Notes: Oh, I totally hear you. I love when Charles actually gets to hear other philosophies, and I love that Noh isn't just being a passive sponge. He's learning a LOT, but he's still Noh.

Chapter 8: Magnipulations

Things were finally starting to feel normal around the institute.

The last decorations had been re-hung, the last adjustments had been made to the Danger Room, and the last of the students who had been staying with family during the rebuilding effort had returned to the school.

Noh could appreciate the fact that the X-Men didn't rebuild the institute exactly the way it had been before, too. They were looking forward, improving on the old model, adding in more space in the dorm rooms, more equipment in the Danger Room, even renovating the dock out at the lake.

Noh liked that. He liked the idea of moving forward out of the ashes, building something even better. They weren't living in the past; they weren't trying to stay stagnant.

Of course, now that the mansion was back up and the kids were going to school again, the same people that had celebrated when the institute had been reduced to rubble were now openly upset about the school once more. A few were idiotic enough to even mount a few attacks.

But Noh was surprised to see the ferocity with which the X-Men repelled those attacks. The senior X-Men fought hard enough that it was clear they were only just holding back. Clearly, the loss of their home and the humiliation and imprisonment at Bastion's hands had left all of them determined to prevent a repeat performance.

And yet they still kept from crossing that line, even with those determined to attack their home.

Noh found himself spending more and more time with Charles in that environment, then — not only because he needed to build his mental defenses up again but because he was still trying to find the line that the others talked about. They seemed to think it was such a bright, neon light, but at best, he considered it to be awash in murky water, if not invisible entirely.

He wanted to do right by the X-Men. But it was difficult.

He could see the line when it came to missions. If he was going with the team, if there was a set enemy and a set plan, he knew it would never be an assassination run. That wasn't how this team operated.

No, the problem was when it came to defense, not offense. How many times was he supposed to let an enemy try to destroy him before enough was enough?

And, worse, it was even harder for him to find that line when it came to protecting the others. He had come to think of the X-Men — all of them — as family. And every training simulation that ended with him defending a teammate … ended with him either crossing that line or hesitating too much.

It was endlessly frustrating, and it was obvious Jubilee could tell he was upset by it, because no sooner had they finished their training session with the junior team than Jubilee suggested a group trip to the mall.

"We haven't gone in forever, and you, mister, need more music," Jubilee informed him, poking a finger in the center of his chest and drawing herself up in almost a dare for him to cross her — though, of course, when she did things like that, instead of being intimidated, he was always entranced.

He took hold of the hand pointing the offending finger his way and then kissed it. "I would never say no to finding more music," he said. "But then, I would never say no to a beautiful woman, either."

Jubilee deflated slightly, a blush rising up in her cheeks at the blatant flirting. "You… are so totally going to get yourself in trouble, mister."

Noh smirked and pulled her a little closer to drop his voice to a whisper. "I told Jean that you have such strange ways of looking at love. I don't consider it to be 'trouble' I'm getting into with you."

Jubilee gaped at him for a moment before she outright smacked him with the back of her hand. "You. Are. So. Much. Trouble."

Noh grinned that much wider. "In this case, my dear Jubilee, I fear we may never get over this language barrier."

She shook her head at that, though she wasn't about to complain — especially not when she'd started to notice a pattern with him. He always flirted more when he was feeling a little unsteady about his place on the team or in the extended family that was the X-Men. It was a little way of reminding himself why he had decided to stay, and she totally wasn't going to wreck that.

Especially not when it meant she could get some stardusted kisses.

"We totally need to do this all the time," Jubilee said. She was sitting across from Noh with her feet kicked up to rest on his knee, and they had long ago finished off their milkshakes and had moved on instead to people watching — which mostly consisted of Jubilee providing a running fashion critique of everyone around them.

"It has been some time since we went on a date," Noh agreed, smiling at her genuinely. He always looked so much more relaxed when they did things like this, and that only solidified things in Jubilee's mind: If she wanted her sweet little alien to stop beating himself up so much and twisting himself into logical knots that not even he was flexible enough to get out of … more dates were a necessity, clearly.

"You should totally fix that," Jubilee agreed.

Noh smirked at that. "I should indeed. Are you free, by any chance, this weekend?"

Jubilee giggled and pretended to think it over. "I don't know… I might have to check my schedule."

Noh's smirk turned into a smile as he leaned forward. "Oh?" he asked, though he couldn't pull off the falsely disappointed look he was trying to give her when he was so clearly entertained. "Should I be worried?"

"Maybe," Jubilee giggled.

"I must try harder to win you over, then," Noh said, nodding seriously. "I've heard of this in your music. I must abase myself, buy you flowers…"

By that time, Jubilee was almost beside herself in giggles. "Oh yeah. That's totally it."

Noh grinned and leaned back easily, though in between Jubilee's giggles, he could hear something else, and he frowned, tipping his head to the side and holding up a hand. "Wait," he said slowly, his eyes narrowed.

Jubilee frowned. "What's up?" she asked, already starting to slide out of the booth they were sitting in so she could fight whoever was being stupid.

"I'm not certain," Noh admitted. "But someone is definitely fighting down the hall." He got to his feet as well and took Jubilee's hand, only to pull her up into his arms so he could more easily carry her to where the trouble was.

They were just in time to see several men in distressingly familiar uniforms carrying off their unconscious teammates, and Noh glanced over to Jubilee with his eyebrows as high as they would go. "That's not possible," he said. "I killed that man. I blew him to pieces. Not even a healer would be able to recover from that — right? Or is that not the case in this reality?"

But Jubilee was shaking her head almost reflexively, transitioning from shock to anger much faster than Noh had — especially because that was another team of her friends being carted off by Bastion's men in front of her. And this time, she wasn't nearly as powerless to do something about it as she had been before.

With a shout, Jubilee rushed after the uniformed men and let loose a plasmoid that was big enough to knock them all off their feet — but not big enough to do any lasting damage to their unconscious friends. And once the soldiers were down, she knelt down beside Angelo, biting her lip when she saw the deep gash across his forehead.

Noh was making quick work of picking up after her, too, slinging one unconscious soldier over his shoulder as he worked to restrain the other one — though when the man on his shoulder felt significantly heavier all of a sudden, he glanced up at Jubilee and frowned. "Jubilee … can you access your powers?"

"Uh oh," Jubilee said under her breath — which was as good of an answer as she could give.

Noh frowned at that, even as several more men in uniform started to melt out of various shops at the mall — while the civilians in the area were clearly getting out of the way, likely well-aware of what was about to happen. But as soon as one of the soldiers got close to Jubilee, Noh got there first, grabbing the man's shirt with a handful of nails grown into claws in an instant, leaving a gash across the man's chest, even if he couldn't pick him up with one hand to complete the intimidation he was going for.

"Leave her alone."

"Noh, you don't have to do that," Jubilee said, a little wide-eyed, before she simply threw herself into a fight with the next creep to cross her path. She did know a little about hand-to-hand. Even if she hated it.

And honestly, the two of them absolutely could have taken down the creeps at the mall if it had just been a matter of hand-to-hand. And they did, in fact, take out a half dozen between them before a shot rang out and the ground seemed to explode at Jubilee's feet, obviously catching both of their attention — and quickly.

"Show's over," said the creep with the gun, gesturing between both of them with it. "Hands up. And don't move."

Jubilee and Noh glanced at each other, but even without speaking, they both knew that neither of them was fast enough to get out of that predicament — at least not with some kind of power dampener in play. And even if Noh could come back from a shot, Jubilee definitely could not. So, slowly, both of them raised their hands in a gesture of surrender.

As soon as they did, the soldiers that had previously been giving it their all just trying to keep them back suddenly rushed forward to restrain them both — and then haul them off along with the rest of the team to who-knows-where.

For the most part, the captured junior X-Men didn't say anything, even when some of them started to rouse, though Noh at least was highly entertained when he could hear Jubilee muttering under her breath about "bad life decisions" and how much her Wolvie was going to make them regret kidnapping the team.

Not that the men could hear it — or if they did, they weren't reacting to it.

Eventually, the van carrying the junior squad came to a stop, and the men carried or dragged everyone inside to what amounted to little holding cells. There was clearly still a dampener in play somewhere, since none of them could use their powers, but even so, it was a little bit satisfying to see that they were being treated as threats even with the powers off — with reinforced doors and their hands still tied even after they were brought in.

"Now then," the guy that had pointed a gun at them said, sounding overly smug and only making Jubilee want to punch him in the face even more than she already did. "Who wants to call the big kids for help?"

"Oh, you really don't want to do that," Jubilee spit out venomously.

"I really do," the man said lazily, examining the comm he'd confiscated. "I've got bigger fish to fry than you, little girl."

"Typical loser," Jubilee said, glaring at him. "Well, I don't appreciate being your stupid damsel in distress. Try something creative for once in your miserable life."

The man watched her through narrowed eyes for a long moment before a disturbing sort of grin rose up on his lips, and he nodded. "If that's your decision," he said, turning from Jubilee to instead yank Monet to her feet while she was just starting to wake up. "Tell your team to come get you — and to make it fast before you're all dead."

Monet spluttered for a second, but she really didn't have much choice in the matter, so she nodded and repeated the message over the comms — completely not expecting in when, before she could cut off the transmission, the guy holding onto her arm shot her.

There was an immediate uproar, garbled shouts from everyone in the junior squad even as Monet fell to her knees and slipped sideways — though Jubilee was completely still, watching wide-eyed as Monet lay perfectly still on the ground.

"Alright then," the man said as he dropped the comm and then crushed it with his heel. "Let's see how smart they are." He smirked at Jubilee. "I'll come back in half an hour. Since you don't want to be the damsel, you can pick the next one."

Erik had been following this little group closely: the last of Bastion's followers who were still trying to salvage what was left of their operation… even if it largely consisted of an attempt at revenge that even their leaders had to know was a long shot, a last hurrah before they would be bankrupt and defunct if they couldn't get a victory.

He had expected them to go after the X-Men. He had not expected them to go after the junior squad.

Erik's eyes were narrowed as he approached the facility. He had been meaning to destroy it outright, but with several of Charles' children in play, he held back rather than destroy them, curious and incensed in the same breath.

He arrived just in time to see Monet crumpled on the ground and to hear the man in charge lay the responsibility directly at Jubilee's feet. The young woman looked absolutely devastated, pale and frozen. If there was ever a time for these impressionable new X-Men to see the kind of safety Erik provide them as well as the futility of refusing to fight the good fight until the worst possible outcome had come to pass….

Erik pressed his lips together as he looked around the cells. None of the children there were making a move — and not only because of shock. There was a dampening field in play.

Erik looked around, his eyes narrowed, until he found the dampener. And he was about to destroy it… until he heard a strange snapping sound and turned to see that Charles' little alien had inserted himself between the man with the gun and Jubilee. The snapping sound was a broken wrist, but it meant the boy's hands were free, and he was clearly pulling back for a blow to put distance between them.

With a wave, Eric dismantled the dampener and then stepped into what had been until then its area of effect — just in time to see Noh's strike, much more forceful than he had anticipated, echo with a sickening crack that left an imprint of Noh's hand in the man's chest as he fell, dead before he even hit the ground.

"Well done, my boy," Eric said in an almost cheerful voice.

Noh spun around with wide eyes, holding his hand with his good hand to straighten the bones to heal, though he was blinking hard as if he couldn't believe the evidence of his own eyes. "What ... what have you done? What are you doing here?"

"I had expected this little group to strike the X-Men," Erik said, deciding to use as much truth as the boy needed to hear. "I did not, however, expect them to strike the children." He gestured to the area at large, his cape fluttering out with the movement. "They were asking for it. Clearly."

"You're a little late," Paige said — mostly speaking up because Jubilee was too shocked to do so, and she felt like it had to be said or Jubilee would regret that later too.

"A bit of distance was required to avoid detection," Erik said with a steady gaze and one eyebrow raised.

"Well, it looks like we're doing alright on our own," Paige said, though she faltered as her gaze went to Monet.

"I can free the team," Noh said, belatedly, still holding his hand even though it was healing on its own and no longer needed to be held in place. "The offer is appreciated, but I can handle this."

"I'm very sure you can," Erik said, even as he floated a bit higher, his arms slowly reaching out more the higher he rose. "But while you heal, I will simply get started on destroying their weapons." He gave Noh a knowing look. "Feel free to do as you think is necessary, of course."

Noh frowned at that, though Erik was already leaving, and that still left the rest of the junior squad there in varying stages of shock. He took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out before he went to Jubilee first to simply crush the chain of her handcuffs in his hand. "I'm truly sorry, Jubilee. I was — are you alright?" he asked softly.

For just a second, it looked like Jubilee was going to be able to pull off her brave face, but that crumbled a moment later, and she simply shook her head.

Noh let out a breath at that and simply kissed her forehead before he quickly and quietly freed the others. He wasn't entirely sure what to do now, especially since this had been the second death he'd caused in as many missions in the field, but he did at least remove the body so that only Monet was there.

It wasn't long before the X-Men showed up ... or at least a few of them. K and Logan were there along with a couple of Avengers. The little group took in the scene with a frown, and without a word spoken, Logan made a beeline for Jubilee, only to pause when he got close and softly say her name to catch her attention. That was all it took for her to turn his way and then rush over so he could curl around her protectively. "It's alright, Jubes," Logan said incredibly softly as he held onto her. "I've got you. You're gonna be alright. You're safe. You know that, right?" She gave him an almost imperceptible nod as she burrowed into his shoulder and simply started to cry.

And as soon as Noh saw that Jubilee was safe, he started to back away from the scene. He could hear the sounds of a fight further off, and… he wanted to go fight. To clear his head. Watching his teammates stare in shock wasn't doing anything to help the gnawing feeling in his stomach.

Meanwhile, as Steve began to survey the damage, K had slipped by the group of them, only sparing a glance over her shoulder at Erik as she rushed into the complex, ignoring the look he'd given her. There was a small window of time to work with — and she knew with Erik and his idiotic magnetic field, the data encrypted on any tech inside was living on borrowed time.

She and Noh almost crossed paths directly, too, as he headed toward the sound of damage being dealt, though he was running fast and not really paying attention to her, assuming that she was part of the rescue team and didn't need his help.

And yet, when he did arrive where Erik was wreaking havoc, the fight was practically finished there as well, and Noh frowned when he saw it. He had been hoping to just… go into a white run and finish things off. Not think for a while.

And Erik, of course, only smirked when he saw Noh, finishing off the last of the soldiers and their weapons before he floated down a little closer to Noh, though still slightly above the ground. "As you said, you were capable of freeing your team. I simply dealt with the rest of the men," he said, a satisfied smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Noh nodded at that, his heart still throbbing in his ears. "I didn't mean to kill that man," he said. He didn't know why he felt the need to try to explain himself to Magneto, but he did, somehow. The idea that Magneto would consider him to share his philosophies when he had been trying with everything he had to follow Charles…

"Of course you did," Erik said, waving a hand dismissively. "You saw what he did to Monet, to Jubilee — do you really believe he deserved your restraint?"

"It's not for his sake that I meant to hold back," Noh said, his frown deepening.

"No, it was for theirs." Erik shook his head. "Why are you letting them stop you? Do you honestly believe they will be safer in their delusions if you play along?"

Noh blinked and then narrowed his eyes. "And your alternative is much better?"

Erik smirked. "You said yourself it was; your only complaint has been the people involved." He touched down in front of Noh and rested a hand on his shoulder. "We are more alike than you care to admit, my boy. Perhaps you can help me to save them — even if they do not want to be saved."

Noh frowned for a long time as he considered Erik, who hadn't moved and still looked entirely sympathetic. And he thought of Monet and the look on Jubilee's face.… "I won't help you fight against the X-Men," he said at last, slowly.

"I'm asking you to help me protect them, my boy," Erik said smoothly.

Noh shook his head. "I know what words you used. Now listen to mine: I will not fight them. But I will destroy their enemies." He met Erik's gaze cleanly. "Is that understood?"

"Even if they stand in our way?" Erik asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Then I will stand with them," Noh said without hesitating. "I agree with your methods, yes, but I do not agree so much that I am willing to throw away the only friends and family I have here. That would be idiotic."

Erik let out a noise from the back of his throat. "You are still so naive about this world."

"Perhaps," Noh allowed. "But that is my decision to make. That is how this world works. I am allowed to make my own mistakes, yes?"

Erik frowned — and then paused and started to chuckle as he shook his head. "Charles has taught you well."

"Thank you." Noh tipped his head. "Now, do you have a battle I can fight or not? I was bred for combat, not small talk."

Erik smirked. It wasn't quite what he had hoped for, but he was sure that once the boy had a taste for the good fight, he'd keep going — if for no other reason than that Erik knew the X-Men would reject him the more he sided with Erik. He could work with this, take advantage of the boy's power while he could.

"Yes," Erik said, nodding slowly, "I think I have just the thing."