Chapter 25: Second Chance

"Man, the mansion has never looked so good." Hawks says to Storm as she leads him out of the infirmary. Down the hall, Hawks can see Kurt leaning against a wall while talking with a group of recruits before their training with Logan.

"Hawks! You're up!" Kurt perks up, spotting the pro hero and Storm coming their way.

Hawks, leaning heavily onto Storm, gives a weary smile as he approaches his friend.

"How are you, man? It's great seeing you." Kurt says.

"Sore and tired." He says, taking note of the young teens watching.

"Hawks, meet some of our new recruits." Kurt says.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be at simulator training with Logan?" Storm asks.

Kurt groans. "Oh man, I totally forgot." He admits rubbing the back of his neck.

"Aw, but we don't wanna. Logan's no fun." Iceman says.

"Hawks, how about you teach us?!"Sunspot exclaims.

Hawks opens his mouth to reply but Storm cuts him off.

"Show more respect."

"Listen, get better quickly, Hawks, so you can take over for Logan sometime. He's a slave driver." Kurt says.

"Will do. Don't annoy Silver Claws too much, he's not as cold as you might think." Hawks says. Kurt gives Hawks a smirk and teleports himself and the others away.

"Should we be concerned about this?" Hawks asks Storm.

"I wouldn't worry too much, Logan can handle a few rowdy teens." She tells him, then frowns. "How about we get back to infirmary, you're shaking."

Hawks opens his mouth to object but closes it after seeing concern and stern look she was giving him. "Okay, fine." He agrees while they walk back towards the infirmary.

****.****.******

Hawks stares enviously outside the window at the recruits chatting. Their carefree smiles are illuminated by the lamps against the night sky.

Suddenly, Logan walks up dragging Kurt along with him. Kitty, Evan, Scott and Deku are following. What are they doing?

Logan begins explaining something to the group while Kurt pouts next to him.

Wanting to hear what is being said, Hawks pushes himself up and stumbles over to the window, gripping what he can to support himself.

Unlocking the window, Hawks leans on it for support. His legs begin shaking as the window takes his weight.

"Okay, listen up." Logan says once everyone grouped together. He begins to explain the course of the exercise to the group. "Elf here," Logan continues, pointing to Kurt, "will be your target. Find and capture him. Winners get to skip my training lesson tomorrow."

The recruits cheer in unison hearing this.

Hawks smirks.

"Team A, you will be led by Kitty. Team B, Evan will be your leader. Team C, you're stuck with Scotty boy." Logan assigns the recruits to their designated teams, then Kurt teleports away and the competition begins.

Deku, who is standing just outside the window Hawks is peering through, is unaware Hawks is on the other side of the window. Hawks, amused by the scrambling recruits motivated by the training's prize, tries to silence his temptation to startle Deku, but eventually gives in.

"So, night training, who's idea was that?" Hawks says loudly. Deku jumps into the air, whipping around to face Hawks.

"H-H-Hawks?" Deku stammers.

"Heyo." Hawks, trying to hide his amusement, raises his hand in a brief greeting. "What brings you here? I had heard you were around and I guess the rumors are true."

"Oh, well, you see, Professor X asked me to come here and since I was wanting to come visit the US, things worked quickly. I came back with Logan and the others after we got the jet up and working."

"Heh, glad to hear the repairs went well. Wish I could have helped out. Thing is, something important came up and-"

"-Shouldn't you be in bed?" Logan cuts in, glancing towards Hawks.

"Hey, I'm just trying to get some fresh air. How am I supposed to sleep with all the racquet, anyway?" he props up a hand leaning his face against it. His free held the window ledge tightly.

Logan sighs and looks away. "You should go back to bed."

"Come on, Silver Claws. Just a little bit longer."

Logan grunts, crossing his arms as Hawks smirks.

"Hey, he went this way!" Berserker shouts as his group races past them.

"They aren't using their heads," Hawks says, his tone becoming more serious. "No one will catch Kurt if they don't work out a plan."

"Well, how would you two handle this mission differently?" Logan asks.

"Oh, well, I uh.." Deku stammers.

"Use the environment to my advantage while thinking of a way to outsmart them." Hawks says.

Suddenly a loud crash echoes. Hawks tries to keep himself from jumping by gripping the windowsill as he scans the area, barely catching the tail end of the tree falling to the ground. "Uh... should we stop them?" Hawks asks, looking over at Logan.

"Nah, this is fun!" Kurt appears next to them smiling as his tail flickers. "Most of their attacks are sloppy, though." Both Hawks and Logan gave him a 'you're doing this on purpose' look.

"Elf…."

"Don't look at me, you gave them permission to use their powers. Things are bound to get destroyed."

"Look, there he is!" Shouts Boom Boom.

"Oh no, gotta go." Kurt screeches, teleporting back out to the night.

Hawks removes the screen from the window. Logan, hearing this, looks over disapprovingly. "Hawks?" Logan calls.

"I'm coming outside." Hawks responds.

"Feathers.. go back to bed."

"I want get fresh air and see the stars," Hawks says. Plus they're antics are driving me crazy.

"Why do I get stuck with the kids?" Logan grumbles. "Hold on, Feathers, I'll come get you," he says, loud enough for Hawks to hear as he makes his way inside.

****.****.*****

The mansion is quiet as Logan leads Hawks outside.

Hawks' mind drifts as he looks over to Logan. "My father mentioned something about a project called Weapon X that you were part of it. Can I ask you about it?"

"So, he told you then?"

"Yeah, but he didn't tell me much. Just that you weren't born with your powers like the others. You are an artificial mutant; someone created your powers."

"Short version, I was the first one. They gave me my claws and restructured my skeleton with bonding adamantium. I was created to no longer be a man, but a weapon. The Weapon X Program will use people for their own personal goals."

Hawks stares in shock. "I guess that explains why we get along so well, huh? We're both getting screwed by people who are supposed to care about us," he lightly jokes. Logan sighs and shakes his head.

"After a while I met your father. Things began improving for me — better life, no war or fights. I'm just using what I know to help train the next generation."

Logan looks over at him, "something troubling you, Feathers?"

"It's just," Hawks sighs. "After hearing all these stories about everyone and my father — I guess — I wonder what my life would have been like if I got to be here with you guys. I wish I would have sought you guys out sooner."

I didn't seek them out, it was luck. I'm a fraud. I don't deserve these guys.

"You know, Feathers, it doesn't matter, really. You're here now with us. Somewhere safe and secure. This place will always be your home."

Hawks looks over and smiles at him. "Thanks, Silver Claws. Who knows, maybe not having to get my hands dirty for once, or having someone pressure me into doing something I don't want to do might be the first few steps out the cage I'm in. Well, besides right now being stuck on the ground."

"You may be onto something there. Many people try to put a leash on a wild animal or toss them into a cage. Yet only when it breaks free does it have a second chance at life."

"Second chance." The cool spring night air hit Hawks' face as he lets the rejuvenating words sink in. Hawks glances up at the sky, closing his eye. "That sounds nice."