The mansion was abuzz with students getting ready for a barbecue party, and Hector was trying to restrain his homicidal urges.
Was a little alone time with Scout really too much to ask for? He had managed to do the jobs that meant they'd be within arm's reach of each other, but every time he tried to strike up private conversation, something came up. Usually Jamie or one of his copies butting in. Currently, the two of them were in the kitchen preparing snack trays.
"Hey you two!"
Speak of the devil... A few Jamies poked their heads in and one of them wanted to know how the food was coming along. Another patrolled around to make sure Kitty didn't take a single step in the kitchen. As a third Jamie reached for a chip, Hector readied his miasma to strike his hand.
"Let him have one," pleaded Scout in a light, whispered tone that trusted him to do the right thing.
The striking would have to wait. Jamie made chitchat with Scout while helping himself to bits of the food, but it seemed that Hector's presence was unnerving him as Jamie glanced over his shoulder at Hector more often and began hesitating in his speech more often. Within five minutes, all the Jamies were gone.
"Think this is enough," asked Scout, "or should we open a few more bags of chips?"
Before Hector could answer, Jean stepped in. "This is plenty!" she chirped. "Thanks you two." Everything else was taken care of, so they were free to spend the rest of Independence Day however they liked. "You'll be joining us for the barbecue, right Scout?"
"I- I am?" Scout parroted. "Oh! Thanks."
Jean left, taking the snack trays with her through TK levitation. Once everything was clear, Hector seized Scout's hand and took her to the library and a silent corner where they could finally have their time together and his homicidal urges began fading.
Over the last few days, they had developed a routine. Hector would try and help her regain her memory by asking her simple questions like what her favorite color was (blue), what her favorite food was (the delicious kind), and what her favorite song was (she had drawn a blank on that one). Meanwhile, he had promised to keep an eye out for information on anyone who would be looking for her, but so far nothing had turned up. After the usual updates, they settled into casual conversation.
"You don't seem happy about the barbeque party," Hector observed.
Scout couldn't meet his eyes. "I just feel bad. The Brotherhood eats McDonald's once a week and it's awesome for them and now I'm going to a barbeque party for free," she said. "It feels off." She couldn't ask permission to invite them over without blowing her cover to the X-Men.
"Why don't you just tell the X-Men?" Hector asked, swinging a supportive arm around her shoulder.
"I want to!" she said. "But I want..." Scout glanced around, then continued more quietly, murmuring in Hector's ear, "I want Lance to be happy, and that means the X-Men can't where I live and the Brotherhood except Lance can't know where I work." His white hair brushed against her face as she talked, and Scout felt her face grow warm as she picked up the scent of kiwis and lime. "I'm sorry." She turned away, trying to will her face to return to a more comfortable temperature. "I shouldn't be telling you this. You might get in trouble if-"
Hector leaned in closer and placed his hands on her face, turning her head back towards him so they'd have eye contact. Scout tensed, but gave no further sign of alarm. Smiling at the pink tint on her face, Hector said, "It's all right. It really is. I'm trying to help you remember who you are. The more I know about you, the better." As her gaze seemed to bore into his eyes, he reminded himself that his contacts were in place and that she didn't know who he really was or their history together.
"Hey!"
Hector whispered a curse, causing Scout to giggle. Footsteps in the library became louder and louder until Ace stepped in front of them. "What are you doing?" he asked. Ace glanced at the arm Hector had around Scout's shoulders, and Hector returned his glare with equal animosity.
"Having a private conversation," Hector retorted. Ace then looked at Scout, and Hector was pleased when she nodded and broke her gaze away from the arrogant bastard's blue eyes.
Ace did not say another word, but he briefly scanned the shelves and found a book. Finding a chair near the window, he sat down and began reading, every once in a while glancing up at Hector and Scout.
Homicidal urges rising.
Scout noticed creases forming between Hector's brows, and lightly touched the hand on her shoulder. He sighed, and the crease disappeared. Ace glanced up at the sigh, and this time Scout met his gaze. Please leave us alone.
Ace didn't leave, but this time he was the one to break eye contact.
A quick phone call to the Brotherhood to let them know she wasn't coming home for dinner left Scout giggling at Toad's mock-dire warning that it was a trap. "Your masters are gonna laugh at you!"
"Oh yeah, Lance's been hangin' out with you a lot. I haven't seen him all day," said Fred. "You know where he might've gone? Sucks if he had to work today."
Now he mentions it, I haven't seen Kitty all day either. "He hasn't said anything to me," Scout replied truthfully. "Sorry." Fred let the matter drop, wished her a good time at the barbecue, and hung up. She wanted to ask someone where Kitty was, but imagined Logan going out looking for her, finding her with Lance, and Lance coming home with his clothes half-torn and never speaking to her again.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Scout sighed and her shoulders sagged. It was Ace, again. "No thanks," she replied with as much cheer as she could muster. "I need at least a twenty."
Ace's ensuing laughter, though soft and brief, made him seem much less cold, and Scout was mesmerized by his lazy smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a fifty. "For you, if you tell me what you're doing here spying for the Brotherhood," he said, his smile growing wider, "and why you spend so much time with Hector when you think nobody is looking."
For the second time, Scout wished she could sink into the floor at being confronted with her own stupidity. The smile remained on her face, but her forehead and brows wrinkled. Of course! Ace had seen her at the library with Lance, and somehow she had never, ever considered that this might-
"I won't tell."
Scout's brow relaxed, but she tilted her head in confusion.
"If you're in a situation you can't get out of," Ace explained, "I can help you. I don't think Xavier and the others can right now."
Scout shook her head. "I'm not spying," she said, squaring her shoulders and straightening her spine. She relaxed a bit as she glanced furtively around, but Ace assured her that nobody was within earshot. How he could tell was a chilling thought. "They feed me, they bought clothes for me, I don't have to sleep outside where there are bugs, and I don't want to be a leech so I got a job here," she insisted for what she knew wouldn't be the last time. "As for Hector, what I do with a friend is none of your business, so keep your money and quit your spying, please."
Ace's eyes narrowed. "Hector is your friend?" He stepped closer, but Scout remained still. "Are you sure?" Scout nodded, and Ace finally broke eye contact. Stepping right in front of her, he lifted her hand and placed the money in her palm. "Thank you for telling me. If you ever need help, let me know."
As he turned to walk away, Scout shouted, "Did you ever find your Scout?" He faced her again. "Because this," she held out the fifty for him to take back, "feels like you're using me to replace her."
He laughed again. "You're not a replacement, and I haven't given up on finding her again." Before she could toss the money back at him, he turned and disappeared around the corner. Scout was lost in thought at what the hell just happened, but shrugged and stuffed the bill in her jacket.
The sun was getting lower in the sky and the sound of meat sizzling beckoned Hector outside. Paradise was interrupted when Hector was slammed into the nearest wall by a blue-eyed sunuva-
"What the hell are you doing?" asked Ace.
"That a trick question?" Hector almost regretted his smarmy answer when he felt a high fever coming on.
"You know what I mean. What are you doing with Nadia?" Ace's eyes were glowing brighter, and Hector finally got the message.
"First," Hector held up his hands, "she's going by Scout now, in case you haven't noticed. Second, I'm not 'doing' anything. We're just talking, and I'm supposed to be helping her get her memories back."
"Are you?"
"Hell no. She's happier this way," Hector smirked.
"Oh?" Ace bared his canines. "And how happy do you think she'll be when she remembers that you-"
Miasma burst from Hector and shoved Ace off. In the ensuing glaring contest, Hector snarled, "Shut up. You don't know anything." The shadows calmed a bit, wicking the sweat from his skin and bringing down his fever.
Ace straightened up. "I'll leave you two alone, because Scout asked me to," he seethed, "but if she ever comes running to me telling me that you hurt her..." His eyes and fingertips glowed white.
Hector didn't blink. "You wouldn't. She'd never let you." Ace's didn't deny this, but the warning was clear as he ceased to glow.
Renée entered the uncomfortable situation and glanced around. Clearing her throat, she asked why they weren't at the barbecue when the snacks were quickly disappearing. At "snacks", Hector bolted.
There was no shortage of fun that evening. Remy had taken to plucking blades of grass and charging the tip to make sparklers. Mutant volleyball was in full swing with Kurt teleporting between both sides whenever there was an odd number of players. Once the sun set, everyone gathered in a circle for the fireworks display.
Jubilee warmed up the crowd with a simple display of her powers, while Bobby threw ice crystals in the air that Ray exploded with electric pulses. Finally, Tabitha and Amara took center stage. Tabitha prepared some explosions, and Amara created a burst of flame that lifted them up into the sky. Right as they detonated, the flames split into butterflies, as Jean stepped forward and manipulated the flames from below. The next burst of flame and explosions gave forth a flock of birds. It was spectacular, but Hector noticed Xavier's reaction. His grin was genuine, but his eyes seemed a bit sad.
Finally, Tabitha loaded an explosion the size of a basketball, and Amara was panting, but made one last push. Everyone watching took a step back just in case. A column of flame burst from where Amara was standing, lifting Tabitha's bomb as high as possible. Tabitha had apparently overdone it, because when detonated occurred she yelped in shock along with everything else. Working quickly, Jean kept the detonation high above the ground, spreading the flames until they revealed the form of an enormous dragon. The beast swooped across the sky above the mansion, setting it ablaze with an orange glow more befitting day than night. After few circles around the building, it began to fade, at which point Jean let it burst into millions of small sparks.
Applause and cheers erupted from the crowd while Ms. Munroe hovered to make sure no damage was done to the grounds. Jean wiped her brow as Xavier praised her. "It seems those mental exercises are working."
All Jean could do was give a tired smile as Scott handed her a cup of water.
Kitty raced onto the lawn just as everyone began to clean up. Kurt and Rogue got to her first, asking her if excitedly she'd seen the fireworks and worriedly where she'd been, respectively. Panting for breath, Kitty gasped, "I saw the fireworks, but I'm not the only one." On cue, sirens sounded.
Sirens... Several of the students had run inside, but Scout couldn't stop focusing on the wailing, growing louder and louder. Something stirred in her mind, and suddenly she was frozen. Her heart drummed in her ears along with the sirens, and her throat tightened. I can't cry. Scout blinked. Why shouldn't I cry? There was no reason for her to be scared. Right? Surely she was safe here. Why do I have to be so frightened and weak? Because she was hiding from... from...
She flinched when someone placed a hand on her shoulder, but relaxed when she saw it was Hector. "You okay?" he asked. When she nodded, he gently lead her inside. There, the sirens were quieter, but Scout's reaction to them disturbed her. Whatever kept her memories locked away seemed more and more like Pandora's box.
And yet...
You are a good person.
Taking a deep breath, Scout resolved to talk to Magneto as soon as she got home.
Too close.
Hector had seen that look on her face numerous times before, back when she was Nadia, and every once in a while she'd vainly struggle to remain smiling even as her eyes revealed she wanted to scream and cry and destroy everything in her path. He had been afraid that the sirens triggered the return of her memories, but when she had reacted warmly to his presence, those fears disappeared.
Quite a few people in Bayville had apparently panicked at the sight of the dragon, and the cops grilled Xavier on a supposed bomb that was being tested. Any students that attempted to interrupt the interrogation were promptly told they would get their turn. Amara, Tabitha, and Jean gave a miniature demonstration of their powers, while the other students gave witness that what the paranoid idiots (Hector's mental label, not their spoken one) had seen was nothing more than a fireworks display gone slightly more large-scale than intended.
Ace was the last one questioned, and he repeated what everyone else had said. Satisfied that they had done their jobs, the officers thanked them for their cooperation and apologized for the disturbance. Hector wondered if they'd been too hostile to them, but shook his head of the thoughts.
Scout, meanwhile, noticed that Ace's hands shook a bit as he stepped outside to smoke a cigarette after the officers were gone. With everyone else occupied, she decided to follow him outside. "Are you okay?"
Without looking at her, he nodded and took a drag. Coughing a bit, he took a small tin from the pocket of his suit trousers and took a clear pill from it. After he popped it in his mouth, his coughing abated.
Alarmed, Scout said, "I think you should see-"
"I'm fine," Ace insisted. "This medicine keeps the negative side effects away." Now he turned to look at her. "Thank you for your concern, though."
He smiled, but Scout couldn't tell if she was mocking her. "You're welcome."
Scout went back inside to say her goodbyes and as she passed by Kitty. Kitty was shocked and flustered when Scout noticed and pulled out a leaf stuck in the older girl's hair, but both of them had a private laugh, and Kitty expressed gratitude for her "help". Finished with her farewells, Scout went home.
Before Scout could tell Magneto what happened, a matter of formality had to be settled. The other members of the Brotherhood were watching a movie in the living room.
"Magneto is when I am in my armor," he explained, settling down in the dining room. "Here, I am just Erik Lehnsherr."
Scout sat across from him and stuck her hand out. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Lehnsherr."
Mr. Lehnsherr smiled as they shook, but Scout could see his eyes settle into Magneto mode as she let go. "What is troubling you, Scout?"
Scout took a deep breath. Just thinking about the sirens made her feel ill. "I... Something happened today," she began, "and I think I almost remembered something important. But what happened was just so... I don't think I want to remember anymore." Somehow she managed to keep her smile plastered on her face.
Mr. Lehnsherr leaned forward. "Scout, what happened?" he asked firmly, but not unkindly.
"Police sirens." Scout tried to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat. "I heard police sirens today. It don't know, but I suddenly just froze. Couldn't move, y'know? I felt like crying but I knew, I knew, that if I cried something bad would happen and I don't know but..." Scout couldn't complete the sentence. Once she realized that her hands were shaking, she took them off the table and tried to hide them in her lap. Clasping them together only made the shaking worse.
Something flashed across Mr. Lehnsherr's eyes. Grief or regret? It could've been just sadness. Scout broke eye contact and stared at her hands. Stop shaking. You're supposed to be stronger than this. Damn you! "So weak," she murmured, and she flinched when she realized she had spoken aloud what was only meant to be a thought. Mr. Lehnsherr's chair scraped across the floor, and the next thing Scout knew his hands were on her shoulders.
"Scout, you're safe here," he said. "Scout?" Taking a deep breath, Scout looked up at Mr. Lehnsherr. Her hands finally stopped trembling.
"I'm scared of what I'll remember," she said. "I feel weak, and I hate feeling weak."
"Scout." Mr. Lehnsherr paused, apparently trying to gather the right words. "There is nothing wrong with what you experienced. It seems you may have PTSD." After Scout nodded to indicate that she knew what he meant, Magneto continued, "Knowing that, I think it's important that we find out who gave you that pendant." He nodded to her neck. "It's possible that you are not the only one. We need to find out who did this to you, and bring them to justice, so that they never hurt anyone else. Tell me everything that you can. If it's too painful, I will not force you to say anything."
Scout's smile became less forced. "Really?"
Mr. Lehnsherr nodded, removing his hands from her shoulders, and she told him as much as she could. This first required a sheepish confession that she was working at the Institute and passing love letters between Lance and Kitty, earning a chuckle from Mr. Lehnsherr as he mused on "young love" but swore that he would not reveal her to anyone else. She told him about how Logan's claws were familiar, and that they triggered a memory of being trained to physical exhaustion. When she revealed that Hector of the X-Men was also trying to help her remember, Mr. Lehnsherr frowned at the unfamiliar name.
"He might have moved in while you were busy," said Scout. "Come to think of it, though, he's not the only one there who's strange." She pulled out the fifty dollar bill from her jacket and talked about Ace, how he had met her and Lance at the library and how he was apparently looking for a girl named Scout who was not her.
"This seems contradictory," Mr. Lehnsherr muttered. "For what reason would he tip you so generously if you are not the one he seeks?"
Scout could only shake her head, and then remembered one last thing. "For a few nights now, I've been dreaming of a stranger in... I think it's indigo fog, but it's denser. The stranger is taller than me, definitely male and likely and adult by the voice," she said, her voice slowing and getting more quiet. "He just hugs me, tells me that..." She paused to yawn. "... that he's thrilled to see me. It's so warm and nice and I can't break from it." Scout clutched the fifty. "Could you please give this to Lance? I don't..." Another yawn, deeper and louder than the last, and her eyelids felt heavy. "I don't know what to do with it."
"Yes." The bill slipped from her fingers, and in her state of drowsiness she didn't quite know how she was walking or where she was going, but when she hit something soft, she heard Mr. Lehnsherr bid her goodnight.
If she hadn't drifted off at that moment, she would've returned the sentiment.
A/N: Please leave a review! It let's me know what I'm doing wrong and it's nice to hear back from readers. As of now, I no longer have an editor, just so you know.