A/N - I love the heroes defending each other in every way … it makes me happy, robbie. You know this. We neeeeed this. The original four x-men need this. So. Much.

JD - glad you're enjoying it, but … I have to say - as much as I was NOT on board for Bobby to be gay (the way Marvel did it was horrific and wrong in so many ways, I could write a disseration on it) there are several cases I can think of PERSONALLY where men I knew for years never came out until they were into their 40's or later after having been married and with kids. In one case, the wife kinda knew? But then was so hard on him for being honest about it (even though he didn't seek out anyone to start a relationship with) that she made his life hell until he snapped and killed himself. There is no age cap on when someone can realize they've been living a lie. But sexuality in regards to ANY of the characters has never been a core part of their personality - to me. That's poor characterization to center someone's identity on their sexuality, especially when they have SO MANY wonderful facets of who they are to build off of without needing to say all the time that they're straight or gay or whatever. So while I agree that Marvel handled Bobby's coming out WRONG, it doesn't change his personality AT ALL. And had it been handled right (this is what I'm shooting for here) I can totally see Bobby as a gay guy. But he has to be able to handle it HIMSELF. Not have someone INFORM him that he's gay. That was HORRIBLE.

Keep in mind the way gays were treated in the 80's and 90's - think of Matthew Shepherd and how he was treated or how Brandon Teena was brutally raped and murdered for being trans- there was good reason for LBGTQ people to be in denial for large parts of their life. Admitting who they loved or who they were at heart could very well be the end of them. (and it is about love above all else. Not. Sex.) ((my best friend was a lesbian and it was a full time job keeping her safe long before Matthew Shepherd hit the news just because STRANGERS would regularly threaten her life just because she was gay.))

Now. Johnny has canonically had a sexual/romantic relationship with Akihiro in the 616, and agree or don't, as a former psych major, I gotta tell you - one of the major indicators of a gay/bi man in the closet and in DEEP denial is rampant womanizing, which … Johnny is very guilty of. Add to that the same factors Bobby is fighting plus the ex-military aspect and you have a guy that could be so far in the closet that he could live there forever. So I bought that one a LOT faster than I bought Bobby's forced Jean-Grey-Induced 'you are gay' outing. Just my thoughts, but I can easily see Johnny as bi.

But don't worry. There's always a reason for us to tweak things like this.

Chapter: Cosmic Penicillin

Scott had pretty much resigned himself to the idea that he wasn't going to get his powers back while the Phoenix was still in his head. It had been a few weeks now, and neither of them was budging. But with the fall semester at the school starting up soon, Scott was trying to focus instead on what he could do. Take care of Sam. Work with the team. Help some of the kids trickling in.

And that was fine - right up until the moment his powers suddenly turned back on in full force when he was picking up Sam's toys while she was drifting off.

One second, everything was fine, and the next, he was flat on his back and panicking as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to will his heartbeat to slow down so he could listen for Sam. "Sammy?" he called out. "You okay?"

"Camoka!" Sam shouted breathlessly.

Scott let out all his breath in relief. She wasn't crying, though she sounded scared. But at least she wasn't hurt. "It's okay," he promised quickly.

"Otay," Sam repeated. "Hot?"

"No, not hot," Scott said. He had his glasses sitting on the dresser nearby purely as a precaution, and he was thanking every lucky star he had left for that as he felt around until he found them and then shoved them on. "See? It's okay."

"Up!" she said, doing her best to get to him quickly, and once he'd picked her up, she started kissing his cheek over and over.

Scott smiled at her and snuggled her with one hand on the back of her head. "You're my favorite. You know that, right?" he told her and kissed her forehead. She kissed his cheek a few more times, and he held her close until they had both calmed down a little more.

"It otay, my-Scott."

"Thanks, Sammy," Scott said, knowing she was doing her utmost to make him feel better. "Sorry I scared you."

"S'okay." Sam kept patting him, since clearly, she was sure that was a good way to help.

Scott smiled at her and readjusted how he was holding her so she could reach him better, though he got to his feet so he could check in the mirror by the dresser. And yeah, there was a glow behind the glasses again.

"Need ice cweam?"

Scott smirked. "Oh yeah. Always," he said. "Let's go get some chocolate for you, huh? Mom'll love it if I bring you back all sticky and brown," he teased. "You know Mom's on the way, right?"

Sam cheered at that and then nodded seriously. "Camoka."

Scott laughed and put her on his shoulders, running out of the room while she held onto his head and cackled with glee all the way down to the kitchen - where, as predicted, K was just in time to catch the tail end of the ice cream party, having finally washed off after getting back from their tour of destruction.

"There are the cutest kids around," K said in a breath.

Scott grinned. "Hey, Mom," he said - with Sammy echoing him a moment later.

K made her way over to both of them, and as Sam threw herself toward her mother, K was sure to pull Scott over too so she could kiss his cheek. "I don't want to see you disappear on me before you can get some hugs and kisses too."

Scott smiled and gave her a quick hug. "We've been watching the reports come in," he told her. "Looks like you and Dad had a good time."

"I don't know about that," K said. "But we worked out a little frustration."

"Yeah, I know how that is," Scott said. "Sam's been a little more aware of if I'm around or not after what happened."

"She loves you - and you're her rock," K said. "Are you sticking around to eat? Logan ordered enough for everyone here."

"That sounds good," Scott said. "I was going to grab something anyway. I've got a headache." He tapped his forehead. "Sort of overdid it on the powers earlier on accident. I've been getting surges, more or less."

"Yeah, us too, which is why we ordered out," K said, smirking at him crookedly.

"Which also doesn't surprise me," Scott said.

"Hard to rest right when you're hunting that hard," K said.

Scott leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Yeah, they made you mad. Shame on them."

"Probably still won't sleep right for another few days," K admitted.

"Sorry about that."

"Not your fault," she promised. "Just my paranoia."

"Yeah, well, I've been having a few late nights myself," he admitted. "While you were gone, Bobby got shot after he and Johnny got publicly outed. And that's just the 'big' story."

"Yeah, caught the news," K admitted. "Is he okay?"

"Surprisingly, yeah," Scott said. "I don't know what the professor said to him, but he's doing a lot better."

"Good," K decided. "Kid needs a break."

"Seriously. And Ororo's been talking with him too. She and Kurt have been getting some hate too, even in his inducer." Scott shook his head. "Oh, and there's some pastor gaining nationwide support calling mutants the enemies of God and all that. So that's been fun."

"Always someone going out of their way to prove they're idiots."

Scott chuckled and nodded. "Pretty much. Missed you, by the way. In case that wasn't clear."

"Missed you too, but also very very happy you weren't there," K said.

"That bad?"

"It was ugly …" K paused, frowning to herself. "We were ugly."

"Hey." Scott reached over to put a hand on her shoulder. "You know there's not a thing you or Dad could do that would change anything about how much I love you guys, right?"

"You say that now," K said.

"Hey, I fell in love with a girl who had a planet-eater in her head. I think I've got a high threshold for danger here," Scott tried to tease.

"I guess so," K said. "Still. We … did a lot of damage, the two of us."

"I wish you didn't have to," Scott said honestly. "But with those guys in particular, I know why you need to. They won't stop." As he said it, he could hear the faintest echo of the other occupant in his mind and a reminder of how easily he'd taken out a facility, but he ignored it as much as he could.

"I still feel like crap afterwards," K admitted.

"Yeah, I know. I'm still not that thrilled about the one I leveled, even if they were after Sam," Scott said, matching her down tone.

"Yeah," K said, drifting off a little. "That was something else."

Scott paused. "How much did you see?"

"Enough."

"Yeah."

"You have some control."

Scott almost laughed, but he knew K hadn't been around the last few weeks he'd been fighting just to get his powers back. And he wasn't going to make her think things were going sideways. "Relatively," he said at last, diplomatically.

"I think that's the case no matter how you look at it," she said.

"I've been having surges," he told her honestly. "My powers aren't really reliable lately. I'm still fighting with the team, but I'm putting in a lot more work on what Dad taught me."

"That's not surprising," K said. "Have you felt any better while you work on what your Dad taught you?" She smirked. "I only ask because he took a minute to try and meditate yesterday and I let him do it long enough that he relaxed a little before I tackled him sideways across the room."

Scott chuckled. "Yeah, I've been meditating. It helps keep me grounded, even if everything else right now is up in the air."

"You're doing alright then?" she asked, watching him carefully.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Scott said. "I'm always fine."

"Oh yeah," K agreed, nodding a few too many times as she settled in. "Me too."

"You'd think we were related or something," Scott said with a quiet smirk.

"I'd claim you in a heartbeat."

Scott kissed her cheek. "Love you, Mom. I'm glad you're back."

"Glad to be back," she said as Sam grabbed a hold of Scott's shirt to keep him from going too far away - so Scott was pretty well stuck. Not that he was going to complain about it.

Bobby was frowning to himself as he listened to the phone ring at his parents' house. He'd been trying for the past few weeks to get in touch with his mom, but no matter when he called - no one was home. And when the phone finally clicked over to the answering machine - with a new and much more abbreviated message on it - no longer the happy, cheerful one where his mother announced all in the house who lived there.

He was confused as he waited for the beep, and then as the tone was still ringing in his ears, Bobby tied to leave a message. "Hey, Mom. Dad. Ah … just trying to find out if you were doing the neighborhood Halloween party this year or not. Things have been really busy here and I-"

The phone cut off before he could finish his message and Bobby frowned deeper at the phone as he stared at the receiver, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he just couldn't shake. He reached out with one hand and hung up, paused and tried to call back again, only this time, the machine didn't pick up and Bobby let it ring and ring for what felt like forever before he finally gave up. He started tapping his fingers on the counter, but he couldn't focus. Not when he started to think about how long it had been before he had been able to go home for a day or two.

But that was cut short when half the team zipped past. "Get a move on, popsicle, we have places to be!" Warren called out, and with one final glance at the phone, Bobby turned and rushed off to help his team. It was the more immediate concern just then, and regardless of what was going on at home, he had to help his team. He knew he'd let them down already more than he should have, and he didn't want to be the weak link in the group. Not when everyone was already having to put up with all the hate mail and death threats that were coming in since the whole … news disaster with Johnny.

Thankfully, the most pressing issue the X-Men faced was the "usual" anti-mutant nonsense. It was still rough, and they were still fighting people who wanted their extinction, but considering the many brushes with death and captivity they'd been having lately, it was sadly almost pedestrian.

But as Halloween got closer, it seemed like there was a bit of a moratorium on the hate crimes. Kurt in particular was highly entertained by how many people complimented him on his costume. So October seemed to be the best month to be a mutant, in their estimation.

And that meant their Halloween party kept getting bigger and bigger, until Storm was providing mood lighting and a foggy, stormy night, while Kurt had gone overboard on decorations and Kitty had picked out plenty of music. Any trick or treaters who braved the trek up there were rewarded lavishly with plenty of candy, and a few Avengers and the Fantastic Four had come to celebrate with the young team as well.

Some of the X-Men had brought dates, though that wasn't quite the case with Scott and Farrah. They were still operating as friends, not as dates, but Scott was honestly happy to have her around, because she always knew how to take anything and make it even more fun than it already was. Apple bobbing was particularly hilarious, and he was still getting the water out of his nose after Warren 'helped' him get his apple.

At the moment, Scott and Farrah were taking their turn with the bowl of candy to give to trick or treaters. There weren't too many, but the party inside was so loud that everyone was taking turns sitting outside away from the noise just in case. And it was the perfect chance for the two of them to talk - even if they had been calling each other often to chat anyway.

"Has that guy in your history class asked you out yet, or have you given up on him?" Scott asked with a smirk after they'd just sent one of the few trick or treaters away.

"I … kind of got over him when I found out he was after the biggest jerk in our class," Farrah said. "No loss."

"Sorry to hear that," Scott said. "I was hoping you'd find someone to wash the taste out of your mouth after that terrible blind date your sister set you up on."

"Yeah … she still wants me to trust her for another attempt. No. Way. What about you? Any interesting prospects?"

Scott shook his head. "I'm not really looking," he admitted.

"Yeah, I guess I can see that," she said.

"Yeah?" Scott said, one eyebrow raised over his glasses, since he hadn't expected her not to push - like most of his friends were doing.

"Well - you really loved Jean," she said. "And she freakin' died tragically. Of course it's going to take some time to even want to try."

Scott nodded at that. "Yeah, it did take a while," he agreed, then tipped his head her way. "I was actually trying when I reached out to you, though. It's just…" He leaned back against the wall.

"It's just when you've hit some awesome like us? It's hard to beat."

Scott laughed at that. "Oh yeah, that's a big part of it," he agreed. When Farrah grinned, he let the compliment hang in the air between them before he went on. "How much did my mom tell you about how Jean died?"

"Just that she died," Farrah said quietly. "She didn't want to go into it, and I think she wanted to give you some privacy about it."

"Yeah," Scott said in a breath, turning a chocolate bar over in his hands. "There was this… thing that took her over. It's a destructive force. I mean really destructive - known for burning whole planets. And Jean knew she couldn't stop it, so she asked Dad to kill her before the thing could get too powerful."

"That … what?" Farrah said in a breath, wide eyed and still.

Scott nodded. "Yeah. It was bad all around."

"Your dad had to kill her?"

"Dad can heal. He was the only one who could survive getting that close," he explained softly.

"Yeah, but … your dad." Farrah had one hand over her mouth as she stared at him for a moment. "Oh my God. Scott."

"There was a reason I dropped out of contact for so long," Scott said softly. "No one came out of that fight okay, but Dad and I…." He let the sentiment hang in the air between them.

When it was clear Scott didn't have anything to say immediately, Farrah scooted closer and wrapped him up in a tight hug. "I'm so so so sorry," she said quietly.

Scott returned the hug just as tightly. "Me too."

"Is … are you guys okay now?"

"It's all relative," Scott admitted. "I think Dad's doing a lot better now that he's taking care of Mom. She had to take care of us and Sammy after it happened, so he's been giving her a lot of attention." He paused and shrugged. "I'm a whole other shipwreck."

"I … think I'd rather look at it like a flat tire," she said.

"Not a bad analogy," Scott acknowledged.

"Well shipwreck seems so permanent. You just need the right person to come give you a hand."

"Which is why I'm lucky I've got you, my family, and the X-Men," Scott said, giving her a quick squeeze before he leaned back again. It was obvious Farrah was watching him, and he let out a long sigh. "So," he said slowly, "the thing that was inside Jean… escaped. Into me. Which makes it hard to want to try to date with that hanging over my head."

"Scott, that's ... " she was staring at him for a long moment before unexpectedly, she was trying to keep from smiling.

"Okay, that's not the reaction I was expecting."

"No, it's just … okay. Before the party really got started, I spent some time with your mom, so I guess my mind isn't right. And I'm trying very hard not to say something terribly inappropriate, but I'm also half sure you'd laugh at it. So … I'm just …" Farrah didn't try too hard to hold the smile back at that point. "... twisted. I guess."

Scott started to laugh. "Okay, that is … I can't decide if I want to know."

"Forgive me if it's too far out there?"

"Hey, you've met my mom. You're fine."

"I have. And I blame her," Farrah agreed. "Because for just a second all I could think was that I feel awful for you because that sounds like the universe's worst STD."

Scott let out a laugh that he couldn't stop. "Seriously?"

"Is there a burning sensation, Scott?"

"Oh man, it's just getting worse," Scott said, laughing harder. "The thing is literally a firebird!"

"So it's a burning most fowl?" Farrah giggled.

"It really is," Scott said. "Only this one tries to take the whole world with it when it has a temper tantrum."

"I'm pretty sure that's the only STD I've ever heard of that has temper tantrums - though clearly, I'm not as otherworldly as you are."

"Oh my God."

"It's all your mom's fault! We were being awful and punning earlier!"

Scott laughed, shaking his head as he leaned back. "Seriously. No one has ever looked at it that way."

"Well I just … I really kind of felt bad saying it, but I mean … the way you framed it."

Scott was still shaking his head. "But that's what happened."

"I know. But … it's your mom's fault."

"Sure. We'll blame her," Scott said, still smiling her way.

"Well it is her fault."

"You're the twisted one," Scott teased. "You can blame whoever you want, but we all know the truth."

"And you think I'm cute. So what does that say about you?"

"I have dangerous taste?" Scott offered.

"I thought it was that you were smart."

"That too, definitely," Scott chuckled.

"So what do we do now?"

"About your twisted sense of humor or my interdimensional bird problem?"

"I mean … what do we do tonight. I doubt I've got the right penicillin for your interdimensional burn problem."

Scott laughed. "Well, Bobby and Johnny are going to take their turn in a little while, and then I'm pretty sure the plan is to watch scary movies and camp out in the living room for as long as you want," he said. "If you feel like you need an X-Man escort to get you home after all the horror movies, we can do that too," he teased.

"I think I might need to have you light the way." She smirked. "Can we do s'mores? Because I feel like I'd take the risk on catching something to get a good s'more."

"Yeah, I'm not lighting a fire," Scott laughed. "Not that way anyway."

She laughed outright and leaned on him a little. "I know. I just … kind of had to."

"Couldn't resist, huh?" Scott teased.

"You know it," she said. "It's been too long since we got to play."

"Yeah, well, like I said - other things on my mind. Or in it. As the case may be."

"So you're really saying you just have a dirty mind?" Farrah raised one eyebrow as she watched him.

Scott laughed outright and then pushed her at the shoulder. "You're really terrible tonight!"

"Not my fault!"

"Oh, sure, we're blaming Mom. I forgot."

"How can you forget? We need to give her some payback for all those teases at the coffee shop!"

"I've also got her as a full-time parent now. You can imagine how much she teases me."

"I'd imagine she was laying off a little bit," Farrah said. "But … I guess if she knew how much you put in the baby pool on her, things would change."

"You can't tell her," Scott laughed.

"You are betting on her having another baby," she said, sounding scandalized, even if Scott knew it was all for fun. "And I don't even know if it's for her getting pregnant or for when your new sibling shows up."

"They're separate pools."

"You have two bets on your parents?" Farrah stared at him open-mouthed. "And you didn't invite me into it?"

Scott was grinning widely. "Hey, when Captain America asks if you want in… you don't ask questions."

"I … would ask all the questions I could."

"Yeah, I know you would," he teased her gently.

"So… when are your bets? I won't tell."

"Christmas for both. Either way, it would be a great Christmas present and a good bet, right?"

"You just want another big present for your gotcha day."

"And?" Scott laughed.

"Nothing!" she said, shaking her head.

Scott grinned and then offered her a hand up. "So, if you were serious about s'mores, I can put together a fire the old-fashioned way."

"I think it would be a good thing to do," she said. "Especially if you have anything that has caramel to go in it too."

Scott grinned. "I'm sure we've got something," he agreed, already grabbing a few things from the candy bowl so they could spice up their s'mores.