Chapter 28

Parental tribute

At the New Mall construction site

Blob got up holding his head from the splitting headache Marvel Girl gave him earlier. He waited a little bit and his head started to clear. Blob spotted Rogue carrying Shadowcat away from the battle and decided to ruin their day.

Blob ran towards them stomping the ground, "Oh Rogue!"

Rogue spotted him running towards them, there was nothing she could do with Kitty on her shoulder.

"I don't think so!" Warrior slid forward tripping Blob resulting in him falling face first.

Blob got right back up and took a good look at Warrior, "So who are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Warrior" Dean said with pride.

"Warrior? Ha! That's so stu—"Blob was punched square in the face.

"I'm sorry you were saying something about you being stupid? Please continue" Warrior said taking a defensive stance.

"Aaahhhh!" Blob shouted trying to bash Warrior.

Warrior backed away from the bone crushing bash and avoided it, 'I hope I can use the same technique as last time' he rushed forward but Blob stomped in front of himself making Warrior back up from the force of the blow, 'Guess not'

Blob tried to hit Warrior with a left punch, right, left, right, hook, and an uppercut.

Warrior dodged Blob's pathetic attempts to hit him with ease.

Warrior saw an opening and sent a punch to Blob's midsection, he was shocked to see that Blob's body seemingly absorbed the shock of the hit like a big balloon. He tried again several times but the same result.

"Ha! You can't hurt me! I'm the Blob!" he boasted.

"Wanna bet?" Warrior said raising an eyebrow. He jumped forward and hit him with a mean right hook that made Blob take a step back from the force of it.

Blob actually managed to backhand Warrior before he could follow up on his attack.

Warrior landed hard on the ground, "Ok, note to self, don't stay in close for too long"

Blob again tried to hit Warrior with his slow attacks and failed.

"Well this isn't any fun, you're too slow" Warrior said mocking Blob.

The anger could clearly be seen on Blob's face, "Shut up!" he bashed the ground, where Warrior stood not a second ago, in a hulkish manor cracking the ground.

Blob continued his futile attempts to hit Warrior.

'Ok so how do I take him out? C'mon think, this is a construction site. There should be something that can help me' Warrior looked around for something that stood out.

Blob sent an overhand fist at him and Warrior jumped to avoid it, he spotted a wrecking machine a little far back as he was in the air, 'Well that could work, but how do I get him to stay still?' He landed on the ground and backed up from a left hook from Blob.

Blob saw a pole and ripped it out of the ground and threw it like a spear.

Warrior spotted the incoming pole and simply moved slightly to the left avoiding it all together. He took a step back and felt a strange substance underneath his foot, he looked at it, 'Wet cement?' he thought. His eyes widened, he looked back at the crane then back at the cement. "Now this I can work with" he said grinning.

Warrior waited for Blob to get a little closer, "Hey Fred, I don't think Blob is a good name for you. We should call you Lardy Mcfatfuck" he said with the absolute straightest face he could manage.

Blob's face turned red, "SHUT UP!" He yelled as he ran at him in a fit of rage.

Warrior jumped above Blob just as his hands were outstretched to grab him and used a double axe-handle on his back sending him crashing down into the cement, 'Thank you Seth MacFarlane'

Warrior ran over to the crane and pulled back the wrecking ball for a mean swing.

Blob slowly got up from the pile of wet cement but his face was covered with it so he tried to clear the cement from his eyes.

"HEY BLOB!" Warrior yelled.

Blob turned around and spotted the wrecking ball all too late, POW! He wobbled around for a few seconds before landing on the floor without moving another inch.

"Yeah! Take it in the face! Woo..wait…that came out wrong" Warrior said awkwardly. Good thing nobody heard that.

Cyclops fired an optic blast trying to hit Quicksilver but missed.

Spyke tried the same with his spikes but also failed.

"You guy's suck at this. Maybe you should go home and practice" Quicksilver taunted as he moved in superspeed.

Cyclops tried again with a wider blast, but failed again.

"Come on, shades!" another miss.

"You can't hit me!" another miss.

This time Spyke and Cyclops tried at the same time but it didn't work.

"Don't even bother!" Quicksilver appeared in front of the two of them, "I'm too fast" he ran away as they leapt for him and knocking into each other.

Quicksilver started running circles around Cyclops and Spyke making them fire randomly around them.

"You can't hit me, can ya? Ha ha ha!" Quicksilver hit Cyclops in the back as he passed by him.

Spyke tried to follow Quicksilver's movements and fired right where Cyclops was standing.

"Whoa!" Cyclops shouted ducking under the incoming spikes, "Watch it Spyke, don't accidentally hit me"

"My bad, man" Spyke replied trying to track down Quicksilver again.

Quicksilver passed by Spyke and swept his legs making him fall down, "Pull yourself together Evan"

Cyclops noticed Marvel Girl was finished with her battle, "Marvel Girl, I could use a little help here!"

"On it" Marvel Girl focused on Quicksilver.

As Quicksilver was running he suddenly floated off the ground and came to a stop, "Hey, no fair!" Quicksilver shouted.

Cyclops blasted him out of the sky sending him crashing to the floor knocking him out, "Finally, that's over"

Scott helped Evan up, "Man, I'm gonna get him one of these days" Evan complained.

"I'm sure you will" Scott said.

The rest of the X-men gathered round and regrouped, "So is everyone accounted for?" Scott asked looking around and spotting every Brotherhood member passed out.

"Yeah, everyone except for Mystique" Dean said holding up a cloak he found on the ground.

"She must have escaped while we were fighting" Rogue said.

"Well then there's nothing we can do" Dean said as he picked up Kurt's still unconscious body, "Let's go home"

Back at the Institute

Charles, Logan, Dean, Scott, and Jean gathered in the study to discuss exactly what happened.

"So the dreams Rogue was having were really Mystique's" Logan said

"I'm afraid so. Rogue must have picked them up when she touched her. Mystique may very well be the boy's mother, but we may never know the truth now" Charles said. He faced Logan, "There was nothing left of the lab?"

"Nothing" Logan said bluntly, "Whoever was running it didn't want us finding anything. But before it went kablooi it looked like the kind of place Dr. Frankenstein might have been comfortable in"

'Genetic experimentation on mutants? I hadn't realized that he was willing to go that far and poor Kurt' Charles thought.

"So when are you gonna tell Kurt about all this?" Dean asked.

"I'm not so sure the Elf needs to know, at least not yet. Some of this stuff can be pretty damaging" Logan said.

Jean and Scott remained silent.

Dean was compelled to speak about Charon's comment about Kurt, but he held his tongue only because he wasn't 100% sure yet. When the time was right he would tell the Professor.

But to think that Dean could have killed Kurt's mother, it's a good thing Zeus stopped him before he did or Kurt would have no clue where he came from. But then again maybe Kurt would have been better off not knowing at all.

There was a knock on Jean's door.

Jean checked with her mind to see who it was and immediately knew. She opened the door with her telekinesis and Dean walked in.

Dean closed the door behind him and spotted Jean sitting on her bed, "Hey there slugger" he joked. Jean's face was bruised from her tussle with Eileen.

Jean held an ice pack to her right cheek, "Ha ha" she gave a fake laugh.

Dean sat down next to her on her bed, "How're you feeling?"

"Lousy" Jean replied, "You?"

"You know I heal fast, I'm fine" Dean said.

"I wish I had your body" Jean said.

Dean smirked, "All you need to do is ask and I'm yours" he joked.

Jean gave him a funny look, "I suppose Eileen must have asked you"

"Hey she jumped me ok, when she used her powers I couldn't move my body" Dean said.

"That might be true, but you still enjoyed it" Jean assumed.

"Look, I'd be lying if I said Eileen isn't pretty. But that doesn't mean I want her, if that was true then why did I zap her with my lightning?" Dean asked.

Jean smirked and looked him in the eye, "You know usually I could tell if someone was lying, but with you I can't. So there's no real way of knowing…I guess I'm going to have to trust you"

Dean was surprised, "I know I'm going to regret this later but why?"

Jean brushed a couple of strands of hair back, "Well...it's that I can't hear your thoughts. Everyone is usually an open book to me, but you aren't. With you I get to have a normal relationship without worrying about invading your mind. I actually have to learn to trust"

"I'm flattered that you trust me" Dean noticed that he hasn't seen her right side since he walked in, "Hey let me see how bad it is"

Jean slowly removed the ice pack. Her right cheek was mostly black and blue.

"Damn, she got you good. Is that the first bruise you ever got?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, It really hurts" Jean said rubbing it, "I don't know how you do it"

Dean laughed lightly, "I've gotten my ass kicked plenty of times in my life. Bruises, cuts, broken bones…after a while you learn to embrace the pain"

Jean stared into his electric blue eyes, "That sounds sad"

Dean shrugged, "It does a little, but it's true. The more people hurt you the more you get used to it" he cupped her cheek and rubbed her bruise softly, "Eventually no one can hurt you"

Jean saw an inner sadness in his eyes that she couldn't begin to relate to.

Dean removed his hand, "But that's just how I see things" he gave her a small smile.

Jean found herself lost in his blue gaze and leaned forward. She gave him a brief kiss that lasted only a few moments, just long enough to get a taste.

Jean pulled away in a hurry, "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that" she got up from her bed, "I don't know why I did that" she looked nervous.

Dean got up, "It's ok, really"

"No it's not. I don't know what came over me" Jean said frantically.

"Jean really, it's fine" Dean assured her.

"No!" Jean looked uncomfortable, "I just kissed you and we're teammates and I liked our friendship, now things are going to be awkward and I'm going to feel terrible that I messed up—"

Dean put his arm around her and pulled her close for a long passionate kiss.

This time Jean couldn't find the strength to let go. She was too caught up in the moment.

Dean's tongue ended up touching her right cheek a little too much and she winced from the pain, "Ow"

"I'm sorry I forgot about your cheek" Dean felt bad.

Jean looked down and blushed, "It's ok" she looked back at him, "So…what do we do now?"

"Well" Dean thought, "Given our current predicament, I think I should take you out, and see how that goes" he said with a grin.

Jean nodded, "I would like that" she said with a wide smile.

The next day before class

Kurt and Rogue were sitting by Kurt's balcony.

"I still can't believe it. Mystique is my mother?" Kurt said still not believing it.

"Listen Kurt, who really knows? I mean that's one seriously disturbed lady, maybe she's just messing with you" Rogue suggested.

"I guess, but there is a certain resemblance" Kurt said.

"Hey look, that doesn't mean anything. Let's just wait till the Prof finds more answers for ya, then you'll know for sure" Rogue said.

"Somehow, I think he already knows more than he's willing to tell us" Kurt said.

"Maybe, but if he does, he's probably got good reasons for not telling you" Rogue said knowing what he means.

"Yeah sure" Kurt said staring into nothingness.

"Listen, Kurt, I really know what you're going through. We'll both keep looking and we'll find our answers together someday, ok?" Rogue asked. She tried her best to make him feel better.

"Yeah, ok" Kurt replied with a small smile.

"Hey, it's almost time for school and I've got exams. I gotta finish getting ready, and so do you" Rogue said walking away.

"Thanks Rogue" Kurt smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

As she walked away she wiped a tear out of her eye, what she would give to know who her real parents are.

When she left the room Kurt's sad face returned. He left out the detail where Mystique sort of confirmed his demon father, he didn't need any more attention today.

Suddenly Dean jumped onto his balcony from below, "Hey there oh fuzzy one" he joked.

Kurt smirked for a moment before he returned to his brooding expression.

Dean sighed, "I was afraid you'd be like this"

"It's hard not to" Kurt admitted.

Dean sat next to him, "Have you talked to your parents yet?"

Kurt shook his head, "I don't wanna talk to them"

Dean looked skeptical, "Why not?"

"Because they kept the truth from me, how can I forgive them for that?" Kurt asked.

Dean chuckled lightly, "Looking from the outside in makes you realize a lot"

Kurt looked confused, "What?"

"Listen, I'm gonna tell you something that needs to stay between us, ok?" Dean asked.

Kurt nodded.

"I literally went through the exact same thing you're going through" Dean said.

"How?" Kurt asked.

"My parents never told me I was someone else's son. I always wondered why I was different but they never told me why even though they knew" Dean said.

"That's right" Kurt realized, "So what did you do?"

"I was angry, so I confronted them about it. And not in a nice way" Dean said with regret in his voice, "They told me the truth, or at least what they knew. And I ran away from home"

Kurt's eyes widened, "Wow, that's crazy"

"At first I was so mad at them for not telling me, for lying to me. But then, after a while, I realized they did the right thing by not telling me" Dean said.

"Why is that?" Kurt asked.

"If I knew my biological father was out there somewhere, it would have tormented my mind every day. Why did he leave my mother? Why did he abandon me? Did he ever actually care? I would have been chasing a ghost my whole life" Dean said.

"But instead you grew up as a loving family" Kurt assumed.

Dean nodded, "Exactly. Your parents are no different than mine, they're just looking out for us"

Kurt let out a long sigh, "But what about Mystique?"

Dean sat there for a moment thinking of the right answer to give. It came to him as he summoned a lightning bolt to his palm, "Your parents don't define you, you do"

Kurt smirked, "That's kind of funny coming from you"

"Yeah, but it's true. Just because Zeus is my father doesn't mean I strive to be like him. He was never there for me, so I don't owe him anything. And the same goes for you, I don't care if Mystique is your mom, or your dad is a demon, you're still my friend and I'll always treat you that way" Dean said sincerely.

Kurt felt the power of his words relinquish his anxietal thoughts, "You're right, thanks man"

Dean pat him on the back, "Glad to help, I'll see you later" he jumped off the balcony.

He landed on the grassy ground and proceeded to walk towards his chopper

'I see your thoughts of me aren't positive' Zeus spoke.

Dean instinctively looked up, 'You're not exactly father of the year you know'

'Yet you accepted my offer' Zeus pointed out.

'I did that because it was the right thing to do, not because of you' Dean said as he got on his bike.

After that Zeus remained silent.

Dean pondered on what just happened. Zeus was listening to his conversation, which is something he could be doing all the time. And if he listens to Dean's conversations, there must be something he's trying to find out.

But what? Is it his thoughts concerning Zeus or the other Olympians? It could be. But it could be something else, after all it's smart to understand the person who might be your champion one day.

At Bayville High

Mystique had a similar sadness on her face.

She looked out the window and spotted a little girl leaving her mother's car, "Thanks for the ride mom, see you after school"

Why can't she have her son with her? Life sometimes isn't fair. Like right about now.

The room rumbled and all the metal objects floated into the air. The shades closed and a stapler and a ruler wrapped around Mystique's wrists and hoisted her into the air, "I warned you never to reveal his origin. Now look what you've done, he hates you" Magneto came out of the shadows.

"I didn't think that—"

"Yes you didn't think, that's exactly your problem. When it comes to your precious demon son you forget everything. You even gave away my position" Magneto said glaring at her with his bright yellow eyes.

"Xavier came to me, how was I supposed to—"

"Silence!" Magneto shouted, "We shall no longer speak of your failure. Understood?"

Mystique swallowed her pride, "Fully"

"Good" Magneto released her, "Now then onto other matters. This boy, Warrior, is more resourceful than I realized. We need one more to even the odds, I will not have Xavier's team be my team's superior"

"All the other mutants we found do not have the power or skill to match his ability" Mystique said.

"I will continue my search, there must be someone to rival this boy" Magneto said.

Bayville docks

An old homeless man was sitting by the edge of the docks with a fishing pole waiting for something to bite his bait.

He felt his line wiggle.

"Aw yeah, I gots me some lunch" The old man reeled in his line.

Then all of a sudden Kratos came out of the water and climbed next to the old man.

Kratos had the hook at the end of the line in his arm. He pulled it out without even flinching.

The old man almost jumped out of his shoes from his surprise, "Where in tarnation did you come from boy?"

Kratos looked down at the old man, breathing heavily from his long journey, "I know not where I come from, only where I'm going" he went on his way.

The old man looked back and watched Kratos walked away soaking wet, "Darn kids these days, everyone's messing with crack"

Kratos' journey was finally over, he'd reached his destination. Now to find his brother.

Author's note: The ghost of Sparta has finally arrived! But his quest to find his brother isn't over yet ;)