The Forgotten Summers

Scott doesn’t linger by the door very long after he shuts it, but he smiles and nods over to the pile on the bed. “I’m not sure how you slept at home, but here the furniture goes on the floor and you go on the bed. May I?” Without even waiting for Gabriel’s answer, Scott goes to move everything back to how it was when they gave him the room. “Sorry, if you like it like that, but something could fall on you and you might get hurt.”

While he’s rummaging in the pile, he glances over at his brother’s comment. Whatever his brother went through before, Scott didn’t like the sound of it and he stopped to kneel next to his brother. “Listen, I don’t know how it was. I can’t even begin to imagine the horrors you went through. Something like this?” Scott gestures to the bed, “It’s not cause for punishment and I’m not upset about it.”

Home? Gabriel hardly knew the meaning of the word. He never had one, not really. Though confessing that seems like a bit of an ordeal. “Where I’m from we didn’t have this. At least not where I was. We slept on the floor, lucky if we had clean enough clean clothes.” Sighing, he watches as his brother moves without waiting for permission. He pushes himself up and goes to help him at the very least with the heavier items. “I won’t get hurt,” Gabriel mumbles. “I can manipulate the energy in my body to heal. It came in handy before, I learned to do it when I was young.”

First, his attention is completely on Gabriel because he’s definitely feeling like a total jerk for not coming to talk to him sooner. “No! No, that’s not it. I’m just here to kind of… reach out. You know? So we can get to know each other.”

When his eyes glance over his brother’s shoulder his eyebrows draw together as the pile of furniture on the bed teeters like it could fall any minute. “Can I come in?” he wants to fix it and make sure nothing breaks.

Gabriel exhales a sigh of relief at Scott’s confirmation that he’s not meant to be leaving right now. Dropping the bag, the young Summers lets his shoulders fall. Backing up, he makes room for Scott to enter.

@theothersummers

After talking with the Professor, Scott understood that his other brother was feeling unwanted. Scott loved Alex, but Alex pissed him off to no end sometimes. Especially when it came to Jean. At least they had a relationship even though it could be considered slightly unstable. Gabriel didn’t know them really, didn’t know how distant they could be or how close they may get in times of crisis. That didn’t mean they couldn’t actually get to know each other. Scott decided he didn’t need to shut the guy out just because their dad sucked.

That’s why he was standing in front of the door to Gabriel’s assigned room. Sighing, he knocked and waited for it to open. Deep down, he hoped it wouldn’t so they could avoid the awkward questions and conversations. Without them though, they’d just be two guys with the same last name.

For the first time since he’s arrived here, there’s a knock at Gabriel’s door. Unaware of the customs on earth, he doesn’t know what it means. So he very slowly, very apprehensively gets up and moves towards the door. From the state of his room it’s clear he’s not from here, most of the furniture piled up on the bed so the floor is clear for him to sprawl out on, a lone blanket and pillow there with his books. 

wreakhavck:

“Have you spoken to the Professor yet? Scott?” He glances from Gabriel to Scott and back. Scott was right, Charles would know if Gabriel was telling the truth, unless he had some strong psychic shields. It wasn’t ideal, getting inside someone’s head, but it was better than nothing.

The story he tells of growing up in an accelerated way would explain why he was closer in age to Scott than he perhaps ought to be. “No. They’re not. First I’ve heard.”

Really easy to find. It wasn’t exactly comforting. “What made me so easy to find, exactly?”

@cycloptix​

Almost immediately, Scott feels bad for snapping. By the sound of it, the kid had a rough life too. Still, he doesn’t apologize for the way he reacted. The rage had been somewhat misdirected because he was more mad about his father than at the boy standing in front of him. If Gabriel was telling the truth then they shouldn’t even be considering him an outsider.

Looking to Alex, he shakes his head, “No. He wasn’t even really in the office that long.” Maybe the Professor already knew the truth, or maybe he just didn’t have the power right now to check. Whatever was going on with that man eluded Scott, but he still trusted the Professor’s judgement.

It seemed Alex was interested in the same answers as Scott, so he adds to Alex’s question, “And you can’t sense mine at all?”

@theothersummers

“Well you absorb cosmic radiation, or at least radiation anyway, right? I can do that too, but I can also detect it. Your powers are like a beacon with mine, Alex,” he comments. “I can fly, do those energy blast things, suppress powers, survive and heal off the energy inside me. All of it, really,” he shrugs. The conversation between the two takes a bit of a turn, and Gabriel can sense the tension in the room. It was palatable. 

Turning to Scott though, Gabriel shakes his head. “No, no, I can, the energy signature is unique, it just, it’s not like his. Ours, I guess. You put out high energy levels, there’s no denying that, but when I honed in on Alex’s power signature, there was no denying that we were related. If I had a brother, brothers, chances are they were mutant. Locking onto a signature so similar to mine, well it had to be one of you two, that’s why I’m here. I’ve been here a while, but getting around this planet is a lot different than other planets. It’s not as easy without the right papers.” 

“A little of both really.” Though he figured the questions might be rhetorical, he answered anyway. He had been called here to help with one case in particular, but he would be overjoyed to help with any. “Gabriel Summers, it’s nice to meet you.” That was news to him, he would have to remember to look into this one as well. The more Summers there were, the more bloodline DNA he could experiment with. He noted the pointy ears, but decided not to ask about them because he’s sure he’ll get the story one day without seeming too interested.

“A waste of your time?” Essex frowned, the concern showed clear on his face, “Why do you think that?”

His back was turned toward the door when he called out, so the mutant could not see the smirk on his face when he heard someone reply. “I treat many kinds of patients, they usually bring me in when they cannot figure something out.” When he turned around, the smirk was gone and he was offering a friendly, welcoming smile instead. “I am Doctor Essex. Is there something I can help you with Mister…?”

Getting closer to the Summers bloodline was all he wanted. Though Alex Summers was gone, Scott was still here. Scott had been the one he wanted in the first place. Here at the Institute, Nathaniel Essex set up his new office telling them he could stay temporarily or permanently, either way he only wanted to help. He would leave the decision up to them.

Since his office door was open, he called out when he heard someone outside the door, “Are you my first patient?”

Gabriel’s been having a bit of a hard time with everything here. From generally just not understanding the culture and customs of earth, to truthfully not getting along with his family all that well, he’s taken to just wandering around when he’s not working out or just learning. He’s walking through a spot in the school he’s grown familiar with, but also curious with. Someone had been moving into this office recently, and he was curious who.

wreakhavck:

When he sees Scott’s face, Alex realises that his brother hadn’t told this newcomer who he was yet. Whoops. But he’s quickly moving on from that because Scott tugging on his shirt, hovering close by, feels like it’s transported them back more than fifteen years. Alex had felt like a line of defense for Scott for a long time. And some stranger turning up with their father’s dog tags was making those instincts flare up.

“Yeah. It’s fair to say that.” He was wondering a whole lot more, but that was the first thing. “How you’re here, and if our dad survived where the hell he is too.”

@cycloptix

Keeping his head, Scott doesn’t mumble anything about what he was actually thinking. He wasn’t letting any of the silent rage get out because he definitely does not understand. Standing behind Alex had been instinct, but Scott had to remember he couldn’t do that forever. He had to remember he didn’t need his brother to save him either. So he steps from behind Alex and speaks up too.

“The Professor doesn’t need blood tests, he can trace the bloodline without taking anything from you.” Next, Scott wants to protest and say how Alex was his brother. The only one as far as he was concerned, but thinks better of it. “Yeah. How did you find us, and if you could find us why didn’t he come?”

@theothersummers​

Gabriel can hear that reserved anger in his brother’s voice, Scott, he knows it because it’s something that he’s done. Fuck, he’s been doing it for a while since getting here. He has a temper, and it seems so might his brother Scott. “So um,” he starts, looking down at the ground and grinding the toe of his shoe against the tile. “So um, I’ve only ever seen him twice in my life. You can see the pointy ears, right? Product of the Shi’ar’s aging acceleration chamber. Story I got was that mom and dad were kidnapped by the Shi’ar, and when dad fought back they killed mom, tore me out and threw me in the aging chamber. I was made a slave, I’ve been a slave for the past twelve years. Dad and I met a few years ago, that’s the last time I saw him somewhere out by the Kree System. Though given what I’ve learned of earth, alien species aren’t widely known here?”

Looking at the others finally, his shoulders sag. “I have a power that lets me like sense other powers. I don’t know how to describe it. But I knew if either of you survived, you’d be on earth, right?” He raises a hand and points at Alex, “And your powers, well they were really easy to find, once I landed on earth. Do you uh, need to know anything else?”

It’s hard for Charles to bite his tongue on the subject, but he waits just a moment longer and finds the root of the argument. He curbs the worry about Gabriel’s view of humans for now and gets back to trying to understand and help if he can. “They are wrapped up in their world, if you want them to hear you approach them again and tell them how they are making you feel.” In his experience, the Summers boys had a habit of internalizing everything and unknowingly shutting people out. “They most likely aren’t seeing it that way, but you need to let them know how you feel. I can try to talk to them if you’d like.”

“Ohhh.” Doug mused aloud without noticing it. “So you’re looking for Scott and Alex than?”

It was true, whatever he’d been through Doug had zero basis for understanding. He frowned, unsure of what to say next. What are you even supposed to follow up with after ‘I’m from space, I don’t know if my family is alive or dead, and I just need something to care about.’ with? “Well,” Doug began not knowing where he would finish. “In that case, I hope he’s here. If I sounded harsh, I’m sorry. If you’d like we could just, um…” He was going to say start over, but this guy didn’t seem the type for it. “I’m Douglas and I think however upset you are, you should still treat people better because you probably are worth it.” He gave a firm nod.

“If life was so meaningless to them, don’t you think they would stop doing whatever they could to survive? Would they not just give up and die if they cared so little?” His patience was being tested, but the Professor would stick to his word and do his best to help the youngest Summers see the error in his thinking. “You may have endured nightmarish things to get here, but don’t presume to think they’ve had an easy life either. You cannot compare tragedies as if they are a contest.” Moving forward, he does his best to explain again why the boys might be keeping their distance right now. “The genetics test gave them hard proof that you are all related by blood. Let them get past the initial shock. They believed for over a decade that their father died in that crash; the truth is difficult to swallow.”

Doug looked on cautiously. He didn’t seem to be lying, even if Doug thought the ears weren’t really proof of ‘being an E.T.’ Especially not in a place like this. “Okay. But you know,” Doug began. “The whole ‘I hate everything around me’ thing is only going to make everything worse for you. And if you tell people they aren’t worth the effort, they are going to believe that you aren’t worth the effort either.”

wreakhavck:

Alex didn’t like just waiting for Scott, but he didn’t have much choice. Hopefully they weren’t far. He got up, heading to his door, slipping his phone into his pocket. It wasn’t long before he heard familiar voices coming down the hall.

“Scott,” he says, stepping out into the hall. It was mostly irrational, but he felt a slight relief seeing his younger brother. After all, it was hard not to think about ulterior motives here. He acknowledges the relative stranger, Gabriel, with a nod, waiting for Scott to explain what had happened.

“You came all this way…” Scott manages to say after a moment too long, “but what if you don’t get along?” It’s not exactly comforting, and Scott’s just shaken to his core and he can’t seem to say anything reassuring as he usually does. Glancing over at the guy, Scott doesn’t feel like his brother. Not because he wasn’t able to be there, but because it was just too strange. What could he possibly want if he wasn’t telling the truth?

As they reach Alex, he completely forgot to tell his brother that he never told the new guy his name. He doesn’t looked panicked though, all that panic hit him like a ton of bricks about thirty minutes ago. “Hey… this is Gabriel Summers. He’s been kind of… looking for us.” Scott steps closer to Alex, almost like he was a frightened little kid again trying to hide behind his older brother for comfort, and looks over at Gabriel. He adjusts his glasses and offers a quick smile before silently begging Alex for guidance by tugging on his shirt hem. @theothersummers

He has shrug in response, “Well, I guess then I just try my best? I don’t know, you do bloodline tests on this planet, correct?” he asks. Gabriel is hesitant at first in approaching the other. He was nervous, too nervous, and that really wasn’t normal for him. But he’s dumbfounded by the first words that he hears out of Alex’s mouth, because as much as this guy showing him around had been weird, he didn’t see the plot twist coming. 

“Scott?” he asks, incredulous and to be honest a bit angrily. “I’m not one to believe in coincidence, so I’m betting you’re a Summers too, right? That makes both of you my brothers...” he trails off. It’s a hard concept to wrap his mind around, to allow it to seep in and really take hold. He hadn’t expected to find both, even their dad had said he didn’t think either survived the crash. But here they were, and here he was.

And it was a lot.

“Uh yeah, hey, um, so.... you’re probably wondering how uh, I’m me?”

wreakhavck:

Alex had met Gabriel, this stranger claiming to be his brother, this stranger who had his dad’s tags. He didn’t know if Scott would even remember them, but Alex did. He’d had a copy, well his mum had had a copy that he’d wear, for when his dad was deployed somewhere far away. He’d lost them in the plane crash– they’d been in a bag in the hold, tucked away ‘safely’. And now, a stranger brings a set that looked like his dad’s original ones. Slight dents and all. Right when he’d lost his new family– Phoenix and his daughter. He hadn’t truly processed it. 

And shit kept happening. Jean, Polaris, Charles. There wasn’t time for him to process any of it fully. But Scott needed him now.

[ ✉ → Scott 🕶️] : In my room [ ✉ → Scott 🕶️] : Where are you? I’ll be right there.

“I can see you’re in a rush, so I’ll just let you take it with you. When you’re done, you can give it to your brother and he’ll give it back to me.” The door opened again after the Professor sent the paper form over to land in Gabriel’s hands. Outside, Scott was just finishing up a text.

[ ✉ → Broses 🕺 ] : Professor just finished… [ ✉ → Broses 🕺 ] : I’m coming to you. [ ✉ → Broses 🕺 ] : Don’t move.

“Hey…” he said to Gabriel as he shoved his phone in his front pocket, “I know where Alex is.” He wanted to move; he needed to move. He couldn’t just stand around here waiting for Alex to get to them. “We can meet up with him, he’s not super far…” Sometimes walking with a destination in mind meant a conversation could be short or nonexistent. Scott was hoping that would be the case. @theothersummers

Gabriel takes the form, caught off-guard slightly by how quickly this is all going. So much was going on and Gabriel was just trying to keep up. He couldn’t help but be amazed by all of this, the simplicity of it all, life on Earth, it was astounding. Everyone seemed so self-absorbed by their own lives that no one noticed someone or something out of place right away. He’d walked through downtown New York with hardly a glance his way.

“We are not masters over people, nor do we treat lives as if they mean nothing.” Charles had this sort of lecture a few times, especially with those that don’t understand his ideals. He believes that the more afraid they are, the more they will push back just as people have done for centuries. He takes a moment to breathe before speaking again, knowing this kid doesn’t care to listen to his bullshit or horseshit. “If you came here to meet your brothers, to try and be a family with them, then you need to give them time. And they need to give you a chance. If you want to ‘slaughter people’, then I promise you they won’t even try to know you.”

“I know Alex, yeah.” Scott replies as he continues walking, “You have to meet him first because he runs the school. He’d probably like to get you situated and everything if you’re going to be staying. Normally he brings people in, or Alex does, but if he’s not expecting you he has to meet you first. Safety thing…” He’s rushing through his words now, not wanting to dwell on the fact that he could have another brother. He just wants to bring this guy to the Professor because he could tell those kinds of things, couldn’t he? Unwilling to give his name just yet, Scott swings open the Professor’s door and shows Gabriel in, “I’ll bring you to Alex when you’re done. Shouldn’t take too long…”

When his door opens without warning, Charles turns to see Scott looking distressed so he takes the time to recall events through Scott’s mind. Gabriel Summers? He looks beyond Scott and sees the person in question, “Hello, my name is Charles Xavier.”

Gabriel smirks, because in his mind, he feels like he’s just confirmed that both of his brothers are here. If he knows Alex, there’s a slight insinuation that he knows of the other. Or at least that’s how he hears it. If both of them are here, or were here, it’ll make it that much easier to find his family after all. “Well I don’t know if I’m staying,” he admits. “I’m not from Earth and I don’t have any documents that’ll let me stay on this planet,” he confesses. “I tried though, when I wound up on Xandar, but Earth is one of those planets you can’t go to because this place isn’t advanced enough yet.” Following after the other, he soon finds himself standing inside the doorway or a nice enough space, staring directly at this so-called Professor.