"We need to take him to a hospital," Scarlet said.
Scarlet's voice was worried, almost frantic. Erik looked over at Quicksilver, and it was hard not to share her worry. He was sleeping at the moment, but he still looked like hell. A thin sheen of sweat was on his forehead, and his foot was propped up.
It was difficult to figure out what exactly it was about the injury that was causing his fever. The blisters had turned snow-white, glowing in a sea of a deep, angry red. It even appeared to be creeping up, the imprint of Alex's hand mark long since distorted it. They had iced it, smothered it with aloe vera, given Quicksilver pain medication, but it all seemed useless as the burn crept upwards towards his knee.
It was unlike any burn that Erik had ever seen before, even one caused by Alex. What was it about Alex's ability that had caused this? For the millionth time Erik racked his brains, trying to figure out anything that they had discovered about Alex's powers during Cuba training. There had been fire when he'd used it, but he knew that Alex had become more streamlined in the use of his gifts since then.
Was this a new facet of his gifts? Had Alex known that this would happen when he'd grabbed Quicksilver's foot? There was no way of knowing, but Alex had never shied away from more violent methods of combat.
Perhaps Erik had underestimated him in the past.
"We both know a hospital is out of the question," Erik murmured.
Scarlet shook her head again, putting a damp cloth on Quicksilver's forehead. If they had still been allied with Emma, then maybe they could have done something. It made Erik grit his teeth, made him wish that he had waited a little longer before breaking off their partnership.
What was done was done though, and they would have to look for other options. There weren't very many. There was a lack of doctors that they could trust without Emma's assistance, not that there had ever been a wide variety.
"Should we do something with the blisters?" Scarlet asked, "Lance them or something?"
She knew better than that, but he supposed that her brother's injury was making her panicky. This wasn't an ordinary burn either. The blisters almost looked like they throbbed and pulsed.
"Could cause infection," he said.
"It already looks infected," she said.
He had to agree with that, although how that had happened remained a mystery to him. So much of this was a mystery. It had been a long time since he'd felt this helpless, watching someone he cared about suffering without a clue of what to do next.
"I know we can't take him to a hospital, but he needs a doctor," she said, kneeling down next to him, "Magneto, I don't know how to help him."
"We don't have the means to get a doctor," he said, "You know that too. We'll have to manage."
"Manage?" she hissed.
He gave her a sharp look.
"Yes," he said coldly, "Manage."
Rage filled her eyes.
"You don't care, do you?" she said, "You don't care that he could be dying right now, don't care that it happened while he was leading a mission that you sent him on, don't care that-"
"No," he said, his voice low and sharp, "You will not blame this on me."
While Erik could understand her anger and fear, he refused to be the scapegoat for her anger. Not this time.
"You're desperate to be angry at someone, and I understand this," Erik said, "But direct your anger at the person who caused this injury, not the most convenient target. I am trying to help right now and I suggest you do the same."
Perhaps he was just solidifying his eldest daughter's dislike of him, but there was a limit to his patience over The Scarlet Witch's continued resentment. He could stand her anger over Lorna because he did have a part to play in that, but he would not let her accuse him of not caring.
"And I suggest that you reevaluate who your friends are. You have been with me for nine years," Erik said, "In that time you have grown from teenagers on the cusp of understanding your gifts to adults with the abilities to use them. We have been through good and bad times, but never, never have I not cared."
"Oh really?" Scarlet snapped, "Or are you just worried that your fastest asset is in danger?"
Now that really was going too far. He lowered his voice, making sure it was sharp, making sure that she understood.
"Four years ago, when we first encountered the X-men, there were three mutants with me that night. Astra might have been difficult to work with, but as a teleporter she was one of the most important assets to the Brotherhood," he said, "Domino was an amazing markswoman, her talents would have advanced our cause greatly. Trask may be off the table, but there were others she could have eliminated with ease."
Although he kept his voice quiet, each word was spat out. He remembered that night all too well, trying to drag Quicksilver away from a rapidly deteriorating situation, realizing that he was going to lose soldiers that night.
"But when the attack went sour and there was time to save one person, I chose to save your brother," Erik said. "Not because he was the most valuable asset on the team, but because of who he was, because he entrusted his future to me."
Scarlet's expression twitched slightly. He could understand her pride, but he would not let that get in the way.
"I will find a way to fix this," he said, "Never doubt this. But you should know the type of man I am by now, and you should know that I do not take pains to justify what I do to those I feel to be unworthy. Know that I will not tolerate these accusations from you any longer. Is that clear?"
She didn't answer, and Erik didn't wait for one. He turned and stormed out of the room. If there wasn't an improvement in one hour, then he would have to take drastic measures. Hank was the only mutant doctor who was firmly acquainted with Alex's background that he knew of. He was foolish in many ways, but brilliant in the ways that mattered for Quicksilver.
Erik doubted that he would help, not without some convincing. He wasn't even sure if Charles would listen to Magneto asking him to help one of his soldiers, but perhaps he would listen to Erik Lensherr asking him to help save his son.
Lorna stretched and walked outside. She was meeting Xi'an and Sam for coffee in the lounge in a few minutes, but she had time for a quick walk. It was cold outside, probably too cold to be doing so, but the cold was refreshing in a way.
A few feet away some of the of the children were having a snowball fight. They waved to her and she smiled and waved back. Another student took advantage of the distraction to throw a snowball at their friend.
She laughed as the fight resumed. Lorna bundled up a little further in her coat and continued on her way. It was nice to get out, especially since she hadn't been running with Xi'an since she'd asked her to join the X-men. That had been three days ago, and Lorna knew that Xi'an was looking at her a little strangely.
It made Lorna uncomfortable. She knew that, if she told Xi'an the truth, she wouldn't have asked. No one could ask that kind of sacrifice, to fight against the siblings that had all but raised her. But she couldn't tell and, as far as Xi'an knew, there was no deep reason behind it.
Not that there was anything wrong with not wanting to upset a balanced life. Lorna told herself that over and over again. She was content now. She had her mother in her life, a good job, good friends, and a good man. Yes, there was pain, but that wasn't any reason to be unsettled. Lorna knew how changeable life could be, and she knew that she had to be grateful for what she could receive.
Deep in her thoughts, she rounded a corner. Alex nearly ran straight into her. She sidestepped him at the last moment, just managing to keep her balance. Lorna hadn't neglected the combat training and speeds she had developed while waiting to join her siblings. Self-defense was never a bad thing to have, and Lorna had always enjoyed running.
Alex himself nearly slipped in the snow, but stopped. He adjusted his jacket and gave her a lopsided smile. She supposed he thought it made him look charming, but it reminded Lorna more of a puppy dog than anything.
Add that to snow in his hair and he looked adorable.
"Hey," he said, "What's up?"
"Just going for a walk," she said, "You?"
"Wish it was something that simple," he said, "But I can't find Scott."
"You lost your cousin?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"No," he said, "He was supposed to meet me out here, and I haven't seen him around. Ororo said he was out front for a while, but then he went around the other side of the Institute. I thought maybe he didn't want to get sucked up in the snowball fight...but he's gone a little far."
Lorna nodded and looked around the corner.
"Did you check the playground?" she asked.
"I was going to go to the soccer course first," Alex said, "He likes to hang out there sometimes."
"You go to the soccer field and I'll go to the playground," she said, "We'll meet there."
"Okay," said Alex, "But if he's not at either of those locations, I'm asking Charles to use Cerebro."
"Alex, calm down," she said, "I'm sure he's at one of those places."
Alex gave her a doubtful look, but ran off anyway. For her part, Lorna began moving quickly to the playground. Although she believed what she'd told Alex, it wasn't like Scott to run off by himself. She tried to picture what would cause him to do so, and the answer wasn't anything good.
She shook her head and ploughed on. In a few minutes she reached the playground and began scanning the equipment. Her heart skipped a few beats when she didn't find him. Maybe he really was at the soccer field.
Nonetheless, she cleared her throat.
"Scott?" she called.
"m here."
She sighed in relief and moved towards the sound of his voice. Scott was tucked up against the wall of the jungle gym just underneath the slide. His head was resting on his knees, which he was holding tightly to his chest.
"Scott, why did you go off by yourself? You had your cousin worried sick," she said, kneeling down next to him.
"I didn't mean to go so far," he mumbled.
"Well you did," she said.
He didn't respond at first, and Lorna took in his posture. Something was wrong.
"Scott, are you alright?" she asked.
"My head hurts. So do my eyes," Scott said, "And there was so much noise in the front...I just wanted to get away from it, but Alex said he'd meet me outside...so I couldn't go in."
She nodded, and then remembered that he couldn't see her.
"Be that as it may, you can't do things like this," she said.
Scott shrugged. Lorna sighed and spotted Alex a several feet away. She waved to him, hoping that he got the message. When he waved back, she turned to Scott.
"Alex is here," she said.
She expected the news to elicit some sort of reaction, but Scott just buried his head further.
"It hurts," he whispered.
Lorna frowned and put a hand on his forehead. The skin was hot to the touch. He must have a fever.
"Scott, you're burning up," she said, "We need to get you inside."
"My eyes really hurt," he whimpered.
Lorna's frown intensified. Alex was still some feet away, so she put on the most soothing tone that she could. A fever wouldn't explain the eyes. Maybe a combination of the snow and sun had been too much for him.
She had to give Alex something when he came though, or he'd just panic. It was clear that Scott was already panicky, perhaps a symptom of the fever. The sooner she figured this out, the better.
"Alright Scott," she said, "Just let me take a look at them."
He lifted his head fractionally, his eyes still clamped shut.
"Just open your eyes a little bit," she said, "Maybe you got something stuck in them or-"
Scott opened his eyes, and her vision went red.