Preface

When Christopher and Katherine Summers learned that their first born son was deaf, they wasted no time. They saw the best doctors, fitted their son's tiny ears with hearing aids, and spent their nights and weekends learning sign language. Soon, little Scott Summers learned to sign, too. When Scott was a toddler, he began speech therapy and by the time he was a young boy, he could both speak and read lips skillfully. He had a happy childhood full of hugs, laughter, and "I love you"s.

After his parents' death, Scott stopped signing. He stopped trying to speak and he stopped reading lips. He looked away when the orphanage staff spoke to him. When the other children bothered him, he pretended not to understand; eventually they learned to leave him alone. Some of the other children were eventually adopted, but not Scott – no one wanted a surly ten-year-old with special needs. No one hugged him, or laughed with him, or told him that they loved him.

When his powers manifested and he was forced to cover his eyes with a tightly wrapped bandage, fourteen-year-old Scott Summers threw up his hands and gave up on the world. After all, the world had given up on him first. It had taken everything from him – his hearing, his family, and now his sight. Depressed and despondent, he no longer cared about hugs, or laughter, or love.

When Professor Charles Xavier found Scott hopeless and alone, he sent four simple words telepathically: "Everything will be okay." And Scott heard those four words more clearly than he'd heard anything in his life.

And a week later, when Scott awoke terrified from a nightmare, sobbing and dripping in sweat, the Professor pulled him into a hug and sent, "Everything will be okay."

And when Scott put on the ruby-quartz glasses for the first time and opened his eyes, he and the Professor laughed out loud. Tears of joy ran down Scott's face as he saw the Professor say, "Everything will be okay."

And two years later, as Scott walked hand in hand with Jean through the grounds, he saw her sign, "I love you." And he thought to himself, "Everything will be okay."