To me, my X-Men.

-

“Sounds like yer asking fer trouble. I’ve been studying tha’ possible existence of a world like this fer years and I can’t make heads nor tails of how I’m supposed to get us out. What if I just make things worse but tryin’ ta use… whatever it is I can do?” A thought that had crossed his mind but the machine that had brought him here, the Fractal Frequency Displacer continued to swirl through his mind. It knew what needed to be done. And how to do it.

“How am I supposed ta build resistance ta ma arms being burned? You try and build a resistance ta that!″ he snapped, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “Sometimes… I can see things. S’like I try and communicate ta the mirror what I wanna see and it appears.” Before he’d needed his suit for that work; now he could do it all alone.   

“You’ve been studying it,” Scott agreed, “but I’m not here to study the world. I’m just trying to help you figure out how to control what you can do. I’m not interested in this world.” At least, not right then. Scott wasn’t a scientist, and while he didn’t think he was an unintelligent person, he was no genius, either, and he didn’t spend his time studying things just for the sake of it. Right then, he had a goal. Get out of the mirror. Get back to his life. That was his focus. 

“You build resistance to it the same way you build resistance to any kind of pain. Have you ever studied any martial arts? Any fighting style at all? The body adapts. The mind adapts.” It didn’t matter to him if Evan believed at the outset that it could work, though it would’ve been easier if he did. Scott was used to resistance, even insistence on failure. He had nothing to do there except break through that.

\

Emma’s cobalt eyes that could stare into soul were staring into the red-eyed man in front of her. No movement besides the move of the vape pen coming between her lips, the liquid crackling as she inhaled. “Do you deserve more than one thing?” She asked, an exhale of vape smoke coming from between her lips. Of course there was far much more things she liked about the man in front of her. However, their relationship was non-existent if not strained. Her guard was back up so to speak but he had a way of making her slowly lower it. An innate weakness that she hated that she loved him for it.

“As do I. I wore flats once. Horrid choice.” She made light of the situation as she leaned forward a little more. “Though, I would say, feeling sorry for yourself is one of your less attractive qualities.” She humored as her eyes looked up to him. “I think when you have let go of the reigns, it has been some of your most exquisite work. The bed sheets would agree.” A daring comment but she was a daring woman.

“I think there’s at least two,” he retorted. Maybe she’d give him that much, but he knew she was angry. Well, maybe angry was taking it too far. She wasn’t with him, and that was his own fault. When Evan had sent him out into the world, he’d tried to make the transition seamless, but he’d failed with Emma. She’d been too distracting, he hadn’t been able to find the balance, and now he found himself wanting something back that wasn’t even his to have in the first place. 

“I can’t imagine.” He had many images in his mind of Emma in the middle of a battlefield with stilettos, despite whatever the situation or terrain happened to be. He’d helped her up the side of a mountain in heels. 

Barry nodded slowly. “Right. Yeah, I guess celebrating too early would be the wrong course of action - especially with tensions still running a little high even without NOVA’s presence. Better to be safe, I suppose.” He agreed as the other explained their viewpoint on the matter. Still, he couldn’t help but be hopeful that things would change for the better around Star City.

Barry noted the glance towards the door, but ignored it as Scott continued speaking. A frown briefly crossed his face and he let out a soft breath. “Yeah, I’m definitely feeling that these days.” He remarked. There was a small pause as he mulled things over in his head. “You’re a leader to your people; someone people look to for direction or some kind of compass to guide them, right?” He asked. 

“What do you do when you have exhausted almost every resource you can think of but still haven’t come any closer to solving a problem?” Barry hadn’t gotten anywhere with Inglo’s technology. Every study he read up on or research he could get his hands on hadn’t given him any closure on what had happened. The answers seemed to only be found in the mind of Dr. Inglo himself and that was no longer accessible.

“Yeah. For better or for worse, that’s what I do. I’ve led the X-Men for half my life at this point.” Off and on. It hadn’t been a constant for him, and he still often thought that there were people better suited to it than he was. None of them were there, though, and Scott didn’t shirk responsibility. The real Scott, anyway, and it felt the same to him. He slipped easily into the role. It felt like his own. 

-

“What kinda program?” he asked, crossing his arms. For all that Evan had more power here than Scott realised, he didn’t understand how half the technology the school utilised worked. His niche was very specific after all. He’d just left those rooms alone while he worked on other endeavours. Thinking on it, there was hardly a reflective surface in some of them so he wouldn’t have been able to spy even if he wanted to. “Somethin’ that’s gonna get us outta here?” he asked, voice lilting up at the end, as though the thought excited him.

He followed behind him and shook his head at the question, “Nah. Some o’these doors are locked up tight and I cannae just invent a code for’em. So I’ve stuck ta spaces I could get into.” He raised a brow at the title, “Danger Room Fergive me fer sounded queasy but that doesn’ae sound like a room I’d enjoy spending time in. Just what kinda scenario do ya have in mind? Cause if it involves me getting ma arms burnt again ya can go whistle.”

He’d needed to use that to force Scott into believing he couldn’t leave, any progress he made past it needed to be done privately.

Progress that was very slow coming.    

“It’s a training program. Think of it like...well, kind of like an obstacle course tailored just to you and your abilities. The more we learn about them, the more I can adjust it, but we have to start somewhere.” Scott was a perfectionist, and he could certainly be (and often was) neurotic, but he was also patient when he needed to be. If something had to be done right then he was always willing to put in the time and work to get it there. 

\

Emma scoffed out of humour a little, her lips at the end of the pen. She let the silence feel the room again, the only sound being the growling of the vape pen as she took another long inhale. As he responded to her later comment, Emma’s expression seemed unchanged for a moment. As if she didn’t hear it for a moment. Her lips twitched into the signature smirk she wore as she exhaled.

“That is the one thing I have always liked about you. You enjoy being in control.” Emma took another long drag before she exhaled again. Her smirk staying across her lips as her eyes never left the ones behind his shades. “Like me.” 

.

“The one thing? There’s only one thing?” He took a drink and looked forward again. He had so many memories of Emma that felt like his, felt like he’d been the one to be there for them and live them, but he knew that wasn’t true. The split between what belonged to the original Scott and what was his felt like it was tearing at him in a way that it was never supposed to. Evan had told him that this life wasn’t for him, that this world wasn’t for him...That might be true, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything to stop him from wanting it. 

“I know I am, but ever since you rescued me you’ve been nothing but a father figure to me. I call you dad because that’s what you are to me.” Rory mumbled. “You can say no, but I just wanted my name to reflect that, so whenever I do something cool or good, it’ll be a reflection of you too.” blushing at the last bit, he brought his legs up, now cross legged on the chair as he waited for his father’s answer. “I did think about that, but truth is I’ve never felt like a Carstairs, plus it’d be really cool to have the same last name as Nate, we already call each other brothers, so I thought…y’know, it would be nice to have the same last name.”

Scott was quiet, though the corner of his mouth twitched into a little smile. He wasn’t sure that he deserved the kind of love or devotion that he got from Roy or from Nathan, but it wasn’t as if it was something he would reject, either. He’d spent the first part of his life wishing for a family of his own, shuttled around foster care and group homes and then...Jack Winters...He’d found it in spades. The X-Men, Alex, Jean, Emma, his children...it was all more than that skinny teenager could have ever hoped for. 

“I beg to differ but I don’t beg.” Emma mused as she pulled out a vape pen. It didn’t even have any nicotine in but she supposed it was better than the alternative. Taking a long, slow drag, the vape pen almost growled as she inhaled. If anything, the exhale of the vape gave her the appearance that behind such a cold front, laid a dragon. A cold burning heat.

As he spoke, she stayed quiet for a moment, her cobalt eyes matching his own gaze behind the ruby shades. “Well, it is a good thing you’ve never shied away from hard work.” Emma gave him a knowing smirk as she spoke quietly, speaking more intimately than her usual professional approach that she had been using towards him as of late.

.

“No, you certainly don’t,” he said with a quiet, dry kind of chuckle. “Not for anything at all.” She wouldn’t be Emma Frost if she asked the world for anything rather than demand it, would she? Scott propped his elbow up on the bar and turned to watch her blow the smoke, amused. She never did anything if it didn’t lend itself to some kind of scene.

@summersofscott

Rory sat in the uncomfortable chair in Scott’s office, shifting his position every few seconds as he mustered up the courage to talk to Scott. He’d been pondering doing this for a while now, but he hasn’t been brave enough to actually go through with it. Now he really didn’t have an excuse to not say anything; he took a deep breath, a sigh and stopped moving in the chair. “Dad…I’ve been like thinking recently and I think it’s time I stop being a Carstairs. I don’t want to have that name, not of the family who didn’t want me. This decision is up to you but…would it be okay if I was Rory Summers from now on, and that I…would be your adopted son?”

Between managing the school, teaching, and the teams he’d reorganized, Scott (as always) had little free time. If anyone needed to find him, they had few options besides exactly what Rory was doing - sitting in his office and waiting. He’d already said ‘just one more minute’ about five times, as he finished with some form on his desk, so the restless shifting around wouldn’t have surprised him even if Rory had nothing at all to talk about. Scott was used to being boring.

\

“Because you like to fix things or at least try to in this imperfect world.” She responded as quick as he asked the question. To her, he offered solutions she sometimes didn’t even consider feasible herself but he had shown her a way. Helped her in her own journey into what she truly cared about as well as help him in her own way. “Then you should know better than to say it.” Emma pointed out as she sipped her drink again.

She watched him pour a drink as he seemed to be hesitant to speak for a moment. Her eyes watched him closely as he finally finished his sentence. “You know.” She told him with nothing less than certainty. “You are many things but being clueless isn’t usually one of them when it comes to a goal.” She spoke as if there was no debate in the matter. “You are bloody Scott Summers. You better start acting like it.”

.

“Sometimes you need to hear things that you don’t want to, even if they’re useless.” Emma might not care about apologies or want any. They might have as much utility to her as a cup in a sinking ship, but she still needed to hear it, and that he meant it. He had made a mistake that wasn’t his to make, and he couldn’t even...there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t tell her the truth. 

summersofscott​:

“He’s working this Avenging League thing that’s been going on for awhile. The X-Men have joined them a few times.” Scott still tended to keep his team separate and hadn’t wanted a complete merger, but things had been amicable. They were all fighting on the same side. 

At the offer of repayment, Scott immediately waved his hand. “No. We offer this to everybody. You’re not in any debt to me or anyone else. But sure, if we ever need a big hand,” he smirked, “then I’ll give you a call. Until then, let’s get a roof over your head. If you’re looking for something to do, I’ve got some staff positions open at the school. We’ve always got some heavy hitting students who learn a little better from someone with that kind of experience.” And they didn’t always have someone on hand that qualified, but they made do. As always. 

Scott walked with him until they’d reached a row of nearly identical looking apartments. From the outside, they were nothing particularly special, but all the necessities were behind the door. Ben’s was on the bottom floor, off to the side, in a special little block of them they’d modified just as he’d said. The ceilings stood higher, the rooms were a little larger, and the basics were already there. A lot of the people who came to District X arrived with nearly nothing, either only a bag or two, or just the clothes they’d shown up wearing. As long as they had the means to helped, they’d help. 

“All yours,” he nodded inside as he opened the door. “I’ll drop a spare set of keys off later.” 

“Actually, helpin’ out at th’ school sounds real good ta me, Slim… I need sumfin’ ta keep me busy an’ tha’ seems about perfect!” Ben grinned. “It’ll be nice t’feel useful fer'a change, an’ I reckon I can teach th’ kids a thing or too.”

Ben would’ve expressed his pride at his own pun, but he was momentarily stunned by the apartment Scott had just shown him into.  Being the size & mass he was meant Ben always had to be careful in ‘normal’ buildings. He was enough of an engineer to know a thing or two about transfer of loads and weight distribution in structures, so he usually kept to the first floor or around the edges of flooring, just to be safe, and never used the furniture.  However, this place was built for people like him… 

The door frames were wide enough to accommodate his size, the floors didn’t shake or creak as he walked, even some of the chairs looked like they’d been made specifically to offer an elephant a place at the table.  It’s hard to say that Ben Grimm was ever rendered speechless, but for a few moments it was as close as he would get.

“Holy Hannah…! Yer sure ‘bout this?  I mean, I know yer sure, but… damn.  Well, if Mama Grimm ain’ jus’ smilin’ down on her baby boy today!”

Although District X had largely been home to mutants since its creation, it was always meant to be open to anyone who didn’t fall under the umbrella of being baseline human. The school was the same. It was still staffed mostly by his X-Men, but having someone like Ben join the ranks would be a boon to them all. “I think you can,” he agreed. “I don’t think I need to tell you how hard it is for some of the kids when their powers activate. Especially the ones who don’t look the same anymore.” Having a physical mutation opened up a whole different level of difficulty, and after years of being involved with or running the school and different teams, he was well acquainted with how much that could affect them. 

He let the subject drop and to give Ben the moment to acquaint himself with the place. Scott was proud of what they’d been able to do since sealing the District off. It wasn’t a perfect situation, not by a long shot, but every time they built something out of nothing it was hard not to look at it with satisfaction. Building something from nothing was what they were good at.