6: Family

"Is there a reason why you called us all in like this, Nick?" Asked one of the men gathered in the Colonel's office, "I have a business to run. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy our little powwows, but I need to give Pepper a break every now and then."

The Colonel frowned at the man, "Button it, Stark," the man said, frowning, "I called you all in because we have a new, potentially dangerous mutant that just popped up out of thin air around a month and a half ago."

"If you're talking about Shinji," Steven Rogers said, his arms crossed, "Then you can forget about sending be back in. The poor kid's scrawnier than I was back in the day. And so timid unless he nabs someone with an attitude problem that I doubt even Widow could coax him out of his shell."

"That's what you're worried about?" James Rhodes huffed, "I don't hurt kids, Nick, that's what I put in on my contract. You send me after a little boy, then you've got War Machine on your ass."

A red haired woman next to Steve nodded, "I agree that the boy's a little strange, but he doesn't seem all that dangerous," she said, shrugging, "Sure, his powers put him at Alpha, maybe even Omega class as far as mutants go, but he's still just a scared little boy."

Nick looked over to a tall blond man who stood apart from the rest of the group, "Thor, I know you keep tabs on who and what goes through the Bifrost," he said, making the man turn his attention to the Colonel, "The boy, Shinji, doesn't have any birth records at all. Nothing that I've checked can place him in any hospital, nor any sort of cloning or artificial birthing labs. So I'd like to know if this kid's...not from around here."

Thor frowned for a moment, "I did not feel any sort of disturbance from the Bifrost, nor did Hiemdal report anything strange to me." He sighed and looked at the man, "But you are right that the boy is not of this world." All eyes turned to the God of Thunder, "I do not know what manner of creature it was that forced him here, but forced here he was. By an entity akin to a...a demigod of sorts. Strangely enough, the being felt the same as a human to me, as if it was human, but different. Much more powerful."

"A mutant?" Asked a man wearing a lab coat, "Extradimensional beings are often of higher power than most, so the boy could have- "

"I'm sorry, Banner, but it was not a mutant," Thor said, thinking on it, "I have...looked at the boy, for he holds great power, not the powers of a mutant, but something else, within him." He placed his fist over his heart, "He doesn't show it, but the boy is quite strong in his soul, but he fears greatly. The being I sensed around him was...shadow...that's all I could think of to describe the beast...and there was something else. Something that was protecting the boy."

Nick frowned at this, "Like what? From what I understand, he was found in the snow around Alkali Lake. He was wearing some sort of body suit, but nothing else."

"That wasn't it," Thor said, "What was protecting him...it felt as if it was a mother protecting her child. But the presence of this...protector...felt enormous, as if it were a giant. A tremendous giant."

"That doesn't ring any bells," Stark said, "If something like a giant had popped up, I think we'd all know about it by now."

"Unless it just hasn't gotten here, yet," Nick frowned, again, "right, I know you all don't like this, but that boy needs to be watched. Steve already knows, but whatever they did to him at Alkali Lake to give him his powers, I highly doubt that they'd just let him loose like that did without so much more than a few casualties on Wolverine's account. It was far too easy for them to swoop in and take not only Weapon X2, but also one of the world's few high-level mutants away. Shinji has the ability to absorb the powers of whoever he touches, and make those powers his own, and he has now absorbed the powers of the Gama-level mutants and one Beta-level. He's growing stronger by the day. And that means - "

"It means," Stark said, furrowing his brow, "That our boys will be wanting their toy back."

Nick nodded, "Exactly, and that could easily turn into a total cluster fuck if we're caught with our pants down." He said, "Not only are we dealing with Stryker and Trask, but we could have to deal with Viper as well. Don't forget she likes experimenting on mutants as much as Trask does."

"I have a score to settle with the bitch if she sticks her nasty tongue out," the red-head sneered, patting her sidearm.

"Easy, Widow," Steve said, smirking, and turned his attention back to the Colonel, "If you wanna keep an eye on him, great, but keep me and Banner away from him. If he touches me, or Bruce, then we're most likely gonna be dealing with a real monster."

"I agree," Bruce said, "One Hulk running around is enough for me, I don't want to see another."

Nick nodded, "I also want to keep him away from Thor, if at all possible," he said, "I don't know if he could absorb your powers or not, but it's better not to take that chance."

"What do we do about Hydra?" Steve asked, "They'll want him back sooner or later."

"And that's why we're keeping an eye on him," Nick said, "He's the bait. As soon as they make a move toward him, we move in and put them down for good. Trask and Stryker are long overdue for what's coming to them."

Stark chuckled, "Using a kid as bait, Fury?" He said, "I didn't think you could sink any lower."

"Whatever it takes." Nick said, "Whatever it takes."

(*)

Charles was waiting when the limousine pulled to a stop in front of the school, the man he was expecting jumping out before his driver could ever put it in park. The man bounded up the steps, coming to stand in front of the professor, "Charles Xavier?"

"Lucias Aquilla," the professor said in greeting with a slight incline of his head, "Your Majesty, I'm happy that you got my message."

"And I am grateful for your aid," the man said, reaching out to take his hand, "Please, is my daughter alright?"

Charles nodded, smiling, "She is, indeed, being well cared for." He said, "We have her resting in our medical ward below the school. Using her powers so suddenly when she had no prior training had drained her mentally and physically. And it did not help that two of our agents had to knock her out to stop her powers from running wild, and then one of them had to syphon some of her powers to help them get away."

Lucias looked ready to faint, "Please, I have to see her!"

"Of course," Charles said, turning his chair about, "Please follow me."

The two entered the school, the king following closely behind the headmaster. All around him he saw children and young teens moving around as they made their ways to their classes. "All of these children are mutants?"

"They are," Charles smiled, "some of them are the brightest minds I've ever seen, and others have the kindest of all hearts. Yours, I believe, is the kindest I've ever seen." He said, smiling over his shoulder at the man, "Even now, your mind is screaming out in worry for your beloved daughter, even though you know that she is gifted. So many others would have condemned their children for such things, but you, however, having nothing but love for that poor child."

"She is my life," Lucias said simply. "You said that one of your men had to...leech power from her...how did it effect him?"

Charles sighed as he thought of the boy in question, "He is...handling it in his own way. He has never known such love or kindness, as you feel for your daughter, and now that he has taken some of her power, he has also taken a portion of her memories." Lucias frowned at this, "It has made him quite sad, and very jealous."

"What was his life like to make him as he is?" Lucias found himself asking.

Charles stopped, and turned around just as they reached the elevator, "I do not think that it is my place to say, but, having read his mind, I can only say that I am openly disgusted by just how cruel his life had been before I found him. Now I have to teach him how to enjoy life as a young man of his age should." They entered the elevator, and descended into the medical wing.

"If it wouldn't be much trouble, I think I would like to meet the agents that saved her," Lucias said, smiling at the professor, "It's only right that I thank them."

"I think that they would like that very much," Charles smiled in return, "Shinji especially. No one's every thanked him for something like this before. And no one has ever thanked dear Laura for anything, I believe."

The elevator stopped, and opened up, "My goodness, you certainly are well prepared for anything, aren't you?"

"I have seen plenty of what non-mutants can do to these poor children if left unchecked," Charles said as the moved toward a hospital room, "She's resting here. You may take as much time as you need. I need to attend to young Shinji, and see if he's doing any better."

Lucias nodded, and entered the room. Amara lay on the bed, her eyes only just barely open. He carefully sat on the edge of the bed, smiling down at her, "Hello, my dear," he said.

Amara smiled at her father, "You came."

"Of course I did," Lucias smiled, "I can't let my heart wander around without me, now can I?"

The girl's smile faded slightly, "But...I'm a mutant..."

Lucias shook his head, "I don't care if you are a mutant, or not," he said, "You are still the little girl I watched grow up into the beautiful young woman that you are now. And I couldn't be anymore proud of you." He said, frowning, "If anyone is to blame, I believe it would be the Mutant Response Division. After all, if they hadn't started harassing you, your powers may have remained dormant."

"Or they could have come alive on the plane back home," the girl said, shuddering, "Father, if you'd seen what I've done -!"

"I have, and I still stand by what I said," he said, "They will be made to pay for this slight against our family. I will see to it."

Before Amara could respond, a large, blue...creature lumbered into the room, "Ah, you must be Amara's father, Lucias , am I right?" The beast asked, gaining a timid nod from the man, "I'm Hank McCoy, the resident doctor here, as well as one of the professors that teach at this school."

"I see, then thank you for caring for my daughter," Lucias said, finally becoming comfortable around Hank, "Tell me, was my daughter's power going to remain dormant, or was this an inevitability?"

"It's hard to say," Hank said, "Mutations can activate at any point in a person's life if they have an X-gene that's active. And it sometimes doesn't take much to trigger a reaction. Such as an emotion. Fear, anger, and the like. If Amara's powers hadn't come alive at that moment, however, I fear things might have gotten much uglier than they did."

"What do you mean?" Amara asked fearfully.

Hank smiled a little at the girl, "Well, my dear, putting it simply, the M.R.D. may have tried to take you in, powers or no powers. All you need was to show up on their detection devices. If you had the potential to trigger your mutations, then they would have gone for you either way."

Amara groaned and shifted on the bed, sitting up with the aid of her father as the doctor came forward and checked her vitals. "Hmm, still a bit weak, are we?" She nodded, "Well, that's to be expected I suppose. Sudden mutations such as yours can take a hefty toll on the body if you're not used to the strain your powers can put on your mind and body."

"Will she be alright?" Lucias asked fearfully, "If you need anything to - "

Hank chuckled and held up his hand, "There's no need to worry, Sir," he said, staving off his worry, "A day or so at the most, and she'll be back on her feet again, all she needs is a bit more rest, and perhaps a nice hot meal. Something which I believe will be delivered down here soon." He then took something from his lab coat, a small stack of papers, "Now, I hate to bring this up, but as your daughter has activated her powers, willingly or not, the two of you need to think about the future."

Lucias looked at the doctor, "You want her to stay here?"

Hank nodded slowly, "It is, ultimately, up to the two of you whether she stays here to study, and control her powers, but I do want you to know that we have some of the finest teachers working here, both mutant and non-mutant. Security is top notch, and breaks are scheduled for many of the holidays, so seeing each other would be no problem at all during those times."

"What about the anti-mutant movements we've heard so much about?" Amara asked, frowning. "I've heard horrible things are being done to those that are even suspected of being mutants."

"That's true," Hank said, "It pretty much a witch hunt at the moment. And your island nation is far from the chaos that ensued with the revelation of mutants existing, and many were horrified of the fact. Neighbors turned against each other for no reason, families were torn apart. But sometimes, good came out of it. Such as this school and others like it."

"And you can assure me of my daughter's safety?" Lucias asked, frowning, "I'm sorry, Dr. McCoy, but - "

"Your daughter is in the system now as an Alpha-class mutant." Hank went on, "That's just a step down from the strongest class of mutant, Omega. There are very few of that particular class around, but many of them are right under this roof. The professor is one of them, and another would be the boy that helped rescue Amara."

"He's that strong?" Lucias asked, surprised, "Professor Xavier hinted that he was only a boy."

"He is," the blue-furred mutant said, "But he was taken, and experimented on by two men that seek to weaponize mutants. Now he has the power to steal the powers of others, and make them his own, which marks him as a very dangerous mutant in anyone's eyes. But, that being said, others may target your daughter as well considering how strong her ability could potentially become."

The father and daughter looked at each other, the girl biting her lip. "Can we have some time to think this over?" Lucias asked.

"Of course," Hank smiled, "Take as much as you need. Charles had thought to prepare a room for you here at the school so that you can be closer to your daughter, and you may both leave tomorrow if you so wish it. Come back to us at any time; our doors are always open."

"Thank you," Lucias smiled, "Would it be possible to meet the two that saved Amara?"

At this, Hank frowned, "Well, Laura is...a tad unsociable, and rather hard to talk to, given her circumstances, I can understand why," he said, "But can convey your appreciation to her. Shinji, however, I think would like to meet you."

"May I come, too?" Amara asked, but the doctor shook his head.

"You're still recovering, my dear." He told her, "But we can arrange for both of them to see you tomorrow if you want. Laura should've calmed herself down by then."

Lucias rose, patting his daughter's hand before following the doctor out. "Was the boy injured during the mission?"

"No, actually," Hank said as they walked the hall, "Shinji has displayed quite a few symptoms of PTSD, and low self esteem. Whatever he was before he was made a science experiment, he was not treated well."

A short walk later, they stopped in front of the boy's room, and Hank let a smile form, "Ah, it seems Charles is done with him," he said upon seeing the professor speaking with the boy. The door opened as the man wheeled himself out, sighing. "How is he?"

"I'm debating whether or not I should simply erase those horrid memories from his mind just to give him some peace." Charles said, sighing, "He was asleep when I came to check on him, and having a nightmare...an all too real memory of being boiled alive!"

"Good lord," Lucias covered his mouth.

"Was that something that Trask and Stryker put him through?" Hank growled out, his bestial side slipping through.

But Charles shook his head, "No, it's something that happened to him long before they found him," he said, rubbing his brow, "So much has happened to that boy that it makes me wonder just how exactly he's alive after all of it." He frowned, "And that was only the first of many memories I had to sort through to calm him. This place it far from perfect, but he views it as a form of heaven considering he doesn't have to go through such horrors anymore."

Lucias stepped forward, "Would it be alright if I spoke with him?"

"You may." Charles said, moving aside. "But please, make it quick. He's quite tired."

Lucias nodded, and stepped into the room. Upon entering the room, the boy, Shinji, he reminded himself, perked up at the sight of the man. "Mr. Aquilla."

"It's nice to meet you, my boy," he said, smiling kindly at the boy, "I wanted to thank you for your part in rescuing my daughter. She - "

"She means the world to you," Shinji finished, "Sorry, but I saw her memories when I took some of her power."

Lucias nodded in understanding, "If you hadn't done so, you may not have gotten away." He said, "And you're right, she means everything to me."

The boy smiled up at the man, showing such sadness that the man was shocked. "I wish that my dad was even a fraction of the man that you are." He said, closing his eyes, fighting back sleep, "I never knew if I was even wanted."

Lucias would have replied, but the young man had fallen asleep once again. The man frowned at how frail the boy looked while sleeping. His face was gaunt, and the dark circles under his eyes seemed to age him by ten years at least.

He exited the room, looking down at the professor, "Whatever you may need, funding, technology, security, all you need to do is to ask," he said, frowning deeply, "And if you ever find that boy's father..."

Charles sighed, "There are many things I would say to him, on his behalf, and your own for that matter." He said, sighing, "Hank, see that a meal is brought down for him as well as miss Amara. I don't think I've seen him eat, yet."

(*)

"You're sure about this?" Logan smiled as he looked down at the forms in front of him, "I mean, we're not even married and you wanna have a kid?"

Ororo chuckled, "You're over a hundred years old, and you really have to ask if I'm sure about something?" She said, "You certainly learned nothing of women in all of your years."

Logan laughed as well, "I learned plenty, Storm," he said, passing her a pen, "The fact of the matter is, though, that she might not like this all that much."

"I realize this, but she needs this," she said, smiling, "You know I'm right."

"I do," he said, and watched as she signed her half of the forms, his own already signed. "But this is going to be a strange little family."

Ororo laughed again, "We already had a strange family when we joined this school, didn't we?"

"That we did," Logan rose, and took the forms from her, "I'll go let the Squirt know about this. I just hope she'll agree to it."

"Want me to come along?" She asked.

"Nah, better that I do this on my own," he said, but the woman rose and looped her arm through his, "But you'll come anyway, right?"

The woman smiled up at him, "Now you're learning."

.

Laura laid out on her bed, tossing and turning fitfully. "It's way too soft," she groaned out, laying on her stomach. She liked the feel of the bed, but she was used to much harder surfaces to sleep on. Sighing, she rolled over on her back, and looked up at the ceiling. "Wonder how that wimp's doing?"

"I know what it is to have absolutely nothing...just like you."

She shook her head and punched one of her pillows, "Stupid wimps, saying things like that!" She huffed, and buried her face in the pillow, "I don't need anything..."

'What the hell's wrong with me?' She wondered, angry tears coming to her eyes again, 'Ever since I met that wimp, I've done nothing but get angry, or harassed by one person or another.'

The girl was finally about to doze off when someone knocked on her door. She groaned in annoyance as she rolled to her feet. Scowling as she opened the door, she found...'Oh, great.' She sighed as she saw her...father...standing there with Storm on his arm.

"Sorry to bother ya, Squirt," Logan said, much to her irritation as he used his nickname for her, "But Storm and I wanted to talk to you about something."

Laura cocked her head at the woman, "The both of you?" She asked, frowning, "Did I do something wrong on the mission?"

"It's not about the mission, Dear," Storm said, smiling at her, "But to that effect, you performed very well out there last night." Laura gave a small smile at this, "What Logan and I wanted to talk to you about was...well, making you an official part of our family."

Now the girl was confused. Greatly so. "What family?"

"She and I've been datin' unofficially - "

"It's only unofficial because you're too stubborn to fess up," Storm said, cutting him off.

Logan rolled his eyes, "Fine, we're officially datin', happy?"

"I'm not, and I'm going back to bed," Laura groaned, ready to close the door on them. But Logan stuck his foot in the door. "What now?"

"We wanna adopt you, Laura," Logan rambled out hurriedly.

Laura nearly stumbled back into her room as she let go of the door. "You what?!"

"You heard right, Dear," Ororo said, "We'd like the chance to be your parents, if you'll let us?"

Laura couldn't believe what she was hearing. Adopted? Her? "I...why...why would you...?"

"Because," Logan said, sighing, "I wanna be a part of your life, kiddo," he frowned, "I had a son, once, and thought that I did the right thing in bein' distant with him when he was your age so he could forge his own path. But that was the wrong move in a lot'a ways. I don't wanna see the same thing happen to you, Laura."

"And I'd like you to know what it feels like to have a mother," Ororo said, crossing her arms loosely, "I don't have any children of my own, yet, but I can at least try to be what you want...what you need."

Laura kept looking between the two of them, not knowing what to say. Seeing this, the two adults backed out of the room, "We'll give you some time to think about it," Ororo said, "Whatever you decide, though, just know that we're both here for you should you need us."

"Anytime, Squirt." Logan added as he closed the door.

Laura stood there for a moment, rooted to the spot as she went over what had happened. They wanted to be her parents. Her parents!

"They can't be serious," Laura mumbled as she stumbled back to her bed, and crawled onto it. She lay flat on her stomach, her chest aching for some odd reason. It felt strangely pleasant, however, this ache. Again her tears came, but they weren't angry tears she seemed to always cry, she didn't know what to call these tears. Sighing, she hopped back up, and wiped her eyes dry, deciding to go down to check on Shinji.

.

When Laura found Shinji's room, the boy seemed to be asleep. But there was a strange look o his face, as if he was in pain, or something was wrong. She hurried into the room, and began shaking him, "Shinji?" She called out softly, but he didn't wake at her insistence, "Hey, Mimic!" She called slightly louder with a rougher shake of his shoulders. "Wake up!"

Shinji's eye flew open, and Laura barely had time to move back before he took a swing at her, claws extended as he came awake with gasp. "L-Laura?!" He gasped out, seeing the girl in front of him, looking worried for once.

"You okay?" She asked calmly, not letting the worry into her voice, "You looked like you were in pain."

Shinji sighed in relief, "Yeah...yeah, just a bad dream."

"What about?" Laura found herself asking as she sat on the bed next to him. An action that forced a small blush to his cheeks.

He shook his head slightly, "I dreamed about being home again," he sighed, looking at her with a shaky smile, "Strange, huh?"

"Not really," Laura said, shaking her head, her hair swaying, "I know that if I had bad dreams, they'd be about Stryker and Trask working on me again." She shrugged, "I don't really know what you went through, but i you have nightmares about it, then it must be pretty bad."

Shinji nodded, sighing, "What are you doing up, anyway, Laura?" He asked, "I thought you'd be spending the day sleeping after last night?"

"I was going to, but the damned bed's so soft that I can't get comfortable," she frowned, "really, how do people do it?"

"I slept on the floor on a thin mattress the biggest part of my life," he said, chuckling. "You could try that until you get used to it?"

"Maybe," she sighed, frowning.

Shinji could tell that there was something else bothering her, but wondered if he should ask about it. "Um, is there something wrong?"

Laura looked at him sharply enough that he muttered 'I'm sorry' on impulse. She sighed, and looked down at the floor, "Not wrong per se, I guess, but it...it is weird...Wolverine and Storm...they want to adopt me."

Shinji smiled, "Hey, that's great news," he said happily, but then he noted the frown on her face deepening, "But...it's not what you want?"

"I don't know," she admitted, shrugging, "I never knew what having even one parent was like, let alone two. I mean they want to adopt me? A trained assassin that's had to kill for her supper? They can't be serious!"

Shinji sat up and sighed, "Well, I don't really know them all that well, but Miss Monroe seems like a really nice woman, and I know Mister Logan cares about you because he kept warning me to watch where I put my hands when I had to carry you."

"I'd've gutted you if you tried anything," she huffed.

"That's what I told him," Shinji smiled at her, laughing. Her stomach fluttered at his action, making her frown. What was it with her and strange reactions today? "Why don't you give it a chance?"

"It's not something I can take back, you know?" Laura sneered, "If I say yes, then I'm stuck as their daughter, and that's that. What if I fuck it up somehow?"

"They'll scold you, maybe ground you, but they'll still be your parents," Shinji smiled, looking a little jealous, "At least, that's what I'd think parents would do. My mom's been dead since I was four, and my dad abandoned me. So I really have no idea how it's supposed to be. I mean, with Julias and Amara, it seemed so perfect. At least until she used her powers, and the M.R.D. screwed everything up for her."

Laura sighed, and started testing the softness of the bed he was on. "I still need to think about it." She said, more to herself than to him. Then looked at the boy, "Lay back down."

Shinji obeyed, thinking she was about to leave. Instead, she moved toward him and laid down next to him. "Uh, Laura - ?"

"Hush, and go back to sleep," She muttered, curling up against his shoulder, "I told you tat my bed's too soft...but this one feels better."

"T-there's -plenty of unused r-rooms," he stammered out as the girl sighed in comfort. Shinji groaned as the girl dropped off to sleep, her head tucked against his shoulder as a pillow. This felt like an all too familiar situation. But he wasn't about to try and steal a kiss from this girl lest he get a blade to his head.

New chapter, finally. Hope you like it. If you do, review!