92- Mind Tether

Mason and Logan both sat down on the metallic ground, kneeling with their hands on their thighs, and Jean was between them. She took a deep breath before lightly touching both of their foreheads. They stayed like this for several seconds before Jean lightly coughed, sounding a touch embarrassed.

"Mr. Tunt, could you stop your meditation? A blank mind is much harder to scour than an active one. It would help me locate the particular set of memories if you visualized them."

Mason had not even meant to meditate, he had simply stopped himself from making any idle thoughts, both to help Jean and to not reveal any more secrets than he had to, and he automatically entered meditation, as it had become a second nature to him at this point.

At the same time, Mason felt a gentle intrusion upon his Spirit, because it would be difficult to describe it as anything but that. Mason had built his mental defences a long time ago, back when he was a formless soul, and they were quite strong.

And Jean did not simply bring them down, her spiritual energy acted more as a stream of water, gently sliding across his defences until they found a way in. And with Mason actively visualizing those memories, he might as well have brought those defences down.

It only took Jean a few seconds to exclaim, "Got them. Logan, brace yourself."

Wolverine took a deep breath before the connection was established.

The memories started with Mason’s entry into the Hand’s Headquarters, alongside Danny. The memories did not include Mason’s inner thoughts, only his experience.

The battle was fast-forwarded to the point where Mason finally confronted Wolverine and Kwannon, as well as Danny. And finally, after months, Wolverine saw the truth.

The vision probably should have ended with Kwannon’s death, but Mason felt Jean push a little to see the battle with Wolverine. He said nothing, letting it play out.

When it was over, Jean let go of their foreheads, and Wolverine slumped, staring at his hands silently. It was a far cry from the berserker rage he had accustomed Mason to, and if he were to be honest, it forced Mason to empathize with the man and feel sad.

Because how could he not? The man had spent a life being manipulated by others, turned into a weapon over and over, and when he had finally found a wife, she had her soul discarded, replaced, and the corpse of his wife was used to manipulate him into a demon’s doings. And now, even revenge was no longer an option, since Mason had killed the demon.

Everyone looked at Logan, waiting for his reaction, when he suddenly bowed to Mason. "I apologize for attacking you."

He immediately got up, not waiting for Mason’s response, obviously intent on leaving the room. He clearly did not want to talk about it. Still, Mason decided to offer as he was leaving, "In case you feel the need to get it out of your system, you’re free to find me while I’m here. I’d like a rematch."

Wolverine did not even pause, walking out of the room and disappearing.

Left with the two telepaths and Storm, Mason got up also, helping Jean to her feet with a hand as he said, "He truly is a troubled man."

Xavier sighed, "Unfortunately, Logan is no stranger to grief; we should give him his space. But since that misunderstanding has been put to rest, allow me to properly welcome you to our school."

Mason smiled politely. "There’s truly no need to inconvenience yourselves with me, I am here to see my sister first and foremost. But I wonder, how has the acclimation to our times been for you? Jarring, I assume."

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Storm was the one to answer, "These times are more tame, at least on the surface. Lots of hatreds that faded away, although we expect the renewed presence of mutants to cause a resurgence."

Mason could guess she was not simply talking about mutant hatred, but he did not comment on it, replying instead, "Only time will tell, I suppose. But I probably am not the best authority on this. After all, it was not so long ago that I had a global warrant for my arrest."

Jean smiled, "Yes, we read about that. To think the Hand was led by a demon. Had we known about any of this, we would have acted… quite a few years ago, now." There was a touch of sadness to her voice.

Mason knew it was not the most tactful approach, but he could not help but ask, "And how are the children taking it? Since it was only mutants who were trapped, I assume many families were broken."

Professor X and Storm echoed Jean’s feelings. "Yes, unfortunately. And not only for the children. We have been putting our best efforts into finding some of those children, to offer them a home. It will never replace the one they lost, but this is the plight of mutants."

Xavier quickly reined in his expression, switching the subject. "But enough about that. Since Audrey is still in class, perhaps you would be interested in a tour of our grounds?"

"Absolutely."

"Splendid. Jean, would you?"

Jean shared a look with Xavier and Storm before nodding.

When Jean and Mason were left alone, he noticed her slightly stiff posture and said, "I hope I’m not being a bother."

Jean nearly jumped, taken out of her thoughts, and immediately reassured, "No! Of course not." She then saw the smile on his face and added ruefully, "Sorry, I’m being a poor host. Let’s go outside."

Mason nodded, but he still offered, "Is it anything I can help with?"

"No, no, it’s fine," she quickly changed the subject. "I heard Audrey’s powers were discovered in quite the spectacular way?"

Thinking back about it, Mason chuckled, "You could say that. We had an argument, and she had an emotional outburst. Ended up shooting a laser through the wall. No harm done, thankfully."

"And were you scared?"

Mason raised an eyebrow. "Scared? Why would I be scared?"

Jean seemed to like that answer. "Good for Audrey, you would be surprised at how most people react. And you’re right, thankfully, she did not hurt anyone. It is one thing for the children’s families to reject them, and it is another for them to accidentally harm them. That kind of guilt… it never truly goes away."

Mason could smell a story there, but he also knew it was not his place to ask. They were strangers, after all.

So he focused on Audrey instead. "I’ll ask her myself later, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a second opinion. You are a teacher here, correct?"

"I am. I teach them to control their powers."

"Good. Then how is Audrey doing in that department? But please don’t tell me what her power is exactly, I still don’t know, and I’m sure she wants to surprise me."

Jean giggled before answering, "She is doing very well, she is quite ahead of her peers. She… well, I can’t say everything without revealing what her power is, but in my personal opinion, if not for her age, she would already have her place on the roster."

"Seriously? Wouldn’t that be a bit… premature?"

"Were she a little older, on-field experience might just be what she needs to sharpen her edge. It would not be on dangerous missions, of course, but I do believe that she has a strong-enough hold over her power. Her foundation still requires some work, but she will have the time to work on that. But don’t worry, I am sure you will understand when you talk to her."

Mason was quite curious now.

Jean added, "By the way, sorry if I am being indiscreet, but might I ask, where do your powers come from?"

Mason patted his chest, "From the inside. Nothing but training."

Jean clearly did not believe him, sending him a disbelieving look. "You do realize I saw you flying here? And was directly exposed to your mind. You can’t just train that. If you don’t want to say it, you don’t have to."

"But I am telling you the truth. I am simply the best there is, but given enough training, talent, and resources, any human could do the same things as me, and more. I have actually been teaching thousands of people in the past few months, all across the globe."

Jean looked intrigued, but the topic stopped there.