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“We didn't know until after our son's funeral. A long time afterwards.”
Doug's eyes flick up to the news coverage and his mouth goes dry.
“He never told us. His friends and professors never told us. Not even when he died.”
He must have made some thin noise of distress because Shatterstar looks up from the laptop and tilts his head. Do you want me to change it?
Shaking his head no, Dougs fingers find their way to press against his lips. There's a soft sting of pain when he tenses and his fingernails dig in.
“So then how did you learn about your son's mutant status?” the interviewer asks on screen. Shatterstar gives a huff and the corners of his mouth tilt down. The novel and Netflix series on the stark pad are now more periphery.
“Well, we learned through Roberto da Costa…”
“THAT SON OF A BITCH.” Doug half shouts; his hands shake with how tightly his fists are clenched.
“...No, I see that face. Roberto didn't tell us, but we knew he attended school with our son; he was at Douglas's funeral, you see. And when he took over A.I.M. and became a public figure in the mutant community and when Xavier's school was revealed to be a school for mutants specifically.”
“Well, we finally put two and two together,” his mother finishes. “Our son was a mutant, and he chose to never tell us. We don't know what he could do. We don't know why he chose to not talk about this with us.”