Chapter 7: "Outreach"

"So, Krissy said you were dating the football star at the school," Chance said as he sat across from Elin with the Italian ice in front of him.

Elin shrugged up one shoulder. "I figure everyone's getting out there … and my dating pool is still amazingly small."

"Which still surprises me," Chance said. "I mean, I know I tease you about being scary, but … I mean, here you are getting Italian ice with me just because my dad's being more dramatic than Kurt…"

"I'm starting to think that I should have started school with an inducer on," she said quietly.

Chance shook his head. "That wouldn't be you. Even when me and Cody were hiding, we were still us at school."

"Little different rules, though," she defended. "Public school. Probably could have just stayed in PJ's all day …"

Chance laughed out loud. "You should do that."

She pointed her spoon his way. "If I'm staying in my PJ's I'm staying in bed. Which … I think is still a possibility."

"Shame," Chance said, shaking his head. "I'd pay to see you take teachers down a peg wearing Little Mermaid footies."

"Silly, sweet Summers," she said, shaking her head at him. "I have fuzzy, light blue, no-foot pj's."

"I'm getting you footies for Christmas now, I hope you know."

"Then you better expect the same," she warned.

"Little Mermaid or maple leaf? Because there seems to be a theme…"

"I think Little Mermaid would fit your family better — all the jokes considered — and you know… you'll probably want a break from your maple leaf by then. You know. For sleep?"

Chance grinned and nodded. "I'm getting you Little Mermaid ones, though. Pretty girl who spends all her time looking at the way the other side lives…"

"Then I'll get you the ones with the buttoned butt flap. For comedic purposes."

"I will wear them every night and no one can stop me," he swore, grinning wider.

She was laughing outright by that time. "Practical for those up north. You'll probably need them."

"Yeah, it's already getting pretty cold now."

"Should I send you back with a space heater? Electric blanket?"

"Electric blanket would be nice," he said. "But I think Mom has most of that covered. Especially now she knows I'll be there for a few years."

"Yeah, I figured that was going to be how it went," she said, nodding, though she didn't lose the smirk entirely. "You have a pattern."

"Hey." Chance shook his head at her. "One extra semester in Europe does not constitute a pattern."

She raised her eyebrows and shifted to her best innocent expression. "Okay."

"Really. And this is different. I went in hoping to make a name for myself and… El, I'm not even gonna wear a cowl. This is a chance to be…" He leaned back and let the sentence trail off from there.

"Oh, you will make a difference," she said. "You're going to let everyone see how great you are. I have faith." She waved one hand. "I'm sorry everyone's made you feel like you have to, but … blow their doors off."

Chance smiled at her across the table and couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "You… El, this is why you're my best friend."

"Pen pal anyhow," she said.

"Best friend." He shook his head at her. "I don't have anyone else like you."

"Oh, come on. You've got plenty," she said, dropping her gaze as she shook her head.

"Not like you."

"Sweet Summers," Elin said to the table.

"Hey, I'm just being honest. No one else… gets it. Not like you do. My sister doesn't count. She's my twin sister."

"Well … I'm not fighting the non-mutant thing? But … the parallels are there anyhow, seeing as Mom and Dad are what they are," she pointed out. "Just a lot more durable and worlds ahead of anything I'll be able to do for a long time. If I stick with it."

"You'll get there," Chance said. "But… maybe don't get there for a few centuries, okay? I know how much crap went down to get them honed."

"Then you'll never get to see me go full badass, and that is a crying shame."

"I know," Chance agreed with a little smile. "But it's more important that you're not screwed around. Best friends - goes both ways."

"Pretty sure it's genetic to get screwed around," Elin pointed out.

"Nah," Chance said, shaking his head. "That makes it sound like it was too… I don't know. Makes it sound like we didn't have a choice in it."

"Well, part of it, we really don't," she said. "And it contributes to it and pulls in crazy."

"Still glad you have my back," Chance said with a smile. "And you know I've got yours, right? Even with this new responsibility."

"I'm honestly hoping I don't have to call you in for anything," she admitted. "But I know you'd help."

"Hey, I'll help with anything from finding footie pajamas to taking on an army of, I dunno, Russians or something."

She tipped her head slightly and looked as if she was weighing it out. "What about killing the rest of this cherry ice?"

He grinned and held out his hand for it. "Got you covered for that, too."

When Chance got back to Canada, he was still a little anxious about the whole thing. He had a few meetings scheduled with a Mr. Horton with the government liaison's office at the school — so that he could do a whole lot of paperwork.

But he was surprised when Jamie sat down next to him and Oliver at lunch with an almost shy smile and a small card. "I know I'm not supposed to know, but Mac was projecting it so loudly even I could hear it," she explained as she handed him the card. "And I know you don't know too many people around here, so I thought someone should congratulate you."

Chance blinked at her for a moment before he couldn't help but smile. "That was actually really thoughtful, thanks."

Jamie smiled and nodded. "You're going to be even busier with the team now, aren't you?" she asked.

He nodded absently as he read the message in the card — "Congratulations! I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines. It's about time Alpha Flight got some GOOD fresh blood." — and then looked back up at her and shook his head. "You didn't have to—"

"I don't have any friends here either. I know how isolating it is," Jamie said, cutting him off. "You made the team. You did what every kid here is trying to prove they can do. You're an X-Man and on Alpha Flight." She waved a hand at the rest of the cafeteria. "You think that's going to make you more or less likely to be hated? I just wanted to make sure that the first response you got here was positive."

With that, Jamie sauntered off, leaving Chance staring after her for a moment before he turned to Oliver. "O...kay."

Oliver shrugged openly. "That's the most I've ever heard her say," he admitted. "She usually stays away from anybody who's not, you know, in her classes or trying to flirt with her or something."

"She get a lot of that?"

"Why? You interested?"

Chance turned to look at Oliver and then had to laugh when he realized that the redheaded boy was smirking at him. "Yeah, Oliver. I definitely have time to get into a relationship right now. Especially one with the girl who got Gerry kidnapped by Hydra."

"To be fair, my dad has done everything possible to make sure Viper can't contact her anymore."

"Seriously, Oliver, I'm really not interested in dating anyone here."

"Too good for us Canadians?"

"Oh yeah, that's it," Chance said, rolling his eyes. He tucked Jamie's card away in his bag and got to his feet as he and Oliver headed down the hall and Chance did his best to duck Oliver's questions about who he was interested in back home if it wasn't someone here.

Thankfully, he was pretty sure that his first practice with Alpha —Flight wasn't going to be an extended question and answer session about who he was in love with. He and Oliver parted ways once they got there, and he waved at a grinning Mac and Heather as he closed the door behind him.

"Chance, come on over and meet the team," Mac called out, waving him over.

Chance couldn't help but grin as he made his way over. "Hello, 'the team'," he said with a smirk.

Mac smirked, as did most of the rest of the group, before he started to introduce them. "Not sure who you'd know on your own … but … Walter, Puck, and Jeanne … this is Cyclops' son — who totally destroyed our junior team in practice. Kid has talent."

"Chance Summers," Chance said. "Please, don't just refer to me by the family name."

"So he's got sense too," Puck said. "How'd that happen in that house?"

Chance turned toward Puck, looked him over for a second, and then raised a single eyebrow. "Real easy, actually. Got all the good genes except the one with an X on it."

"Don't pay any attention to Eugene," Jeanne-Marie said. "He's sensitive."

"So am I," Chance said with a small smile her way.

"Why don't we start with something easy today?" Heather suggested. "You said you had an interest in sharpshooting?"

"Which is totally different in the States than it is here," Puck said under his breath before he looked over to Chance. "No offense."

Chance just started to very slowly smirk. "Show me how it's done, then."

"Great!" Mac said, waving for Chance to follow him, though naturally, the whole team went along to see how well the new kid did. "I know you spent what … three semesters or four? With Captain Britain learning how to shoot."

Chance's smirk widened a bit. "I was in Europe for three semesters," he said with a nod. "Though to be fair, I also had a Hawkeye living in the same house as me? So I wouldn't say he's the one that taught me how to shoot. Let's be real. We all had bows by age five or six."

Mac nodded and gestured to the benches. "We don't use them often, but when we do, it's standard military issue. How does two hundred yards sound to start off? Not much for a sharpshooter, I'm sure."

"Hey, Puck's the one showing me how it's done. I'll run with whatever he wants," Chance said, still smirking.

"That's right I am," Puck said. "And yeah, we can start you easy, kiddo." He didn't sound overly friendly at all, though, as they got started.

Chance didn't say anything one way or another, just let Puck take his shots first and then fired one practice round to gauge his aim before he spent the rest in the dead center of the target and looked back. "Warmed up?"

Puck didn't look overly entertained, nor did he seem like he was ready to just give up either. "Take it to four," he said, gesturing down range.

Chance smirked and nodded. "Go ahead. Show me."

Puck gave the boy a glare and took his shots — and while he was on the target, and even the circle, he was pulling to the left by about three inches from center.

Chance looked at Puck's target for a moment and seemed to consider it for a moment. He could if he wanted go slightly off center, but… He decided not to get a reputation for playing games with anyone and simply took the shots in the dead center like he'd been trained.

"He'll do this all day," Heather warned after Chance took his shots. "Why don't you save us the suspense and tell us how far out you can shoot."

"Well, a thousand's good for a warmup, but K had me at about a mile out before I left," Chance said, not quite able to stow the smirk entirely.

The whole group seemed to pause for just a moment before Puck swore under his breath and Mac grinned. "She never said she taught you …"

"I was about ten when she started teaching me the safety rules," Chance said. "My brother blew up the whole range on accident when he got his powers. It's pretty much our favorite thing to do together."

"And … she taught you … what? Did Logan talk her into it?"

Chance furrowed his brow for a moment. "Why would he do that? I needed to blow off steam, and it turns out I'm a good shot. She's a good teacher."

"It's just that she wasn't very approachable about teaching anyone anything but how to bleed," Walter offered.

"Huh." Chance tipped his head Walter's way. "That's weird. I learned everything I know about guns from my mom and K."

"Then I guess we can move on to a regular practice," Mac said, shaking his head.

Chance nodded lightly and then offered his hand to Puck to shake. "Sorry. It was too good an opening."

"Aww, I'd've done the same thing," Puck said, smirking to himself. "Just glad I didn't put money on it."

"I thought about it, but then my first impression on the team would be basically sharking you? So I decided against it."

"Smart move," Heather said as they headed in to the very-non-holographic training room.

"Next time, I could bring the energy guns one of my best friends helped make. That's usually what I take when I go out with the team back home. You know. Since I don't have the optic blasts." He tapped the side of his temple.

"Sounds great," Mac said, nodding. "I'd like to see them in action."

Chance grinned, then looked around at the group. "So. What's next?"