A/N - as always, HELLO! Welcome! and thanks for sticking around. whichever applies to you. I hope you're following along, and if not, just make sure your preferences in ffn are set to send you emails/notifications since that just got axed. Many thanks to PracticallyAnAvenger - I totally needed the smiles from your reviews, my dear. Off we go!


Chapter 136 -"I've Seen This Before"

As much as Annie hated her new powers, she was trying to figure out how to use them a little better. She was able to hear others' thoughts easily enough without even trying, but reaching out? That was harder.

But this… this was what Scott had done for most of his time in Westchester. And he had plenty of experience sitting with Jean, learning new techniques along with her in an attempt to corral the Phoenix.

So, they'd been practicing sending messages back and forth all day as they moved around each other, purposefully not talking aloud as they dusted, vacuumed, and did a few other chores around the house.

And Annie was getting better - usually when she was frustrated. and usually, Scott would hear whatever Annie was trying to say when she was practically shouting it, even if it was something as simple as, I was thinking about breakfast for dinner.

But the fact that she was frustrated by trying to get her message across made the comparison he was trying desperately to avoid… only too easy to make.

He didn't want to think about Jean when she was in his mind, and he was incredibly careful to shield thoughts of her from Annie. But he couldn't deny that every time Annie was in his mind, she felt a lot like Jean.

Not like the Phoenix, though. That… that was all fire and a dry heat. Jean - and now Annie - had always been radiantly warm like a blanket, or like wrapping up on a winter day with a bowl of soup in his hands. A specific, homey warmth that he couldn't ignore or deny.

And he didn't know what to do with that information. What could he do? Annie already felt violated by what Sinister had done; how would she feel knowing that Sinister had stepped in to make her more like his first wife?

God, this was exactly like when he'd dated Emma. Sinister had always loved the possibilities between Jean and Scott; no one else would ever stand up to Jean. And while that had been true of Emma, Scott wanted desperately to convince Annie what he already knew: that she would never need to compare herself to Jean. He loved them both - and always would.

"Okay, can we talk for a bit? I've got a headache now," Annie said, dropping down onto the couch.

"You were doing really well," Scott promised as he came to join her. When she gave him a dry look, he put a hand over his heart. "Hey, I always had headaches when I overreached too. It's fine."

"Thanks." She sighed and put her head on his shoulder. "All I can think about is how loud it's going to be when we go back out into the rest of the world, and I think I'm scaring myself into performance anxiety," she admitted.

"Probably," he said.

Annie tipped her chin up to look at him. "And now you've got anxiety. The crinkles at the edge of your eyes get as tight as your jaw when you're trying to pretend you're fine. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"I… spent a good chunk of my life in sunglasses and no one has ever paid that close attention to my wrinkles?" he offered.

"Crinkles," she corrected him with a playful smile. "There's a difference. Wrinkles - everyone gets those. Crinkles are evidence of smiles, my mom used to say."

"If you say so," Scott said, smirking.

Annie smiled and curled in a bit before, after a long pause, she said, "Really, though. You're tense and it's messin' with my snuggles. What's got your goat?"

Scott held his breath before he let it all out again. "I think I know where Sinister got the genetic material for your powers."

Annie blinked - and then jumped to her feet. "Oh, god almighty, if that snake of a woman - if that - that blonde bimbo - if - absolutely not!"

"No, no, no," Scott said quickly, trying to slow down the building Southern fury. "That wouldn't even … no. He didn't like her, either."

Annie stopped, and Scott could see the barest smirk at the corner of her mouth. "Well, you did say he was a good geneticist."

Scott let out a breath of a disbelieving laugh as his hand lit upon the back of his neck. "Yeah, well… right."

"Promise I won't get mad," Annie said, sitting back down. "Can't possibly be worse than Emma."

"I hope not," he said half under his breath before he pinched the bridge of his nose as he continued to fidget.

Annie sighed and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Long as it isn't one of your kids, because that would be disturbing."

Scott couldn't believe her level of humor in the moment. "No." He let out a heavy sigh. "But … close."

Annie pressed her lips together as she studied Scott. "Oh," she said in a soft breath. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, one hand over her mouth. "That can't be easy for you - considering the last time she was in your mind."

"That wasn't actually what I was thinking," Scott said after a long moment.

"Then what's wrong?" Annie asked. "How can I help?"

"I don't know, it's not you, it's Sinister's sick way of 'helping'. I don't like comparing … it's not …"

"Then don't compare," Annie said simply. "You never have before."

"I'm not."

"Then we're fine," Annie said. She swallowed a little too hard. "Don't get me wrong. I'll be thinkin' about this for a while."

"It would be easier for me to show you." Scott was half grumbling, and hating the fact that this had to come up at all. Almost as much as he hated how Sinister had orchestrated this whole disaster with added powers. "It's not a bad thing, really. It's just something I've never been able to find words for."

"It's hard to describe, isn't it?" Annie agreed, staring at her knees. "Even when Alex asked, I couldn't find words and it's my powers."

"I have complete faith that you'll get all of it in hand quickly," Scott said - and meant every word. "And considering who you are, and all you do, I'm sure you'll be able to find the right description."

Annie smiled and leaned over to kiss him. "If it's alright, I'd like to take a telepathic break - just until I've processed this. I know you're not comparing, but now I am, so… give me a bit to get past this, okay?"

"Take all the time you want," Scott said, sure that he'd thrown a monkey wrench into everything.

"Thanks." She squeezed his hand and stole another kiss. "I'll get past it. It's just…" She paused. "This is the first time I've ever had to compete with her, that's all."

"You're not competing with anyone," Scott promised.

"I know. Now I just need my emotions to catch up to that fact." Annie got to her feet. "We'll pick up the tutoring again tomorrow, okay? I need to sleep on it. But I promise I'm mad at him, not you. Swear it."


As soon as James had started working alongside Essex, his demeanor began to shift. His mood had nosedived quickly, too, and James was spending most of his 'free' time sleeping. Billy was obviously the first to see it, and he didn't like what he was seeing. James was unharmed, but it was clear that what he was learning and who he was learning it from was taking a toll. He got his work done quickly in his other subjects - ahead of the curve that he'd put up for himself, even - and spent his study time focused on all that Essex was pushing him for. And he was pushing. He could see when James wasn't challenged enough, and he pressed the moment he saw it was too easy for him.

James wasn't fully aware of it because of the complexity of the issues at hand, but it was a definite measure from Essex of how much the boy could handle - and a good way to keep him too distracted to attempt to form a plan, should he realize how much he needed one.

And when he was done studying, all he wanted to do was curl up with Billy … so at least that part was pleasant enough. The teases and jokes were dropping off at a quick pace, though.

"Hey," Billy said after James had snuggled in with his head on Billy's shoulder, half wrapped around him. "We need to go talk with your dad. It's a few weeks out, but we really should get our plans together for Thanksgiving … and other things."

"We can't sneak him off the island, so we don't need to make plans. We know we're going there," James said. "What else could you possibly need to plan out?"

"How is it that a Summers-family member is shooting down the notion of planning?" When James shrugged openly and doubled down on his snuggle, Billy shook his head and tried for a more direct approach. "And you're going to pretend that you don't have a birthday, I suppose?"

"Yeah, that's kind of where I was leaning," James admitted. "Don't really feel like there's much-"

"Don't finish that sentence."

"Sorry."

Billy gave him a little squeeze, and let him just hang in the quiet for a moment - but keeping quiet and ignoring the fact that his guy was trying to hide in study and depression just sucked. "Okay. We're going. If you don't want to see your dad, we can at least go do this on the beach in some proper swimwear. Should be a good morning for it."

"Billy-"

"I'm not asking. You need to do stuff to relax, too. All this time hammering away at your work for your doctorates and all the extra time locked up in the vampire's secret lair needs to be balanced out with fun. So. Come on. You're already setting yourself up for an extended break before Thanksgiving. Let's plan to have a little fun. Summerses are supposed to like plans."

"Pretty sure I failed my Summers-final exam," James said. "Sorry to disappoint."

Billy leaned over to kiss the top of his head. "This can be your make up quiz. And we need to go visit when it doesn't feel like a crisis."

"True," James agreed, then let out a heavy sigh, though he didn't move.

"O-kay, as much as I'm enjoying all the snuggles, come on," Billy said before he pushed him back and got to his feet. "Get moving or I'll wish you there exactly as you are. Right now."

"Fine," James grumbled as he got to his feet - and dragged himself to get changed into something more appropriate for the hot weather. It only took a few minutes, and as soon as they were set to go, Billy stole a quick kiss and wished them to Scott's kitchen.

"You know you want to see him," Billy said quietly as he took James's hand and pulled him toward the sound of Annie scuttling to greet them - as usual.

"Your timing couldn't be better!" Annie gushed, grabbing both of them by the arms to drag them into the living room. "I've just finished wiping the floor with your father in Seven Wonders; come join the fun."

"Business as usual then, hmm?" James asked.

"Oh, always," Annie laughed, and Scott good-naturedly rolled his eyes at her as he got up to greet them.

"She's leaving out the game of Risk-"

"Do not play Risk with your father," Annie said seriously.

"Why? That one's decent," James argued.

"Only if you can manage to roll higher than a three when you're defending Australia," Scott said, and Annie threw a throw pillow at him.

"You could just play a nice quiet game of chess. That never goes wrong," James said thickly.

"Yeah, I'm not stupid," Annie said, smirking.

"You could totally win," James promised. "I'll give you the cheat sheet."

"No, he overthinks every move and I don't have the patience," Annie said.

"You just gotta have counter plans for his plans," James said. "Easy peasy."

Annie smiled at him and pulled him down to sit on the couch, kissing his cheek on the way down. "So, just dropping in?" she asked.

"More or less," Billy agreed as he joined them.

Annie smiled Billy's way and gave him the exact same cheek kiss. "You've been thinking about how much he needs to spend time with family."

"Considering everything else? Yes. Definitely."

"Well, we've just been wiling away the morning with board games," Annie said. "Unless you really need something in particular?"

"We can get out of your hair if you're occupied," James said.

"No, I just meant - if you're looking for something other than board games, we can do that too. We don't really have plans."

"Whatever works, Annie," Scott said, though he was watching James. "Probably just looking for a break."

"Billy said," James agreed with a nod.

"Knew I liked you," Annie said, beaming at Billy.

"Sinister working you too hard?" Scott asked, both eyebrows raised - and James could hear, genuinely, that his dad was worried about his workload.

James shrugged. "Yes and no. Goes both ways, believe it or not."

"Good," Annie said, smiling lightly as she leaned her head on Scott's shoulder. "Run him into the ground for me."

"Workin' on it," James promised with a tired sort of look.

"Just don't let him get you tired enough you don't notice him pushing boundaries," Scott said significantly.

"Yeah, he was, and I pushed back, so … that's not really an issue at the moment."

"Just don't…" Scott took a deep breath and let it out. "I just wish there was a way to make sure he hasn't stolen anything from you."

"He hasn't," James said. "I know no one will believe me on that, but he hasn't." He ran his fingers over his knuckles. "He should be leaving you alone now. Got him to come to an agreement."

Both Scott and Annie were watching for a moment, but Annie let out a soft sound when she peeked at Billy. "Oh, you're in his files?"

"You're what?" Scott turned fully toward James.

"I got suspicious of him. That's how I figured out who he was," James said, just then realizing he hadn't ever told his dad how he figured out it was Sinister. "Stole a blood sample from him and ran it on his own program." He gestured with one hand. "It was a whole … thing."

Scott held his breath as a few details fell into place for him. "That's good, though," he said slowly. "You'll know if he does steal samples - from any of us. And you'll be able to monitor what he's up to."

"Yeah … that's kind of been the whole thing." He watched Scott for a moment. "Did Nate talk to you about all his everything?"

"He said you did some wheeling and dealing and Sinister had to learn a lesson in consent," Scott said - completely unable to hide the proud note to his voice.

"It's called blackmail," James said flatly. "It was 'behave or I'll obliterate your life's work'."

"I love it," Annie said fiercely. "Can you look into something for me while you're in there?"

"Yeah, I stole a copy of it," James said.

Annie glanced toward Scott and folded her hands together. "Scott thinks he's identified the donor material he used to change me."

James nodded at that. "It'd be a small pool based off of the powerset and his interest in one or another over others."

"So it's definitely Jean, then?" she asked, quieter than before.

James hedged. "Well … maybe. Maybe not."

"If you could confirm it…" Annie took a deep breath and let it out. "I've never … felt in her shadow before."

James scrunched up his nose at that, though. "You're not. I don't remember a lot, but I know you're not like her."

"No, I know, I just…"

"Besides - fiery cosmic birds don't have shadows," James had to tease in his best snooty tone.

"And no one can hold a candle to you anyway," Billy put in, smiling.

"That's true," Scott said, weaving his fingers between Annie's.

"You got him to spill his codename to you on the first half date," James said. "Come on."

"She would have had it figured out if your eyes didn't glow green," Billy pointed out.

"I can look into it if it'd make you feel better," James said, interrupting their back and forth of building her up when he could see it was still bothering her. "But it really won't make a difference. Besides … fifty bucks says you'll end up using it entirely differently even if she was the source."

Scott nodded gently. "That's what I was trying to tell you. You don't have the Phoenix. It's really entirely different. Jean and I didn't even have much time together when the Phoenix wasn't infecting her powers. You can't possibly try to compare yourself; it's apples to oranges."

"I know," Annie said, though she was blushing.

"I've been keeping my copy updated, but if it's too new, it'll have to wait until I go back to the lab," James said. "I haven't had the time to look too closely at anyone we know, though."

"Either way, it's helpful intel to have," Scott said.

Annie waited until James had gotten to see Scott look proud of him before she cleared her throat. "Right, well, if it's okay with y'all, I'd like to talk about someone other than Sinister - but only if you're done plotting."

"If you wanna know, it'll take a little bit longer," Billy said - then made a point to wish James' computer there. It was too clear that Annie needed an answer to that sooner than later. And then they could start planning for the holidays and beyond.

"Okay, fair, I'm too curious," Annie said - which preceded a small stampede or rearranging so everyone could look over James's shoulder at once.

James shook his head and fired up the laptop, again double-checking that it was offline and not searching for a connection before he zipped through the database to find the right search bar, then, with a few extra keystrokes, he had that entire section decoded so it could be read.

Annie blew out her breath through her cheeks, though she couldn't help but tease, "Well, at least it's not Emma."

"Oh, she is not on the list to keep anything from," James said, shaking his head. "I don't know what she did to piss him off, but it's a serious snooty thing."

"They got along just fine, but he never liked her genetics," Scott said with his eyes narrowed.

"Ah … I think they got along fine as long as he was getting his way and she wasn't trying to get hers," James said. "He can be civil if it benefits him. Yes. I know. Don't have to say it."

Billy let out a dramatic noise. "Augh."

"You would've appreciated watching Annie boss him out of her kitchen," Scott said, just to get Billy to perk up - and to build Annie up some more.

"It's my kitchen," Annie said, sniffing. "He had no business in it."

Scott chuckled and kissed her cheek, then reached past her to tap the laptop. "Can I take a look at this? I know these dates."

"Ah … Don't know if that's a great idea …" James was obviously uncomfortable, but he also wasn't going to fight his dad over it. Especially since there was nothing he could say or do that wouldn't be a giant neon sign to keep looking at any point in this conversation.

"Thanks," Scott said, already pulling up the files - specifically the ones that covered the time he'd spent in the Home for Foundlings. The very first notes were from his time in the hospital when he'd had a coma… except that wasn't what happened. That year he had been in a coma, the year that he'd lost Alex and everything else - he had been in a telepathic sleep while Sinister completely mapped his mind so that he could pull strings once he was ready to deal with a conscious subject.

Scott stared at the notes for some time, holding his breath, but when Annie quietly started to suggest that he take a break, he shook his head and kept reading. He was skimming by that point, because the extensive notes covered years and would have taken days to read through thoroughly. But already, he could see much more than he remembered from that time. It was news to him, for example, that he'd been having spurts of power practically from the moment he woke up, not when he was sixteen and met the professor. And while he'd suspected it, having it confirmed that Sinister had either killed or telepathically chased off any good family that would have adopted Scott was jarring all the same.

"Is everyone's file like this?" Billy asked quietly.

"I haven't explored it," James said, already covering his mouth with one hand. "Just enough to know how it's organized and how to edit, really."

"This is just six years," Annie said, just as quietly as Billy.

"He had an obsession," Scott said darkly.

"Yeah," James said softly, though he tried to stop Scott from clicking on the hyperlink that was his own name.

But Scott clicked it all the same, and then - "What the hell." He stared at the family tree that had come up with the link, connecting Scott to Alex, Christopher and Katherine Summers… the tree had his paternal grandmother whose father was Nathaniel Essex.

"It's … that's … at least half the reason for the obsession," James said quietly. "Remy is your great uncle. I think that's how it works."

Scott swore under his breath again as he followed the other branch on the tree. Sinister only had two lines of descendants: one that went back to the 1920s and the other more recently with a woman in New Orleans.

Scott was pale and hadn't said a word that wasn't a swear word. So, Annie was the one to break the silence again:

"You know, it's almost comforting," she said, though when Scott turned her way, she quickly explained, "He tries so hard to act like he's above it all, but he's still human enough to care - in his weird way. Human enough to have some twisted relationships. He's not above having emotions, is what I'm trying to say." She blushed. "Inelegantly."

James cleared his throat slightly, then just to try and give Scott something else to focus on, said: "If it makes you feel any better at all, in both of those branches, it wasn't his line that carried any power. It was your mom's side. Same with Remy."

"I'm not a geneticist," Billy said quietly, "but, like, the red eyes… Sorry, Scott, but, like…"

James quietly reached over to pull up a different window. "He unintentionally corrupted his own gene sequence - screwed up the eye color trait as a side effect. Most mutations stem from the maternal side."

"Oh, of course the corrupted gene…" Scott didn't finish the sentence. He just looked tired.

"I'm sorry," James said. "This isn't helping anything at all."

"No, it…" Scott swallowed. "I've wondered what happened when I was a kid my whole life."

"I haven't read much of the individual files," James said. "But the only one in there with as extensive a file size is Logan's."

"That makes sense," Scott said. And then, with the barest smirk, "Please, God, don't tell me we were related too."

"Absolutely not," James said, shaking his head. "Your bloodline is unblemished and completely separate from mine."

"Shame," Annie said. "I'd've told Kitty, and the jokes would have never stopped."

"He did accuse me of being my mother, so there's that," James said. "If it helps?"

"You are," Scott said, smiling fondly. "This move? This blackmail? This is right out of her book."

"He brought tea to the negotiation, too," Billy added just to see Scott's reaction. "Just before he informed Sinister there was going to be a negotiation."

"If only it had been sweet tea," Annie said wistfully, and Scott spared her a smirk before he went back to looking at his own files.

"I see why he kept coming back now," James said, though he didn't look up at Scott. "Gave him a real hard time about it … and informed him that anything else he wants from anyone in the family has to be done with your consent." He paused for long enough to nod to himself. "He agreed. For now."

Scott looked away from the files to search James's face. And then, gently, he put his arm around him. "Thank you. And I'm sorry so much is on your shoulders. It shouldn't have to be."

"No one told me he was taller than Nate," James said. "It's unnerving."

"Family of giants," Billy said before he could stop himself.

Annie snorted and then covered her nose and mouth with her hand. "Oh, I'm sorry. But I'm a foot shorter than you, Scott. It's funny."

"If you say so, Annie," Scott said, though he was still reading, this time about Sinister's forays into exploring Scott's personality and emotional growth through the eyes of the kid Scott had thought was his best friend: Nate.

So much about Scott's formative years had been corrupted, and it was both a relief to have his suspicions confirmed and depressing to see just how much of who he was had been influenced by a monster.

After a while, James took control of the laptop again - only to shut it down and close it. "I know you want to read more, but this is my one copy. I have to keep it safe. It's my backup leverage in case I end up having to delete the files he has. Of course … that's only useful if he doesn't have it backed up himself … or if he does have one, then it'd depend on if it happened before I encoded the worms into the database or not …" He handed the laptop to Billy. "Can you please put that in your pocket dimension? I know he can't get it there."

"Yes. As long as we make our plans for Thanksgiving and the plans for someone who's having a birthday that desperately needs a break."

"Oh, you are all absolutely coming for Thanksgiving," Annie insisted. "I'm planning to make a spread."

"I told you it was planned," James said to Billy.

"Sorry I doubted the power of Summers Plans," Billy teased before he hid the laptop away and then kissed James. And somehow, the laptop leaving seemed to break the spell, and the heavy feeling in the air dissipated. So, naturally, Annie suggested lunch and started picking James's brain on what he and Billy were doing for his birthday- not so subtly dropping hints for them to swing by.


Tony was in his workshop - as usual - though that had become more and more rare in recent months … particularly since his kid had been in recovery from a freaking head wound, then had gone back to college like his little rock star. Tony hadn't wanted to push … at all, but as a side effect, he'd found himself devouring any and all news that was outside of his own orbit. But somehow he'd missed out on one teensy little scandal that had popped up likely while he was giving the Cobra a tuneup.

Vision had sent a link in the message, and the thumbnail already had Tony raising his eyebrows because of the title: Prince on the Prowl. The accompanying article was a scathing celebrity gossip piece about how Tommy was practically sleeping with anyone who would have him, was blatant about what he wanted, and was basically trying to be as much of a rascal as he could manage to be when his reality-altering mother was trying to make him stop. But she couldn't dictate to him without making everything worse, knowing he'd only rebel harder once she let up. And so, he was really running rampant through Genosha's campus and anyone who visited, too.

This is outside my area of expertise, Vision had written. And he does look up to you. Can you speak to him?

Tony blinked at the message for a long moment, then responded, likely a little quicker than he should have. Why the hell would he do that? No one ever accused me of being a role model. And though he'd sent the message as is, he was already plotting out how to even approach the subject with one of Genosha's princes.

Well, he seemed to think being compared to his grandfather - not Magneto - was a compliment of the highest caliber.

Tony stared at the message with a dry look, only to drag one hand down his face. I don't think that's how this works.

The boys call you Grandpa Tony.

No, they really don't. Tony shook his head. But I will see what I can do.

Thank you.

Tony dropped his chin to his chest as he rubbed his eyes with one hand. That joke was getting out of hand. And he knew he had no way to stop it. He blew out a breath as he looked up at the news suspiciously. If that was the headline in Genosha, it'd just be a matter of time before it was hitting the airwaves stateside. And judging by the article Vision had sent, the kid needed … something. And … Vision rarely asked for help with anything. Not with Tony anyhow.

"Jan," he called out, knowing that she was in her studio close to his lab. "I'm … I gotta go check in with Genosha. I'll be back by I dunno. Lunchtime tomorrow. Something." He lowered his volume to grumble to himself. "Probably gonna take that long anyhow. No idea how to stop that little problem."

"Need any help?" Jan called back. "I'm tweaking Annie's wedding designs, but if you need help-"

"Doubtful," he said in a more normal volume. "Just … talking to teenagers."

"Ha! Good luck."

"Not the one you think," Tony called back.

Jan poked her head out. "Now I'm curious."

"Three guesses. And I already ruled out your prime suspect."

Jan paused, then smirked. "Is Tyler back trying to win over his prince to heal his broken heart?" she teased, knowing full well Tyler still hadn't lived it down.

Tony smirked. "I wouldn't rule it out, but … no."

"The other twin, then?" Jan pulled a face. "He's making headlines, Tony. And not in a good way."

Tony turned toward her in a spin. "Okay, I guess I owe you something for getting it in two."

"The first guess was a tease, but whatever, I'll take breakfast in bed," Jan teased. "Try not to burn yourself on your own toaster this time - you gotta bring it, not Jarvis."

Tony hissed. "We'll workshop it," he said before he stole a quick kiss.

"Brilliant. Good luck with the mini-philanderer," she said and stole a longer kiss.

He was almost out the door when Bruce shouted to him. "Hey. I thought we had plans."

"Ah, we did, but now I have to postpone. Raincheck?"

"This was the raincheck from the last time."

Tony cringed. "Right. Ah … maybe spend the time showing your new protege the mini accelerator?"

Bruce shook his head at that. "The one you didn't want to share?"

"I'm sharing now. You know my favorite preset - I'll have the AI code you in before I'm airborne."

"You can't blow me off again, Tony," Bruce called out.

"I won't. Thanks, pumpkin!"

Bruce shook his head and started toward the common area where some of the new kids were gathering up seeing as it was a day off. Those on the junior training team had .. well, training. But Tony wasn't even off when he called Bruno Bruce's protege. They weren't in the same fields, but … the kid was quick witted and more than willing to dive in with whatever Bruce allowed him to work on. So Bruce tried to remember what it was like to be the brainiac kid trying to fit in with kids that were more … physical.

Bruno was still almost laughably nervous around Bruce, and Bruce knew it. He just hated to draw attention to it - or to take advantage of Bruno's clear bias. But the way the kid lit up around Kamala was so reminiscent of how Bruce knew he'd lit up around Betty Ross.

Whether he knew it or not, though, Bruno was ahead of Bruce at his age. He could talk to Kamala. And he was confident and proud of her in everything she did. It was endearing.

But Kamala didn't seem to realize how smitten her best friend was. Even though he kept making sure he had a drink for her every time she stepped out of team practice. And even though he kept fiddling with new protective measures, and bouncing in place dying to help James finish that new protective force field for all of the team.

And Bruno seemed to miss that Kamala couldn't let herself move forward on much of anthing without his input.

It was adorable watching them circle each other while also anxiously trying not to draw attention to the fact that they just … worked.

The fact that Kamala's family had all but adopted him already should have been a clue. The fact that he'd learned Urdu for them should have been a bigger one.

But for now, Bruce decided to see if either of them were going to figure it out. He wasn't exactly the kind to get in the middle and play matchmaker anyhow. However - if they kept missing the mark, he'd get one of the other kids on the job.