[A/N]: This is your Sunday Chapter! Let's GOO!
On their way back through the corridors, they encountered Dr. Henry McCoy emerging from his laboratory. The scientist looked up from his tablet, and Coulson had to do a double-take. The guy was human now, sporting this wild blue mane that flowed like water when he moved his head. When he saw them, his face lit up with genuine warmth.
Hank grinned, extending a massive hand that still moved with careful precision. "Well, I'll be a monkey's... ah, poor choice of words. Jay! Good to see you again."
Jay returned to his normal form and shook hands. "Hey, Doc. Rocking the new look?"
He gestured at his reflection in a nearby monitor, chuckling. "Three weeks human and I still reach for things expecting these massive paws. Yesterday I tried to pick up a test tube and nearly dropped it. Forgot I don't have that dexterity anymore."
The lying about his secret identity still stung, as did the theft of Sage's powers. But Hank had to admit that Jay had kept his word about giving him his human form back when he needed it most.
Hank's expression grew thoughtful. "The strangest part? I actually miss some of it. But being able to blend in again, to walk down a street without stares..." He shrugged, the gesture carrying years of complicated feelings. "It's worth the trade-off."
"Good to hear."
As they walked back toward the main levels, Jay could hear voices from the mansion's main hall.
In the main hall, an unlikely gathering had formed around the mansion's central fireplace. Fury sat in a wingback chair, a cup of coffee growing cold in his hands. Steve stood by the tall windows, looking out at the grounds. The remaining X-Men clustered nearby. The remaining X-Men clustered nearby. Scott and Jean sat close together, having one of their telepathic conversations. Ororo perched gracefully on the arm of a sofa, Kurt walking nervously from spot to spot.
Jay entered quietly, taking in the room's tension. "How'd the deal go?"
Fury's slight nod carried the weight of difficult negotiations. "Xavier and I have reached an understanding."
But Steve's attention was elsewhere. He kept glancing at Logan, who was sprawled in a chair by the fire, apparently oblivious to everything around him. Steve looked like a man drowning in memories that only he could remember.
Jay studied Steve's face and caught the loneliness there, the desperate hunger for connection to something, anything, from his past. "What's eating at you, Captain?"
Steve's voice carried the exhaustion of a man who'd outlived his entire world. "It's hard, thinking about everyone I've lost. Peggy's on her deathbed in a hospital in DC. Bucky's been turned into a brainwashed assassin for nazis and now James..." He gestured helplessly at Logan, depression evident in every line of his body. "It's like they took away everything that proved I existed before the ice."
Jay felt a pang of sympathy. For all his power and knowledge, he'd never lost an entire lifetime of connections. He'd never woken up to find everyone he loved either dead or transformed beyond recognition.
The silence stretched until Jay finally broke it. "Professor, why haven't you tried to restore Logan's memories? Psychic surgery should be well within your capabilities."
Xavier's expression remained neutral, but Jay caught the careful non-answer.
Hank spoke up, his scientific mind overriding political considerations. "We would need to remove the adamantium bullet first. But Logan's adamantium skull has grown around it completely. The indestructibility of the material makes surgical extraction impossible."
Jay tilted his head, considering the problem from multiple angles. "Why haven't you asked Kitty to phase the bullet out?"
Scott's voice was ice-cold steel, each word precise and cutting. "You stay out of this. Your actions have already set the mutant community back decades."
Jay shot back, taking a step forward, his own anger finally surfacing. "I'm the one who gave mutants a positive image in the first place."
Scott moved to match him, hands tensing at his sides, ruby visor gleaming with barely restrained power. "By lying to everyone. By making deals in shadows while we fought for acceptance in the open. You made us all look like fools."
"I made you look human."
"We are human, you arrogant..."
"I don't know what reality you're living in, Scott." Jay's voice cut through Scott's building rage like a blade. "I hid my other identity like most supers do. Even your precious Professor X doesn't exactly advertise his mutant status to the general public."
Scott's jaw tightened, but Jay wasn't done.
"I actually helped the Morlocks instead of leaving them to rot in sewers. I uprooted the Hellfire Club, which you X-Men so conveniently ignored, even though they were trafficking mutants for their abilities. And when I asked Hank to help me, I kept my word. So tell me again how I'm the villain here?"
"What about Rogue?" Scott snapped back, grasping for ammunition.
Jay's laugh was bitter. "She's the one throwing a temper tantrum when I'm offering to help her control her powers. But hey, I guess leaving her dangerous and miserable is the X-Men way, right?"
The words hit their mark. Scott's hands clenched into fists.
"And let's talk about trust, shall we?" Jay's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "After my first visit here, your Professor tried to mind-rape me. On my second visit, Moonknight attacked me when he came for you, and I became collateral damage. The last time I was here, Magneto, you, and Logan all tried to jump me."
Jay spread his arms wide, his expression mocking. "So sorry I wasn't keen on sharing everything about myself and keeping a few backup plans. Can't imagine why I'd want to protect myself around such trustworthy people."
The room went dead silent. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Scott's visor flickered red, power building behind the ruby quartz. His voice came out strangled with fury and shame. "You don't understand what we've been fighting for. What we've sacrificed."
"I understand perfectly." Jay's voice was calm now, which somehow made it more cutting. "You've been fighting the same fight for decades and losing ground every year. I did one interview, and suddenly people were talking about coexistence instead of registration acts. But sure, tell me more about how I ruined everything."
The truth of it hung in the air heavy and undeniable.
Xavier's voice carried psychic weight that made the X-Men step back involuntarily. "Gentlemen." He paused, regaining his composure. "More importantly, Kitty's phasing abilities aren't refined enough for such delicate work. She's still young, and the trauma she'd have to deal with if she made an error when dealing with brain tissue, even Logan's..."
But Scott's jaw was still clenched, his visor reflecting Jay's face like crosshairs locked on target. But the red glow behind the ruby quartz was flickering. Every word Jay had spoken was landing like hammer blows, and Scott couldn't find a counter-argument that didn't make him sound like a hypocrite or a failure. Deep down, he knew that everything Jay said was right.
Jay interrupted, his voice cutting through the political tensions. "Since I can't stand seeing Cap looking like someone ran over his dog, I'll do you all a favour and remove the bullet myself."
Colossus stepped directly into Jay's path, his skin shifting to organic steel with the sound of grinding metal. "You will not steal Kitty's powers. Not while I draw breath."
Jay looked into the young man's protective eyes and grinned with genuine respect. "Aww." He turned to Coulson with mock sentimentality. "Look at young love, Phil. All pure and noble."
Colossus's cheeks reddened slightly. "It's not—"
Jay turned back to Colossus, his expression shifting to something more sincere. "I don't need Kitty's powers, Piotr. But I respect you looking out for her."
He looked over at Logan, studying the older man's features. "What'll it be, bub? Your call."
Logan studied Jay for a long moment, then glanced at Steve's hopeful face. The old soldier was practically vibrating with the need to connect with someone, anyone, from his past. Logan might not remember their history, but he could recognize pain when he saw it.
Logan growled, taking a long pull from his beer. "Hell. What's the worst that could happen?" He shot a look at Scott with a grin that was all teeth. "If the kid starts messin' with anyone's powers, you blast him with those laser eyes."
Scott started automatically. "They're not lasers, they're—"
Logan cut him off with a laugh. "I know what they are."
[A/N]: I write across multiple fandoms. Support my writing and get early access to 45+ chapters, exclusive content, and bonus material at my P@treon - Max_Striker.