After finishing my preparations, I came straight back to the lab.
"I really must develop some kind of dampening field to obstruct teleporters," Helen muttered, adjusting her glasses while typing. "Otherwise, people like you and our dear Katrin can just pop in and out of my lab whenever they please." She pointed at us with mock sternness, her fur bristling slightly.
"You can't do that — this is the land of freedom," I said with a grin. "We know our rights, right, Katrin?"
"Ja, that is what they say about America," Katrin said with a small giggle, her tail twitching shyly as she smiled. She seemed a lot more at ease now—guess our confidence about saving her friends was infectious.
"Oh, you two—stop teasing me," Helen sighed, scratching at the fur behind her ear. "I'm quite serious about this."
Both of us chuckled.
"Well, tell you what," I said, giving her a thumbs-up, "once I figure out a way to block teleportation, I'll share it with you first."
"I sincerely hope it won't cost me an arm and a leg," Helen said dryly, arching a brow. "I hardly make enough to fund my caffeine habit."
"Don't worry — all I'll ask is a bit of your time in return," I said with a smirk. "Now, where is everyone?"
"They've all gone to their rooms to prepare," Helen explained, tapping away at her console. "Young Katrin here doesn't have one yet. The machine's still fabricating her suit, so she'll have to wait a little while." She nodded toward a sleek 3D-fabricator whirring quietly in the corner.
"Ja," Katrin said softly. She looked freshly showered, still wearing the hospital-like clothes, her yellow eyes fixed on the monitor showing a render of an X-Men uniform. "It is… beautiful," she murmured, awe in her voice.
"Well, I brought some goodies with me," I said, with a wink. "Let me hand them out to the others first — then I'll give you yours, alright?"
"O-okay…" Katrin muttered, cheeks flushing a deeper blue as she looked away shyly.
She looked quite cute — I had a feeling Kitty was going to have a field day teasing her later. Still, I needed to ask Katrin a few more questions later about who else had been trapped with her in that lab. Better to know exactly who we were rescuing.
While I had been at Watson Tower, I had asked D.A.I.S.Y. for a status update on the others. Apparently, everyone — from the Fantastic Four to even Toni — was out of the country.
Well, that was on me. They were all stationed on the island overseeing the Citadel project. Even Skye had relocated there to make sure it stayed on schedule. Guess I am the only one confident we will make the deadline; everyone else seems convinced we will miss it.
Not that I planned to call them in anyway for this rescue. As this mission was more like an internal mutant business. Still, I had wanted to know if there was any backup available. Most of the people I could reach were either occupied with some other thing or not that helpful to call. So, in the end, it looked like we would be handling this ourselves.
Lost in thought, I turned a corner and knocked on the first door.
Woosh.
The door slid open, and there stood Scottie. Her brown hair fell neatly past her shoulders, and she was dressed in a black, form-fitting combat suit with an X insignia on her belt. A slim red visor replaced her usual glasses, gleaming faintly under the room light.
Behind her, I caught a glimpse of her neatly kept room — minimalist, organized, and with a few posters on the wall — before I could see them clearly she subtly shifted to block my view.
"What do you want, Luke?" she asked, arms crossed, her tone clipped and guarded.
Uh-oh. Looked like Scottie was back in what the girls and I called her 'serious mode'. Understandable — from her perspective, I probably seemed like the guy who had talked Jean into sneaking out behind her back.
"Wow, you're all suited up," I said with a grin. "You look great — like the real team leader of the X-Men."
Her jaw tightened. "Are you mocking me?"
"C'mon, Scottie, why would I do that?" I said, raising my hands. "You really do look cool — professional, even. Dashing, if I may add."
There was a flicker of surprise before she relaxed slightly. "This is Jean's design. We worked on these suits together for infiltration and rescue ops. So if you're going to hand out compliments, give them to her."
"Noted," I said with a grin, "Hmm, how about we all do a photo session after this mission. Pretty sure the other girls would love that idea too."
"Okay, enough chit-chat." Scottie said, annoyed. "Why are you here, Luke? Did the Professor send you? And why aren't you suited up?" Her eyes narrowed, taking in my casual beachwear.
"I don't need much time suiting up," I said, flashing my Golden Phone with a wink.
"Show-off," she muttered with a small hmph, the corner of her lips twitching despite herself.
"Anyway," I continued, "I brought some things over from Watson Tower — a few of my latest inventions. I figured they might come in handy for this mission." I waved my hand, opening a small portal in midair and reaching inside to pull out several gadgets.
Her brow arched. "What is all this?"
"Let me walk you through them one by one," I said, stepping forward. "Mind if I come in?"
"N-no need," she stammered, quickly blocking the doorway. "You can just show me here."
Well… that definitely piqued my curiosity. But I decided to respect her privacy — for now.
"So, there are three main items in total," I said, handing them out. "This one's called Focus, this is an all-in-one Bracelet, and this one's a Utility Belt."
"Alright…" she said, studying them with a puzzled look.
"Let's start with Focus." I took the small triangular device and stepped closer, moving a strand of her hair aside.
"Wh-what are you doing?" she said sharply, backing up a step.
"Relax, why are you always so tense around me?" I said with a chuckle as I moved her hair aside and placed the Focus device on her delicate ear.
"It's because you have no sense of personal space," she said with a huff, her cheeks faintly pink.
I laughed quietly. Teasing this tsundere version of Cyclops never got old.
"Alright, now say 'Activate Focus.' It'll register your voice and give you a quick tutorial about its functions," I said with a grin.
"Woah…" she breathed, clearly impressed once it activated.
There were a few extra features I walked her through personally to speed up the process. This Focus didn't have the X-ray function, of course — that was something I had kept unique to mine.
Still, it came loaded with plenty: an auto-translate system, a communication hub, and a bunch of other useful tools.
Next up was the Utility Belt, which I had customized with an X-symbol on it. It had quite a few gadgets inside, so I just told her to ask D.A.I.S.Y. for a full rundown later.
"And this," I said, holding it up, "is one of the most important pieces of gear — an Anti-Cognitive Mask." I explained to her how to activate and use it, step by step.
Honestly, in the movies and even the animated shows, the X-Men almost never wore masks. Either their identities were public knowledge or Professor Xavier's mind wipes kept them safe. But here, I wasn't going to let them rely on luck or telepathy. They needed precautions from the start.
"So you're telling me this little pill can make me super smart?" Scottie asked with a raised brow holding the pill that I gave her, chuckling. "You do know we're not cramming for some school exam, right?"
I rolled my eyes and gave her a short but clear explanation of everything the NZT-48 Lite capsule was capable of. She still looked skeptical but tucked it into her Utility Belt anyway.
"Now," I said, my tone turning serious as I pulled out a small yellow vial, "this is something I hope you only use in seriouslydire circumstances."
"Let me guess — another drug to make me super smart?" she asked dryly, taking the vial from my hand.
"No," I said flatly. "It's a Mutant Power Augmentation Drug. Once it enters your bloodstream, it temporarily enhances your powers — anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour, depending on your base power level."
Her eyes widened, her visor flashing faintly in the light. "What? Isn't that way too dangerous?" she asked, holding the vial gingerly like it might explode.
"Relax," I said, placating her worries. "Unless you inject it directly into your bloodstream, it won't do anything. Even if the vial breaks, the formula dissolves harmlessly in air. And don't worry about it being stolen — I've locked its chemical structure six ways from Sunday. No one's replicating it."
"No, Luke… you don't understand." Her voice cracked a little. "My powers are already destructive enough. My eyes can cut through steel like paper. You give me something like this…" She looked down at the vial in her trembling hand. "All I'll bring is more destruction."
She pushed it back into my palm, her face tight with distress. "Take it back. I can't risk it. Not me."
This was the second time I'd seen Scottie so vulnerable. The first was back when I'd temporarily deactivated her powers — and now, here she was again.
Truth be told, she and I had never really talked alone before, so I didn't know much about her inner fears. But right now, even without telepathy, I could smell it clearly. The sharp scent of fear practically hung in the air.
To be honest, Cyclops' powers have always been terrifyingly destructive. I have seen her fight in the Danger Room — even with that dial on her visor letting her fine-tune the strength of her optic blasts, the output was still overwhelming. Those beams could punch through reinforced walls even at their lowest setting.
So even I wasn't sure what would happen if she took that drug. Not like I had ever tested it on anyone else besides myself.
"Look, this is just for emergencies," I said, sighing as I pushed the vial gently back toward her. "Not just for today's mission — but future ones too. Keep it. I trust you'll know when to use it… and when not to."
She hesitated, but eventually nodded and secured the vial inside her Utility Belt.
"Now, this is the last thing," I said, taking her gloved hand and sliding a red band around her wrist.
Her breath hitched. "Is… this the same band Marie was wearing?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," I said, nodding. "It's an Anti-Mutant Device. Once activated, it can suppress or even fully negate your powers for a while." I showed her how it worked, tapping the faint display surface. "It's also got a built-in forcefield generator — it'll activate automatically to protect you."
Her visor tilted downward slightly as she stared at it. "So… you're saying I can see normally again? Without these glasses?" Her voice trembled, the weight of hope and fear tangled together.
"Scottie… I know it's tempting to just activate this device and live like a normal person," I said softly. "And I can't pretend to understand — not fully — the hardships you've faced because of your powers. But I don't think shutting them off forever is the right answer."
"Why?" she asked, looking at me, genuinely baffled.
"This power — this ability you have because of your X-Gene — it's part of who you are. It's a gift unique to you," I said, my tone steady. "Right now it might feel like a burden, like your powers are controlling you. But with time and training, you can control and harness it. If you keep it blocked, you're stripping yourself of that possibility forever. You'll never get past the fear. It's like wasting your talent before you've even had the chance to grow into it."
Her gloved hand rose to cover her visor as her voice wavered. "Do you really think this is something I'll ever be able to control?"
"Scottie, look at me," I said, my hand resting on her shoulder. "Have you seen the number of powers I juggle? Some of them are way more dangerous than your optic blasts. But through constant training and focus, I've managed to control most of them. You can too. Even if it takes years, we'll be here to support you." I allowed a small smirk to creep onto my face. "And don't forget — I'm a genius. If I can build a device to stop your powers, I can build one to help you control them too."
In truth, I knew that in some realities Cyclops had always had the ability to control her optic blasts consciously, only losing it because of a head injury in childhood. I didn't know if that was the case here — but I would find out, slowly but surely.
"You sound just like Professor Xavier," she muttered, punching my chest lightly with a small chuckle. "Just… a more narcissistic version of him."
"See? A smile suits you way more than that moody face," I said with a grin.
"Care to repeat that?" she asked, her hand sliding toward the side of her visor.
"Hey, I'm just joking," I chuckled, instinctively backing away. "Besides, that bracelet I gave you also gives some extra protection—like if someone tried to snatch your visor or something." I smirked mysteriously.
"Ugh, I'm going to get a headache trying to remember what all these gadgets do," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "Anyway, are you sure you want to give all this to me for free? I'm assuming you're handing the same gadgets out to the others, right? Isn't that a huge loss for you? What's your angle Luke?" she asked, narrowing her eyes behind that visor at me.
"We're friends, aren't we? These gadgets are only useful if they're being used," I said with an easy laugh. "And if you're feeling guilty, why not give me permission for a date?" I added with a smirk.
Her expression soured. "Are you bribing me to go on a date with Jean?"
"No," I said, smiling wider. "I'm asking you to come with me and Jean—on a date."
The red glow on her visor began to intensify as her hand moved to the dial. Taking the hint, I quickly skittered away from her room.
"Hmph. He really is a playboy," Scottie muttered, slamming the door shut in annoyance.
***
I have entered the Fanfic Contest!
2 stories of mine are submitted...
First is a Magic Fanfic, it's just two chapters, so if you can please check it out!
Hogwarts: Monsters and Magic
Second is DC!
Reborn as Superman
Please support me if you can by adding the books to your library and sending power stones!