A/N: Hi and thanks for all the wonderful reviews. A quick note to Blowfish the Monkey Tamer and madleinx, just as neither of you were able to see my email address, I couldn't see yours. My address is commissioned19 at hotmail . com (without all the spaces. The website won't let me type any sort of URL or email address here) for anyone who wants to send me an email but can't get the new system of showing email addresses to work. However, I will say to Blowfish the Monkey Tamer right now that I've never experienced anything similar to the situation you described. The best advice I have is to email the support team and ask what's going on.
Just a reminder that I want each and every one of you to come check out the Lunaverse, a message board I frequent. You can find a link on my profile page.
I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the cliffhanger at the end of this chapter. The next few chapters are all going to cover about 48 hours so it's gonna be really hard not to have any cliffhangers. Just keep in mind that the cliffhanger could have been much, much worse.
And now, without further adieu, I finally give you what every single one of you wants. Ladies and gentlemen, the X-Men are back!
Over the last eight and a half years, Charles Xavier had developed a rather unique morning ritual. The first thing he did after getting out of bed each morning was go downstairs to Cerebro and use the giant machine to search for Scott Summers. He began this ritual the day after Scott left the mansion. For the first year, he had encountered no trouble in pinpointing Scott's location. He had essentially watched as Scott traveled around the United States for 16 months. But at that 16-month mark, Scott had moved to England. It was at this point that Scott's mind had begun to grow faint to Xavier. By the time Scott had been away for 2 full years, the Professor was no longer able to find him anywhere, which meant one of three things were true. Either Scott was dead, he had devised a helmet similar to Magneto's, or he had simply trained his mind against telepaths to the point that even Cerebro couldn't penetrate his mental barriers. Since the signal had faded away over months, Xavier assumed the third scenario was true. Since then, Scott's location had been a complete mystery to the X-Men. Despite the certainty Xavier felt that he would never find Scott with Cerebro, he held on to hope. It was this hope that called him down to Cerebro this morning to search the globe for Scott's still familiar brain pattern. As expected, the search was just as fruitless as past ones. Xavier sighed as he lifted the metal headgear from his head and returned it to the stand in front of him. As he turned to leave Cerebro, it occurred to him how pointless this ongoing search was. Still, he knew he would be back in just 24 hours to try again. It was simply his nature to be optimistic.
Soon, Xavier found himself reading the morning paper at the head of the dining table. Kitty, Rogue, Bobby, and Hank were all scattered around the table as well enjoying their own small breakfasts.
"Anything new going on, Charles?" asked Hank, motioning towards the newspaper.
Xavier glanced up for a moment. "I'm afraid not. The President leaves for China today, Kelly's being himself, and a helicopter crashed just outside of Albany last evening. Other than that, the world seems quiet."
"What about Peter Fossberg's dinosaur dig in Malaysia? Have they found anything yet?"
Xavier looked up at Hank with a friendly, yet sarcastic smile. "I'm afraid The Bayville Sun doesn't cover archeological digs in Malaysia. You'll have to look that one up on the Internet."
Hank smirked as he returned to his breakfast. "No thirst for knowledge in this town," he muttered.
"So when is Remy coming home?" asked Kitty, turning to Rogue.
"Another week at least," answered Rogue. Remy was currently out of town along with Logan, Piotr, and Alex. The Professor had not mentioned the details of their trip to any of the other X-Men, but Remy had let it slip to Rogue just before he left that they were going to Morocco to watch over the new American ambassador to the country. The ambassador was a mutant and many groups in the region had threatened to kill him. Xavier had sent his four best fighters to keep an eye on him for his first few weeks in office just in case. Having high-ranking mutants in the government could help lead to higher levels of equality. It just wouldn't do for those officials to be assassinated before they had a chance to change people's preconceived stereotypes. However, the American government was completely unaware of the X-Men's presence in Morocco and Xavier wanted to make sure it stayed that way. For one thing, the X-Men's actions in this case were quite illegal. So he had decided not to let the news spread, not even around the team, if he could avoid it.
"You sure you don't wanna tell us exactly what those guys are up to, Professor?" coaxed Bobby.
Xavier never looked up from his newspaper as he replied. "You already know much more than you should. The mission is supposedly top secret and the details of the trip will remain so."
"Thought we were a team," said Bobby playfully. "Shouldn't we get to know what's going on?"
"Never let your left hand know what your right hand is doing," said Hank. "Jesus gave that little piece of advice. The Professor is merely following it."
"True," said Kurt from the doorway as he entered the room and sat down with his own piece of toast and cream cheese. "But the principle being put forth wasn't meant to be applied to teams like the X-Men. Christ meant that we shouldn't perform our good deeds in the public so we can gloat about them. Rather, we should do them in private so that our intentions can't be questioned."
"Thank you Father Nightcrawler," said Bobby with a grin.
Kurt frowned. "I'm not a priest yet."
"Whatever," said Bobby as he stood from the table. "I'm off. I'll see you guys later."
"See ya later, Bobby," said Kitty and Rogue.
Kurt began spreading the cream cheese onto his toast just as Xavier set down the front page of the paper.
"Could you pass that over here," asked Kurt.
"Sure," said Xavier as he slid the section across the table. Kurt picked it up and started scanning through the national news while he began munching on his breakfast.
It was about that time that Jean emerged into the room and sat down across the table from Kitty and Rogue. "How'd you girls sleep last night?" she asked.
Rogue yawned. "Not well. It's hard ta sleep too soundly with Remy on a mission."
"I know what you mean," said Jean. "Trust me, it's no easier on me."
"Hmm," said Kurt loudly, attracting everyone's attention to him for a moment. He seemed enthralled by something in the newspaper.
"Find something interesting?" asked Hank.
"Yeah," said Kurt without glancing up. "Apparently there's a new superhero in the business."
Rogue sighed. "Another one? We've already got Spider-man an' Daredevil!"
"I'll bet they're talking about Iron Man," said Kitty. "I've heard some people from the city talking about this new guy who's only been around a few months who calls himself Iron Man. They don't know much about him yet though."
"Actually," said Kurt while he read the article, "this guy isn't in New York. He's in Memphis!"
"Memphis?" asked Rogue interestedly. "Ah've been there. Who is he?"
"He calls himself Oculus," said Kurt, "and apparently he's pretty secretive. The news cameras just can't seem to find any pictures of him. Plus, he only goes out at night. It says here he's never been seen during the day at all."
Kitty giggled. "Fighting crime just doesn't pay the bills anymore!"
"Apparently not," continued Kurt. "Except for Spider-man. I still say he's getting paid for all those pictures of him in the Daily Bugle."
"Kurt, the Bugle goes out of its way to make Spider-man look like a menace," said Jean.
"Yeah but how else could they get such great shots of him day after day? I'm telling you, that guy's got a deal with the Bugle. I know Warren says he's a good guy and all, but he's gotta pay the bills somehow."
"So about this Oculus," said Hank, "what do they know about him?"
Kurt looked back down at the newspaper and began scanning for details. "Not much," he said as he skimmed the article. "But he's really done a number on Memphis' crime rate. Plus, he's apparently a pretty good detective. It says here that he's busted criminals that the cops were still months from catching."
"So he's good at what he does and he's bright," noted Xavier.
"Apparently so," said Kurt. "You think he could be a mutant?"
"It's possible," said Xavier. "We already know Spider-man and Daredevil are human, but it wouldn't be too outrageous for a mutant to follow their lead."
"I think we should find him," said Kurt, now setting the paper down. "If he is a mutant, then he could really help out around here once I'm gone."
"I agree," said Jean. "We're on the lookout for potential replacements for Kurt anyway. Why not find this guy and see if he'd be interested."
Xavier nodded. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to look into him. He's apparently the type of man who likes to help people. Would any of you like to volunteer to go find him?"
Rogue was the first to accept the offer. "Sure, Ah'd love to. It's been a while since Ah been down South an' Ah've been thinkin' lately how good a cold Dr. Pepper sounds. Besides, I'd love to get out of the house for a while since Remy's already gone anyway."
"I'll go, too," said Jean. "I'm with Rogue. It'd be nice to get out of town a little bit."
"Kurt, what about you?" asked Xavier. "After all, he would be your potential replacement."
"Sure," said Kurt. "I'm up for one last trip before I leave."
"Kitty? Hank? Would either of you be interested?"
"No thanks, Charles," said the blue beast as he sipped his coffee. "I'm fine here."
"I would go, but I just can't right now," said Kitty. "I've got a huge paper due in three days and I just can't leave."
"Fair enough," said Xavier. "When would the three of you like to go?"
Kurt, Jean, and Rogue all looked at each other for a moment before Jean answered. "How about tomorrow morning?"
"Sounds good," said Kurt. Rogue echoed the sentiment.
"Then it's decided," stated Xavier with an air of finality. "Tomorrow morning you three can take the Blackbird to Memphis to find this Oculus character."
==========
Kurt, Jean, and Rogue walked quickly through the streets of Memphis as if they were residents of the city. They had left the Blackbird in a field across the river where no one would find it and were now walking down Union Street and wondering aloud how they were going to find a man that no one had even managed to get a picture of.
"What about the police?" suggested Rogue. "Maybe he's got a friendly connection with them."
"Maybe, but then why do we say we're looking for him?" asked Jean.
Rogue smiled. "Ah didn't say they'd help us. Just that he might be friends with' em."
"We could always look for him tonight while he does his crime fighter thing," suggested Kurt.
"It's a big city," said Rogue. "Ah doubt we'd find 'im."
"Good point."
"Jean, think your powers could help us out?" asked Rogue.
"It'd be nice, but no," said Jean. "There are too many people in the city to scan and, besides, I don't even know who I'm looking for."
"Well then it sounds like the police are our best bet!" said Rogue.
Kurt shrugged. "It's worth a try."
==========
The police station was absolutely buzzing when the three mutants walked through the front door. There were people moving quickly in every direction. It was obvious that something was going on. Jean led the way to the front desk.
"Excuse me."
The secretary never let her eyes leave the computer. "Yes?"
"We were wondering if we could talk to someone about Oculus."
The young woman at the desk immediately stopped typing and turned to look up at the three people standing in front of her.
"You have information about Oculus?" she asked interestedly.
"Well, no…" began Jean.
The secretary interrupted her before she could get started. "Go up those stairs to your right and find Lieutenant Flass' office. I'll let him know you're coming."
Jean nodded her head in shock and the three X-Men turned to follow the secretary's directions.
"It worked?" whispered Kurt as they climbed the stairs.
"I guess so," said Jean. "I don't know how, but I guess it did."
They didn't have to search long for Flass' office. He was already at the door to his department to welcome them in.
"Hello! How are you three doing today?" he said cheerily as he motioned them into his office.
"Uh, we're fine," said Jean, still a little confused.
Flass shut his office door after everyone had filed inside and then moved around to sit at his desk.
"So you three have information about Oculus?" he asked.
"Actually, we're looking for information about Oculus," said Jean.
Flass' smile disappeared instantly.
"You kids aren't here about this morning, are you?" he asked dejectedly.
They all shook their heads slowly.
"No," said Jean after a moment. "Why? What happened this morning?"
Flass stood up and began moving back towards the door again.
"Nothing. The truth is we're looking for information on Oculus too. There must have been misunderstanding. Now, I'm sorry but I'm pretty busy right now so I'm going to have to ask you three to go," said Flass, opening the door for them to leave.
"Wait," said Rogue as she stood up. "Could you just tell us how we might find him?"
"Believe me ma'am, if I knew how to do that I'd have already done it myself."
It didn't take long for Kurt, Jean, and Rogue to get pushed out of the police station and back onto the streets once Flass realized they didn't have any information for him. The crowd itself seemed to force them back outside.
"What was that about?" asked Rogue with a huff.
"No clue," said Kurt as they began walking down the street.
"I know," said Jean. "I read the lieutenant's mind. Apparently Oculus broke into the station just an hour before we got here and waited in the Police Commissioner's office."
"Did they get in a fight?" asked Rogue.
"No, they just talked. Oculus accused the commissioner of being a criminal and promised to bring him to justice."
"That explains the urgency in the crowd," said Kurt.
"Yeah," agreed Jean. "So where do we try next? The media?"
"Ah guess," said Rogue.
==========
At 6:30 that evening, Kurt, Rogue, and Jean found themselves having dinner in a small downtown restaurant. They had checked everywhere they could think to check during the day and were now no closer to finding Oculus than they had been when they arrived in Memphis. The situation was beginning to look hopeless. As they finished up their dinners, they began talking about the day and where else they might check tomorrow.
"I'm thinking the guy just simply doesn't wanna be found!" said Rogue finally.
"I understand the need for secrecy, but for no one to have a clue as to how to find him? This is just crazy!" said Jean.
"Maybe we should just start asking random people," joked Kurt. "Like the guy who owns this restaurant," he said pointing towards the manager walking towards them with their refills.
"Here you are," said the manager as he set the drinks on the table. "You guys need anything else?"
Kurt smiled. "Yeah, you don't happen to know where we could find Oculus, do you."
Jean, Rogue, and Kurt all laughed at the absurdity of the question. If the police didn't even know where to find Oculus, how could some random restaurant owner?
Suddenly it occurred to Jean that the owner wasn't laughing.
"Actually," he said, "I do."
The table stopped laughing now and leaned forward as the man squatted next to their table.
"Why are you looking for him though?"
"You're kidding me!" said Kurt under his breath. "You know Oculus?!"
"No, but I've seen him a few times. But why are you looking for him?"
The X-Men glanced around the table at each other for a second before anyone answered. The man had no idea what their names were. It couldn't hurt to tell him the truth.
"We're pretty similar to Oculus in a lot of ways," said Rogue. "Ah guess you could say that we're all part of a team of superheroes. We wanted to ask Oculus to join us."
Now it was the man's turn to laugh. "You're superheroes who came to Memphis to recruit Oculus?" he said once his laughter had died down some. "Now that's funny."
The three X-Men smiled nervously.
"But you seem like nice kids. I'll tell you what I know. Every night at 10:00, Oculus' rounds through the city bring him right past this restaurant. I've seen him at least four times on the roof of the building across the street around 10:00 as I went home. My assistant manager's seen him too. I tell ya what, it makes you feel so much safer to know that guy's around."
"You think if we were around here at that time tonight that we could see him too?" asked Jean.
"Sure, probably so," said the man. He stood up now and handed them a bill for their dinner. "You can pay the cashier when you're ready."
He turned and started walking off. Kurt, Jean, and Rogue all watched him as he walked away. Suddenly he stopped and glanced back over his shoulder at them for a second.
"A team of superheroes…" he mumbled before breaking out in laughter again as he went back to the kitchen.
==========
Rogue glanced at her watch. "10:00," she said. "He oughtta be here any minute."
They were now standing on the roof that the restaurant owner had mentioned to them. Kurt was lying on his back on the edge of the roof and looking up at the stars. He still had his image inducer turned on just to make sure they didn't freak out Oculus when he showed up. Rogue was standing up with her arms crossed and watching the city skyline for any sign of a shadow moving through the darkness. Jean was sitting on an air conditioning unit with her eyes closed maintaining a constant telepathic scan of the entire city block. If anyone got remotely close to the three X-Men, she would know. They wanted to be ready for Oculus' arrival.
"There goes the restaurant manager," said Rogue.
Kurt rolled his head to the side and looked down to the street below in time to see the man lock his restaurant and walk down the sidewalk.
"When is this guy gonna get here?" asked Rogue to herself.
Kurt opened his mouth to propose that perhaps Oculus was distracted by some random criminal elsewhere in the city, but he opted instead to remain quiet and look back to the sky. He was enjoying the clear night and the unobstructed view of what stars could be seen through the city's bright lights. He began praying silently as he stared upward. It was times like this that made him feel closest to his Father.
"I wish he'd get here," said Rogue, turning around to watch the skyline behind her. "I'm tellin' ya, after all this trouble, this guy better at least consider joinin' us."
"Trying to concentrate over here," said Jean. Her voice was calm but there was a definite tone of annoyance in there too.
Rogue smirked and apologized half-heartedly.
==========
It was shaping up to be another calm night in Memphis. Oculus leapt across a small alley and continued making his rounds through the major tourist part of downtown. So far the only action he'd seen tonight was a half-rate mugging by the river. Three punches and the man was out cold. Scott sighed. This was just getting too calm, too predictable, too easy.
Suddenly he heard voices from the next roof. Oculus slowed down and began moving silently towards the ledge of the roof he was already on. He peered over the knee-high brick wall and looked down. The next building was about two stories shorter than the one Oculus was currently sitting on so he was able to look down on them from nearly directly above so that they couldn't see him. There were three people on the other roof, one sitting down, one lying down, and one pacing back and forth with their arms crossed. Oculus watched them for a minute, trying to figure out what they were doing.
Were they waiting to rob someone? No, who were they gonna rob on a roof?
Maybe they were lookouts for someone else. But if so, they were pretty lousy lookouts. They weren't really watching anything and they hadn't noticed him just 15 feet above them.
Oculus watched the three people curiously. Who were they?
The one who was pacing had long light brown hair that hung down over a quarter of her back. The woman on the A/C unit had hair that fell just a little longer. Her face was pointed towards. Oculus looked over to the man lying on the ledge. His hair was a little long, probably cut just above his neckline, but it was far from shaggy. Oculus couldn't help but think his face was vaguely familiar.
Suddenly, the first girl turned around so that she was squarely facing Oculus' direction. Scott's eyes widened in shock when he saw the white stripe in her hair. He looked again at the man lying on the roof's ledge again. Now he realized how he knew that face! Finally, his gaze darted to the woman sitting on the air conditioner. He still couldn't see her face, but suddenly he realized that her hair had a semi-dark red color!
Oculus slowly sat down on the roof he was crouched on. The X-Men?! What were the X-Men doing here?! And why were they standing around on that roof.
"They found me!" he whispered to himself. "They found me!" Scott's thoughts began racing. No, they couldn't have found him. It wasn't possible. He had set up superb mental barriers years ago. Not even Cerebro could pinpoint his location. "But they're here!" They must have come for Oculus. "But why?" To recruit him, maybe? Scott peeked over the ledge again. They were still there. He had to do something. Finally he decided he'd have to go down there and talk to them. He took a deep breath and jumped over the ledge quickly. He landed in a crouch and stood back up as fast as possible with his back to the brick wall of the building he had just come from. He knew he was completely hidden in the shadows now.
==========
Kurt jumped up when he heard the sound of a man landing on the roof 10 feet behind him. Rogue was already staring into the shadows cautiously. Slowly, Jean roused herself from her telepathic scan to see what was going on.
As the three of them looked into the shadows, all they could make out was a thin line of crimson staring back at them.
"Who are you?" asked the deep voice of Oculus.
Jean and Kurt stood up and stepped to Rogue's sides. "We're the X-Men," said Rogue. "My name's Rogue and this is Nightcrawler and Jean. I assume you're Oculus?"
"In the flesh. Who are the X-Men?"
"Ve're a team of mutants fighting for the good of mutantkind," said Kurt.
"So what brings you to Memphis?"
The three noted to themselves that he hadn't flinched about the mutant thing. They must have been right. He was a mutant.
"You," said Jean. "We were wondering if you'd be interested in joining us."
"Why?"
"Because you're obviously someone who has a desire to help people. That's why you do what you do every night. Well that's why we're here, to help people." Jean tried to read the shadowed man's mind, but found herself unable to get through his powerful barriers.
"How'd you find me?"
"We heard about you in the newspaper," said Jean. "We came to town this morning and heard that this roof was on your nightly rounds."
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine where I am."
"At least hear us out," said Kurt. "We just want to talk to you about this. Do you have time to talk?"
==========
Scott was glad his old friends couldn't see his face. If they could, they'd certainly recognize him instantly, especially with the visor that closely resembled the one he'd used as an X-Man so many years before. His eyes rested on Jean's face as he contemplated Kurt's question. It had been an awfully slow night. Maybe he could spare just a little time to talk to them.
==========
"Cornerstone Heights apartments, apartment 1413. Be there at midnight. I'll make time."
The X-Men nodded. "We'll be there," said Rogue.
Suddenly, Oculus ran for the edge of the building and jumped off quickly. He used his grapple to swing back the direction he had come from and land a few buildings away.
The X-Men were left standing on the roof, slightly confused by the sudden departure. They watched him swing away until he was out of sight.
"Y'know, I thought he'd never shut up!" said Rogue dryly.
"I know what you mean," said Jean, "but he did agree to talk to us. We'll see how it goes."
"What time is it?" asked Kurt.
Rogue checked her watch. "10:30."
==========
Scott still wore his Oculus bodysuit, gloves, and boots, but he had taken off his visor and head cover. Instead he had his red shades on and no hat. The X-Men were in Memphis. He knew there was nothing he could do to hide his identity from them if they were already in town. He had decided that the easiest thing to do would be to just tell them who he was.
Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door. Scott looked at the closed door nervously. He could just ignore it. Don't answer it and just let them assume Oculus gave them some random address to throw them off the trail. It could work. Scott sighed. No, it was now or never.
==========
It seemed to be taking a while for Oculus to get to the door. Kurt glanced around at his teammates and raised his hand to knock again. Suddenly the door cracked open slightly. The X-Men exchanged one last look and Kurt pushed the door open. Inside was a normal apartment. There was a man standing in the middle of the room with his back to them wearing a black costume. He wasn't wearing any sort of head covering. Kurt, Rogue, and Jean all found that strange since they knew he had been wearing a black piece of material on his head when he had swung off. Jean closed the door once they were all inside.
"Have you considered our offer?" asked Kurt.
They watched and heard Oculus sigh heavily. Slowly, the figure turned around to face them.
"Oh my God!" exclaimed Rogue.
"Scott?!" cried Jean and Kurt together.
Scott stood in the center of the room feeling very uncomfortable. "Hey guys."
==========
The next thirty to forty-five minutes were spent catching Kurt, Jean, and Rogue up on Scott's life over the last 8 and a half years. Scott told them about his world travels as well as his training. He explained how he had set up strong mental barriers so Cerebro couldn't find him. He explained that he had spent 8 years training to become Oculus before finally arriving in Memphis about 9 months ago. He explained life as Oculus and told them about Nate, Sonance, Wicks, and Driscoll. When Jean asked him about his little meeting with Driscoll, Scott explained his suspicions that Driscoll was in fact Sonance.
Then Scott began asking about the X-Men. They explained that the X-Men now numbered 24 rather than nine and that the group was very active in fighting for mutant equality. They financially backed lobbyists to work on the government end of the spectrum, while the X-Men worked in a much more secret fashion. Though the government was aware of their presence, the X-Men continued to operate in secret, meaning the government was unaware of the groups' actions and was powerless to stop them. Mostly, they fought against rogue mutants whose tirades threatened to harm public opinion on mutantkind. They had also managed to save the world once or twice, specifically in a fight with a powerful mutant named Apocalypse.
"So," said Rogue once everyone was caught up on everyone else's lives, "have you thought about the offer we made earlier?"
Scott, who had been smiling and laughing for the last hour with his old friends, suddenly grew very quiet. He stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the city. "I've got responsibilities," he said, motioning to the costume on his body. "I can't leave this city now. Remember that madman I told you about, Sonance? Well he's still loose out there. How can you ask me to leave right now?"
There was a moment of silence as the X-Men watched Scott standing at the window.
"But when you defeat Sonance?" asked Kurt.
"Someone new will show up," said Scott. "I can't leave."
Jean stood now and walked over to the window beside Scott. Scott turned to face her. He looked deep into her eyes through his shades. He had once loved this girl more than anything else in the world. Jean put her arms around Scott's neck and quietly hugged him close. Scott wrapped his own arms around her torso and pulled her body close to his own. He closed his eyes so he couldn't see out the window. It occurred to him that there was no "used to" in the equation. He still loved Jean to this day.
"You're sure?" asked Jean, not letting go of Scott.
Scott gathered up all his strength. He opened his eyes again and looked out on the skyline of Memphis. He put his arms gently on Jean's sides and pulled her away from him so he could look into her eyes again.
"I'm sure."
Jean nodded her head and turned away to walk back towards the middle of the room. For a quick second, Scott thought he saw a tear glide down her cheek.
He turned back to Rogue and Kurt now. "I'm sorry guys. But I've made a promise to protect this city. At this point, my word is about all I've got left. I'm not letting it go."
Rogue nodded her understanding, stepped close to Scott, and gave him a quick hug. Scott was careful not to make contact with her exposed face as he embraced her. Then Kurt walked up and extended his hand to Scott.
"We'll see you around," he said quietly.
Scott shook Kurt's hand firmly. "Maybe so. We'll see."
Kurt ended the handshake quickly. "God bless."
Jean walked to the door and opened it slowly. Kurt left the room first, followed by Rogue. Jean looked back at Scott one last time before following.
"You're welcome at the mansion any time," she said. "The past is in the past, Scott. The invitation to come back will always stand."
Scott nodded. "Goodbye Jean."
Jean's face tilted to the ground a little as she left the apartment and shut the door behind her.
Scott sat down on his couch and laid his head back on the cushion.
Gently, tears began forming in his eyes.
==========
"Scott? Hey Scott. Wake up!"
Scott awoke groggily on his couch. Sunlight peered through his open window. He looked up and found Nate standing over him.
"You know its probably a bad sign when you start wearing that costume to bed," said Nate with a smile.
Scott groaned. "It was a rough night and I didn't mean to go to sleep here. Now why are you here?"
"I meant to talk to you last night but you were already gone by the time I got home."
Scott stood up and stretched, then began moving towards the kitchen to start making some coffee.
"The point, Nate. What's the point?"
"I've got a patient who asked to see you yesterday."
Scott turned to look at Nate with tired, yet wide eyes. "A patient asked you if they could talk to me?"
"That's right," said Nate.
"How could he have known that you know me?"
"He said he figured that you're probably a mutant and that you would probably need a good doctor that you could trust. He knows I'm a mutant and that I'm a cheap doctor, so he just put it together that it would make sense for you to come to me when you got injured."
"Well what'd you say?"
"That I didn't know you."
"And he said?"
"He just smiled and told me to pass along the message. He wants to talk to you."
Scott sighed. "Is it worth my time?"
"Who knows? I doubt it'll take ten minutes though. The guy doesn't talk much, not that I blame him for that. He's got cancer. It started in his lungs but spread into his throat. It's gotta be pretty painful just to grunt, much less form words and have a conversation. He's pretty close to death and he knows it."
Scott sat down at his table and looked up at Nate. "Fine. What's his name?"
"Ed Baker."