Chapter 48 - Stateside Fiascoes

The instant that the jet landed in Westchester, Tommy was out the door like a shot. As far as he was concerned, he'd spent far too much time around his brother and his moody broody sweetheart. He would much rather spend time with his girlfriend - who was an adventure and a half all on her own.

He was already planning to run them somewhere remote so they could catch up - though he had to get past Storm first. And that lady was scary good at knowing when he was around. Tommy was sure Psylocke was helping conspire against his idea of fun.

He figured he'd talk to her first, conveniently not tell her where they were going, and kidnap Mia for some fun. Foolproof.

So, he zipped into Storm's office in the middle of what looked like boring paper grading nonsense - so of course she was glad for the distraction. He knew she was. "Hey, so, my grandfather doesn't like independent thought and totally invited the Summerses over to make them stop having it - are you gonna finish that?" He grabbed up the half-eaten sandwich and gulped it down. "Oh, and did you know Cyclops is playing some long chess game of mind tricks with Grandfather? Because he's kinda freaking us all out."

"I had wondered what the sudden draw to Genosha was about," Ororo replied. "Though to be honest, I thought he might have been considering moving there, finally."

Tommy shook his head. "No way. He and the ex-X-Men on Genosha are conspiring. My mom knows something too but won't tell us. Pretty sure they're getting ready to overthrow him, if you ask me." He shrugged. "Or try to get him to reverse course. Mom tries a lot - I mean a lot - so this may be some last-ditch stop-being-crazy scheme…"

"You can't use a term like 'crazy scheme' in conjunction with Cyclops; that's just not Scott." Storm shook her head. "But I can see him trying to help your mother get Erik to reverse course - if that is indeed what he's doing, it's not a crazy scheme. So … why don't you tell me what you've learned since the last time we spoke since it sounds like you are speculating."

Tommy grinned and dove into his update, telling her how the kids had all been watching what the adults were up to and wanted to help if they could. How he and Billy knew their grandfather was wrong about humans and were getting in trouble for it. How he was pretty sure he had witnessed Scott officially welcome Billy into the family with a hug.

"So, yeah. It's us versus Grampneto," he summed up. "Which, I gotta warn you, is gonna make this harder. If Grandfather thinks we're turning against him, I don't know if he can be talked down. He likes the family to fall in line." He rolled his eyes. "It sucks, you know that?"

"I know that far too well to deny," Ororo replied. "Thank you, Tommy, for telling me what my old friend may be up to. I do appreciate it." Ororo took a hold of his arm before he could zip off. "The curfew is still the same, Mr. Maximoff. The other rules are also still in effect. Please keep that in mind."

"No exceptions for the super spy?" Tommy grinned brilliantly. "Not even a little bit?"

"Half an hour past curfew," Ororo said finally. "And welcome back. I'm glad to see you."

"Good to be home," Tommy told her, completely missing the importance of his casual statement as he rushed off to say hi to Mia, even though Ororo caught it and was smiling despite herself to hear that Tommy considered the school home.

As soon as Billy and James had said their much more conventional goodbyes, the Summers family headed back toward the city in Scott's car. Rachel was in the front with her father and James was half-leaned over in the back, still deep in thought. And Scott was lost in his own thoughts as well, digesting all he'd seen on Genosha.

He didn't like any of what he'd seen, if he was honest. But seeing how Erik treated his James… he knew he'd have to step in. He needed to formulate a plan. He needed time. When he'd first agreed to work with Kitty, he'd thought this would be his last hurrah, one last play at being an X-Man, but after all he'd talked to James about, he was trying to be more careful…

All while shielding himself from all three of his kids. They didn't need to know what he was planning. Not the full extent of it. He still remembered how upset James had been over what he'd found about Logan's participation in X-Force. The last thing Scott wanted to do was give him another reason to think his parents were dirty - only this time, it would be Scott himself playing dirty.

So, the car ride was quiet, even if Scott could feel Rachel gently brushing the edges of his mind to test whether or not he'd let her in. Which meant that their loud greeting from Nate and Kate both was almost jarring.

"Oh my god, you picked the worst cockblocker in the world and we were only kissing you overbearing so and so!" Kate declared as soon as she saw Scott.

Scott smirked at Warren. "Nice job."

"I almost forgot how much I loved doing that," Warren laughed before he pulled Scott over for a tight hug. "Glad to see you guys managed to escape. Sure you weren't ready to take up the room next to Alex and Lorna?"

"And listen to Magneto butcher the professor's dream at every dinner? Sounds like a dream," Scott replied without missing a beat.

"Every one?" Warren said, cringing.

"Sometimes at breakfast too," Rachel put in helpfully.

"He stopped that pretty quick," James added as he handed Rachel her bag from the back. "He had to shut up to play Dad, after all."

"Sounds awful, but did we mention we spent the week with Moodkiller Supreme?" Kate said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at Warren. "Because that bears repeating."

"That sounds awful. How did you ever survive?" James deadpanned just to get a rise out of Kate.

"We didn't. I'm dead. You're talking to a ghost, James," Kate said seriously, and Nate snorted.

"If that were true, I'm sure Aunt Nat would have been over to set Warren straight but … clearly, they weren't concerned about imminent death from not gettin' any," James said.

"If that were the case, Tommy would have died months ago," Rachel said with a smirk.

"Tommy has been sneakier than you know," Kate said, not spilling all the secrets when the adults were around.

"Yeah, but not as sneaky as he'd like to be," James said before he pushed her shoulder.

"Anyway, how was Genosha?" Nate asked. "You didn't get branded 'prince consort' or something, right?"

"You're hilarious," James said. "It was hot. And sunny. And you missed out on Alex's version of a tour." he shrugged carelessly. "Nothing notable, really."

"Darn. I was hoping you had nightmare tales of the grandfather cockblocker," Kate said dryly.

"Um … not anything worth repeating," James said, turning away from the conversation. "Dad's probably got more to say about that." He didn't feel much like sharing, and truth be told, he'd teased about as much as he could stomach anyhow. And he really didn't feel like talking about Magneto. At all.

"I'm not in the mood to comment on my sons' love lives," Scott said dryly. "Other than to tell Warren 'job well done,'" he added, smirking at his old friend.

"Cowardly," Warren said with a laugh. "And what sounds like an admission that you weren't thinking about that." Warren grinned wider. "Unless you thought Wanda wasn't going to get in Erik's face about being … himself."

"Okay, that's enough, thanks," James said. "I don't know if you're advocating or just trying to rile, but that's plenty."

"He's been in a sickeningly good mood by wrecking ours," Kate stage-whispered to James.

James gave her a dry look. "Who could ever have predicted that a guy that goes by 'Angel' would get his rocks off by forcing celibacy on teenagers? I am not shocked nor offended."

"Because he wasn't bothering you," Nate said, which had Warren grinning wider.

"I love this family," Warren said as he reached out to muss up Nate's hair. "See you guys Friday night, Kate!"

"Don't listen to him," Rachel advised. "And - I brought you both something since you missed out on the sand, the sun, and the magically enhanced surf."

"See, she likes me," Nate said, smirking at his sister and putting an arm around her shoulders. "What'd you bring me?" he teased, even as Scott said goodbye to Warren and Kate and Nate helped get the bags inside.

As Warren started to head home, Rabbi Cohen swung by to check in. It was clear that he hadn't been expecting them to show up mid-morning. "Scott!" he called out when he saw the two older X-Men parting company just outside of the front door. "Welcome home."

"Thanks, Toby, it's a relief to be back," Scott said before he and Warren shared a fond smile and Warren headed out with his wings strapped down tightly under his trench coat. Scott looked over his shoulder as the sounds of his kids getting settled in echoed out onto the stoop. Nate was being … Nate about not having been able to see Genosha - and Rachel was teasing him about having missed out. Clearly, she'd missed her brother terribly. "We just got in, Toby…"

"I was hoping I could pin you down for a time to chat," Toby Cohen said, smiling warmly at him as he came up the steps.

Scott was hesitating, looking like he'd rather be just about anywhere else - especially since he needed to keep his focus on the task at hand … and he needed to see how much intel he could get about Genosha before he made a plan. "Now … isn't the best time," Scott said finally, not even hiding how distracted he was.

"What about later this week then?" Toby asked as James stepped into the doorway just beyond Scott.

"I can't … I don't know what the week is going to bring," Scott said, and he would have simply ditched with all the chaos inside if it wasn't for James blocking him from closing the door with a muted apology. Scott looked between James and Toby as James came outside and sat down on the front step. "I need to stop your brother and sister." He glanced at Toby, sure that he'd meet a brick wall with James as usual and the kid would gloss over a few things for Toby's sake. "I'll call you."

With that, Scott slipped inside and Toby let out a sigh, his shoulders dropping as he did so. "I suppose you won't tell me much about the trip then," Toby said as he sat down with James. The boy wasn't great for conversation unless he had to be, but he would be polite.

"Not on the stoop, no," James admitted - but it was a clear invitation compared to how James usually reacted and Toby's curiosity was piqued.

"Where would you like to chat then?"

James drew in a deep breath and considered him for a moment. "I … don't really want to worry you," James started to say. "But … if you have time, I think I do need to talk to someone - and I would rather it was you instead of one of the Avengers or Dad's old team." He paused and corrected himself. "What's left of them, anyhow.

"Did something happen during the break?" Toby asked, his tone shifting to concern easily - especially since James, out of the three of the kids was the least likely to say anything, let alone open the conversation like this.

"Yes and no," James admitted, then glanced up and down the street. "I know it's paranoid -"

"Would you like to walk with me down to my office?" Toby asked quietly, though he was sure James was going to balk. So he was even more off guard when after a moment, the young man nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I'm just … let me text Dad. I'll bring him coffee when I go back."

Toby was nearly holding his breath as he watched James whip up the text to his father, but he realized as he watched him that he looked somehow more pale than usual … especially after seeing the glowing tans that Scott and Rachel were wearing. But it was such a big step, Toby didn't want to joke at the wrong moment and shatter whatever it was that was going on.

The two of them got to their feet and started down the road - James with his hands buried in the kangaroo pocket of his hoodie. He walked with his chin tipped down, but his eyes were watchful all the same. When they got to Toby's office, it took a few minutes for James to steel himself to open his mouth, and when he did, Toby was clearly not expecting any of what James had to say.

James started out by telling Toby that he'd been having trouble over the past few years, but he'd been trying to deal with it himself. He skipped over many of the details, but was sure to make it clear that for the longest time, James had been convinced that he was living on borrowed time. It was rare for him to talk that way at all, and it was clear that the admission had him anxious. But he was slowly pushing through what he thought was necessary information on him before he hit Toby with the pertinent details about his parents.

He told Toby about the twisted scenarios that had left Scott blinded and how his mother had caused a deeper rift between the team and Magneto - which he was sure was a point of contention now that he was dating Billy. James told him about his older brother that he didn't know had existed, and how that had facilitated how his mother had been murdered, and at that point Toby had to stop him and take a moment himself to process.

James folded his hands in his lap and swallowed hard as Toby got up and paced the room, covering his shock by starting up a pot of coffee and promising that he simply wanted ot make sure they had something to keep them going for a little bit. And the timing was good since James needed to reorganize his thoughts anyhow.

When the coffee was done - and both of them were holding a mug - James sighed heavily, and on Toby's urging, continued by telling Toby how his father had died after dealing with his mother's murderer. Before Toby could say a word, James looked up and held his gaze. "I know I was already high risk," James said. "And before you ask, no. I have never had a plan and I'm not tempted now. But it made everything sort of fall into place when I heard the full story."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, James. It only gives me more grounds to be concerned."

"I know," James agreed, both hands around the mug as he subtly drew in the steam rising up from the coffee it held as a means to soothe himself. "But I'm not done, Rabbi. I was there with Dad when Aunt Jean lost control. Apparently, I was what made her lose it."

"That's not true," Toby said. "It's just not true."

"But it is," James replied slowly. "I had no control over it, I know… I'm not delusional. But my being there put her over the edge, and she couldn't get it back after that. She might still be here if they had killed me." He kept his focus on the dark liquid in his mug. "I've seen Rachel panic. I've talked her down when she thought she was going to lose her control … a little. And knowing that sooner or later, one of those weapons programs will find me - and they will take me -"

"You don't know that they'd come, "Toby tried to reason.

"Yes, I do," James replied, looking up to hold his gaze finally. "I've seen the reports and the intel the Avengers have. They never quit looking. And there is a large number of them looking now. More in the past few months, actually. I'm not trying to argue probability though," James told him.

Toby sighed heavily and nodded gently. "How did spring break turn into hearing this story? If you tell me that Magneto told you-"

"Dad told me," James said. "Magneto just wants to keep me there so Billy won't want to stay here."

"And you're sure that's all Magneto wants from you?"

"I'm sure he'd figure something out … at least as long as Billy's interested. After that, though- all bets are off."

"I thought you boys were doing well?"

"I think we are," James said, then took a moment to set the coffee mug aside. "Rabbi Cohen … I don't want to be the cause of anything else falling apart. But it seems like it's just … going to happen sooner or later. I don't want my Dad to have to deal with it. I don't think he can - and I don't want my brother and sister to get caught because of me - or for Rachel to slip. Or Nate. He gets overlooked for how dangerous Rachel potentially can be, but Nate is not the weakest of the three of us."

"And what about Billy?"

James thought it over for a few seconds, keeping in mind the story Billy had told him about accidentally wishing his brother out of existence for a moment. "I think that Billy … might over react. But he's got a good support system-"

"So do you, James," Toby said before he reached over and rested a hand on his arm. James looked up at him and it was clear to Toby that there was more. "James …"

"I only found this out after Dad found the bug I planted on him."

"You're spying on your father?" Toby asked, sounding somewhere between surprised and impressed.

"Just the once," James replied quickly, one hand up. "And only because he's not talking to any of us. He's actively blocking Rachel and Nate from reaching him telepathically and we were worried about him."

Toby couldn't help the warm smile as it crept across his features. "He's worried about you."

But James shook his head at that. "No. It's more than that. He's trying to win Magneto's trust and he's not handling anything to do with us or him or … any of it well. I was mad to start, but-" he took a deep breath to settle himself out. "I offered to go back to how things were before we ... " he cleared his throat and tipped his head. He figured that Toby Cohen was smart enough to figure out who it was in the masks and uniforms, but he wasn't going to blow it on a technicality with his father or Natasha. Especially sine their strained approval was based on the kids keeping their identities secret. At least until they were busted. "I told him I'd do whatever it took if it made things easier for him, if it'd keep him from following in my father's footsteps." He held Toby's gaze for a long moment as the rabbi processed exactly what James was telling him.

"Do you think that's a possibility?" Toby asked quietly- carefully.

"I do," James said, looking entirely distressed about it, but then he hedged. "Maybe. I don't … after everything he went through to keep us safe, I don't …" He cut himself off again as he reached for the right sentiment, and Toby gave him the chance t find it without any guidance. "If he gives up, it'll be our fault."

"No."

"Yes," James insisted. "He wasn't this bad until we showed up with X-badges on our uniforms. It would absolutely be our fault."

"James," Toby said carefully. "I can understand how you would feel that way, but you can't hold the responsibility for someone else's choices."

"I know." He looked up to meet Toby's gaze. "Doesn't change how it feels though."

"True. But - now, we can start trying to talk through some of this. Starting with making sure that you are okay. I know you're not. You can't be after hearing those things. But you need to believe me when I tell you that none of that was your fault. On any level!"

James' mouth tightened up. "Rationally, I know that."

"But it's not about rationality," Toby agreed. "So. We know that you need to spend time with me … once a week?" James nodded almost reluctantly. "Maybe twice."

"If once isn't enough," James said finally - which had Toby smiling softly.

"If it was anyone else, I'd be asking for three, but I want to trust you to work on this. Especially since you brought it to me. That was very mature. So … we'll start with once a week and see how things go. We can meet here. Just like this. But I don't want you wandering around with those thoughts in your head and no tools to deal with them."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you," James admitted. "I wasn't okay on my own before all of this. I was hanging in there, but this … changes everything. I know my father fought with suicidal thoughts. And I know that explains a lot as far as how I've thought from time to time."

"I'm going to hope that knowing those things doesn't change everything in your perception, though," Toby said. "It doesn't change who you are. And it doesn't change the fact that your family and friends love you. So. Let's start there - and if, down the road, you want to bring one of them with you, we can do that, too."

When the news reported on an MRD attack against a mutant halfway house, the new group of X-Men didn't even have to discuss it before they'd grabbed their uniforms and met at the scene, not wanting to waste any time with a rendezvous when there were mutants getting pummeled like that.

"It's been forever since we did this," Mia said as she and Tommy were first to the scene and started rushing to get the people out. They weren't fully engaging the MRD - not yet - just trying to get people out of danger. So it was when the rest of the team arrived that the fight got interesting.

Nate and Rachel were working together to throw the MRD agents around - into each other and through walls. All to keep the MRD from any remaining mutants, and not at all because they were racist jerks that were asking for it both verbally and through the projected thoughts that the Summers kids could easily pick up.

Meanwhile, Kate and James were both working to coax a couple incredibly young mutants out of their hiding places - one was hiding under the stairs and another one in a closet.

When it was clear the kids weren't coming closer, James pulled his cowl off and relaxed his body language as he tried to coax the little boy under the stairs to come out. "It's okay, bud. We're not scary. I promise," James told him in a gentle tone and with a half smile in place.

The little guy looked up at James with a trembling lower lip. "I'm scared," he muttered into his knees.

"I'll bet you are. You know what? Me too," James said, smiling a little wider at him. He waved with the tips of his fingers. "I'm James. Wanna tell me your name so we can be friends?"

"I'm Ollie," the freckle-faced kid said quietly.

"Nice to meet you Ollie," James said as he offered him his hand. Ollie stared at it for a moment before he took James' hand and when he did, James was sure to gently shake it then let go. "This place is pretty scary. You want to go with me and get out of here, or would you rather say hi to my brother first?"

At that, Nate waved over his shoulder with a brilliant smile, and Ollie looked between them with a small frown. "Can you get my sister?" he asked James quietly. "I told her to hide, and she did, but I can't go without her. It's my job to keep her safe." His eyes welled up with tears, obviously scared of where his little sister might be in all this mess.

"I can find your sister for you Ollie. I'll make it my job to get her to you," James said, relaxing his shoulders more. "Do you know where she is?"

He nodded and pointed to a different room, close by where Kate was talking down another little girl. "She's in the pantry in the kitchen."

"Then I'll find her for you." James nodded and got to his feet. "Can you stick with my little brother, Ollie?"

"Uh-huh."

"Great," James said, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Then I'll get your sister and you can both get out of this scary building."

Ollie smiled and then darted over to hug James. "Thanks," he whispered.

"No problem. We gotta watch out for our little brothers and sisters," James said as he returned the hug, sure to take a careful and deep breath to find the familial scent. Even if she was where Ollie said, it would help to find her faster. "You gonna be okay with my little brother, Ollie? He's kind of a dork sometimes." James said - if nothing else to be sure Nate had the kid's name.

Ollie nodded, but had a crooked smile in place. "I'm okay," he promised, and Nate picked him up and put him on his shoulders to get him out.

James smiled, but he didn't pull his cowl back on - not when he knew he was headed for another little kid. He waved at the little girl Kate was coaxing, earning himself a giggle from her then jogged down to the next room over and right away, he knew Ollie wasn't wrong. The scent of fear was thick in the air and it didn't take long to find the little girl hidden in a cabinet, peeking out of the door. He crouched down by the cabinet and knocked on the door, even going so far as to wait for her to open the door. She squeaked, but didn't close it and James tipped his head and smiled at her. "Hi," he said, doing what he could to sound friendly. "Are you Ollie's sister?"

The little girl nodded and as James reached for her, there was a deep boom that rattled the whole building, shaking the floor as bits of debris fell from the ceiling and a few things fell off the shelves. "Alright, come on, sweetheart," James said, holding his hands out to her. "Let's go find your big brother, huh?"

She was sucking her thumb, and it took a moment but she darted forward just a few seconds before a second explosion rocked the building a lot harder than the first. James curled around her as she let out a little terrified squeak and buried her face in his chest. "It's okay," James said. "I'll do everything I can to get you to your brother."

Nate had just set Ollie down outside when Kate came out carrying the little girl she'd coaxed out of the closet she'd been hiding in, and he grinned over at her. "That everyone?"

"Rachel's doing a sweep, but it looks like the little girl James went after is the last one," Kate said.

Nate nodded and turned to Ollie. "You gonna be okay with Hawkeye? She's alright, I promise."

Ollie nodded and took Kate's free hand, as Nate started back in the building to help the others deal with the MRD - only to get blown off his feet when the MRD tried to bring the building down with an explosion.

Nate let out a curse when he hit the ground, though before he could get his feet underneath him, a second explosion went off - and that one did bring the building down. Nate only had a second to cover his head and try to minimize the damage, but something hit him hard, and the next thing he knew, everything had gone black.

When the building came down, the X-Men were all trying to take stock of each other, and it only took Rachel a few seconds after the rumbling stopped to panic. She frantically reached out to find everyone, coughing and trying to see through the dust and debris long before it could disperse. The twins and Mia were okay… Kate was with some kids who were freaking out over the loud noises… James? Nate? Rachel was higher off the ground than she meant to be as she looked for her brothers. Come on; answer me, please!

When neither of them immediately answered, Rachel started to panic, flinging out one hand to start picking up the still-smoldering ruins of the building and search for the boys. Guys, answer me! she projected, unaware that some of the smoldering ruins hadn't been smoldering around her until she got close to them.

She lifted up part of the entryway and saw that her baby brother had been trapped underneath part of a wall. He was bloody, still, and covered in dust. Rachel touched down with panic and fire just behind her eyes, barely able to breathe until she found Nate's pulse. And then she nearly cried in relief. She was simply too upset to think.

Mia hit the button to call for Avengers backup and then teleported over to where Rachel was, her eyes wide. "Hey, um, you need to find James and also you're kind of on fire," she blurted out.

"What?" Rachel asked, and the fire behind her eyes turned tangible as she started to panic on realizing she had only found one brother. Frantically, she reached out searching for James.

Rachel, James projected out to her after she managed to break through his psychic defenses without meaning to. I'm okay. The little girl is okay. We're just pinned down pretty solid.

Oh thank God, Rachel projected back. Where are you? Nate's hurt. I - I'm freaking out, James.

Don't freak out, he replied, his mental tone calm even if it was strained. Everyone's safe, so just breathe and relax. I've got a beam and some debris on me. I'm stuck tight. I didn't get out of the pantry before it fell. So you're doing just fine.

I'm on fire! Rachel projected, clearly panicked.

So maybe think about not doing that or find me so we can roast some marshmallows. It would be good for this little girl, who is barely keeping from crying because she's playing with my face.

It was such an unexpected response that Rachel was surprised into a laugh - and that helped to calm her down at least enough that the fire was less intense and had pulled back to just her eyes. Right. Rachel smiled to herself as she reached out to brush the toddler's mind, entertained when she saw through her eyes how James was playing with her - nipping at her hand when she covered his mouth.

Seriously, Rach. Get some s'mores going. I can almost reach the graham crackers. But then I'd have to let go of this toddler, and she will definitely cry if I let her go right now. Pretty sure we're trying to avoid that kind of thing.

You're hilarious, she said as she floated his way, following his mental signature and the little girl's giggles until she found where the two of them were. It took some work to telekinetically move some debris and lift up part of the wall and the beam that was on them. But it was easier to cope when the toddler was oohing and aahing over Rachel's powerset, even before she could see her.

When she finally moved a section of brick wall off of a beam, and she saw how James was curled around the little girl, she couldn't help but gasp. Especially when she saw how hurt James was - and still somehow managing to keep the toddler in his arms safe and blocked from getting hurt or seeing his damage. "Ohmigosh."

"It's okay, sis. You didn't see anything," James said before he asked Liza to cover her eyes while he pulled himself free of where his leg had been stuck. "It doesn't count, Rach."

"Yes it does!" Rachel argued. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it'll be fixed in no time," James said. "You know I'm fine."

"You crushed your leg!"

"And with the beam off, it's healing already," James said, even as the little girl held on tighter to him. "Buzzing like crazy."

Rachel shook her head and sat down in the rubble beside him, looking like her father as she ran her hands over her face to get a hold of herself - at least until the fires subsided a little. "That's never happened before," she breathed out.

"Yeah, what kicked it off?" James asked, grimacing as he made sure his leg was straight as much as he was able with the little girl clinging to him.

"Nate's hurt," Rachel said, looking up at James with panic but not fire in her eyes.

"So go check on him," James said. "Or ask Mia or Kate to if you're afraid you'll freak out again."

"I really am," Rachel said.

"Then reach out to check and stay here with me and little Liza."

Rachel nodded, closing her eyes and trying to find the center that Betsy had shown her when they'd trained together. "Kate's babying Nate right now," she said after a long moment.

"Is that some kind of code I should be worried about?" James asked.

Rachel snorted. "No, it means she's stopping the worst bleeders and crying on him and-"

"Powdering his butt? I don't want to hear that, Rach."

She laughed again. "That's a mental image I don't need."

"You're welcome," James said, already shakily pulling himself up to test out standing, though he looked sick to his stomach as he did so, and he didn't let go of the chunk of concrete he'd used to get upright, with one arm around Liza the whole time. "I think I wrecked my uniform, sis," James whispered finally. "Jan is going to be so mad."

"No kidding," Rachel said. "Mia called for the Avengers, by the way."

"Good. That was what we said we'd do," James said. "How are the twins?"

"Tommy and Mia were with the mutants they rescued, so they're totally fine. Billy and Kate were closer to the blast, so they got a little singed and cut up, but also fine."

James nodded, testing his leg again before he took a few shaky steps from where he'd been. "Let's get Liza to her brother. Maybe we'll get lucky and find their parents."

Rachel nodded. "You lead the way. I'm just… going to keep thinking calm thoughts and make doubly sure the Phoenix is locked up where it needs to be."

"Try coming up with a good reason Dad will listen to on why I don't have my mask. That would be great."

"Blame the toddler?" Rachel asked.

"I'm not laying that on a little kid," James said as he handed Liza the remains of his cowl to play with. "Even if it's true."

"Hey, we used to do it all the time to Nate," Rachel teased as Liza tried to wear the tattered cowl.

"Because it was Nate's fault."

"At least ninety percent of the time," Rachel agreed.

James tried to readjust Liza, who let him move her a little before she latched on and snuggled in - peeking at Rachel over his shoulder. Slowly, the three of them headed to where the other mutants who had been staying at the halfway home were staying clumped up, unsure of what to do - at least until the Avengers arrived and Hank got out first, obviously concerned and headed right for Nate.

Kate was relieved to see him and waved him over with hands that were covered in red. "I think I stopped the worst bleeding," she said in a tight voice.

"You did well," Hank said as he started working - much quicker and more efficiently than they'd realized he could. "If it makes you feel any better, cuts on the head always bleed much worse than they need to."

"That… that does, actually make me feel better," Kate breathed out. "It got pretty close to his eye…"

"He'll likely end up with a scar," Hank said.

"That's okay," Kate said. "He can rock a rugged look I can tease him about."

Hank smiled, but as soon as Nate was patched up, he picked him up to get him off the scene. "Who else was injured?"

"James got busted up, but he says he's fine - if you believe that," Mia said. "We're all okay, really. They were just super unlucky."

"I think you mean super lucky," Hank said. "Having a building come down on you could have killed every one of you in a blink."

The kids all paused when they heard it, the weight of it hanging over their heads - and reminding them of what their parents had been saying - before Tommy spoke up. "Yeah, well, it could have killed all these people who were just trying to live too. So… all's well that ends well, right?"

"Not exactly," Steve said as he joined the group, looking each one of them over carefully. "We're securing the scene. SHIELD will be investigating this, so I'm sorry, but you're going to need to stick around a little longer."

"Seriously?" Tommy asked.

"Not like James can go anywhere anyway," Mia pointed out with a giggle, gesturing to where James had both Ollie and Liza climbing on him and snuggling him hard with Billy close by - and highly entertained by the kids using his boyfriend as both teddy bear and jungle gym.

"Yes, really," Steve said. "They attacked a civilian building full of innocent people. Not all of which were mutants, either, by the way. We've been pushing. I thought that was clear. And since it was an official organization working outside of their given parameters … there are big consequences."

"Mess with the bull, get the horns, and all that," Tommy said.

"You all need to give statements," Steve said. "So keep your masks on and be patient."

"Oh yeah. We're really good at that," Mia said, smirking Tommy's way.

"You'll live," Steve said with a sigh, and not long after Hank and Nate headed off for better medical, the SHIELD agents arrived and started separating the kids to find out what happened. Just before the public and the press started to come out snapping pictures of the young heroes at work.

While some of the agents interviewed the young X-Men, others were working hard to get the kids paired back up with their guardians and others still were trying to stop bystanders from recording the young heroes. It didn't take long before the civilians were all being directed to somewhere safe to stay - though it took some serious convincing to get James' hangers-on to trust the agents enough to go with them and eventually James carried the kids rather than hand them over as he followed the agents to find their mother.

Finally, all that was left was the X-Men and Avengers, and the kids tried to look more composed than they felt as they boarded the Quinjet so they could catch up with Nate and Hank.

And somehow, the kids weren't surprised that, when they did get there, Scott was already there too - to make sure Nate wasn't too badly hurt. He looked shaken, but seeing Rachel and James seemed to bolster him, and he crossed the space in a few long strides to grab them both in a hug.

"We're fine, Dad," Rachel said, though she held on tightly. "How's Nate doing?"

"He's stable, and Hank says he'll be on his feet in no time," Scott said, sounding relieved. "It looked worse than it was." He stopped and cupped her cheek. "I saw what happened."

"We had gotten almost everyone out," Rachel said. "Nate went back in to help James."

Scott nodded. "Are you alright?" he asked. "I saw that too."

"I am now," Rachel said. "I think. I was scared for Nate."

"You kept a lid on it," Scott said. "I'm proud of you, Rachel."

"The teasing helped," Rachel admitted with a laugh.

Scott smiled and looked toward James. "That sounds right. Jean always did better with positivity."

"Wasn't teasing," James said. "I insinuated that I could go for a roasted marshmallow."

Scott chuckled. "That would be one burnt marshmallow."

"Got her to relax," James said. "Worth it."

"And what about you?" Scott asked, looking him over.

"I'm fine," James said. "Just tired. And starving. As you do."

Scott smirked. "Healing takes it out of you," he agreed. "We'll get you something high-protein. That helps."

"O-kay," James said slowly. "Are you alright? You seem amazingly okay right now and it's kind of freaking me out."

"You missed my entrance," Scott said dryly.

"Well yeah, I had a couple kids hanging off me."

"Yes," Hank said in a low whisper James' way, "and you missed the sedative I gave him. You must still have blood in your nose."

"Ah," James said quietly, matching Hank's tone and volume as he reached up to scrub his nose with the back of his hand. He'd thought he had done a good job of wiping off all the blood when he was holding on to the little girl. "Yeah. I do."

"It seemed necessary to prevent him having a medical episode himself," Hank said, and James reached out to rest a hand on Hank's shoulder before he stepped closer and lowered his voice.

"I think, before Dad burns that out of his system and before we go, if you could be real quiet about checking an x-ray or two for me, that might be good. To make sure everything is where it should be, especially since it doesn't feel … right."

"You were hurt more than you're admitting to. I am utterly un-shocked," Hank said as he nodded. "Scott, do you mind if I look over both of your other children?" he asked. "Just to be safe."

Scott let out a breath and nodded, sitting down by Nate. "Alright."

"Can you put that in his coffee?" James asked when they were in the lab, well away from Scott.

Hank chuckled. "It's not something I would like to do regularly, but he was in such disarray over Nate's injuries and Rachel's fire that I felt I had a duty to protect him."

"I'm glad you did," James said, then was quiet for a moment. "Does that mean I'm off the hook for losing the cowl?"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Hank said, raising an eyebrow James way. He let out a sigh. "Anyone who was on a team with Logan knew instantly why you did it, though," he admitted. "There were so many missions in which Logan or K would find the smallest people in danger. Logan rarely kept the cowl on if he thought it would scare them."

"There's good reason for that," James said.

"My advice would be not to bring it up," Hank told him frankly.

"Yeah, not gonna happen," James agreed. "But … okay. So. I had a beam fall on me and I broke a few things. They're healed … I just want to make sure it's okay. I got pretty sick when I stood up."

"Say no more," Hank said, already directing James to the X-Ray machine. "Let's take a look. Just tell me everything that was broken."

"Okay, but I'd rather you didn't have to re-break anything," James said.

"If I do," Hank said, "I will give you a collar and put you to sleep first. No reason to do that to you consciously."

"Thanks, I think," James said, relaxing a little as he leaned back and directed Hank on what he knew had broken.

Hank let out a breath when he saw the results and then gently handed James a collar. "When you wake up again, you'll be good as new," he promised.

James frowned but nodded, though considering everything he knew, he couldn't in good conscience ignore one important point. "You'll make sure Dad doesn't see in here, right? I don't want him seeing me in a collar."

Hank paused and his lips parted when he realized that James had to know the full story of his father if he was having concerns like that. "Absolutely," Hank promised gently. "He'll likely be asleep before we can get started anyhow."

James nodded again. "Okay. Yeah. That works." He blew out a breath and put the collar on with a click before he leaned back. A moment later, Hank took a hold of his arm gently and put in an IV and administered the proper medications.

It didn't take long once the shot kicked in for James to pass out so Hank could get to work. Which left only Rachel awake out of Scott's three kids.