A/N - Many thanks to our reviewers - Practically An Avenger and XoverA, we thank you kindly, but as usual, I'm putting this up in a rush out the door, so I don't have more notes than to say thanks! We love your feedback and we adore seeing what you thought. Enjoy!

Chapter 114 - Hard Reset

When James and Scott finally parked at the tower, James was quick to get around to the other side of the car before Scott could drag himself out, sure to direct him properly, though Steve met them to help, too.

Steve looked shell shocked as he took in Scott's appearance and joined James in escorting Scott upstairs, holding him fast when Scott suddenly tried to get away from them. But it wasn't until they were halfway up to the top floor in the elevator that Steve actually spoke up. "You alright?" he asked, though since it wasn't clear who he was talking to, James simply kept staring ahead of himself as he kept a tight grip on his dad. "James?"

"I'm fine," James said in a flat monotone. "He needs to get to medical."

"Yeah, I can see that. Hank's waiting. Tyler wants to talk to you, too."

James nodded to himself, but didn't speak. Not when he had so much going on in his head. But the interesting part didn't happen until they reached the top floor and the elevator door opened. As soon as they forced Scott to step into the inclusion zone of the telepathic dampener, he was hit with the psychic backlash from Emma being forced out of his head, though the triggers she'd established were still causing reverb. It was extreme enough that Steve had to help to hold him up, though James managed to restrain himself from doing the same as he started to distance himself from his dad.

"Come on, I'll get you to Hank," Steve said as he guided Scott around the corner. James hung back until they were out of sight, then headed for his room, though Kate caught him on the way.

"Hey, you alright?" Kate asked. "I know Nate needs to take a minute with you to see how that whole … everything went."

"Nate's got to take care of him first." James shouldered past. "I know the disruptor stopped her from continuing, but he'll need to stick close for now." He thumbed toward his room. "I'll be here. Nate's got his work cut out already."

"Are you sure?" Kate asked, frowning. "Because … you look like you're ready to leave."

"Where the hell would I go?" James asked, both arms out and palms up.

"I can think of a dozen places or more," she answered. "Maybe Genosha?"

James shook his head impatiently. "His telepathic defenses are tight. Nate needs his edge to keep from hurting him, and he's not going to be able to sit down for a session with Doc until he's cleared," James reasoned.

"Yeah, I know," Kate agreed, though she was frowning. "So, you know that Rachel knows what's going on, and she is absolutely helping with your dad-"

"Good," James said, then gruffly turned toward his lab instead where he could lock everyone out, avoiding letting anyone touch him as he left.

Once the ice was gone from Scott's mind - though plenty of water and steam remained - Nate and Rachel backed out to regroup and wait for Scott to wake up. They knew it wouldn't take long. Not when he was so determined to talk to James. But that had the two of them deciding on a plan of action before it could even be discussed.

"You go talk to James," Rachel said. "I saw some triggers and commands in Dad's head that I want to deal with before they get set off accidentally."

"Perfect," Nate agreed, then zipped off past their friends and family, who were all waiting for news.

When he got to the lab, where James was, he noticed right away that James had no music on - no television news report in the background, and he didn't even look up at Nate when he stepped into the lab. "If you're ready, I really want to see how that went down," Nate said. "And after the fight we just had in Dad's head, I have a better idea of what to look for that Emma might have done to you, too. I was kinda rushed earlier."

James glanced up at him, nodded once, then set his tools down before he led the way to the couch, where he simply stretched out and closed his eyes, looking wildly uncomfortable.

"You alright?" Nate asked with a frown. He'd honestly gotten used to James fighting him on letting him into his mind, but after the quick interaction in Craig's office … this was worse than Nate was expecting from him. All things considered, James' reactions were … off.

"Yeah, I just want whatever she did undone," James said. "My only stipulation is that I don't want to talk about anything that happened before I brought him back."

Nate didn't need to know that whatever it was had to be really bad if James' reaction was that, but he wanted to help his big brother in any way he could. "Okay. I can try to hold to that."

"Knock me out when you're done, too," James requested. "Please."

"Yeah, alright." Nate watched his brother with concern as he settled in, then wasn't surprised in the least when it took longer for James to drop his mental shields enough for Nate to be able to look painlessly. And even at that, Nate was making little sounds of displeasure at what he was seeing right off the bat.

The Hale family didn't have much to do as they waited for any one of the Summers family to come out and talk to them. Craig and Annie were both holding their breath to talk to Scott after so long and so much strife, but Craig would have been lying if he'd said he wasn't worried about James too, judging by how he refused to look at or talk to anyone on the way to his lab. It was such a shift; he knew something bad had happened.

Tyler was distressed because he needed to tell one of the telepaths that he'd had a forced repression experience too. He felt guilty that he couldn't say anything sooner, because in his mind, had he been able to, Scott never would have gotten caught up in Emma's clutches.

But he was going to have to take a number. The Summerses were all heavily involved in looking out for each other first, then minimizing the damage to those they were closest to that were also affected. So … Annie, Craig, Tony, and whoever else thought they might need a once over were going to take priority.

Upon realizing that, Tyler sought out guidance from someone slightly outside of the Summers inner circle. He just wasn't sure right away who to talk to. He'd had a terrible headache since the telepathic disruptor had been turned on at the tower, and to be perfectly honest, he was a little hesitant to talk to Rachel or Nate anyhow if they were powerful enough to be working with their powerset inside of the disruptor zone. That was either slightly terrifying on the scope of their power, or an amazing trick on James' part to exclude his siblings from that kind of stopper - which was also slightly terrifying.

Either way, both of them were busy even if he'd wanted to talk to them. So, for a long moment, Tyler watched the Hale family support each other until Jan came out to do a round and make sure everyone was alright. He watched her from the far side of the room, his expression caught between longing for the family bonds that the Hales were showing and awkward teenage discomfort at being the odd man out.

But Jan had a sharp eye for all kinds of things - and unsurety in teenagers was somewhere near the top of her list. Before Tyler could speak up, Jan was headed his way looking concerned. "You alright, big guy?"

"Um … I mean," Tyler looked toward Craig then lowered his voice. "Not really, no. I know there are big things happening, but … it wasn't just them, you know? She hit me, too. She made me help her hide her fake concussion-"

"Ty, sweetie, I'm so sorry," Jan said, bouncing on her toes. "We need you to get some help, too - and you shouldn't have to wait for Summerses to finish up and recharge, either!" She squeezed his arm. "I'll call Betsy. She's more familiar with your mind anyhow, right?"

"Right," Tyler said in a sigh, half shaking his head at himself for not thinking to call Betsy himself. Part of Emma's manipulations had been instructions not to get help, and that didn't go away just because the telepathic interference was working again. "I just … need them to know everything, you know?"

"I know. And I'd bet my fall line that those Summerses aren't going to let her get away with this one bit."

"Yeah, obviously not," Tyler said. He hesitated, rubbed the back of his neck, and added, "And, well… they should know that this isn't the first time I've felt a presence like that. The telepaths the department had - their telepathic touch was very similar. If I hadn't gotten to work with the Summerses and Betsy, I'd have just assumed all telepaths felt that icy, but…"

"Oooh, I do not like the sound of that at all," Jan said, taking his arm and leading him to a more quiet spot, patting him all the way. "Don't you worry. I know Betsy can set you right. She said she got a lot done your first few times, right?" With her free hand, she was already texting Betsy with a 911 message, even if her tone was calm.

"Yeah, she's been amazing," Tyler agreed. He had never known how to handle the fact that Jan immediately had taken a liking to him and seemed determined to be on his side since so many people had an immediate aversion to him because of his biological father. But he also wasn't going to stop her from patting his shoulder, either.

"Great! Then when she's all done, if you still feel the need to talk to one of the Summerses, we'll grab whoever isn't in full freak out."

"Are they ever not freaking out? Feels like there's something going on all the time," Tyler pointed out with the ghost of a smirk.

"I mean … there's definitely a sliding scale, and the amount of anxiety from living the way they have for so long is kind of … well. It's well earned, you know?"

"Yeah, no, I get that. I mean, I spent a good amount of time trying to stay out of trouble myself, you know?"

"I know. I wish we could figure out how those creeps found you to begin with," Jan said. "But, I'm glad they were dumb enough to send you after the team."

"Me too," he agreed. "Knowing the kinds of missions they liked to run? I'm glad I wasn't in as long as I could've been."

"Yeah, let's not think about that too much," Jan advised. "Let's … do something pleasant while we wait for Betsy to come up. What do you think this group is going to need?"

"About fifty pounds of coffee and a therapist who doesn't sleep."

"Um, with all the anxiety flying around already, you really think more coffee is the right call?" Jan teased.

"According to Kate, if there isn't coffee, then the world falls apart," Tyler teased right back. "What do I know? I don't drink the stuff."

"I know. You're too sweet to need it anyhow," Jan said. "Kate's doing her Summers family audition anyhow. Pacing a path in the carpet. And I just had it installed."

"I'm surprised every day that passes and that isn't official. She's practically had "Kate Summers" written on everything she owns since the day I met her," Tyler teased.

"Oh, way before that," Jan laughed, glad to pull him out of his stress with a little redirection.

"That's the story I've heard," Tyler agreed.

Jan smiled to herself at her excellent work to get Tyler calm and refocused, knowing that Betsy would be there soon - and that in the meantime, Tyler would be excellent to help get things prepared for whenever Summerses started to step out of the very very quiet rooms they were in. "You ever just sit around and listen to the Southern Gossip?" Jan asked, just loud enough for the Hale family to catch it.

"Best way to spend an afternoon!" Officer Wright called out to Jan.

"Yeah? You got anything fun for us? Us poor, bored, sad little New Yorkers?"

"Sadly, you don't have white water rafting in the city," he teased her.

"Now you're just being mean," Jan said. "But I'm sure we can get you somewhere with watersports the next time you need a break."

"I'll hold you to that."

Rachel had her work cut out for her, but honestly, so did Nate. The damage Emma had done and the suggestions and blocks she'd put into James' mind were mostly subtle, and some of them almost helpful. Like how she'd repressed a lot of the trauma around being touched, or the more physical aspects of his romantic life, and the slight encouragement to do what he wanted to, but it was blatantly obvious that the intent was to keep James distracted - and away, on the other side of the world, if possible.

Ultimately though, Nate removed everything. Anything that Emma had shifted, adjusted, repressed, or even tried to erase, Nate repaired and set back to James' natural settings, flawed as they were. Even if by doing so, he knew that his brother was likely to withdraw again once he was awake. Especially when Nate had seen how strongly James wanted to go. Not to Genosha, but to one of Logan's cabins. It was such a deep longing that Nate honestly didn't know how James had been ignoring it for so long if not for the fact that he knew James had been trying to help Scott get it together. Which really just was going to make that pull so much stronger with the visceral damage James was trying to shove down after the fight with Scott.

Nate couldn't relate to how tenuous James' grip on his place in the family felt. Especially when Nate, Rachel, and Scott had never questioned if James was part of the family or not. James was his brother. Unconditionally. He'd always been there for Nate and Rachel and Scott, so the incredibly sensitive, raw fear and hurt around pretty much everything Emma had forced their dad to say was jarring. It felt unfounded if not for how Nate could finally clearly see how those fears connected back to little things that people had said to James for years and how James had processed those sentiments.

They were meant to be compliments. Nate knew that. And he knew it was likely a very normal means of thinking, too. After all, there were whispers of those same fears in Scott's mind - and Alex's. And even Kate's. It just wasn't as obvious with them when they had all either dealt with those fears, or mostly grown out of them.

After seeing Scott's memories of all three Summers kids, it was hard for Nate to unsee how clear those fears had always been in so many of his brother's actions. All he could think of was trying to find a way to fix it for his brother.

At a loss for words, or even feelings on how to take any of it, Nate let his curiosity get the better of him as he peeked at James' perspective of a few moments from their childhood that Nate had been confused by, or scared, and though James at the time had accepted whatever was happening around him outwardly, it was clear to Nate now that he'd been terrified at every hand off, including those that saw him back with the family. He was always unsure of how long he'd be with the Summers family before he went back to Tony, or Storm, or Kitty. Because of so much turmoil, he always felt like a spare part.

It didn't matter that those changes were out of necessity, or that the adult James understood it better than most. Everything Emma had hit him with using Scott had cracked open the delicate shell James had tried to build up to stash those fears away, and there really wasn't anything Nate could do to stop it - in good conscience. Damming it up now would only make him reliant on a telepath forever.

Somberly, Nate double checked his work then took a few moments just to look around one more time, stricken at the fresh tone of pain that discolored everything. Knowing what he did now, Nate had no issues whatsoever in giving his brother the suggestion of deep, dreamless sleep. He needed the time to figure out what the hell he might possibly say to his brother when he woke up anyhow.

When the job was done, Nate stayed there for a little while watching James sleep, second guessing himself, and trying to come to terms with all of it. And after he realized he was upset beyond words himself, he chose to go to Kate. He didn't want to talk about any of it. He just wanted to get a hold of her, wrap her up and just be for a while.

Several hours passed, but as soon as Scott was awake, he was pushing to talk to James - no matter how many times everyone around him kept telling him that he needed to talk to Craig first. That was out of the question. He had to find James, and he had to make sure his son was okay, because he knew what Emma had said to him and he knew how keenly it had to hurt.

God help him, he was terrified that the damage was already done.

"Dad, you need to-" Rachel started to say, but he skirted around her and out the door before she could say anything else.

"No, what I need is to talk to my son," Scott said, not about to slow down.

"Dad, would you take a breath before you go busting in there?" Rachel said loudly.

"No, I need to fix this," Scott said, expertly pulling his arm out of her reach before she could catch him. "You don't know what I - what she said to him."

Rachel drew back slightly, her frown more firmly in place. "What did Nate not tell me? How bad was it?"

"Bad," Scott said simply.

"I'm asking because he went to work on James while I was working on you."

"And you didn't peek at what happened while I was trapped?" Scott asked.

"Not … when I was batting clean up," she said. "Should I? We can do that right now."

Scott thought about it for a second and then waved her off. "You don't need to hear it."

"Are you trying to protect me while Im trying to help you?" Rachel asked in faux disbelief.

"Ah, yeah. I'm your father," Scott pointed out as he turned the corner with Rachel at his heels. "Emma was in his head. She said exactly the worst things she possibly could say to him."

"Yeah, how did the Hales know that before me?" Rachel said almost sullenly.

"Don't ask me; I wasn't involved in any of the cleanup," Scott said, his frown deep in his forehead; even without telepathy, Rachel could see that he was blaming himself for once again trusting Emma when he shouldn't have.

"Fine. But if you're going to insist, I'm just going to warn you - as soon as you step out of this talk with James, you will be going straight to Craig."

"Fine," Scott said, not about to argue it, rounding another corner and nearly walking into Peter Parker.

"They went to talk in the lab a while ago," Peter said. "Nate said he made him sleep? So he wouldn't take off or something."

Scott froze in his steps, blinked at Peter - and then took off at a run toward James's lab.

"No! I meant Nate said he needed to rest! Come on, don't …he's alright!" Peter threw his arms up. "... don't listen to me," he said softer.

Of course, Scott heard exactly nothing of what Peter said as he sprinted to the lab, all but skidding to a stop before he opened the door to find James sitting on the couch, rubbing his hands over his face. But he was awake, and that in itself was a relief.

And yet, now that Scott was actually there, he found himself frozen as he stared at his son and tried to figure out what he could even say to mitigate the damage Emma had done - the damage that had come from his mouth.

James had heard someone come in - vaguely. One of the more irritating side effects of dealing with all the work Nate had put in to fix things left his ears ringing along with a wicked headache, even after the nap. So James didn't exactly jump up to see who it was. No one came to the lab anyhow, unless they wanted to talk. And they could get there when they got around to it. He still didn't quite feel awake and aware enough to fake anything.

"James," Scott said softly, his mouth suddenly dry, especially when James looked up at him, and Scott could see the toll the last little while had taken on him. It was like night and day from when he'd seen James at the safehouse - or in the car.

"Yeah," James replied, one eye closed as he peeked past his hands.

Scott swallowed. "James, I'm so sorry," he said, taking a step into the room, half afraid that James didn't want him there. "I'm so, so sorry. You should never have been put in that position."

"Was there someone else who would have been able to do it at that point?" James asked.

"That's not the-" Scott let out a breath. "James, she knows what you mean to me. I'm so sorry. I tried - I tried so hard-" His breath caught. "I'm so sorry. Nothing she said-"

"Wasn't you. It's fine."

"It's really not," Scott said, especially because he recognized James's dull tone from his parents. He really did sound so much like his father and years of watching James grow up showed him all of Logan's minute tells that Scott had never known were tells. "You're my son, James," he said, his voice wavering. "I don't want - I can't let her diminish what you are to me." As he spoke, he sat down on the other end of the couch, his hands shaking slightly, so he folded his arms.

James really didn't know where to start, and he was more gunshy than he'd expected to be when faced with Scott after all that was said and done. "Not your fault." He shrugged and then leaned back into the couch. "I let her into my head."

"You were manipulated into that too," Scott said. "And I let her into mine."

James shook his head at that. "I don't believe that."

"James, I know what her presence in my mind feels like. I should have kicked her out."

James thought it over for a few moments. "Did she rush in when you said yes? Because she did that with me."

"No, it wasn't-"

"When did you let her in?"

Scott stumbled over his words a few times and made a few vague gestures before he let out a soft breath. "I… well…"

"You didn't let her in, then. But I did. It was my own fault."

"I'm sorry, James," Scott said. "She targeted you - and it wasn't just because of your connection to Stark Industries."

"She's been after me for a while," James said with a wave.

"She also knew that if you backed me up, I'd trust you, and I'm sorry that she used you like that," Scott said softly.

"I'm sorry it worked."

Scott smirked tightly. "I'm not," he said. "I'm not sorry I trust you with my life. You came and got me, didn't you?"

James was softly shaking his head at that, though he didn't realize it. "I took off without a plan. Or a destination."

"Yeah, I've done that," Scott said. "When it's someone you love on the line, you can't be still. You can't wait. And I am honestly relieved you figured it out, because I thought I was…" He trailed off. "I thought I was making the same mistakes as always, really."

James blew out a breath and let some quiet hang in the air before he refocused and shifted gears. "She started out by setting off an EMP at Miss Hale's house," he said.

"Oh," Scott said - as that piece of the puzzle fell into place too. He had genuinely believed Annie had broken up with him on her own terms, after all.

"I should have dug harder when I saw the conflict with her, but I didn't want to overstep."

"No, I…" Scott looked like he was still processing the whole thing, completely unsure of himself.

"Nate, Rachel, and I have been sending random meals to her house this whole time. Enough to cover her whole family if they were over there with her."

Scott let out a disbelieving laugh and then reached over to put his hand on James's arm. James flinched automatically, and it had Scott's heart in his throat.

"Sorry," James said, his focus on the floor. "Nate said he got rid of a lot of stuff that shouldn't have been there… she'd messed with things."

Scott couldn't find his voice for a long moment before he decided on a simple nod instead. "No, I'm sorry. I - I know you know I'd never - but it was still me and my voice, and I don't - I don't blame you," he said, his voice tight.

"It's not you," James said. "I don't want anyone to touch me."

"Right." Scott let his gaze fall to his hands. "I… I should check on Annie."

"Prepare yourself," James said in an attempt at a tease. "She feels awful."

"I may know a thing or two about that," Scott said, also trying to tease, though both of them knew they weren't quite hitting their marks.

James nodded and got to his feet. "Don't let anyone take it personally, but I need to get out of here."

Scott got to his feet as well, though he was obviously taking it hard. "Just, please, don't disappear."

"Controlled disappearance ," James said.

"As long as you come find me when you get back," Scott said. "Please," he added, softly.

James nodded at that, shoving his hands in his back pockets and wearing his heart on his sleeve for how hurt he was. "Okay." There was a moment that hung in the air for a little too long as it was clear neither of them quite knew what to say or how to say it, but finally, James drew in a shaky breath and turned on his heel to lead the way out. As Dani approached with a smile, James expertly avoided coming anywhere close to making contact - then made a sweeping arc to avoid the groups of people in the living room on his way through.

Scott wasn't surprised when he didn't go toward his room, instead making a beeline toward the elevator.

Scott let out a breath, scrubbed a hand over his face, and started walking back the way he'd come. He wasn't at all surprised when Rachel fell into step with him to make good on her promise that she was going to make him see Craig.

"Not right now, Rachel," Scott said quietly.

"I thought you agreed with me," Rachel said, matching his tone.

"That was before I knew Emma had gotten to Annie," Scott said, on eyebrow raised.

"Oh. Well. If it's for Annie," Rachel said, smiling, then had to lean toward him. "She got first-named, you know. I think it held her over until we got you back."

Scott finally cracked a smile for the first time since he'd woken up. "I know it did," he said, knowing exactly what that would have meant to Annie - and then subsequently immediately losing the smile when he thought of how hurt James had looked, and how he hadn't once called him "Dad" during that whole talk. Especially with the memory of James calling him 'Scott' with so much pain in his voice ringing clearly in his mind's eye. It felt like a step forward and ten leaps backward. "She must have grinned so widely."

"The real tragedy is that I don't think he saw her reaction … either time."

"Twice?" Scott's smile started to return.

"She'll tell you about it," Rachel said. "But he's back to Miss Hale. I think." she popped up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "I'll tell Craig he's been bumped in favor of his sister. But you are not getting out of this."

Scott held up both hands. "I never thought I was getting out of anything," he promised. "I just know where my priorities need to be - especially after telepathic damage like we're dealing with."

"Speaking of damage … Hank is running your blood tests," she sang out before she left him standing there - and that easily made it clear that she knew pretty much everything.

Scott pulled a face. "Oh. Great."

"It's a real concern," she insisted.

"That really doesn't make me feel any better, Rach."

But Rachel had started nearly cackling at that - not because it was funny by any stretch, but because he was saying more than short, single syllables while he was riled about that.

"Really?" Scott said, turning the full force of a dry look her way.

She turned to face him just to shrug openly. "Keep it rated G, lover boy. PG at best."

"Wow." Scott spun on his heel away from her. "Really feeling the love, Rachel. Don't lay it on so thick."

"I'm just glad to have you back, Dad. We missed you. All of us."

"I wasn't actually gone that long," Scott grumbled - and Rachel, for his sake, decided not to point out that they had missed him when he'd shut down after the breakup, too.

Still, Scott was worried about Annie, half convinced still that they'd stay broken up after everything she'd been through - but he cared about her too much not to make sure she was okay first and foremost. So, he made a beeline in the direction Rachel pointed him and found Annie chatting easily with Jan; at least that part was normal, since the two of them got along exceedingly well.

"Scott!" Annie nearly started when he came through the door - and then, she couldn't stop talking. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't trying to say any of what I - I couldn't stop myself and it was the most infuriatin' thing - I kept trying to call you and I couldn't - and those sweet kids of yours sendin' me food - you know, Nate's really perfected - you know what, that isn't - I'm gettin' ahead of myself here…" She trailed off helplessly, obviously at a loss to put to words everything she had been through.

Scott held up both hands. "Woah, slow down; it's okay. Rachel told me what was going on-"

"It's absolutely not okay, you maddenly self-abasing nincompoop!" Annie said, pointing her index finger his way. "In what God-forsaken universe do you think it's okay that a horrible worm of a woman slunk her way into the minds of the people you love-"

"Okay, first of all-"

"And you ignored your family under her orders!" she said, talking over him. "You are a great many things, Scott Summers, but the day you stop putin' your family ahead of your own fool self is the day that cottonmouths grow wings and fly on rainbows."

Scott still had both of his hands held up defensively. "Annie," he started to say, but she managed to make pointing her index finger at him look even more aggressive, somehow.

"Don't you go tryin' to smooth things over with me," she said sharply.

Scott sighed, but when she didn't have anything else to add, he let his hands drop and gestured outward. "I'm sorry," he started to say. "I know it must have been hell, having someone controlling you like that."

"You're close," Annie said, eyeing him carefully. "It was hell letting her hurt you, watching it with my own eyes. Lettin' her hurt those beautiful kids of yours. You know they never gave up tryin' to figure out what went wrong?"

"Yeah, I know," Scott said with a tight smile.

"And you're so convinced that the world is never going to let you be happy that your damn fool self let me walk off without a fight," Annie said. "I love you, Scott, but you can't do things like that. A girl likes to be fought for, you know?"

"I was trying to respect-"

"You believed every single word that woman made everyone around you say is what the problem is," Annie said, crossing her arms. "How you thought I'd come over to break up with you when I was trying to ask you if I could move in is beyond me, you absolute potato."

Scott blinked at Annie in genuine shock long enough that Jan - grinning madly over the show she'd just witnessed - leaned over to hand Annie a drink in a blatant display of solidarity. Which was enough for Scott to at least attempt to say something, anyway. "You were… really?"

"That's not the point."

"No, I get that part," Scott said, though he was starting to smile. "I know. I'm an idiot. I just… I was going to tell you there's always an opening on staff if you…" He paused, the smile dropping. "That is, if this hasn't - well, if you're still…"

Without a word, Jan got up, turned toward the other heroes in the room - including Nate and Kate - and just gave them a look that made it clear it was time to get out and leave Annie and Scott alone. She didn't want to draw attention to the fact that Annie was making serious progress, and she remembered all too well how Scott had said, so long ago, that he was nearly incapable of stringing two words together around a beautiful woman. So it was already long past time for the room to clear.

Annie was blushing brilliantly, especially when she realized what Jan was doing. But on the other hand, she appreciated the gesture and knew she wouldn't have liked having an audience now that the conversation had taken the turn it had. She brushed her hair behind her ears almost convulsively before the door closed behind Nate and she tried to organize her thoughts.

"I still think you give that woman way too much leeway," she said to start with, and Scott held his breath, obviously expecting the worst. Annie saw him do it, too, and she hated that, because she wanted to soften the blow for him, somehow. He always expected to be hurt, to be left behind. It was obvious - and even more so now. But she wasn't comfortable with him giving Emma Frost free passes, either, and that needed to be said. "And I don't like thinking that if she comes 'round again-"

"Annie, she made me tell James he wasn't my son," Scott said, so much anger and tension held in the few words that she could feel it in the air between them until it took her breath away. "She's used up what was left of my good will - and then some."

Annie's mouth dropped open, and she found herself staring openly at Scott. "I… I didn't know that," she admitted, much of the wind out of her sails at an admission like that.

Scott gestured with both hands out. "Annie, I'm sorry," he said softly. "I really am. I should have known something was wrong, and I was so caught up in my own fear that I let you get hurt. And I can never apologize enough for that."

Annie let out a long breath and then stepped toward him. "It's a good thing I like you so much, because this whole thing has been quite a ride," she said.

Scott tipped his head to the side. "If you think it's too m-"

"Do not finish that sentence if you value your ability to speak with a working jaw," Annie said - and Scott couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "You are the hardest person to agree with, you know that? I'm allowed to say that this was one of the worst times in my life, and you get to agree - and then you don't get to try to tell me that's grounds for dissolving the relationship I'm trying to salvage, you idiot!"

Scott found himself trying not to smile, because she was so worked up in defense of them still dating that it was hard not to. "Okay," was all he said.

Annie pointed at him again, huffed, and then stepped the rest of the way toward him to kiss him. "Y'all really need a history teacher or did you just pull some strings with Ororo?" she asked when the kiss broke.

"Annie, to be honest, almost no one there went to school to teach. We're doing the best we can, but I can guarantee you'll help as more than just one of the teachers," Scott promised, smiling at little more at the stolen kiss, too.

Annie nodded slowly as she thought it over. "So," she said at last, "about that next step…"

Scott started to say that she didn't have to go through with anything she didn't want to and then realized that would only get him in more trouble with her. So, instead, he said, "If you're still interested, I know a couple telekinetics who could make the move much easier."

Annie sized him up for a second and then let out an affectionate huff. "I think Nate's probably headed there right now, eavesdropper that he is."

"Wouldn't surprise me one bit."

"It's nice to have approval," Annie said, smirking at last.

Scott nodded and then leaned in to steal a kiss. "You know, I've got a place in Westchester too where I've been crashing when I can't get home from missions or the commute is too much hassle."

"So you're saying I should buy more toothbrushes and spread 'em out. Don't you also have a place by Kate's parents?"

"Yeah, but we haven't stayed there much. It's been where we've hosted visitors so that our home stays safe, but…" He shrugged. "Clint and Natasha will probably give it to whichever couple gets married out of the kids."

"Kate's already got a spot in that building, So that narrows it down to one of your other kids," Annie said with a mischievous smile.

Scott laughed. "Fair enough," he said. He ducked his head to catch her gaze. "So, can I make it up to you? Start with some sweet tea?" he offered.

"Yes, god, get me away from Stark and his coffee," Annie agreed, grinning as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He grinned and picked her up to find somewhere else to continue the conversation, or lack thereof. They had weeks to make up for, after all.

"You will not go anywhere near him," Jan scolded, standing in front of Tony with a threatening finger in his face. "Give the kid some space."

"I was fine with that until he turned off all his tracking capabilities," Tony countered. "How do I know it isn't because someone with nefarious intent snatched him? Again!"

Jan put her hands on her hips. "Because all of your trackers are off. Who even knows how to do that?"

Tony looked like he was ready to argue, but ended up swearing under his breath because even the smallest ones were off … and only he and James even knew about them. "That kid is too damn smart for his own good," Tony said finally.

"Just the way you like him," Jan pointed out. "Give him some breathing room before your overprotective, smothering self comes out." She gestured toward the empty slot where usually, the armor Tony had made for James stood. "I know you're worried and he's hurt, and you got called dad, but sweetheart…he's screaming for alone time."

Tony made a little sound of disapproval at the back of his throat, but turned to go back to what he was working on … shortly before a familiar surge of blue light illuminated the living room as Billy appeared with a bright smile.

"I just want to know if it's a broken phone situation, or …" his question drifted off when he saw the grimace Kate and Nate shared. "What now?"

"Just … high drama," Nate said. "James' phone is probably either in the lab or his room. Guessing it's dead, anyhow."

Billy frowned. "Okay. Where is he?"

"No idea."

"How long has he been gone?"

"A few days."

Billy blinked at him several times. "What?" He asked dully, then gestured wildly with both hands. "Why aren't you looking?"

"It's been a really rough week. He needed to breathe. Like, really, really needed it."

All at once, Billy started to float, and it was clear he didn't realize it was happening as his presence went from happy-go-lucky to very Magneto-esque, complete with a costume change that brought with it a billowing cape. "Why does he need to breathe? He was breathing perfectly fine when I saw him last! What happened now? Who the heck decided to- we were finally getting back to normal!"

Nate tapped his fingers on the back of the couch behind Kate, weighing out how much to tell him, and deciding, ultimately, that hey … maybe Emma had whatever it was Billy might do coming to her. "If you can calm down for a minute, I can project everything you need to know. But you have to promise me not to go full Magneto."

Billy scoffed, but lost some of his steam when Kate cleared her throat, pointed to his feet, and stage-whispered 'floating is a sign of supervillainitis'.

He rolled his eyes, crossed his arms in almost a pout, and forced himself to the ground, though he didn't change out of his uniform, and his cape didn't stop magically billowing around him.

"He has to be dramatic, babe; it's in his blood," Kate whispered.

"Close enough," Nate said as he got to his feet, blew out a breath and then reached out to touch the side of Billy's head. His eyes glowed for just a few seconds as Nate relayed all of it in a quick telepathic dump that set Billy back a few steps.

When he was done, Nate kept a close eye on Billy, even reaching out to take a hold of his arm to keep him upright from the influx of information. "You okay?" Nate asked. "I know that much at once can be disorienting - but you wanted to know, and I didn't think you'd listen to all of it in order, so this seemed like the smartest route. I wasn't sure where to start, anyhow."

"Yeah," Billy said in a breath, though his eyes and hands were glowing and his tone was rough and tight. The lights flickered then dimmed as the wind around them increased with the glow around Billy, before all of it suddenly stopped. There was a pop, and the lights came back on as Billy touched down.

He blinked a few times then cleared his throat. "I'm going to go find James."

"Wait," Nate said, on his feet and trying to slow him down. "What just… did… Did something just happen? What did you just do?"

Billy looked mildly abashed as he adjusted his clothes - before the spell was over, he had switched from his far more dramatic caped attire to a much less conspicuous black jeans, Dazzler t-shirt, and sneakers. "I fixed the problem."

"What does that even mean?"

Billy took a deep breath and then let it out while buzzing his lips. "So, anyone who screws with James deserves to get screwed with right back, right?"

"Obviously," Kate said airily.

"And anyone who makes Annie cry is evil," Billy continued.

"Also obviously," Kate said, leaning forward with her eyes gleaming because she could tell he was building up to something good.

"And anyone who uses their powers to trick someone into sex doesn't get to have their powers anymore, so…" Billy gestured with both hands. "I took her powers."

"Wait. You did what?" Nate said after a few seconds of silence passed by. "You can't …"

"I mean, there's a little bit of a tradeoff," Billy said. "Totally burned myself out for a few days, but… yeah. I can, actually. And I'm not at all sorry about it. Absolutely worth it." As he spoke, he was texting Tommy. "I'll just get a lift from my brother…"

"There is no way this doesn't cause some kind of major problem," Nate said as he watched Billy warily. "Wait. Where are you going now?"

"Oh, before I yanked her powers, I did a quick spell to figure out where James was," Billy said, glancing up from his phone before he went back to texting. "Middle of nowhere, of course. So… I'm gonna find my guy, go camping, and try to fix the rest of this mess."

"Of course you did that," Nate said in a breath. "That might not go the way you expect, though."

"Um, yeah, I noticed the part where she forced him to be okay with me touching him, too," Billy said, starting to float again. "But you asked me not to go full Magneto, so…"

"Restraint. Nice," Kate said, nodding along. "It's a good look."

"I am so tempted to ask what you think full Magneto would even be in this situation," Nate said with a tone of disbelief.

"I'm picturing him floating through the Hellfire Club yanking powers indiscriminately - oh and Emma definitely dies in that scenario. Like, first thing," Kate said.

Billy pointed her way. "Pretty much."

"Okay, but … if you and Tommy are going after my brother, make sure he doesn't just disappear when you get there," Nate said. "I know where his head is right now, and it's not pretty, okay?"

"Yeah, I know," Billy said - though by that point, Tommy had zipped over and looked ready to go. "See you guys later. I'm gonna go find my boyfriend." With that, Tommy just picked up his brother and zipped away only to drop him off on the go, knowing Billy didn't want him around when he was trying to help James feel better.

James had been working on the cabin, without any real idea of what he was doing … just trying to fix things that had fallen into disrepair since the last time he'd been there with his parents from another world. He'd spent a few days just sealing up holes and chopping wood, and he was trying to decide what to do next - but at the odd woosh that followed Tommy everywhere, he knew something was up. He didn't have much time to decide how to handle that when he saw Billy, and stopped what he was doing, trying to find the right words and feeling more lost and conflicted than he could express.

He wasn't ready to be around anyone. Anyone. So when Billy spotted him and started toward him with a relieved smile, it was crystal clear things were off between the two of them. "What are you doing here?" James asked, looking somewhere between irritated, shocked, and half scared.

"Nate filled me in on what happened," Billy told him. "All of it. And I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm not," James admitted. "And I'm not alright being near people, either."

"Yeah, I get that," Billy said. "So I-"

"No, you don't," James said, cutting him off. "I came out here to be alone and to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. I can't do that with anyone around me. I love you, I swear that I do, but this… I need this to be a hard reset."

Billy blinked a few times and then took a small step back. "Oh," he said, sounding small.

"This is my problem," James said in an attempt to clarify. "I can't let anyone try to fix this for me."

"No, I … I just wanted to be there for you," Billy said. "I already - I kinda burned out my powers anyway, but even if I could, I wouldn't want to! But even then, I can't and - and I'm talking myself into a circle now, aren't I?"

"Not really," James said, his tone easing a little. He turned to look toward the woods for a long moment as he thought it over. Even knowing that Billy knew everything, James wasn't mad at him. He just didn't know what he wanted, and he knew he had to figure that out before he could be around the people he'd set himself aside for. "They don't know where I am, do they?"

"No, just me and Tommy, and only because I needed his help getting here," Billy admitted. He held his hands out to his sides. "Temporarily powerless. I'll get over it."

"I have a lot of questions about that," James said. "And I'm sorry, but not now. As much as I hate saying no, I really need to be alone."

Billy let out his breath. "Yeah, okay," he said softly, then pulled out his phone to text Tommy again.

"You can take my armor," James said.

"No, that's okay," Billy said. "I don't want to strand you, because if you want to come find me before I get my powers back, you totally should - I love surprises."

James considered it for too long. "No, I think it would be better if you took it. You can come back when you get your powers back - or wish the armor to me if you don't want to bother."

"I don't actually know how long that'll be, though," Billy said. "And I love you, but I'm gonna be honest - you make me nervous when you talk like that? So consider the way back to me a security blanket for me, huh?"

"I just hate to send you off reliant on Tommy."

Billy shrugged easily. "It's okay," he promised. "Worst case, if I underestimated how long I'm out of power, I've also got Mia and America for fast travel. Or Rachel if I'm feeling adventurous. Or Mom. She likes you too, you know."

"You may have mentioned that before," James said, then turned as his nearest neighbors started to melt out of the woods. "Maybe you should wait on that call for a little bit. Don't want Tommy running face first into one of these guys."

Billy nearly startled out of his skin when he realized that a decent sized pack of timberwolves were headed their way, and he moved closer to James - or as close as he could, knowing James didn't want him close but also needing the protection. Especially without powers and especially when they were growling.

"They're friendly," James said, easing out of the tension. "Just don't reach out to touch them until they more or less force you into it." Though Billy was fairly close, he followed that kind of direction well as James petted the big one nearest them.

"You know it's so cool when you do this but also so, so scary, right?" Billy whispered.

"Says the guy who goes on lion safaris with his dad. Or … was it shark diving?" James gave Billy half a smile, then dropped down to sit on the ground and let the big wolf get in his face - growling, and even snarling as James scratched its ears.

"Okay, fair. So I'm a small adrenaline junkie," Billy said, smiling in spite of himself as he watched James with the wolves.

"Yeah, I figured that out, actually." After a few moments, the wolf James had been messing with dropped down over his legs and rolled over to get belly scratches. "I'm sorry you came out here for nothing."

"No, it's okay," Billy promised. "I still got to see you for a minute. And, I mean, I know everything Nate knows, so, um, I get it. Really. I totally had an almost-Magneto moment until Nate and Kate told me to tone it back, so, like, I get it."

"Yeah? I think the big Summers has it worse." It was subtle, but he couldn't quite make himself say 'Dad' just yet, even if he felt stupid for having trouble doing so.

Billy swallowed, recognizing James' mental block and feeling awful about it, even if it wasn't his fault. "Yeah. That was… bad."

"He's got Miss Hale, Nate, Kate, and Rachel and America."

"And me and you," Billy pointed out. "You know, when you get back."

"Well, he doesn't need me," James said. "That's what I was getting at."

"Pretty sure we always need you, but, like I said, I get it. Take care of yourself first. I don't want you to fall apart on anyone."

"I already did," James said. "Pretty sure that's what I do best."

Billy held his breath. "So, um, fall apart on me next time?" he offered with one eye closed. "I'm a really, really good listener. And shoulder to cry on. And stuff."

"I did that last time."

"Yeah, and… and thank you for trusting me," Billy said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Billy, this-" James said, gesturing around them. "-is not a matter of trust or not trusting anyone. This is just … I was fried to start with. I should have come out here a while ago. You know this is way overdue."

"No, I know. I just… I meant… you know… I know it isn't easy to admit when you hit that wall. And when you fell apart last time, I just… I'm glad you felt safe with me."

"Who else would I be safe with?"

"Love you too," Billy said, blushing.

They didn't get much further in their discussion before one of the wolves tried to test Billy, and nipped at his leg only to be reprimanded instantly when James snarled viciously at it. From there, a whole lot of noise erupted with the pack falling into snarls, growls, yips and howls as they scattered with Billy and James no more worse for wear.

"Probably time to get your brother or America in," James said.

"Yeah, probably," Billy said, though he would have been lying if he said he wasn't really into James at that moment. He cleared his throat and texted Tommy as the wolves melted back into the woods. "So. Um. See you soon."

"Yeah," James said softly. "If I'm not back by the time you feel like zapping …"

"Then I'm coming over and camping out? Perfect. I like this plan," Billy said.

"Sorry, lil' prince."

"Promise I'm not mad at you," Billy said.

"Yet, anyhow."

"Try doing something I'd actually be mad about," Billy teased - just as Tommy showed up, looking a bit bewildered. "Hey, Tommy. Can you take me back where you got me?"

Tommy gestured between the two of them. "Umm… I can…"

"Thanks," James said to Tommy, knowing full well he'd be all over Billy's case until he was satisfied with the explanation of things.

Tommy did a full-body turn, frowned, and then threw up his hands. "Okay, taxi service it is," he said, picking up his brother and already demanding an explanation before he'd even set Billy down - which was, of course, how Nate and Kate heard that Billy was giving James space too.

"So… are you still going to make banana bread when you're depressed or is that off the table now that your supplier is back?" Kate asked, coming up behind Nate as he was hanging up his keys at the front door to her new place to wrap her arms around him from behind. "Because you're making that face again, and I legitimately bought a ton of new kitchen stuff with my Avengers stipend, like, last weekend. It'll be here this afternoon…" She put her chin on his shoulder to try to catch his gaze. "Is any of this tickling your fancy? At all?"

Nate let out a breath and covered her hands with his, leaning into her touch. "Maybe later."

"Oof. That bad, huh?" Kate kissed him behind his ear and then shifted her hands under his to lace their fingers together. "That calls for serious snuggles, huh?"

"If you say so," Nate said; he knew better than to argue it. So, he let Kate lead him back to the bedroom, more than happy to curl around her for a while in silence.

For the past several days, he'd simply been hiding in her embrace - and she hadn't pushed him to talk. But this time, she ventured a quiet, "I know your family isn't good at talking, but… you're not okay. It's really obvious. And I just want to know how to help you, because I love you."

"Love you too," Nate said.

Kate snuggled into him a little more and then raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so… are you going to give me any clues here or should I start interrogating or…"

"Depends on the interrogation methods," Nate half-teased, though his heart really wasn't in it.

"I do actually want answers, so I will dangle you upside down in a dampener," Kate said, also half-teasing, though she did mean it lightheartedly.

"Lift with your knees."

Kate rolled her eyes and then turned to face him and tickle him mercilessly. And she let that fight escalate until he had her pinned and they were making out - and then she stopped and grinned up at him. "And now," she said with her eyes lidded, "tell me your secrets."

Nate smirked. "You already know my secrets." He raised one eyebrow. "Or do you want to know other people's secrets that are bothering me? Because I could start with how irritated Cap was that the Patriots wanted to hire him to do a spot for their football team."

"I grew up with Cap, Nate. I'm more interested in what's bugging you. But you knew that."

"I'm pretty sure you know what's bugging me, Kate," Nate said. "Just not the finer points."

"So fill me in," she said. "I don't know what of the many things that could be bugging you is the biggest problem."

"You sure?"

"I want to help," she said. "You're always there for me. I want to do the same for you. It's only fair."

Nate thought about it for a long moment, looking like he was carrying the weight of the world before, after a little while, he nodded and looked back at her with glowing eyes. "Okay. But it's a lot." When she didn't back down, Nate gave her a more gentle rush of information than he'd done with Billy. Not for any reason other than he'd done exactly this with Billy for the same information - and though it was bothering him terribly, like any normal therapy, speaking about it - or sharing it helped lessen how hard it was to share it.

Kate closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she took it all in. "Well." She cleared her throat and nodded. "That all… sucks. And there's not much I can do to help, which also sucks. And there's not much you can do to help without controlling anyone, which has to be driving you nuts."

"Pretty much."

Kate took a deep breath. "I know it was a shock for you, but I'm not surprised by how James feels. I don't think that fear ever goes away," she said softly. "My parents have had me since I was three, but there's always that nagging fear that being different is going to change how they feel." She chewed on her lower lip. "I thought I'd get sent away like James did, you know. When I was little."

"I didn't know that," Nate replied softly.

She shrugged. "I wasn't even old enough to understand what was going on. I get now why he moved around, so it didn't seem important to talk about a little kid's understanding of the crap we went through," she pointed out. "But, yeah, I don't think Emma could have chosen a single word differently if she wanted to destroy James. That…"

"And he just wants to be alone now. That's … perfect."

She nodded again. "I'm not gonna say something empty and promise he'll be back. But… he knows the truth. And he loves our family. Deeply. I don't think he can stay away. Does that make sense - he might not come back but he won't stay away?"

"Kind of," Nate said. "I know Dad's just holding his breath, too. That … for him was ugly, too."

"Well yeah. He's adopted too. Grandpa Charles. He'd get that particular flavor of worst possible nightmare."

"I hate not having anything I can do," Nate half grumbled under his breath.

Kate thought about it for a long moment and then nodded to herself. "Okay, so you need something you can do," she said.

"I can't force feed him banana bread just for your entertainment, Katie. He bites."

"Damn." She grinned at him. "Buuuut maybe you could help me keep some stuff off his plate while he's gone. I'm getting some press inquiries because the twins and I are some of the most visible team members."

"Yeah, and Rachel's just making them not talk to her," Nate said with a smirk.

"So - help me manage the chaos?" she asked. "JJ's particularly hard to handle."

"Sure. What do you want me to do?"

"The Bugle has been inquiring about the X-Men since the school was leveled. They know some of the rescuers were in the original team. We're doing hard 'no comments' on mental state, obviously, but JJ actually has some really good questions about the similarities between the two. I think he's actually got some good intel that SHIELD isn't sharing with us."

"Okay, but that just makes me want to go get that from SHIELD," Nate said. "All upside down floaty rush."

"Perfect. I'll be good cop. Want to find out what they know about Emma's school?"

"Who's the lead on it?" Nate asked. "Anyone we know or care about?"

"Know? Yes. Care about? No. It's that idiot who tried to recruit me into the intern program a couple years back - remember him?"

"Kinda," Nate said. "Want him to think he's a teapot?"

"Can you get him to dance with his handle and spout?" she teased.

"I can get him to sing 'Be Our Guest' at his next briefing."

"Do it."

"Consider it done," Nate said, smiling with a much more trouble making gleam.