A/N - X-MenOverAvengers & PracticallyAnAvenger - thanks for the quick reviews! We really do adore them and they've been a serious bright spot for me lately, so thank you! As far as the technical questions go - after a little discussion, we agreed that Nate has control enough to make the people recording stop simultaneously. So their recording would end abruptly. Technical question two is easy, though. Scott did not change James' name. On the practical side of things, they were all using fake names growing up anyhow, so there was no need. However, even if there was a need, after losing Logan and K, I don't think he'd have the heart to take James' name from him. That's a connection to his parents, and Scott in particular would be very sensitive to losing a name. Remember, for years, all he thought he had left of his family was his last name. He couldn't take that from James.
Chapter 91: Friends And Loved Ones
Scott definitely had a lot on his mind coming from a lot of different directions, but … time teaching was slowly helping him to feel more like himself. He'd been subbing and stepping in for Human-Mutant relations now and again since the beginning of the school year, but with one faculty member or another taking turns in Cambridge watching out for James, it had become clear quickly that they needed one more class covered, and at the time, Scott hadn't even considered not volunteering to teach History, though his offer to pick that class up had gotten the rest of the staff to pause fully for a moment.
Naturally, he knew what the concern was because that was Logan's old class. But aside from the fact that he really wanted to step in for personal reasons, that class could easily go hand in hand with Human-Mutant Relations. So that was the explanation he ran with. And he was thankful that no one but Ororo had said anything to him otherwise. But even that discussion had just been a bittersweet 'thankyou' that went with a hug that probably went on for a bit longer than either of them had intended. But that too, was needed.
And now, most days, Scott didn't start out his history class with that heavy feeling in his chest anymore. He really was starting to feel more like himself the more he did things that he wanted to do. His kids were all old enough to at least start down their own paths - and they certainly seemed to be doing exactly that.
Scott still had his cup of coffee in hand as he settled into his classroom. Class wasn't set to start for another ten minutes, and he was staring out the window over the grounds like he used to so often. Reflecting, being grateful for all that was going on that was positive. That was kind of nice, for a change.
And he couldn't help but let his mind wander like it always did years ago as they approached the holidays. All of the kids at the school … did they have families that loved them and were just protecting them by sending them here, or were they abandoned and feeling alone as the holidays approached? Who needed a reminder that they were loved and cared for, even if they only thought it was by the people in the Institute?
He didn't know these kids like he knew the kids he used to shop for years ago, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try if Ororo needed help in that department.
Snow was falling gently outside in big, fluffy clumps - adding to the already deepening blanket of white that covered the grounds. Something about watching the snow fall really was mesmerizing and Scott got lost in his thoughts until he heard the first rumble of kids heading in to class. With a sigh, he turned and started toward the desk wondering if the kids had any idea what their teachers were thinking about at this time of year - or if they had any idea how much the staff of this place took each one of those kids into their family.
He raised his mug to take a drink as he sat down - there were still a few minutes before class started after all. His papers were in order, his lesson plan laid out, so all Scott had to do now was to allow himself a certain measure of paranoia that seemed especially fitting before History class. And with a blink, his cybernetic eyes switched over to scan for threats as the kids came in.
He wasn't exactly checking out the kids, though that was part of it. Test days always brought out a cheater or two, and though Scott didn't want to come after someone before they cheated, he did like knowing ahead of time who to watch.
The first handful of kids came in - and already there was one potential cheater and two that were going to need their phones confiscated for the test. He gave them a chance to turn their devices off and put them away - class hadn't actually started yet, after all.
Billy came in a few moments after Scott set down his mug, and as he'd come to expect, he wasn't a bit of trouble himself. But … the young man that had been following him around like a lost puppy seemed to be a little more troubling for Scott. For one thing, the kid didn't seem to know how to take 'no' for an answer. He'd pushed Billy to do things with him, spend time, and even Scott had been close enough on a few occasions to hear Vojteck ask Billy to go out on a date with him. But Billy had consistently, calmly, and tactfully told him no every time.
At first, Scott had thought that Vojteck had been asking Billy to double with him and some girl - especially since Scott had seen Vojteck on more than one occasion openly watching some of the more attractive and vulnerable young women. He'd seen it as predatory, and he'd been about to pull the kid aside when he saw him put a hand on Billy's knee. Of course, Billy had gently put a stop to that, but it was the kind of behavior that just .. it had him watching Vojteck a little closer. Something was off about that kid.
Speak of the devil, Scott thought to himself as Vojteck came in for class. He paused at the doorway, looked around the room, and then made a beeline right for the closest open seat to Billy. Scott tried not to have much of a reaction as he watched the kid go- but as he passed, the sensors in his scanners lit up and all at once, Scott was scrutinizing him a lot closer.
And to his surprise, along with the pocket knife Vojteck had on him, he also had two more knives, some sort of tech in his wrist watch, and a small bag of marijuana. The boy had set his bag down, but knowing the threats in the air against the princes, even if this was an innocent thing, Scott couldn't ignore it.
"Vojteck, can you please see me at my desk," Scott said. "Bring your bag."
The young man straightened up and looked toward Billy, who shrugged openly. Vojteck took his time getting to the desk, even as other kids began to file in. "Is there a problem?" Vojteck asked and Scott took out a small box from the bottom drawer of his desk and set it down between them discreetly.
"I'm not sure what your reasoning is, and right now, I don't want to hear it," Scott said. "You know there's a strict no weapons and no drugs policy in effect. You're going to need to put everything that falls into either of those categories that you have on you or in your bag into this box, right now." Scott looked past him to the kids, most of whom still seemed to think that they were just chatting. "Be discreet. I'm not trying to embarrass you, I'm only looking out for everyone's safety and well being. Including you."
Vojteck blushed high on his cheeks, but did as he'd been asked, discreetly slipping some of the weaponry into the box, though when he looked like that was all he was going to hand over, Scott cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. "All of it," Scott said. "Unless you want me to take it myself."
"No," Vojteck replied sullenly as he handed over the rest, though he didn't take off his watch.
"What's the story with the watch?" Scott asked - no longer in as giving a mood when the kid tried to hold back.
"Is just a watch," Vojteck replied just before the bell rang.
Scott watched his readouts as the lie came through plainly on his sensors. And again, he tapped the edge of the box. "You can have it back after class." He'd already decided he wanted a better look at that watch, and he knew he needed to when he saw how livid Vojteck looked at the loss of it. Something was up and Scott wanted to know what it was. Now.
Which he could do … while the kids were taking their tests. Once they were all seated - and to his amusement, much of the student body was far more receptive to what he had to say, still in awe at Cyclops teaching them - Scott handed out their tests and took a seat. He gave them all some time to settle in, and right off the bat, Vojteck was clearly uncomfortable, but still, Scott waited for him to try and get into his test before he quietly took the watch out of the box to more thoroughly inspect it.
His sensors were only showing it was some sort of higher-grade tech than what any kid at Xaviers should have … he didn't have the in depth means to see what it was supposed to do …
But there had never been a need for that kind of thing. Still, he took the time to make some incredibly in detail scans to have Tony look into and he tried to see if there was some kind of secret compartment or clues on the watch itself that would help him, but the display that came up in Hungarian (he discovered after one of the many programs decoded it for him) only displayed 'unauthorized user'.
After the second attempt with the same reaction, Scott noticed out of the corner of his gaze that Vojteck was watching him - and he looked both livid and nervous somehow. Scott met his gaze, and for a beat or two too long, Vojteck finally looked away, back to his paper … which Scott could see hadn't been touched.
He'd never wished he could read minds this badly before. But something was off. And Scott couldn't find a reasonable inroad into figuring out what. For the time being though, he did have a test to monitor - and yes. The new kid from Topeka was trying to cheat. "Peyton," Scott said, immediately busting the near-cheater, and allowing Vojteck the fallacy of believing that Scott was no longer analyzing every breath he took.
When Peyton came forward and handed over the cheat sheet packed with tiny notes, Scott pushed the box containing Vojteck's things aside … but it gave him room to open up his laptop and start digging into the records of the school to see where this kid was from, why he felt the need to carry knives and weaponry with him suddenly, and how the heck he could have gotten a hold of tech that so far, had no information on it in the screening he was running.
Scott was almost distracted when the first of the kids came up to hand in their paper - and get excused to prepare for more tests as the school started to wind down on serious studies in favor of holiday movies. But that meant Scott wasn't going to be able to sift through everything he was finding … to look for minute clues that meant there was something hidden.
But he couldn't do much about it other than to watch the kid closer. And let the rest of the staff know. A foreign student with no real background carrying weapons and stalking one of Genosha's princes was a very big problem. And aside from notifying the other teachers, the Avengers, and possibly Wanda - Scott decided the first step would be to also warn Billy.
So he was glad to see that Billy had actually taken his time on his test and was one of the last ones to hand his paper in. "Billy, if you don't mind, I'd like a word after class," Scott said.
"Are you going to be mad if I go sit in the corner with my phone until then?" Billy asked, not entirely sure if he was in trouble, or if this was more parental meddling.
"That's fine, thanks," Scott said, then waited patiently for the last few students to finish up so he could tell Billy what he knew.
Once the room was clear, Billy looked up from his phone, looked around, and then got to his feet to cross the room again. "So… what's up?"
"Vojteck," Scott said, gesturing for Billy to pull up a seat.
"Oh. Okay." He took a seat and immediately looked uncomfortable at the subject at hand. "Just Tell me You're not assigning study buddies."
"I'm not," Scott promised. "In fact, quite the opposite. I'm warning you to steer clear of him as much as you can."
"I've been trying. Since like, day five. Or six."
"You don't have to be nice about it, Billy." Scott took a deep breath and let it out. "I confiscated weapons from him today, along with a watch that I still don't understand. The tech in it is well beyond what should be in a watch, and I couldn't break into it." He raised an eyebrow and held Billy's gaze, knowing that, considering all the time he'd spent helping James up until James had truly surpassed him in science and tech, Billy would know that Scott wasn't exactly tech-addled either.
"So … enlist help?"
"Looking into that already," Scott said. "But … be on your guard. We don't have much background on him, and anyone following around a prince with weapons…"
"I can just … I don't know. Work up a spell that will keep him from hurting me." Billy nodded to himself. "Grandfather pushed to be sure I could work up very specific directives."
Scott almost smirked. "Sometimes pays to be paranoid, huh?" he said, still not entirely sure where the line was with Billy in talking about Magneto.
"We'll see," Billy said.
Scott nodded. "Well, I'd say now is the time to work up that spell. I'll make sure the staff is aware too. I don't want the other students at risk if he tries anything and takes it out on someone else if it doesn't work." He paused. "Can you do the same spell for Tommy?"
"Oh yeah. No problem there." Billy nodded. "He won't look at it like a good thing necessarily. Doesn't like when people protect him."
"Yeah, I've never dealt with anyone like that," Scott said, smirking more openly. "Still, go ahead and do it. I don't want to take risks with either of you."
"Me neither," Billy agreed. He paused and then got to his feet. "Do you need me for anything else or…?"
Scott shook his head. "I'm going to let Storm know," he told him. "The rest of the staff will keep an eye out until we know what his story is. Might be better to keep a close eye than to kick him out and risk him going back to whoever gave him that watch."
"Tommy will totally know you're all being protective."
"He'll get over it."
Billy spread his hands out wide. "If you say so," he said, backing toward the door. "I'll tell James. Maybe he'll feel better that he's not the only one dealing with crazy."
"He might. He'll want to make sure you're okay, too."
"Oh, you mean he'll check on me? What a nightmare," Billy deadpanned, and Scott chuckled to himself as the door closed behind Billy. Those two boys were trouble together, and as soon as Billy turned eighteen, Scott knew he was going to have his hands full.
He sighed, the smile dropping away in an instant, and then got to his feet himself. He needed to let Ororo know what he'd found. And then, he wanted to talk to Forge about the watch.
When he found the two of them, they were half wrapped up in each other and enjoying some tea between classes. So Scott was sure to hurry it along. And he started by unceremoniously dropping the watch on the table nearest Forge. "I need you to take a good look at this and tell me what the story is," Scott said, honestly concerned more the longer he had to think about it. They did not need to be in a position to tell Wanda that they'd allowed her crown prince to be attacked. "I took it off of Vojteck before the History test. He also had some weapons on him. We need to keep a closer eye on him."
"You act as if we don't keep a close eye on anyone from that area of the world," Ororo said even as Forge picked up the watch and started looking it over.
Being a technopath had some advantages .. one of them being the fact that the tech often gave up its secrets without having to be cracked open. "Well," Forge said after a moment. "This is a cold-war era Soviet spy watch. But it's been reworked with newer surveillance and stealth tech."
"Stealth how?"
"Stealth like it emits a low-level field of disruption for powers," Forge replied. "I'll test it further, but if I had to guess, based off of where and when it originally was created, it was probably to stop telepaths from peeking in. It's likely that someone in Vojteck's family was either a spy or a higher up in the Soviet government. These were pretty common in the '80's. Over there, anyhow."
"Why would a teenager need to block a telepath?" Scott asked with a frown.
"I … would imagine he didn't want anyone knowing what he was thinking … but the surveillance is the more active application here. I"ll look into it and see what it gathered," Forge promised. "It might take a while to get the language settings right, but I should be able to see what he was watching or gathering. That would give you a better idea on if it was for something nefarious or if he was just trying to cheat."
"That's not an unreasonable application, but considering how closely he's been shadowing our little crown prince, we should keep closer tabs on him," Ororo said. "And keep an eye on what he does around Tommy as well. I don't trust that anyone after one of Genosha's princes would pinpoint one over the other. If this is a political issue, then they'd take either one of them."
Since there wasn't much else Scott could do now that he had alerted the people who needed to know and then wait and watch for better information or for Vojteck to play his cards, there wasn't actually a reason to postpone the date he already had planned with Annie. He was supposed to take her back to the bookshop and cafe - which was fast becoming a favorite spot for her - and he was loath to cancel when, really, he didn't need to. But his head definitely wasn't in it, and he found himself thinking about Vojteck and running down possible sponsors the kid could have to set him up with that kind of tech. Wouldn't be the first mutant to get roped into shadowy organization - both pro- and anti-mutant, too.
Still, he at least tried to look like he wasn't mentally elsewhere when he picked Annie up from the tower and drove her to the cafe. It helped that she, as ever, had plenty she wanted to tell him, and it was nice to see her immediately launch into storytelling over the latest antics of the younger Avengers and the Avengers' kids who weren't yet on the team. Knowing she was excited to tell him about her day was a nice feeling, despite his preoccupation.
They were nearly to the cafe when Annie asked, "Something happen at the school?"
Scott blinked and turned her way at the stop sign. "Sorry?"
"You looked like you were thinkin' a bit too hard, and all I said was that Jimmy Barton is about a step away from joining the team once Captain America, you know, figures out how to tell him he's too young for it yet," Annie laughed. "Not really somethin' you need to think about."
"Just worried," Scott said.
"About him? He'll be fine. Takes after his father."
"I'm sure he will be; I know his parents," Scott said.
"Then is this about yours? Scott, they're doing well." She paused and bit her lip. "Unless there's been another problem like what happened at James's birthday party?"
Scott shook his head quickly. "Nothing like that," he promised. "Nothing… active."
"Thinking about the possibilities then." Annie leaned back in her seat. "You're going to have a heart attack by your next birthday the way you're goin'. And Craig said you'd been making such good progress."
"Hey, you don't get to bring your brother into conversations," Scott said.
Annie raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay. I think you've been loosening up. But now you're lookin' like Atlas."
Scott sighed as he pulled the car to a stop and pulled the keys. "Billy's got a stalker, and I'm worried it could escalate. I don't think it's just a jilted wannabe lover. Something's off here."
"There it is." Annie reached over to put her hand on top of his on the gear shift. "Have you talked to Billy? He's a smart boy."
"I have-"
"Good." She took his hand in a firmer grip. "I know there's nothing you can do about it now, or you'd be doing it. So why don't we grab some food in the meantime. Or do X-Men not eat food anymore?" she teased.
He almost smirked and shook his head at her. "What is it we're supposed to run on, then?"
"The dream," she said without missing a beat. "The dream and a whole lot of hope. I think it sustains you."
"If you say so," Scott said, hiding his smile as he got out of the car and came around to the other side to open her door for her. "And what about you? How's Craig doing? I only see him lately when he's in a professional capacity."
"His potentially violent mutant hater is thankfully quiet," Annie admitted. "Haven't heard from her in a while, though to hear Tony Stark tell it, she's probably knee-deep in dealing with his legal team. More worried about what happens in a few weeks when the cases are all either settled or litigated."
"Didn't realize there was that much legal work going on," Scott admitted. He hadn't really been paying attention to what was going on with Emma, mostly because it was still a sore subject, all things considered. He didn't want to know.
"Well, Stark has been digging, and your boy isn't the only one she's targeted in college. It's a tender age for a lot of kids, trying to get into adulthood, and if they have enough power or money or influence for her to care, she doesn't seem to mind breaking whatever rules she needs to break to make them owe her. It's everything a therapist shouldn't do."
"Sounds right," Scott muttered.
"Anyway, Craig's alright. Leslie Ann and Mary Beth have been talking him up as a hero, so he's soaking in being the cool uncle for once," she teased. "Though Leslie Ann is mad he won't help her convince Anton to let her join the team. She's too young, but she thinks she's older."
"Yeah, she's been hanging out with Mia and recruiting her to her cause, too."
"I don't doubt she'll be amazing when she's old enough, but Anton's scared to death she'll rush into something she's not ready for and get herself in trouble," Annie admitted and bit her lip. "I told him y'all wouldn't let that happen, not to these kids, not after what y'all went through. But you know how it is when you're worried about the people you love. Especially kids."
"Yeah, I know," Scott agreed.
They fell into silence for a bit, until they had a small table in the corner and were finally getting into their club sandwiches. Then, Annie broke the silence.
"You like teaching, don't you?" she asked, smiling when he looked up in surprise. "You've got the bug. I see it every time we get a new teacher. You're happier like this."
Scott smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "It feels familiar."
"You love it," Annie said, grinning outright. "Isn't it wonderful? It's almost the end of the semester, and everyone's stressed over finals, I'm sure, but you can also see the improvement they've all made this time of year too."
Scott couldn't help but smile as he leaned forward to match her body language. She loved being a teacher, and he loved to see her light up like that.
"Do you know, I've had the most amazing essays this year. I tried something new, asked the kids to write about current events and then link them to what we've learned in history either to show the cause and effect of the past to the present or to show history repeating itself. I think I'm going to keep this assignment. These kids are creative!"
Scott smiled and reached out to cover her arm with his hand. "Sounds like you love it just as much as I do."
"Oh, absolutely," Annie agreed, her eyes sparkling. "I hope I never stop being surprised by these kids."
"I hope so too," he agreed, finally starting to relax. "I think I'd like to hear some of those essays."
Annie positively beamed at him, then straightened up, pressed her free hand to the table, and said, "Oh, have I got stories." And Scott just laughed and leaned toward her, soaking up her gushing reviews of all her students had learned to apply.
And she was happy to inform him that several of her students used mutant rights issues and incidents as examples before expressing their distress at how slow those rights were coming in to play.
Franklin Richards had finally finished his lecture series … but he was dragging his feet about leaving the house in Cambridge. It had become its own kind of home for him and he was in no rush to leave the mostly laid back and fun vibe that he and James had managed to create for themselves.
Most of it was almost child-like in the level of fun with practical science experiments built way up past a point of lunacy, or pizza fueled video game marathons or discussing their theories with each other in depth in a way that Franklin simply couldn't accomplish at home with his parents. Not because his parents weren't up to it, but because they didn't have the same kind of outlook of possibility that the boys had.
He'd even missed all the time Billy had once spent at the house. But - the media misinterpreting why Franklin and James were living together had been more than enough for Franklin to want to get some real distance between them. Especially when it sounded like some of them thought James needed someone from the Fantastic Four to supervise him when he wasn't with Avengers. That kind of tone wasn't at all something Franklin or anyone else could misinterpret, and honestly he was worried about what might happen to his friend once he was isolated.
Franklin was just thinking about how he was going to handle going back to the Baxter Building when he felt something wet underfoot a split second before James' damn black cat started weaving between his legs, purring loudly.
He startled and jumped, then moved away from where he'd been standing only to do a small double take because that wet thing under his foot appeared to have been the dead body of a songbird. Franklin let out a shout, then several choice four letter words as he started shouting for James to deal with his cat.
"What's the problem?" James asked, leaning in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room while Franklin hopped on one foot - completely grossed out.
"The problem is that your cat has gone from chewing up the flowers to leaving her kills around the house," Franklin replied.
James looked over to the mess, and to the slinky black cat sitting on the floor with her long tail swishing behind her. She didn't seem bothered at all by Franklin's antics and was instead watching him passively, though she'd quit purring. "What did she do wrong?" James asked before he took a few steps toward the cat and crouched down to give her a little pet. "She brought you a gift, Franklin. Why are you so ungrateful towards her thoughtfulness?" The little cat was arching into his hand, and once again purring loudly while Franklin stared at them in disbelief.
"It's a dead bird, James. What's cute about that?"
"Yeah, but she killed it for you," James pointed out. "Could have been worse."
"How?"
"She could have just wounded it for you."
Franklin let out a noise of disgust and threw his arms up as he stalked toward the bathroom. "I hope you have somewhere to take her when we're both moved out of here. And … would you please deal with her gift?"
"Ungrateful," James said while the cat happily purred and leaned into him. He did, however, clean up the songbird mess - and gave the cat some tuna for her troubles. Franklin might have no sense of humor over this, but James thought it was hilarious. "Just have to give you a name, beautiful."
"You should call her Lucifer," Franklin said, drying his hands off as he watched the two of them - back to the kitchen and calmed down a little now that he knew not to trust that he wouldn't step on dead animals.
"That's harsh. She's just doing what comes naturally to her," James said. "She's trying to take care of you. Wants to help you be a better hunter."
"You're hilarious."
James broke into a low chuckle at that. "It's a cat thing, Frank. All cats do it."
"Which is why we don't have one at home."
"Yeah, that's why," James said, rolling his eyes. "So … do you need help packing up?"
"About that," Franklin said. "My uncle is supposed to come and help me this week … we should be done packing up by Friday. He asked me if Bobby was picking you up or if it was someone else's turn."
"Does he want to see Bobby, or is he avoiding him?"
"To be honest? I have no idea. Could go either way with him - and he refused to tell me anything about the two of them. I am so disappointed."
"You and me both."
"So … want to not help me pack? That way we can drag it out and see what happens if Bobby comes on Friday …"
"You're getting vicious. I like it. Yes. Let's play video games before we have to stick to online campaigns to play."
In a rare move that was only possible because they were so close to break, Billy wished James to Westchester for a night in. They'd been so preoccupied with avoiding press that they totally missed out on the fact that they could spend time alone at the school - as long as they kept their behavior no more risqué than PG-13. And, of course it didn't hurt that Billy knew Tommy and Mia going to be out on a double date with Kate and Nate. Which meant minimal brotherly interruptions for both himself and James.
Not that the start wasn't rocky. James had barely appeared - and was tackled by Billy for a fairly impolite hello when Mia let out a wolf whistle. It didn't get them to stop … quite the opposite, actually - and several underclassmen nearby found themselves torn between a bright blush and unable to look away from the two known public figures in their generation of mutants.
"Oh man, you two are going to get into so much trouble," Mia giggled, and as soon as Billy and James stepped away from each other, she teleported over to wrap James up in a hug, too.
"Is kissing illegal now, too?" James asked as he picked her up in a bear hug.
"No, but you know … there still aren't many same sex couples open in the school … hang ups from home."
"Then they better just get over it," Billy said, entirely missing that Vojteck was in the crowd and looking positively incensed. "I already decided I'm keeping this one."
Mia giggled delightedly as the boys fell into step with her, leaning against each other with every step. "You should say hello to my mom before you get complaints about the public makeout sessions."
"Yeah, I was supposed to help her this semester but …" James trailed off.
"I know," Mia said consolingly. "Maybe next time."
"Right," he said under his breath as they came up to her office - and Tommy zipped out, blowing their hair back with the wind that always seemed to follow him. Of course, he blew Mia's argument for propriety by scooping her into a dip and kissing her into giggles.
Ororo was only a few beats behind him. She stopped in the door way, crossed her arms over her chest and cleared her throat to break it up, though she was already smiling toward James and Billy. "I was starting to believe that you forgot where I live," she teased James.
"I know, I'm sorry," James said quietly, but by that point, Tommy started to laugh and scooped Mia up to leave in a rush. And that had James looking in the direction they'd left. "Hey, Aunt 'Ro, do you have a few minutes?"
"For you? Always," Ororo said, gesturing for them to join him in her office. "What is it that's on your mind?"
"It just hit me that I never did a debrief on that little mission that Mia and I went on," James said as he took a seat across from her.
"I heard that Mia set a few things straight for May Parker," Ororo said with a crooked smile.
"Yeah, but I don't think she realized what she was doing when she was doing it."
"Mia said as much," Ororo agreed. "And you set her straight."
"No," James said shaking his head. "I meant I don't think Mia knew- Aunt 'Ro, she had lightning in her eyes."
Ororo blinked a few times before she responded. "Are you sure?"
"Very. My hair was standing on end and I don't think she knew what she was doing at all. It might even be on the mission recordings. I know Tony held on to them."
While Ororo was processing, Billy leaned over to whisper in James' ear. "You didn't tell me that part."
"Which? The lightning or the fact that Tony has the tapes?"
"I mean … both are good to know."
"Which are you more interested in?" James asked quietly.
"Do I have to choose?"
"Absolutely not."
"I think," Ororo said, breaking into their back and forth, "that I would like to see what's on those tapes."
"Totally on it," Billy promised. "Iwantthosetapes."
"You can just … skip over the whole … girls going back and forth - it's right at the end of Mia telling her off," James said.
"I wanna see that part too," Billy put in. "For totally… educational… not… jealous reasons. Nope."
"Nothing to be jealous of anyhow," James said.
"No, not anymore, but I was, and there's definitely some Schadenfreude going on here."
Instead of arguing it at all, or denying anything, James just leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Whatever you want."
Billy grinned obscenely and stole another kiss as he leaned past him to start the tapes - and didn't back up to give him any space after that, neatly sharing the same space as James and grinning as Mia let May have a piece of her mind. "I love Mia. I've said that, right?"
"Oh yeah. Favorite X-Man," James agreed.
Ororo blatantly ignored the two of them, leaning forward with her eyebrows high on her forehead as she watched the footage. And then, just like James had said, something flashed in Mia's eyes - though the angle on the cameras wasn't perfect for confirming if it was or was not lightning. Still, she trusted James's word, so she leaned back, a disbelieving smile tugging at her mouth until it took over her expression. "That's new," she said, sounding both shocked and proud.
"That's what I thought," James said.
"I wonder if she can do more than that," Billy said, sounding more like his grandfather than he entirely meant to.
"Of course she can, she's a little goddess," James said in a tone that made it clear he believed Mia could do every bit that Storm could. Eventually.
"Obviously. What was I thinking," Billy teased.
"Dunno. Probably something about Mayday, if I had to guess," James teased right back.
"True," Billy said, running with it. "I mean, if I get my mouth to do that pout juuuuust right, does that make me more or less attractive? I'm asking for scientific reasons."
"Please don't," James said, refusing to answer specifically.
"Billy," Ororo said before Billy could accidentally take the teasing too far, "would you bring Forge here, please?"
"Oh, sure," Billy said. "IwantForgeherewithus," he chanted - and Forge appeared a second later, screwdriver in one hand and a sandwich in the other.
"Okay," Forge said. "So, I'm here now."
"You have got to get some helper 'bots," James said with a crooked smile.
"And let them have all the fun?" Forge shot back, matching his smile.
"You still haven't come to play at the lab," James said, even as Ororo shook her head at both of them.
"Before you two make a play date, you need to watch the after footage from Mia's latest mission," Ororo told Forge.
Forge's smile shifted into the proud one he always wore when it came to Mia. "What did our little goddess do now? Solved the question of world peace already?"
"Not yet," Ororo replied, then started the recording up - already cued up to the right spot since she knew where it was now. Ororo didn't say a word, instead letting Forge see it for himself and decide what he thought he saw in the tape.
"Oooh, grab the angle from James's body cam here," Billy offered. "That might show it better than the one from May - even if Mia was in her face the rest of the time."
Ororo smiled, but followed Billy's advice with a much clearer result. Especially since Mia's eyes were flashing when James tried to slow her down. And then, having seen it better herself, Ororo simply leaned on her desk with a bemused smile.
Forge, meanwhile, was grinning steadily wider the whole time he watched it, and when the footage ended, he turned to Ororo and simply kissed her. "Would you look at that. She's even more perfect now."
Ororo laughed. "She doesn't even realize she was doing it."
"We'll tell her as soon as she gets home," Forge said, nodding along, still grinning widely.
"We need to get out of here before the school-wide PG-13 rule is broken," James stage-whispered to Billy.
"You mean we need to get out of here and break that rule," Billy stage whispered back.
"That too," James replied.
"That reminds me," Ororo said, finally looking away from her grinning husband. "Billy, would you remind your brother that just because he's continuing to work with me does not mean he has a free pass to break my rules?"
"Is a text okay, or does it need more impact? Like … Wizard of Oz style?"
"I'll let you decide for yourself," Ororo said with a sly smile.
"That probably means a text that will blow up into Wizard of Oz," James pointed out.
"Probably," Billy agreed, grinning crookedly. "Now, come on. I don't get to see you that often, and we're going out," he added, grabbing James around the waist before he wished them both to privacy.
Across town in Salem Center, Mia, Tommy, Nate, and Kate were just settling in to order dinner on their double date when Tommy's phone pinged with a text message. He was smiling to himself as he took the phone out, then rolled his eyes when he saw that it was from Billy. "Pesty little brother …"
He was sighing to himself as he swiped to open the message - only for the message to erupt out of the phone exactly like the big floating head in the wizard of oz as Billy delivered Storm's message - complete with colored smoke, flashing lights, and the mystically deep echoing voice. Ending with 'This will be your final warning!'
And it had startled Tommy nearly out of his seat, too. Which was wonderful entertainment for the others.
"Tommy, is your brother available for other Big-Headed Warnings, because those guys that were catcalling us on the street…" Kate managed to tease through fits of giggles.
"I thought your overprotective Summers brother would handle nonsense like that for you," Tommy said. "But … yeah, probably if you mentioned it." He turned toward Nate. "my brother is only being so dramatic because he wished yours over for a few hours. I'm blaming that situation."
"If that was all that was going on, your brother would be occupied. You've obviously been so ridiculous you outstripped his blinding need to get some," Nate said straight-faced - and Kate burst out laughing, clinging onto him for support and making him break into a grin.
"Whatever," Tommy said with a wave. "What are we doing? Because if it's just to roast, I want a turn and/or we can leave you two … alone."
"I'm ninety percent sure that was Mom's way of saying 'stick to the double date'," Mia pointed out. "Partially because you're too recognizable."
"I am. And so's our resident Hawkeye," Tommy said, grinning Kate's way.
Kate shrugged her shoulders up to her ears. "Like I said, can't hide awesomeness."
"No idea why you'd want to," Tommy agreed with a nod.
"Mostly for the sake of my trophy boyfriend," Kate said, ignoring Nate's scoff. "His family's under constant assault, you know. And that's not even an exaggeration."
"Yeah, I heard," Tommy said with a wave, then turned toward Nate with a grin. "Last Summers standing. With a mask. I give it … a week. Two if you grow a mustache or get a mohawk."
"Yeah, I already got a talking to from my parents about risking a Summers," Kate said. "I know his dad isn't happy either."
"Little unicorns, all three of them," Mia said airily.
"Yeah, but we love 'em anyway," Kate said and leaned into Nate to kiss him, though he playfully shoved her shoulder. "Aww, c'mon.
"Yeah, yeah," Nate said, shaking his head. The truth was that he had the four of them in a psychic bubble from the moment they went into the restaurant. No one could see anything but four kids out to eat - their identities were safe as long as he mildly thought about it. "Ooh, hey. I found out Dad knows how to skim social media this week. Ask me how."
"How?" Mia asked, happy to play along.
"He actually follows certain hashtags - and he knows what hashtags are," Nate teased.
"Oh, will wonders never cease," Mia laughed.
"You're at the top of the list," Nate said, pointing a finger at Mia. "Everyone loves Nightcrawler."
"Sure do," Tommy put in. "But some of us more than others, so … I think she gets to pick the movie."
Franklin had dragged his feet all week long so that when Bobby did finally show up Friday afternoon, they were still packing.
"Close the door or you'll let the cat out," Franklin called out when he heard Bobby come in.
"Okay … what cat?" Bobby asked before he turned the corner into the living room to see Johnny and Franklin trying to finish packing the last few boxes and a slim black cat sitting on the table behind the couch supervising them. "Oh. Okay. When did you get a cat?"
"Not my cat," Franklin said and Johnny couldn't help but smile at that.
"Okay … when did James get a cat?"
"Just after the kidnapping attempt," Johnny said when Franklin rushed into the next room, leaving the two of them alone. "The boys were feeding the animals and he brought this one inside, apparently."
"Probably overdue," Bobby replied, then stuck his hands in his pockets as he leaned in the doorframe. "So… is my kid ready to go yet, or …"
"I don't know, honestly," Johnny replied, though now that they were alone with only the cat supervising them, he lost some of his easy tone as his nerves caught up to him. "I've been trying to get Franklin packed, only I'm not so sure he even wants to move out."
"I'm sure the rest of the family can't wait to get him back though, so … I won't hold you up."
"Bobby, wait a sec," Johnny said. "Can I- can we just … can you talk to me for a minute?"
"About what?"
"Just … everything," Johnny said, even fumbling through that much. He looked over his shoulder then got to his feet, even going so far as to awkwardly pet the cat for as long as she'd allow him to while he stalled for time. "I … so we really screwed up." Bobby scoffed. "I mean, we should have checked in. Sooner. Somehow. But in my defense, I thought you were happy. I thought you had someone else."
Bobby stared at him with a look of incredulous disbelief. "Who did you think- what?"
"Nevermind. Forget it," Johnny said, red-faced. "I'm sorry, okay? Just ... " he scooped up the cat, who mewed at him. "Franklin's being hard to help, so let me at least get her settled in her carrier."
"Wait- go back-"
"James said he didn't want to leave her behind for the break," Johnny said, trying to ignore Bobby's attempt to talk about real things. "He's got everything set for her, just needs to put her in the carrier."
Bobby stared at him in shock, totally unsure of what the hell was going on with Johnny hiding behind the cat. But by that time, James had hit the bottom of the stairs with Franklin.
"Thanks for keeping me company," James said, drawing both Johnny and Bobby's attention.
"Thanks for letting me," Franklin said, and a second later, the two of them were bear hugging it out. "If and when MIT drops the ball, you've got an open invite to talk to the dean at Harvard."
"I don't want to do anything you set up for me-"
"All I did was show him your test scores and your rejected papers. Drop the brass rat. You already know you look good in red," Franklin said with a grin. "At least think about it. Seriously."
"Merry Christmas," James said.
"Happy Hanukkah - heard you might be converting," Franklin teased, smiling wider when James started shaking his head.
"Are you two getting that serious?" Johnny asked, looking stunned, but that had just set himself up for some higher level sass.
"Why?" James asked. "Are you worried we're moving too fast, or that we might eclipse you two?"
"We? Us- we're not- we haven't…"
"You got through a half assed apology," James said.
"Keep going!" Franklin added, grinning at both of them.
With the boys in agreement, Bobby and Johnny shared a look - both of them with red cheeks and at a loss for words. "Catch you later, hot head," Bobby managed - which was far more congenial than anything he'd had to say so far.
"Sure thing, icicle," Johnny replied automatically.
James walked around them and picked up the cat carrier and the little bag of supplies for her on his way out the back door. "Your ride today, Uncle Snowball."
"Oh… okay," Bobby said, in a little bit of a daze as he belatedly headed out behind him.
The door had no sooner closed behind them before Franklin poked his uncle in the ribs. "You hear that? You still have a shot!" He sighed heavily while Johnny rolled his eyes. "If only you had some game when it mattered!"
But that only sparked off some serious teasing between them.
For James and Bobby though, the drive was pretty quiet for the first long while. Bobby hadn't expected what little Johnny had said and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what he'd meant when he said he thought he had moved on. Sure, there were a couple flings in Genosha, but … certainly not anything that had made headlines or would have. And the last time Bobby could remember seeing Johnny in person before now was when he'd had James … when James was tiny.
Why in the world would Johnny think he'd moved on when he was being a temporary guardian for Logan's son? It just didn't make sense, and Bobby was trying hard to make it make sense.
They drove until the press backed off - and after a little change in the way Bobby's car looked - and after James was wearing his inducer, too … they finally pulled up to the house in Brooklyn. "You going to stick around for a minute?" James asked, and Bobby nodded as they climbed the handful of steps to the front door.
"Yeah. I'm just … yeah." Bobby looked off balance, and James wasn't about to poke him when he was clearly that far off. Instead, he let Bobby lead the way and slipped upstairs with his things - and his cat - while Bobby took a moment to talk to Scott, who was in the kitchen preparing for dinner later with Annie.
"Hey, Bobby," Scott said, glancing up at him for a moment, but keeping on task. "You sticking around for a few?"
"Just long enough to fill you in on whatever's going on," Bobby replied.
"What's up?" Scott asked, looking concerned for no other reason than his tone.
"Oh, nothing much with James. He's fine. In fact, he brought a pet home with him, so … really sweet stray cat, I guess."
"Then what has you looking like that?" Scott asked.
Bobby held his breath and looked up toward the ceiling as he tried to find the words. "I … don't even know where to start."
"You ran into Johnny again, didn't you?"
"It'll probably be the last time," Bobby replied. "Franklin's moving back to the Baxter Building, so he'll have no reason to cross my path again."
"Alright," Scott said slowly, but wasn't entirely sure if it was the right time to press, considering he knew how Bobby had felt about Johnny years ago - and he knew how upset Bobby had gotten the last time they spoke. "You can stay for dinner if you like."
Bobby shrugged up one shoulder. "Nah. I've got plans with some of the kids for a snowball fight. Want to get that going before it gets too dark, you know?"
"Door's always open," Scott reminded him.
"I know. And maybe I'll take you up on that over break. I just … gonna clear my head."
Scott watched Bobby go, though it was still early in the day, so the rest of Scott's kids weren't home yet, so he decided to see what he could find out from James, if he was willing to talk. He called for him at a volume no louder than his regular speaking voice, sure that James was going to be listening. He always was, even when he didn't want to hear anything.
James got down to the kitchen quickly, and Scott noticed he'd made a point to make noise as he hit the bottom of the stairs to warn Scott of his approach. "Did Bobby leave already?" James asked.
"Yeah. Couple things I wanted to ask before everyone else shows up."
"Okay, shoot."
"Have you heard back from the college yet on your paper?"
"I would have called you if that happened."
"When were you going to tell me about the cat?"
"Original plan was to do that when I got here, but Bobby looked like he needed old friend attention so I got out of the way."
"Fair. On that note - what's going on with him? Did something happen with Johnny?"
"Johnny attempted to apologize," James said thickly. "And for him he did okay. But then he botched the ending, so I don't know how badly that really went. Bobby didn't really talk all the way here. I don't think I've ever heard him be that quiet before."
Scott looked thoughtful for a long moment, just weighing it out and trying to decide how best to help. But that was kind of a rough path when he needed to talk to Bobby more privately. "Okay. So, lighter subject again-"
"Because you don't want to talk about Bobby's love life anymore than I do."
"No, I don't," Scott agreed with a crooked smile. "Might be nice to have a pet around the house."
"She's a pretty good hunter," James said. "And friendly enough."
"Bobby said she was a stray?"
"Reformed stray. Franklin and I were feeding the animals after one of the neighbors got loud about trying to get rid of the cats and raccoons and whatever." James shrugged up one shoulder. "I'll take her back with me when break is over."
"Sounds good," Scott said. "You can let her roam. You don't need to keep her locked up in your room."
"Okay. Thanks." James turned to leave.
"When are you planning to go see Tony?" Scott asked.
"I don't know. I thought I might try to coordinate with Billy before he goes back to Genosha for the holiday."
"That's a sure thing, then?"
James gave him a dry look. "His mom is barely holding back from snatching him up and keeping him there after my stupid run in with whoever. Yes. He's absolutely going home for Hanukkah."
"Surprised he didn't invite you to join him."
"He did. I haven't answered yet."
"Why not?"
"There are a lot of reasons," James said. "Part of it though, is that I don't think his mom really wants me around."
"That's ridiculous. Wanda likes you. I Thought you boys were getting serious," Scott said with a frown.
"Yeah, well. I guess we'll see. And no she doesn't."
Scott shook his head as he watched his son line himself up for the same kinds of mistakes his father had made. It was easy to see that James was trying to protect Billy by keeping him away from the crossfire if possible. Even if James hadn't fully committed to it. "You're making a mistake," Scott said finally.
"What are you talking about?" James asked, frowning hard as he looked up.
"I mean … trying to protect Billy by keeping away from him."
"I'm not-"
"Yes you are." Scott gestured for James to take a seat with him at the kitchen table then waited until he did exactly that. "You know, your father used to pull that same thing. It was a desperate move that very nearly cost him a shot at happiness more than once." When James only frowned deeper, Scott continued. "I saw him do it to a few different women he got involved with over the years before he met your mother - it was always when things got dangerous, and it was always a misguided hope that distance would mean safety. But - it never did. And your mother …"
"He didn't do that to her," James said, confident that wasn't possible from what he saw between the other dimension's Logan and K. And the memories Billy had helped him find. No way.
"He tried to," Scott told him, looking perfectly serious. "But that was a wild miscalculation on his part."
"How?"
"At that point in their relationship, she loved him, but she wasn't about to let him call every shot without discussing things with her. Nothing big was going to be decided alone without serious repercussions. And as far as she was concerned at the time, he was dropping her. So she went elsewhere."
"Wait. What."
"She took what she saw as a rejection on the chin and practically turned right into Tony's arms."
"You said they didn't date-"
"They didn't get that far. I don't know how far they took anything, but she barely missed a beat before she and Tony were looking like that was inevitable. I don't know all the details because when she did that, I got pretty mad at her, too. Didn't realize she was just making a point with Logan. Not until I saw Logan's response to the two of them. Which was when your father realized how badly he'd screwed up. He had to fight for her, but he did finally convince her she needed to be with him instead of Tony. At the time, it was a pretty serious insult for her to tell him that Tony seemed more interested in a commitment." He leaned toward James. "You don't want to take that risk if it's someone you love. I can tell you right now, I don't know if she'd have stuck with Tony or not, but it was a mistake on your father's part and she did not make it easy for him to fix it."
"Dad-"
"I'm just saying, if you're trying to do something similar, thinking it will protect him and you love him- don't do it. Totally different story if you don't want to be with him anymore. In that case, just end it. It's kinder not to drag him along."
"Don't you have a date to get ready for?" James asked, which was the most blatant redirect Scott had seen from James in years.
"I do, but if it comes down to it, we can order in instead," Scott replied. "I want to make sure you're alright and to help you to keep from making a huge mistake."
James held his gaze for a long moment, but made it clear he wasn't up for talking about his love life at all. "I'm gonna go upstairs, settle in, and order something for dinner so I don't interrupt your courtship dance. At all. I'll think over Genosha with my earphones in so I don't have to overhear anything. Just pretend like I don't exist. I will be.."
"If it's just that you're anxious about how the country will react to you-"
"That is also on my list of concerns," James said, sounding resigned to it. "Seeing as I murdered their last king, that is definitely on my list of concerns."
"Self defense," Scott said gently because this sounded like James was going backwards on that front.
"Right. Tell that to his followers," James replied as he got to his feet. "Love you. Nice to be home."
"Love you too. Let me know if Billy decides to get you out of here, okay?"
"Will do," James agreed as he left, though now Scott had to do what he could to finish up making dinner and wait for school to get out for Nate and Annie.
No one should have been surprised that the buzz at the school had slowly become more involved where Kate was concerned. Nate had been listening to the growing rumors and whispers for days and with every passing day, he found himself unintentionally drifting away from Kate publicly.
Not that it slowed him down in telepathic flirting … but it was definitely much less fun when they weren't face to face, hand in hand, side by side. A block away from each other on opposite sides of the street when they were doing the best they could to kinda have a date was just … so so wrong.
This is stupid, Kate projected to Nate as the two of them sat next to each other in Annie's history class. She'd been thinking about it all week - since the first recognition by a freshman the Monday after the party in Jersey City.
It is but we still have to graduate so, here we are.
No. This minimal contact garbage. I've had four cheerleaders ask if we broke up already.
Oh, come on, Nate projected back. Like I care what they think anyhow.
Yeah, I know, but that also means more guys asking if I'm free Friday night, Kate pointed out. And a few girls.
Okay, we'll figure something out, Nate replied. Try as he might, he didn't like it when other people were hitting on his Hawkeye.
Nate was really just starting to grumble internally when out of nowhere someone came up to Kate with their phone held up in front of them and grinning broadly.
"You're Hawkeye right? Ohmygosh, I can't believe we actually spotted you!" The girl was bouncing on her toes. "Would it - is it okay if we-"
"Canwepleasegetaselfiewithyou?" the second teenager blurted out.
"It'll only take a second!"
"And we promise we won't tell everyone where we saw you!"
"Unless it's okay, then - ohmygosh! Tina is going to lose her mind when she hears we met you!"
I'll keep an ear open for any trouble, Nate projected. Have fun.
Thanks, Kate projected back before she took the time to chat with the kids She let them take pictures, posed along with them, and then did her finest to shake the slowly growing group of teenagers that wanted to know how to become an X-Man or Avenger, how it felt to be surrounded by so many hot guys in tight clothes, and the whole hanging out with mutant royalty. It was a lot of the kinds of questions Kate would have teased the living snot out of her friends with - so it was outright laughable that this was what they were asking her.
She had her inducer in her pocket - waiting for a chance to use it, but sadly, that was only getting harder to do - and she had to change before they got into the subway to head to Nate's house. Otherwise … she'd have to just go home and let her parents get her siblings from Xavier's. And she really wanted to spend that long drive alone with her sweetheart.
Turn down that alley, Nate suggested. I'm a block and a half behind you, but if you can get out of their line of vision for a second, you can totally disappear.
Handy dandy telepathic suggestion. Why don't you use it so we can just walk down the road?
Because that would be abusing my powers, Nate replied calmly. And it would deny you your adoring fans.
Shut up, Kate countered, though she was already blushing as she ducked down a tight alleyway. She watched as the teenagers that had been following her looked down the alley and continued on, which gave Kate a chance to turn on her inducer and walk out a few moments later entirely incognito.
When the two of them finally fell into step with each other, Nate seamlessly handed her a latte that he'd picked up for her while she was dealing with her fans.
At least that was a nice peek at normalcy between them.
When Nate and Kate got into the Summers house, they were greeted first by the smells coming out of the kitchen as they momentarily turned off their image inducers.
Oh, right, Nate projected to her as he took Kate's coat and hung it at the door. Dad is cooking for Miss Hale tonight. You're invited. Billy will probably be here before long, too.
Yeah, I know he's pushing to get James to go to Genosha with him for the holidays. She smiled at Nate and kissed his cheek, then beat him to the punch to call out to Scott. "Hi Scott!" she called out. "We're just here long enough to take your truck!"
"As long as you're back for dinner later," Scott called back.
I totally beat you in saying 'hi', Kate teased Nate.
No, you didn't. I projected to him as we walked in the door, but it's cute that you think you can beat me in saying hello to my dad.
But I did beat you. By using my words. Try it. You might like it.
"Doubtful," Nate said as Scott turned the corner, cleaning his hands off on a kitchen towel.
"Tank's full," Scott said. "Take image inducers. Your brother's been working up some new ones - just in case."
"Of course he has," Nate said, rolling his eyes. He kissed Kate's cheek. "I'll just ask him to bring them down. I know he's hiding out already."
"Just don't let the cat outside," Scott said, which was enough to get Nate to pause halfway to the stairs and look between Kate and Scott with a confused frown.
"Oh … okay." He held up one hand. "What cat?"
"Your brother brought one home with him," Scott said, then headed toward the kitchen to keep working on dinner.
"Okay then," Nate said as he and Kate both looked around the living room for signs of this cat. "I really shouldn't be surprised that he can get away with just bringing something like that home."
But Kate was the one to spot her where the cat was sitting on the table like an ebony statue, watching them and looking entirely too regal for an ex-alleycat. "I'm definitely more of a dog person, but …" Kate quietly made her way closer to say hello, smiling to herself when she got into the same room where it was much more clear that the little black cat was purring loudly.
The cat watched Kate approach, unintimidated in the least by strangers. Kate held her hand out to her to smell, but the cat just looked at the offered hand, and then up at Kate almost accusing her of having lost her mind. But she allowed Kate to pet her all the same, even leaning into her hand and purring louder.
Which was about when Nate noticed the beheaded flowers on the table nearby. "Um … what … why are the flowers like this?" Nate called out - to his father.
But Scott hadn't seen what the cat had done and came out to look - considering that he'd gotten the flowers to set the right tone when Annie showed up. And when he saw them, his expression fell and he called fo James. "Inducers or not, I need a word," Scott called out.
"On the way," James promised - rushing down the stairs with two brand new inducers in hand. He hit the bottom of the steps - and turned to see that Nate and his dad were both giving him the same incredulous look while Kate was smirking and absently petting the cat.
"What the hell, James?" Nate blurted out, and Scott tapped Nate's chest with the back of his hand for his language.
James looked between his family, Kate, and the cat - then realized the flowers were all murdered. "Oh. Yeah, well … she does that." He handed the inducers to Nate and Kate, then reached over to scritch the cat under her chin.
"You could have warned me," Scott said as he went into motion picking up the mess.
"In my defense, I didn't realize your courtship dance now included flowers or I would have kept Morticia in my room."
Scott did a little double take then tried to hide the smile, and Kate's whole everything paused for a full second before she broke down with a fit of giggles.
"Oh my god, that's perfect!" Kate decided as she gave Morticia a little more love. And Morticia soaked it up, purring loudly and curling into Kate's attention.
"That's what I thought," James agreed, just as Nate sighed and ran upstairs to change - and Scott left the two of them with the cat as James promised to go get some flowers for Scott's big show. But he paused since usually, with a new inducer, Kate was already fiddling or asking what she'd look like. "You okay?"
"Yes," Kate said, nodding. "It's just hard to handle things when someone decides to be distant because of other people."
"Is this ... " James tipped his head. "Is this a 'best friend' warning, a little sister warning, or is this actually about Nate being cautious?"
"I mean, you can take it all three ways if you want," Kate said. "But I was referring to your brother acting like we're not together in classes now. It's such a pain."
"Ah. Yeah. I'm sorry you're too awesome to contain," James said, barely smirking enough to let it show in his eyes.
Kate smiled a little wider, then schooled her expression down as James offered her a hug. He was halfway through a decent bear hug when she spoke up, too. "And thanks. I needed the cheering up. Your cat is amazing."
"I like her," James agreed. "Billy hasn't gotten to really meet her yet, though. So … hope he likes cats."
"She's graceful and fearless," Kate said with a smile. "Just his type. You're good."
James smirked, using Morticia as an excuse not to look Kate in the eyes. "Right. So. This time, I decided to give you the same kind of inducer I use to pretend to be a Summers."
"Um … you are a Summers."
"You know what I mean," James said, shaking his head. "You'll look like a natural born Barton."
"Oooh, how did you decide which features to use from everyone?" Kate asked, already getting her inducer ready to try out.
"Analyzed genetics, for some of it. If it's a dominant trait, it's in there. For everything else, I flipped a coin."
"So … I'm red-headed?"
"Yeah, but I gave you your dad's nose," James said with a shrug. "There are adjustments, though."
"What kind of adjustments?"
"The kind that turn up the number and severity of various cuts and bruises," James teased with a crooked smile. "Naturally."
"You're such a dork," she laughed, shoving his shoulder with one hand, even as she clutched the inducer in her other hand.
"Established," James countered as he pulled on a sweatshirt and picked up his shoes. "Enjoy your drive. Nate will look like a very androgynous Captain Carol and Rhodey mix."
"Are you … really? Or are you just screwing with him?"
"Really. And it's more to screw with Rhodey, but yes." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Try to cut him a little slack. He's not happy about any of this either, Katie."
"I know, but that doesn't really help."
Without anything very helpful to offer at that point, James again gave her a bear hug. "We both know he'll bust himself out sooner or later," James whispered. "So… I'm going to get some replacement flowers for Dad. So Morticia has something to do later, too."
"Yes. I'm sure that's why your dad wants flowers around. To entertain your cat," Kate laughed. But she was laughing and still smiling by the time Nate caught up with them again - all cleaned up and smelling fresh.
"Ready to go, beautiful?" Nate asked with a smile.
"Oh yes," Kate agreed before they waved goodbye to Scott and headed off to get Kate's siblings from Xavier's.
Bobby was turning over an envelope Sue Storm had sent to the mansion addressed to him a few days earlier when he passed Nate and Kate in the hallway at the institute. They had been there to pick up Lexi, but when Nate heard Bobby wondering how and why he'd been invited to the Fantastic Four's holiday party - and whether he should go - and picked up on the fact that Bobby had been stewing on Johnny's apology and the invitation for days now, Nate came to a stop, turned toward Bobby with his whole body, and shook his head. "Seriously?"
Bobby also stopped, then made a face at Nate. "You gonna go out of your way to look that much like your dad for no reason?"
"Just go to the stupid party," Nate said, shaking his head. "I can't believe you haven't figured this out yet."
"Look, I-"
"He thought you were dating Kitty!" Nate said, and Bobby stopped short. "You're such an idiot, you know that? You spent all that time going to Japan with Kitty after what happened, and, hell, I even remember staying on Genosha with you when we were little and thinking you two were flirting."
Bobby stared at him. "We were trying - we were trying to deal with - that's not what was going on."
"That's what you let Magneto believe to stay out of prison. Must have been believable, considering how paranoid he was."
Bobby ran a hand down his face and groaned. "Okay, Tiny Scott, first of all, stop that. Second of all, this is stupid."
"And third of all, you're going to that party, right?" Kate finished for him, fluttering her eyelashes. "Right?"
"Do you have any idea how disturbing the combination of Tiny Scott and Mini-Hawk is?" Bobby countered. "Why… don't you worry about your own issues, kids. Sounds like you've got enough happening without worrying about my crap."
"Which is why it's fun to worry about other people's crap," Kate sang out sweetly. "Have fun at the party. Do you need a ride?"
"No, but I'd like an autograph before you get locked in a tower!" Bobby called back.
"Sure, bring me a picture of me and I'll sign my face," Kate said.
"Won't be possible because I'm gonna get a copy of you when you were five and apparently didn't like the idea of pants." He grinned at Kate. "But … you already said you'd sign your picture when I brought it so…"
"And I am a woman of my word. Pants are still overrated," Kate said without missing a beat. "Especially the ones with tiny girl pockets."
"Take an inducer with you when you go back, Mini Hawk," Bobby called out. "Might not hurt for your little telepath to do the same."
"Smart," Kate said, giving him a two-fingered salute. "Hey, if you end up dating the most photographed superhero this side of Tony Stark, do you want one too?"
"I have no interest in Cap like that," Bobby deadpanned. "And no. I can deal with it fine."
"So you are thinking ahead," Kate said delightedly, clapping her hands together. "Go! Go snag your man and tell him he's an idiot." Still cackling, she backed into Nate, who practically picked her up on their way out the door. "This is so fun. I love when you get all 'stop being stupid' with your powers!" Bobby could hear her telling him before the door closed behind them, leaving Bobby shaking his head at the whole situation.
But… on the other hand…
Well, he knew it was gonna bug him if he didn't try to sort out the mess that was his relationship with apparently Sue as well as Johnny, so he headed out, invitation in hand, still wondering how this was his life after Genosha, apparently. Babysitting a mini combo of Scott and Logan and fending off rumors that one of the best friends he had in the world - and the reason he'd survived Genosha, honestly - was his girlfriend.
Once he got to the Baxter Building, he thought he might have an idea of what to say, but when Sue was the first person he saw, he switched gears and instead waved the invitation practically under her nose with a sharp "What the heck?"
"Well," Sue said, only leaning back slightly. "We didn't have a party last year, and this is the first one I could invite you to since you got back home." She looked past him with a raised eyebrow. "No plus one?"
"Who'm I gonna bring, Santa?" Bobby shook his head.
"I honestly don't know, Bobby," Sue said, then slipped close enough to give him a quick hug. "But I am glad to see you all the same. Come on-"
Bobby let Sue steer him deeper into the party, sure that he was missing something. "I just… it took me by surprise, you know. Don't hear from anyone to check in with me forever and then… parties?"
"Would you rather we didn't try now - when we can safely check on you?"
"No, that's not-" Bobby blew out his breath from his cheeks.
"We didn't just sit pretty here the whole time," Sue said. "There was a lot of trouble for a long time with Victor. Again. He seemed to want to be involved with helping for the kids. Well … he wanted to help Valeria anyhow."
"Uh-huh. That sounds like him," Bobby said, making a face at the thought.
"You missed all of that lunacy," Sue said. "And seeing as it's Christmas and not Halloween, I'd rather not rehash the details on how he ended up her godfather, if it's all the same to you."
"Her what?" Bobby let his whole head drop forward.
"I told you … we had a lot of crap to deal with, too," Sue answered softly. "But I am sorry we didn't find a way to get you out of there. Johnny told me some of what you'd had to deal with."
"Yeah. Same old story, me. Started my life as an X-Man in a prison cell…" Bobby gestured with one hand and let the sentiment trail off.
"Are you saying you retired?" Sue asked as she handed him something to drink. "That doesn't sound like you."
"Ah, no, one of the only original X-Men who never retired, thankyouverymuch," Bobby said with his chin up. "That's why I kept getting in trouble on Genosha."
"If it helps at all - and I don't expect that it would - most of the times that Victor backed off of destroying Genosha was when we were screwing with his plots," Sue told him quietly.
"Yeah, he wouldn't have been any better for Genosha than Magneto was, at the end."
"Oh, he wanted to wipe it out," Sue said.
"Yeah, well, Magneto was going to get it wiped out," Bobby said. "Same end, different means. He put a target on it as big as the Empire State Building and then pissed off everyone with an ax to grind."
"Doing a lot better now, I understand," she said. "Have you been back, or do you plan to go?"
"Trying to decide, honestly," he admitted. "I made some good friends there. There was a couple that kept getting arrested as often as I did because they were organizing peaceful protests for visitation rights, human family passports, that kind of thing. But I'm also glad to have the place in my rearview, so…"
She nodded thoughtfully, but didn't warn bobby when Ben came up behind him and dropped an arm around his shoulders as a means of saying hello. "Thought you got smart and found somewhere warm," Ben teased.
"Oh, yeah, I'm a regular tropical paradise these days," Bobby shot back.
"See, I thought I remember you sayin' you couldn't take the heat, but … go live on the equator makes a person wonder what you were thinkin'."
"Mostly not thinking?" Bobby shrugged both shoulders up to his ears. "Hi, by the way."
"Welcome back," Ben said, then yanked him into a bear hug.
Bobby couldn't help but smile, purely because this all felt so weirdly normal. "You big softie."
"Yeah, that's what I'm known for," Ben grumbled. "Why don't you catch me up, huh? Last I heard you were runnin' off with one of those gals you worked with. With the kid … then we saw the kid, but no word from anyone else?"
Bobby pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wow, that makes it sound like I'm some kinda deadbeat," he muttered. "Look, Scott was always gonna take James; he was godfather. Me and Kitty just took him for a while so Scott could go by himself to make sure the heat was off before he moved the kids in. Pretty sure Alex had the other kids for a while. It was a tire fire? We were all just… taking the kids where we could and cleaning up messes."
"Yeah, I can see that. Kinda was told somethin' similar, just wanted to hear if the stories lined up."
Bobby shrugged and set aside his empty glass. "Yeah, so, I mean-"
"He's on the roof," Sue said before Bobby could dig himself too deeply. "And I didn't tell him I invited you. So … you have the element of surprise on your side."
Bobby blinked at Sue and genuinely thought about trying to play the whole thing off - but then just took another drink instead. "Okay," he said and headed up, steadfastly not looking toward Ben or Sue, since he didn't need to see them smirking at him.
And they were right; he did have the element of surprise. Johnny was sitting in a chair on the roof with his feet kicked up, looking up at the sky - so Bobby threw a snowball at him and got him to nearly startle out of his chair and hit the ground.
"What was that for?" Johnny blurted out as he got to his feet and brushed the snow off, then did a double take when he put together who it was that had got him. "Oh. Hi. Party's downstairs."
"Yeah, been there. You know me and Kitty weren't dating, right?"
"Ah … no. And what did I have to tell me otherwise? Seeing as you disappeared with her to an island."
"Yeah, wasn't my idea to stay on Genosha. We'd stopped in because we needed somewhere safe for mutants, and with the school leveled, that was pretty much the only place we had. Planned to stay long enough to recover and then… I don't know. Figure out what to do after the X-Men stopped existing, I guess. Didn't know it was a one-way invitation for everyone but Magneto's favorites."
"That's just … dumb," Johnny finished lamely. "But seriously. You guys looked like you had the whole … found picket white fence going on. Look at it from my angle. And with everything else that had gone wrong before …" He held up both hands. "But if you're going to start yelling at me again, fair warning - I'm jumping off the building and flying somewhere else."
"Look." Bobby ran a hand down his face. "I went with Kitty because she knew Japan best, and I owed Logan my life, okay? Cleaning up his unfinished business there was the only thing I could do, and she was the one who knew what needed doing. Wasn't a fling. Spent half the time trying to get her and Spiderman together, actually," he added, grinning crookedly.
"Yeah, that … would explain why he was in a funk for a while," he said. "Like … all five minutes of losing his buddies."
"Pretty sure you and Kitty can commiserate on the whole mixed messages thing, seeing as she didn't know about May until we heard she and James were dating through the Summers-Maximoff family grapevine."
"Oh, wow," Johnny said with a raised eyebrow expression. "That little spider is sneakier than he looks. Or acts. Or … anything."
"Right?" Bobby smirked and then leaned against the wall. "So. Yeah. Wasn't dating Kitty. Partnered up for some ninja kicking, watched the kid so Scott could lead some bad guys on a merry chase away from the kids' trail. That cover everything?"
"If I'm being honest, probably not, but I'm still stuck on Parker having hidden game for so long, so … maybe circle back with questions when I'm not half buzzed on eggnog?"
Bobby grinned and then made himself a chair out of ice to sit next to Johnny. "Fair. It's a very big thing to get over - the secret Spidey game."
"I mean … you at least had an excuse for not knowing for so long," Johnny said. "I honestly didn't pay him that much attention."
"For a chatterbox, he actually doesn't give much away when he doesn't want to," Bobby agreed.
Johnny was quiet for a long moment, nodding in agreement. "I really am sorry we didn't push to check in. For what it's worth. Excuses notwithstanding."
"Yeah, I am still a little pissed that you thinking you lost your shot at dating me means I got to rot in jail, not gonna lie," Bobby admitted, though he wasn't nearly as mad as he'd been the last time they'd talked about it.
"If I'd known you were in jail - the dating thing wouldn't have made a difference," Johnny insisted. "I'd have found a way to bust you out or end up sitting there across the hall or whatever."
"You are buzzed," Bobby said with a smile he couldn't quite help. "That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me - even if you're so wrong."
"I'm not wrong. I've melted concrete before. A little metal wouldn't be much."
"I mean about the sitting in jail with me," Bobby said. "Humans don't go to jail on Genosha. Or they didn't, anyway."
"What are you talking about?" Johnny asked, turning his way.
Bobby sighed. "Look, in this hypothetical scenario where you get caught trying to bust me out? You're dead. Sorry."
Johnny drew in a deep breath, held it with one finger pointed skyward and shook his head once. "I … am going to disagree because I still think I could have just gotten away with it. Because I'm not just another human." He leaned toward Bobby with a troublemaking look. "I'm super human. Totally different."
Bobby laughed and leaned forward to match him. "Sure, I'll let you think that."
"And I'm not that buzzed," Johnny said. "Right. Not super buzzed, yes to super human. Cosmic, even. So there."
Bobby kept grinning wider and laughing along to every word. "Oh yeah, that'll teach me," he agreed. "And all I've got is awesome genes."
"You wanna spell that?" Johnny teased, grinning now that the heaviness of the situation had shifted a little.
"Yes. It's spelled both ways. Take it as you will," Bobby laughed.
Johnny's smile slipped a little as he watched Bobby laugh. "I've really missed that."
"What, bad jokes?" Bobby shook his head. "You've got Ben for that."
Johnny shook his head, then took the initiative to pull Bobby a little closer to steal a kiss. "The laugh, you moron."
Bobby blinked in pleasant surprise and then returned the kiss in kind. "Missed you too."