Relationships Give Me Migraines, a X-Men: Evolution + Dinosaucers Crossover fanfic

Author's Notes: I do not own the characters of G.I. Joe or X-Men Evolution! They are the sole, respective property of Hasbro and Marvel Comics. The character, Jake Clawson, is from "SWAT Kats" and thus, is owned by Hanna-Barbera. The universe of the Misfit and all characters including Althea, Blind Master, Lina, Xi, and Trinity are all property of gifted writer, Red Witch! "Dinosaucers" and the Secret Scouts are owned by Coca-Cola Entertainment and DiC Studios Incorporated. I do own the OC characters, Justin (aka Whitelighter) and the Dinosaucers: Struthio, Raptor, Compy, Plateo, and Montacera! I am not here to earn any money off this fic, and I have credited everyone and their respective creations, so please for the love of God, don't sue me! Anyway, now that it's Friday, you al probably want to know how the Joes, X-Men and Misfits are handling Jake and Justin's new "status quo", so to speak…

Jake: Why are you doing this? Do you LIVE to torture your characters in your fan fiction?

Of course! Anyhoo, read and enjoy! Constructive criticism welcome!

Relationships Give Me Migraines

Blind Master looked angry enough to hit the sky. Blind Master looked angry enough to explode. And Blind Master looked especially angry enough to kill…and unfortunately, the only thing within his sights were Jake Clawson and Justin.

"Yow…Blind Master's ticked off," Toad said, blinking and taken aback by the rare look of murderous rage on the African American's face as he stomped by.

"And we're filming live in three…two…one…" giggled Quinn as she took out her pink miniature camcorder and began filming the inevitable beat-down and explosion and hysteria. Justin then shifted the blame to himself and away from Jake as he tried to explain and calm down Blind Master.

"Blind Master, it's my fault too! Don't blame Jake for this! Please, I kissed him back! I'm the one who had the feelings for him, so please don't get mad at Jake!" Whitelighter tried to plead.

Jake then shot a look of concern at Justin before he shook his head and spoke out as Blind Master advanced towards him, "No, don't blame Justin. Blind Master, I swear I would never hurt your son, and I did not mean any intent to take advantage of him. Blame me for kissing him first and starting this whole thing, but it's not your son's fault. I'm the one to blame, but I didn't mean anything harmful by it! I'll do anything to fix this!"

"Remy really don't think that the hommes are helping their case," Gambit murmured as he watched the two dig their proverbial graves deeper and deeper.

Blind Master finally stopped in front of Jake and Justin, inches away and on the verge of lashing out, his hands twitching and breathing heavily through his nose. His entire body was quivering with rage, and Jean was shocked to see that the ninja was seriously contemplating on physically hurting the kat in his mind. Then the situation was easily diffused into a peaceful respite when Roadblock came from behind and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder to placate him.

"Gabriel, an attempt at murder and screaming fit, we don't need. For now, let's wait until all us grown-ups gather and talk alone, agreed?" the machine-gunner versed quietly. The African American ninja still looked murderous, but he knew the wisdom behind Marvin's words and deflated, but not without a piercing glare of outrage behind his glasses at the kat in front of him. Roadblock then gently reached out and took Justin by the arm before leading him to Wavedancer.

"Althea, take Justin back to the Pit. It looks like we're going to have a long talk, so you kids better split," Marvin commanded.

"Don't blame him! I'm at fault too!" Justin tried to beseech one last time, but Low Light just glowered at Whitelighter.

"We can't make promises on something like this, Justin," Cooper said in a severe voice. Blind Master finally managed to find his voice as he whirled on his charge.

"Oh, and Justin…" Blind Master finished steely, "I will be telling your father about this."

Justin's face paled at this statement, and he weakly chuckled as he tried to bargain, "Uh…well, really…he doesn't need to know - "

"Justin…," growled the ninja master, and Justin automatically knew better than to push it. Wavedancer sighed as she half-dragged Justin over to her before she indicated to the other Misfits to teleport back to the Pit and follow Roadblock's orders.

"C'mon, Justin. Now's not the time to plead your case. Besides, we can learn on what's going to happen eventually," Althea sighed before adding with a whisper, "Besides, my sisters already have the bugs in place so we'll hone in one every word."

"Oh by the mother planet, Dad's gonna ground me for life if he doesn't kill me first…" Whitelighter quietly wailed to himself as all the Misfits teleported back to the base.

Wolverine then gruffly ordered the rest of the teenage members of the X-Men and the New Mutants, giving all of them a spine-chilling scowl of sternness.

"Okay, bubs! Move it! Red, Scott…can you get all the kids back to the Mansion and stay out of our way while the Professor and the rest of us have a little chat with the hairball over at Chuck's office…in private?"

Those last two words had the faintest tinge of a threat laced into them, but Wolverine knew, from his past experiences, that it wouldn't much good to dissuade the teenagers and adolescents from both teams to not eavesdrop. And considering this little tidbit was especially juicy, Logan had to resentfully realize that deep down, trying to keep this quiet over this issue was a lost cause.

Tabitha and Jean looked at Jake with sympathy, and Jean, as she had to drag away a particular persistent and nosy Jamie away by the ear, she spoke softly to the kat-instructor with support, "This changes nothing, Jake. We'll try to help the others see that too."

Jubilee then stopped before she patted the relatively new instructor on the shoulder lightly for encouragement before she followed the nervous crowd. She hadn't forgotten how Jake reached out to her when she arrived at the X-Mansion after the battle in San Francisco and helped her understand her grief with her parents' death by a little, even though he never knew Jubilee personally. Logan, though a bit irritated at the sign, was generally pleased that his daughter was non-judgmental and not jumping the bandwagon.

As the kids left the adults alone, Jake mentally had to wilt underneath the gazes and glares of his fellow coworkers and allies as he groaned to himself, realizing that his life was about to get a lot more unbearable and stressful, "Suddenly, trying to commit suicide by a black-hole grenade didn't seem as bad as before…"

And indeed, later that night…

"Just what the hell were you thinking?" Blind Master yelled none too gently for the fourth time as he stood with his hands clenched into fists, glaring at the despondent Jake Clawson in front of him while he was seated on the couch in Xavier's private quarters, the room warm and with adequate light. The other adults were gathered alongside the G.I. Joe ninja and each and every one of them had various ranges of emotions as they looked on and observed the growing tension. Blind Master was absolutely livid and looked as if he wanted nothing better than to beat Razor to a bloody pulp after eviscerating him. Shipwreck, and Cover Girl were sympathetic and concerned, troubled but not exhibiting the slightest indication that they were going to crucify the kat adult. Logan, Roadblock, and Spirit all had their game faces on, blank, unresponsive, and all three of the men deciding that it was in the best interests of everyone to keep quiet and act as the peacekeepers if necessary. Low Light, Hank, and Ororo were glaring at the ex-SWAT Kat with disapproval; it was clear that they fully agreed with Blind Master. But Jake could have honestly said that it was Charles Xavier's face of disappointment and worry that made him feel the guiltiest (he didn't want to make it like he was bringing the Professor's name down after everything the X-Men mentor and leader had done for him).

And for the fourth time, Jake gave the honest answer, "I lost my head. I was so overwhelmed at seeing Chance again and grateful for Justin for giving me the opportunity to say good-bye that I just lost it. After…after what Justin did for me, I couldn't help but have some feelings for him."

"Do you always show affection by kissing them, Clawson?" Low Light retorted with malice and disdain, "You're damn lucky we're not hauling your ass to a maximum security prison at S.H.I.E.L.D. or Stryker's Island! This counts as statutory harassment!"

Roadblock had to frown at his friend as he said strongly, "Cooper, I doubt we'd take things that far, and what Jake has done, though reckless, isn't bizarre. Justin did for him an act of kindness he couldn't get anywhere, so it makes sense that Jake would have feelings for Whitelighter after this affair. Besides, let's just give Razor a chance to defend, and then we can see what we need to amend."

The Professor finally broke the silence as he sighed gravely, feeling less disappointed and more sympathetic for Jake as he said, "I hope you realize the severity of the implications of this, Jake."

"It's not like I planned this, Professor!" Jake protested, "It's not as if I asked myself, 'Gee, how can I make more of an ass of myself? Oh yeah! Start having feelings for one of the mutant teenagers from the Misfits'! I didn't…"

Justin paused before he said in a more controlled voice, "I would never hurt Justin, please believe that. And I didn't know that Justin had the same feelings for me and that this would be encouraging it."

Cover Girl seemed puzzled as she asked, "Wait…so, are you gay or not?"

Jake nodded as he said, "Yeah, I am. I've realized this since I was nineteen and training at the Enforcer Academy in Megakat City in my world, especially since I realized that I could never truly develop feelings for the she-kats, and yet it never seemed a problem for the males. But since being an Enforcer and then a SWAT Kat didn't give me much time for a social life or a romantic one, it was a bit difficult, but I managed to suppress most of the desires enough and keep it a secret."

Hank then decided to probe as he asked, "Jake…do you truly mean it when you say you care about Justin? That you were developing strong feelings for young Whitelighter, stronger than any of the students here at the Institute?"

Jake nodded before he said, "Yes…fur and paw, I wish I didn't because it would make things easier…but yeah, I do actually."

"Do you love him?" Spirit asked, his face stony. Blind Master twitched, but he thankfully kept quiet. Jake had to ponder that for several moments before he answered honestly.

"No, but I like him," and Jake winced as he explained, "I…I don't want to hurt Justin and I can't say that this automatically has me falling head over heels with the kid because I know that I'd be rushing things or thinking irrationally with my hormones. I do like Justin and have affection for him, but if you want me to say that I love him with all my heart and soul…it's too early and premature to say something that foolish, so no. I don't love him. I think we'd need a lot of time and thought before we can even reach at that point."

He expected Spirit to be upset and bothered since this was not the answer many people would want to hear (especially after doing something so reckless and stupid as kissing), but to Jake's surprise, Spirit gave a wry smirk.

"You are honest, Clawson," Spirit said, "And that does sort of earn you a few points. Had you told me that you did love Justin and so soon in such a short period of time, I would have easily said you were lying or being an idiot."

Low Light then had enough as he shouted, "As much as I hate to break the touching display, sarcasm noted, you can't possibly think this is tolerable! Xavier, I may be messed up myself from my past, but it'll be nothing if you think that having a potential pedophile around Justin is all right and not hazardous!"

"I wouldn't hurt him!" the kat growled.

"Oh bullshit!" the Joe sniper retorted, "I had to endure your type of people when I was experimented on in labs back at Moreausseau, and if you think I'm going to just stand by a let a potential threat like you attack Justin or any of your charges when our backs are turned, you've got another thought coming!"

Jake looked incredibly outraged and insulted as he leapt to his feet and shouted with his fangs bared, "I'm not a deviant, Cooper!"

Low Light shot back, "You kissed a sixteen year old boy! I think that qualifies!"

"Hold on, you guys…" Shipwreck said strongly, interrupting the tirade before it could get worse, "I think we're making too much of a big deal of this. Yeah, Jake should have known better, and it is a little worrisome about the age thing, but Jake's not dangerous. To Justin or any other student in the Misfits or the X-Men."

"What?" demanded Blind Master, Ororo, and Low Light angrily. The G.I. Joe sailor continued, trying to reason.

"Look, we've gotten time to know Jake…all of us did, and let me ask you this: has Jake ever hurt any of them or made any advancements on the students while he's been living here? No, Clawson here isn't the type of guy to hurt the kids he cares for. And yes, it's obvious. Even I can see it, so you know that's saying something. And the X-Men and Misfits all have good instincts, but not one of them have come up and said that they don't feel safe around Razor. The kids love him like a brother, and we can all see that Razor would give a right arm for those kids if the situation called for it, otherwise he wouldn't protect Bobby when he tried to chase after H.A.T.E. at the Bayville Commons fairgrounds," Shipwreck pointed out.

Spirit then added, "And I remember Hank telling me when he protected Jamie from being attacked by Live Wire when she attacked the X-Mansion, and when he risked his safety to make sure Amara and Sam got medical attention with Dr. Hackle when all of you were trapped in the SWAT Kats' dimension. He could have been caught by Feral and his soldiers or by Dark Kat and the Invincible Alliance…but Jake still chose to help you all out anyway."

"Spirit! Don't tell me you're actually supporting this!" Low Light barked.

"And the hairball's not some low-life," Logan said at last, "Look, I may have my fights with him and I don't like this turn of events any more than you, but Jake's a respectable idiot with a good sense of what's right and wrong in that pea-brained head of his, so regardless of how much you think otherwise, I've never had any reason to believe Jake was someone we couldn't trust or someone that can't be depended on. He's an annoying know-it-all with a big mouth, cocky attitude, and who needs to get a haircut and a flea-bath…but he would never hurt any of the rugrats here. He's telling the truth when he says that he would never hurt Justin and that he does have feelings for the kid. I can smell it on him…well, that and the fact that his B.O is like an entire zoo of animals gone bad."

This actually made everyone stop and stare at Wolverine. Despite knowing the feral mutant, Logan was the last person they'd expect to defend Jake's side on this issue. Ororo was incredibly scandalous.

"Logan! Spirit! Shipwreck! You're all missing the point! For an adult to show outright signs of affection to a teenager is morally wrong! You cannot possibly defend this! Yes, Jake is a good person and I have no doubts in my mind that he will always do what is best and right for the children and the school, but we cannot allow something like this to continue!" the woman retorted with impatience.

Shipwreck then broke in, "Stormy…I ran away and lied about my age to join the Navy in order to hide the fact that I was underage. Trust me, Justin is smart enough to know when things would be just plain stupid to do, and unlike me, Justin isn't the type to copy some of the same mistakes I've done when in the Navy. He's too timid and hesitant and overly cautious. And I actually lost my virginity and started drinking when I was Justin's age among other things. The fact that Whitelighter's a good kid and the fact that Jake isn't rushing into this and that he's willing to wait is a good sign. Now granted, none of us are too pleased about this whole deal, but when had any parent ever been fully pleased when their kids do something they think is stupid?"

"Well, you must certainly be the expert on that one, Shipwreck," Hank drawled, earning him a glare from the sailor.

Cover Girl then sighed in frustration before she gently said, "And honestly, as much as I hate to admit that Shipwreck's right…I really don't see any reason why, if they take the time to wait a while, that Jake and Justin couldn't establish something when Justin's a little older, say…when's he's eighteen."

Blind Master looked ready to explode as he furiously highlighted, "You want a reason, Courtney? Well I've got a whole goddamned list! One, Jake's twelve years older than Justin! Twelve years!"

"It's borderline of a tolerable difference considering that I've known models that would date men who were old enough to be their fathers in my early days, Gabriel. Twelve years is better than compared to, let's say, Jake being thirty or forty years older," Cover Girl shot back.

"It's not that much better!" Low Light yelled.

Ororo then joined in with the G.I. Joe ninja master as she sternly remarked, "And two: Jake is an instructor of the Institute. It would be a scandal when the tabloids get wind that one of the teachers at the Institute has feelings for one of the Misfit trainees! And notice that I said 'when', not 'if'."

"So add it to the list of other stuff the tabloids and papers are accussin' us of! Considering Justin isn't a student here, at the very least, Jake isn't violating the student-teacher principle! And if I recall correctly, 'Ro, you're the last one to complain about the appearance of the Institute when you and Shipwreck got turned into teenagers by Forge's machine and went on a wild rampage at Bayville Mall!" Logan shot back. Storm looked torn between frying her friend right then and there and dropping of pure terror and humiliation.

"How did you know about that?" Ororo shrieked.

Spirit sighed as he got in between the two quarreling instructors before it could get ugly before he clarified, "That's not important, right now."

"Oh, don't hand me that! Trinity and the other Misfits sold copies of the footage, didn't they?" the white-haired weather-witch growled, her blue eyes glinting under the light.

"I plead the fifth…" Spirit said simply.

"OK, how about this? Jake's a kat-humanoid and Justin is a human being! I think this comes on the borderline of bestiality! That alone is a reason why this shouldn't even happen!" Low Light snapped, trying to keep on track with the issue.

"My, thanks a lot, Low Light," Beast drawled caustically as he glared at the sniper, "It is so adequate and fulfilling to see how you have a viewpoint against mere relationships between different species."

"Low Light, I wasn't thinking of doing anything! I have standards, and I'm not about to have sex with a sixteen year old! I told you before I would never hurt Justin or take advantage of him!" Jake yelled heatedly.

"Trust me, I'd kill you before you even got the chance!" Blind Master growled before he practically bellowed at Xavier, "Professor, you're the telepath! Do something about this! Can't you use your telepathy and erase whatever sick feelings Clawson has for Justin? Can't you wipe out his mind?"

The Professor actually looked insulted as he said, frowning, "You know I don't do that, Gabriel. It is against my code."

"Not a problem! We can try something different! All you have to do is tweak Clawson's brain so that he's straight or has a lack of a libido!" Low Light snarled.

Hank looked incredibly outraged and insulted as he growled, "Do you have any comprehension of how much of an intolerable fascist and homophobic hypocrite you are making yourself to be, virgin-boy?"

The Joe was now red in the face, as red as his goggles, as he exploded with his fists raised, "Homophobia has nothing to do with it! I want to keep Justin safe, and as for that virgin-crack, why don't I trying cracking your skull in return, Bluebell?"

"Just you try it, you imbecile!" Beast growled treacherously, showing his canines.

Then before it could come to physical blows, Xavier broke in gracefully, "If I did look in Jake's mind to see if there was anything potentially dangerous or harmful, would that quell your fears? If I fail to see anything that could be a potential harm to Jake or Justin, would that satisfy you for the time being?"

The Joes and X-Men adults looked at each other before Roadblock nodded and said, "It would lessen our doubts over the issues, so if Jake's willing to comply, then do it. But again, only if Jake is willing; we don't wanna force him on anything."

Jake nodded as he said with automatic insistence, "Do it, Professor. I have nothing to hide…and if this proves to everyone that I would never want to hurt the kitten and that…I do have some feelings for him, then you're free to search my entire mind."

The Professor nodded as he murmured, "Just try not to struggle for my presence may be a bit uncomfortable, Jake. Just relax and allow me free reign; I promise anything that does not associate with Justin or any student, I will not reveal your secrets. I respect your privacy."

And with that, the Professor dived deep into the astral plane and in the inner mind and psyche and soul of the ex-SWAT Kat, his spirit gliding softly through regions of the unconsciousness and id of the kat humanoid. Jake's eyes were closed, and though he scuffled slightly and whimpered from the pressure closing in on his brain, he didn't cry out and the experience wasn't painful but rather a noticeable buzz. The Professor then could view all the crevices of his mind, but there was absolutely nothing dark or depraved in them (and the Professor had to chuckle when he discovered that Jake actually had some animal magnetism for Scott, Hank…and Logan of all people). And then Charles Xavier then saw Jake's sorrows and pain, from losing Chance and leaving his old life, only to have it be lifted by authentic and genuine feelings of compassion and affection for the Misfit. Certainly, it was nascent and cautious and apparent that Jake did not have any side thoughts or agendas to misuse such feelings or have it be inappropriate, but it had potential for affirming growth and sincerity.

There was absolutely nothing malicious or dangerous about it. Jake truly did like Justin. And feeling he had thoroughly searched and looked into Razor's mind enough, the Professor gently left and returned back into his own consciousness, ending the telepathic search.

"I looked into Jake's mind, and I can safely assure you that he is not going to take advantage of the situation or be a danger to any student here in the Institute. In fact, I daresay we have a better chance of Logan losing his temper and accidentally impaling one of the students with his claws."

Gabriel, unsurprisingly, was not satisfied with this answer.

"You're not always right, Professor Xavier. Either you deal with this now, or I will," Blind Master coldly shot back. The Professor then became absolutely defensive and protective of Jake as he faced the ninja master and glared with restrained yet simmering molten steel. The ninja master could actually sense the Professor's powerful ki aura building and expanding two-fold; the telepath was that annoyed and angry.

"And need I remind you, Gabriel, that you have no say in my decisions in who leaves and who stays at the Institute. And unless under extreme circumstances, I will never throw out those who need sanctuary," Xavier said.

"And need I remind you that one of your instructors kissed my son," growled back the G.I. Joe soldier with even fury.

"To correct you, Gabriel: you are not Justin's adoptive father, but his co-guardian while Whitelighter is to stay at the Pit and with the Misfits. I still have yet to hear something from his official father, and I doubt you would be so presumptuous to speak on the father's behalf."

Blind Master looked as if he was slapped in the face. And what infuriated him was that the Professor had a point.

"Have you talked with Justin's father about this?"

Blind Master's mouth critically grew into a thin line as he admitted with sullen rancor, "No."

"Then perhaps you should," the Professor said simply. Blind Master heavily sucked in air through his nose as he entire body swelled up with rage.

Ororo then said, "Charles, even if Jake has no feelings to take advantage of Justin, and I do not doubt that he is a good soul, nevertheless, he cannot be allowed to continue showing this sort of behavior! This sort of conduct is not appropriate! Disgraceful, even!"

"Oh really?" the Professor said in a hard demand as he glared at Ororo, Blind Master, and Low Light, "So Jake's actions are far worse than say playing a childish and lewd act of 'Spin the Bottle' in the Danger Room while the kids upstairs had an out-of-control ruckus during Rogue's birthday party that resulted in causing a huge mess and Jean getting drunk? Or how about getting drunk yourselves and being arrested while camping with the students and the Misfits in one of the national parks?"

Blind Master, Ororo, and Low Light all turned a collective beet red from embarrassment and resentment. Beast then spoke out.

"Charles, those sorts of behavior are completely different from this! Yes, they are destructive and undignified, but it is hardly anything perverted or something that could cause a bad influence to one of the students!"

"Oh yes, Hank, you're exactly the best model of restraint considering how you mooned Senator Kelly in front of a national audience when we tried to discuss mutant civil-rights at Washington DC! Or the number of times telephone calls have been made from the Mansion to party lines fifty times a day!" Charles pointed out harshly with a slight touch of sardonic scorn. Now Beast was purple faced on the account that his red face was mixing with his blue fur.

Roadblock then sighed before he spoke to Xavier and Jake, "Despite our hesitation, let's wait until what Justin's family has to say about this before we do anything. But, Xavier, despite whatever disagreements we've had before, we do trust your judgment, and Jake…we can see that you are a good one and that you wouldn't hurt Whitelighter in a million years, just like how you'd never hurt any of the kids. It's just…we need to be cautious about this."

Spirit then added for support, "We're not condemning you, Jake. We just want to make sure this won't be any future problem later on; just give us time to thoroughly discuss this and think it over."

Jake nodded. Cover Girl immediately felt sorry for the kat as she said with optimism, "Don't worry. Not all of us are angry. Concerned, yes…but we're definitely going to be fair in this issue."

Blind Master seemed like he wanted to argue, but as a passive-aggressive move, he stomped off, intending to teleport back to the Pit, but not before shooting a look at Razor and growling, "This isn't over, Clawson."

The ninja master opened the door furiously, not caring at the small crowd of students who were gathered around it, and Tabitha and Amara and Kitty toppled into the room from the fact that they were leaning their ears against the wooden door, trying to catch the conversation, but thankfully, Blind Master ignored them as he left. Ororo and Hank had to look at the sheepish teenagers in a scolding manner.

"What part of the words, 'in private', did you children not understand?" Ororo sighed in aggravation.

"Uh…well, to be fair, Storm, Jean and Scott are eavesdropping too with the rest of the X-Men from outside along with Polly and Lockheed. Polly's listening in for the Misfits with the electronic recording equipment that Trinity equipped him with," Piotr chuckled.

"You squealer!" yelled Bobby in gall from the windowsill on the outside, which was followed by a loud slapping-noise as if someone smacked the ice-generating X-Man in the back of his head.

"Yell a little louder, why don't ya', Bobby?" Rogue griped, "I'm sure some of the adults didn't hear ya'!"

Professor Xavier then telepathically ordered in a gentle tone, Students, X-Men, and Joes…can you give me a few minutes alone with Jake? I wish to put his fears to rest, and this is an incredibly personal matter. Please, I ask you all nicely to cease your curiosity and leave us; this is a delicate topic. You can ask Jake and the Joes questions in the morning.

The other complied, though Low Light and Ororo didn't seem exactly satisfied, but thankfully, this time, everyone listened to Xavier as they left, and Logan and the other Misfit handlers made sure that all the kids respected the boundary this time along with making sure Polly the parrot teleported back to the Pit and ended his bugging.

Jake was then left alone with the Professor, and his mouth was incredibly dry as he forced his voice to function at last.

"Professor?" Jake said in a small voice, still slightly fearful of the rejection, but the Professor turned his wheelchair to look at the ex-SWAT Kat with compassion before he put Jake's fears to rest.

"Jake, while I am not entirely pleased with this turn of events…" Xavier said in his characteristic calm tone, "I will say that I do not doubt that you greatly care for Justin and that I additionally do not regret accepting you as an instructor for the X-Men and the students, so please, do not think I would cast you out. If anything, it makes me slightly proud to see you were willing to prove yourself to Low Light and Blind Master. And let me remind you that you are not the only instructor to anger and disappoint me every once in a while, especially considering the people living here."

Jake, despite himself, had to smile.

The Professor then continued sincerely, "Jake, after how you saved us all back in Megakat City, I would be no better than Magneto and those in the Hellfire Club if I turned my back on you because of this. Yes, I am worried, but I have dealt with things much worse, and I still didn't turn away people such as Logan, who actually have a much more colorful history than you. As long as you wish for it, the Institute will always be welcome to you…and I do not want to lose one of the most influential teachers this school ever had to offer."

Jake's eyes brimmed.

The Professor smiled at last before he finished, "This doesn't change the way I think about you, and that should be enough to settle any real dispute in this. And I think it safe to assume that most if not all the students shall be behind you one-hundred percent. Regardless of whether or not you wish to continue to show affection to Justin, albeit in a appropriate manner, or should you choose to break it off."

"Thank you for trusting me, Professor. I…I won't make you regret it," Jake said, and he had never felt so relieved. Xavier then sighed as he looked at Razor.

"But…what are you going to do now? The deed has already been done, and Justin still has some feelings for you in return."

"I don't know," Jake sighed wearily.

---

"And good morning to you, Mr. Sunshine!" grinned Fred as Justin wearily stumbled in the kitchen, his eyes baggy and red from the lack of sleep as he heavily sat on a stool next to the kitchen counter and mumbled a reply as he sunk heavily to the tiled outcrop.

"Didn't get much sleep, huh?" Lance said with some sympathy as he ruffled Justin's hair in a brotherly manner, "I know it's kinda rough since I remembered hearing you and Blind Master coming back to Misfit Manor around two in the morning. You're lucky that there's no training for today and that the rest of us were given the day off from exercises and classes since the adults need to talk about your little lip-locking with Razor, or else you'd be forced for the hundred push-up drills and mile runs and sparring at the dojo…and getting your butt handed back by Pietro and Lina."

Justin moaned as he whined, "Trust me, after what happened last night, I would prefer enduring the torture and exercises I loathe…just to get my mind off things. I'm just glad no one else knows about me and Jake; I don't think I'd ever be able to live it down."

Quinn then nervously coughed as she clarified, "Well…actually…since we needed to see who won the pool, we…heh heh…kind of sent out a few e-mails when it became official that you and Jake liked each other and went to first base."

"You e-mailed everyone about this?" Justin yelped, his head shooting back up and his eye twitching.

"Not everyone, silly! Just the people who were in on that particular pool such as the Scoobies, the Slayers, the Charmed Ones, the Justice League, the Teen Titans, the Titans East, the West Coast Misfits, not to mention the rest of the Joes at the Pit…" Brittany carried on blithely, and Justin just wearily and despondently placed his forehead on the kitchen counter, now thoroughly humiliated.

"I'm surprised you three didn't sell the scoop to the National Enquirer," Wanda commented as she munched on her corn flakes.

"Blind Master, Althea and Daddy threatened to destroy our lab and sell off all our equipment if we did," Daria remarked sulkily, "But it wasn't any big loss. The highest bid we got on the scoop was only a lousy ten-thousand, which would have been spare change compared to how much money was put in the pool!"

"Who won, by the way?"

"Kyle Thunderbolt from the West Coast Misfits and Supergirl," grumbled Brittany, "Lucky goobers spilt the grand prize."

"Oh well, there's always the pool on when Storm and Daddy are going to hook up and the pool on when Scott and Jean are going to get married. The amount of money in both of those pools alone would be enough to pay full tuition and room and board over at Harvard for the next fifty years!" Daria waved off.

Pietro was looking at Justin with something skin to insulted outrage as he said, "Still, chubby-cheeks, what's so special about Jake? I mean, really, your first kiss and you have to waste it on a furry kat who probably has a hairball problem and bad hair?"

"Huh?" Justin asked.

"Seriously, what is it about me? Is it the white hair thing? Or the fact that I'm skinny? Or the fact that I'm good at fashion but not really good a fixing cars like a grease monkey? Or the fact that I'm a ladies man?"

Xi then has to inquire for clarification, "Uh…Pietro, what are you talking about?"

"I'm just outraged that the one gay member on the Misfit team, he goes and finds Jake attractive over me! Me, Pietro Maximoff, the King of all Studly Players! The Adonis of all Heartthrobs! The one Misfit that has several fan clubs and shrines dedicated to yours truly while getting hundreds of fan letter every month! I'm supposed to be the hottest guy around! Why didn't chubby-cheeks find me attractive? Why didn't he try to hit on me? Why did he choose Jake Clawson over me, his teammate and resident pretty-boy of the Misfits? There's only one mutant who supposed to appeal the animal magnetism and attraction of all people, whether they be gay or straight, and that's moi! So why didn't Justin think I was cute enough to kiss?" Pietro declared with ignorant and foolish pride.

There was a very uncomfortable silence when everyone, including Justin, just stared at Pietro with disturbed faces of discomfort and deadpanned disbelief. Finally, Quinn broke the silence.

"Do you even listen to yourself talk?" the Triplet sister asked.

Wanda snorted as she pointed out, "Brittany, this is my brother you're talking about. As I have said repeatedly, he likes to listen to the sound of his own voice, but rarely anything registers."

"Exactl – hey!" Pietro protested.

Althea easily sidetracked the side-discussion as she laid a glass of cold milk in front of Justin as she said, "So, let me recap: Blind Master took you immediately to the Lavadome to talk with the Dinosaucers about this development after he finished ranting and raving with Professor X and Razor. So, what exactly happened? Since Dimetro and Teryx placed shields all around the Lavadome, we could send Polly to bug the place like we did with the X-Mansion."

"Well, first Allo and Blind Master greeted each other with their usual routine…" Justin sighed, wincing at the memory as he flashed back to last night in the Lavadome:

"What in the name of the mother planet were you thinking when you dragged my son to San Francisco?" Allo demanded, his eyes and nostrils flaring as he stood in the doorway of the Lavadome, not even bothering with a simple greeting, as Blind Master and Justin teleported into the Dinosaucers' base in the desert.

"Nice to see you too, Allo," Blind Master returned back with hostility. Justin seemed incredible fearful and nervous underneath his Dinosaucer father's stern glare.

"Uh…heh-heh, you know about that?" Justin gulped.

"It was kind of hard not to, considering that each and every television station was displaying the footage of you guys fighting the Heartless, the warlocks, and the Turok-Han vampires in the city," Montacera said sheepishly as she and the other Dinosaucers joined out in front, mainly to be ready to prevent Allo from losing it fully. Tricero shot his niece a look to keep quiet as Struthio and Compy quietly led Whitelighter out of the way while Allo started on his tirade.

"I told you that I did NOT want my son out being in danger from your foolish escapades! Are you completely stupid or are you simply loving being a reckless guardian as well as dog of the military?" the extraterrestrial roared.

"Justin was training to handle these sort of situations, and he needed to be there to offer a support with his healing should any of his teammates get hurt! Exactly what he was trained to do! That was the entire reason you let him go join the Misfits in the first place! To make a difference with his powers while maintaining better control of them!" Blind Master shouted back.

"That is absolutely no excuse to risk his life during a demon attack! Training and going out into battle are two different things! And I told you that I didn't want the latter option!"

"He was safe! I would never let anything happen to Justin! I would have protected him! And so would the other Joes and Misfits!"

"Only when you're not going off and being drunk or partying or causing the chaos that only comes with being an irresponsible lunatic from G.I. Joe!"

"Better than being an overprotective and nagging idiot who could try taking his head out of his ass!"

"They'll be at this for a while…" Teryx sighed.

"Yeah, and we've already got front-row tickets! This is way better than any movie we've ever bought from Amazon!" Struthio chuckled as he. Compy, Bonehead, Bronto-Thunder, and Stego started munching on popcorn.

"Oh my," Lina murmured as she munched on some toast, "If things were that bad when they just greeted each other, it probably wasn't any better when Blind Master had to explain that you're gay."

Justin leaned on the counter on his elbows with his head propped up with one hand as he retold with fatigue, "Trust me, it wasn't pleasant for me either…"

"So…you're gay?" Bronto-Thunder asked, his eyebrow raised on one-side as he and the other Dinosaucers took the news. There was just a dead silence, and Justin never felt so uncomfortable when all of his family were looking at him with blank expressions.

Justin swallowed as he shakily replied, "Yes…I…I hope you're not disappointed. Please, I…I never wanted to hurt you, but I can't…I can't hide this, not now especially. So yeah, I…I am."

There was a brief silence before, then, to Justin and Blind Master's absolute and astonished shock, surprise, and slight outrage, Itchy yelled out joyously, "TIME!"

Struthio then noted, looking at his watch, "Let the record show that it is now October sixteenth, at exactly twelve-fifty-seven in the morning! Get the pool! Who won? Who won?"

Compy grinned as he took out an electronic, computerized- notepad that was stored in a secret compartment of his wrist guard in his uniform before he got out the tabulated data and entered in the date and time before clicking on a few commands.

"And the official, closest estimations for the pool are…oh by the Dinosorcerer and Dinosorceress, I don't believe it! We have a three-way tie between Teryx, Plato, and Sarah! All three of them get one-third of the pool winnings!"

"Of all the lucky guesses…" grumbled Raptor, bitter and cheated, as Teryx and Plateo just grinned smugly.

"We'll be sure to e-mail Sarah and the other Secret Scouts and let them know that the bet was settled," the erudite Dinosaucer librarian announced, and that, if anything, nearly sent Justin reeling. He was floored.

"You…you knew?" Whitelighter could only rasp out in a strangled voice.

Montacera then said, "Well, not all of us, but some of the more perceptible ones such as Teryx and Sarah and Plato kind of had the guess, and though we all kind of discussed it, only some of us were willing to believe it. I mean, you didn't seem that interested in Sarah whenever she came to visit over at the Pit, and that one incident with David's Playboy magazine didn't seem to spark anything for you, and from the way you're so soft-spoken and meek about things and your personality yet with a tendency to overreact to crises…well, I guess to some of us, it really wasn't much of a surprise."

"But since there was so much of a debate over it, that's when we decided to hold a little pool to raise some interest in this development, and so far, this pool's been at least three years old since it was first established. Aw, don't look at us like that, Justin…this wasn't meant to make fun of you or hurt you in any way. And if anything, it could make things easier for your nervousness when you see that we kinda had a feeling deep down," Bonehead said.

"And you were in on this?" Justin yelped, his head swimming with horror, as he turned to Allo who was looking incredibly embarrassed and uncomfortable as he coughed hesitantly.

"Well…" Allo confessed before he sighed, "To tell you the truth, son, though I was presented the evidence, I didn't want to believe it. Or, at least hold out on some hope that you weren't gay, but yes…I knew there was a possibility."

"You knew?" Justin exclaimed in surprise, his hands to his temples.

Allo awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he said, "Well…even though the evidence was indicating it, I really…didn't want to see it, or at least, hold out some hope that you were bisexual."

"WHAT?" Justin cried out.

Allo then looked extremely uncomfortable and sheepish as he explained, "Well, if you were bi, then at least maybe I could hope for some grandchildren…"

"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" all the other Misfits burst out laughing in the kitchen. Pietro was actually the worst as he fell out of his chair and rolled on the floor, holding his sides and guffawing so hard, his face turned red and he choked in the end.

"It's not that funny!" Justin protested, humiliated.

"Are you kidding, yo?" hooted Toad, "Allo easily winds the prize for the most embarrassing thing a parent could ever say to their kid! Hee hee hee!"

"See if I ever share anything with you guys again," muttered Justin, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

"So all in all, how do Allo and the other Dinosaucers feel about your…well, you know…" Xi tried delicately as he managed to regain control of himself from his fit of hysterical mirth.

Fred gave Xi an irritated look as he said, "Honestly, Xi, it's nothing ta' be ashamed of it. Justin is going through what psychologists call asserting his sexual orientation, and him being homosexual is no different from being bisexual or heterosexual. Heck, that dude Kinsey theorized that no one is completely one-hundred percent straight or gay and that there are varying degrees of gray in between both extremes. It's better for Whitelighter to explore like this than to repress his feelings."

The lizard Misfit shrugged as he explained, "I do not have a full understanding of the human attraction and social views of homosexuality. The sex education classes we took at the Institute with the X-Men were woefully inadequate, and I simply wish to learn more about why such a mundane subject is so taboo."

"Fortunately, Allo took it averagely well…" Whitelighter said wearily as he recounted:

Allo's eyes were soft and nonjudgmental, and to Justin's relief, were completely accepting as he knelt down and laid a clawed hand on his son's shoulder, making eye contact and getting his point across.

"Justin, whether you're gay or straight, it doesn't change the fact that you're a part of this family and a part of the Dinosaucers and the Secret Scouts. We would never turn you away or look down on you because of this, and we'd be the last beings to look down on someone because they're different. You're still the same Justin we've grown to love and cherish, so don't ever be scared to confide in us. As long as you're happy and safe, just know we'd support you."

The other Dinosaucers nodded warmly in full agreement.

"Oh, Dad," sniffed Justin as Allo warmly embraced him, but Allo, after a moment's thought, then added with some sly mischief.

"However, I'm still banking that you'd be able to provide me some grandkids in the future, Justin," the allosaurus cheekily suggested.

"Averagely well?" Fred echoed incredulously, blinking, "Sounds like Allo took it great!"

"Not really because then Allo found out that I already had my first kiss with one of the X-Men who also happens to additionally be at least ten years older than me," Justin groaned, resting his forehead on the counter-surface, having a small urge to bang his head against it repeatedly.

Lance winced before he asked, already picturing Allo's reaction, "And how did that go?"