A/N: Alright folks, here's the latest chapter. Personally, this is one of my favorites of everything I've written so far. Hope you like it as well!

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Scott sat on the edge of his cot and stared at the wall across from him. He listened to the lights shut off outside his cell. The main lights that lit the entire wing were very similar to the type of lights that they use at football stadiums so he could literally hear them shut off as the darkness suddenly engulfed everything around him. The dark came on him quickly. Just like every night at 11:00, the guards turned off all the main lights without warning. And since inmates weren't allowed to wear watches, Scott never knew it was coming until it had already come. Now the only light he had was the dim 20 watt bulb recessed into the ceiling of his cell. There was an opaque plastic cover that kept him away from the bulb so that the yellow light it produced was filtered and barely noticeable. It didn't allow even enough light to read by, which was fine since Scott had nothing to read.

In fact, he had absolutely nothing to occupy the majority of his time, regardless of day or night. His cell had no window, only a cot chained to the wall and a stainless steel toilet in the opposite corner. It was nearly enough to drive a man crazy. It was definitely enough to change a man forever.

Time passed slowly in Blackwall. Scott didn't know how long he'd been there anymore. The only way he had of marking the days was the knowledge that the lights were turned off at night. Once they were turned back on in the morning, the guards would electronically open the cells and the inmates all went down to breakfast. After that it was back to the cell for a few hours until you were released for lunch. After lunch you were allowed one hour of exercise. Usually this meant going to the gym and lifting weights. Once a week you were allowed outside during this time to enjoy the sunlight of the courtyard. This time was precious and no one ever dared to waste it. Most would stand still with their eyes closed as if soaking up the sunlight that would allow them to survive another week until they returned.

Until then, the inmates were trapped inside the walls of Blackwall Detention Center. The prison had been built over a decade before and signs of wear showed on its walls. At some point in the last three years prison crowding around the state forced Blackwall to hold all prisoners together regardless of their crimes. As a result, people like Scott who were still awaiting trial found themselves in the middle of prisoners who would be spending the rest of their lives behind bars. There were 3 rectangular wings in the facility. Scott was housed in the largest one, known as the Cave due to its cavernous size. There were 5 levels in the Cave with 6x6 cells lining the two longest walls. Catwalks were set up along the front of the cells with waist-high railings to prevent anyone from falling off the side. There was a 50 foot separation between one wall of cells and the other wall with no catwalk connecting the two. That way inmates who associated with rival groups on the outside could be easily separated to avoid gang violence from finding its way inside the prison.

Scott's cell was located on the third level of the Cave, just 12 cells from the end of the row. For most inmates, your friends were the men on your left and right because you can stand next to the wall and talk to each other. Even though you can't see each other's faces while you talk, you can stick your arms through the bars, which gives your neighbor something to talk to. Unfortunately for Scott, becoming friends with the men beside him was not a possibility. The one on his left, Richard Dale, was mute. He had been born with paralyzed vocal cords and had never uttered a single word in his life. He was in Blackwall for shooting a burglar that broke into his house six years before. The man on Scott's right was named Daniel Kozey, a convicted rapist. He hated Scott with a passion. Of course, that was only because everyone else did to.

There was actually only one reason that everyone in the Cave hated Scott. That reason was another inmate by the name of Ridge. Ridge was the undisputed leader of the Cave and no one, not even most of the guards, was willing to stand up to him. For one thing, Ridge was a giant of a man. He was 6'5" and a frightening 230 lbs. He wasn't the strongest of the Cave's inhabitants, but his strength was impressive nonetheless. Scott had been told stories of how Ridge had once broken a man's back with his bare hands. Scott disregarded the stories as mere attempts at intimidation, but they were still unnerving anyway. Ridge had made it clear to everyone that he didn't like Scott. He had even challenged the young mutant to fight him a few times at various meals, but the challenge was never accepted and the guards always turned up when things got too heated between the two. But Scott knew that Ridge was pretty chummy with a lot of the guards. Ridge's cell was on the same row as Scott's and the young mutant had a hunch that the brute had made plans to force him into a fight soon sometime when the guards couldn't, or at least wouldn't, stop them.

As he lay on his cot, Scott found himself unable to sleep. Instead he lay still and allowed memories of his friends at the mansion to warm his spirits. He remembered the first time he had met Xavier, Storm, and Wolverine. He was in a hospital when they found him with Cerebro and came to get him. Scott smiled as he remembered how Logan had intimidated the doctor into letting them take Scott home with them. That was when he'd been given his first ruby visor. He had actually had to lift that first visor off of his face to fire a blast of any kind. Of course, it had been better than the glasses that were currently strapped to his head in a way so that he couldn't remove them at all.

His memories suddenly fast forwarded to the day he'd met Jean. Her powers were out of control and so Xavier had gone to help her and had brought Scott, Ororo, and Logan with him. Despite the fact that she had been completely out of control at the time, Scott was immediately infatuated. Over the last year or so that infatuation had grown into something else. He had of course never admitted this to anyone, not even Kurt, but he was in love with Jean. And not that silly high school love that was over in a month. Scott was truly in love with Jean and he knew it. He just wished there was a way to tell her without risking their friendship. His fear was that if he confessed his love to her then she'd be turned away by it and abandon their friendship, and if it was a choice between being friends or nothing at all, he was perfectly content with just being friends.

Suddenly, a noise from down the row drew Scott's attention. He didn't turn his head or make any physical signs of recognition, but his ears immediately perked up and he began listening intently to the quiet around him. When he didn't hear anything, he shook his head and mentally brushed the thoughts away as simple paranoia.

Then he heard a click coming from Kozey's cell. Scott turned his head towards his door now. Something was going on. He just wasn't quite sure what. He stood up and walked to his door, grabbing hold of the bars as he looked through them to see what was happening. He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but his vision was cut off to just a couple feet past his cell by his own walls when he tried to look down the row.

Suddenly, he heard a louder click and the door to his cell unlocked in his hands. Scott looked down to his hands as he slid the door back and forth for a moment on its track. The door could only be unlocked electronically from the master switchboard in the guard's office, but it didn't make sense for them to be opening his door now after lights out. There was only one possibility that Scott could think of. He braced his body as he took a step back from the door.

A foot appeared on the catwalk in front of Scott's cell as he stepped back. Soon, Ridge's full body was in clear view. Kozey appeared from the other side of Scott's cell soon after and the two inmates stood silently outside Scott's door for a moment.

"Evenin' Mut," said Ridge. "Mut" was his favorite term for Scott. It came simply from the first three letters of "mutant," but it also served as a convenient canine reference. By now, the whole Cave referred to Scott simply as Mut.

"Hi there, Ridge," snarled Scott from the middle of his cell. His fists were clenched and ready for the attack he had been anticipating since his arrival at Blackwall.

Kozey reached out with a smile and slid Scott's door wide open, allowing Ridge to step inside.

"Tell me somethin' Mut. How come ya don't seem to like me that much? Ya got somethin' against ol' Ridge?" mocked the large man once he was inside the cell. He had a visible smile crossing his face. It was clear Ridge was looking forward to this.

"Never was a fan for pond scum," said Scott. His weight was balanced on both feet evenly, ready to shift to whichever side it needed to avoid Ridge's first attack.

Kozey remained outside the cell, glancing over his shoulders constantly. He was acting as a lookout to keep the clean guards away. Of course, there were very few clean guards in the Cave. Most were easily bribed. Scott knew no one was coming to save him.

Ridge pounded his right fist into his open palm menacingly, drawing Scott's attention back to the intimidating figure. When he was sure he had Scott's undivided attention, the brute reached up and punched his fist through the plastic light cover in Scott's ceiling. Soon the light disappeared completely as Ridge unscrewed the bulb and threw it to the catwalk outside the cell where it shattered.

Scott was in total darkness now, and the red sunglasses didn't exactly help matters. All he could see was a dim crimson silhouette in the shape of Ridge's body. He watched a dark fist raise into the air in front of him. This was it.

"I've been waitin' a long time for this, Mut. Jus' stay still and it'll all be over real soon."

Ridge's right fist flew down at Scott from above. Scott watched it carefully and shifted to his left leg, avoiding the attack. While Ridge was still slightly bent over from the momentum of the punch, Scott lifted his knee into the man's stomach and simultaneously slammed his fist onto the back of Ridge's neck. Ridge fell to the ground quickly with an audible groan. Scott glanced outside the cell to make sure Kozey wasn't about to jump in. But Kozey couldn't see into the cell at all. All he could see was the pitch darkness that began just inches into the small room. Scott turned back to face Ridge again, who was now back on his feet.

"Oh, so yer tougher than ya look, eh Mut?! Well one lucky punch don't mean nothin'!"

This time, there was no light behind Ridge to form a silhouette so Scott didn't know where he was coming from. Scott's eyes darted from side to side, frantically searching for a warning of Ridge's next attack. Suddenly, Ridge's entire body lunged into Scott's and tackled him to the ground. Scott maneuvered his legs underneath Ridge's body and kicked Ridge off of him. He heard the sound of Ridge falling on the concrete floor just a foot away. Scott threw his fists into the air, using the momentum to pull his torso up. Judging Ridge's location by the sound of his fall, Scott put his elbow into Ridge's chest with his full weight flying behind the attack. Ridge let out an only slightly muffled yell as Scott felt a rib crack beneath him.

A fist slammed without warning into the side of Scott's abdomen and sent him somersaulting across the floor, his right hand crashing into the far wall with a loud smack. Scott stayed in a crouching position in the back corner of the cell as he nursed his wounded and bleeding hand. He watched as Ridge's silhouette rose back to its full height. One of the man's large hands rubbed the side of his chest as if easing the pain of the broken rib. He watched silently as Ridge's head turned back and forth in search of Scott.

"Where are ya, Mut?! I'm gonna kill you!"

Scott sprang out of the crouch without a sound and speared Ridge in the chest, knocking him back to the ground again and making sure to make contact with Ridge's injured ribcage. The two wrestled for a short time and jabbed at each other's torsos. Finally, Ridge managed to push Scott towards the front of the cell. Once again, they had traded places and Scott was in the vulnerable position of existing as a visible silhouette. He half-stood into a squat as he braced for the attack. There was no avoiding it. He couldn't see Ridge but the brute could see him and they both knew it. Scott's fists clenched as sweat dropped from his brow and blood trickled from his knuckles. He searched for some sign to give away Ridge's position.

"Ya know, you ain't the first mutie I ever met." Ridge's voice was a low rumble that echoed off the concrete walls. Try as he might, Scott couldn't place the man's location from sound alone.

"Nope, I used to know another one," continued Ridge, his voice dripping with anger. "His name was Tony. I used to think he was a friend of mine. We did a lot of business together, selling drugs on the street. He was good at it too. He told me 'bout his powers one night. Said he could sense a guy's feelings and thoughts. It made him a damn good dealer. Then we got busted one night by some rookie Narc. They wanted us to rat each other out on where the drugs came from and how long we'd been dealin'. 'Course, I wouldn't say nothin' an' I didn't think Tony would neither. But that mutant rat didn't have no loyalty. He told 'em everything for a plea bargain! Now he's back on the streets and I'm spendin' the rest of my life here. I swore to myself if I ever met another mutant I'd rip 'em apart, in honor of Tony. So ya see, Mut? I gotta do this. I swore I would an' I ain't nothin' if not a man of my word. An honest man who wouldn't ever rat out no one 'less he's some sort of lyin' mutant filth! I know what you are, Mut, so jes' sit back an' let it happen. I promise to make it real quick from here on out."

Scott's eyes were still searching for Ridge, trying desperately to follow the voice. Suddenly, he heard a primal scream coming from just inches in front of his face. Scott tried to duck, but it was too late. Ridge's gigantic fist smashed directly into Scott's face. He was knocked backwards into the air, his body still facing squarely into the cell. The force of the blow caused Scott to clench his eyelids in pain. As he fell back to the ground, he opened them to make sure a follow up hit wasn't coming.

The second his eyelids cracked open, a powerful red blast forced its way out. The blast fired into the middle of the cell and landed directly on Ridge's chest as if it had been carefully aimed. The shocked and confused man was sent hurtling through the cell's back concrete wall and fell 3 stories down on the outside of the prison.

Scott clenched his eyes shut, immediately realizing what was happening. Ridge's last punch had shattered his shades and released his powers without any filter at all. As he lay on the ground with his eyes now closed, Scott listened to the sounds of Ridge's fall. Chunks of concrete could be heard bouncing against the outside wall and then finally crashing into the ground nearly 20 feet below. He could hear Kozey's shouts and feel the man's movements as he ran to the hole to check on his friend and leader. Soon, other inmates were crying out to learn what had happened. After that started, it wasn't long before the sounds of the guards pouring out of their control room could be heard. Scott listened to their boots rattling the catwalk as they ran up the stairs. When they reached the third level, Scott could feel the vibrations of their steps as they drew nearer. Finally, he sensed a man right above him. A voice began talking to him. It was the night shift foreman, a man named Mindle.

"Summers? What's goin' on here?! What happened to your shades? Get up!"

Scott began to sit up as the man above him turned and called to another guard.

"Wallace! Find a new pair of shades for Summers!"

Scott was sitting on the edge where the catwalk met his concrete cell floor. He kept his eyes closed as he turned his face towards Mindle.

"They have to be a special kind of sunglasses. Call the Xavier Institute. They'll bring a pair."

There was a short moment of silence before Mindle canceled his order to Wallace. He helped Scott get to his feet and led him down to the Cave's control room.

"Til those glasses get here, you got some serious explainin' to do, kid," he said as he led Scott downstairs.

Scott nodded. "I know. How's Ridge?"

"Huh, Ridge? Damnit! Was this a fight 'tween you and him?!"

"Yeah, is he okay?"

There was a short pause which Scott assumed was caused by Mindle looking back towards his cell.

"Don't know. We'll find out later. For now," Scott heard the squeak of a door opening in front of him and felt Mindle push him into a room, "yer gonna answer some questions, starting with what jus' happened."