A/N - practicallyanavenger - I'm sorry you can't. Hang in there, it gets better. pinkie promise. Of course ... there is still some worse? But ... you're more or less past the worst of the blunt force trauma section of damage.

Chapter 6 - Don't Shoot The Messenger

Without even thinking about it, Steve just started running to where Jean and Kurt had fallen, one hand at his comm, shouting for someone to get there and help, but of course, it was really only the little group that had come that was left, and while Steve was panicking, Tony made his way back with James.

"I know this is a bad time, but I need to go help Cap, and you said to keep James from seeing anything else, so …" Tony very gently handed James back to Scott with whispered instructions for James to keep an eye on Scott before he rushed over to both assess the situation and to get Steve to breathe again.

Of course, Scott had known the second Jean was gone, even if he hadn't seen how it happened. One minute, he was talking with her in their minds and the next, it was deafeningly quiet. And he was barely conscious enough to take James before the little guy hugged him, and Scott wrapped himself around James. He wasn't able to do much more than that, but it was clear to anyone that saw the two of them that James was doing his level best to wipe Scott's face of tears while quietly sniffling himself.

Tony did what he could to settle out Steve while a transport was called in to gather up the two fallen X-Men. Had they been in a situation without a little kid, he'd have just dealt with them himself, but … for how much James had wanted his Aunt Jean … and for how close he knew the kid was to the Elf, he didn't even want to attempt it. Once the transport arrived, he made his way over to Scott and James and dropped down to sit with the two of them. "We can help with the little ones, if it gets to be too much," Tony offered quietly.

"No." Scott kept one hand on the back of James' head. "They need to be safe."

"Then at least … let me come up with something to help you see again," Tony said.

"Why." In just the one word, Tony could hear just how much Scott didn't trust the offer.

"Because like you said, they need to be safe," Tony replied. "And no better judgement call on them than you. Obviously Logan knew what he was doing when he picked you."

Scott froze, his mouth slightly open, before he let out a wordless noise. "Fine."

"Like it or not, Summers, we're going to do all we can to help, and I know that has to sound hollow coming off of all of this, but … we know we blew it."

"No kidding."

Again, the group made the trip to Genosha, and this time, on the way back, Steve tried to at least attempt to check on James as well as Scott. But that was shut down fast when James pushed him away with a stern sounding 'no' that was laced with a touch of a growl.

"I got him," Scott said quietly, angling his body so he was between James and Steve.

"I see that," Steve said, letting out a weary sigh as he watched the two of them. James had never done that with him and it stung, if he was being honest. "Tony's offering a place for you all to use until you decide where you want to be. And … that should give you time to make your arrangements. I can't even begin to say how sorry I am about all of this, Scott."

"Yeah." Scott had his eyes covered, but even if he hadn't, he wouldn't have been able to look at Steve. "Yeah. There's a … we have an arrangement with Magneto."

"So they'll be in Genosha then?" Steve asked quietly, hoping that Scott didn't plan to turn to Magneto as a permanent solution.

"Maybe only until I can set something up," Scott said slowly. "I"m not sure yet."

"That's what Tony was offering," Steve said, watching him openly. "Anything you need."

"My kids safe are in Genosha," Scott said. "My team…"

"I know, we're headed there now," Steve agreed. "I'm not trying to divert you. I'm just trying to make sure you know there are other options available."

Scott nodded, though it was clear to Steve that he was still trying to process everything and wasn't quite up to thinking. "I know a little place. I took James fishing there before. It's Logan's."

"I'll make sure the jet you take doesn't have any tracking capabilities," Steve said. "No reason for anyone to bother you."

"Good." Scott nodded. "I need to keep them safe."

It was uncomfortably quiet for a short moment as Steve tried to find something to say that might help. "I know for a fact that James destroyed Tony on a level I didn't know was possible. If you say the word, you'll have him bending over backwards to do anything you want. All of us will, really."

"I just need my kids and …" Scott paused. "I … I'll let you know. We had a good security system before. Only reason he got in was he blew it up."

Steve let out a breath. "When word gets out … on top of the best Tony can come up with, I know for a fact you'll have Natasha invested. Might not mean too much to you, but she might surprise you."

"Fine. But they're the only two who can come. I don't need their location getting out. You know how dangerous that is."

"Understood," Steve said, nodding to himself. "No one else."

"Fine." Scott leaned back with James.

The rest of the flight to Genosha was quiet, and when they made their request to land, again, neither of them was surprised when they had the same group to meet them on the landing strip, but this time, it was Tony that took the initiative to go talk with Erik. "We're leaving them both quinjets," Tony told him. "I'm working on something for Scott to enable him to see, you can run it by your tech people when I get it done - there will be no GPS, no trackers or tracers of any kind on anything, but I'll need to come back to make sure that it works right."

"You'll understand if I don't take your word for it and insist on my own labs."

"That's fine," Tony said, nodding at that. "I have a list - if you don't have some of the components here, I can arrange for them to get here without anyone else stepping foot on your soil." He didn't try to hide the clear regret in his voice. "I know it's late, but I need to do what I can to help now. And I can help."

"Clean up the mess you never bothered to help prevent," Erik said, not bothering to keep his own anger hidden.

And surprising Erik, Tony simply nodded in agreement. "If there's anything left of the labs of the people that started this mess, I will go in myself and take them apart."

Erik watched him for any sign of a lie and then very slowly nodded. "Yes," he said slowly. "If we can salvage his sight, then at least one of Charles' children can be saved."

"All due respect, there is no 'if' in this equation," Tony said. "I'll make it happen."

"Then I hope to see you quickly."

Tony held up both arms. "Just tell me where I need to go. I'll start right now."

Erik watched Tony carefully before he gestured with one hand - and Wanda joined them, looking worn as well. But she did smile tightly when she saw Tony.

"Mister Stark will be working in our labs. Under careful supervision," Erik said pointedly.

Tony turned to Wanda, doing his best to ignore Erik's warning, or at least pretend like he didn't care about it even as the armor he was still wearing vibrated slightly. "I have an idea, but I need a lot of very small parts. I can get Pepper to package them up into part of a suit to get them here, if you want to catch them."

Wanda nodded and made it a point to take Tony's arm, which at least had the vibration letting up slightly. Though it wasn't until they were out of earshot that she told Tony in a low tone, "The way he's feeling right now, I'm not sure it was such a good idea to come in the suit, Tony. He's ready to go to war over this."

"I don't blame him," Tony said softly. "I wasn't kidding, either. If there are any traces left of the people that started this, I'll be right there burning them to the ground."

Wanda glanced up at him before she broke form and gave him a kiss on the spot on his armor where his cheek would be. "If Jean left anything of them at all, I will wipe them from existence." She glared and settled back on her heels. "They killed my brother."

"I know," Tony said quietly. "And both of the Howletts are gone."

"I heard. I don't know how Kurt is going to deal with that, but I don't blame him for giving the Phoenix a joyride."

Tony stopped and opened up the faceplate so she could read his expression. "No, Wanda … Kurt died with Jean. He killed her."

Wanda froze. "...what?"

"That's why we're here. We brought them back - Cyclops tried to talk her down, but it didn't work …"

Wanda narrowed her eyes and then shook her head, holding her arms tight to herself. "I'm tired of this, Tony. This is why I agreed to come here to stay with my father in the first place."

"I know," Tony said softly. "And as far as I'm concerned, we're not standing in anyone's way when it comes to stopping genocide. I didn't know it was this bad."

Wanda frowned and then put her hand on Tony's arm. "I wish you hadn't lost your innocence, you know."

"I wish we hadn't lost our friends," Tony countered.

"Me too." She led him around a corner to where the elevator would take them down to the lab but didn't say anything until they arrived. "If this doesn't work, get out of here fast. I know you think you're God but I'm just warning you now…"

"It'll work," Tony said. "I know exactly how much trouble I'm facing, and if I can't do this … well … maybe it'd be earned."

"Not really," Wanda said, frowning up at him. "Tony… I didn't think you liked Scott that much…"

"It's not about him. He's got three little kids depending on him now," Tony said. "And he can't do right by them if he can't see them. Just James on his own … the kid doesn't say much - and I know. He's little, but he gets his point across with looks, you know?"

"Billy does the same thing," Wanda said. "It's not easy."

"Right, so just imagine trying to keep track of Billy without being able to see him." Tony gave her a look. "I have to do something."

"So when are you and Pepper going to have your own then?" Wanda asked, a quiet smirk at the corner of her mouth.

"Ought to get married first, don't you think?" Tony said, quietly bristling at the question.

"You haven't done that yet? Really, Tony, I've been gone for how long…?"

Tony hedged and shrugged one shoulder as he quietly shook his head.

"Give me a wedding, Tony. We need something - anything - good right now."

"I'd need a bride first," Tony said, finally turning to face her. "And Pepper's not it. If you must know."

Wanda looked honestly surprised. "You were head over heels when I left!"

"Yeah, and when I wasn't moving fast enough for her, she started trying all kinds of … jealousy… games, you know what … I don't really want to talk about it."

Wanda let out a breath and squeezed his arm. "I'm sorry."

"Its fine," Tony said. "She and Happy are making an honest run at it." He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "But hey - you might get an invite to that if you're really hard up for weddings."

"Maybe," Wanda said. "I just need something to go right. Just one thing."

"Against all sense, I've got a few dozen drones deployed at the original FoH base - just to see what, exactly the damage was - how many mutants were killed there in this last … mess. When I get the numbers, I'll let you know. If you'd like. Also low-key looking for Xavier. Figure they ought to be able to have all of them for the services if they can." Tony was frowning to himself as he stopped at the bench that had a whole slew of tools and supplied laid out. "In the meantime …" He looked around the lab. "At least I can get started while I wait for my parts."

Tony gave Wanda a muted, forced smile and then stepped out of his suit as he got to work at an almost frantic, concentrated pace that Wanda had seen him fall into so many times before.

As for the rest of the survivors, no one really had to ask what had happened once Scott and James got back. They'd seen that specific kind of hurt before.

Ororo had been holding it together with strings and tape until then, but that… seeing Scott so broken … and with the glaring absence of Kurt … she knew what the score was even before it was confirmed and that burst through all of the strings and tape and hope she'd been clinging to. The dark black storm clouds that had been gathering and swirling overhead finally let loose with an earth rumbling peal of thunder that hid her sob, and the citizens of Genosha sought shelter from the tempest the goddess inadvertently created as nature itself wept along with her.

Rachel was old enough that she knew what was going on, even if her ability to grasp how the permanence was a little shaky. The basics were really all she needed to know, though. For instance, she knew her dad was sad and that a lot of her friends were gone.

Nate and James had fallen asleep with Scott, but Rachel slipped over to Ororo and put her hand on Ororo's knee. "I love you, Stormy," Rachel said earnestly. "Lots and lots okay?"

Storm took a moment to give Rachel's hand a squeeze. "And I You," she said, though Rachel was frowning at her wet face.

Rachel rubbed her face against Ororo's side as she snuggled in. "I'm sad too," she said quietly. "Everyone is sad."

"They are," Ororo agreed, trying to smile for the little girl.

"Do you need a hug?"

"Always, little one."

Rachel nodded and then wrapped her arms around Ororo's middle, listening to the rain against the roof of the house, which was enough to soothe the goddess at least a little bit.

Over the next few days, the surviving X-Men were visited by not only Scott's brother and sister in law, who were clearly destroyed, but Wanda made sure to come by as well. She only hesitated to bring the twins along, all things considered. Not because she didn't trust the group - but she didn't want them overwhelmed by a pair of highly curious and helpful little boys. Not until the kids from Westchester started to show some kind of emotion other than numb, anyhow. She knew that Billy in particular would bend over backwards to help. And she wasn't sure watching those affected that it was the right time. Yet.

For as fast and dedicated that Tony was to his project … in the end, it took more time for Magneto's people to clear Tony's work than it took for Tony to create new bionic eyes for Scott, but finally, after what felt like forever to Tony, several of Magneto's people brought Scott to the lab so Tony could make sure that what he'd created for Scott was going to work properly for him.

"Sorry it took so long," Tony said as he took a seat near the bench, his tools close at hand.

Scott let out a breath as he sat down. "It's fine. Rachel is making a game of telling me everything she sees so I haven't gone without."

"So you know, this isn't just a fitting," Tony said. "They should be done. All of it. This is for tiny adjustments and confirmation that it'll work for you."

Scott tipped his head to the side. "Yes, well, we'll see what you've got. Nate picked out my glasses so if they're really that offensive to you…" it was the first attempt at wry humor he had made, and Tony somehow wasn't surprised it was dark humor.

"No, you don't understand," Tony said before he let out a breath. "You can keep the glasses. Whatever glasses you want. That won't impact what I made." He sat back while Magneto's staff came over to do the actual fitting with Scott. "The only thing I wasn't sure of was the color."

"Oh, I'm boring. They were brown," Scott said dryly.

"Well, I went with blue," Tony said.

"Fine by me. Nate will like that."

There were a few semi-uncomfortable moments as the doctors finished and then Tony quietly gave him a moment to process. Scott blinked his eyes as the bionics powered on … and slowly, for the first time in weeks, he could see. Scott looked like he was in shock as he slowly took in the details of the room and the doctors were watching both Scott and Tony carefully, which was when Tony spoke up again. "We have a whole slew of color and focus tests when you're ready."

"Yeah." Scott was still looking around. "I'm not used to … color."

"That actually makes sense," Tony said. "I rushed this set though. I can change anything you don't like."

"No, that's not what I meant," Scott said. "I just meant - it's been a long time since I saw anything other than red. Let me get used to it."

"Then maybe I should wait to tell you the other features," Tony said slowly.

"No, go ahead," Scott said.

"Alright, so, you can ask for night vision or infrared. It's keyed to your voice only so no one will be able to tweak that for you," Tony said. "When I get back to my lab, I already have ideas for a better pair that will have scanners that will help you with threat assessment - not too much different than the stuff I have onboard my suit."

Scott finally turned to look at Tony and blinked a few times in obvious surprise. "That… will help immensely."

Tony nodded and let out a breath of obvious relief. "Alright. Well. Consider this the starter version."

"Thank you." Scott reached up to rub a hand over his face. "I didn't expect… all of this."

"You know I don't do anything halfway, right?" Tony said. "Especially when I screwed up so badly already."

Scott frowned Tony's way. "You sure you're alright, Stark?"

"Yep. Fine." Tony nodded to himself, though it was clear he very much was not alright.

"Wasn't anyone's fault but Graydon Creed," Scott said, surprising himself with his concern - but then, he knew that look intimately.

"Still," Tony said with a shrug. "Alright. I'm going to suit up. Head out. I told Magneto that the two quinjets are for you and your group. I'll grab Cap and get out of your hair, just … let us know when it's time … you know. We want to help see them off and pay our respects."

"It will probably be a combined service. Too many… it would be too much to do all one right after another."

"No kidding," Tony breathed out. "You've got my number, so …"

"Yeah." Scott got to his feet and looked around. "Thanks again. I know our teams don't… mesh. So I wouldn't have blamed you-"

"Yeah, that's not gonna work anymore. I blame me," Tony said. "Just let us know when you need help. No questions asked but when and where."

"Honestly, I don't know that the team will… well, there aren't enough of us…"

"It's not just about the teams," Tony said. "But if you want to keep working for good and don't want to carry all the liability, you can join us."

"It's not about liability," Scott said. "I just don't know if we can ask anyone to keep… to come back after this."

"There's no time limit on this, Scott. Take your time, take care of your family and friends. We'll be here when you're ready either way."

Scott nodded gently before he put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "I'll call you when it's all set up. Thanks."

"Anytime," Tony replied, and when he stepped back from Scott, he made his way over to where he'd stashed the armor and quickly suited up. "Wanda seems to think I've got a death wish," he said with a little smirk.

"Knowing How Magneto feels about the Avengers? Wearing that suit? You might."

"Haven't got anything else and the rock tee and sneakers seemed like I was under dressed," Tony deadpanned.

"True enough. But you didn't murder me so he might let you come back."

"One way to find out," Tony said before he waited for his official escort to take him away from the lab. While he waited, he hedged on telling Scott the other bit that he'd found out from his drones, but … seeing as Scott was taking charge of the funeral arrangements, it really was something he had to do. "Oh, Scott. I know there's no good time to tell you this kind of thing, but … I had sent out a small army of drones to search that site - where you were being held. I was looking for … well I was looking for answers, if I'm being honest."

"And?" Scott said, half holding his breath on what it was that Tony might be hanging on to.

"I've recovered the Professor's body along with the body of a young man that DNA matched up with Logan. He did lose a son, it just … wasn't the one he thought he'd lost."

Scott nodded slowly. "Akihiro," he said, though he barely breathed it out. "I didn't know him well, but Logan told K about him when they were married…" He shook his head and then swore under his breath. "The bastard wasn't lying."

"Probably ought to elaborate on that," Tony said.

"Sabretooth told Logan just before he killed K that his son had been asking for him when he died," Scott but out through his teeth, his hands in fists at his sides. "When K died, Logan thought he had lost everyone in his family."

Tony stared at Scott for a long moment. "And because of this guy … he wasn't lying."

"Logan would have known if he was," Scott said, still visibly angry. "Dammit, this shouldn't have happened."

"He played him," Tony said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"He'd never been able to before. Not that I ever saw," Scott said. "If it wasn't so damn believable it would never have worked."

"But he wasn't technically lying. Logan just … didn't think about the other … this Akihiro?"

"They weren't close," Scott said. "At all. The fact that he was asking for Logan… he had to have been well past the breaking point. Logan wouldn't have believed it."

Tony nodded at that. "We found Creed's body too. Both of them."

"Stark, I don't give a damn about them. Leave them to rot. I don't care."

"No, I just … I know how much of a pain Sabretooth was, and you should know he's not coming back. He was pretty well torched."

"Good." Scott made a visible effort to calm back down before he turned toward Tony. "And… the professor…?"

"He's waiting for you in New York ... " Tony let out a breath. "I'm sure he'd have wanted to be 'home'."

"yeah." Scott was almost holding his breath before he sat down again. "Yeah. He… yeah."

"Anything you need," Tony said as his escort arrived. "Just say the word."

"Thanks," Scott said in a breath. "Really."