Rise or Fall

by Heiress Mellie

First Class: Charles and Erik have accepted their roles as guardians and headmasters over the young mutants but there is still work to be done for the greater than typical family. This is a familial and discipline, including spanking, centered fiction.

226. Chapter 226 Up to the Plate

X-Men-First Class: Rise or Fall

Chapter Two Hundred Twenty Six

Author's Word: Fam, hey. I'm really sorry this is late again, but I do come with good news. I officially bumped my quiz grade in biology up to a high A and received a high B on my psychology test. I'm really grateful to everyone for being so encouraging (especially the threats of the Stern Professor) and for being there for me through the space between updates. Can you believe I'm at the halfway point of this semester? I swear, I wish I had this fam during my last college experience. Anyway, enough from me. Please enjoy and review!

Silver key ring acting as a hula-hoop for his finger, the lyrics to Slippin & Slidin', still fresh in his mind from the car radio, expelled softly from his lips. His faint imitation of Little Richard ended upon reaching the top step and discovering the bundled vessel laid out on the front porch's outdoor couch. The sight reminded Jimmy so much of the gospel-sprouting whinos of the city, he questioned his own blood alcohol levels and if he had actually driven back to Westchester.

Venturing over, the mutant peeled back a section of the blanket and even under the abysmal lighting, recognized the tiny carrot top. His eyes initially jumped before his expression gave into partial amusement.

As if able to sense the shadow over him, he awoke with a loud gasp.

"Take it easy, little man," Jimmy placated. "You're okay. Calm down."

Max's features faded into relief. "Oh Jimmy, it's just you."

"Yeah, now it's just me," the older mutant said pointedly. "Could've been somebody ready to snatch you up. What do you think you're doing out here this time of night?"

"I couldn't sleep and I," Max let off a yawn, "I went to Tio's room. I was laying in the bed and I," his own recollection made him tense, "I, uh…"

Moving his hand in a way that indicated a need to pick up the pace, Jimmy prompted, "What? Speak, boy, speak."

Max did so in a whisper. "I did something real bad… I peed."

Jimmy figured out, "In Estevan's bed?" The child nodded. "Ohhhh. I'm with you now."

"I didn't know what to do so I ran out here."

"You went straight out the door?" Jimmy's eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. "You didn't even change your clothes?"

"Uh uh," Max replied. "I didn't want Fabian to see and get mad."

Jimmy reached out to gather him. "We need to get you in the tub. Like right now."

As he expected, he had no need to work his key due to the front way being left unlocked in Max's haste. With everyone likely sleeping upstairs, Jimmy carried him into a first floor bathroom. He plugged the tub and played around with the faucet nozzles until he obtained the appropriate temperature for such a small body.

"Give me this," Jimmy removed the blanket as he spoke, "and get out of those clothes right now." Max removed the dark blue pajamas and Jimmy collected them along with his thoroughly soaked underwear. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

"Kay," a lethargic Max said after him.

On his way towards the back of the house, Melissa came his way from the kitchen. "What's going on?"

Wondering if the female even possessed the capability for sleep, Jimmy explained briefly, "Max made a mistake and wet himself in Estevan's bed. Can you flip the mattress and throw this stuff in the wash? I need to clean this boy off."

Not bothering with further questions, Melissa accepted the linens from him without delay. "Of course. Do you have the right soap for him? The sensitive stuff?"

"About to grab it now."

Melissa watched him hurry for the stairs and noticed how he had not even gotten out of his jacket yet. She then turned to make her way towards the small room that housed the washer and dryer.

Bottle of clear soap in hand, Jimmy returned to the bathroom. "Leave it alone." Max stopped splashing a hand and stepped back for Jimmy to investigate things. Rolling up his right sleeves, he felt the water and determined it suitable. "Okay, it's good." He reached back to take hold of and lower the nude child into the tub.

With Max hardly able to keep his chin raised, Jimmy only applied a minimal amount of the body wash. He rinsed him off just as quickly and plucked the stopper from the tub. Seizing the nearby towel, Jimmy scooped Max up out of the porcelain. He started out of the bathroom, drying him all the way upstairs.

Once they reached Max's bedroom, Jimmy clicked on the light. He left Max on the bed while he dug through the drawers. Finding a pair of red pajamas in the second to last one, Jimmy retrieved fresh underwear also. He started to have Max put them on himself, but with the fatigue gripping the boy in such a way, Jimmy decided to make things easier on both of them.

"Why didn't you go to your brother?" Jimmy tugged Max's pants up.

"Ummm," Max's eyes refocused on his toy chest in one corner, "I didn't want him to get mad."

"I mean before that." Jimmy sat him up enough to get the pajama top on him. "Why didn't you go to him first? You know Estevan's not home and wouldn't want you in his room if he didn't say it was okay."

Max laid back, rubbing his eyes. "I don't know…"

The tired routine did nothing to damper Jimmy's growing suspicion. "Mmmmhm. Think you can sleep alright now? I'm going to be up a while if you need something or whatever."

"Kay." Max crawled out to get back underneath his covers. "Jimmy, you mad I was bad?"

"Mad you were bad," Jimmy could not help quoting. He stood, going around to face the child. "Nah, you just a little kid. Y'all stay doing nasty stuff. And to tell you the truth, Estevan's got so much on his plate, I don't think he'd care, either." His expression grew far less friendly with his next words. "But your special little butt better not try to leave this house at night again. For two good reasons. One," he raised his pointer finger, "it's too dangerous out here. Two," he brought up another digit, "nothing hurts more than getting your behind licked right out the tub. Trust me, I been there."

Max initially laughed then turned as somber as he could. "Okay, Jim."

"Then we're all good, little man." Forming a fist, Jimmy lowered to bump it against the boy's tiny hand then playfully punched him in the chest with it. "Go to sleep."

Tugging over his oversized dog-shaped pillow, Max nestled into bed comfortably.

IIIIIII

When the weary pair arrived on the second floor, the older Headmaster found his greatest difficulty of the day in convincing the younger to call it a night.

"Look in on Brian and get some rest. I can conduct rounds and check in with Victor."

"Erik," Charles hoped the moan did not contain a touch of whine, "I hardly get the chance to even conduct rounds anymore."

"You can hardly stay awake," Erik pointed out. "What if Leon or one of the others has a nightmare? You'll lose even more rest seeing about them. Consider it a favor to me, Lab Rat. I hate seeing you exhausted."

The Professor sighed heavily. "As you would have it, brother. I'll see you in the morning then."

Erik brought him into a one-armed hug. "The best news I've heard all day." He let go of the telepath and started for the left section of the floor first.

Charles headed for the nursery, but one mind still active caused him to set a course for the library instead. Inside, he found the head of gold seated at a table with full gaze absorbed in a hardback, kicking her pink unicorn slipper covered feet back and forth. From the top of the table, Midnight lounged watching her until his eyes landed on the adult human encroaching upon their solitude.

"Samantha."

"Hm?" So lost in the words before her, her other sharp senses had failed to let her in on the man's presence. "Oh Charles, you're home."

"That I am. And what do we have here?" Charles approached, looking over her shoulder. "Factors behind World War One? Sammie dear, if you wanted a proper story before bed I'm sure Kayla would have been happy to oblige."

"No, silly," she giggled. "Frank is studying this for school."

"Ah, I see. While I'm very thrilled to see you so interested as well," Charles kindly took her by the hand to bring her to her feet, "I would much prefer you to pick this up in the morning. For now, I want you to go on to bed. No need for you to sleep your entire weekend away."

Samantha gave off a nod. "Okay."

Charles kissed the top of her hair. "That's a good girl."

Closing the book, Samantha lifted her cat and departed the reading space.

Studying the cover the history textbook a moment, Charles sent a yawn into his fist. Clicking off the overhead lights, he went to peep in on his baby.

IIIIIII

On route down their front steps, the siblings ceased conversing at the one who came at them from the opposite direction.

"So the heathen finally comes slinking in." Fabian crossed his arms. "Rumor has it you performed a stellar disappearing act late last night."

"Save it for somebody who cares, Fabian," Collin dismissed. "Besides, powers on or off, I'm invisible to you, anyway."

"At last you're right about something," Fabian concurred. He studied his fingernails with a flippant air about him. "Cannot wait to hear my father's take on your little comings and goings."

Anne touched her brother's shirt front imploringly. "Fabi…"

"Whatever, Anne. I don't care." Collin took the liberty of bashing shoulders with Fabian as he walked by them.

The older teen only regarded him haughtily. Taking Anne by the hand, Fabian continued away from the property with her.

Entering the kitchen, Collin acknowledged the other two with, "Hey," before bee lining for the refrigerator.

Seated beside Jimmy at the island in gray pants and blazer with red top. Melissa addressed him first. "What happened to you last night?"

Taking the already opened bottle of milk, Collin went to uncap it. "What's everybody talking about with that?"

"We're talking about—" Jimmy frowned with disgust. "Use a cup, fool." Collin smirked and lowered the bottle tip from his lips. "Your bed was empty last night. Don't waste time denying it. I saw it myself."

Collin retrieved a glass from an overhead cabinet. "Forgetting what I can do already?"

"Don't feed us that, Coll," Melissa maneuvered on her stool to better face him, "Unless you're Anne, good luck using your powers while you're asleep. Now, where have you been?"

"Don't worry, Mis." Pouring the milk for himself, Collin took a brief drink. "Sometimes I need to clear my head. That's all."

Jimmy stretched out his arms grandly. "What one-room shack do you think we're living in? You could've easily walked around in here in the upstairs den alone. It's damn near a bowling alley up there."

Collin shrugged. "Maybe I needed to clear my head of this place. Ever think of that?"

Melissa insisted, "Collin, you can't just up and roam around outside at odd hours. Anything can happen to you."

Collin walked back to the refrigerator to put the remainder of the milk away. "Been there, done that. Come to think of it, that's what I was doing before I met up with Estevan. That's what you were doing." He looked at her again. "And it's worse for you being a girl."

"That is different," Melissa put forth.

Collin folded his arms expectedly. "Why?"

"Because I don't care what happens to me," she spat. Both taken aback males eyed her. "Any more questions?"

The resolve present throughout Collin's feature dissipated. "Sorry."

"Okay, look," Jimmy pressed resolute palms against the countertop before him, "we need to keep it together until Estevan and Marco get done hunting Ignasty or whatever. So can we turn off the crazy a little bit?" Melissa and Collin shared a nod of agreement. "Good. You should go look in on Max."

Collin felt a rush of blood from his chest to his head. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Melissa reassured. "He just had a hard night. Could probably use you most of all right now."

Putting his glass down, the boy immediately left the kitchen.

Melissa sent a groan into both her hands. "I would love more than anyone to size Ignacio's head up for a pike, but Estevan needs to get back here."

"We can hold it together for now." Jimmy's hand on her shoulder stilled Melissa for a moment and she peered into his face. "I know I messed up not being here for you the last time."

"Jim, you couldn't possibly have kn—"

"I'm here now," Jimmy continued strongly. "I know I fool around a lot, but I mean that." He watched her stand and start to walk. "Where're you going?"

"I'll be back." She glanced back at him from the doorway. "That need for head clearing is going around." She resumed her path with that.

IIIIIII

Seizing the miniature ball of energy before he could lunge forward, Frank spun him around with an admonition of, "Easy, midget man. You can't go flooring in on their meetings. If we barge in on something important, forget going out. We'll wind up in our rooms all day."

"Ohhhh," Trav nodded understandingly. "Right, I forgot."

With a knock to one of the library doors, Frank led them in. "Sorry for interrupting. I wanted to take Trav over to play with Max."

Erik looked to their resident doctor. "Is that fine by you?"

Frank told, "Rae says to clear it with you."

Hank determined, "Alright." He aimed a finger his son's way. "But you remember the rules for when you go out with the older kids."

"I know, I know. I have to listen." Trav tugged on Frank's wrist and jumped in place excitedly. "Thank you, Daddy."

"Make sure you put a sweater on him," Emma cautioned.

Kayla added, "And a hat."

"Yes, ma'ams," Frank responded chivalrously. "Come on, small fry." He hoisted Trav up to sit on his shoulders. "Time to layer up. Forward…"

Trav pumped an enthused fist. "March!"

Frank walked them out in left-right-left formation.

Logan shook his head. "And this is the kid who thought he'd wash out of ROTC."

"He'd be great." Alex then smirked, "Until he started talking."

At the next arriving youth, Charles greeted her with, "And what may we do for you, Lady Samantha?"

As if prepared to burst with glee, the girl in tan pleated skirt and magenta turtleneck announced, "I want to go to school." She went over to stand by Victor's chair. "Real school with all the others."

"Right here?" The security man sat up straighter. "You mean you want to stay in Westchester?"

Samantha nodded with a big grin. "Adrienne is so busy and it's no fun without Angie."

"Still," Victor put his hands to the girl's slim waist as if to keep her growing energy in place, "I want to run this by her. If Adrienne's all for it, so am I."

"Absolutely," Charles agreed.

Erik brought up, "Though it may be too late for this term. We should see about getting her registered for next semester."

Positively aglow now, Samantha declared, "I want to be in all of Frank's classes."

"Whoa, hold on." Alex raised an eyebrow. "Frank's classes? That's like trying to get to the top of the ladder without setting foot on the first rung."

Emma explained, "What Alex means is, Frank is in the honors program. Those classes are difficult enough, but sweetheart, this will be your first time in school in so long."

Charles reached over to pat Samantha's wrist. "Emma is right, love. We have to take this slowly at first."

Samantha's smile immediately faded. "I don't want to take it slow. I want to be with Frank and his friends. I can study- I have been. I can learn."

"We know that to be a fact," Charles said positively. "However, there is still too much to consider. Mainly passing the entrance exam."

"Okay," Samantha reacted cheerfully. "I'll pass it. I'll study very hard and I'll pass it."

Victor sighed quietly through the nose. "Baby, listen—"

Kayla got to her feet. "If she wants it that badly, let her try. She'll have a few weeks to prepare. We can all help her."

Motivation overtaking him, Alex put forth, "Yeah, definitely. If you guys could get me through my GED, this will be a breeze."

Emma thought then said, "There really is no harm in trying."

"I'll say there isn't," Hank agreed wholeheartedly. "We'll do everything we can, Sam."

Kayla looked the Professor's way. "Charles?"

After sharing a twin gaze with Erik, the male telepath responded, "We would love for you to try, darling."

"But don't go getting your hopes—" Victor watched Samantha detach from him and practically flee from the room with a jubilant girlish outcry. "Up."

"Up?" Logan scoffed. "Them hopes just tore through the ceilin', headin' for Venus."

"Regardless of what happens, I think it's wonderful that she is finally ready to j—" Charles' features appeared to pale. "Oh dear God."

Emma clutched his arm. "Charles?"

"… This means that wretched cat is staying as well." Charles slammed his face against the table. "My upholsteries. My beautiful upholsteries…"

"Now, now. Chin up, Professor." Erik patted the upper portion of his back. I'll be certain to protect the Lab Rat from the ferocious kitty.

Lifting his head, Charles glared at his brother with menacing blue eyes.

IIIIIII

Latest page in the notebook filled, Maya flipped to the next clean sheet. Stretched out across the stone bench in light blue jeans, jade green cardigan over white top, she re-crossed her legs and tapped her pen in thought.

"Homework?"

Gaze rising, Maya reacted to the older brown haired and eyed female. "Spiritual work. Though if I don't catch up a little more, I'm going to need prayers."

Melissa redirected her attention to the memorial several yards across the way. The ribbons and flowers had been recently replaced with fresh ones and the canvas of names now sported a frame.

"You're a real piece of work, kid."

Maya's expression became bewildered amusement. "What does that mean?"

"Why do you hang onto this faith still?" Melissa faced her again. "How?"

Blinking a few times, Maya thoroughly considered the questions. "Because it's the only thing that's really, really mine. Yeah, I can give it up, but it can't be taken. It can't be stolen or killed. Sure, I'm mad and confused. But I'm not going to turn my back on my faith. That's what he wants."

Melissa then inquired, "Who?"

Maya stared back at her evenly. "Guess." A spell of silence swept over them along with the cool breeze. "Want me to call Leon down for you?"

Melissa stuck hands into the pockets of her blazer. "What makes you think I'm after him?"

Maya only brought her communicator to her lips and selected the appropriate button.

IIIIIII

Unsure if the line of thinking was appropriate or not, Frank could not help musing the notion that Norton McCoy had somehow injected a massive chunk of Hank into Trav's system at some point. Hanging upside down from the jungle gym's bridge, he observed the pair of smaller boys. While they both ran about and bounced through the leaves, Trav seemed to be fascinated by everything from little bugs to bits of grass. Meanwhile, Max made frequent "kaboom" noises and pounded his fists like a much wilder animal.

Noticing something, Frank pointed out the most beloved piece of playground equipment. "Hey, guys, swings are free."

"Oh boy!" Max zipped off.

"Wait for me!" Trav rushed after him.

Max jumped into the center swing while Trav took over the one to his immediate left.

"Hey," Max called over, "come push us!"

Flipping over and onto his feet, Frank strolled over casually. "Got a please in your vocabulary, twerp?"

"Please, Frankie," Trav piped up.

"Guess that'll pay for the both of you." Getting behind them, Frank made his best attempt to jostle both swings while looking about the park every so often. Geez, Collin, move it already.

The aforementioned boy returned to their quad a couple minutes late. "Swings finally cleared up, huh?"

"Where'd you go to take a leak, anyway?" Frank moved over to focus on pushing Trav. "The Hudson?"

"The Atlantic." Collin started twisting the chain on Max's swing to gain momentum. "Sorry, had to wait on a couple guys at the corner store. Ready to fly?"

"Yeah!" Max responded with full zealousness.

"Zoom!" Collin signaled, releasing the swing.

Spinning about while the chain uncoiled itself, Max's giggles contained the entire park.

Frank spotted the happy expression on Collin's face at seeing his brother so delighted. Glad for them, Frank started to smile himself until he spoked the tip of the clear bag poking out of his friend's jacket pocket.

As if detecting the watchful eyes, Collin placed a gaze on him in turn. "What?"

Before Frank could speak, Trav tapped on him for attention and he quickly focused on pushing the little boy some more.

IIIIIII

With most of the trees they passed along the road barren, the assortment of browning leaves crunched under the boots of the two. Hands confined to pockets, the fall air caused their lengthy strands of hair to bat against their waists.

"I'm really worried about Max." Melissa followed the flying pattern of the pigeons overhead until they disappeared from sight. "Fabian is in his own world, partly thanks to dating Little Miss Glitter- still in a permanent state of shock that a country club kid like that can actually cook."

"Cordelia…" Leon thought about how to word it. "Defies a great many conventions."

Melissa went on with, "And Anne is mostly okay as long as Fabian is there to keep the smiles going. But the brothers… Collin thinking he can come and go in the middle of the night. Now, Max is bed-wetting."

"Wetting the bed is a red flag to severe anxiety or nervousness. Especially at an age where he's unsure of how to express his feelings otherwise."

Melissa looked up at him in partial wonder. "How many textbooks do you have memorized?"

"Only two or three volumes. Now, let's see. We've talked about everyone," he planted her with a glance of his own, "except you."

"Insignificant details," Melissa threw out coolly.

"Serious time," Leon requested then asked, "How are you handling keeping a lid on things?"

"To be honest, it's nice not to be in it alone. Contrary to what he would like to believe, Fabian is still just a kid. But Jimmy is surprise loaded."

Leon's eyebrows lined. "Oh?"

"Yeah. He's actually been trying his best with this whole team thing," Melissa admitted. "Craziest thing is, I don't think it was just Estevan reaming him out. I think he might really mean it."

"Keep your guard up," Leon promptly advised. "Guys like him, used to being on their own, they tend to only stick around so long as they're comfortable."

Melissa exhaled a humored air. "Don't even know Jimmy and you have him all figured out, huh?"

"From the bits and pieces I've gathered from you, don't be too surprised if his real target is aimed squarely at you."

Melissa stopped walking at that. "And why does that matter to you?"

Ceasing movement himself, Leon turned around after a few seconds. "It obviously matters to you. You're the one who needed to get out of the house for a while. Remember that?"

Shrugging one shoulder, Melissa replied, "Vaguely."

When they continued on, a certain thought came to Leon. "By the way, how did needing to get out of your house redirect you to my house?"

Melissa stared ahead. "The big psycho-babbler hasn't figured out that fucked minds tend to orbit each other?"

"Hm," Leon stroked his chin inquisitively, "you may have just inspired my thesis."

Melissa blew a stray ladybug off the top of her sleeve. "Glad to be of service."

IIIIIII

"The Allied Nations backing Germany were France, Italy, England…" Eyes averted from his notes, Collin knocked on the papers in frustration instead. "and Russia, right?"

Frank scribbled in one corner of his book. "Yep."

"Wow, I might actually survive this test." Collin's pleased smile faded at the distracted look on the other boy. "Man, what's wrong? I know you have this stuff basically memorized, but some of us only come with so much brain mass."

"Coll," Frank shut his book, regarding him squarely, "I always try to be legit with you, even if our squads don't always see eye to eye. We're friends here, right?"

Collin nodded. "Last I checked. What's going on?"

"You need to be legit with me. Are you into drugs?"

"This again?" Collin eyed him dryly. "Seriously?"

Frank wanted to know, "Where'd you really disappear to today? And did I see what I thought I saw in your coat? Truth would be great."

Engaging in a staring contest with him for a moment, Collin at last sighed. "Okay, look," getting up, he walked to his door and shut it fully, "I'll show you something, but you've got to remain cool and sweet God, do not go blabbing my business to your X-Squad."

"I won't," Frank assured. "Now, talk to me."

Making his way to his closet next, Collin entered the heavily cluttered space and returned with a sealed box. Returning to the bed, he placed it between them on the mattress. Collin peeled off the thick tape and pulled back the lid.

Frank peered into the box, noticing the various clear tubes within and an odd contraption. "Tell me that's not what I think it is…"

"Calm down," Collin soothed. "It's not even illegal. It's from a prescription for intense muscle relaxers. This stuff," he reached over for his jacket and removed the bag of white powder from it, "is the beauty of it. It's an energizer. When they're combined in a gas, with this," he pulled the contraption from the box and Frank saw that it resembled a mask of some kind, "it sends you over the moon, dude. Planets, galaxies…"

"Okay, hold on. So this stuff," Frank pointed to the transparent mix, "goes with this crap," he next indicated the powder, "into this thing," he tapped on the mask, "and you're just cruising and sailing?"

Collin nodded with a grin. "You got it."

"Let me see." Taking the mask from him, Frank slapped him across the face with it.

"Hey!" Collin had no time to react further as the other boy continued the assault on him, whacking him on every area he could reach. "Shit, knock it off!"

"I cannot believe this!" Frank threw the mask onto the bed in exasperation. "Mondo was actually right. You're a freaking crackhead!"

"Keep it down!" Collin hissed. "I ain't a crackhead! I'm not that slow, y'know."

Frank peered sardonic eyes at him. "Really? You're going with that line after this? You're short-itty-bitty-bus slow."

"Would you listen? All this stuff does is ease me off. The Cortez crew stays giving me grief, school's kicking me in the chops, I've got Max to worry about every second. I just need a hit every now and then. It's not like I'm dumping it into my Frosted Flakes." At Frank's continued resolve, Collin dumped everything onto the mattress. "See for yourself."

Frank popped an eyebrow. "You just crossed the line from slow to straight-jacket. I don't do drugs."

"We're not talking crack here, Frank," Collin reiterated. "Look, you really have been a friend to me; an actual one. I wouldn't just send you off. Try it one time. I'll set it up for you. Trust me, you'll see what I'm talking about."

Frank shook his head hard. "You're out of your mind."

"Look, I'll set it, I'll set it." Collin took hold of one of the tubes from the box and sprinkled in a portion of the powder. He sealed and shook the vile then positioned it into the slot on the mask. "Breathe through here," he showed him the intake tube, "just a puff."

"Collin…" Frank's head whipped back at the collision and shatter beyond the walls. "What was that?"

Collin growled, making haste in shoving everything underneath his bed. "Max!" He ran to his door and threw it open. "Max, what did—" He stopped in place at the guilt-faced first-graders coupled with one very smashed portrait that resided on the wall up until a few seconds ago. "Max, for the love of God, what did you do?"

Seeing the glass, Trav ushered them away from the shards. "Get over here, guys."

Jimmy's voice sounded from the center of the stairs with, "Quit killing each other up there!"

Collin called back, "We're good, Jim." When he heard the other Acolyte head back down, he set his brother with an immense glare. "What did you two idiots do?"

Max stared down at his socks. "We were just playin'…"

"Trav, you're not supposed to run around in our house," Frank reminded him. "Let alone somebody else's."

"We weren't running." Trav's defense then weakened somewhat as he went on. "I was climbing…" He then immediately pointed out, "They get to use their powers all they want at home."

Max nodded to that with confidence. "Yep, that's right. 'Cause we're all mutants."

"We're gonna be mutilated mutants if Estevan finds out about this!" Collin seethed.

"Take it easy," Frank attempted to calm his friend. "If the picture's still good, we can just pay for a new frame. I'll pitch in. He won't even notice."

Relief came over Max's features. "Yeah, Coll."

"Pipe down," Collin ordered, turning to the other teenager. "Thanks. If we can pull this off, I owe you supremely."

"Believe me, I know what it's like to have small fries around tearing the place apart. Right now we need to get this glass cleared out."

Collin turned to the younger set again. "You two go to Max's room while we clean. Stay out of trouble for five minutes."

Frank considered then tacked on, "And stand in the corner, too. Separate corners."

"Great idea," Collin seconded.

Trav's eyes enlarged. "But Frankie…"

"Go, Trav," the older X-Man pointed, "and you better do it. Don't forget I can see through the walls."

"Rats," Max grumbled as they went towards his quarters.

The older boys found the supplies they needed in one of the second floor bathrooms. Frank held the wide dust pan while Collin swept up the various shards of glass. As they worked, Frank's mind remained on what he had been offered no more than a few minutes ago. He hardly noticed the silence that practically echoed from the sweeping redhead.

"That kid can work a nerve." Collin groaned at his words. "Great, now I sound eighty."

"Yeah, you do," Frank concurred humorously. "But Max didn't do it alone you know." He looked up at him. "You gonna give it to him?"

"I have to," Collin responded. "If I let him get away with it, he's liable to do something worse the next time. You better take Trav home when we get through." He noticed the other boy's distant expression. "Frank?"

Wishing over and over in his head for Hank, Alex, Sean, or even Leon to appear in that moment, Frank's mind raced with indecisiveness. He did not think it very fair for Max to be punished alone, especially since he had not actually broken the picture. Frank also did not care for the idea of having to tattle to the adults when they got home. If he did do something about Trav, he could maybe speak to Raven about it later- hopefully she would not be upset with him if he explained it.

The more he thought about it, Frank paled. He looked to his own hands. He had used them for fists more than once, but to now use them as a BBS arsenal? BBS… Frank recalled the number of times Sean exercised that on him, especially when he took something of his without asking or got too harsh with the smaller kids. He definitely remembered how Alex and Hank's hands could feel. Considering all he had ever done to Jeff was pin him to the floor or sit on him when they were living together, Frank wondered how he could possibly pull such a thing off. Trav would fight him for sure and definitely hate him. Granted, Frank would quite possibly be rescuing Trav from really getting it from Hank later.

Getting another idea, Frank put forth, "Maybe we can just leave them on time-out for a while longer. And I won't let Trav come over here with me for a couple weeks."

Collin reminded him, "Max is crazy about Trav. He's the best friend he's got at that school."

"Yeah, I know. I guess that would be harsher. Okay, okay," Frank pieced together another plan as quickly as he could, "here's what we do. When the little guys do dopey stuff like this, sometimes Alex gives it to them on their hands. I know that's worked on Trav before."

Collin's mind went to the few times Estevan had instinctively swatted Max's hand if he attempted to go near something sharp or something else he had no business touching. Estevan hardly used any real force behind it, but just the tap caused Max to not only promptly retract his hands but keep them to himself.

After thinking it over, Collin said, "It may work."

They finished cleaning the floor and put away the remains of the portrait to have reframed later. As soon as they took out the trash and put the supplies back, the teenagers went straight to Max's room. To Frank's relief, they both remained in corners clear across from each other.

Shutting the door, Collin ordered, "Get over here, Max," and sat on the bed.

Frank took the desk chair. "Trav, you come here to me."

Both clearly happy to retreat from the walls, they complied without delay. Frank started to say something, but Trav climbed up to his lap and cuddled against his front. Max laid his head in his brother's lap.

Collin rolled his eyes. "Save it, Max. You're still in trouble."

"Coll…" Max used his own eyes to indicate the presence of the other two.

Getting that he felt embarrassed, Frank informed Trav, "You're in trouble, too. You're the one who broke that thing in the first place."

"I didn't mean to," Trav whimpered. "You gonna tell Mommy and Daddy?"

"Maybe, we'll see," Frank said with intentional vagueness. "But right now, I'm going to smack your hands like your Uncle Alex does."

"You're getting the same thing." Collin did not miss Max's small relief. "Don't get glad because if you go goofing around here and messing things up any time soon, it'll be your butt big time. You got me?"

Max nodded hard. "Yeah, Coll, honest."

Trav folded his arms in a show of bravado. "I'm gonna tell Mommy and she'll get you."

"Oh yeah?" Frank raised a challenging eyebrow. "Maybe we ought to go home and I'll tell her how you act at other people's houses. You'll get a real spanking and good luck being allowed out for a while."

Trav deflated right away. "No, Frankie, don't tell, pleeeease?"

"We'll see. Right now?" Frank extended his own palm. "Hand."

With another whimper, Trav presented his right one.

Collin took Max by one of his and remembered that Estevan typically slapped the back. He chose that end to administer the smacks.

Alex smacked Trav's back one as well, but made it a point to stay away from his knuckles. He still hated the way nuns used to wield rulers at him that way.

"You gonna be good?" Collin pulled his hand back.

Max had to resist snatching his own away. "Uh huh, uh huh!"

"Alright then." Collin brought him close and ruffled his hair.

Frank stopped but only to request, "Gimme your other one now." At Trav's wide eyes, he brought up, "You broke the picture, remember?"

The pouting child surrendered his left one now.

Just like the right, Frank gave it eight slaps as well. "That ought to do it. We can stay another hour, but you got to be good, okay?"
"'Kay," Trav whispered, rubbing at his hands.

Max looked up at his brother. "Will you play with us?"

"Yeah, I guess we better keep an eye on you," Collin said humorously. "You want to play trains?"

"Yeah!" Max went over to take hold of the still despondent other boy. "Let's set 'em up."

Trav only nodded quietly.

At the look on Frank's face, Collin got up to approach him. "You okay, brain head?"

"Sure…" Standing, Frank explained, "I only have a couple bucks on me right now. I'll bring some more to help with the frame tomorrow."

Collin shook his head in sheer awe. "Seriously, where do you hide the wings in your off time? You honestly don't know how far out you are."

"It's whatever," Frank dismissed. "I know what it's like to get your chops busted all the time. It gets old. But, hey, Coll, that stuff you've got… be careful with that."

"Easy, X-Man," Collin laughed shortly. "I don't need to go to any special meetings. It's under control. And remember, if you ever need to take the edge off, I've got plenty for both of us."

Frank nodded stiffly. "… Yeah."

Collin delivered a jovial punch to his shoulder before going over to help the smaller boys with Max's train set.

IIIIIII

Out of her lounging clothes and into a blue-red striped skirt with crimson top, Angel looked to the one who practically became one with the assortment of texts piled on the desk.

"Want to help with dinner?" At the head shake and flip of a page, Angel shrugged. "Okay then." As she headed out, she reacted to Victor on the other side of the door. "I warn you, nothing but a missile or a ransom note on Midnight will get that girl to move."

"Thanks for the heads up." Victor cupped her chin briefly and made his way into the room.

Spotting the literary engrossed youth at the desk, he remembered his own late nights spent after discovering his deceased stepfather's library. Seeing her that way also reminded him another eager blonde girl so ready to learn and explore the world… a dream that never witnessed day's light.

Before nostalgia could morph into rage, Victor addressed, "Sammie?"

She offered him a, "Hm?" of acknowledgement.

Placing his large hand in the center of the book caused a tiny startle on her part. "You mind? Seems these ancient writers get to see more of your pretty eyes than I do." She raised her head, displaying the reddish brown irises. "There we go. Now, level with me, doll." He knelt to the height of her chair. "Not that it's not great to see, but why are you throwin' yourself into this school thing this hard?"

Samantha told him, "I just want to be in school like everyone else."

Those words echoing in his ears, Victor said, "I know how you feel there, baby. Except you're going to get the shot you deserve. But listen," he touched her lower arm, "you don't need to make yourself batty here. This honors program is no kind of judge of how smart you really are."

"Have you seen Sean and Angie in class?" A dreamy sparkle developed within her features. "The things they talk about, the way their teachers smile at them. I want to be like that." Rising, Samantha walked towards the vanity and peered into the mirror at herself. "I want to know everything in the whole world and tell it to everyone in the class." She spun around as if spellbound by euphoria. "Everyone everywhere."

Listening until she finished, Victor went over to hoist her up and move about, making her giggle. "Believe me, kitten cat, I want you to have everything you want, too." He raised her closer to nuzzle. "More than that." The girl gave off a faint purr. "But I want you to calm down a little take this school thing slow."

At the last part, Samantha's inward glee decreased. Slow; that word would be cleansed from her entire being once and for all.

IIIIIII

After they parked their bicycles in the appropriate section of the massive garage, Frank noticed Trav's downward countenance. He had managed to perk up a bit playing with Max's trains, but had been unusually quiet the whole way home. Unusual being that quiet and Travis McCoy were not known for mingling.

Frank reached down to grip him at the waist. "Want to catch a ride up?"

The younger boy nodded once. "'Kay."

Bringing him up onto his shoulders, Frank began the upward trek with the additional weight. "You mad at me, midget?"

Trav settled against Frank's hair. "Yeah… how come you were so mean to me?"

"I wasn't trying to be mean, Trav. Trust me, you'll know it when I am," Frank informed him. "Listen, if I hadn't given you those smacks, Collin was going to spank Max big time. You didn't want your best friend to get spanked, did you?"

Trav determined, "Noooo. 'Kay," he hugged his head, "guess I forgive you."

"Oh, you forgive me, huh?" As they made it to the main level of the house, Frank flipped him over to tickle in his grasp.

Descending the stairs, Raven smiled upon sight of them. "Looks like my guys had fun today."

"Mommy!" Trav reached out for him.

Raven took him to hug and kiss. "You and Max have a good time driving the big boys crazy?" She sensed something as her son cuddled closer against her. "What's wrong?"

"The guys just got rowdy so we made them quiet down for a while," Frank explained. "Nothing we couldn't handle, Rae."

"Oh I'm sure." She stepped over to peck Frank's cheek then looked at Trav again. "Let's get you washed up for dinner." To the teenager she said, "That goes for you, too."

Frank bobbed his head. "Got it."

When they reached the second level, Frank parted ways from them to make a beeline for another room. "Sean?" He knocked twice. "Seeean?"

"Frank-OOOO," the redhead sent back, "get in here already." When the younger teen did so, he stumbled in and collapsed face first against Sean's mattress. This quickly took his attention away from his typewriter and Sean spun in his chair to look at him. "Whoa, whoa, either the enemy spy got you or your chocolate levels are dangerously low."

Raising his head tiredly, Frank said, "I need to talk to you."

Gliding his chair over closer to the bed, Sean leaned in. "Where's the body? I need specific details so we can have our stories straight."

Frank propped up on his elbows. "So, you know how ticked you get when I mess with your stuff or act like a jerk to the little kids?"

Sean nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

"The BBS thing… seriously, man, how do you do that?"

Sean made a slapping motion at the open air. "Hand to butt, rinse and repeat."

"No, how do you do that? I never really realized it before, but…" Frank's eyes bugged out somewhat. "I can't do that. I don't know how to do that. I've had it done to me a whole bunch of times, sure, but putting somebody over my knee and spanking 'em? Dealing with that crying and stuff? And what if it's, like, a girl- oh God," sitting up on his knees, panic covered Frank's features, "what if Kiki tries to stick her hand in the blender or something? I can't spank little baby Kiki. She'll hate me, assuming I don't break her. If I do that, I'll hate me."

"Hey, hey," Sean transferred himself over to join the ranting one on the bed, "Frank-O, you've got to calm down. It's not that serious. Well, it's serious because it's a responsibility and all, but you're overthinking it."

Frank gripped his shirt front. "Help. Me…"

"Okay," Sean took him by the wrists and held them gently, "you remember that time you knocked Joey down over the TV?"

Not proud of the recollection, Frank nodded. "Yeah.

"When we were younger, I did the same thing to Tommy. You think you touch my stuff?" Sean rolled his eyes. "He was a magnet for it. One day he got fudge all over a brand new book I hadn't even finished reading. I pushed him and he started crying so, of course, I felt terrible. Later, our dad told me that if I'm going to do anything like that, I have to aim for his butt and nowhere else- after Dad finished demonstrating on my butt." Frank tried to contain a laugh and Sean smiled at him. "So, that's how I got started on the whole BBS thing. It was better than having to tell on Tommy to Mom and Dad every second and it got him to listen to me when I was left in charge."

Frank followed along then asked, "Does it feel weird now? Having Hank and Alex give it to you?"

"You forgot Lee," Sean brought up pointedly. "But I'll tell you something. The really weird thing is how nice it is having older brothers. I still remember getting to feel like the youngest boy for the first time in forever after Charles brought us here."

Frank interjected, "Until we showed up and ruined it for you."

Sean enveloped him in a tight hug. "Have I mentioned that I greatly dislike you?"

Frank used his head to bump his chest. "Back atcha."

"So, what brought all this on, anyway? Did something happen with Trav?"

"Oh yeah. Nothing huge, but he broke something over at the Acolyte house," Frank explained. "I didn't want Collin to go too hard on Max, especially since he didn't break the thing, so I convinced Coll that we should smack their hands."

"Ah," Sean pressed his cheek against Frank's, "Alex."

"Mmhmm."

"How'd Trav take it?"

"He was sore at me, but we're good now," replied Frank. "I'm just not sure I can handle having to do the real thing."

Sean gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I bet if you ever have to and you know it's to do right by them, it'll come easier than you think. None of us like doing it or getting it, but we have to. Not just as a punishment thing, but for safety and survival." Blinking, Sean shook his head. "I have been living with the Fraternal Twins for too long."

"Tell me about it," Frank laughed.

IIIIIII

Gaze lingering on the one who took off on the motorcycle until he left her point of vision completely, Melissa slipped into the manor. On her way through the primary level's lengthy hall, an apron and oven mitts adorned Jimmy met her at the halfway point.

"There you are. I thought you were going to miss dinner."

"The cleaning lady is off tonight." Melissa gaped at him in disbelief. "You fixed dinner?"

"Sure did and I've been slaving over a hot stove," he grinned, "fixing chili cheese fries. They're to go with the Philly cheesesteaks I ordered for us. Philly-chili, get it?"

Melissa shook her head in amusement. "You taking off afterwards, grand gourmet?"

"Nah," Jimmy shrugged. "Figure I'll see if the boys want to catch the horror picture on TV. Want to join us? You can feel free to jump all over me if you get scared."

Rolling her eyes, Melissa continued for the back with a growing smile she attempted to subdue.