Charles
Xavier was also a mutant, possibly the
most powerful telepath the world had ever
known.  Using his own abilities, he helped
Jean set up psychic shields in her mind.  A
safeguard until the day when she would be
mature enough to handle her powers.
Additionally, he taught her to utilize her
lesser telekinetic ability which had also
began to emerge.
	Years later, under the cover of
Professor Xavier's School For Gifted
Youngsters, Xavier began a top secret
program to help other young mutants.  A
now teenage Jean had become one of his
original students.  Students who come to
be known to the world as the superhero
team called the X-Men.
	Charles Xavier dreamed of a world
where normal people didn't fear mutants
and believed the best way to carry that
out was to use their abilities to help
mankind.  Unfortunately, it was a dream
not shared by all mutants.

	Erik Magnus Lensherr was also a
mutant with great powers.  In his case,
the total control of magnetic forces.  Like
Charles Xavier, Magnus, as he was
sometimes known, also dreamed of a world
where mutants could live without fear.
How to achieve that goal was where the
two men differed.
	Before the emergence of his
powers, Erik Lensherr had spent part of
his childhood in a Nazi concentration camp.
There he watched his family killed for no
reason other than the circumstances of
their birth.  When his awesome magnetic
abilities manifested themselves, he swore
that he'd prevent a similar fate among his
fellow mutants.  Safety, he believed, would
only be possible when mutants were the
ones in control.
	To help attain that goal, he had
established his own Brotherhood of
Mutants.  A title quickly changed by the
world media, which viewed him and his
band as just one more group of terrorists,
to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

	The battle in progress between the
X-Men and the Brotherhood had erupted
when the young mutant superhero group
had tracked down its counterpart to a new
base in the Adirondack Mountains in
upstate New York.  Aside from stopping
whatever new plan of conquest they might
have, their secondary mission was always
to try if possible, to convince any of the
Brotherhood to leave Magneto, as Magnus
was known to the world.
  	One problem with that secondary
mission was that, unlike Professor X, the
mantle Xavier used as mentor to the
heroes, Magneto hadn't limited his group
to newly emerging mutants. The core of
the Brotherhood were adult mutants who
had already made the decision to use their
powers to live outside society.  As such,
they had little use for the younger
mutants idealism.

	Clad in the blue and yellow spandex
that made up the uniform all the X-Men
wore, Jean, used the code name Marvel
Girl.  The rest of the X-Men consisted of
Scott Summers, code named Cyclops, who
could project force beams from his eyes.
Warren Worthington III, whose natural
wings attested to his handle of Angel.  A
bare footed Hank McCoy earned the name
Beast through his seemingly unlimited
gymnastic skills, hiding the fact that he
was a certified genius beneath his mask as
well.  The last and youngest member of the
group was Bobby Drake, whose ability to
become a living snowman and produce
constructs made of ice, made his code
name of Iceman a natural.
	The battle between the X-Men and
the Brotherhood was winding down, with
one of Magneto's band, The Toad, already
having left for safer locales.  Thankfully,
Magneto hadn't been at the unfinished
base or the fight might be ending very
differently.  It was enough that their new
secret base had been compromised and
whatever plan they had for it was done
before it started.

	Separated from the others, Marvel
Girl came across what appeared to be a
secondary entrance to the Brotherhood
base carved into the mountainside.  Moving
closer to investigate, she was surprised by
the appearance of the Scarlet Witch, a
member of the Brotherhood.  Only a dozen
feet separated the two young women.
	Keeping with Professor Xavier's
oft-stated wishes, Marvel Girl decided to
try and reason with the so called
"evil-mutant".  Before she could say a
word, the woman in scarlet raised her
hands in a threatening gesture, a glow of
phosphorescent energy forming around her
fingertips.
	Experience had taught Jean what
the Scarlet Witch's hex spheres were
capable of, and she had no wish to be on
the receiving end of one.  Long hours of
training in the Danger Room came into play
and Marvel Girl automatically defended
herself.
	Using her telekinesis, she lifted a
large mound of dirt off the ground and
hurled it at her adversary.  A second burst
of mental energy shattered the mound,
filling the air with a blinding cloud of dust.
	Her adversary reacted instinctively.
Lifting her arms to protect her eyes, she
sent her energy burst almost straight
upward, impacting on the side of the
mountain.  More than a simple energy
beam, the hex bolts had the capability to
disrupt reality and alter probabilities,
making the seemingly impossible, possible.
In this case, causing what should've been a
solid rock face to suddenly age and
crumble, causing an avalanche.
	Moments before the shower of rock
could come crashing down on their heads,
Marvel Girl dove toward the still open door
to the base.  As she moved, she paused
just long enough to grab the still blinded
Scarlet Witch and pull her to safety as
well.

	Accompanied by a deafening roar, a
billowing cloud of dust followed them into
the chamber.  When the noise and dust
finally settled, Marvel Girl could see that
the small entrance was totally blocked.
The size and weight of the boulders made
it evident that her still limited telekinetic
powers were not going to be enough to get
them out of there.

	"You saved my life?"  the young
woman behind Marvel Girl said, her tone
indicating more of a question than a simple
statement.
	"Yes,"  Marvel Girl replied.
	"Why would you do that?"  the
Scarlet Witch asked further.
	Marvel Girl seemed dumbfounded by
the question.  It was such a strange thing
for anyone to ask.  After thinking about it
for a few seconds, she gave the only
answer she could think of.
	"Because we're heroes,"  she smiled,
"that's what we do."
	The Scarlet Witch stood silent as
she tried to understand that answer,
giving Marvel Girl perhaps her first real
opportunity to observe the other woman.
The Mistress of the Hex was younger than
Jean had originally imagined.  Maybe even
younger then her own eighteen years.  Her
accent was definitely east European, laced
with an autocratic flair.
	Standing only an inch more than
Jean's five foot six, the black haired
woman outweighed the slim X-Man by a
good twenty-five pounds.  A considerable
amount of which seemed concentrated in a
considerable and highly visible bustline.
Her costume, which in keeping with her
name was various shades of scarlet,
seemed to consist of a one-piece bathing
suit worn over a sheer body stocking.
Short boots, arm length gloves and a face
framing headgear completed the outfit.
	The east European woman also took
advantage of the brief pause to look over
her rescuer.  With Jean's face covered by
a dark blue cowl and her smaller build
concealed by the unisex costume that all
the X-Men wore, her original belief was
that she had been facing a man.  Only now
did she notice the long red hair that stuck
out of the back of Marvel Girl's mask.
	"Thank you,"  the Scarlet Witch
finally said.
	"You're welcome,"  Jean smiled.

	Marvel Girl shifted her gaze from
the Scarlet Witch to the blocked doorway.
Small patches of light were visible, so
thankfully fresh air wasn't going to be a
problem.
	"It looks like we might be here a
little while,"  she said to her reluctant
companion.  "Unless there's another way
out of here that you know about?"
	"I believe this was intended to be a
storeroom,"  came the reply.  "It hasn't
been connected to any of the other rooms
yet."
	A quick survey of the chamber
proved the Scarlet Witch correct.  There
was no connecting door to the rest of the
half completed base.  Marvel Girl pulled up
an empty crate and sat down on it.  Pulling
off her cowl, she shook her hair free and
tried to make herself as comfortable as
possible.
	"Since we're going to be here for a
while, we might as well relax,"  she said.
"Eventually the rest of the X-Men will
come looking for me and get us out of
here."
	In her mind's eye she could already
imagine Cyclops using his force blasts to
surgically cut away the rocky obstructions.
What puzzled her was the fact that she
hadn't heard from the Professor since
she'd become trapped.  Normally he
maintained a telepathic rapport with his
students when in the field.  She had
mentally called out to him earlier with no
response.  Her own telepathic ability was
still limited by the psychic dampers he had
placed on her years before.
	"Perhaps I can move the stones,"
the Scarlet Witch suggested as she
stepped toward the doorway and raised
her hands.
	"Wait a second,"  Marvel Girl called
out as she jumped back to her feet. "How
much real control do you have over what
happens when you let go once of those hex
bursts, or whatever you call them?"
	The Scarlet Witch seemed
surprised by the question.  The others in
the Brotherhood always seemed more
interested in the destructive value of her
chaos bombs rather then the level of her
control.
	"I can usually control what happens
about twenty percent of the time,"  she
answered.
	"Then there's an eighty percent
chance that you might just as easily bring
the rest of the roof down on us," Marvel
Girl replied.  "I'd just as soon not be
crushed to death.  It would just ruin the
rest of my day."
	When she had envisioned Scott
cutting them out, she also pictured Bobby
using his ice forming skills to brace the
frame at the same time.
	The Scarlet Witch paused for a
moment, the look on her face indicating
that she wasn't happy with other people
giving her orders.  Jean could tell that she
was considering her words.  Then she
slowly lowered her hands and agreed to
wait.
	"So what do we do while we wait?"
she asked.
	"We could talk,"  Jean suggested.
"It's not every day that I get to talk to a
super-villain."
	"I am not a villain!"  the Scarlet
Witch snapped back.
	"All right then,"  Jean replied, a
little surprised at the strength of the
other woman's passionate denial.  "Why
don't we just leave all the labels at the
door.  My name is Jean."
	"Wanda,"  was her reply as she
removed her headgear.
	"So Wanda, how did you wind up a
member of the Brotherhood of Mutants?"
Jean asked, being careful to leave Evil out
of the title.
	Wanda collected her thoughts and
then began a tale that soon had Jean
spellbound.  The young woman, who Jean
now learned was indeed a year younger
than her, had been born in the tiny East
European country of Transia.
	Orphaned at an early age, she and
her twin brother, Pietro, had wandered
the countryside, surviving as best as they
could.  Then, as what seemed a common
story as far as mutants where concerned,
their powers appeared soon after puberty.
	Pietro discovered that he could
move at blinding speeds, sometimes too
fast to even be seen.  Wanda on the other
hand, seemed cursed with the ability to
cause disasters.  Always overly protective
of his twin sister, Pietro had used his
newfound speed to protect her as well as
steal what they needed.
	Then came the day when Wanda
accidentally used her powers and set fire
to part of the village they were staying in.
The angry crowd that attacked them was
too much even for Pietro.  A leg injury
negated his speed and when they were
cornered, the mob seemed prepared to
inflict far worse on the two of them.
	Thinking that the whole thing was
like a scene out of an old Frankenstein
movie, right down to the torches, Jean
couldn't help but compare it to her own
early years.  What would her life be like
now if not for Professor Xavier?  Would
she have would up an inmate in some
mental institution, driven insane by the
thoughts of others?
	Then, just as all seemed lost,
Magnus appeared.  Magnetically he
disarmed the mob and rescued the two of
them.  Explaining that they were mutants,
he charged them with their obedience as
the price of their rescue.
	Driven by a strong sense of honor,
Pietro had quickly agreed for both of
them.  Given the names of Quicksilver and
the Scarlet Witch, they had become part
of the Brotherhood.
	As she listened to Wanda finish her
story, Jean couldn't help but think that if
she had been in her place, she would've
probably followed Magnus as well.  She
knew from her own experience that she
would've done just about anything Charles
Xavier had asked of her.

	Much to Jean's surprise, Wanda
continued to go on after she had finished
her story.  The redhead got the impression
that as the only female member of the
Brotherhood, Wanda didn't get much of a
chance to talk to other women.  As the
only woman in the X-Men, Jean could well
sympathize.  She, however, at least had
girlfriends outside of the school.  Wanda,
on the other hand, seemed to have no one
but her brother.  And there were some
things she just couldn't talk to him about.

	"Do you fear the other X-Men?"
Wanda asked.
	"I don't understand,"  Jean replied.
"Why would I fear them?"
	"They are men, you are a woman,"
she went on.  "Do they not try and make
demands of you?"
	Jean suddenly understood.  Wanda
was talking about sexual demands.  Once
and a while, she would catch one of the
guys checking her out, especially Warren.
In fact, he had asked her out more times
than she cared to count.  But that was
just Warren being Warren.
	When you're born rich and good
looking, success with women tends to come
pretty easy.  Still, when she had said no,
he had taken that as no.  Jean wasn't a
virgin, but she decided that sleeping with
one of her teammates might cause too
much jealousy among the rest.
	"No, they don't,"  Jean finally
answered.  "But from your question I
assume that it's different in the
Brotherhood."
	"The Toad is always looking at me
with lustful eyes,"  Wanda said, a
statement Jean could well understand
given the soft curves and generous
endowments of the Witch's body,  "but
that is something I can deal with."
	"But the others?"  Jean asked.
	"Mastermind is the worst,"  Wanda
explained.  "When Magnus isn't around, he
makes the most lewd suggestions to me.
He describes in graphic terms sexual
practices that I could never have imagined
on my own.  Much less than I would ever do
them.  If Pietro knew of the things he said
to me, I think he would try to kill him."
	Listening to Wanda speak, Jean got
the impression that the younger woman
had led a very lonely life.  As they went on,
Jean became aware that Wanda was now
looking at her with a strange gleam in her
eyes.  It was a look Jean had seen before.
	Prior to transferring to the Xavier
School, Jean had attended one of the
most prestigious all girl academies in the
state.  Among her classmates had been
girls looking for a much closer relationship
than just friendship.  As one of the most
attractive girls in the school, Jean had
found herself on the receiving end of not a
few such offers.  Not all of them had been
rejected.

	Wanda was saying something about
how much she liked Jean's hair, especially
the color, but the older woman was only
half-listening.  Instead, she was pondering
a question that, if asked , might just
provoke a hostile response from the
Scarlet Witch.
	Curiosity finally won out and she
interrupted Wanda and asked, "Wanda, are
you still a virgin?"
	There was a long pause and an angry
look filled Wanda's face.  For a few brief
seconds, Jean worried that the question
had indeed provoked the powerful woman
and prepared to defend herself if needed.
It didn't come to that as the expression
on Wanda's face softened and her body
seemed to ease.  In response, Jean's body
relaxed as well.
	"I have never been intimate with a
man,"  she said.
	The lack of a simple no answer
prompted Jean to ask another question,
one even more likely to produce a negative
reaction.  Jean was guessing however that
it wouldn't.
	"Have you ever been intimate with
another woman?"
	This time the pause between
question and answer was even longer, but
not accompanied by an angry flush in
Wanda's face.  She didn't seem reluctant
to answer, just unsure how.  Finally a
different expression did form, one which
Jean could only take as embarrassment.

	Wanda finally admitted to having
been intimate with a girl her age in one of
the villages they lived in before joining
Magnus.  They had been discovered by
Pietro who had undertaken a super-speed
search for his sister when she had failed
to arrive home before sunset.
	Upon finding the two teenage girls
both in a state of undress and in each
other's arms, her twin had gone into a
rage.  One so furious that it had sent
Wanda's friend running into the night,
fearful for her safety.  Pietro had warned
her that if she ever spoke to anyone of
what she and his sister had done, she
would live to regret it.
	As angry as the man who would later
be called Quicksilver had been with the
scared farm girl, he was even more
enraged with the girl who shared his blood.
How dare she, he had thundered in a loud,
booming voice, how dare she embarrass
him by committing such an unnatural act.
This was what happened when he let her
act on her own.  He made her swear that
night on the graves of their unknown
parents that she would never do such a
thing again.
	Pietro had always been much more
learned in the ways of the world and had
looked after his sister for as long as she
could remember.  Even though Wanda
couldn't understand why it was so wrong
for her to find comfort in the arms of a
girlfriend, she agreed to do as her brother
insisted.
	To this day, Wanda had never
repeated her indiscretion, not that Pietro
ever let her out of his sight long enough to
even attempt it.  Still, no vow or constant
oversight could ever end the memory of
that girl's touch, or the dreams that filled
many of Wanda's lonely nights.


Part Two

	"Wanda,"  Jean said with all the
sincerity she would have used had the girl
sitting across from her been her oldest,
dearest friend, "your brother is wrong.
There's nothing wrong with the feelings
you had for that girl, or for anyone.  No
one has the right to tell anyone how to live
their life.  Not Pietro, not Magnus, not
even me.  Only you can make that decision."
	Wanda was taken back by Jean's
words.  The thought that there was
nothing wrong with the feelings that had
haunted her for the past few years was
only slightly harder to accept than the
even more incredible concept that Pietro
could be wrong about anything.  In her
whole life, she would never even have
suggested such a thing.
	Yet, also in her whole life, she never
wanted anything so much as Jean's last
statement to be true.  Not so much that
Pietro had been wrong, but that her
feelings had been right.  Those feelings,
more than her mutant abilities, had made
her feel a stranger in a strange land.

	"Have you ever had feelings like
that?"  Wanda asked hesitantly.
	"More than just feelings,"  Jean
answered without pause. "I've had lovers
of both sexes."
	Jean's revelation and the ease with
which she admitted it caused a wall to
shatter in Wanda's mind.  Pietro had
indeed been wrong.  There was nothing
wrong with what she had so desired.
	"Do you think I am pretty?"  Wanda
asked somewhat unexpectedly.
	"No, I don't think you are pretty,"
Jean replied, causing Wanda's heart to
sink for a heartbeat.  "I think you are as
beautiful as any woman I've ever known."
	Wanda's heart soared twice the
distance it had sunk.  No one had ever said
such a thing to her, at least not with such
genuine feeling.
	"Can I kiss you?"  she asked Jean,
her voice filled with a mixture of both
excitement and hesitation.
	"Oh yes,"  Jean replied without
pause as she brought her lips to Wanda's.

	The softness of Wanda's mouth
against her own sent a rush of excitement
through Jean's body.  They kissed softly
at first, then harder as each gave in to a
hunger long unsatisfied.  Feeling no
resistance to the press of her tongue,
Jean applied a little more pressure and
slipped it into the younger woman's mouth.
	The thrill Jean felt, intense as it
was, paled next to the one that filled
Wanda.  Memories of her first touch of
another girl returned to her thoughts, only
to be instantly eclipsed by the reality of
her second.  Eagerly she accepted the
touch of Jean's tongue, reaching out with
her own to massage it gently.
	The two young women connected in a
way neither would have thought possible.
The fight a short time ago, which might
even still be going on beyond these stone
walls, was forgotten.  The only world that
existed at this moment, was that within
the half finished chamber.  A world with
the two of them the only inhabitants.
	Like the teenagers they really were
under their public identities, they shared
kisses as if they were in the back of a late
night double feature.  An experience that
Jean was quite familiar with, but one
totally alien to Wanda.  Nevertheless, she
took to it with boundless enthusiasm.

	Yellow and scarlet gloves were
quickly tossed to the floor as searching
hands explored firm bodies.  Other pieces
of their colorful uniforms soon joined the
accessories, exposing more and more bare
flesh to their touch.
	Jean let out a loud sigh of deep
appreciation as she telekinetically undid
the swimsuit like top of Wanda's uniform.
Wanda's breasts were as perfect as they
were large, each capped by thick dark
nipples that begged to be sucked.
	A desire that Jean was quick to act
upon as fast as she could remove both the
suit and the body stocking beneath it.

	The taste of the European girl's skin
in her mouth was like ambrosia of the Gods
to the American as she drew Wanda deep
within her.  The dark haired seventeen
year old moaned with delight as she
savored the touch of Jean's tongue and
lips.  It had been so long since her mounds
felt a touch other than her own and she
swore a new oath to herself that it would
never be so long again.
	Even lacking Marvel Girl's
telekinetic advantage, the Scarlet Witch
quickly stripped Jean of her X-Man
uniform.  In no time at all, they were both
down to just a pair of panties.  Locating a
blanket among the stored supplies, they
spread it out on a clear section of the
barren floor.  They laid themselves down in
the center of it.
	Wanda let out a soft cry as Jean
climbed on top of her, pressing her down
onto the cold floor.  The X-Man's lips
pressed against hers, her tongue reaching
deep.  The red haired dynamo seemed to
be everywhere at once.  Wanda felt the
touch of the girl's hands and lips on every
part of her naked body.  On her lips, her
face, and against her soft breasts.  It
filled her with a overwhelming desire to
reciprocate.

	Jean's round orbs were smaller than
Wanda's, but just as appreciated as the
taller woman pressed her face deep
between them.  With childish abandon the
Scarlet Witch ran her tongue around the
small pink circles, then took the tiny tips
in her mouth.
	The intensity of their encounter
increased as they went on, their panties
finally joining the growing piles of mixed
clothing.  Jean's bright red bush was
revealed to be small, and tightly trimmed.
Stark contrast to Wanda's, who like many
European women didn't cut her body hair.
Her dark mound stretched almost from leg
to leg.
	A barrier that didn't give Jean a
moment's pause as she moved between
Wanda's legs and pressed her tongue deep
within the center of the hirsute mound.
Using a gentle telekinetic touch to part
the way, she quickly found her way to
Wanda's excited clitoris.
	Nothing in Wanda's all too little
sexual experience could've prepared her
for the sudden rush that ripped her body
as Jean tickled her clitoris with her
nimble tongue.  Unable to control herself,
the black haired woman let out a shout of
pure joy.
	Following Jean's example, Wanda
reached out with her own tongue to
discover the sweet necter of the X-Man's
sex.  Her first taste of another woman
caused her heart to race like never
before.  Not even in the midst of mortal
combat had she ever felt such excitement.
	The two women pressed their bodies
harder together as they drank deep of the
other's desire.  Jean was more skilled in
the task, but Wanda's exuberance made up
for the difference.  The fire raged within
both of them until finally it surged within
one.
	Jean grabbed both of Wanda's legs
and pressed herself even deeper within
her.  Using her telekinesis to support the
weight of Wanda's body, she lifted her
off the floor until Jean was standing her
full height and like the witches of legend,
the Scarlet Witch floated in the empty
air.
	The feeling of weightlessness added
to Wanda's euphoria as for the first time
in her life she felt an orgasm building
within her that hadn't been the result of
her own hand.   Like a thousand tiny
fingers, the telekinetic field surrounding
her caressed her naked body.
	It was almost more than she could
stand, as the dams holding back her
orgasm finally burst under the irresistible
pressure.  Wanda was in heaven, or as
close as a mere mortal could ever be.
Every inch of her body was alive with a
passion she had only dreamed of.
	It was a passage between the
woman she was and the woman she could
be.  No matter what life presented her
with in the future, this moment would be
forever with her.

	Even while spending most of her
energies pleasing Wanda,  Jean hadn't
neglected her own needs.  With her
telekinesis holding her new love, the
redhead had been able to use a free hand
to manipulate her own sex.  Years of
familiarity with her body had allowed her
to quickly catch up and have her own
climax while Wanda was basking in the
aftermath of her own.
	It was a small orgasm as compared
to that which had just shattered Wanda's
innocence, but one which pleased Jean
nevertheless.  She had always been a giver
rather than a taker, and she had just given
her new friend one of the greatest gifts
possible.

	"I never believed it could be like
that,"  Wanda gasped as she steadied
herself after Jean lowered her back to
the ground.  "I could kill Pietro for keeping
that from me."
	"There's no need to go that far,"
Jean smiled as she leaned forward and
kissed Wanda softly on her lips.  "Better
to concentrate on the future and the
changes that you can make in it."
	Wanda threw her arms around Jean
and pulled their sweat soaked bodies
together.  She returned Jean's kiss
threefold as she ran her hands up and
down her back.
	"Can we do that again?"  she asked
with an enthusiasm that hadn't been there
earlier.
	"Well, I think that maybe we should
first...."


	<< Marvel Girl! >>
	Startled by the sudden telepathic
contact, Jean broke Wanda's embrace.
	"Oh God!"  she gasped as reality
returned with an awesome solidity.
	"What's wrong?"  a confused Wanda
asked as Jean reached down and grabbed
her costume off the floor.
	<< Professor? >>  Jean said with her
thoughts in response.
	<< Jean,>>  the disembodied voice of
Charles Xavier said in her mind,  << the
X-Men are clearing the landslide.  They
will be through to you in a few minutes.>>
	Turning to look at the door, Jean
could see patches of ice forming on some
of the largest boulders and as she
listened, the sound of Scott's optic blasts
firing beyond.  Experience told her that
the blockage would be gone in only a
minute or two.
	"The X-Men are outside,"  she told
Wanda.  "We'd better be dressed when
they get in here or we're going to have a
lot of explaining to do."

	Fortunately, they both took less
time dressing than the reverse and by the
time the last barrier crumbled, both
women were at least covered.  The earlier
battle and cave in could easily explain any
dishevelment.
	As the two recent lovers stepped
into the light of the dying day, the
remaining X-Men moved to circle the
Scarlet Witch.  She was still a member of
Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants and a
potential threat.  Cyclops, the field leader
of the team, motioned for Marvel Girl to
get out of the line of fire.
	"No, Scott,"  she said with a firm
voice, keeping herself between Wanda and
his field of fire.  "We're letting her
leave."
	"Jean, have you lost your mind?"
Scott said, sure the Witch had done
something to her.  "She's one of them.
We can't just ..."
	<< Yes we can, Scott, >>  the voice of
Professor X now echoed in the thoughts of
all the X-Men.  << You will honor Jean's
request and let the Scarlet Witch go. >>
	<<  I don't understand, Professor, >>
Scott thought into the link,  << but if you
say so. >>

	The team leader motioned for the
X-Men to follow him back to their
transport.  Jean said that he should go on
ahead and that she would follow in a few
minutes.  Cyclops wasn't happy with that
idea either.  If it hadn't been for the
mental intervention of the Professor,
Scott would've insisted that she head
back with the rest of the group.

	Jean waited until the men were out
of sight before turning back to Wanda.  A
broad smile filled both their faces as they
held hands.
	"Do you have a way to get back?"
Jean asked.
	"I have a signaler in my costume,"
Wanda replied.  "After you are all gone,
I'll set it off.  No matter what else has
happened, Pietro will come back for me."
	"Well I'm sure he's going to find
some changes in your relationship,"  Jean
commented.  "Changes he might not like."
	"That's what life is suppose to be
all about, isn't it?"  Wanda said.  "Change."
	"I guess so."  Jean said.  "So what
will you do now?  You really can't stay with
Magneto.  You know that, don't you?"
	"I'm not sure what I'm going to do,"
came her reply.  "I have some thinking to
do."
	"You could come with us,"  Jean
suggested.  "After all, we're all mutants."
"Don't you ever wonder what it would be
like to live in a place where the locals
aren't organizing a lynch mob the second
you walk through the door?"
	"Become part of the X-Men?"
Wanda answered.  "I don't think your
teammates would like that."
	"I guess you're right,"  Jean said as
she reconsidered the suggestion in light of
Scott's reaction.  "But I do want you to
promise me one thing."
	"Which would be?"  asked Wanda.
	"What ever you decide to do,"  Jean
said as she squeezed her hands.  "I want
you to promise me that you'll do it because
it's what you want, not what someone else
says that you should do."
	"Oh I can promise you that,"
Wanda said, a iron determination in her
voice.
	Jean kissed her one last time
before turning and walking down the path
the X-Men had taken.  She resisted the
urge to look back, thinking that she might
not be able to leave if she did.

	Halfway back to the multi-use
transport the X-Men used, Jean let her
thoughts reach out to the Professor once
more.
	<< At what point did you track me
down? >>  she asked mentally, wondering
how much of what had happened between
her and Wanda he had observed.
	<< I won't lie to you, Jean, >>  he
replied as she continued to walk.  << I
never lost track of you to begin with. >>
	<< Then you were there the whole
time? >> she asked in shock.
	<<  I saw an opportunity for you to
connect with the Scarlet Witch on a more
personal level.  She and her brother are
different from the others who have allied
themselves with Magneto.  It never
occurred to me that your connection with
her might reach such an intimate level. >>
	<<  It didn't occur to me either, >>
she replied.  <<  It's been a long time since
anyone's had an effect like that on me. >>
	The Professor decided to reserve
comment on that part of the discussion,
instead assuring his student that whatever
he might or might not have witnessed back
in the cavern would remain between the
two of them.
	<<  Do you think it made any real
difference, Professor? >> she asked as she
sighted the others in the clearing ahead.
	<<  We'll just have to wait and see,
Jean.>>  he concluded as he broke contact.

Sixteen months later ....

	It was one of those rare occasions
when superhero groups got together for
something other than a crisis.  In this
case, raising funds for the Mayor's
favorite charity.  The Fantastic Four were
there, as were some of the Avengers.
During a rare period of acceptance, even
the X-Men had been asked to attend.
	Showing off a new green dress with
matching yellow gloves, boots and mask
that now served as her Marvel Girl
costume, Jean demonstrated what many
considered an even more amazing talent
than her mental skills.  Namely the ability
to turn the head of nearly every man in
the room as she crossed the ballroom,
stopping at one table in particular.

	"Good afternoon,"  the red, white
and blue garbed Avenger said as he looked
up from the autograph he'd been signing
and smiled.  "Can I help you?"
	Even without any kind of super
powers, Captain America had to be the
most impressive man in the room.  The
living legend of World War Two was the
embodiment of all that was best in
humanity.  That, and the fact that he had
the most striking blue eyes that Marvel
Girl had ever seen.
	It was hard to believe that he was
actually older than her father.  A twist of
fate at the end of the war had preserved
him in cryogenic suspension for over
twenty years. For all appearances, he
looked only a few years older than Jean.
	"I just wanted to say hello to an old
friend," Jean smiled as she turned her
attention from the Avenger leader to the
red garbed woman sitting to his left. "It's
good to see you again, Wanda." she said.
	The auburn haired woman's face lit
up with a great warmth as she returned
the greeting.  She seemed much older than
when they'd met that day up in the
Adirondacks, more mature and confident.
Her uniform had also improved.  The basic
design was the same, but now looked like it
came from the hands of a Fifth Avenue
designer rather than the working of a
simple gypsy girl.
	"I like the new headpiece,"  Jean
said, "it lets people see so much more of
your face."
	"Thank you,"  Wanda said.
	<< And it's such a beautiful face,>>
Jean added telepathically.  << You should
never hide it from anyone. >>
	<< Your mental skills have improved
as well, >> Wanda thought back.  << I'm
impressed. >>
	<< We've both grown. >> Jean replied.
	"I love your hair,"  Jean said,
switching back to voice.  "The color is
beautiful."
	"It was inspired by a dear friend,"
Wanda grinned.  "A reminder of all life's
possibilities."
	The small vocal exchange had
caught the attention of Wanda's brother,
Pietro, sitting at the far end of the table.
He was now clad in a uniform of sky blue,
rather than the dark green he'd worn with
the Brotherhood.  True to his code name,
Quicksilver was quick to associate the
exchange with the dramatic changes in his
sister over the last year.  Changes he had
not approved of in the least.
	<<  I've thought of you often. >>
Jean beamed, ignoring the hostile stare
from the white haired mutant.
	<<  And I you, >>  Wanda replied
through the link.  << There were many
nights that I've missed you as well. >>
	<<  And I you, >>  Jean replied.
<< Imagine, my Wanda, a member of the
Avengers. >>
	<<  I wouldn't have had the courage
to take control of my life if not for you, >>
Wanda said.
	<<  It was my pleasure, >>  Jean
grinned. <<  After all, what else are sisters
for?  Besides, if we've learned nothing
else, it's that there's always tomorrow ...
or better yet, maybe tonight. >>
	The two sisters shared a smile of
understanding.  A smile that their fellow
heroes would never understand.

End

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