9285/A Brief Checkup

A Brief Checkup
Date of Scene:	22 September 2019
Location:	War Room - X-Men Base
Synopsis:	In the aftermath of the Field Trip, there were injuries, but Jean knew that all apparently injured will be looked after. That's why she went out of her way to find Scott, whom she suspected was hiding how effected he was by the incident. The two get a brief fading moment to themselves along the way.
Cast of Characters:	Cyclops, Phoenix

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Cyclops has posed:
One hand shoved up into the side of his hair, Scott's resting a head that feels like it weighs multiple tons against his right wrist. He might have had both hands to support the massive headache going on, but his other wrist is bandaged - and the hand is being used to page through an impressively heavy amount of data on the War Room screens.

Scott has set up one of his usual analysis hubs: he knows full well where things went inside-out tactically at the engagement with the Sentinels, but there's still more to look over.

And he's doing it, doggedly, despite the icepick level pain stabbing into his forehead. Scott is wearing his usual ruby toned glasses, the more subtle of his eye-wear selections, which masks that he actually has his eyes shut at the moment, the page flipping pausing.

Phoenix has posed:
After the ordeal of the other day, a field trip turning disasterous, as if it wouldn't, there were many aftermath incidents to deal with. Chief among them, is the well being of Shadowcat. But Jean knew that there would be no shortage of people to go look after Kitty, while on the other hand, she had her suspicions about just how unscathed Scott made it out of the whole affair.

That's why she cheats and makes her way to the War Room in the sublevels, already knowing she will 'happen' by Scott as she walks through the sliding door. "You really don't know the meaning of taking a rest to recharge, do you, Cyclops?" Jean intentionally uses the codename, what with Scott being all business when something doesn't work out perfectly.

"How is your head...?" She asks, as if ever so casually picking that specific area is something that might be hurt.

Cyclops has posed:
Trust a telepath to know exactly where Scott is, and exactly what questions to ask. It's something Scott is very used to, though, and there isn't any surprise. The Professor would have been the other that he might have expected to come to him - at least, with questions about him, as opposed to questions about the team, the goals going forward, or any number of other things Scott needs to handle.

So, there is no surprised jump, just a move of hand down from near the ear to drop to the console, as he sits up. The body language reads strongly of his intention to not show any weakness: not even a need to hold his head up for just a minute. He needs to be strong for the others.

"I must have missed that order from medical, Phoenix," Scott answers with a bit of a forced chuckle. Nothing is funny when a headache burns, but the effort is there.

"Nothing I can't handle," is Scott's non-answer. He doesn't want her to worry: the thought is in the front of his mind, easy to pick up even if she's not trying. "I'm working on a retaliation; we need to do better, stop this thing."

Phoenix has posed:
"Oh, there was no order, but we both know you fake better than anyone, I'm just worried about you," Jean reiterates her point as she approaches Scott, taking a moment to peek at what he was looking at.

"Yes. We need to do better. We need to stop these machines. We need to stop the Friends of Humanity, but we need to look after ourselves as we do it...I don't want you to end up in medbay, and have someone else fill in for you, Cyclops," she offers sincerely. Keeping several paces away from Scott, not moving too close. "I'm worried you're not being honest with yourself on how much you got hit, I saw you..."

Cyclops has posed:
Scott had moved his chair a little as she approached, automatic allowance of being fine with his close friend coming up closer to him. Still, she doesn't come as near as he expected, so he doesn't actively make room at the console; he lets one arm drop to rest on it, hand loose. His head lowers just a hair as he listens to her: it isn't that he doesn't listen. Scott is a phenomenal listener, taking in everything his team or trusted advisors give to him.

It's just that sometimes judgement must be made that overrides that good advice.

Being called to be honest, though? That is something Scott will do; and Jean has asked in the right way. There is sometimes a finesse to dealing with Scott's dutiful side, a skill Jean has always had, somehow.

"I believe I am being realistic," Scott answers, his lips moving, even if his eyes aren't readable. "I seem to have had my mutant ability nullified just enough to not be able to release energy, but it's still right here." He gestures to his forehead, eyes, behind the currently unnecessary glasses. "Still, I can work on this; that isn't nullified."

Phoenix has posed:
Jean takes an extra step when Scott moves the chair to allow her a nearer approach, but she winds up lingering, and eventually stopping herself short from standing directly at his side. She looks intently at Scott, listening to his words, after all she herself is a good listener. Maybe it has something to do with the two being standouts in the founding class, getting more of the Professor's attentions than others.

"So what does it feel like...? I'm happy to say I haven't had to deal with it myself, the only time I was hit with it I had the anti-nullifier with me, and it actually worked well. Are you in pain? Is it distracting?" Jean muses about the possibilities rather than checking for herself in a brute force way. She's rather good with allowing people their secrets and privacy, for the most part. There has been some lapses, wide and far between since that space mission. But that wasn't anything that mattered for the time being.

"Are you sure you can carry on without even some rest? You want to be at your best when we hit them back, don't you?"

Cyclops has posed:
"I had the anti-nullifier device; Kitty had a prototype of a new model," Scott begins, tapping a few fingers slowly against the console, but he stops, as the sound isn't pleasant with his headache. "There's a limit to what it can absorb." A brief rueful smile shows, a small window into that he can appreciate the 'joke' there.

"To me, it was disorienting. I'm usually staring through the optic blasts. Having it... erratic, unreleased - I think that's what's giving me this splitting headache. I'm not used to this ...strobe." A soft breath is released, allowing the pain to edge into the expression in his eyebrows.

"I attempted to rest, but there was no sleeping with this. I did accept some medication - if it helps, I'll rest, Jean. Until then, I'm being as productive as I'm able."

Phoenix has posed:
Jean nods as she listens to the details, "I guess we still need to improve it, or better yet, find a way to end that thing." The thought of a nullifier is probably more terrifying than the Sentinels themselves, as Jean can put to mind several applications the likes of the FoH would do with various implementations of it if further developed. Good thing Tony Stark wasn't on their side.

"You never, I never really took real deep thought into how the world must look for you," Jean remarks all of a sudden as Scott discusses staring through the optic blasts, "do you see everything with a red sheen?" She muses, glad to stir the conversation away from injury and negative emotions.

"Well," Jean offers, slowly reaching with her hand to brush faintly against Scott's temple, "if you want me to, I can try and ease the disturbance...but for what it's worth, even if I do worry, I'm glad you're the way you are...ever soldiering on. We need that kind of leadership, that kind of example, the kids saw something they could aspire to with the action you, and Storm and Shadowcat took on that field trip."

Cyclops has posed:
"The red sheen comes from the glasses, not the blasts," Scott answers, allowing her conversation adjustment - probably with awareness. But he wants it steered away from his injury as well, so they're in agreement. "I'm used to it. It can be hard to identify colors. It is better than the alternative." Destroying everything.

He'd had his eyes closed again, behind the glasses, so he startles a little when she touches his head, as if he hadn't seen her: he hadn't. But there's just a blush, not a twist away from her. He's very aware of her brushing his forehead, but suppresses more reaction.

"I'm open to the attempt; if the headache isn't physical, but from something else, at least we'll learn what's causing it," Scott replies in his analytic, serious way. To her compliments, he only nods once, curtly. "I hope to set good example."

Phoenix has posed:
"Fascinating...so I guess everyone's a redhead to you, huh?" Jean muses with a silly little smile sneaking to her lips. It was a bit of a dorky comment, but every now and then she had one of those moments. Inadvertantly, of course.

"Okay...I'm going in for a look...maybe I can block something, to ease the pain until the effect subside..." Jean suggests, as she reaches with her other hand as well, having a hand on each of Scott's temples, before closing her eyes and going into his mind. Seeking a source of pain or discomfort, and checking what she might be able to do to ease it. If only to allow Scott a peaceful mind and a peaceful rest for the next day or so.

Cyclops has posed:
"Wait, are you a redhead?" Scott asks, mock-seriously, as if surprised. He doesn't 'lie' well, but his smile is natural. "I think... one can get used to anything. Including the world being shades of red."

Scott then attempts to relax (and fails at it, he's tense and sitting up straight like a soldier), watching her face as she sets her hands on his temples at first, then closing his eyes.

Scott has a powerful migraine, stemming from visual disorientation: much like someone might suffer if they were forced to stare into erratic strobelights for hours. The brain just can't handle it. His vision itself appears to only have some minor strange qualities to it. There's nothing that would explain the migraine level, unless Scott had been exposed to the disorienting stimulus and it has since faded visually. The brain, though, is still revolting against the painful visuals, the headache clingy, as Scott has failed to rest his mind.

Phoenix has posed:
While normally it may not be the best of jokes, the sequence of the conversation at hand, and the back drop to it, actually leads Jean bursting with laughter as if it was the greatest joke ever told. Maybe it's the stress, maybe she's been pulling a bit of an act herself in appearing so calm. But this particular joke, at this particular time, delivered in this fashion just breaks that dam and has her laughing quite sincerely.

At least she's a professional and doesn't let it effect her telepathic work, as she soon calms down and returns to focus on Scott's mind, looking for the anomaly there.

"I see the problem...and I think it does relate to the nullifying affect," Jean informs Scott, as she tries to play around with the visual processing of Scott's mind, checking if she can render him oblivious to this 'strobe' effect he has no way to currently process. "Let me know if you're starting to feel better..., we'll do this for the time being, and I'll undo it when the nullifying affect runs its course..."

Cyclops has posed:
Scott didn't expect such a positive reaction to his joke, and his own mask breaks, watching her with open amusement while she laughs. A laugh can be a big emotional relief, and seeing her have that creates an empathetic relaxation in the serious man.

He doesn't move, but holds still as she examines his problem mentally. "Looked a little like light prints in my vision, like when someone used to take a picture, and I'd see stars," Scott explains as she adjusts. He hasn't had anyone flashing lights in his face in that way in a while, with his visor filtering.

He waits, and then as she finds a clear spot that was full of pulsing migraine, removing that, Scott visably relaxes, with a deep breath. "There. That's much better already."

The reaction is extreme relief, and a great deal of positive feeling towards her: warmth, appreciation.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean smiles warmly when Scott affirms she found the right manipulation to spare him from the pain, for the time being, and she slowly disenages. Taking a deep breath, removing her hands from his temple, and little by little she lets her eyes flutter open. "I'm very much relieved...I was worried I might not be able to help," Jean admits to her lack of perfection, despite having quite the reputation as a premier telepath. The minute machinations are always more worrisome than sheer bulldozing. That's why students hate her in telekinesis and telepathy classes, she doesn't make it easy.

"When you feel the nullfying effect depleting, come see me, because I'll need to undo it," Jean reminds Scott, "glad to see you're alright, I should go check on Kitty now. Thank for being there for us, Scott. For all of us," Jean can't bring herself to say anything more, despite wanting to, particularly as in those brief last moment of connection with his mind she could sense those emotions she really wants to be there. But there's always the doubt, is she reading too much? Does she want it to the point that she's creating these feelings unawares...? It frightenes her, knowing what she can do, if not careful.

"I'll be seeing you, Scott," she offers with a warm smile, and turns towards the medbay in another part of the sublevels.