X-Men-First Class: Rise or Fall

Chapter Forty Nine

Author's Word: I'm really sorry this is so late, guys, but I've been working extra and I've been pretty sleepy as a result. I've been watching a lot of Guess How Much I Love You (yes, seriously) and it along with the further expansion of my satellite package inspired me to post. I've had a hard time lately so I'd really appreciate the feedback. Enjoy!

While his students filed in, Hank finished jotting down the day's itinerary on the blackboard.

"Scott," he called over when he spotted him out of the corner of his eye. "Come here a sec."

The thin boy approached the desk. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," the scientist assured him. "I wanted to show you these." He removed an eyeglass case from his top drawer.

Confused at first, Scott picked it up. Inside, a pair of red tinted sunglasses gleamed up at him. His eyes went to Hank for clarification.

"I forged these glasses from a special gem called ruby quartz," Hank explained. "Emma actually provided it for me. She seems to be our resident expert on all things diamond and jewel related, for obvious reasons. Anyway, these glasses will be powerful enough to withstand your optic blast."

"Oh," Scott at last understood. "Are you sure?"

"See for yourself."

Scott slipped on the black rimmed shades then blinked several times. "They work great, except everything is so…"

"Red," Hank filled in. "Unfortunately, that's one of the drawbacks. I'd like you to spend this period adjusting to them. I'll try to fine tune them if the coloring becomes too problematic.

"Right," Scott nodded.

Turning away, the boy had to do a double-take at his suddenly ruby painted classmates.

Alex smiled when he walked over. "Looking cool, bro. Lucky. Hank used to only make me nerd wear."

"Yeah," Scott responded, his attention on the back table where Joey, Becky, and Frank currently lined. "Thanks." He took a seat between Alex and Sean.

A few minutes into Hank's lecture, Scott felt something prying between his armpit. He looked, removing the tiny piece of paper he discovered there. He made sure Hank had his back turned before unfolding the note. Inside he read:

I love your glasses!

Rebecca

Scott grinned then covertly stuck the note into his folder.

IIIIIII

Charles, might I receive a hand from you and your all too rugged biceps?

The male telepath sighed inwardly. Such immense flattery could only mean she wanted him to do something he would most certainly not enjoy.

Steadfast as ever, Charles made his way towards the front of the house. The moment he opened the door, his arms became bombarded with a multitude of packages.

"Oh thank you, sugar," Emma said tiredly, entering the large house with three oversized bags herself. "I swear, I need to trade in my Mercedes for a mule."

Erik came through in time to catch the telepathic juggling act. "And just what is the meaning of this?"

"You know, for a small town shopping center," Emma placed two of her bags on the table by the stairs, "they have an excellent selection."

"So you did what exactly?" Charles approached, carefully placing his load down. "Buy one of everything in every store?"

"I just went to pick up a few more new items for Scott's room then I suddenly realized I couldn't return to this house without something for little Joey. And of course Rebecca, Frank, Sean, Alex—"

"An entire tribe from an underprivileged nation," Erik interjected.

Emma placed a hand to her hip. "Is there a problem here?'

"What Erik means," Charles stepped in, "is that your generosity is most appreciated, but the children did receive a healthy sum for Christmas."

"Not to mention the fact that they returned from California with far more than they packed to begin with," Erik mentioned.

"All of which were things you fine gentlemen got for them," the woman pointed out. "I would like them to have some things from me."

At that, Charles looked to Erik. The metal wielder sighed, giving in.

"I'm sure they will appreciate it," Erik said kindly.

"Thank you," Charles smiled tenderly at her.

Emma smiled back at him. "Thank you for them." She began to carry some bags upstairs.

"She will have them spoiled rotten soon enough," Erik commented. "Yet another fine quality you two share."

Charles gave him a look. "Come off it, man. You know well you'd move the earth to make the children smile."

"Only a quarter of an inch," Erik half-admitted.

Charles walked upon him. "She's a new faculty member. She only wishes to find her place here."

Erik commented, "I thought that place was with you, Lab Rat," then walked off.

Unable to hide his beaming, Charles gathered the remaining bags and brought them up.

IIIIIII

After the usual warmth built behind his pupils, Frank sent off his transparency light through an oak tree. He got in as closely as he could then began jotting down notes in his pad.

"How do you do that?'

Frank nearly jumped out of his skin at the unexpected voice. "Geez, Summers! What's the big idea?"

Scott held his hands up apologetically. "Hey, sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up. I was just curious."

Frank indicated his writing pad. "I'm just working on my forest species report for science."

"Not that, your eyes," Scott clarified. "I've seen you during training. Your control is unbelievable. How do you do it?"

Quieting for a moment, Frank honestly had to think about it. "Shoot, I don't know. It's like an on and off switch."

This fascinated Scott greatly. "So it never goes haywire at random times?"

"It used to," Frank recalled. "I even blinded my uncle with it when he came at me with the belt."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "What'd you do bad?"

"Who cares? He's not my dad," Frank answered shortly. "So anyway, I came here and found out my eyes could see through stuff. But it's only when I say so."

"Wow. Gotta say," Scott leaned back against a tree, arms folded, "you're pretty lucky."

"You're kidding me, right?" Frank instantly countered. "Dude, you can blow crap up just by staring at it. You're like Superman."

Scott scoffed at that. "My life feels like a lousy issue of Batman."

Frank studied him with intrigue. "You follow the comics?"

"When I have money," Scott shrugged.

"I once swiped one at the general store in my old neighborhood."

Scott smirked slowly as he admitted softly, "I did once. I was worried police were after me for a straight month."

"Pfft," Frank brushed off. "No worries about that in New York. Over there, there's a thousand different kinda kids running around. Here it's too easy to narrow it down."

"I think this one town has a higher population than all of Alaska." Scott grinned. "Though I am gonna miss seeing random dogsleds."

Frank suggested, "Just stick a harness on Beast, but don't tell him I said that."

Scott laughed then asked, "Hey, Frank, is Rebecca your girlfriend?"

All at once, Frank doubled over, making strong gagging motions. "Grrr-oss! Becky?"

Frowning, Scott demanded, "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing." Frank got to his feet again. "Except she's the closest thing I have to a sister."

"Oh." Scott's tone hinted at delight. "So you won't mind if I take the seat you were using in class today?"

"Sure," Frank said indifferently. "I was just bein' nice. I figured you'd want to sit next to your brother. But I get where you're coming from. New guy, don't want to sit up front and get called on every second."

"Uh, yeah. Listen, Frank," Scott brought up, "do you think you could show me how you control your powers? I mean if anyone should know how to operate a pair of eyeballs, it's you."

"Hey, you're right," Frank realized with smugness about him. "I'm an expert. Okay, sure. I'll help you out." He put his notepad down then hurried into the woods. "Come on. This way!"

Scott went after him at an equal pace.

They ran until Frank brought them under a gathering of trees that almost completely blocked the sky above. Turning on his mutation, Frank aimed twin beams of radiant light upward, illuminating their surrounds. He then used his second power to see straight through the tops of the trees.

"It's easy," Frank told him. "Your turn."

"I'm not sure," Scott said uneasily.

"Oh, come on. Just give it a little tiny blast," Frank encouraged. "If you blow something up, I'll go for help. Promise."

Taking some kind of comfort in that, Scott focused then shot out his own crimson beams. It caused a thick tree branch to snap clean off, making both boys jump back. A flock of birds quickly flew away from the scene.

"Whoo!" Frank jumped up excitedly, fist held high. "You got it, Scott! Charge!"

Initially unsure of what he meant by that, Scott then had to race after the other boy, quickly catching up. Frank sent out his light, causing more birds to run off while Scott did the same with shooting his beams. He made sure not to make contact with any animal as they only frightened them off.

When Scott let loose another flare, he found himself unable to turn it off. Frank paused and moved to get out of the unstable mutant's path. Unsure of what to do to defuse the situation, Frank tackled him from the side. They both went down with Scott's face against the grass.

"Dude, are you okay?" Frank asked him.

Scott raised his head again, free of fire this time. "That was far out!"

Frank grinned. "Sure was! I gotta tell you, Scott. You may not have control, but your bang is outta this world."

"So's yours," Scott returned as they both got to their feet.

"You know who we are?" Frank said. "We're the Eye Scream Team, Scott. We can take dudes out in a blink."

"Eye Scream Team," Scott echoed, nodding approvingly. "Oh yeah. I like the sound of that." He gazed up again, releasing another beam that crossed paths with the rays of the sun.

IIIIIII

Emma withdrew a stack of books from a paper bag. "I heard from word of mouth that you are a huge mystery buff."

Sean's eyes widened as he sorted through the different titles. "Half of these aren't even supposed to be on shelves yet."

"Power of persuasion," Emma smiled slyly. "Do you like them?"

Somehow Sean managed to balance the books while giving the fully taken aback woman a powerful hug. "You're a blessing to our home, Emma."

With her arms strapped to her sides, Emma still managed to flex her wrists to give the thrilled teen a fond pat. "You're all too welcome, Sean."

Hank smiled as the redhead practically floated on air out of the recreation room. "I'm sorry I didn't have nearly as zealous a response for my Hemmingway collection, which I really appreciate."

"I'm glad. It's so difficult to shop for males." Emma took out a small box next. "Now, where is your wife-to-be?"

Hank could only smile wider at that. "I think she mentioned the gym."

"Ah." Emma gathered what she needed and headed off.

Downstairs, Raven performed an upper arm routine with two oversized dumbbells. Emma paused in the gym's doorway to observe the younger woman.

After a minute, she commented, "You do that well."

Gasping, Raven instinctively flung a weight at her.

The blonde both ducked then rolled out of the way. "Right. Wear a bell next time. Got it."

"Sorry," Raven mumbled. "What are you doing down here?"

Emma stood, holding the box out to her. "I thought you could use something new for your wedding."

Raven opened the box to find a jeweled bird shaped broche inside. "When in doubt, bribe huh? Well," she placed the box down on a work bench, "no thanks."

"It's just a gift, Raven," Emma said patiently. "I don't think you've spoken more than two words to me all week. I'm sorry if you perceive me as the trashy bimbo whose wormed her way into your house."

Raven's yellow eyes flashed. "You better stay the hell out of my head."

"I've gone nowhere near it," Emma countered evenly. "I also don't need my powers to hone in on disdain when it's more than apparent."

"I don't feel anything towards you but pity," Raven sneered at her. "My brother plays blondes for sports. Don't expect to be here past the spring."

"Don't expect me gone by then. I take everything with Charles very seriously."

"Is that why you convinced him to lie to his family?" Raven accused. "To me?"

"I never once asked him to do that," Emma insisted. "I did not so much as hint at it."

Raven simply shook her head and went to collect her handheld weights.

Emma turned slightly to look at her. "You're clearly strong and your reflexes are catlike in nature. Your powers themselves offer endless stealth possibilities."

"Your point?" Raven raised a weight over her head.

"I could help you with self-defense," Emma offered. "As well as holding shape since I had a struggle when I figured out I could shift into diamond."

"I do not need help from you," Raven shot down.

"Of course you don't." Emma went towards the exit but stopped at the doorframe. "I only thought you'd appreciate the upper hand— in the event Hank, Erik, or Charles are unavailable. Maybe you'll be less jumpy."

Fury rising, Raven ordered, "Get out!"

Emma took her leave before things could escalate.

Raven gripped her weights before angrily flinging them both off to the side.

When Emma got back upstairs, she saw Becky and Joey still in the recreation room. Joey created with his new water colors while Becky had wasted no time setting up a party with her China tea set.

Joey's face lit up. "Hi, Emma." His nose wrinkled at her somewhat saddened expression. "What's wrong?"

Becky glanced up with concern.

"Absolutely nothing, sweetheart." Emma came in, kneeling by Joey's little work table. "I just think it's the first gorgeous day we've seen in a while and we've all been cooped up long enough." She grinned. "Who wants to go to the park?"

"I do," Becky answered while Joey replied with a zealous, "Yeah!"

"Great." Emma looked to her left. "Rebecca, could you locate Scott and Frank to see if they want to come along, too?"

"Sure." Becky delicately rested her China teapot down then went to search for the boys.

IIIIIII

Scott reclined back against a branch in the tall tree while another supported his slim frame. Frank sat not far away in the same tree, throwing down pieces of stray bark every so often.

"This is one thing you won't find in the city," Frank stated. "A good climbing tree."

"Hm," Scott hummed thoughtfully, gazing ahead. "Frank, what was it like when you first came here?"

Uh, lemme think." Frank went into recollection. "Erik was grumpy, Charles was chipper, but suddenly I had this huge bedroom to myself. It was weird but all good."

"I keep feeling like I'm on some other planet," Scott said.

"But your brother's here," Frank pointed out.

"My brother who I haven't seen since I was four," Scott tacked on. "I know he looks at me and still sees a little kid, but I look at him and see…"

Frank arched over. "What?"

"A stranger," Scott whispered.

Not sure what to say to that, Frank eventually told him, "I grew up with my older brother. We even shared a room for a while. Talk about somebody who feels like a stranger to me." Scott glanced over, clearly a bit surprised by this information. "You lucked out with Alex if you ask me."

"Every time I see you guys together you're at each other's throats," Scott said in bewilderment.

"Only because I can't stand him," Frank explained casually. "And he wants to beat me with a machete, but we're good."

"You make about as much sense as a polar bear in a bikini," Scott declared before scrambling down the tree.

"Says the kid who eats vegetables without being told off." Frank followed him down.

The pair made their way through the thick of trees and caught Becky coming their way.

"What were you doing in the woods?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothin', Becky," Frank waved off.

"You know what Erik will do to you if he catches you in there alone," the little girl reminded.

"We were just messin' around," Frank said.

Scott remembered something and began to feel around his pants pockets.

"Emma's taking us to the park," Becky told them. "Want to come?"

Before Frank could say yes, Scott grabbed his arm. "We have to work on our science assignment. I really need your help."

Frank read something in his expression. "Right, yeah. See ya later, Becky."

"Bye," Scott waved at her.

Becky smiled and waved back before going towards the house again.

As soon as she left, the boys dashed back into the woods.

"What's wrong, man?" Frank asked.

"I didn't want Rebecca to know since she's so close to Hank, but I can't find my glasses," Scott explained in haste.

"Oh boy." Frank said nothing more as they hurried to retrace their steps.

IIIIIII

Raven's fingers kneaded into the large mutated feet in a circular motion. The action elicited growls of satisfaction from her Beast.

"You happy, baby?" Raven asked sweetly.

"Always with you." Hank kissed the hand she wore her engagement ring on. "Now, what can I do for you?"

Raven laid her head on his chest. "Make Emma Frost disappear."

Hank frowned deeply, peering down at her. "That was uncalled for, Raven. Emma has done no harm to any of us. She's only tried to be of help."

"Are you really fooling yourself with that?" Raven rolled her eyes. "You don't need her diamond look to know how transparent she is."

"Alright then." Hank rested his chin in her red hair. "Do please enlighten me as to what grand evil scheme she is plotting."

"She is clearly after my brother's money," Raven urged.

"She has her own money," Hank reminded. "She spends a plentiful amount on these gifts for us."

"She worked with Shaw," Raven said next.

"We killed him," Hank stated flatly.

Raven folded her arms in a sulk. " She wants you to annoy me so she can have you and your feet to herself."

Hank made a face. "She's old. And no trace of blue anywhere." He kissed her neck.

The shape-shifter purred. "She had the never to offer to train me today. In self-defense."

"And what's wrong with that?" Hank wound long arms around her. "She is an instructor after all."

"Boo," Raven pouted.

"Stop it." Hank kissed the look away. "I want you to accept her offer."

"Why?" she moaned.

"Because," he rubbed her stomach under her shirt, "I need to know my wife is safe at all times." She quieted and he nuzzled her hair with his nose. "I have some work to finish. I'll be back shortly." Hank stood from the floor beside Raven's bed and walked out.

After a minute, Raven got up as well. She moved past her roaring fire over to the vanity. Opening the top drawer, she removed the jeweled broche, holding it up for observation.

IIIIIII

As bedtime drew near, Charles began to scan the second floor for all of his younger charges. Passing by Emma's half-open bedroom door, Charles decided it could not hurt to check on her as well.

When he peered in, he saw three on the queen sized bed. Emma sat up against the headboard, running the brush through Becky's long curls. Joey cuddled into Emma's side.

"I think we may have to get you another pair of flats for dance class," Emma put forth. "Those others won't do alone."

"Can we go over my new routine, too?" Becky asked, squeezing her white teddy bear.

"Of course," Emma guaranteed. "We'll take care of everything this weekend. Do you need anything, Joey?"

"Uh uh," Joey hummed absently, playing in the woman's blonde strands.

Emma smiled, placing her spare arm around him.

Charles watched a moment longer before making his presence known. "Are we all ready for bed?"

They all looked up at him and Emma answered, "Just about." She placed the brush down. "There you go, darling."

"Thanks, Emma." Becky gave her a quick hug. "Good night."

"Good night," Emma returned before letting the girl go.

Becky went to Charles next. "Good night, Uncle Charles."

He dipped down to kiss her head. "Rest well, my Princess."

Becky headed out to her own room.

Joey reached out, hanging onto Emma. "Night night, Emma."

She pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Good night, treasure."

Charles came and lifted the boy up, who quickly nestled into his neck sleepily. "My— they did have an active day."

"We had a nice time." Emma stood, putting on her robe over the silk nightgown. "Of course, five minutes in the box before I realized that sand and a full blown white ensemble simply don't mesh well."

The Professor's eyes filled with pure amusement. "You played in the sandbox with them?"

She smiled slyly. "Just for a bit." Charles gazed at her fondly. "And just what is that look for?"

"Nothing at all." The expression refused to leave his face. "I need to get this one to bed."

Emma seemed to mimic his face as she watched them leave.

In the hall, Erik and Alex approached Charles in urgency.

"Have you seen Scott and Frank?" Alex asked.

"They're not in their rooms or any of the usual haunts," Erik added.

"Last I heard, they were doing homework. Hold on." Charles held Joey with only one arm to use a free hand to touch his temple. He had no trouble honing in on the wanted two. "They're both fine, though nowhere they should be." He gave the now fully sleeping Joey over to Alex. "Put him down for me, please."

The teen held Joey securely as he said, "I want to come with you."

Erik patted his shoulder. "Go on, boychick. We'll take care of things."

Not really liking it, Alex walked towards Joey's room.

IIIIIII

Frank glanced out of the corner of his eye at the very crestfallen Summers. "Cheer up, man. Hank will understand."

Shoulder slumped, Scott stared down at his shoes. "He's going to think I'm irresponsible. I just got those things and I already lost them."

Frank stuck his hands into his jacket pockets. "Ya know, Becky wouldn't have ratted you out. She's a cool friend."

"I figured. I just didn't want to put her in a bad spot with Hank if she knew and didn't tell."

"Ah, right," Frank understood.

"Franklin Tolbert!"

"Erik," the petitioned one recognized.

"Scott Summers!"

He frowned. "Is that Charles?"

"Tag team. We are in for it," Frank concluded.

The headmasters ran up on them.

"Are you alright?" Charles demanded first and foremost, touching both their shoulders.

"We're fine," Scott answered while Frank mumbled, "For now."

"Do you know how late it is?" Erik reprimanded Frank's direction. "You should have been inside two hour ago. And what were you doing so deep into the woods?"

Scott stepped forward. "It was my fault, Erik."

Charles said, "Come. We'll finish this inside."

That put forth, the quad group walked the remaining way to the mansion.

"You two go on and take your baths," Charles directed. "Stay on this level. We'll bring you clean clothes."

"Come to the parlor after," Erik added on.

"Yes, sir," the boys replied in unison then went in search of vacant first floor bathrooms.

While they did that, the men headed upstairs.

The two divided to go to each boy's bedroom.

After Erik collected clean pajamas and briefs for Frank, he stopped off in Alex's room.

"We found them," the man announced. "They decided to go for a trek in the woods."

Alex looked relieved. "Long as they're okay." He read something in Erik's face. "You guys… what are you going to do to them?"

Erik said, "What we must to do right by them."

"Erik, no, come on." Alex stood from his bed, going towards the older male. "So they lost track of time, big deal."

"It is a big deal when they go off alone when they should be in this house."

"But Scott is a good kid," Alex urged. "He doesn't deserve this, Erik!"

Before things grew worse, Erik put the clothes down and used his hands to touch the agile young man's upper arms. "Boychick, calm. Calm. I know how you are where your little brothers are concerned. But Alex, you've had nearly a year of full acceptance and security. We want the same for Scott. He'll never experience it if we only treat him as an overrated houseguest."

Alex growled, "I know, okay? Just don't expect me to like it."

Erik pulled him into a hug. "That makes all of us. Trust me?"

"Always," Alex whispered.

IIIIIII

Once they both finished washing and dressing for the evening, Frank and Scott walked together down the hall to the parlor. When they arrived at the designated room, they saw the headmasters placed opposite each other on the twin couches.

Charles acknowledged them with a warm smile. "Do you feel better now, lads?'

"Yes, sir," they answered softly.

"Do not stand there as though we are poisonous serpents." Erik held his arm out.

Frank went right to him. He started to then hesitated at sitting in Erik's lap. Normally he would do it without delay but having a boy around so close to his age made things problematic. However, he had spent most of the day with Scott and the newcomer did not come off as a petty teaser in the slightest. Frank finally settled down on Erik's legs.

Across from them, Scott somewhat shyly took over Charles' lap space. Frank guessed he, too, had been feeling anxious about doing it with some other boy present.

"I'm quite glad you managed to remove that layer of dirt," Charles said, squeezing Scott from behind. "One of the many reasons I don't like my little ones romping about in the woods so late at night."

Erik patted Frank's back. "You know the rules regarding outside far better than Mr. Summers here."

Scott spoke up at that. "It wasn't even Frank's fault. We were out there because of me. I lost my glasses. He was only trying to help me find them."

"Your ruby quartz?" Charles questioned. "Hank has been making modifications on them tonight. Don't you remember giving them to him after class?"

Thinking back, Scott tried to remember. Hank had dismissed the class then came over to Scott's table. Then Becky stopped to say something to Hank and all of Scott's attention went to her. Then he… very absently dropped the frames into Hank's hand.

"Oh no!" Scott groaned. "Hank does have them. I forgot I gave them back to him earlier."

Frank's face drooped in exasperation. "You gotta be kidding me."

Erik wanted to know, "In any case, why would you think to search for them in the woods?"

Frank let off a newborn puppy's whimper. "We were just… we went out there for a little practicing."

"An unauthorized training session?" Erik surmised.

Charles reproached, "Franklin, you know much better than that."

"Please, Professor," Scott beseeched. "It really wasn't Frank's fault. He has so much control over his eyes— I wanted him to show me how to handle it, too."

"Scott, that's understandable and most reasonable," Charles said, "but we do not allow such activity without an instructor present."

Erik knocked lightly on Frank's head. "You know that."

"Well yeah," Frank said, "but I thought it would maybe sorta be okay just this once."

"Frank, choosing to ignore rules we've clearly outlined for you is never 'okay'," Erik informed him. "All it will earn you is punishment."

Charles nodded. "Scott," he rubbed the child's hair, "you understand how students are punished here, yes?'

"I've… heard stories," Scott answered with uncertainty.

Charles could not hold back a tiny smile at that. "I know you're still quite new and adjusting, but you are a smart enough boy to behave much better."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry."

"So am I," Frank concurred.

Erik patted Frank's thigh. "Over, come on."

Frank moaned but complied.

Without being told, Scott stretched out across Charles' lap.

The adult brothers exchanged a brief supportive glance before beginning the firm swats.

"Ow, ow!" Frank ground out with Erik focusing on his thighs.

Scott groaned as well and tugged on Charles' pants leg for comfort. He truly hated being the cause of all this.

He then panicked when he felt something beyond moisture in his eyes. "No!" However, he proved unable to present the twin blasts from zapping the side wall slightly. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, I swear!"

Charles immediately gathered up the distraught child. "Shh, I know, little one. Calm yourself now. It's alright."

Erik gave Frank a few additional before sitting him up to hold as well. "Will you remember as well as heed the rules next time, boychick?"

"Yes, sir," Frank sobbed into his chest.

Erik hugged him close then asked, 'Charles, is he alright?"

"Scott," Charles kissed his cheek, "open your eyes for me."

The boy shook his head. "I can't."

Charles urged, "Scott, do not disobey. Open your eyes for me, please."

He finally did peel back his eyelids but cautiously. "I really didn't mean to do it."

"And we know," Charles assured. "Accidents occur. All of our powers are linked to emotions. Considering the circumstances, that little jolt could have been so much worse."

"I think we should unravel this in the morning," Erik proposed, "for now, our boys need their sleep."

Frank clung to Erik, wanting to be carried and not carrying who saw in that moment. Erik graciously complied with the unspoken request.

Charles stood with the lanky Scott, following the other pair out. "You were very good during your punishment. I am most proud."

"Thank you," Scott smiled, perking up.

IIIIIII

Early the next day, Charles, Erik, Alex, and Emma gathered in the lab to listen to Hank's latest prognosis.

"Scott's medical history finally came in. The good news," Hank began, "is that he's overall extremely healthy. However, after the—" the scientist cautioned his wording, "the accident, Scott suffered a severe concussion. It caused damage to his optical nerves. To put it shortly, that's the reason why he is unable to control his powers."

"It'll heal eventually, right?" Alex asked hopefully.

Hank looked uncertain. "With any sort of brain damage, he's honestly fortunate just to be able to perform standard functions."

Charles turned to Scott. "Until further notice, you need to be in your new glasses at all times. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," the boy nodded.

Erik lightly squeezed the back of Scott's neck. "It will get better. Trust that."

Alex shook his head before leaving the lab.

Erik started to go after him but Emma blocked his path. "Please. Let me."

The metal wielder considered it then nodded his consent.

Emma followed the bothered teen's mind downstairs to the kitchen. Alex bent pensively over a countertop.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him after several silent seconds.

Alex scoffed. "Like you don't already know."

"I don't," the woman said frankly. "I have no interest in probing through your thoughts, none of you here. Not unless you're presenting a danger to yourself."

Returning to a vertical stance, Alex glanced off to the side. "This is my fault. I let go of Scott and now my little brother gets to walk around looking like he's blind and pitiful."

"Oh, I'm sensing a great deal of pity but not one ounce is radiating off Scott." Emma gazed at him pointedly. "Alex, you were a child involved in a hellish tragedy. How long are you going to keep hammering yourself for this before you begin to celebrate the fact that you and Scott are not only alive but together again?"

Alex faced her. "I know that's because of you. When you got him away from those guys— you didn't have to but you did."

"Yes, I did," she disagreed. "After what I've seen and done, there's so much more positive I have to contribute to this insane world. And I'm happy to do that right here. Seeing you and your brother together this way is a little bonus."

The teen gave off a hint of a smile. "Thanks, Emma."

IIIIIII

Before lunch that day, Frank walked out back, hands jammed in his back pockets. He saw Scott sitting cross-legged on one of the stone benches.

The sun reflected off the ruby lenses as Scott turned to him. "Hey."

"Hey." Frank came over closer. "So those are the modified specs Hank made for you?"

The younger boy nodded. "Yeah, now everything looks more off-orange than full blown red." He shifted in his seat to re-position his legs. "I'm really sorry about yesterday, Frank. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

Frank rolled his eyes playfully. "I always find trouble. Nice to have you along to join in, though. Eye Scream Team?"

"Forever," Scott confirmed.

They slapped hands together to solidify it.