The light shining through the crack of the curtains is too bright in my opinion. The rays of sun illuminate the dust I'd allowed to collect on the mahogany furniture. Books and dirty pajama pants scatter the carpet. I absentmindedly kick Pride and Prejudice out of the way as I cross to the bed.

I flop down on the mattress. Another day of teaching is finished. My head aches from my telepathy, or lack of sleep, I'm not sure which. Closing my eyes, I wish more than ever that this wasn't happening.

Three weeks ago today the power of the Phoenix was distinguished, but not before it killed the man I love.

Since that day, I've longed for Scott to come back. To remove his name from the long list of people I have unfortunately, killed. The denial of his death has worn off, leaving me feeling empty and beyond depressed.

The students look at me differently now when I teach. When I came back, Professor Xavier informed me that they don't know the nature of his death but only that they lost a teacher. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I can't shake that feeling that they know they're being taught biology by a murderer.

Or maybe it's because I haven't shown up for half of the classes that I was supposed to. Or of the one's I have taught, many I've cut short due to becoming too overwhelmed with twenty pairs of eyes watching me.

I'm a mess. I've never had a great grieving process, but I'm downright miserable.

A rapping on the door makes me jump from my skin. I sense Logan in the hall. He's another reason why I have so much on my chest. Before Scott died, he found Logan and me in an intimate position. That's why he stormed off. I like to think that if that hadn't happened, if Scott had been at my side instead of off wherever the hell he was, then he wouldn't be dead now. At least ideally.

"What do you want?" I demand after the third knock.

I watch the doorknob turn and he steps in. A plaid flannel over white t-shirt and blue jeans. His work boots muffled by the carpet. "Are you alright?" he asks.

"That's like asking a dead man if he's breathing, Logan," I snap, "of course I'm not alright."

"You ought to come down for supper tonight, Darling, everyone is worried about you."

I may or may not have developed an eating disorder during this time as well. Considering I don't remember the last time I had a well-balanced meal, or an actual meal if I'm being completely honest. I usually just sneak down after everyone's in bed and grab a granola bar or a piece of fruit. Those small snacks usually end up coming back up anyway.

Even the thought of food makes my stomach churn. "I'll pass," I say, "And don't call me Darling." I've never liked pet names and Logan is in no place to call me anything other than my actual name.

"Cyke dying ain't your fault," he reminds me, striding to my side. "You need to stop blaming yourself and work on recovering. Xavier needs ya."

When he wraps his arm around me I shrug him off. "don't," I warn, crossing my arms. That was his way of telling me to 'suck it up' and 'move on with my life'. It was inhuman of him to say that, but nothing about Logan is human, an exception for his immediate look. Most humans don't have claws.

"I know you're hurting, but I'm here if you need me. you know that, right?" he faces me, putting his hand on my shoulder. I turn away.

"I don't need you!" I argue, resenting him for even implying such things. Then more calmly I add, "I just need time. Alright? Some closer, maybe." I wasn't sure what type of relief I needed. No one could find his body, so a funeral seems incompetent. That's the reason why I can't seem to put away the feeling that he's going to walk through the door, alive and well. Would he even forgive me then? I like to think he would. That our relationship is stronger than a unintentional affair. Then again, I'm not sure.

Just as I'm about to tell Logan that he should leave, I feel Professor Xavier in my mind. X-Men please report to the war room immediately. An audible moan escapes my mouth, and Logan says, "that includes you too, Red."

I've been an X-Man since I was 14. Longer than either of the others and I'm beginning to resent that title. There had been so much fighting to live since my time here. It was like that for every mutant though. When push came to shove, I suppose I've had it pretty good. So I reluctantly follow Logan out through the hall and into the elevator.

The war room is a large, round room with curved computer screens covering the walls. A table is situated in the middle, with plush desk-like chairs surrounding it. There are five, one for each of the original five X-men. Only 3 are occupied, and I'm the only original left on the team.

Professor X is typing away on one of the glass panels that make up the keyboards. He punches something in and the lights switch off. The only lights are the blue, glowing screens and the numerous colored lights under buttons. He commands something else and a 3D hologram appears over the table.

It's of a man in Shi'ar garb. At first, I'm confused. Until The hologram turns and I get a view of his face. Then I almost choke on my saliva. He looks too familiar.

"Who is this?" I demand.

"His codename is Vulcan. He's the new Emperor of the Shi'ar, but from earth," The Professor explains, "A mutant." The Shi'ar were the hosts of the Phoenix entity. We spent some time on their planet, Aaries, a few months ago to defeat their old Emperor.

I flex my fingers against my leg, trying to decide what the hell was going on. This man looked too much like Scott. Am I just seeing things? Across the galaxy, of course he probably has several doppelgangers. I'm sure everyone does. I believe in many things, but reincarnation is not one of them. "Vulcan can't be his real name," I snap. I glare at the Professor waiting for some type of explanation. The Shi'ar only use names like that for aliases.

Ororo is the next to speak, her short, white hair is pulled back in a series of bobby pins and elastics. I think she got her hair cut. "And how is he from earth if he's a Shi'ar emperor?" she looks at me expectantly, like I knew the answer.

The Professor bobs his head, "That is still unclear to us, Ororo. But Jean is right, Vulcan is not this young man's real name," he makes eye contact with me and says,"it's Gabriel Summers. He is indubitably, Scott's brother. " Sure, a lot of people have brothers, but I only knew about Alex. He died back while Oblivion attacked when we were in high school. Scott never fully recovered, but on the rare occasion that he would talk about his family, he only ever mentioned Alex and his parents. So who was Gabriel exactly?

"What!" my heart hammers in my throat. This isn't just a coincidence. Something weird is taking place.

"He has contacted us to meet him about 'some business' as he put it." the Professor explains. "He seems to have similar powers to his brothers. Energy blasts of some sort, but he's extremely advanced, maybe even more powerful than you, Jean." By this time, I'd seized to comprehend what he said.

"What type of business are we talking about here?" Logan asks.

"I wish I knew, Logan," Professor X sighs and with a press of a button. The hologram dissolves back into the table, "but we can not ignore the brother of one of our own."

"And what if it's murder? I've seen how the Shi'ar treat people. It ain't pretty."

"We must hope for the best. He wishes to meet us in the middle of Mojave desert. He sent the coordinates this afternoon. It's in a remote enough location that two landing aircraft will not draw any attention." He pulls up a picture from Google Earth on one of the screens. It looked almost otherworldly with it's orange sand dunes and lifeless planes. "We'll set out in an hour. Pack for a few days worth. I do not know how long we'll be gone. You may go."

Immediately after he adjourns us, Ororo and Logan exit. I stay behind though, unable to move until I get more answers. I watch the Professor turn off monitors and log out of programs. "I intended to speak with you, Jean," He says without turning around.

"The intention is neutral," I respond chewing on the inside of my cheek.

He turns his chair around and situates himself at the table. Folding his hands out in front of him, he says, "I have the feeling our intentions are different."

I roll the chair out across from him and sit, "How about we stop talking about intentions and just say what needs to be said?" I challenge.

He chuckles, "Very well, Jean. I would like to replace the psychic barriers that the Phoenix broke through. I feel it would be best for you."

I gawk at him for a moment, not sure if I heard him right at first. Anger boils within me. I try to keep my cool. I really do, but this is ridiculous. "What!" I demand, "No! It's not what's best for me. If you would have given me the extent of my powers when I was a student, then I may have been able to control and destroy the Phoenix by myself." My face is hot, and my fists are clenched against my leg. "I wouldn't have needed Cerebro and Scott would still be alive!" I stand up abruptly, sending the chair crashing to the floor.

"There is no guarantee of that, Jean. Had it not been for the psychic barriers, you could have killed him before then. I was only doing what I thought best then, and now I'm doing the same thing." He's calm, which seems to trigger more anger.

"I'm not one of your students anymore, Professor! I'm an adult. I can decide myself what's best for me."

"Then I advise you get you life back together, Jean. I know you're hurting, but you have responsibilities to carry out. I've been patient with you, all I ask is that you show a bit of respect." he wheels out of the war room, leaving me alone to fume in the screen-saver lit room.

After hastily throwing clothing and my toothbrush into a suitcase, We're corralled up into the Blackbird. Ororo and the Professor pilot our way towards the Californian desert. No one speaks, and around us the clouds are gray and dull and torpid. Like mist looming over a lifeless lake. 70,000 feet below us, the cities and towns thrive on the rumors of alien life. If they ever actually found the life beyond Earth, they'd go crazy setting up weapon systems and people appointed to deal with the new found species of life. The World's governments would have a field day.

Yet here we are, a group of mutant despised by the human population, going to meet up with a race of aliens and their earthly emperor. Things could go haywire quickly.

To be continued...

Author notes: hello to all my beautiful readers! I am very proud to release the third installment of the Origin of Grey story line! If you haven't read the other two, then I'd totally recommend it! And if you have, thank you and welcome back! I don't know how much I'll be able to post in the beginning with school and Camp NaNoWriMo, but I promise after my state testings in the middle of April, I will pick up. Anyway, remember to Follow, Favorite, and Review so I know I'm not just writing this for a wall! Thank you all!

Also, a gigantic shout out to my Betareader, Luccar26! PM her for information on her Betareader services =) She does an fantastic job!