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Scott Summers has set up his office carefully, a spare but comfortable space for himself. He's wearing a simple blue sweater and charcoal slacks today, his hair parted and his eyes hidden behind his trademark ruby-quartz glasses. He's loaded a pipe, tamping it down for a moment and lighting it to take a few puffs as he puts his feet up on the desk. A quiet morning, it seems, at least for the moment. Worth savoring, rare as it might be around this place.
"You look like an old man.." Jean states, lingering in the door for some time now, though not readily visible since she was fixing files on the outside. There was no sense in inviting herself in, working relationship is just that, for her, it seemed like they were rivals and it's only been a few weeks.
"Settling in okay?"
Scott Summers takes a draw on his pipe and sets it down in his ashtray, "Good morning to you, too," he says with a raised eyebrow, gesturing to the seat across from his desk. "Make yourself comfortable. I'm sure I seem pretty old to the students, too, even if it's not that long since I sat in their place," he says.
"What can I do for you t his morning, Jean?"
"Sorry. Good morning." She says quietly, taking a seat after indicated, one leg crossed over the other in the pencil-skirt she wore. She was wholly professional, glasses hung off her nose like a mother matron, but her youthful features betrayed this fact.
"I was just dropping off papers that I need you to sign. And to discuss the mission of yours and the new personnel you've brought to us." There was an eye twitch, and a purse of her lips. "And advice. And a .. I don't know how to put this.." She wrinkles her nose. ".. a gesture of an official welcome back?"
Scott Summers smiles evenly and nods, "I didn't mean to step on any toes with the mission. The message I got seemed urgent and I thought intervention would be important," he says. "The students acquitted themselves admirably."
He takes some of the papers, quickly scanning them as he continues to talk, "I understand you might not be thrilled at my return. You've obviously earned the Professor's trust and a degree of authority and you don't want me to undermine it. And neither do I. I have strong ideas, but I would much rather work with you than in opposition," he says.
Jean shakes her head immediately, leaning back to watch as he goes through the papers. "You weren't stepping on toes at all. I just want to hear about it instead of scanning someones brain pan for information, is all. Less intrusive."
"Its not that.." Jean finally murmurs after a moment of silence. "I didn't want to be in charge at all, in fact, this is all born out of resentment and ill-placed on you. Which I do apologize about. Hell, I'd love to hand you the reigns but what's done is done."
Scott Summers waves a hand, "Nothing to worry about. I, better than anyone, understand that sometimes responsibility falls on your head whether you like it or not. And it's not always the easiest burden to bear" he says sympathetically.
"As for the mission - as I said, I got a distress call from some of my contacts in the mutant underground. A mutant in distress, in a remote town up north. It was vague and felt enough like a trap that I decided to take a squad and not just go in alone," he says.
"What we found was…complicated. Some sort of…creature…had taken control of this young mutant and his darkness powers, using him to infect and attack the town with shadows."
Jean wrinkles her face too, "You also gotten a bit holier than thou there, bud. You should lighten up a touch." It was a joke, slightly.. but.. once he gets onto the guts of the conversation, she listens, doesn't interject or try to offer up solutions.
"Reminds me of when I took the kids to Africa.." She admits, though there was no monster there, just a confused boy, who is now an active student of the school. "Did you bring him here?" She asks, curious.
Scott Summers nods, "So I've been told more than once," he admits, "I am capable of having fun, contrary to popular opinion. But I also do take things seriously. In my experience, someone usually should."
"Yes, although he's been in some sort of stasis since he arrived. Nothing seems to be physically wrong, he's just…not waking up. Might be worth using your talents to investigate. I hoped he would recover on his own, but that doesn't seem to be happening."
"Fine, we're going out later." We'll see if he could have fun!
But the offer to help was immediately taken up with a smile, a real, genuine smile that piqued her interest and actually had her sitting up in her chair. It's not like it was a secret, that there was a portal in the danger room, but did Scott even know?
"Okay. I'll help you, if you help me.."
Scott Summers nods, "Isn't helping each other what it's all about?" he says.
He didn't know, as of yet, but he hadn't made use of the danger room yet. And he wasn't exactly the type of person in whom people confided. He didn't have Jean's warmth or sympathy, nor had he been back long enough to have gained the necessary levels of trust and authority.
"And going out where?"
Jean cracked a look, a look that said.. sorta-kinda-maybe-probably? But then lets it go. "Well.. it involves a time traveling mutant who says .. something akin to the world missing the X-Men because we weren't needed anymore. And.. that's where all the bad happened."
Jean wrinkles her nose. "That explanation is weird.. But.. there's a time rip in the Danger Room. Takes us straight to 1988. We're going there."
Scott Summers stares for a moment, which is impressive given that you can't see his eyes. His expression just goes placid and still for a minute or two, giving him a second to digest this particular kernel of information. The pipe is picked up, momentarily puffed and then returned to its place.
"I see," he says. "I would imagine that would require a 'weird' explanation, yes. I can't think of a reasonable one, that's for sure. Going through this rift is safe, somehow? I guess I'm not sure I understand."
Jean now scratches her head, messing up her bun to the point that it falls like waves down her shoulders. "I.. well yes. The Rift is safe. You go through, you come out, and your fine. But, you can't take anything with you from the other side." She leans forward, gesturing. "Clothes for instance, if you try to come back with what you put on that came from 1988, then you'd pop back here naked. Didn't try to steal anything though. The.. atmosphere there is -very- giving."
Scott Summers purses his lips, "Sounds complex," he says. "But worth investigating. I'm intrigued, but cautious," he says. "What exactly is the purpose of these expeditions? Who are we helping? And who is this mutant from the future?" he says.
"IT.. is.." Jean murmurs quietly. "You're cautious but it seems like everyone is loving it. And I need cautious on my side to let me know that I'm not crazy." Because something was really, really wrong there.
"This girl, I'm unable to get a name from her yet.. but.. she says because of what we did in the past, her future is now in danger. In fact, the entire world, in her time, will be destroyed."
Scott Summers doesn't like relying on the word of a stranger, but if the stakes were so high, indeed, the risk might have to be taken. "That seems to be a dangerous tightrope to walk, changing the past to alter the future. The end result might even be worse. But I can also understand trying to do something, if you're in desperate need," he says.
"As for everyone else, well, you can rely on me to be more…level-headed about the situation. I can give you a fair assessment."
Jean rises abruptly from her seat, her hand stretched out for an official shake. "It's a deal."
Scott Summers smiles and shakes the offered hand, "Pleasure doing business with you, Miss Grey," he says in an amused tone.