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T'Challa led Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes into a separate room, motioning for Jean to follow. Shuri fell in step beside her. The princess was buzzing with excitement, her eyes flitting from the telepath to Barnes and back to her brother.

The well-lit room they came to did not have much in it. A table sat in the middle with a small basket of some sort of fruit and granola bars.

Smart, Jean thought, Fewer sources of stimuli Fewer things to take in.

It was a good place for an addled mind. She could feel Bucky relax as the noises of the bustling lab faded behind them.

As they sat down, Bucky glanced over at Jean, a small frown forming on his face. Jean could see his mind searching through a database of faces, coming up with no match.

"Here, Sergeant Barnes." T'Challa slid the basket towards him. "You need to renew your strength."

"Uh, thanks," he murmured.

Bucky plucked a granola bar from the selection, but he stopped, looking from the wrapper pinched between the fingers of his one hand to where his other arm used to be.

His eyes flickered up at the others, and his face pinched.

Steve started to reach out to help him, but Bucky tossed the granola bar back and picked an apple. He took a bite and kept his eyes down on the table as he munched away.

T'Challa motioned toward Jean. "This is Jean Grey. She's here to help you."

Bucky regarded her fully for the first time, but it wasn't with the cold, calculating eyes of a killer. He looked more uncertain than anything. Like a wary animal.

Jean offered a warm smile. She knew better than anyone how terrible it was to see the fear or pity in someone's eyes.

Bucky swallowed down his apple. "Are you a shrink or something?"

This made Jean let out a small laugh. "No, I'm a mutant. A telepath."

The faintest shadow passed over Bucky's face at the word 'mutant'. A memory flashed through his mind. A hard voice saying, "Hunt them down."

Jean fought to keep her face neutral, but her smile flickered. These were Bucky's personal demons. It was not her business. Not yet.

"So you're gonna read my mind?"

Jean gave a careful nod. "If you're okay with that."

Most people were far from okay with that. Almost any time someone heard that she was a telepath, they took a step away from her. As if that would somehow make it harder for her to hear their thoughts.

Bucky looked back down at the table. "You might not like what you see."

"Trust me. I'm sure I've seen worse." Jean gave a lopsided smile, but the humor did not quite reach her eyes.

"I'm not sure about that," Bucky muttered.

Steve shifted in his seat to face his friend. "You don't have to go through with this if you're not comfortable..." He glanced up at the others. "But I think it'll help."

Bucky's jaw clenched, and Jean was almost afraid that he would refuse. It would be understandable. Having your deepest secrets and darkest demons exposed to someone was something that no person could naturally want.

But sometimes it was necessary.

He gave a small shrug and a faint attempt at a wry smile. "I guess it's worth a shot," he said, looking first at Jean and then T'Challa.

Jean relaxed in her seat. She had dealt with too many people before that had refused help.

"Excellent." With a nod, Shuri stood. "If you'll follow me, Sergeant Barnes, I would like to run a few more tests to see how your body is adjusting to being out of cryostasis."

Bucky followed her reluctantly with Steve close by his side. Jean hovered nearby as they made their way back to the lab.

She should talk to him. She should wait. She should get to know him. She should give him space.

Jean internally groaned. This should be nothing new to her. If anything, it should be all too familiar, dealing with a damaged mind, but she only found herself hovering uselessly.

Fortunately, she spotted the others sitting in the room adjacent to the lab with only a glass wall to separate the rooms.

Jean made her way to a seat between Wanda and Sam, offering them a small nod. As she settled in her seat, something bloomed at the back of Jean's mind, and she stilled.

Whatever it was, the foreign presence was old. Ancient. But it wasn't the familiar pulse of the Phoenix Force. Although, that hardly eased her worry. The presence did not burn or fight to be released. It was cold, and it seemed to seep through her mind. And yet Jean vaguely recognized it.

This was no solitary force. It came from somewhere. Someone.

Jean tilted her head, turned her mind toward the presence, and it vanished, ripping itself away from her grasp.

Beside her, Wanda gave a startled jerk in her seat. Her eyes flitted over to Jean, and the telepath could feel the guilt and embarrassment radiating off of the girl.

"Sorry," Wanda muttered.

Jean offered a small smile, an awkward twist of her lips. "Don't worry. I'm used to it."

Wanda cocked her head. "Really?"

"Yeah. I've lived with other telepaths, and most of them are teenagers that don't know what they're doing." Jean shrugged. "It happens."

"Oh." Wanda looked down at the mug in her hands. "I haven't really been around other telepaths."

Jean felt a twinge of sympathy for Wanda. The girl was surrounded by people who could never fully understand her powers, what it felt like to have them.

"It helps." Jean opened her mouth to offer her own help, but she stopped herself. She didn't want to overstep.

"Maybe some training would be good," another voice spoke.

Jean startled in her seat and turned to the spy that had hardly spoken a word since she got there.

A small smile formed on Wanda's face. "Isn't that what we've been doing?"

Natasha Romanoff shrugged. "We've done what we can, but Steve and I aren't telepaths. It would make sense to do more...specialized training."

She looked at Jean. "You can do that, right?"

Jean faltered, her eyes still wide, before nodding. "Yeah, that's pretty much what my job is. Teaching and training."

"Could you squeeze in some time for that while we're here?"

Jean glanced through the window to where Bucky sat stiffly as Shuri checked his vitals.

"I think I can."

Wanda bit down the grin that threatened to break across her face. A wave of relief from the girl swept over Jean.

Natasha appeared satisfied and followed Jean's gaze.

"What do you know about Barnes?"

"Oh," Jean spoke, weighing her words, "I read over his file. And I kind of talked to him for a bit."

The few sentences they exchanged hardly counted for anything, but Jean felt like she had to add something.

"He's dangerous." Natasha regarded the telepath, a flicker of worry passing over her face. "Can you handle that?"

The concern was a surprise, but Jean smiled. "I think I can. I have some experience with 'dangerous'."

Natasha nodded. "The X-Men."

Jean's eyes widened. "What do you know about the X-Men?"

The question was more of a courtesy. She was already skimming through the spy's mind to see what she knew.

"Not a lot. You're good at covering your tracks. But I know enough."

Jean relaxed. The vague images and rumors filed away in Natasha's mind backed up her story.

"Wait." Sam frowned. "Who are the X-Men?"

Before either woman could answer, the door opened, and T'Challa and Shuri entered, followed by Steve and Bucky.

Shuri grinned, holding a holopad to her chest. "He's recovering well. No sign of any complications."

Bucky leaned against a chair, bracing his hand on the back. He gave a ghost of a smirk. "I've had practice."

Jean saw countless flashes of ice freezing and melting and repeated blasts of hot and cold, and she shuddered.

Bucky patted his hand on the back of the chair absently. "So when do we start?"

"As soon as you are comfortable," said T'Challa.

Bucky looked over at Jean. She didn't have to be a telepath to notice his apprehension. "How exactly will we...start? Are you just gonna start poking around in my head?"

"No, um." Jean paused. Everything was all too tense. A smile broke across her face. "I haven't had dinner yet. And I don't know about you, but I think we should have at least one actual conversation before I start 'poking around' in your head."

Bucky's features eased into a smile. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

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Wow, it's been almost six months, but here's a new update!

I hope you guys enjoy!

Let me know what you think!