One-Way Ticket On A Runaway Train

Jean had settled into a comfortable routine in Washington, D.C., her one-bedroom apartment afforded a beautiful view of the Potomac River and she managed to keep herself busy at the Research Center funded by Worthington Industries. Her co-workers included Dr. Moira MacTaggert, an old friend of the Professor’s and Dr. Cecilia Reyes, both women highly successful in the field of mutant research. Jean had only briefly explained the reason for her departure from the school, claiming that the breakup with Scott compounded with the ongoing soap opera constituted an intolerable situation. An explanation they found to be both plausible and understandable. The three women would often share their tales of romantic woe over coffee and for the first time Jean felt that she was truly with her peers. It was nice not to be surrounded by hormonal teenage girls with designs on all the handsome eligible men.

The only time that Jean’s competitive tendencies flared were whenever Warren would stop by to check on their progress, always dragging along his little blonde bimbette girlfriend, Candy Southern. There was something about the pretty heiress that got on Jean’s nerves and she found it difficult to make even pleasant small talk with her, preferring to simply ignore her and focus the conversation on Warren. The fact that Warren didn’t seem the least bit interested in Jean and was oblivious to her often blatant attempts at flirting angered the fiery redhead. None of which went unnoticed by either Moira or Cecilia, who would just exchange knowing looks.

Looking for a distraction, Jean got into the nasty habit of cruising the local bars picking up strangers for one-night stands. One day Moira took her aside and asked her if she’d ever seen the movie “Looking For Mr. Goodbar” about a schoolteacher who did the same thing, until one night her luck ran out and the guy she took home killed her. Jean thanked Moira for the advice, but assured her that she could take care of herself. Cecilia just shrugged her shoulders and pretended to be immersed in a report. Moira never mentioned it again and Jean continued her dangerous game.

Late one Friday night after Moira and most of the other workers had already left, Jean was still poring over a report when Cecilia informed her that she, too, was calling it a night.

“If I have to look at those numbers anymore, I’ll go positively cross-eyed,” Cecilia said, blinking her eyes wearily.

“Yeah, I should give it up for today, too,” Jean said, absently rubbing at the bracelet on her right wrist.

All mutants who worked in the lab wore a prototype of a suppression bracelet that was similar to the collars used on Genosha. This was to avoid accidents in the lab caused by many different mutations in such close quarters. Warren hoped to be able to mass-produce the bracelets as soon as all the field tests and market research surveys were completed.

Cecilia swung her purse over her shoulder and shut down her computer terminal.

“I’m switching on the alarm, Jean,” she said as she walked toward the exit.

“Don’t bother, Cecilia, I’m following right behind you. I just have one more entry to make on this report and I’m done, too,” Jean replied.

“Okay, then. Have a good weekend and I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Night,” Jean replied, not taking her eyes off the computer screen.

Jean heard the soft whoosh of the doors as Cecilia left, typed one final piece of data onto the screen and then satisfied with the report, saved it and shut down her terminal. She reached over to mark something on her calendar for the following week, when she flipped over the page to February 14th – Valentine’s Day. Apart from the fact that this would be the first Valentine’s Day since she was twelve-years old when she didn’t have a sweetheart, it was also the day that Scott was marrying Kitty. Jean’s heart sunk and a lump formed in her throat at the thought. She couldn’t really blame Scott for not wanting another long drawn out engagement after she’d kept him dangling for so long. Jean was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to notice that she was no longer alone in the lab.

Jean first realized that someone else, someone unknown, was in the room when a terrible odor permeated the air. It was the smell of someone in desperate need of water and a bar of soap. She turned to locate the source of the foul stench and was greeted by the frightening sight of a man dressed in rags and obviously either drunk or on drugs. She guessed a lot of the first and even more of the second.

“How did you get in here?” she asked, hoping her voice sounded more authoritative than nervous.

“Guard let me come in to use the john,” he replied, slurring his words slightly.

{Damn stupid guard. Well, his ass is fired.}

“The men’s room is down the hall to the right,” Jean said, pointing for emphasis.

{Please just let him leave.}

“You got drugs here?” the bum asked.

“No. We’re a research facility, not a drug lab.”

“Ya sure? Most labs got drugs. I betcha got some, don’t ya?”

“Look, I told you, there are no drugs here. Now please leave before I call security.”

“Hey, lady, you ain’t being very friendly. I don’t like it when people ain’t friendly,” the bum said menacingly as he edged closer to Jean.

Jean backed up toward her desk, picked up the phone and quickly dialed for security.

“Yes, this is Dr. Grey in the lab, I have an intruder, please come right away.”

In a flash of movement the bum was upon her. He yanked the phone out of her hand and grabbed a handful of her hair.

“Bad move, bitch,” he screamed in her face with breath that indicated he hadn’t been acquainted with toothpaste or mouthwash in a long time.

Jean wrinkled her nose at the pungent odor that rolled off the man in waves and thought she’d be nauseous.

“I’ve told you this lab doesn’t have any drugs.”

“Then you’re gonna take me to the place that has some.”

“I can write you a prescription,” Jean offered, hoping to buy time until security arrived.

“Prescription? What the fuck am I gonna do with a fucking prescription, you stupid cunt, march into my local pharmacy?”

“I…..I….don’t know…..I….just…thought…”

“Do I look like I have a fucking health plan? Huh?” he screamed, his eyes wild and full of rage.

He was obviously stoned out of his mind and therefore, probably unable to be reasoned with. He pinned Jean against her desk, one hand still clutching a fistful of her hair while the other held on firmly to the wrist with the suppression bracelet. Jean tried pushing him away with her free hand in an attempt to get enough distance between them so that she could knee him in the groin, but he let go of her hair and grabbed her other wrist. He threw her backward onto the desk and straddled her, raising her hands above her head, he caught both of her wrists in one of his large hands, freeing his other hand. Using his knees to spread her legs, he shoved her skirt up and reached up and ripped off her panties. Jean suddenly realized what he was going to do and began to struggle as another wave of nausea hit her. She let out a scream and was promptly punched in the face. She wondered where the useless security guard was as she struggled futilely. Panic engulfed her when she realized that help might not arrive in time to save her from being raped and possibly even killed, too.

Just then the security guard casually strolled into the room. Upon seeing Jean pinned beneath the bum, the guard drew his weapon and shouted out a warning.
The bum released Jean, climbed off of her and began to walk toward the guard with his hands up in surrender. He was just a few feet away from the guard when he picked up a chair and swung it at him knocking him to the floor. Taking advantage of the guard’s incapacity the bum took off out of the lab.

Jean tore at the suppression bracelet, but the clasp was stuck and she was unable to regain the use of her powers. She walked over to the guard who was just sitting up and clutching at his ribs.

“What the hell took you so long to get up here?” Jean demanded, “That maniac could’ve raped and killed me while you were on your goddamn coffee break!”

“I think I may have a couple of cracked ribs,” the guard said.

“Some security guard you are,” Jean continued to rant, “consider yourself fired.”

“First of all, you can’t fire me,” the guard told Jean, “and second, I happen to be hurt here, lady, aren’t you a doctor?”

“Sorry, I don’t accept your insurance plan,” Jean snapped as she grabbed her purse and stormed out of the lab, leaving the guard sitting there stunned at her callousness.

“Christ, who was her mentor, Dr. Kervorckian?” he muttered.

~*~*~*

When Jean returned to her apartment she found herself pacing restlessly and decided she needed a release. The kind of release she could only get from picking up a stranger for anonymous sex. She changed quickly into one of her ‘hunting’ outfits and with a quick spritz of perfume was out the door headed toward one of her favorite hunting grounds – The Zoo. As expected, the place was hopping and it didn’t take long for someone to offer to buy her a drink. She quickly brushed off the first guy as unacceptable and it took three more guys, two martinis and a cosmopolitan before she locked onto tonight’s target. He was movie star handsome, told her that his name was Tyler and that he was in town on business. He also informed her that he had a wife back in Ohio that he no longer fucked on a regular basis. Jean drained the margarita he’d bought her and offered to suck his dick if he’d fuck her senseless. Tyler promised to *do* her really well and then they were in a cab headed back to Jean’s.

Jean kept her promise and sucked his dick until he came in her mouth and then Tyler kept his promise and screwed her for hours. Inebriated and exhausted, Jean was on the brink of passing out when she felt a sting on her arm that made her bolt upright. The room began to spin and things were going in and out of focus more than was typical from just being drunk.

“What the fuck did you do?” she slurred.

“Heroin cocktail,” Tyler said holding up a now empty syringe in front of Jean’s face.

Jean tried to focus and use her powers and then realized that she was still wearing the suppression bracelet. She tugged at the clasp of the bracelet that had been difficult enough to undo earlier when she was sober and impossible now that she was drunk and drugged. She fell back against the pillows hoping that she could just sleep off the effects of the liquor and narcotics.

Tyler straddled her and she attempted to push him off.

“You’re all the same, you little whores,” he said, his tone suddenly menacing.

Jean’s eyes widened in terror. What kind of maniac had she brought home? Thoughts of Moira’s warning flashed through her head. She moved in an attempt to sit up, but Tyler shoved her back down roughly. It was then that she noticed a wicked-looking knife with a serrated edge in his hand.

“Do you think anyone will miss you?” he asked as he moved the cold blade against Jean’s throat.

Jean opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out as the knife cut into her delicate skin and swept across her throat efficiently slicing through her jugular vein. Tyler brought the blood soaked knife up to his mouth and licked the blade obscenely. As her blood pumped out from the open jagged wound Jean flashed back to the night of Sabretooth’s attack on the mansion and suddenly understood the sheer terror that Rogue must’ve experienced.

“I’m sorry, Rogue, forgive me,” Jean murmured as her life force flowed out of her and her heartbeat slowed down until it finally stopped.


~*~*~*

Info about heroin obtained at: http://opioids.com/heroin.html