Rebel Red

For a long time, Jean thought she lived the perfect life.

She came from a middle-class family with two children who lived in a nice suburban subdivision. She made perfect grades during her high school career but helped her school's sports teams win many accolades. Outside of the foolish decision to date Duncan, her dating life was also perfect, yet so was her social life. This all transitioned into her first year at college.

Yet, in truth her perfect life was a lie.

"What triggered your powers?"

Jean's green eyes widened, her mouth opening slightly attempting to remember. She and Scott were discussing what caused the activation of an x-gene with a new generation, but she'd brought up the theory that one's trigger affected the kind of powers one ended up with. In effect, what Avalanche from the Brotherhood called useless psychological babble during the period he briefly attended the institute.

She found herself delighted when the professor indicated both Scott and she were needed to take care of yet another incident with the Brotherhood. Frustration washed over her, thinking of the groups delinquent behavior and the way they didn't care. She became even more frustrated seeing Lance Alvers wasn't there reigning them in from terrorizing the citizens of Bayville.

Instead, he arrived late showing up out of uniform telling them to knock off their shenanigans, only for him to make things worse, bringing even more destruction as only someone with Lance's powers could.

Professor Xavier warned her about digging into someone's mind, yet at the time it seemed the best solution, but perhaps she let her frustrations get the better of her. She found herself cascaded with an onslaught of memories filling her mind, certain parts fogging over, yet something seemed completely wrong with said memories.

"Jean, Sara. This is your half-brother Euan." The voice was unmistakably her mother's even though she couldn't clearly make out any of the figures in front of him. "He will be living with us, as soon as your father and I can get custody."

It switched to another memory, and whoever's memory it was holding onto someone's hand as they watched a man and two children – two little girls, one with red hair and the other with blond hair person crossing the street. A different woman's voice spoke.

"That's your father. See, he cares more about his other family than you." She saw another memory flickering through her head, of looking up at a woman from a pit. Before closing a lid on the container and burying it, the same woman said, "If I can't have you, nobody can."

The next memory was of not being able to breathe, of suffocating in a dark box buried under the ground, but the terror which went with it. The terror became power, allowing the person to break free, through the ground, and then the memories repeated a few times, before becoming clearer and clearer, the last few for some reason seeming familiar for some strange reason.

"Stop!" Jean held out her hand, and all the Brotherhood scattered. Every single one except Avalanche. He collapsed to his knees, not moving, but it seemed as if he was having a seizure of some kind.

...

"What have you done?" Jean took a deep breath, standing outside of the hospital. Scott asked her the same thing, and yet she'd not expected her powers to go out of control. She was speaking to her father currently. "Requesting the police to do a DNA test like you did without saying anything to us?"

"I really don't need that from the man who had a child out of wedlock, do I?" Jean took a deep breath. "I've got to go."

"Jean, you don't understand..."