Age of Cyclops: The Ballad of Jesse Summers

by Phil Hartman

1/5/89: X-Mansion: 15:00 hrs EST

"Scott ..."

He refused to look at her, instead regarding the bodies on the slabs in the medlab.

"Scott, please, say something," Jean Grey pleaded, holding herself tight. "I never meant -"

He turned to her, holding her to him, and she felt his hot tears on her cheeks.

"You're not to blame ... I want to blame SOMEONE, but.... God, Jean, what we do ?" Scott Summers sobbed, clinging to his love.

"We take care of Rachel and Nathan," Jean began, looking in Scott's brown eyes with tearful green orbs of her own. "They're wonderful little children, Scott - we hit it off so well ... while the Phoenix and Madelyne -"

She winced at the names, until Scott hugged her again.

"They were people. I know they chose to fight the Beyonder, to risk their lives to protect their - our -kids, but ... I never meant to come in and destroy their lives, Scott, you have to believe that !" Jean sobbed.

"They merged their powers to restore the Phoenix, and it killed the Beyonder," Scott mumbled. "They chose to sacrifice themselves to save the universe, Jean." He held her away from himself with a wry smile and said, "Remind you of someone ?"

"They could have been my sisters, Scott," Jean said, hanging her head. "And now, their children have lost their biological mothers, all because I came back -"

"Jean ! Please, stop blaming yourself," Scott pleaded, looking in her eyes. "Maddie and the Phoenix made their decision. We have to honor that and move on.... and remember what they did for us ..."

He looked at the sheet-covered forms and covered his face with one hand, while Jean held him close.

8/12/98

"... at LEAST a month early ... !"

Hank shook his head, checking Jean's progress, and breathed, "Oh my stars and garters."

"What !?" Jean demanded, bending the edges of the birthing bed with a telekinetically-enhanced grip.

"Push," Hank told her.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST SIX HOURS, YOU FURRY TWINKIE ADDICT !?"

"It's a boy !"

"Whoa. I didn't even feel that."

***

Scott looked at the small pink form in the incubator, then at where Jean levitated in to keep weight off of her body.

"He's strong," Scott told his bride, holding her hand. "Hank says his lungs are further along than we'd thought."

"And there's no sign of mental disability ..." Jean said, donning a rubber glove to reach into the incubator and pat her son's small chest. "But why hasn't Hank come back and told us what the bioscans said, Scott ?"

"I wanted to be sure, Jean," Hank said, entering the room with a nervous expression. "Your son is healthy.... but he's deaf."

Jean and Scott looked at each other, then at Hank.

"That's IT ? Hank, we can work around that," Scott said. "We're not going to reject our son."

"Of course not. There's sign language, lip reading.... maybe he'll be a telepath," Jean said. "It's a disability, not the end of the world."

Hank nodded, slipping out to let the new parents spend time with their son. #Why am I not surprised ?# he thought, smiling to himself.

9/1/93: X-Factor Ship, Manhattan

"The-cat-in-the-hat ..."

"You're doing great, Jesse !" Rachel said, carefully so her younger brother could read her lips as she signed. The 6-year-old smiled when Jesse continued, smiling proudly.

The 4-year-old boy stopped, then signed, *Rachel, what's it like to hear ?*

Ray stopped, blinked, and looked into Jesse's blue eyes. "Well ... it's kinda hard to describe," she said, a thoughtful expression on her face. "You can hear music, and TV, and ... I don't really know. I guess I kinda never thought about it."

*Oh,* Jesse signed. He concentrated, then slowly said aloud, "That's OK. I just wanted to ask."

"You spoke out loud !" Ray cheered, hugging Jesse. "That's great ! I knew you could do it."

"O'course he could," Nate said, entering with three popsicles. "Here - Ship made 'em for us."

[A pre-eminently superb idea, considering the weather patterns,] Ship "said." [Be careful not to drip, children - these carpets are not stain-resistant.]

9/1/94: X-Mansion: 08:00 hrs

"... nice to know we can finally move in ..."

Jesse watched, sitting on the steps of the main staircase, as the X-Men reentered their first home.

#I wonder why we gotta hide,# he thought, carefully watching people's lips to make sense of the conversations below. #We used t'live nice with humans in New York.#

~Times change, Jesse. As have you, I see.~

Jesse jumped, looking around for the source of the unfamiliar telepathic voice - a man's, middle-aged, with a different tone than his father's.

~Hello,~ he thought, trying to be polite.

A yellow hoverchair ascended the staircase, with a bald man in a nice suit sitting in it. He smiled at Jesse and said, "Hello to you. I am -"

"Professor Xavier," Jesse interrupted, blushing. "Sorry - I just 'membered you from when Mom an' Dad talked about you after Ship blew up."

"That must have been quite a trip," Xavier said, enunciating carefully. "Was it frightening ?"

"Not really," Jesse said, smiling again. "Ray an' Nate were there, too - I helped Ray save Nate from a bad guy ! 'Pocalypse wanted to take Nate away from us, but we wouldn't let'm."

"And your father made Apocalypse go away, didn't he ?" Xavier asked.

Jesse nodded, his eyes growing wide. "Dad said 'Pocalypse might never come back," the boy said. "But.... I didn't want Dad t'do somethin' bad."

"Your father had to make a difficult choice. And no matter how hard we try, some evils never go go away completely," Xavier said, closing his eyes. #David....#

He felt a small hand on his, and looked down to see Jesse standing beside his hoverchair.

"Mom told me 'bout your son," the boy said softly. "I'm sorry. David sounded like he was a nice guy."

"Thank you. I ... wish I'd known him better myself," Xavier said, smiling weakly. "Jesse, would you and your brother and sister like to be the first ones to try out the new refrigerator ? I think there's a pint of vanilla ice cream in it."

"Neat !" Jesse cheered, letting Xavier lift him onto his lap. They descended the stairs, and Jesse yelled, "RAY ! NATE ! MR. XAVIER'S GIVIN' US ICE CREAM !!!"

#For a deaf boy, he certainly has a voice,# Xavier thought, scratching at his ears.

7/5/00

#NO WAY !!!#

Jesse grinned, concentrating, and cheered when the blue glow he was giving off turned to green, then red and gold and white.

#My power's finally turned on !# the 10-year-old thought, red hair flopping in his face as his newfound light illuminated his path along the back roads of the Xavier estate. #Wait'll Ray an' Nate see THIS !#

Something brushed his arm, and he cried out in pain.

"wh-wh-what -"

Jesse touched his left arm, shuddering when his hand came away bloody.

#What - I've been -#

He looked up into hateful faces, as a cloud of alcoholic stench flooded his proximity.

And a warscream lit up the astral plane, staggering the drunks, before something golden and outraged slammed into them.

~GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU FLONQING ANIMALS !!!~

"NATE !" Jesse cheered, watching as his older brother punched one of the gun-wielding drunks across the clearing. A glance from the psionic teen made a second drunk clutch his head and stagger.

The third took careful aim with the rifle he'd grazed Jesse with -

- and his face went white when a bird-shape descended, tearing the barrel to pieces and pinning him to the ground.

"Jess !" Nate said, hugging his brother as Jesse glowed to provide light. "It's OK - you were just grazed - DAMNIT, Ray, how'de these FOH bastards get past the sec-grid !?"

"Bishop's monthly sec-upgrade," Ray frowned, her firebird power signature dying down. She caressed Jesse's face, then said, "You OK, kiddo ?"

"Yeah ... but why'd they shoot me ?" Jesse asked, looking at the ground. "I'm just a deaf mutant kid."

"Who can - hey, you're glowing !" Nate grinned. "Congrats, little bro ! Someone's growing up."

"Uh, yeah ..." Jesse said, blushing as he and the older kids walked back to the mansion, the thugs in Nate's telekinetic grip. "Nate, can we talk 'bout that when we get home ? Y'know ... guy stuff ?"

Nate just winked, grinning as Ray rolled her eyes and said, "Boys."

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