Stumbling Along the Path
"Does it ever wake you in the middle of the night?" Erik asked, "The feeling that one day, they'll come for you? And your children?"
Xavier wheeled around, "I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul who comes to my school looking for trouble."
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or universe. They belong to Marvel and FOX Studio.
None of the X-Men could sleep that night. Jean sat in the common room, like the night before. She wondered if the Professor would ever tell her she wasn't allowed to stay in the living room. Ororo was out in the garden, there was something relieving about the plants and the smell of mint and thyme that filled the air. Kurt couldn't help but blame himself, he was the only one who they could look at and immediately know they were a mutant. His sharp blue nails dug into his arm as he rocked back and forth anxiously, hanging from the rafters by his tail.
Scott left Hank's office, he was happy his head didn't need any stitched, but still not thrilled by the throbbing in his head, despite the local numbing that Mr. McCoy had given him. His hand reached up to touch the bandage, he winced.
Scott contemplated whether he should just go to bed, but as he turned to go up the stairs he saw the familiar glow from the television. He did a quick turn and shuffled towards the sitting room. He stood in the doorway, she was watching the news. Her head resting on her knees as tears rolled down her cheeks. It was protests about the MRD Bill, and people protesting the protestors, violent outbreaks, the works.
Scott took a deep breath and swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat.
"You should find something else to watch, that will only stress you out more, Jean." He advised, as he walked around the back of the couch, grabbing a blanket.
"You should probably go rest." Jean retorted, with as stern of a voice that she could manage while wiping away tears.
"It will heal. No biggie. I'm just glad it was me and not you or anyone else. He was just an ass. Even his wife was embarrassed by his behavior." He debated, ignoring the throbbing in his head.
"I should have sensed it and stopped it. I could have if I had see him in time. I should have been paying attention." She stated, turning to look at Scott's bandage.
"It didn't even need stitches. It's fine. Do you plan on sleeping down here again or…" He trailed off as Magneto appeared at the protest and started causing havoc with the humans as he and a small group of other mutants began protest with him.
"And just when things couldn't get worse…" Jean whispered, blinked, and the TV turned off, she knew Scott was right.
"So down here I expect?" He light heartedly joked.
"Yeah, at least I won't wake up anyone else." She jested back.
They sat in silence for a while, before Scott started to get sleepy and decided it would be best for him to upstairs for now. He got up and gave his blanket to Jean.
"I'm gonna head upstairs, my head is killing me." He tried to laugh it off but winced.
"Alright. Sleep tight, sweet dreams. Also, Scott?"
"Yes?" He turned around.
"I like you too." She smiled and his face turned red as he turned and walked off with a giant smile on his face.
The next day, Peter woke up bright and early, urging his mother that it was totally okay for them to all go to church and that he and Wanda would just stay at the house. He had gone into the living room and turned on the television to the news. Wanda walked down the stairs and saw the television showing the riots, she caught a glimpse of Magneto.
"Hey, that is my father!" She pointed.
Peter gave her a look, "What?"
"That man. His name is Erik Lehnsherr. He's been in the news a lot lately. He is my father." She noted.
"Oh lord. Our family is so screwed up." Peter said for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.
"What is it now, Pietro?" She griped.
"I think we need to have a talk with this dude, cause he is my dad too." He sighed.
"Oh…" She said, her eyes growing wider.
Peter grabbed his backpack, grabbed a photo of him and his mom and threw it in there. He took his jacket off the coat rack, and ran down to the basement and grabbed his goggles.
"What are you doing?" Wanda asked.
"We. And we are going to talk to Magneto and his goons, someone has some explaining to do for his promiscuity." Peter joked, but seriously was upset over the lack of regard he had for his various children.
"I do not think it would be wise for us to go to those protests, or for us to talk to him. My parents say he is nothing but trouble and leaves nothing but pain where he goes." She insisted.
"I met him once. In Egypt. When everything went to hell, he switched to our side and help defeat Apocalypse. He's not pure evil, I just don't really know what he stands for. Sort of a wishy washy person, ya know?" He rambled, throwing other random things into his bag in case of an emergency.
"Alright, but if things do not go well, we just leave. Deal?" She hardly got the words out before Peter had his hand behind her head and off they went at supersonic speed.
At the mansion, the young X-Men left the Danger Room exchanging high fives. They had managed to successfully rescue Jubilee from the MRD without any casualties this time.
"Now, I need to see Jean, Scott, and Ororo." The Professor said, as he came out of his office.
Kurt and Jubilee waved bye to the group and headed off into the kitchen to grab a celebratory snack. Scott, Jean, and Ororo looked around at each other confused, wondering if they were in trouble for something.
"Jean, do you recall the man you saw at the coffee house? The one who defended you three and Kurt?" The Professor asked, as they started all walking towards the elevator.
"Yeah, you said his name was Robert Drake. He was the one I told you that his hands froze." Jean said, as the elevator door opened and they all made their way inside.
"Well, I would like for you three to see if Mr. Drake would be interested in a full scholarship to the Xavier Institute. I think you guys will be the best at recruiting since you all have different and unique stories of getting here. Hopefully he will be responsive and interested. If not, there is no need to stay unless you guys want, we are not here to force people, just to recruit." The Professor said, as they went into the garage of the mansion.
"Seems easy enough." Ororo said confidently.
"And Mr. McCoy has made you these so that if you should come into any trouble, you will be able to contact me, and the rest of the X-Men. They also work as tracking devices. Here is one for each of you." He said, holding out his hands to reveal three small circular pins with black X's on red backgrounds.
"All you need to do is push them and hold them in to communicate or push them twice consecutively to let off a sort of SOS signal." He continued.
They each took one. Scott put his on his leather jacket, Jean attached hers to her sweater under her cardigan, and Ororo put hers on the shoulder of her jacket.
"Any other questions before you guys take off on your first mission?" The Professor asked.
"Nope!" They all said in unison before heading towards the car.
Peter and Wanda stopped at the rally and began looking around, they had a hard time seeing with all the signs waving in the air. They walked around and made their way to the front of the protests where they could see Magneto being surrounded by a group of mutants who seem to be listening to his every word like it was gospel.
"I am no hero. Merely a man who has seen and done and endured what can never be forgotten or forgiven. I have been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again." He continued, he seemed to be getting a response from the crowd in his favor.
Peter just looked over at Wanda, who's eyes were fixated on him with a mix of hatred and admiration.
