Chapter 7: Locate and Outcast (A/N: thanks for the reviews)

Ethan and Emma had the same routine as yesterday, except Ethan didn't call his father or Jean. They both woke up and eat breakfast together in silent. Then Ethan went for a run and explore the mountains as Emma did her normal routines. Make dinner ready, read letters, writer her owns and take care of her house. When Ethan came back they eat and after he took a new bath and when he came out the things was place like it had been the evening before. He lay down and Emma sat by his head, one hand on each side of his head. This time she got thought more and the memory was easier to see than it had last evening.

A young brown haired boy ran around in a garden with a toy in his hand. It was a ball he had and he was throwing it up and down in the sky. The weather was nice and everything seem perfect. But he suddenly stopped and look around, all sad. No one was there, no one to play with. No one to talk to. No one. Unnoticed for the boy however, a grown-up Ethan and Emma stood right beside him. Emma in the same ice dress and Ethan in a pair of dark blue jeans and a black shirt.

"You were kind of cut as a kid." Emma comment. Ethan roll his eyes. "Anyway, why are we here?" Ethan raise an eyebrow.

"How should I know? You took me here!"

"No, I took you to a memory to connect to one of your powers. Your mind was the one taking us here." she look at the boy who still didn't see them."Your mind seem to see this as a memory to symbolize one of your gifts, one of your door."

"So, what I'm supposed to do?"

"Figure out with gift the memory belong to and take me deeper down." Emma explain.

"Yeah, sounds easy." Ethan look at himself as a boy again but nothing happened."It can be that I'm alone and didn't cry."

"Serious, Ethan!" Emma hit him by his shoulder."You wanted my help and this is your first memory, it shouldn't be that hard." he sigh and walk forward, looking more around. The smaller him was almost doing the same thing and the grown-up Ethan suddenly stop as he realized what this was.

"I was alone." he whisper and turn to Emma. "I remember I felt alone and didn't have any friend. I wanted so badly to found someone."

"Which means?" Emma ask as the memory change and the small Ethan was now talking to some other boy. But a woman came running and took him away. The scene change again and the same boy was looking at groups of people all in their own groups.

"Power to locate." the grown-up Ethan whisper."I was alone and my mother never let me play with humans."

"So, you wanted to find others like you, other Mutants." it was like something change in Ethan's heart so his hand flew to his chest as Emma's words echoed."Good work, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"What happened?" Ethan ask and look at Emma. Then around to see they was in an endless white room.

"I made the first door go away, try to feel if I'm human or not." Ethan try, but couldn't.

Ethan's eyes shut opened and he sat up as he try to feel of Emma's present. Still nothing, but she was sitting just inches from him. She had a small smile on her face as. Ethan try again with closing his eyes.

"It won't come back, how much you wish for it." Emma told him and he opened his eyes to look at her. "I make a door to a wall, it will stay as a wall until your mind is ready and you can develop that power as normal. Like I said, you will start from page one." Ethan nodded in understanding.

"Can we take one more?"

"No." Emma said and shook her head. She stood up. "It will take too much of my power, plus your mind and body need to take the progress slowly. If I were to make all the doors disappear and your powers it could cost a big deal of damage."

"So, we will do this every night until all the doors are gone? Then I'm finished here?"

"No, you will be like a child again, have no control of your powers." she told him. "You will stay so I know your body process everything well and you will have to train your powers again."

"Again?" Ethan muttered. "I didn't do it as a kid, this will be like an endless maze."

"Well, then I suggest you get some sleep. We will continue tomorrow." she walk away and left him. Locking her door.

"Hey, dad!" Ethan said thought the phone.

"Ethan, how are you?"

"Great, I have close one of the doors."

"What do you mean?" Charles asked and Ethan thought for a moment about what to answer.

"My friend made one of the doors Jean use to have to close become a wall you could say." Ethan told him and he heard his father breath for air.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "How could your friend do that?"

"Gifted, dad." Ethan answer and look around at the forest and the house. "Sorry, I can't tell you more. And don't try to use Cerebro, it won't find me. I guess I know the reason to why I can't communicate with Jean from here. The whole area block all kind of telepath from the outside."

"Ethan, are you sure that you are doing is safe?"

"I am, you will have to trust me."

"You know I do, it's just I'm worried. Your mother would be too if she knew."

"You think so?"

"She might be against the way I see the Mutant and human world, but she has a heart and loves you." Charles said. Ethan was silent as he didn't know what to say. "Your friend Rogue has join the X-Men."

"She has?" Ethan ask. Shocked of the news. That wasn't what he had expected at all.

"She and Scott had some problems with Mystique and Rogue learn she had trick her to believe we wanted to hurt her. So now she has join the X-Men and are sharing a room with Kitty, they had some problems in the beginning, but now they seem all friendly."

"How is Jean?"

"She seems still a bit upset that you left, but she was happy you at least try to call her. Want to talk to her?" Ethan was unsure what to answer. He didn't know if he wanted to talk to her. He didn't feel ready.

"No, I must go, but some other day. You can say hi to her and the others from me. And tell Scott not to get to control freak." he heard his father laugh a little from the other line, but guess he roll his eyes as well.

"I will, play it safe, Ethan." Ethan broke the line and walk back to the house.

"Everything alright with your friends?" Emma ask as he enter. He nodded an answer.

"Yes, a friend of-"

"No need to explain." she cut him off. "I'm a telepath. I can read your mind."

"I don't block you?" Ethan ask, not understanding how he couldn't feel her in his head as he did with his father and Jean. He used to be able to block them as well, his father was still not a problem to keep out without effort, but Jean. It had started to take energy to hold her out all the time.

"You are in my territory, I have the power here." Emma told him and show him to lay down. "Plus, your mind is week from destroying the door. Now take your shirt of and lay down." He took his shirt off and lay down as she said.

"Why do I need to take my shirt of?"

"It's incase for when we come deeper down. Your body might become warm and heat up, what's why I have the water here too, now relax." he did as she told him and close his eyes, then they disappeared.

A maybe ten-year-old Ethan was walking in a big hall. It wasn't empty as the last memory, this was filled with people walking around and the small Ethan was in the middle of it all. He didn't move, just look around and try to find a way though. As he did found a way he was very careful not to touch anyone, but the moment he was out from the hall of people a gang of four kids stood in front of him. The one in the front having his arms crossed over his chest. The small Ethan backed and made a run for it. He run from the school and the boy chase him. Ethan seem to know where to go and where people was. Then, when the small Ethan run to into an ally the memory faded.

"Is this still the locate door?" the grown-up Ethan ask as he and Emma was in the endless white room. She shook her head.

"That door is gone and won't come back, this is another door and another difficulty." she answer. "We are coming deeper and deeper, it will make it harder for you to scan which door I must close." Ethan look around, the scene change and the ten-year-old Ethan stood in front of the grown-up Ethan. The ten-year-old look around from where he stood at the end of the hall. He watched as people walk past and then suddenly start to walk.

"I don't understand anything!" Ethan yelled. He walked after his smaller version and Emma was right behind him.

"What power do you have that'll make you look at people?" Emma ask him.

"None." Ethan answer and they enter a new room. The danger room from the institute. It wasn't on, but people was in the room and the smaller Ten-Ethan walk around, scanning every person."This is not a memory." Ethan told Emma.

"Maybe not, but it is to mean something. Your mind made it up." she told him."Now, focus, what power does you have that makes you stare at people!"

"None! I don't stare at people like that!"

"Then why does your memory seem to think you stare at people?" Emma ask and pointed at the Ten-Ethan.

"He doesn't stare at them-" Ethan try to defend himself but stop as he released the boy that was him did steer, but it wasn't on the people, it had thought them. Emma got a smile as she saw him get the realizing in his look and walk around the people to as his smaller version."I didn't stare at them." he whisper."I was trying to read them. To see their deepest thoughts. I had the ability to feel who was a mutant, and I learn the humans would never like me. They bully me."

"So, you wanted to understand them? Know why?" Emma ask and made him nod.

"I learn how they thought and I start to… see what they wanted to do. Their greatest wish." he turn to look at Emma and their scene change to the white endless one as he said the words."I start to read their deepest wish." the hit in the heart came again and Ethan shut his eyes opened.

Emma and Ethan was back in her living room and he sat up straight. Holding his one hand over his chest, his heart. He just sat like that and breath.

"Did you close it?" he asked after a while and turn to face Emma. She nodded.

"Yes, seems like it's only six more doors."

"Two down, six to go." Ethan said with a smile. They were getting somewhere.