2013.10.20 - They Keep Taking Her

It is late in the afternoon when Jean receives notice that she has a walk-in appointment. Two, technically. Nicole and Claudette St. Croix, both eleven, both recent additions to the Institute.

They waited very politely, no matter how long it took. The majority of classes are done for the day, including anything they would be involved with as sixth graders, discounting extracurriculars. They did not do extracurricular activities.

Nicole leads their way into Jean's office, chin high, a little model of her older sister. Her twin sister trails behind, staring at the floor and the wall and everything else but a person.

"Dr. Grey," Nicole says, clasping her hands together in front of her. She has the faintest accent and over-enunciates her English. "Ma grand soeur instructed me to speak with you." The girl hesitates, briefly glancing toward Claudette. "In case we could not contact her."

Jean sits at her desk, going over reports -- not all of them student-related. She has a faint frown on her face, but when the young St. Croix sisters enter, her attention shifts very quickly, and quite completely to them. It's not just their words. It's that she has, on some level, become rather familiar with them through their sister's memories. On some level, she knows them. More than that, she knows how careful Monet is of them -- and the lot of them are under the Phoenix's personal protection, now.

"Girls, come on in," she says as the door opens. As Nicole explains why they've come, however, the telepath's expression grows both serious and concerned. "You... can't contact her?" Her brows knit and, automatically, she starts reaching out across the campus to try and find the girl. And, upon failing, she straightens. "When was the last time you had contact with her?" she asks. "Do you know where she was? What she was doing?"

Nicole fidgets. She does not look comfortable standing there and holding Jean's gaze, but she forces herself through it without major incident.

"Yesterday, Dr. Grey," Nicole says. With how carefully she speaks, the most minor hint of worry makes her sound as if she is being interrogated. "We--I spoke to her yesterday, after class. She always tells us when she is leaving, and she never loses her phone. I cannot call her. And then--"

The girl frowns, looking down toward the floor. "We went to her room. It was empty. We found Claudette's--"

"--ribbon," Claudette blurts out, cutting Nicole off. She is studying something beyond the ceiling. Nicole looks over her shoulder and then smiles apologetically. "A hair ribbon. It was in our room last night. Claudette always wears it."

Jean takes a slow breath, forcing herself to relax. The girls are young. And she doesn't want them spooked. Not any worse than they already are. She rises from her desk and comes around to the front of it. "Have a seat," she suggests to them gently, gesturing toward the chairs. "I just need to know everything you do."

She cants her head slightly to the side. "So, the last time you spoke with her was yesterday, and a hair ribbon that is usually in your room was found in hers, instead?" She considers this. "Is it possible she picked it up somewhere and took it back to her room?"

Most concerning, though, is that the girl's disappeared from the school grounds. Her mind brushes out to get someone to start checking security logs.

Nicole takes her sister's hand; Claudette trails along after her and sits down when brought to a chair. Nicole takes the seat next to her, but only after telekinetically sliding it closer. She looks toward Jean after doing this, searching for a reaction.

"I do not know why she would," Nicole says. Her face grows dark. She keeps her thoughts to herself.

When the information returns to Jean, it sparks no hope. There was a strange energy surge just after two AM, located in Monet's room. It occurred twice, just a few minutes apart. Though these ranges would suggest some sort of teleportation, it is out of the usual bounds for any known variation of the technology.

Nicole adds, quieter: "Please do not tell notre père."

"I promise," Jean says in response to Nicole's plea. She crouches before the two of them, coming down closer to their level. She's not trying to treat them as younger than they are, but it's also the bald reality that they're only 11. They're kids.

She doesn't react very much at all to Nicole's display of power. It's not a surprise to her, after all. And she can see why the girls would choose to stay close together.

"Okay," she says softly, now. She places her hands on the arms of the chairs, but doesn't initiate physical contact with either of them. It's on them to do that. "I'm not sure where Monet is, right now. But, I know I can find her. And I'm going to." She gives each of them a direct look. "You have my word: I will find her, and I will do everything I possibly can to bring her back safely. I don't think she meant to go away without telling you. But, I'll bring her home."

The fact there was some sort of teleportation on and off the grounds, right through their sophisticated security, and that it's resulted in an abduction? This does NOT make Jean happy. And the next instructions she sends to security are hardly a surprise: Find the source of that energy so we can block it... and, if possible, track it.

Claudette does not react to Jean's closeness. She is more interested in whatever she sees beyond the ceiling. Nicole, in contrast, glances at Jean's hand and folds her own in her lap. Her shoulders slump and her posture sags.

"They keep taking her," Nicole says, blankly.

The signal is extremely peculiar. Unique, really. It is possible to convert the Institute's significant defenses to guard against whatever technology was used--it's not like it would also be blocking anything else important. Nothing in the known world operates on similar frequencies in that way. A complete block is the simplest thing next to leaving it open.

Tracing it is a larger problem. It takes time. Even then, it is only a guess, one obtained through process of elimination and educated guesses:

Genosha.

It came from Genosha.

Jean's lips press together and she gives a small sigh. "I know, hon," she says softly to Nicole. "I know. She showed me. And, I'm sorry." She squares her shoulders as the security information eventually filters back to her. "But, I know where to start looking. And I'm pretty sure I know exactly who it was. So, when I tell you I'm going to find her? I really am going to find her." She looks between both of them. "While I'm gone, if you need anything, I want to find Ms Munroe, okay? She will help you as much as I will." And she knows she can trust Storm to do her damnedest to protect the girls. To protect any of the students.

She showed her--that gets Nicole sitting straight again, and staring at Jean with wide eyes. The girl looks to her sister, who seems to notice for once. Claudette returns to look, serenely expressionless.

"It seems she trusted you, Dr. Grey," Nicole ventures, in uncertain control of her voice. "We will do the same."