Chapter 7: Coming Home with the Prize

The jet finally landed as the sun began to set, the familiar trees of the school still golden, red and purple, their leaves littering the ground from the cooling breeze of autumn. The only glimpses caught as the small aircraft descended into the basketball court.

Ororo was the first to unbuckle her seatbelt when the concrete panels of the backyard came back together, rising from her chair to stretch. She smiled in satisfaction as the vertebrae signaled realignment with loud pops and cracks.

Logan watched her, frowning as he rose from his seat only to feel the rolling discomfort of his stomach as it settled, "I'm never driving with you again. That was one of the worst rides I've taken in this thing." He said, walking to the other occupied seat in the front of the jet.

Bobby after a few more hours of sleep, had decided to come sit in the front, promptly falling asleep as the ride and the company didn't improve. He had slumped over in exhaustion, his body hanging limply from the harness, a line of dried drool tracing a faint line from the corner of his mouth and down the side of his face. The teen lay there, immune to Jean's tutting in disapproval as she had come ot check on him during one of her breaks from her patients.

The feral watched the kid, smiling slightly in amusement as the boy mumbled something in his sleep, before shaking him none to gently awake. "Hey kid, we're home." He said, his large hand steadying the teen as he jolted awake.

"Huh...wah...? What happened?"

"You've been sleeping for hours. I don't think you're completely recovered from your 'run-in' yet." Said Jean, as she came to the front, preparing to disembark with two patients in-tow. "You're coming with me to the medical bay. I'll brief Hank on your status and he can watch you for anything wrong over night. Any questions?"

"No ma'am."

Jean smiled as Bobby stood, wobbling slightly before righting himself. "Good boy, come with me then. Logan can you carry the other mutant? I've given him another dose of the sedative so he should be out for sometime still."

"Yeah, no problem."

"Thanks. Ororo, you can let down the ramp now."

"Got it." She said as the large metal ramp came touched the ground, revealing a small welcome party for the newly returned hunters. "Well everyone, it's been real."

They descended to the ground, Bobby half asleep on his feet just trying to keep his eyes open, Jean and Ororo carrying the teams bags from the trip with Logan trailing behind them holding the unconscious mutant in his arms.

The Professor was the first to greet the party, wheeling himself forward toward the small group, followed by Marie, standing directly behind the older man, watching Bobby as he snapped himself awake.

"Welcome back. I hope your trip wasn't too uncomfortable." Said the Professor, his eyes scanning the faces of the group before coming to rest on the small body in Logan's arms. "Is that her?"

Logan scoffed as Hank came forward wheeling a gurney for the small mutant. "I don't know where you went wrong Chuck, but that ain't no girl, let me tell you." He said as he placed the sleeping mutant on the stretcher, watching as the Professor came closer.

Xavier looked at the small mutant, his eyes distant for a moment as he scanned the surface of his mind, a personal code to not go any further than the top layer of emotions and thoughts. "After all these years..." He whispered, hand reaching up and tracing along a high cheek bone. He wheeled back breathing deeply, before smiling softly, " A male then? I never would have suspected...Very interesting indeed."

The two groups became one then, blending together in greetings as the Professor continued to look at his prize. His adoring gaze trailing the inhale and exhale from his chest, the delicate flare of his nostrils and the gentle curve of his throat. The other mutant had captured the Professor.

Marie stared at Bobby, her eyes looking for any obvious signs that something wasn't right with her boyfriend. Their eyes locked her brown clashing with ice blue and she saw the difference. The Bobby infront of her now was not the one she had seen off a few days ago. This Bobby was distant and tired, shifting away from her gaze in guilt. Something had happened during that mission, something that had taken the Bobby she wanted away from her.

"Hank take Bobby and our guest to the medical bay for observation. The rest of you go rest, tomorrow we can talk about the mission." Said the Professor, tearing his gaze away from the figure on the stretcher as Jean spoke to Hank. Scott grasping Bobby's shoulder, leading the fading teen after the large blue mutant as he pushed the gurney deeper into the basement of Mutant High.

...

"So what do you think?" Asked Jean leaning against one of the counters in the medical, her gaze sweeping over Bobby as he lay sleeping on an examination table.

Hank stood with his back to the red head, his hands busy as he took various samples from the strange, new mutant. Unconscious, the small body looked like some ethereal fairytale royal under a spell. The large blue mutant looked up from his work, handing a vial of blood to Jean, before making a note in his report. His eyes never leaving the small face infront of him.

"Do we have an age range on him?"

Jean sighed, reaching into her travel bag grabbing her preliminary reports, the signature doctor handwriting scrawled across the pages. Glancing quickly at the pages she looked up at Hank, "I figured at most he's about sixteen. Probably a runaway, from the South."

"What makes you say he's Southern?" Asked Hank as he pushed the exam table to radiology.

The red head smiled, as she followed, knowing that it annoyed Hank when she trailed behind him in the medical bay. "His accent is similar to Marie's when she's mad."

Hank placed the small male on the radiology table careful not to jostled, or jerk him too much. "How interesting..."

The pair walked to the x-ray machine, Jean operating while Hank began examing the blood samples. "Aren't you going to get some rest? I'm sure Scott's waiting for you."

Jean shook her head, "I told him not to wait up. I wanted to see what this guy's made of."

"I'm sure you are aware of the saying 'curiousity killed the cat.'"

"I have but, I always add, 'Satisfaction brought it back.'"

"Touche, Dr. Grey. Touche."

She smiled before turning off the machine and wheeling their patient back to the main room. Hank continued to look at the samples they had taken, making a note in his report every few minutes.

"Hey, I'm going to draw some blood from Bobby and then start on the full body exam on the other patient." Said Jean, pulling her hair back into a bun, before grabbing a new vial.

Hank nodded from the microscope, his eyes squinting into the machine. "I'll be there in a moment to assist you."

Jean returned later, the once empty vial filled and labelled as Bobby's. She prepared a slide, placing it under another microscope on the table. "I hooked Bobby up to the IV. He should be back to himself by tomorrrow."

"Come and look at this a minute." Said Hank, barely looking up from the lighted lenses as Jean walked around the table, rising only when she was right behind him.

She sat in the stool he had vacanted, her hand readjusting the focus as she looked down into the slide. Jean jolting up in her seat as her eyes registered what they were seeing, " Really?"

Hank looked at her, his eyes serious as he nodded, reaching forward to increase the focus again. "Look again."

"I'm scared now. This is getting pretty weird."

"Just trust me."

Jean nodded, bending her head down again to look into the slide on the other end of the lenses. "I can't believe it."

"You have to. There's no other alternative."

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes collecting themselves. The shock of the discoveries they had made in the last few minutes processing through the turmoil they had developed.

"Come on, we have to finish the exam." Said Hank, before he headed out to the main room of the medical bay.

Jean followed behind, wringing her hands in apprehension, "I hope there aren't anymore surprises in store for us. I don't think I could take another one."

The Beast nodded, as he stood at the unconscious mutant's head. A small flashlight checking for pupil response in his hand as he gently opened the large eyes. Jean followed suit, rechecking his vitals and his ankle.

"I'm gonna change him into pajamas." Said Jean, after twenty minutes of silence on Hank's part.

She disappeared into the supply closet for a moment as Hank removed the small mutant's shirt, looking for anything out of the ordinary, his hands ghosting gently over the smooth skin before Jean returned with a pair of sweats.

The large male looked over the new clothing, registering the school logo and single light pink stripe on the waistband. "Aren't those made for women?"

Jean nodded, looking embarassed as Hank lifted the small boy up so she could first remove the thick long-sleeve shirt he'd been wearing, then pulling a thin t-shirt over his head, followed quickly by the sweat shirt, "It was the only one in his size. All the boys ones are for children or average to large sized teenagers and adults."

Hank chuckled, as she finished, laying the body down on the table so they could start the lower half. "Do you want me to change him?"

"I got it. I'm a doctor and besides it's nothing I haven't seen before."

"Right, then I don't suppose you'll mind changing his undershorts as well?"

"...Maybe you should do it."

"I'd thought as much."

They worked together to get the boy's boots and pants off. Hank taking over as they neared the boxers, easing them down gently so as not to disturbed their patient, until they were finally off.

Jean looked down at the boy, her curiousity finally getting the better of her, "Oh my god." She said, her eyes looking up at her partner, shock evident in her gaze.

"I concur."