Chapter 038 – Third and Fourth

[2009 – June]

Sensing inside myself, I could feel my reserves brimming with energy as they were filled up to even above the Beta-level. I wasn't too surprised, as the storm of fire Jean had unleashed after I had taken her virginity, was several magnitudes more intense than the ones before.

Adding that to the one last night and the one in the shower, it made sense that my body had managed to absorb so much life energy from her fire.

Yesterday's fire had also taken care of the soreness in my muscles, as the microscopic tears in my muscle fibers had been directly healed by it.

With my natural metabolism being enhanced to the human limit to enable my peak human stamina, I would have probably recovered in a day at most but that hadn't been necessary thanks to Jean.

Still, now I had the chance to gain a Beta-level ability or several Epsilon abilities, I just had to make a choice first.

"In fact, the gathered energy is enough to use my ability again, but I probably shouldn't activate it here.", I informed the redheaded beauty in my lap.

"What's going to happen? Is it dangerous?", Jean asked in worry, her hands gripping my sweater tightly.

Wrapping my arms around her, I stood up and carried her with me as I made my way to the bathroom.

"No, it's not dangerous.", I soothed her worry, before I continued, "But I am probably gonna sweat a lot and it's most likely going to hurt like hell."

"Maybe you shouldn't use it.", Jean voiced out quietly, her hand brushing through my locks as she gave me a caring and worried look.

Arriving in the bathroom, I set her down before grabbing the back of her hand and pressing my lips against her palm, as I responded softly: "No amount of power comes free, Jean."

Stripping down to my underwear, I stepped into the bathtub as I addressed Jean: "I am gonna start now. You can stay if you want, though you have to be careful to not interrupt my focus. And don't worry, even if I faint, I am gonna be alright."

Seeing her nod hesitantly in understanding, I closed my eyes and concentrated on what kind of power I wanted.

With my Peak Human Stamina, I had basically reached Captain America's standard in one of my physical attributes, but all my other attributes were at a normal human level, including recovery.

Even with such great stamina, I couldn't train endlessly as the microscopic tears in my muscles needed time to heal after every intense workout.

I could have avoided this by choosing recovery first but it wouldn't have been as effective, as recovery did not equal great physical energy. Someone could have great healing abilities but still be out of breath after walking up a flight of stairs.

Still, both together would result in the greatest gains through training, as I could basically train endlessly with minimal resting periods.

The problem was though, that recovery would use up several times more energy than stamina to be granted.

It also wouldn't give me regenerative abilities like Wolverine as Logan's Regenerative Healing Factor was an Alpha-level ability. I would only gain something on an equal level with Captain America's regeneration, which wasn't bad at all.

This also left me in quite a dilemma, as I had another Beta-level ability in mind that I planned to get to enable faster long-term progress.

Still, I didn't take long to make my decision though as I decided on two Epsilon-level abilities, including Peak Human Regeneration, which would practically empty all my reserves again.

I knew that it was best to focus on strengthening my body, as I would need an enhanced condition to gain the most benefits from other multiple power-ups in the future.

The other ability was also a sub-attribute of the Peak Human Condition and would help me greatly with my shields, namely Peak Human Mind.

It would strengthen my cognitive abilities several times, grant me an eidetic memory, and allow me to multitask with much greater ease. I estimated that my abilities with my shields would at least double after gaining it.

Focusing on both abilities, I activated my Self-Creation and infused my choices into the creation process. Immediately, I felt my energy levels plummet as fire and ice once again began their battle for dominance inside my body.

And just as I thought that I could easily handle this as it wasn't too different from last time, a searing spike of pain erupted in my brain that directly shut down my consciousness.

…

With worried eyes, Jean observed Elijah's face for any changes after he had closed his eyes. Though for several long minutes nothing happened, as he just seemed to concentrate on something intently.

Suddenly though, his whole body tensed. His muscles contracting and spasming, as if he had been hit by lightning while his veins protruded visibly beneath his skin, squirming as if alive.

His jaw clenched shut in obvious agony, quiet grunts of pain leaving his lips.

Wide-eyed and worried for his well-being, Jean was helpless and could only look on as Elijah suffered. Her hands pressed into her own chest, not willing to risk interrupting any kind of delicate process by distracting him with her touch.

Her helplessness and worry though turned into primal fear when Elijah's normally charming face distorted into a silent scream of pain before his whole body just went limp and blood ran down his nose.

"Elijah! Elijah!", Jean cried out in worry as even in a fainted state, she could see his body squirm as he lay in the bathtub.

Cold fear gripped her heart, as Jean didn't know what she should do.

Even with his words as a reminder, seeing him hurt like this drove her nearly wild with worry, as she couldn't help herself and nearly unleashed her telepathic powers in a call for help but stopped herself at the last moment.

Jean knew that he had trusted her with his secret, and calling for help meant that she would have to tell others about it, as they would want to know what had happened to him.

Taking several deep breaths, she realized that he had been through this at least once. So this had most likely happened before, which also meant he would be fine.

"He will be fine. He will be fine …", Jean intoned quietly, as if to hypnotize herself into believing it.

Grabbing a nearby towel, Jean gently wiped away the blood running down his nose, tears of worry gathering in her eyes.

As Elijah had said, his body started to sweat heavily and his pores seemed to open up and expel their impurities, blackish grime appearing on his skin.

Turning on the faucet, Jean set it to a comfortable temperature as she used her telekinesis to draw the dirt and sweat from his skin and guided it down the drain.

Over the next half-an-hour, Jean was tempted several times to call for help as his condition didn't seem to get any better, before finally, his muscles stopped contracting and his veins stopped squirming uncontrollably.

Along with his body settling down, a tinge of relief bloomed in her mind.

Turning off the water after showering his body with her telekinesis for one last time, pulling away even the last dead skin cells and drops of sweat, Jean couldn't help but be surprised at what she saw.

Even before Elijah didn't have any pimples or other skin afflictions, which wasn't something abnormal among mutants, as they generally had healthier bodies due to the slightly enhanced metabolism that came with being a mutant.

Now though, his skin was simply flawless.

Brushing over his cheek with the tips of her fingers, and letting it wander lower down his neck and over his toned chest, Jean was nearly infatuated with the smooth sensation under her fingers.

Her worry though was still present, as Elijah hadn't woken up yet.

Levitating him from the tub out of the bathroom and onto the soft bed, Jean crawled into bed next to him as she carefully placed her arm around his midsection and mentally moved the blanket to cover them both.

Love, care, and worry in her gaze, she rested her head on his shoulder and waited for Elijah to wake up.