Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a nice Saturday morning at Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters, a safe haven for young mutants to learn how to control their powers and then use them to help others in the form of a group fondly known as the X-Men

Currently, said team was performing yet another training session in their Danger Room, a special chamber that allowed them to practice with their powers in a number of different combat simulations

"X-men, get down!" ordered Scott Summers, otherwise known as the X-Men’s field leader Cyclops, while knives came from all directions. Once everyone got down, he blasted all the knives, saving the X- men from being hurt.

"That was close…" mumbled Evan Daniels, also known as Spyke, who was the nephew of one of the teachers at the Institute known as Storm

"Yeah, but we are okay, aren't we?" said Jean Grey, a young telepath and telekinetic, looking thankfully at Scott, who blushed slightly at her praise

"Well, let's get moving, we still have a lot practice to do" The young leader mumbled quickly, getting back on his feet and continuing to lead his team

Meanwhile, at the Control Room, the two main teachers and headmaster of the Institute were watching their student’s session with varying levels of pride

The first teacher was a beautiful woman of African descent and sparkly white hair named Ororo Monroe, more famously known as Storm due to her unique ability to control the weather, which actually caused her to be worshipped as a goddess in her youth back in her home country

The second was a short but stocky man who had his arms crossed, frowning as he watched the training session go, but secretly feeling pride for the students. This was the Wolverine, whose only known alias was Logan, a man that possessed claws made from one of the strongest metals on earth and was easily the oldest inhabitant on the Institute thanks to his incredible healing factor that allowed him not only to heal rapidly of any mortal injury, but also granted him something akin to immortality.

Last but certainly not least was the owner of the Institute himself, sitting on his wheelchair as always, Professor Charles Xavier; a mutant who possessed telepathic powers and was perhaps one of the most powerful telepaths in the world, if not the most powerful.

The three teachers watched with fondness how much have their students grown over the time they have lived in the Institute. But they especially paid close attention to their very first student, Scott Summers, as he bravely lead his friends to yet another victory

"Can’t believe just a few years ago he used to be a scrawny mess that flinched at every noise…" Logan grunted out, referring to the young boy whom he personally trained back to top shape in what seemed to be just yesterday

"Indeed. Scott has truly come a long way since then" Ororo agreed, remembering those first few days with fondness

Charles shared his colleagues admiration over how wonderfully Scott had grown over the years, but something on the Control Panel gained his attention and worry

"Logan, is this laser part of your training program?" The telepath asked, gaining the immortal’s attention to the panel

"Not to my knowledge, Chuck" He said, and just then, a new laser cannon appeared from the Danger Room’s roof and began shooting at the X-Men with reckless abandon

"Like, what is going on?!" Kitty Pryde, or Shadowcat, a mutant with the ability to walk through solid matter and known for always talking in a valley girl way, cried as she dodged a few of the mysterious green lasers that suddenly began firing from the sky

"I do not know. Is zhis a part of the session ve veren’t made avare of?" Kurt Wagner was the most recognizable member of the X-Men, both for speaking in his unique German accent and for his even more unique appearance which consisted of blue fur, pointy ears, fangs, bright yellow eyes that occasionally shined in the dark and a forked tail

He also possessed the ability to teleport within a limited radius with the only downside to it being the smoke he left behind, which smelled like sulfur and brimstone. And he used that ability to 'port himself and his foster sister, a girl only known by the name of Rogue, out of harms way

Rogue was a Southern gal whose powers allowed her to gain the abilities and even the memories of anyone she touches, but since there was no known way to deactivate her powers, at least not yet, she has been cursed to live a life of always keeping everyone at arms length in fear of hurting them with her powers

Nevertheless, despite this flaw, she shared the same heroic spirit as her friends and dreamt of a day in which she’ll finally gain more control over her powers and be able to touch once more

"X-Men! The lasers that are currently attacking you are not part of the Danger Room’s session!" The Professor’s concerned voice told them telepathically "Storm, Wolverine and I are working as fast as we can to stop this! You must hold on until then!"

"Easier said than done…" Rogue mumbled in her characteristic Southern drawl, quickly moving out of the way of a new laser

"Stay close, team! Spyke, you and I will try and take that cannon down! Nightcrawler, you and Shadowcat keep everyone out of harms way! Jean, try to see if you can keep us safe with your telekinetic shields!" Cyclops instructed, and the X-Men quickly went into action, trusting their leader’s judgement

For a while, they seemed to be holding on pretty well, with Scott and Evan throwing projectiles at the laser cannon in the form of Optic Blasts and bone spikes, Shadowcat and Nightcrawler phasing or teleporting everyone out of danger, and Jean trying her hardest to form a shield around her friends

And it seemed to be working, as the cannon became sloppier and started to slowly stop shooting at them. But unbeknownst to them, it still had one last trick up its sleeve and prepared one last laser at one of them…

Unfortunately, no one seemed to notice on time. No one except Scott that is, who noticed the canon sending probably the biggest of those green laser right at Rogue, who was distracted at the moment

“Rogue! Get down!" Cyclops shouted, shoving the surprised Southern goth out of the way and taking the full brunt of the attack instead

"Scott!" Jean shouted with concern for her best friend, as the whole Danger Room was filled with smoke due to the laser cannon finally exploding

Meanwhile, on the Control Room, the adults had finally shut the entire room down and quickly entered the chamber with concern for their students

"Storm, could you please disperse this smoke around us?" The Professor asked Ororo, who nodded as her eyes began glowing a soft white, summoning a gentle breeze that cleared the smoke away

"What the hell happened in here?!" Logan growled as he approached the students, who were huddling around a sobbing Jean

"It’s Scott! Something, like, happened to him!" Kitty explained with concern

"Zhat cannon vas about to attack Rogue, but he pushed her out of the vay on time!" Kurt explained, standing next to his stunned sister

"We don’t know what could’ve happened to him!" Evan cried, worried for his friend and leader as his aunt started to comfort him

"I can feel Scott’s mind, he’s still with us and seems to be unharmed" The Professor told his students and staff, lifting some of their worries "But, this is interesting…."

"What is it, Professor?" Jean asked her mentor, wiping some of her tears away

"I am not sure, but it seems like—" Before Charles could finish his explanation, a bright red flash interrupted him, just barely missing hitting Logan

"What the—?!" Before the Wolverine could finish his swearing, yet another red flash appeared and nearly grazed Kitty

"These are, like, Scott’s Optic Blasts!" Shadowcat cried "But what is he, like, doing pointing them at us?!"

Eventually, one last Optic Blasts which was the biggest one yet was pointed at their direction with Jean just barely being able to protect everyone with a telekinetic shield. The Blast died down after a while, with everything outside of the redhead’s protective bubble having been completely obliterated

"What was that about?!" Evan cried, still confused over whatever happened which was shared by everyone in the now destroyed room. And then, they heard it…

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

A high-pitched, heart-wrenching cry that seemed to come from the very center of them room and sounded…oddly familiar

"Do y’all hear that?" Rogue asked, hearing the strange new noise

"Yes, it almost sounds like…" Jean started, and then proceeded "A baby’s cry?"

"Professor?" Storm turned to her mentor and friend who started to wheel himself towards the direction of the crying, with everyone else following him uneasily

Charles eventually stopped once he reached his destination with everyone else stopping behind him. The group let out a collective gasp of surprise, or on Logan’s case, a loud swearing noise as they discovered what exactly was causing those cries

It was a baby. A small baby with soft chestnut curls, a stubby little button nose and the chubbiest of little cheeks which also seemed to have a natural pink color to them, crying loudly but having his eyes firmly shut as big, fat tears fell down his cheeks

"What’s a baby doing in here?" Evan asked out loud, even more confused than before

"It’s so cute!" Kitty cooed, her confusion being turned into utter adoration for the adorable baby

"Look, y’all!" Rogue said, pointing at the crying baby. Or rather, at what exactly was the crying baby wearing. That being Scott’s X-Men uniform, which was way too big for its small size, with Scott’s visor resting besides him

"Vhy is zhe baby vearing Scott’s clothes?" Kurt asked "And vhere is Scott, for that matter?"

Jean, who had remained quiet during the whole ordeal, suddenly widened her eyes in realization and began to walk towards the baby, whose cries had turned into small but still heartbreaking sobs

"Don’t you guys see it?" The redhead told her friends, turning towards them with the baby carried on her arms "This is Scott!"

"What?!" The X-Men cried in surprise, not believing their friend at first. But the longer they stared at the baby, the more it made sense

The baby had the same hairstyle as their leader, and even though his eyes remained shut, they could still notice the thin red line underneath his eyelids that indicated the tremendous amount of power hidden behind them

And even if it didn’t, the baby shutting his eyes the same way Scott did whenever he didn’t had his sunglasses or visor was more than an indicator to them

There was no doubt. Their friend and leader, Scott Summers or Cyclops, was now a small baby

And they could all agree that Logan represented well their collective surprise when he screamed, "WHAT THE FUCK!!"

Chapter Text

After the incident, the X-Men were in a hurry to figure out what happened

Hank McCoy, also referred to as Beast due to his, well, blue beastly appearance was the Institute’s resident genius and de facto medic, so he was currently taking a few tests on Scott, who had stopped crying and was currently asleep, wearing one of his sweatshirts that was too big for his small body

Meanwhile, a mutant boy by the name of Forge was taking a look at the new destroyed remains of the laser cannon that had started this mess. Forge was originally from the 70’s era, but got trapped in a pocket dimension by accident due to one of his inventions until he was eventually saved by Kurt

Afterwards, he became a good friend of Kurt’s and a confident of the X-Men, with his mutation giving him an innate ability to understand and create any machine that he could think of

"So Hank, have you been able to discover what happened to Scott?” The Professor asked his good friend and former student, who hummed thoughtfully

"Well, as far as I can tell, Scott seems to be in perfect health for a baby. Although, he is certainly a little smaller than the average infant" The beast-like genius explained, staring at the sleeping baby in questions which was resting on the examination table

"Still, it is concerning that he still retains his mutation despite being so young now" Hank hummed worriedly

"You’re right, Hank. As we both know already, usually mutants unlock their powers during puberty, specifically during moments of great stress" Charles recalled "Even the youngest of cases where mutants unlock their powers have been closer to that age"

“Never once have they appeared when the mutant is so very young" The Professor turned to his tiny student, and couldn’t help but gently remove a few of Scott’s wayward chestnut hairs from his little forehead, causing the little boy to scrunch his nose adorably in his sleep

"My best guess is that Scott’s body hasn’t regressed back into an infant, but his current body was simply transformed into one" Hank theorized "That would explain why he still retains his mutation and why he wasn’t able to control it, as the unfortunate injury on his brain is still present"

Charles couldn’t help but feel saddened at the news that his beloved student’s injury was still present. He knew how much Scott due to it, never being able to turn off his powers and condemned to live the rest of his days seeing behind a layer of ruby quartz

Still, he tried to look at the bright side and asked his colleague, "Do you believe his mind will still be the same?"

"It is worth the try, Charles“ Hank nodded, and that’s all the Professor needed to hear

Charles gently placed his hand over Scott’s small forehead and activated his powers, surprised when he found the lack of his student’s impressively strong mental shields. He guessed that due to his new infantile state, his mind wasn’t so developed to protect itself yet

He hoped it wouldn’t be the same for his memories

"Scott, can you hear me?" Charles asked his sleeping student telepathically, hoping for an answer

"Pwo'fessor?" Scott answered through his mind, his voice sounding much younger and high-pitched, with a noticeable lisp "Wha' happen? Wait, wha's wong wit' m' voice?! An' why are m' shields gwone?!"

"Scott, I’m going to have to ask you to calm down“ Charles told his student gently, helping the little boy calm himself "Now, what is the last thing you remember?"

"We were on ta' Dwanger Roo', twainin'. An' there was a laser, an' it alwost hurt Roguey!" Scott let out a small mental gasp "Pwo'fessor? Wha' happen to Roguey?! ‘S she hurt?!"

"Rogue is fine, Scott. All of the X-Men are fine. You managed to push her away right on time" Charles assured him, but couldn’t help but feel fondness over how much did Scott worried about his friends and didn’t want to see them hurt, even in his new state

"But on doing so, the laser hit you instead" The Professor’s explained, his tone turning grave "Scott, I am afraid that you have been turned into an infant. More accurately, a six month old baby"

Feeling Scott’s surprise, Charles send him the mental image of what he was seeing through his eyes, and Scott saw a tiny baby with his same hairstyle, wearing his now too-big sweatshirt and a thin red light underneath his firmly shut eyelids

He could also still feel the usual hum that his powers did behind his closed eyes, implying that his powers were still present

"Oh nwo!" Came Scott’s distressed answer, reflected through his sleeping self when he began squirming uneasily on his place "Wha' happen to me?!"

"We don’t know yet. Hank and Forge are still looking for an answer" Charles said, trying to sound reassuring for his distressed student "In the meantime, we’ll do everything we can to look after you in this new condition"

"But Pwof'ssor,! I still hwave skool, an' I ne' to lead ta' X-Mwen!" Scott argued, sniffing slightly

"I have already contacted your school. I told them you were going to study abroad for the time being" Charles assured him "As for the X-Men, Jean agreed to lead them in the meantime until your recovery"

"Bwut babies nwed a lott’a wok!" Scott continued to argue, and sadly added in a very small voice "…An' babies don’ hwave baso’kas fo' eye’bwalls. How 'r ya' goin’ two tak' cware o' me?"

"…We will figure it out, Scott. I promise" Charles assured his small student, though he had a good amount of uncertainty himself

"If there’s anyone who can handle this situation, it is the X-Men"

Meanwhile, the rest of the team were impatiently waiting outside of Forge’s temporary lab

Since they still couldn’t visit Scott considering how Hank was still examining him, they at least wanted some answers from Forge over whatever that mysterious laser had been

Eventually, the Native American mutant left his lab and was immediately bombarded by dozens of questions from the X-Men

"Woah woah, guys! One at the time!" Forge told them, which fortunately made them stop

"So, did you, like, figure out what that creepy laser thingy was?" Kitty asked him, hoping for good news

"Well, somewhat. I figured out that cannon wasn’t actually a baby-making weapon, but rather, a vulnerability cannon!" Forge told them

"A vhat now?" Kurt asked, confused

"It’s a bit confusing, even for me, but apparently, that laser was supposed to revert whoever it touched back to their most vulnerable selves" Forge explained "And well, what could be more vulnerable than a defenseless baby?"

"That’s horrible!" Jean gasped, shocked that someone would create such a thing

"Ya' mean, if that thing had touched meh, Ah would’ve turned into a babey?!" Rogue asked, horrified over that thought

"Man, thank God that didn’t happen. You would’ve been a cranky baby…" Evan murmured, but was unfortunately heard by the goth, who promptly elbowed him in the gut as revenge

"I’ll see what I can do to create a machine to revert the process, but it may take time" Forge told them, rubbing his nape uncertainly "I may need to stay in the Institute for a while to work on it, too"

"I understand, I’ll talk to the Professor about finding a temporary room for you" Jean nodded

"Trippy! You guys are the best!" Forge cried, using his old 70’s slang which caused the rest to snicker with amusement

"So, like, what are we gonna do now?" Kitty asked her friends, as they all walked down the hall, allowing their inventor friend to continue his work

"What the Professor said we’ll do, take care of Scott until he’s back to normal" Jean told them seriously

"Well, in that case, for your own information, I’m not changing any diapers" Evan informed them, crossing his arms with a huff

"Like, if I’m given the opportunity to take care of Scott’s adorable baby self, I wouldn’t even care about changing his diapers!" Kitty giggled, actually looking forward to taking care of her now babyfied leader; dirty diapers and all

"Omg! Like, you know what we should totally do now?!" The girl cried, standing in front of her friends with an eager smile

A smile that usually meant trouble for all of them

"Um, no…?" Kurt said with uneasy confusion, smiling awkwardly at the grinning face of his friend

"Baby shopping! We should totally, like, buy nice things for Scott like clothes, toys and stuff!" Kitty explained to them eagerly

"It’s alright Kitty, the Professor said that he’ll take care of everything" Jean told her calmly, but deep down, she dreading to accompany the younger girl to the mall, knowing how enthusiastic she could get

"Like, yeah! He said he’ll buy the crib and other stuff for Scott’s new nursery, but he didn’t said anything about the rest~" Kitty singsonged, and much like her namesake did, she even looked like the cat who got the cream

"You’re not gonna stop bothering us until we say yes, are you?" Evan mumbled tiredly, already made aware of his friend’s antics

"Nope!" Came Kitty’s cheerful response "C’mon! I’ll meet you all at in garage!"

And with that, the girl phased through the wall, leaving her friends alone, and they all let out a collective sigh of defeat

“Well, I guess Kitty does have a point" Jean mumbled, smiling lightly "We should get Scott a few things if he’s going to stay that way for a while"

"Yeah, imagine the ever-serious Cyclops wearing an onesie?" Evan said, snickering mischievously alongside Kurt

"Total blackmailing material" The demon-like mutant said, fist-bumping Evan with his tail

“Ah guess it could be nice…" Rogue mumbled, after all, she did owe Scott for saving her from the same fate and wanted to make it up to him in any way possible

Plus, she secretly also wanted to see him in a onesie too…

Rogue involuntarily began imagining her crush wearing a cute baby blue onesie with little clouds on it and pouting adorably over what he was wearing, causing her pale cheeks to blush

"Then it’s settled! Let’s go shopping for nice things for Scott!" Jean said, causing the group to cheer enthusiastically in agreement

Chapter Text

Kitty Pride was a huge mall rat. Everybody knew that

She knew it, her friends knew it, the multiple store clerks that she had befriended knew it and so did the ones that dreaded her appearance every time there was a new sale going on

It’s just part of who Kitty was. However, although she probably had explored this entire mall from top to bottom already, today she entered a store she never sat foot on before…

“How about this one? It would look, like, so cute on him!" She giggled, excitedly holding a red onesie "Or maybe this one! It would, like, make that cute little nose of his totally stand out!"

The X-Men were exploring the halls of the mall’s resident baby store, searching for things to buy for Scott. Kitty wasted no time in going to the clothing aisle of the store with Jean coming along, Evan and Kurt, who was wearing his image inducer at the moment, went to search for toys, while Rogue went to search for the other essentials like diapers

"I think Scott will like anything you bring him, Kitty” Jean told the younger girl, laughing with fond amusement

"Sorry! I guess, like, I’m a little excited" She giggled sheepishly, browsing through the clothing racks "I never had a little sibling growing up, so, like, I’m really looking forward to take care Scott"

"Yes, I guess I’m pretty excited too" Jean agreed softly, also searching through the racks "After everything Scott has done for us, he deserves to be taken care of. Even if it’s in a very unexpected way"

"Like, totally" Kitty agreed, her eager eyes finally settled in her prize "Ohh! Like, check out this one!”

It was a beautiful baby blue onesie with a little plane on it, its fabric looking soft and comfortable at the same time

"Scott likes planes, right? I bet wearing this would make him, like, so happy!" Kitty chirped peppily

"Yes, I think that one is definitely a must" Jean nodded in agreement, and her emerald eyes found another piece that gained her attention “Check this one out, too!"

Instead of a onesie, the redhead was holding a white cotton romper that resembled a sheep, with adorable fluffy ears on the sides of the hood and a pink heart on its very center

Kitty’s squeal of pure delight could be overhead all throughout the store

Meanwhile, Evan and Kurt were checking out the toys. Which went pretty easy, as they just grabbed the stuff that looked the cuddliest and most fun and add it to the kart 

"You zhink Scott vould like zhis, too?" The disguised mutant asked his friend, holding a stuffed tiger in his hand

"Man, I used to have a tiger just like that when I was a kid" Evan recalled fondly "Add to the kart, dude! I bet Scott will have tons of fun with it!"

Kurt nodded and added the tiger to the grand mountain of stuffed animals they already accumulated. They had teddy bears, teddy wolves, a stuffed bunny or two, and even a electric cow that singed all sorts of nursery rhymes when you pressed its gut,

Asides from stuffed animals, they also brought Scott a number of learning toys that would help 'stimulate his mind' as adults often said. There was a set of building blocks, a bouncy ball, stacking rings and a shape sorter, plus a few bedtime books 

"Hey, check it!" Evan cried, holding up a baby rattle that had a bright blue ball on top and began shaking it vigorously "Haha! Classic!"

"Ja! I very much believe zhat Scott vill enjoy zhat!" Kurt agreed and the spiky mutant placed the rattle in their packeted kart

"Look at zhis!" The German boy cried, holding up a toy plane of a bright red color with a blue propeller

"If there’s anything that Scott would enjoy, it’s definitely that!" Evan nodded with approval, knowing his leader’s love for airships

As the boys continued their search, with Evan finding rubber duckies and Kurt a few tactile rings, the latter eventually found something that gained his attention

"Maybe ve should get Scott one of zhese" The demon-like mutant said, holding a small package that contained three plastic teething rings, all of them a different color

"Teething rings? I guess so" Evan shrugged "His current state is near that age, anyway"

"Zhis takes me back vhen I used my own rings" Kurt recalled with nostalgia "Growing up developing fangs besides regular teeth, zhese vere a life saver"

“I can only imagine” Evan commented, placing the box of teething rings on the kart, who looked like it was about to explode with how many contents it had

"Um, maybe ve should get another kart…" Kurt mumbled, watching the overloaded kart with uneasiness

"Fantastic. Just fantastic…“ Rogue mumbled angrily as she entered the diapers section of the store "They get to search for the cute stuff like clothes and toys, and Ah’m stuck searchin’ for everythin' else!”

Despite the goth’s grumbles, a part of her was pretty excited about this too. She had already gone through the Feeding Essentials of the store and picked at least two boxes of formula and an extra box that held bottles depicting different cartoon animals, which she hoped would make Scott happy

Rogue also found a set of bibs of different pastel colors, each featuring a smiley face. She also added sparkly pastel pacifiers too, despite not being one to like those kind of colors

The goth was surprised by the amounts of diapers that the store had. While there was the usual stereotypical white ones, there were also patterned and colored ones that had trucks, robots or polka dots

The Southern Belle grabbed a box that contained diapers with a space motif, and after nodding with approval and remembering to add baby powder and wipes, she carried on with her shopping

Going through the bath section, Rogue grabbed a few shampoo bottles that supposedly smelled like bananas and added it to her kart. She also grabbed a few towels that had the shape of a koala, monkey and bear respectively

"Ah guess that’s all…" The goth mumbled, satisfied with her shopping, but felt an odd sense of sadness

Rogue lifted her head and watched a mother holding her child nearby, the woman giving her little one a loving kiss in its little forehead before carrying on with her own shopping

The goth then turned to look at her gloved hands and sighed with both defeated, but she was used to it already. After all, despite the situation, the odds were still the same. She still couldn’t touch Scott due to her mutation; and who knows what it could even do to a baby? Especially one as young as Scott was right now

"Stop it. At least you’ll be able to give him somethin’ nice…" Rogue mumbled to herself, trying to cheer herself up when something out of the corner of her eye gained her attention

"Huh? What’s this?" The goth asked out loud, grabbing the object that had gained her attention "Baby mittens?"

Rogue didn’t even knew that babies wore these. The ones she was currently holding being of a bright yellow color, similar to the ones of his Cyclops suit

The only time he could touch her and keep himself protected from her powers…

Thinking, Rogue began smiling a little and placed the mittens in her kart, also adding two other pairs

The first one had a stripped black and white pattern, and the second, beige-colored with little bear faces on them. The latter came with a set and included an equally beige-colored wool beanie with little bear ears on the top

Rogue may still not be able to touch Scott, but she knows he’ll get upset if he isn’t able to touch her. She hoped these mittens might help, even if just a little

Plus, it also served that they were very adorable and would make her de-aged crush look even cuter

Chapter Text

"Alright Scott, are you ready?"

Scott, who was still wearing his oversized sweatshirt, nodded nervously at Charles’ words with his little face scrunched up in worry

Hank and Forge had just finished making a a miniaturized version of his visor in an attempt to keep his Optic Blasts at bay. It had been easier to build this one in comparison to his larger one, considering how they already had the schematics, and with Forge’s help, it had been completed within a couple of hours

Scott could feel Charles hands gently placing the visor on place before removing a few of his wayward bangs from his forehead in a calming gesture

"There, why don’t you try opening your eyes now?" The Professor told him, and feeling his student’s nervousness, added "It’s alright, Scott. There is nothing in front of you right now"

Trusting his mentor’s judgment, Scott let out a sigh that kind of sounded more like a little sneeze, causing Ororo who had been hanging in the background to let out a fond giggle, causing him to blush a little, but nevertheless, he started slowly began opening his eyes…

All sorts of reds soon filled his vision. He was before an open clearing, nothing except for grass and the infinite sky was in front of him, just like when he first received his ruby quartz sunglasses all those years ago

Scott turned his small head and realized that he was in the Professor’s lap, who was looking at him with a fond little smile, causing him to smile back and clap his hands with delight, unable to suppress the little coos of happiness that left his grinning mouth

"I take it his Optic Blasts won’t be a problem anymore" Ororo said, causing the baby to look at her now. The weather goddess smiled fondly as the little boy began making grabby hands towards her

"Yes. The visor has been designed to ensure it will not fall off against any circumstances, and unlike his previous one, this one lacks any of its combat features" Charles explained as Ororo lifted Scott into her arms, and the baby began to happily chew on a few of her white hair strands

"It is also designed to be comfortable so to not hurt Scott’s skin" The Professor added with certain fondness

"Guess this takes out one problem" Logan commented, trying to appear gruff as he usually did, but he was unable to hide the small blush he was wearing over seeing Scott munch on Ororo’s hair and the weather goddess smiling beautifully at the infant with affection

"Yes. We will have to work hard in order to both find the origins of that vulnerability cannon as Forge called it and find a way to return Scott to normal" Charles agreed, turning to his tiny student who had stopped chewing on Storm’s hair and turned his little head towards his direction, cutely smiling which caused the Professor to smile back "In the meantime, we’ll do our best to look after him during this new state"

The other two teachers definitely agreed, in varying levels of visibility, of course. Logan then turned his head up and sniffed the air, and then the three turned to watch as the gates open and allow the X-Van to enter

“Ah, speak of the devil! It seems the rest of the children have returned from their impromptu shopping trip" Charles exclaimed and began to wheel himself back towards the Mansion "Why don’t we got great them back?"

Back inside the Institute, the X-Men had returned from their baby shopping and returned with numerous bags. Bags that were currently being carried by Evan and Kurt, while the girls only held one or two that definitely looked much lighter

"Vhy are ve zhe ones holding all zhese bags?!” The demon-like mutant whined, as he carried the bags  not only on his hands, but also on his tail

"Well, who were the ones that went crazy shopping toys for Scott?” Jean asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow

"Like, yeah! Even I don’t go that crazy during my craziest of shopping sprees" Kitty agreed, her bags that were full with different clothes she was certain would look absolutely adorable on her de-aged friend and leader

Just then, Charles entered through the mahogany front doors accompanied by Logan and Ororo, the latter carrying Scott in her arms, who was still taking in his crimson-colored surroundings

"Welcome back, everyone. I trust everything went well?" The Professor asked his students with a gentle smile

"Everythin' went fahne, Professor. We bought a few thangs for Scott" Rogue answered, raising her shopping bags to emphasize her point

"Thank you, that was certainly very thoughtful of your part. I’m sure Scott will be delighted by what you brought for him" Charles said, proud and thankful of having such thoughtful students

"Like, speaking of which, there’s the handsome little boy!" Kitty squealed, leaning in to look at the baby who looked at her curiously "Ohhhh! You look, like, so cute with your little visor!"

"Kitty!" Scott cooed, raising his hands towards the girl’s direction with a wide smile

Kitty let out yet another high-pitched squeal of excitement and snatched the baby from Ororo’s hands, giving him a warm hug and littering his squishy little face with dozens of little kisses. The weather goddess did not mind, although she kept an eye on her to make sure didn’t accidentally suffocated her friend with affection

"Ev!” Scott then cooed, pointing a tiny finger towards Evan who let out a small chuckle

“That’s right, little man. Great job" He told the baby, booping his small nose, which in turn, made the baby boop his nose in return, causing him to laugh 

"Kurt!" Scott turned towards the fuzzy mutant, whose blue cheeks adopted a purple blush at his adorableness and grabbed the baby from Kitty’s arms, much to the girl’s displeasure

"Ja! I’m Kurt! Aren’t you zhe cutest little zhing, you Kleiner Schatz?” The demon-like mutant cooed as the baby curiously grabbed one of his pointy ears, something that he didn’t mind as it didn’t hurt him and in fact found it very adorable

“Do you recognize me too, Scott?" Jean asked fondly as she leaned towards the baby’s small face. And of course he recognize her, how could he not?

"Jea’nie!" The little boy cooed, raising his little arms in the air and smiling happy, causing the redhead and everyone else to laugh fondly

There was only one of Scott’s friends that was left, who so far, refused to come near him in fear of touching him, something that made the little boy very sad as he turned to the withdrawn girl

"Roguey…" The baby cooed, gaining Rogue’s attention as he began making grabby hands towards her with a pleading expression

"Um, Rogue…" Kurt turned towards his sister, holding Scott in front of him "I zhink he vants you to hold him"

"What?! No, Ah can’t!" The goth cried, shaking her head, which caused the baby to started sobbing behind his visor

“Roguey!” Scott shouted, still making grabby hands towards her, as his lower lip began trembling with sadness

The Southern Belle still wasn’t so sure, but it broke her heart to see her friend like this. So, she nervously extended her gloved and shaky hands towards the baby, carefully grabbing him as if he were made out of crystal

This thankfully calmed Scott down as he no longer looked like he was about to cry. Instead, he nuzzled against her chest comfortably and let out a little coo of happiness, which caused Rogue to blush at the adorable display and for the other teens to squeal

"Heh. He likes ya, Stripes” Logan chuckled as he smirked teasingly, causing the goth to blush

"Shuddup…" She mumbled, attempting to hide her blush by burying her face in Scott’s soft chestnut hair

"Very well, now that you all have been reacquainted with one another, perhaps we should show Scott where he will be resting for the time being?” Charles suggested, and everyone made sounds of agreement

The Xavier Institute had dozens of rooms, most of which were still empty despite the amount of students it held now. As such, it wasn’t difficult to find a room that would serve as their de-aged leader’s nursery for the time being, being close enough to the adult’s dormitories

The crib had just arrived moments before the X-Men returned from their shopping trip, which had a built-in mobile. The small bookshelf and wardrobe that Charles had bought online already will arrive in a few days, so will Scott’s new changing table and diaper pail. Bins and baskets for his new toys will arrive soon enough too, and despite the floor already being rugged, the Professor decided to buy a play mat, just to be sure

Having been made aware of Scott’s new change, the New Mutants, a subgroup to the X-Men consisting of younger students, had offered to help decorate the place while they waited the rest of the nursery’s essentials to arrive

While the gesture was definitely thoughtful and Charles thanked them and was grateful for their help, he was starting to wonder if it had been a good idea…

"The walls should be painted yellow!" Jubilee, a girl of Chinese descent who could create colorful energy similar to fireworks, argued with her friend Rahne Sinclair, who could turn into a wolf

"Nay! He woulda jus' see everythin' orange, anaeway!" The Scottish girl argued back in her strong accent "I say we paint the place black. Much simpler that way"

"Who paints a nursery black, Rahne?!" Jubilee shouted incredulously "They’re supposed to make a baby feel warm and safe! If we paint it black, Scott will just feel scared!”

The two girls pressed their foreheads against each other’s, growling with anger and frustration

Meanwhile, Bobby Drake who went by the self-explanatory name of Iceman due to his cryogenic powers was in the middle of a heated debate with his otherwise good friend, Sam Guthrie, who could propel his body through the air like his codename Cannonball did

"Look, all Ah’m sayin' is that we should probably decorate the walls a little more" The country boy argued

"Yeah right, and who’s gonna decorate it? You?" Bobby scoffed "I seen your side of your room. Those pictures you have hanging on the wall are drab at least"

“They’re not! An’ for yer own information, they’re not pictures, they’re paintings!" Sam shouted

"They’re not paintings! They look like if someone grabbed a bunch of dirt, smeared it one a canvas and called it a day!" Bobby said, and it took all of the usually sweet and polite country boy’s willpower to not go all Cannonball on his friend

By the windows, the oldest of the New Mutants called Ray Crisp or Berzerker, who had the simple yet effective powers of electrokinesis, was hanging a few royal blue colored curtains until they were mercilessly opened by Amara, a girl who was actually the princess of a hidden kingdom and went by the name of Magma thanks to her geothermal powers

"Yo! What gives?!" The older boy cried at the audacity of his friend

"No curtains! We should allow Scott to get lots of sunshine!" Amara told him with a huff "In Nova Roma, babies must be blessed with the warmth of the sun to nurture their bodies and make sure they grow happy, healthy and safe"

"I actually like the sound of that" said Roberto Da Costa, a wealthy Brazilian boy with the powers to absorb solar energy and turn it into physical strength, amongst other things, earning him the codename of Sunspot

"First of all, Scott isn’t a plant! He’ll be fine without it" Ray argued, raising his index finger to emphasize his point "Second, we’re not in Nova Roma, princess! So I say, we use the curtains!"

To further enforce his statement, the boy closed the curtains again, only to be defiantly opened once more by Amara. Growling, he tried it again and she opened them once more. This started a back and forth that didn’t seemed to have an end

"Excuse me! Coming true!" Came a young sounding voice as three equally identical boys entered the room through the door, which was being barricaded by the stunned X-Men

These three weren’t triplets, however, as they were the work of the youngest member of the New Mutants group and previously, the youngest member of the entire Institute until Scott’s transformation, Jaime Madrox, codenamed Multiple, whom like his name suggested, could create indefinite copies of himself upon physical impact

The young boy and his copies were carrying buckets of paint, numerous paint brushes, a few wallpapers and other kinds of stuff for his friends to start decorating the nursery

…Once they settle their disputes, of course

"Ah think you’ll need tah wait a little longer to get yer room, sugah…" Rogue whispered towards Scott, who blinked with confusion behind his visor

Chapter Text

It has been a couple of days since Scott’s abrupt change, and everyone was starting to get used to things

In the end, the New Mutants decided to allow the X-Men handle the decoration of their leader’s nursery. The walls were painted a soft, baby blue color, the wardrobe was white and was in one side of the room with the changing station and bookshelf being in the other side, also white in color

The grey play mat and play pen were besides the bookshelf, already filled with a handful of Scott’s new mountain of toys with the rest being held in the bins and baskets, who were either dark blue or grey colored

And right in the center of the nursery was the crown jewel itself; the crib. It was also white with periwinkle blue mattress with little crown patterns, had at least three fluffy pillows of the same color and pattern, a warm and soft ice blue blanket with stars on it, and mobile hung from the headboard, which had little rockets that gently rotated and never failed to gain the baby’s attention

Everyone else had settled in Scott’s new change and began doing their parts to take care of him

Evan enjoyed playing alongside the baby’s toy planes, though he more than once had to stop him from taking a bite out of his spikes. The little tyke also enjoyed playing with Kurt a lot, as due to all his blue fur, he was the perfect cuddle buddy! Kurt also loved cuddling with the baby, happy that he wasn’t scared of him due to his appearance

Scott was also pretty charmed with the demon-like mutant’s forked tail, and much like a cat, or in this case, a kitten, always tried his best to catch it, much to the amusement of the tail’s owner. The baby had made it his personal mission to catch that tail even if it was the last thing he did

Kitty, like she had previously stated, was absolutely delighted to take care of her babyfied leader in any way, and surprisingly never complained even when she had diaper-changing duty. One would never think that about a girl who took so much pride on her appearance. This made her the go-to girl when it came to cleaning Cyclops’s doo-doo

Although, that didn’t meant she didn’t had her faults. They still don’t know how the hell did she managed to burn Scotty’s milk that one time…

Asides from that, Kitty enjoyed watching baby show marathons alongside Scott that no one else had the patience or interest for. Though, more than once Ororo had to remind her that her friend was not a toy whenever she smothered him with love

Rogue wasn’t as involved as her friends as she still feared what her powers might do to the little one, but that didn’t meant she didn’t do anything. The goth loved to read bed times stories to him, and it was one of the rare times the other students could see her smiling

And of course, one couldn’t talk about Scott without talking about Jean as well. After finally breaking up with Duncan, she wanted to use this opportunity to make up for all the lost time she missed with her best friend when she was catering to that jerk’s needs

And the baby always enjoyed her company, as he always cuddled against her chest and chewed on her bright red hair. They did everything together!

The New Mutants also helped once in a while, wanting to make up for the whole nursery fiasco

Whenever Scott was upset, Bobby would form a small ball of ice for the baby to entertain himself. The Iceman also enjoyed spoiling the little one with snowflakes which he would attempt to catch with his small tongue

Jubilee never failed to entertain the baby’s with the small display of fireworks she made, which always made him clap him absolute delight. Amara was still determined to take care of him in the traditional Nova Roman way, but that didn’t meant she lost her princess-like demeanor due to his adorableness, which always made her squeal like a little girl in delight

Jaime, well, he loved the fact that he was no longer the youngest member of the Institute. His copies and him never failed to have tons of fun with Scott, and that made him the idle partner whenever they played hide-and-seek

Roberto wasn’t as involved as he didn’t knew much about babies, though he did enjoyed taking the baby on strolls around the mansion to soak in the sun’s rays, after he learned that the little boy’s powers also came from the sun

Rahne, in true wolf nature, was extremely protective of Scott and began to see him as sort of her pup. Whenever she took care of him, she mostly did it in her wolf form which mesmerized the baby, running his little hands through her soft ginger fur or hugging her snout, which never failed to make her tail start to wag

Ray also enjoyed goofing around with the baby, too. He would gently run his fingers through his chestnut curls and they would watch in amusement over how his electric powers would cause his little hairs to stand up

Lastly there was Sam, who as the oldest of eleven, made him pretty knowledgeable in the art of caretaking, being the most responsible amongst his New Mutant peers whenever it was time to take care of Scott

Of course, the adults weren’t far behind

Though Logan insisted on a tough guy act, in true Wolverine fashion, was very protective of Scott and they could always notice him smiling even if just a little whenever he took care of his young student. But none of them are brave enough to point that out, least they want to receive the full wrath of their toughest member

Ororo, meanwhile, didn’t shied away of how much she enjoyed taking care of the little baby and always seemed to glow whenever she was around him, which wouldn’t be so far-fetched considering her powers

Hank’s large frame made him the perfect monkey bars in Scott’s eyes and, like Kurt, his blue fur was perfect for cuddling. The beastly mutant was never bothered by the baby’s antics and always enjoyed his company

Last there was the Professor, who had always loved his very first student as if he were his own son. And having been turned into a baby helped strengthen that bond between them

Unfortunately, not everything was fun and games…

"C’mon, bub…” Logan grumbled tiredly, in the asscrack of dawn, as he gently rocked a screaming Scott in his arms “Go to sleep…”

Normally, Cyclops was a very mature and well-behaved baby, probably due to still having his memories despite his new infantile tendencies. But at the end of the day, a baby was still a baby, and babies cried in the middle of the night for little to no reason

"Waahhhh!" Scott, who was wearing a grayish green wool footie pajamas, wailed with big fat tears running down his chubby cheeks and his visor was glowing with intensity as his powers reacted to his strong emotions

Logan sighed, suddenly feeling his actual age of over 200, his body feeling heavy not due to the adamantium in his bones but with exhaustion. He was pretty sure he would have some pretty huge bangs under his eyes if it weren’t for his healing factor

The Wolverine didn’t knew what was wrong with Scott. He wasn’t hungry, his diaper didn’t smelled bad, and waving toys in front of him would just make him more upset

Tired, Logan sat on the rocking chair, the newest addition to the nursery that arrived a day or two ago, exactly for this very reason. He then started to gently scratch the baby’s cheek with his index finger, causing him to finally stop screaming like that Irish mutant, but he was still sobbing with tears coming from his eyes

“Aw, Slim…" The Wolverine mumbled, sad that Scott was sad, and gently cleared away the tears with his large hand

"Wo’vie…" The baby babbled sadly, grabbing Logan’s large hand and hugging it, seemingly calming down thanks to it, as the tears slowly began to cease

Scott began to suck on the immortal’s thumb and began to settle down, finally going back to sleep, the singular red line from his visor darkening to indicate that his little eyes were closed. The immortal then came to the conclusion that the baby had just begun wailing because he perhaps felt lonely

Logan found it a little ironic; these hands had killed hundreds if not thousands of people in the past, guilty and innocent alike, and just became more dangerous when the adamantium was forcibly infused with his skeleton

And yet, Scott was happily hugging it and sucking on his thumb, like it was the most wonderful thing in the world

Logan found himself smiling a little and gently placed the baby back on his crib, covering him with his blankie and making sure he was nice and snuggly. Considering how much he loved his hand, the immortal also placed a leopard plushie near his student which also had an orange pacifier attached to it on a string, and the baby instinctively placed it on his mouth while he slept and begun to peacefully suck on it while snuggling against his toy

“Night, Slim" The immortal whispered and gently kissed Scott’s little forehead, which made the baby giggle a little in his sleep 

Logan made sure that everything was okay one final time and then left the nursery, finally going back to his room to have some well-deserved sleep

Chapter Text

Today, Kurt was watching over Scott, whom today was wearing stripped onesie of a white and dark blue pattern

The two were hanging out in the living room, with the demon-like mutant wagging his tail in front of the baby, tempting him to try and catch it

"Baa!" Scott babbled, trying to grab the long blue tail with his little hands but failing when Kurt expertly moved it out of the way

"Sorry Liebling, better try again!" The fuzzy elf joked, causing the baby to puff up his cheeks in a pout, which made him look very adorable

"Aww, don’t feel bad Scotty" Kurt cooed, lifting Scott with his three-fingered hands and rubbing their noses together, which effectively made him stop pouting and instead began laughing cutely

“Kleines Baby, du bist ein Schatz" The demon-like mutant cooed in his first language and began smothering the baby with kisses, which caused the little boy to laugh even more

Just then, Kitty entered the room by phasing through the wall with a large smile, immediately diverting Scott’s attention away from Kurt and his mountain of affection

"Kitty!" The baby giggled, turning his attention towards the girl, much to the demon-like mutant’s displeasure

"There you are, schnukums" The girl cooed, grabbing Scott away from Kurt’s hands "I been, like, searching all over for you!”

“Kitty!” The baby babbled once more, cuddling against the girl’s chest which caused her to squeal with pure delight

“Sorry Kitty, but I’m afraid Scott is going to spend time vith me!” Kurt told her seriously, snatching the baby back into his hands

"Well then, like, let’s let him decide" The girl said nonchalantly, turning towards the baby and in a sugary sweet voice said “Scotty~, like, who do you want to spend time with? Kurt, or me?”

Scott placed a tiny fist underneath his chin, which was an infantile parody over how he always stroked his chin whenever he was deep in thought. He even had what seemed to be a serious look, with his little eyebrows furrowed and his mouth churned pensively, even though it made him look adorable rather than serious

“Kitty!" The baby decided in the end with a happy chirp, making grabby hands towards the chosen girl with a big smile

"Vhat?!" Kurt screamed in both surprise and betrayal

"Sweet! We’re going to have, like, so much fun!" Kitty squealed, immediately grabbing Scott and walking out of the room with her arms filled with a happy, giggling baby

However, unbeknownst to the giggling Scotty, the girl turned her head to stick her tongue out towards Kurt and purposely cuddled even closer towards the baby, as if to sink in how he chose her

The demon-like mutant growled in frustration, but vowed that he wouldn’t be bested by her. His best friend had turned into his bitter enemy, and if Kitty wanted to play that game, then he shall be the one to come out on top

Later, Kitty was dancing to her favorite song with Scott being her lovely audience, laughing and clapping his little hands in delight

The little boy always knew that his friend was a great dancer, but every time he tried to ask her if she could show him, she always shied away which made him feel bad, wondering if he was truly so intimidating as to drive his friend away

But here Kitty was, dancing in front of him without a care in the world. Maybe having been turned into a baby wasn’t so bad, if it got himself and others to loosen up more…

However, something interrupted Scott’s thought process and admiration for his friend’s dancing moves. Something long and blue and oh so beckoning, coming from outside the room…

“Psst! Liebling~" Kurt’s voice came from outside the room, whispering "Do you vant to play with the tail~?"

"Ohhhh~” Scott cooed out, his crimson-colored gaze completely transfixed on the long appendage

"Zhink you can catch it~?" Kurt continued to purr mischievously, wagging his tail even more to further tempt the baby

"Baaa!” Scott cried, certain that this will be the day he finally catches that thing

“What the—?! Like, Kurt!" Kitty cried, having been broken from her dancing when he noticed her friend standing in the doorway “What do you think you’re, like, doing?!"

"I’m allowing Scotty zhe opportunity to finally catch my tail!" The demon-like mutant answered as if it were the most normal thing in the world, grabbing the baby and carrying him in his arms

“Like, you can’t! Scott was watching me dancing!" Kitty whined, putting her hands on her hips in indignation

"You can do zhat every other day, but zhis is a one in a lifetime opportunity for Scott!" Kurt insisted, and then turned to the baby, completely ignoring his friend

“Let’s go, Leibling! Say goodbye to Kitty now" The demon-like mutant cooed, his sweet tone infuriating the girl

"Bye-bye!" Scott cooed, waving his little hand towards the girl. And Kurt 'ported them out of the room, but not before flashing Kitty a smug smirk and wagging his eyebrows teasingly as payback, leaving Kitty with no adorable baby and with her room now stinking like rotten eggs

"KURT WAGNER!!!!” The girl roared in a way that would put the Wolverine’s own growls to shame

"Kurt, c’mon! You’re, like, being so childish!" Kitty yelled at the fuzzy blue mutant, furiously trying to snag Scott away from him, ironically behaving very childishly herself

"Nein Kitty! My Leibling vants me!“ Kurt argued back, snagging the baby back into his arms, further inciting this particular tug-of-war between the two friends turned rivals

Scott, meanwhile, was giggling happily, believing this was some kind of game. He was having a blast being thrown around in their arms over and over again. It honestly reminded him of his Danger Room sessions, or maybe even flying the Blackbird

"Baa!" The baby squealed, kicking his little legs happily

"Ohhh! Like, see Kurt?! He totally wants to be with me!" Kitty snarked, pulling Scott towards her yet again

"Nein! He vants me!” The fuzzy blue mutant shouted, pulling the baby towards him, and the tug-of-war begun once more

"Oh, hey guys! I see you’re already playing with Scott" Evan said, walking into the room and the delighted baby turned towards him

"Ev!" The little boy cooed, making grabby hands towards the spiky mutant, wanting to be carried by him

Evan was quick to grant Scott’s request and grabbed him from a stunned Kitty and Kurt’s hands, snuggling with the baby comfortably, making the little boy smile adorably

“Ev! Fly! Fly!" The baby babbled, looking up at the older boy, his visor glowing with mirth

"You wanna play with your planes? A’ight then" Evan shrugged, already knowing that by 'Fly' Scott meant playing with his toy planes "Say bye to Kitty and Kurt now, little man"

"Bye-bye!" The baby said, waving at the two stunned friends as the spiky mutant left the room with him giggling

But once again, Scott failed to notice the cocky look that Evan send towards the two, his mischievous eyes gleaming with vicious victory as he cuddled closer to the baby to add salt to their injury

"Oh, like, that sneaky little cheat!" Kitty growled

“Truce?" Kurt offered, holding up a three-digit hand at his friend

"Truce. Now, like, let’s go get him!" Kitty agreed, shaking the fuzzy mutant’s hand and the two sprung into action, going back to being the best of friends now that they had a common enemy

Chapter Text

It was Tuesday, which meant all of the students would be going to school today. Which also meant that Scott would be left all alone

The baby was wearing a cute light blue denim overalls and nothing else besides his visor, sitting on one of his playing dens, more specifically, the one that was located on the Institute’s foyer. He had a good amount of toys and other things to entertain himself, but he barely put them any attention, only carrying one of his beloved toy planes in his little hands, just looking at it dispassionately

It wasn’t only the baby side of Scott that mourned the loss of his friends when they eventually went to school, his older self was also worried over potentially losing classes, even though the Professor had assured him that he had already found a solution

Mostly, he definitely didn’t want Jean to be anywhere near Duncan. Even though they were officially over, the jerk just wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept insisting. The redhead had been smart so far and always managed to find an excuse to escape from the football star, but the baby feared that there will be a day when she wouldn’t be able to avoid her ex anymore, and he wouldn’t be there to protect her

Sniffling a little, Scott messily wiped off any potential tears from behind his visor and threw his plane away, no longer interested. He really didn’t want his friends to leave, but what could he do?

Just then, an idea formulated in his squishy little head. What if he sneaked into school alongside them? He was small enough to fit in one of their backpacks, and if he stayed really quiet, then no one would suspect a thing. He’ll be back before they knew it

Scott smiled and began crawling towards the X-Men’s backpacks, sitting inconspicuously beside the front door. He struggled a little opening one, considering his little baby body didn’t had the same motor skills as his grown one, but nevertheless, he soldiered through and managed to open the backpack

The baby cooed in delight and self-congratulation, and quickly placed aside the bag’s contents in order to enter, making himself comfortable and giggling as he closed the backpack, looking as if nothing had happened

“Okay guys, hurry up! We leave in five minutes!" Jean cried to the rest of her friends, grabbing her backpack and putting it on

The rest of the X-Men quickly scrambled into the foyer, murmuring groans and complaints over either wanting to sleep some more, not having enough breakfast, certain girls hogging the bathroom or having mandatory Danger Room sessions with Logan every morning before school

As each of them grabbed their individual backpacks and entered the X-Van, their go-to vehicle ever since Scott had been turned into a baby, none of them notice they had a little stowaway with them who let out a quiet giggle of mischief

Today had been just horrible for Kitty

First, Rogue had hogged the bathroom of their shared room, which meant that she had to make line with the other girls for the bathroom located on the hallway. Which, in a house filled with other girls who spend hours getting ready, was never a good thing

Next, she had arrived late for breakfast for the very same reason, so she only managed to eat one miserable banana before Logan barked at all of them to report to the Danger Room in five minutes or else. Those dreadful sessions were definitely no good with a half empty stomach

And as if turns out, she totally forgot her History homework back at the Institute because she was in such a hurry this morning, earning her an earful from the teacher right in front of the entire class. Talk about humiliating!

And to top it all off, Kitty wasn’t able to give Scott a goodbye kiss this morning. The little baby must be so sad and disappointed!

Sighing, the girl sat down for her next class which was Chemistry. At least in this class she had to seat in pairs, and she was lucky enough to have Rogue as her lab partner

“Tough day?” The goth asked her roommate and best friend as she slumped in her seat besides her

"Like, tough is an understatement" Kitty mumbled, resting her tired head against her hand and sighing loudly

”Ah can imagine. Heard about the earful that Ms. Webb gave ya‘ this mornin’" Rogue said, giving her friend a few sympathetic pats on the back "Mah condolences"

“Thanks, like, I guess…” Kitty said, feeling a little better. Just then, the teacher entered and everyone immediately sat a little straighter. Ever since Mr. McCoy had mysteriously 'quit' a while back, the new Chemistry teacher that Principal Kelly had hired was much more serious and strict than his predecessor, easily making him one of the most feared teachers in the faculty

"Alright, kids. Take out your books quietly and open them in page 127" The teacher barked out, and everyone immediately did as they were told

However, when Kitty opened her backpack she nearly got a heart attack, because inside her backpack was none other than—

“Scott?!" The girl gasped as the baby innocently waved at her, smiling adorably. She then noticed how everyone else were giving her weird looks and the teacher raised a sharp eyebrow, but thankfully, she managed to save herself by disguising her gasp as if it were a fit of coughs, which everyone thankfully bought it

"Kitty? What’s goin’ on?“ Rogue asked her best friend, who looked almost as pale as her as if she had seen a ghost

"It’s Scott! He’s, like, inside my backpack!“ Kitty whispered to her, pointing at her bag with a trembling finger as if she had discovered a bomb inside of it

The goth’s eyes nearly popped out of her sockets and quickly grabbed her friend’s bag, carefully opened it, and discovering the baby inside of it, looking up at her with his visor beginning to glow mirthfully, causing her to close the bag again in fear of the red glowing attracting unwanted attention to them

"When did this happen?!" Rogue whispered-shouted to Kitty, making sure no one was watching

“I don’t know! I mean, like, I noticed that my bag was heavier than usual today but I never thought, like, there was something wrong with it!” Kitty scrambled out her response

"So you’re meanin’ to tell meh, that ya have been carin’ a baby all this time and ya never thought that somethin’ was wrong?!” Rogue hissed at her angrily

“Miss Pryde and Miss Darkholme!” The teacher’s booming voice interrupted their whispered conversation, causing them to snap back into their straight postures and watched nervously at the teacher right in front of them, looking down at them with fire in his eyes "Is there something you want to share with the rest of the class?”

“U-Ummm…” Kitty started, looking at everything but her teacher, trying to find a good excuse but only coming in blank. And the stares and whispers from her classmates definitely weren’t helping calm down her nerves

“May we be excused? We need’ta go to the bathroom“ Thankfully, Rogue came to the rescue with an excuse she hoped was believable enough

“Both of you at once?“ The teacher questioned, raising a suspicious eyebrow at which the two girls falsely smiled at him and rapidly nodded their heads “Very well then, but make it quick!"

The two friends immediately bolted out of the room not looking back, with Kitty carefully carrying her bag with her as it were about to explode at any second

“What are we, like, going to do?!" The younger of the girls cried, referring to the precious package inside her bag, who begun giggling innocently without a care

"Ah-Ah don’t know! Should we try contacting the Professor?“ Rogue asked out loud, nervously

“Girls? What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be at class?" A new voiced asked, nearly making the duo have a heart attack. But relaxed when they saw it was only Jean, who was looking at them curiously

“Jean! Like, don’t scare us like that!“ Kitty said, trying to still her beating heart with Rogue doing the same

“What’s going on with you two?" The redhead asked, raising an eyebrow at the distressed state of her friends, with the goth’s pale skin somehow looking even paler and the valley girl’s eyes resembling a dear caught in the headlights

“We might’ve have a problem…" Rogue said, grabbing Kitty’s backpack and opening it to reveal the little stowaway hidden inside of it

“Scott!" The redhead gasped in shock

"Jea’nie!" The baby cooed, smiling at the girl he adored and making grabby hands at her, completely unbothered by the situation

“Explain now!” Jean told them both seriously, and they gave her a quick recap over how they believed Scott had sneaked into school by hiding inside Kitty’s backpack and how she just recently discovered him just now

“How did you not noticed a baby inside of your bag?!” The redhead asked her friend with disbelief, before shaking her head "You know what, never mind! I’ll take it from here, you two should return to class“

The two nodded and Kitty handed Scott to Jean, who gently and carefully hided him inside her own bag and they went their separate ways, trying to act as casual as possible in order to not attract any attention to what was going on

"Professor, can you hear me?“ The redhead contacted her mentor via her telepathy

"Jean, thank goodness! Have you seen Scott?!" Charles told his first female student, his normally calm and polite now voice sounding distressed "He has been missing all morning! The other teachers and I aren’t able to find him anywhere!"

"That’s because he’s with us, Professor“ Jean informed her worried teacher "Scott has managed to sneak into school by hiding inside Kitty’s backpack. She and Rogue just discovered him recently"

"I see, Ororo and I will be there immediately to pick him up" Charles informed her "Thank you for notifying me, Jean. I wouldn’t know what do to if I somehow lost him, especially in this state"

"Don’t worry, Professor. I know, because I feel the same way" The redhead told her mentor sincerely, a soft smile adorning her beautiful features

Moments later, the Professor’s expensive vintage car pulled over in front of the school, being driven by Ororo as usual. Jean handed Scott to the weather goddess, but not before giving him a quick peck on his chubby cheeks and giving him a mock warning to 'behave' and went back to her classes

"Well Scott, it seems you had quite an eventful day today” Charles said with an amused tone, and the baby, who was sat comfortably in his car seat, giggled in agreement

“Just be sure to not do something like this again" Ororo told Scott with a fond smile, and jokingly added "I do not think Logan could handle the stress of not being able to find you"

"In that, my dear Storm, we can agree" Charles commented, and all three members inside the vehicle proceeded to laugh

Chapter Text

Once more, Kurt was in charge of taking care of Scott, whose outfit for the day was wearing a black footie pajamas and canary yellow baby mittens, and with his visor, it kinda resembled his X-Men uniform

The demon-like mutant was working on his math homework while the baby played with his elephant plushie as he peacefully sucked his pacifier, which was the same color as his gloves. The fuzzy blue mutant would occasionally raise his head to check on his de-aged friend, smiling with fondness over seeing him so happy because he was usually so stiff

Maybe this sudden transformation had some positive effects, despite the strange circumstances in which it had occurred

However, the peaceful and wholesome vibe of the room was brutally interrupted when the window of Kurt’s room was suddenly broken into a million pieces by Todd Tolansky, codename Toad, who bursted into the room.

He was a member of the Brotherhood, a team of mutants who served as rivals for the X-Men, as they didn’t shared the same dream that humans and mutants could live together and weren’t interested in using their powers for goods, instead just using them to do whatever they wanted. 

They also worked under Magneto, the biggest foe of the X-Men and Professor Xavier’s former best friend, who believed that mutants should eradicate humans and take their so-called rightful place as Earth’s dominant species. Although, the threat that they once posed diminished when Magneto recruited a new team that was much more dangerous than them called the Acolytes 

Toad in particular, like his codename implied, had the same abilities as that of a frog, meaning that he could jump higher than the average human, had a long extensive tongue that he could use to grab objects or even people, and could develop some kind of mucus that was incredibly sticky and served as an adhesive

Although, his powers had the downside of a semi-unsightly appearance, an appetite for flies and an unbelievably strong and horrible odor that recked worse than the sewer system, though some of his unkempt appearance could’ve been done on purpose by him

Kurt gasped and quickly 'ported himself and Scott away from the dangerous glass shards, glaring at Todd while carrying his small leader safely on his arms

"Hey, elf boy! Mind if I borrow your image inducer for a while? Kinda need it to win over my babycakes again!” Toad asked with a snicker

Before Kurt could tell him to leave, Todd sprung out his long tongue and attempted to forcefully take the watch away. But unfortunately for him, the fuzzy blue mutant was quicker, and grabbed the tongue firmly before sending the intruder flying into the air, causing Tolansky to yelped in a very unmanly way

"Not cool, yo!" Toad shouted, standing up from the floor while nursing his head

The smelly boy was about to use his tongue again to try and take the watch when his eyes noticed that Kurt was carrying something very interesting in his arms…

"Now, what do we have here?" Todd chuckled and used his tongue to snatch Scott away from his friend’s protective arms, and this time, the demon-like mutant was too late to stop him

"No!" Kurt shouted in horror as Toad grinned at his prize, who looked like he was about to cry

"I didn’t knew you had a baby, Blue Boy! This kid’s surely gonna make me more appealing to my Crimson Cutie!" Todd cackled, carrying Scott with one arm like if he were luggage and jumped towards the now broken window

"Toad! If you hurt him in any vay, then I swear—!" Kurt shouted, his face filled with rage and looking much like a fearsome demon right now

"Can’t hear you, elf boy! Got a Scarlet Witch to conquer! Thanks for the kid, though!" Todd cackled, and with Scott still wrapped around in his nasty tongue, he hopped away

"Kurt!!" The baby heartbreakingly shouted, unable to do anything other than helplessly cry

"Oh babycakes, I’m back~!" Todd singsonged as he entered the Brotherhood’s Boarding House, which served as their main base of operations

Unlike the Institute, the Boarding House was a sad, unkempt building which always looked like it was seconds away from completely falling apart, which wouldn’t be so farfetched considering the powers of one of their members

The walls were covered with graffiti with their old wallpapers beginning to fall down, multiple kinds of litter and trash adorned the dirty and dusty floors, it was a miracle if the electricity or running water ever worked, amongst many other things

It was honestly a surprise that anyone could live there, but to the Brotherhood, it was home

"What do you want, Toad?" spat Wanda Maximoff, otherwise known as the Scarlet Witch, the group’s only female member and arguably, its strongest as well

Her powers were a bit controversial, as no one was really sure what they were, not even herself. All she knew was that, whenever she used them, chaos and destruction followed

When Wanda was a little girl, she had little to no control of her powers which caused her father, who is none other than Magneto himself, to abandon her in an Insane Asylum, where she was often treated like an animal in all sorts of inhumane ways

This caused her to grew resentful and angry towards her father, and once she was freed by Mystique a while back, she made it her personal mission to get rid of him once and for all

At least, that was before Magneto ordered one of his underlings called Mastermind to wipe her memories, making Wanda forget why was she ever mad with her father to begin with

In a way, this brainwashing made her become much happier and less angry all the time. Though she was still annoyed by Todd’s constant attempts to woo her

"Guess what? I got a little somethin’ for you~" Toad sang, hiding something behind his back

"Oh, joy! Let me guess, it’s yet another bouquet of smelly flowers you picked up from a swamp, right?" Wanda asked sarcastically, crossing her arms and rolled her uninterested eyes

"Nope! It’s something even better!" Todd said with a literal hop to his words, and enthusiastically showed her what he was hiding with an eager "Ta-da!!"

Wanda gasped, her annoyed frown turning into a look of surprise, because out of all the nasty surprises that Tolanksy could've showed her, a baby was the last thing she would’ve ever thought about. A baby that looked like it had been crying, and was still sobbing quietly by now

The goth immediately snatched the baby away from Todd’s grubby fingers and angrily grabbed the stinky mutant by the hem of his shirt, bringing him close to her scowling face

"You rotten little rat! Where did you find this baby?!" Wanda interrogated him furiously, even giving him an angry shake in her fury

"B-Babycakes! I don’t understand! I thought girls like men who had kids because they think that makes them more appealing?!" Todd answered fearfully but unfortunately, also genuinely

"No, we only see them as creepy and as pedophiles!" Wanda growled, and annoyed at Toad’s reaction, harshly shoved him into the ground

"What’s goin’ on here?" Came the voice of Lance Alvers, accompanied by his friends Fred Dukes and Pietro Maximoff

Alvers was the oldest and the mostly responsible member of the Brotherhood, as such, he often served as their de-facto leader despite what Pietro might say. At first glance, he might come off as rude, standoffish and arrogant delinquent but he also had a soft side to him, as he genuinely did cared for his teammates despite how often they drive him crazy and even harbored a crush for none other than Kitty Pryde, a girl that was the opposite to him in almost every way

Lance also had the power to generate heavy seismic waves, in other words, earthquakes, which granted him the name of Avalanche

Fred Dukes was the Brotherhood’s largest and physically strongest member due to his mutation which made him have a large amount of mass, far more than the average human. Due to his obese body, he was often ridiculed and even as the supposed star attraction of a traveling rodeo, that still didn’t stopped him from being laughed at. So when he joined the Brotherhood, he swore that he’ll never be anyone’s laughingstock ever again

Asides from his incredible strength, his body mass also made him very durable and he could even control it in order to become immovable. A truck could crash against him and he wouldn’t even move an inch. This caused him to choose the name of Blob

Last but not least was Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, Wanda’s twin brother and son of Magneto. He was the Brotherhood’s resident speedster, and easily their more egocentric and annoying member, second only maybe to Toad

He believed that his speed and his status as his father’s son entitles him to do whatever he pleased, though in reality, he used his arrogance as a mask to hide his deep insecurities and his desperate need for his father’s approval. He secretly also wanted to bond once more with his estranged sister, especially now that she no longer wanted to kill him on sight, he just didn’t knew how

"Toad here stole a baby from somewhere!" Wanda explained, pointing an accusing finger to a stunned Tolansky, who was still laying on the floor

"You stole a baby?! Dude, that’s awesome!" Pietro cackled, clearly not reading the situation

"It’s not awesome! We need to get this baby back to whoever it belongs before someone charges us for kidnapping!" Wanda scolded her brother, harshly tugging on his ear to further punish him as he pathetically begged her to stop

"Say, doesn’t this baby look familiar to you?" Fred pointed out, pointing a large finger at the baby that was still sobbing on the goth’s arms

"Hey, you’re right" Lance said, grabbing the baby from Wanda’s arms with surprising carefulness and begun looking at it suspiciously "Doesn’t the kid kinda reminds you of Summers?"

That definitely caught all of the Brotherhood’s attention, as they noticed that the baby had the same chestnut hair, dorky hairstyle and even a miniature version of his stupid visor

And with the black onesie and yellow mittens that he was wearing, he might as well be wearing a baby version of his Cyclops uniform

The Brotherhood had only heard rumors that something had happened to Scott Summers, with him suddenly beginning to study abroad and the X-Leader somehow being absent from all of their recent battles, instead that redheaded chick being the one to lead the X-Men

The also had heard a few days how some students had swore that they heard a baby’s giggle coming from none other than Kitty Pryde’s backpack, causing some students to theorize that she was a teenage mom that had sneaked her baby to school, much to Lance’s horror

And now, it seems like the answer over what happened to Cyclops was right in front of them

"How do we even make sure that this brat’s even Summers?” Pietro asked out loud, coming face to face with the baby, who frowned at the speedster and harshly kicked him in the chin with one of his little baby feet "Ow! Yup, this is Summers alright…”

"Man, this is so rich, yo!" Todd cackled, rubbing his hands together mischievously with a huge smile on his dirty face

"Yeah! The mighty Cyclops turned into a wittle baby!" Fred agreed, using baby talk to further mock Scott as he teasingly scratched him under his little chin with one large finger, causing the baby to begin to make angry noises and squirm in Lance’s arms

“Aww! Is the bwaby fweeling cwanky? Does the wittle one want his bwottle?" The earth-shaker mockingly asked the upset baby, making the Brotherhood minus Wanda laugh at his expense

Scott was about to slap Lance’s stupid face with one of his chubby hands but stopped, suddenly calming down. And yet, he had a huge smirk on his squishy face, his visor suddenly having a malicious glint

And with one final teasing look, the baby unleashed his load all over his diaper, causing the Brotherhood to gag at the horrible smell that the baby was now emanating

"Ewww! And you say I smell bad, yo!" Todd cried, covering his nose by pinching it shut

"Make it stop! I can’t bear it anymore!" Fred cried, running away from the horribly smelly room

"Wanda! Do something!" Pietro cried to his sister, using his entire hand to cover his nose

"Why? You think just because I’m a girl I automatically know how to change a dirty diaper?" Wanda accused him, being the only one that wasn’t currently complaining about the smell, as she was much to amused with the chaos unfolded and watching the Brotherhood squirm over a dirty diaper

Pietro shouted in dismay and used his super speed to quickly run out of the house to get some fresh air. But to his horror, Logan was in front of him, in his full Wolverine getup and looking extremely pissed off

"Now I’m only goin’ to say this once, bub…" The immortal said with a low growl, and unsheathed his dangerous claws "Where. Is. Cyclops?!!"

Pietro quickly speed back into the house before standing in front of the angry feral in the blink of an eye, immediately shoving Scott into the man’s chest

“Take him! Just take him!" The speedster pleaded “I can’t stand the smell any longer!"

Logan sniffed and he didn’t need his enhanced senses to know Scott had just used his diaper. He returned his claws back into his body and grabbed the baby into his arms, carefully carrying him close to his chest, which began rumbling with a deep sense of relief and protection over his little one being okay

"C’mon Slim, let’s go back home to change that diaper of yours" The Wolverine fondly told his cub, who giggled in agreement, ready to go back to his family

Chapter Text

Scott was a very talkative baby

It was a little ironic, considering how his grown self didn’t talk too much. It would seems as if his transformation lifted some of the restrictions he placed upon himself as leader of the X-Men, one of which being his constant babbling

Scott was currently being given a bath by Ororo, as they did every night before going to sleep. He was happily playing with the soapy bubbles and watched with amusement as they disappeared

"Ba! Ba! Ba!” The baby cooed happily while the weather goddess gently rinsed his little head, causing him to giggle

"Roro!" Scott cried, making grabby hands towards Ororo as she finished his bath, wrapping him gently in one of his soft towels which had the appearance of a duck

“That’s right, dear. I’m Ororo" The weather goddess said with a fond smile "Can you try and say Storm for me too, sweetheart?"

"T’orm!" Scott cooed with a big, happy smiled as he cuddled against her chest "T’orm! H’ppy!"

“Yes, I am very happy too, my child" Ororo chuckled and planted a loving kiss on the little boy’s forehead

Logan was resting on the school’s porch, Scott secured on his lap with his large arms around the baby in a protective way

The baby was wearing a white t-shirt and a dark blue sun hat, though no pants or shoes whatsoever. Instead he was wearing one of his diapers, which was a lime green color and had a multicolored robot pattern on it

"S’un!" Scott cried, pointing a tiny finger at the large celestial body which was glowing with special brightness today, given how there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky

“That’s right Slim, that’s the sun” Logan agreed, looking at the baby with a fond smirk “It’s where your powers come from"

"Ooooo!" Scott cooed, fascinated, and retuned his visored gaze at the large celestial body and begun waving at it "T’ank u!"

Logan chuckled, amused by the baby’s shenanigans. He brought the waving infant closer to his chest and kissed his little button nose, causing the baby to let out a small gasp of surprise before he started giggling madly, as the feral began attacking his chubby stomach with tickles

"Wo’vie! Nyo! Nyo!" Scott pleaded amongst giggles, kicking his little feet in delight ”Nyo tic’es!”

“I don’t see you trying to stop me, bub" Logan challenged playfully, but nevertheless decided to stop tickling the baby and gave him another nose kiss

"Wo’vie! Wuv u!” Scotty babbled, hugging the feral’s absolute trunk of a neck with his little chubby arms

"Love you too, Slim” Logan whispered, hugging the baby back

Scott was in Hank’s clinic today for his weekly checkup. While most other babies would be throwing a fuss over being picked and prodded during a checkup, he remained very calm during the whole thing, proving that he was quite mature despite his age

Although, it could’ve also been due to the bright orange ball that was currently keeping him occupied during the entire checkup

"Alrighty Scott, we’re done! You’re still a happy, healthy baby" Hank informed the little one, who stopped munching on his ball to turn at him and giggle

"Hel’ty!" The baby, wearing only his white diaper and white cotton sockets, babbled in delight, pointing at himself

"Yes, you’re very healthy! Though still small for your age" Hank teased as he affectionately ruffled Scott’s soft chestnut curls with one large, blue paw

“Nyo! Nyo s’mal!" The baby denied, shaking his little head rapidly

“It’s alright Scott. I’m sure you’ll get your growth spurt eventually" Hank assured the baby with amusement, causing him to at first pout by adorably puffing up his chubby cheeks but then completely forgot his anger and giggled

"Uppy!" The baby cooed, making grabby hands towards the beastly mutant, wanting to be carried. And well, who was he to deny the little one his request?

With one large, furry blue arm around Scott, Hank lifted the baby into the air and promptly left the clinic with a giggling baby on tow

It wasn’t every day that Charles Xavier had free time

After all, he was the headmaster and owner of a school filled with mutants. There wasn’t a single day where something interesting happened, for better or for worse

But the times that Charles does have a free moment, he likes to spend it with the closest thing he has ever had to son, his very first student; Scott Summers

"Prof!" The baby babbled happily as the Professor gently picked him up and settled him in his lap. He was wearing an ice blue onesie with white polka dots on them, and his favorite white cotton socks

“Hello Scott. I assumed you had an eventful day today as well?" Charles asked the little boy, quirking an amused eyebrow

"Y’up!” The baby agreed with a happy nod, making his mentor chuckle

Charles was aware that he could use his telepathy to have a more complete conversation with Scott, but there was something so fascinating and endearing about hearing the baby babble. It just made his first student more lovable this way

"Prof!" The baby giggled, hugging the man that had raised him and took him in when he was young, looking up at him with his visor glowing mirthfully yet again "Wuv u!"

“…I love you too, Scott. So much" Charles said back, hugging the little one close as a soft smile spread across his face

Chapter Text

Alex Masters, formerly Alex Summers, couldn’t stop jumping excitedly on his seat

Not only today was he officially going to enroll into the Xavier Institute and train to become an X-Man, but he will also get the chance to finally meet the baby version of his big brother!

Alex had been made aware of Scott’s transformation a day after it had happened by the Professor, and had so far been kept up to date by e-mails and photos. But now, he’ll finally be able to see him for real!

Not only see him, but play with him and hold him and take care of him! The surfer could barely contain himself!!

“Are we there yet?!" Alex asked Logan, who was driving the X-Van from the airport, for what seemed like the millionth time, much to the immortal’s annoyance

"For the last time, kid, we’ll get there when we get there!” The Wolverine growled, which caused the surfer to flinch and promptly silenced himself, but that didn’t stopped him from still jumping in his seat

“Sorry dude, guess I’m just too excited!" Alex grinned enthusiastically "I mean, I’m going to be an X-Man like my brother!"

"Hold your horses, kid. First, you’ll have to join the rest of the New Mutants, and then, we’ll see" Logan informed the surfer, who groaned a little, as he was a little disappointed over being put by what he believed was the baby group

Nevertheless, Alex was still very much excited to begin his training at Xavier Institute, and he was certain he’ll eventually rise through the ranks and join his brother in the X-Men

“Alright, we’re here" Logan informed the surfer, who let out an whoop of excitement, as the gates to the impressive Institute opened up, allowing him a good look at the amazing building where his brother had grown up

"So, whaddaya think?" The immortal asked the impressed boy with a slight grin as they both got out of the car

"Amazing! Can’t believe Scott actually lives here!” Alex said in complete awe at the building "Man, he was really lucky!"

"Speaking of Slim, how about we go in and greet him?" Logan offered, already beginning to unloading the surfer’s luggage from the Van’s trunk

"Oh yes! Can’t wait to meet my bro’s baby self!" Alex exclaimed cheerfully, and immediately bolted to the grand front doors

Logan grumbled about being left behind to carry the kid’s stuff, but nevertheless did smiled a little at the surfer’s enthusiasm. Meanwhile, inside the Institute’s foyer, the young man was taking in his surroundings

"This place is amazing…" Alex breathed out, awed over how the inside was just and incredible as the outside

“Why, I’m glad you think of it that way Alex" A kind, educated voice said and the surfer turned around to see that a man in a wheelchair accompanied by a redheaded girl were standing in the hall’s doorway

“You’re Professor Xavier, right? Scott told me about you" Alex said, shaking hands with the older gentleman "Thanks for taking care of my brother all this time"

"Thank you, Alex. Welcome to Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters" Charles said with a smile as they finished their handshake "So glad you ultimately decided to join us. I’m sure your brother will be most delighted about your decision"

"Oh yeah! Speaking of my bro, where is he?!" Alex asked them enthusiastically, almost jumping in place by how excited he was feeling

"He’s in his nursery right now. Follow me, I’ll show you where it is" Jean told the surfer, who were already pretty acquainted with one another through Scott, and they both began walking down the hall

The redhead took advantage of this little trip to also give the surfer a tour of the Institute. Alex couldn’t stop his amazement over the impressive mansion that was now going to be his home, but even his awe for the building was second to his excitement of meeting his de-aged brother

"—And this are the boy dorms for the New Mutants. You’ll be sharing a room with a boy named Ray Crisp since you’re both around the same age" Jean explained to the young man

"It’s fine, I really don’t mind bunking. I always wanted a roommate" Alex told her casually, causing the redhead to smile at him

"And right over here is the adults’ wing" Jean said, and one could notice the distinction between the adults and students hallways considering how the teacher’s wing was way more organized and spacious

"Is that…?" Alex started, pointing at one door in particular that stood out amongst the rest. For starters, it was the only door in both the teacher’s wing and the rest of the mansion that was colored a lovely blue with little white clouds painted on it

A sign was hanging in the very center of the door, shaped like a crown and the phrase "Little King Resting" written on it with cursive letters. If it looked like that, then that could only mean one thing…

"Yup, that’s Scott’s temporary nursery until he returns to normal" Jean confirmed Alex’s question with a nod "Ready to see him?"

"More than ready! Let’s go, dude!" The surfer cried and wasted no time in entering the room with an amused redhead on tow

The inside of his brother’s nursery was also pretty impressive for Alex, looking warm and inviting for all those that entered. But for as amazing as his surroundings were, his attention was truly focused on something, or rather, someone else

His brother Scott Summers, now turned into a beautiful baby. He was wearing a green dinosaur onesie and was currently playing with a shape sorter while peacefully sucking on a purple pacifier, his little face frowning in concentration

However, as soon as he noticed Jean entering the room, he immediately lost interest in his toy and happily turned towards the girl he adored

"J’eanie!" Scott chirped, after removing his pacifier and making grabby hands towards her with a bright smile

“Hey, sweetie" Jean cooed, carrying the baby into her arms and giving him a little kiss on his little nose, causing him to giggle. And Alex couldn’t help but coo at the adorableness of the scene

"There’s someone here that came to see you" The redhead told Scott, piquing the baby’s curiosity over who it could be

Jean then turned to Alex and gave him an encouraging nod to approach the little one, and after letting out a sigh to relax himself, the surfer finally greeted his brother

"Hi Scotty" He told the baby, who looked at him with curious eyes behind his tiny visor "Do you remember me?"

"Lex!" The little boy cried with a nod, giggling as he made grabby hands towards his brother "Lex! Uppy!"

"I think he wants you to carry him, Alex" Jean told the surfer, who was still a little stunned, and handed Scott to him

The surfer struggled a little to carry his brother correctly, being instructed by the redhead on how to do it in the proper way. But once the baby was safely in his arms, he immediately began cuddling against his brother’s warm chest

"Lex!" Scott cooed softly, which caused Alex to smile widely as he hugged his brother back

"That’s right, bro. Good job!" The surfer told him softly, kissing the baby’s small forehead

"Bwo!" Scott repeated happily, causing both teens to chuckle

“Thanks, Jean. Y’know, for taking care of him and all" Alex thanked the redhead who smiled back

"No problem. I’ll leave you guys alone for you to get some time together" She told him, making her leave "Have fun guys!"

"Sure will! Thanks again!" Alex told her, and then turned to Scott once more "You ready to spend time with me, bro?"

"Bwo!" The baby babbled, nodding happily "Lex! Bwo!"

"That’s right, Scotty" Alex cooed, rubbing their noses together "I’m your big bro, Alex!"

“Bi' Bwo Lex!" Scott repeated cheerfully, and both brothers laughed, and they both felt the brotherly bond between them about to become stronger from now on

Chapter Text

"Waaaaaahhhhhh!!!!"

A sharp wail was heard all over the adult wing of the Xavier Institute, waking up all of the nearby residents

"Not again…" Logan mumbled tiredly, warily opening his eyes yet nevertheless dragging his heavy body off his bed

To his surprise, Ororo was also standing in front of Scott’s door, also pretty tired but somehow managing to look just as beautiful as ever

"Slim woke you up as well, huh?" Logan asked the weather goddess with sympathy

"Difficult for him not to do so…" Ororo yawned, tiredly rubbing her eyes

"Yeah, for a tyke, he’s got some good lungs" Logan mumbled "Look, you had a busy day today. Let me handle this one”

"It’s alright. I’ll be able to sleep much better once Scott has calmed down" Ororo assured him, a soft smile appearing in her beautiful features despite her tiredness

This caused Logan to blush slightly at the weather witch’s beauty. It was not a very well kept secret that the immortal held feelings for their resident Storm, mostly stemming from the fact that they were the only adults here. But over time, he feel in love with her, not only for her graceful appearance but also for her compassionate nature, both worthy of a goddess

But the Wolverine kept those feelings close to his heart. After all, he had a number of disastrous romances in the past and he wasn’t willing to turn this one into one of them. Ororo deserved better than that…

Unbeknownst time him, the weather goddess felt the same. It was a little funny, actually; when she first met Logan, she thought he was a brutish man who was always too eager to use violence, but over time, she was able to see the soft and honorable man hidden beneath the beast, causing her to feel things she had never experienced before

Ororo had only confided in her sister about her feelings for her coworker and fellow X-Man, and she had advised her to tell Logan about them. And the weather witch planned to do so, she just didn’t knew how

It was a little ironic. A woman as powerful as her, who was often compared to and even worshiped like a goddess, capable of creating or dispersing a hurricane of mass destruction, was swayed away by the most powerful force of nature that even she couldn’t control. That being love

"Let’s go see what the runt wants, 'kay?" Logan mumbled hurriedly, trying to dismiss the slight blush on his face

"Very well then" Ororo agreed, also trying to calm down her rapidly beating heart

Entering the nursery, they found Scott still crying on his crib. He was wearing a blue onesie with a bright yellow sun on the center, which had a big happy smile on it, a gift from the weather goddess herself, but ironically the baby was anything but happy right now

"Shush, sweetheart. It’s alright, we’re here now" Ororo hushed the baby gently, carrying him into her loving arms. It worked like a charm, as he stopped screaming his little heart out, though he was still sobbing

Logan also leaned in and sniffed Scott with his powerful nose, trying to detect the problem

"Well, it ain’t the diaper. So I think—" To confirm the Wolverine’s suspicions, the baby’s tummy started growling, causing him to blush with embarrassment

"Are you hungry, sweetie?" Ororo asked the embarrassed baby, who nodded shakily, his chubby cheeks still flushed pink "It’s alright, child. This is nothing to be ashamed of"

Scott hiccuped, not exactly agreeing. While he had mostly come to terms with his transformation by now, he was still pretty embarrassed over being turned into a helpless little baby who needed everything handed over to him

He didn’t enjoyed waking his friends in the middle of the night simply because he was hungry, or because he had pooped himself (Yuck!), or for whatever other ungodly reason. He didn’t want to be a bother for them…

"Stop it. You’re making that face again, Slim" Logan gently chastised Scott, having smelled the distress on the baby. But he didn’t need to be a telepath to know that he was having intrusive thoughts yet again about his new condition

"Like 'Ro said, there’s nothin’ to be ashamed of. You’re a baby and it’s normal for you to do stuff like this" The immortal told the little one, gently removing some of his wayward tears that were still flowing from behind his visor "And we have already told you when all of this started, we’ll take care of you until this while thing wears off, so stop thinking that you’re a nuisance or whatever you see yourself as, because you’re not"

"Logan is right. We will not think of you any different only because you have changed and have new needs" Ororo agreed, looking at the baby in her arms with a soft, motherly look "So please, do not think of yourself in such a way"

Scott sniffed, but this time, they were tears of relief. He was so happy that he had such a wonderful family. Logan noticed the tears and playfully tickled the baby’s little tummy, causing him to start giggling madly

"Hahahaha! Wo’vie!" The little one squealed at the tickle attack, happily kicking his little legs

"There’s that pretty little smile" Logan chuckled with a slight smirk as Scott’s giggling died down, but he was still smiling cheerfully

The baby’s tummy let out another small growl, causing him to blush and giggle bashfully

"Let’s got fill that belly of yours, alright dear?" Ororo offered softly and Scott nodded in agreement, settling into her arms as they headed to the kitchen

Once there, Logan began heating up the milk for the baby’s bottle, making sure it wasn’t neither too hot or too cold. All the while the little one peacefully rested his little head on the weather witch’s shoulder, causing her to smile fondly

Finally, the milk was ready and the immortal brought Scott into his own arms to begin feeding him his bottle

"Bottoms up, Slim" Logan told him softly and the baby instinctively began sucking the nipple of the bottle with his mouth, happily and peacefully drinking its warm contents, even placing his little hands on the sides

All under the watchful eye of the Wolverine, who smiled fondly at Scott, as a deep, primal feeling of love and protection rumbled through his chest

"Logan, are you perhaps purring?" Ororo asked with a mixture of amusement and genuine curiosity over the noises that her coworker was beginning to make unconsciously

While she knew that the Wolverine let out a variety of animalistic noises like growls and howls due to his feral nature, she has never heard purr once. And it was a beautiful and soothing noise

"I guess. I don’t think I ever purred before…" Logan confessed, shrugging with the best of his ability as he was still holding Scott

"Well, it is a truly wonderful sound…" Ororo told him, and both teachers proceeded to blush

Scott, who remained ignorant of the whole exchange, finally finished drinking his milk and let go of the bottle’s nipple with a satisfied sound

Logan chuckled and proceeded to gently hold the baby against his chest, resting his little chin on his broad shoulder and pat him twice on his back, and the little boy let out a cute little burp

"How was it? Good?" The immortal joked and Scott’s only response was to nuzzle tiredly against his shoulder, the red light from his visor diminishing

"Someone is getting sleepy once more" Ororo said with amusement as Logan handed the baby back to her loving arms "How about we go back to bed, little one?"

Scott nodded tiredly and let out a cute little yawn, settling comfortably against the weather witch’s chest

Soon enough they were back on his nursery and the baby all but dozed off now. Ororo made sure he was snuggly wrapped around his soft blanket and Logan gently placed a pastel blue pacifier on his mouth, which the baby immediately began sucking peacefully

Once the red light of the visor was completely gone, indicating that Scott was sleeping, the pair of adults quietly walked out of the room, but not without giving the baby one final kiss each and giving him a plushie for him to snuggle with in his sleep, which he immediately started to do

"He is so precious" Ororo whispered fondly, once they were out of the nursery

"Yeah…" Logan agreed, one of the very few times he actually showed any vulnerability, quietly closing the door with one final gentle look "Thanks for, y’know, stayin’ awake and all…"

"It was my pleasure" Ororo told him, and fondly added "You did wonderful, Logan. I’m sure you’ll make a good father one day"

The immortal’s entire face flushed red after that compliment, causing him to cough awkwardly in an attempt to save face

"Thanks…" Logan thanked her nevertheless, hiding a little genuine smile underneath a large fist causing Ororo to smile back as well with a soft giggle

Chapter Text

"Hey Amara!" Tabitha Smith, better known as Boom Boom for both her explosive personality and powers which consist of generating detonating plasma bombs of varying sizes whom she fondly refers to as Cherry Bombs

She was originally a New Mutant that attended the Xavier Institute but decided to leave after a mishap with her criminal father, but also because she claimed that she wasn’t the one to live by the rules. She then tried her luck with the Brotherhood, but left once Mystique came back and introduced Wanda to the team

Despite everything, Tabitha was still considered a member of their family and was still welcomed back into the Institute, whenever she felt ready

"Hi Tabby!" Amara cried happily, accompanied by Rogue, Kitty and Jean as they entered their favorite cafe

These five girls once formed a group named the Bayville Sirens, a group of badass femme fatales that fought all kinds of street-leveled crimes together, though it was mostly to prove a point that girls were better than boys

In the end, they decided to retire and the group was promptly disbanded, but they still kept in touch with one another and liked to meet up occasionally in casual settings now

"Good to see you again, Tabitha. How’s life been treating you?" Jean asked her friend kindly

"Oh, y’know. All over the place, but that’s just how it is" Tabby told her casually, waving her hand dismissively, though she clearly didn’t want to talk about the subject

"Well, okay. But you know, like, you’re always welcomed back on the Institute" Kitty assured her with a friendly smile as they all sat down

"Yeah, I know. Maybe one day…" Tabitha mumbled, but she did had a airy smile, inspiring a bit of hope in the other girls

"But enough ‘bout me? How are things goin’ on with you Geek Squad?" Boom Boom asked them, using her nickname for them "Is it true that Fearless Leader has been turned into a baby?!"

"Man, you’re in for a wild ride…" Rogue giggled as they begun their tale

Meanwhile, in Jean’s stylish SUV, Scott was currently sitting on his baby seat, entertaining himself by listening to the radio while swinging his little feet and swinging his squishy head back and forth to the music’s beat with a happy smile

Today he was wearing a daring new outfit chosen by Rogue. A small, sleeveless leather jacket, dark brown booties and matching black mittens. Though, he wasn’t wearing any pants and instead sported a white diaper

Scott didn’t minded waiting his friends on the car because he knew they’ll eventually be back, but as the baby continued listening to the song, which he believed was named "Walking On The Wild Side", he noticed someone getting near the Jeep

Someone that wasn’t Jean, or Rogue, or any of him friends!

In fact, this guy looked like a thug that you would only find in the nastier side of town, and he was trying to force open the car! Gasping, the baby covered himself with the blanket that was on his car seat and concentrated his best to reach his redhead friend

"Je’nie!" Jean grimaced as she received a distressed telepathic message from Scott. It was a little sloppy, but it still got the message across

"What’s wrong, sweetie?!" The girl asked the baby, worried that something horrible has happened

"Je’nie! Dere’s a mwean guy twyin’ to twake opwen car!" Scott informed her, and by this point, the rest of the girl’s noticed her distress

"Are you alright, Jean?" Amara asked the older girl, who looked as if she had seen a ghost

"It’s Scott! He told me that someone’s trying to steal my car!" The redhead said, immediately standing up and running back to the parking lot with the rest of the girls following her, not even getting the chance to order their food

But once there, it was too late! Whoever was trying to steal Jean’s car had succeeded and it drove away like madly, with the baby still inside it!

“Oh no! Like, Scotty’s still in there!" Kitty cried, hands on her gasping checks, absolutely worried for her miniaturized leader

“Hey, I know that guy!" Tabitha cried, turning to Amara “Wasn’t that one of the guys we stopped during our first crime?!"

"You’re right!" The Nova Roman princess cried "But I thought we put a stop to them and their organization ages ago!”

"Well, Ah guess they’re back…" Rogue mumbled hatefully "Some guys just don’t know when to quit"

"Forget about that, girls! We need to find a way to save Scott!" Jean told them, worried that something could happen to the boy she loved

"Good thing I never got rid of this!” Tabitha said smugly, searching through her purse and pulling out a familiar set of dark sunglasses that she wore during her time as a Bayville Siren "C’mon! I got the rest of your outfits on the trunk!"

“You never got rid of our outfits?" Amara asked curiously, as they all aboarded Lance’s Jeep whom Tabby had successfully stolen yet again

"Of course not! I always knew that they will come in handy again one day!" Tabitha informed them with a smirk "The Bayville Sirens are back! Hang on, we got a baby to save!"

And without further warning, Tabby stepped on the pedal and drove off at max speed. Moments later, the grumbling Brotherhood left the grocery store that was nearby with arms filled of different shopping bags

"Would it kill Mystique to make her own shopping for once?!" Lance grumbled, feeling as if his arms will give up at any time due to his boss’s outrageous demands, when he noticed something…

"Wait…" The boy cried, dropping the bags and all of its contents on the ground in his shock "Where’s my car?!!"

Meanwhile, in Jean’s stolen SUV, Scott had managed to keep himself hidden thanks to his blanket, but he wondered how long could he keep it up, especially with the guy driving like a maniac which didn’t settled well with his tummy

Mostly, he wondered where the hell were they even going

Eventually, Scott could feel the car slowing down and what sounded like a garage door opening, indicating that the car thief had reached his destination. And where it was, it smelled like oil and sweat, making him scrunch his little button nose in disgust

The thief finally got out of the car, so the baby saw it as an opportunity to slightly peak into his surroundings, the blanket just covering him from the nose down as his visor gleamed with intrigue

"This one’s a good one, Randy" An older man told the car thief with a satisfied smirk. He easily stood out amongst the crowd due to being the only one in a dirty business suit in comparison to the rest of punk-dressed thugs

Scott recognized them as the guys that Jean and the other girls had defeated during their Bayville Sirens shtick, and they still retained the bruises that they had given them back then, making him feel smug and proud of his friends

“I tell ya, boss. Any part of this baby is ought to bring us a small fortune" The thief — Randy, was it? — bragged, patting the SUV’s hood twice

"And with that all that fortune accumulated, we can finally return our business back to its former glory before those nasty Sirens ruined us!" The boss cried evilly, rubbing his hands together in a greedy fashion

“Sure helps that all those freaks are loaded right?" One of the thugs joked, causing the entire gang to fill the chop shop with their collective obnoxious laughter

But just then, the garage door suddenly exploded, causing them to scream in surprise and those that were closest to the impact even flew across the air. A green military Jeep screeched as it parked right before them, and a familiar group stepped out

“You!!" The gang leader growled angrily at the girls that had ruined his business in the first place, something that was shared amongst the rest of the gang

“Hello, boys. You missed us?" Jean asked them with a smirk, hands on her hips, in full Siren getup alongside her friends

“That’s impossible! You’re supposed to be disbanded!!" The boss shouted angrily as his guys grabbed their individual weapons, ready to attack

"Yeah, well, we came back! And this time, we’re gonna give to give you a lesson you won’t soon forget!" Tabitha snarked, and all five girls jumped into action with the thugs doing the same

Two brutes that were holding iron pipes tried to take a swing at Kitty at the same time, but the girl made herself intangible at the perfect moment and instead, they ended up hitting one another with their pipes, rendering them unconscious

A thug tried to whip Amara with his metal chain, but not only did the girl grabbed it on time, but also used her powers to heat up the chain until it was so hot, that they guy dropped it to the ground with the yelp. Afterwards, she dropped a spinning kick on him while he was still nursing his injured hand

Tabitha was having the time of her life dropping Cherry Bombs left and right on the ground and making them explode, watching with amusement as the thugs all began jumping due to it, as it felt as if they were talking on a thousand needles

Jean used her telekinetic powers to grab ahold of some of the criminals, making them float on the air like if they were rag-dolls before throwing them at the rest of the gang members. She also used her telepathy to manipulate their minds and make them believe like if they were crawling with ants, effectively rendering them paralyzed

Meanwhile, while all of that was happening, Rogue had the most important task of all as she stealthily sneaked into the background of the fight and approached the redhead’s stolen SUV to rescue Scott

But just when she was about to open the door, her wrist was roughly caught by a large, hairy hand

"I don’t think so, girly" A thug spat, holding Rogue’s wrist even tighter causing her to yelp in pain, which caused him to smirk

"No, Ah don’t think so!" The goth argued back, and despite the pain, she managed to slip off the glove from her free hand and roughly touched the punk’s face with it, causing him to start screaming in pain as he felt the effects of her mutation kicking in, leaving him unconscious on the dirty floor

Rogue shook her head a little afterwards, gaining a slight headache from having absorbed a brand new set of memories that always came from touching somebody, but nevertheless soldiered through and opened the SUV’s door

"Scott!" The goth cried in happiness and relief to see her friend safe unharmed

"Roguey!" The baby cried happily as well. He had currently tried to free himself from the baby seat’s straps and their unnaturally strong hold, but seeing his friend filled him with relief

"Ah’m sorry, sugah. We shouldn’t nevah left ya alone" Rogue apologized, freeing Scott from his car seat prison and bringing him into her loving arms "But Ah promise ya, Ah’ll nevah leave ya out of mah sight evah again"

The baby giggled, perfectly fine with that, and nuzzled against the goth’s chest in gratitude for saving him. She smiled and gave him his bottle from the diaper bag that they always have in any of their cars, which he gratefully accepted and started drinking it

"Ah got him! He’s okay!" Rogue shouted at the girls, who were standing victoriously on top of a pile of groaning, defeated car thieves

"Great! Let’s get out here before the cops finds us!" Jean cried, remembering the reason why they had to disband on the first place

"I don’t think so…" A dangerous voice growled, and they turned to see the boss that looked in an even more disheveled state than before pointing at all of them with a loaded gun as he slowly approached them "You bitches ruined my business once, you won’t do it—Woah!"

But before the man could finish his threat or advance any further, Scott threw his bottle on the floor, causing it to roll over where he was standing. This in turn caused the gang leader to step on it and promptly lose his balance, sending him tumbling back into the hard ground below

The man even in his stunned state still tried to get ahold of his discarded gun, when a high-heeled boot harshly stepped on his wrist, trapping it and making him yelp in pain

"Ah don’t think so, sugah" Rogue teased smugly with an equally smug Scott on her arms, and promptly proceeded to punch the gang leader on the face, breaking his nose and leaving him unconscious

“Maybe this time, you’ll learn to drop the car stealin’ business for good" The goth said and the baby blew a raspberry at the unconscious man in agreement

"Scott!" The girls cried with relief, all of them crowding the little boy in Rogue’s arms and smothering him with affection

"We’re, like, so, so sorry! We shouldn’t have left you alone!" Kitty cried, quite literally, as pecked the baby’s chubby checks with multiple kisses

"Yeah, we’ll be more careful from now on!" Amara promised, still checking his tiny boy for any potential injuries

It became too much for little Scott as he began crying with discomfort, wiggling his limbs around to Ty and get them to stop

"Okay, girls. How about we give him a little breathing space?” Jean gently scolded them, which they thankfully obeyed her and she proceeded to grab the baby from Rogue’s arms

"I’m glad you’re okay, Scott. But it seems you can fair quite well without us" The redhead said, turning to the unconscious man on the floor which the baby had helped stop

"Yeah! You’d be a great honorary member of the Bayville Sirens, babycakes!" Tabitha cooed, tickling the baby’s tummy and making him giggle "You already look the part!"

Scott giggled and proudly placed his small gloved hands on his hips, just happy to have helped his friends even in his infantile state

"Like, girls, we should really get going now!" Kitty informed them, hearing police sirens on the distance. Apparently a nearby neighbor had heard the commotion and called the cops, who were already on their way

"Let’s go, then!" Jean cried, and all the girls boarded her SUV, with Scott being lovingly placed back in his little car seat as the telepath drove off just as the police barged into the destroyed chop shop, but only found the entire gang unconscious and/or groaning in pain

"Despite the circumstances, I’m glad we got to have one more adventure as the Bayville Sirens" Amara, who was riding shotgun, said whimsically

“Yeah, me too…" Jean agreed with a fond smile

“We should, like, totally celebrate it!” Kitty cheered

"Maybe we should let Scott decide how he wants to celebrate" Rogue suggested, turning to the baby who was being flanked by both herself and Kitty "It was his rescue, after all"

“How do you think we should celebrate, sweetheart?" Jean asked the little one, who hummed thoughtfully for a moment, before coming with the perfect answer

"Moo’sik!" Scott cheered happily

"Music? Alright, little fearless leader” Jean agreed, laughing with amusement alongside the other girls as she turned on the radio at full volume. And just their luck, the first song that played was Walking On The Wild Side

“OMG! I, like, love this song!" Kitty squealed with excitement

"And apparently, so does Scott" Amara said, amused, pointing with her thumb at the baby in question, who was once again swinging his little legs and swinging his head back and forth to the beat of the music with a happy little smile

“Ya have great taste, sugah" Rogue complimented the little boy, who giggled

And so, the Bayville Sirens and their honorary member drove through the night, singing their favorite song and laughing with joy all the way

EXTRA:

Lance huffed angrily as he stormed out of the house

Without his Jeep, the Brotherhood had to make an hour long trek back to the Boarding House and got promptly chewed out by Mystique for being late. It’s not his fault his ride was stolen!

He planned on taking out a smoke to calm his nerves when he noticed his Jeep parked on the lawn, but not in a good way

The green paint job was tainted and had multiple smudges of who knows what, one of its headlights was broken, same thing with one of its outside mirrors, and the worst part was that the lid of the trunk had been completely blown off

There was a small note left on the windshield wiper, reading; "Thanks for the ride! Love, BB"

Lance growled, as he knew exactly who that handwriting belonged to and who in their right minds would do this to his car…

"BOOM BOOM!!!"

Chapter Text

"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

“Please someone make him shut up!" Evan wailed tiredly, heavy dark bangs underneath his eyes as the X-Men all fruitlessly attempted to calm down a crying Scott

Normally the adults would take care of situations like this, but tonight, the Professor was out on a conference to speak for Mutant Rights with Hank and Logan accompanying him. And while Ororo was here at first, an incident at the Daniels home forced her to leave around an hour ago

Jean assured her to go, that they could handle themselves and promise to take care of Scott in case something happened. Now, they were really starting to regret their decision

“Blasted hell! Have ye still haven’t managed to make tae lad stop cryin’?!" A cranky Rahne asked, barging into the room alongside an equally exhausted Jubilee. And given her enhanced hearing as a wolf, the baby’s crying sounded even worse for her

“Yeah, I need my beauty sleep…" The Chinese girl agreed, rubbing her dropping eyes tiredly

"We’re, like, trying! But Scotty simply won’t calm down!” Kitty cried, also starting to cry herself as she didn’t knew what was going on with her friend

Jean, who had been currently trying to rock the baby back to sleep, suddenly had an idea

“Maybe he’s just feeling a little lonely?" The redhead asked “I mean, this is his first night without any of the adults here. Maybe he’s lashing out due to it?"

Scott had finally stopped screaming and instead begun sobbing quietly, nuzzling his crying little face against Jean’s shoulder

“Is she right, Liebling? Do you feel lonely?“ Kurt kindly asked the little boy, who give him a quick nod before returning to his nuzzling

"Well, like, it gets kinda creepy all alone in this nursery with nobody else around…“ Kitty mused thoughtfully

“Oh, I know! How about we have a slumber party?!“ Jubilee suggested joyfully, much like her namesake, and grabbed Scott into her arms “Think about it, Bǎobao. We’ll stay up all night, watch cheesy movies and eat all the sweets we want"

The baby cooed, instantly enthralled with the idea with his visor shining happily as he clapped his little hands

“Oh, yeah! It’s been, like, so long since I been in a slumber party!" Kitty agreed, joyfully

"My first American slumber party! Zhis should be interesting…” Kurt mused and turned to his foster sister "Vhat about you, Rogue? Are you up for it?”

“Well, Ah guess it couldn’t hurt…” The goth mumbled, but on the inside, she was just as excited as she had never been on a slumber party before

“You already know my answer“ Evan told them with a grin, and turned to the only one in the room that hasn’t decided yet “What about you, Miss Leader? You up for it?”

Jean hummed thoughtfully for a moment, and it seemed like she was about to say no much to their worry. But then, a small smile began to spread across her face

“Well, as long as we still obey curfew and get Scott to sleep, then I guess it’s alright to have a slumber party" The redhead agreed, and everyone in the room proceeded to cheer in happiness

"Alright! Let’s go tell everyone else, Rahne!" Jubilee cheered, grabbing her friend’s hand and running off to tell the rest of the New Mutants the good news

And so, all the students of the Xavier Institute proceeded to turn the lounge into the biggest pajama party ever known. Multiple mattresses had been brought down thanks to Jean’s telekinesis, Kurt’s transportation or Kitty’s intangibility, with everyone else being in charge of the snacks 

Tabitha also unexpectedly showed up as Amara had invited her after telling her the news that they were going to have a slumber party, and came set with a huge makeup box for any girl (or boy) that wanted to get a full makeover. Forge was even there in his vintage pajamas, as he said he hasn’t attended a good slumber party for the last thirty years

Scott was watching with great intrigue and excitement all around him as his friends and fellow students teamed up into different groups to turn their mattresses, sheets and pillows into fortresses, all determined to build the bestest one

This slumber party was also a great way to debut his newest onesie that Alex had bought for him; it was a dark blue, nearly black, color with long sleeves and the words "Feel The Breeze" on it. He was also wearing soft, white cotton socks

"Ready! Feast your eyes on this fortress, losers!" Bobby bragged as he proudly showed off his pillow construction that he built alongside Sam and Roberto

"Hah, you called that a fortress?" Ray snickered, and proceeded to show off the fortress that him, Tabitha, and Evan had built "No man, this is a fortress!"

"I know! Why don’t you let, like, Scott decide?" Kitty suggested, making herself at home in the pillow fortress that she built alongside Kurt and Rogue "He didn’t built anything, which makes him, like, an unbiased opinion or something"

"Scotty~, which fortress do you think it’s better?" Bobby singsonged, crouching down to meet the baby’s visored gaze, his smile dangerously sweet "It’s mine, isn’t it?"

The baby hummed thoughtfully, once again making that infantile version of his thinking position, as he carefully glanced around the different fortresses with a calculating gleam in his visor

Eventually, Scott made his decision and began crawling towards the best fortress in the lounge. Everyone held their breaths, as they watched that the one who had won the pillow fortress building was none other than—

"Jaime?!" Everyone shouted at the same time, aghast

"Bro! How could you?!" Alex wailed dramatically, falling to his knees over the betrayal of his brother

"The best part about being able to duplicate yourself is that you can be your entire team" Jaime told them, smug about having won, and brought the baby to his lap, cuddling with him

However, Bobby didn’t exactly took it well having lost to the younger boy and promptly grabbed one of his fortress’s pillows and threw at the boy’s direction, hitting him right in the face which caused at least three perfect copies of him to appear, with one of them catching Scott to prevent him from getting hurt

"Oh, so that’s how you wanna play huh?” One of the copies challenged, also grabbing a pillow and throwing it back at the Iceman who just barely managed to dodge on time, hitting Roberto instead

“Oh, yeah! It’s on! Pillow fight, everybody!” The Brazilian boy shouted, and the entire lounge turned into a battleground with pillows flying through the air

Eventually, they even decided to add their powers into the mix in all sorts of creative ways. Jean using her telekinesis to launch of barrage of pillows, Kitty phasing through them and Kurt teleporting away just on the nick of time, Tabby sneakily stuffing Cherry Bombs inside her pillows so anyone that collided against them would be in for a nasty surprise, and so on and so forth

They also discovered that Scott was the perfect shield, as each time someone held him in front of him no one attacked because the baby was just too cute to hit. It quickly became less of a pillow fight, and more of a contest of which could take the little boy away from whoever was holding him

After their pillow fight, everyone was left exhausted. So they decided to relax by doing an all-time slumber party classic; Scary Stories!

“An’ so, the boy quietly opened the door to the old shed behind the barn…" Sam said, with a flashlight underneath his face, lighting it to get into the creepy atmosphere, as he recalled a story that he had learned back in Cumberland that never failed to scare anyone, with the X-Men and New Mutants not being an exception, as they were old on the edges of their metaphorical seats

“It opened with an’ ear-piercing shriek, an’ what he found there was none other than…” The farm boy paused for dramatic effect, and most of the students, particularly the male ones, made a collective gulp of nervousness

"THE HEADS OF THE CRAZED FARMER’S VICTIMS ON DISPLAY!!!" Sam yelled at the top of his lungs, with lightning coincidentally striking just at the exact moment, causing everyone to scream and fall to their backs in horror

Evan and Kurt held each other for dear life, Kitty covered her face, Amara and Tabitha held onto Jean’s arms like a lifeline while trembling, Ray let out the girliest of shrieks, Bobby fainted (thankfully on top of a mattress) and Jubilee desperately tried to wake up her boyfriend.

A screaming Jaime fell back into the ground and sprouted five more copies, all of which started to scream and point at one another, Forge wondered if it was too late to go back to Middleverse and Roberto tried to convince a trembling Rahne in her wolf form to stop hiding from beneath a blanket

Literally, the only ones not disturbed by Sam’s horror tale were Rogue and Scott

"Seriously guys, y’all actin’ like little girls" The goth huffed, the baby comfortably in her arms

“How come you’re not scared, dude?!" Alex asked, his tanned face suddenly turning very, very pale due to fear

“Oh puh-lease, Ah read stuff lahke this all the time" Rogue told him nonchalantly, and then turned to Scott with a smile "An’ Scott here is a very brave baby. Aren’t ya, sugah?”

The baby giggled with a nod

Later, after the students finally calmed down, they were watching a movie while munching on snacks and sodas. The movie they were watching was that Forge’s had chosen, dating back all the way to the 70’s

It was a very well known movie of Star Trek: The Motion Picture

"I thought I’d never be able to see it again…" Forge sobbed happily, clearing away a stray tear of joy over being able to see his favorite movie once again

"It’s good, but man, did they ruined the franchise afterwards" Evan sighed as he munched on popcorn

Just as the credits were rolling, they heard the door bell of the Institute ringing

"Hey guys, pizza’s here!" Bobby cried, and all the students cheered as they run, teleported, phased, or flew above the others in order to receive their Italian goodness

However, Scott didn’t exactly shared their excitement as he sadly sighed on his comfortable place in Jean’s loving arms

"I’m sorry sweetie, but you know that you can’t eat solid foods in this form" The redhead reminded him sympathetically, and the baby stiffly nodded, already knowing that fact

"Hey, tell you what? When you return to normal, you and I are going on a date to our favorite pizza place" Jean suggested to try and cheer Scott up, causing him to look up expectantly at her with a hopeful red light in his visor

"We’ly?" The baby babbled with a large, happy smile

"Really. Now, let’s make sure the others don’t go crazy on that pizza, alright?" Jean joked, making the baby laugh cutely

At the dining room, everything was complete chaos as usual as everyone feasted on their pizzas. There was pepperoni, cheese pizza, Hawaiian, mushrooms, anchovies and even vegetarian

But as the students ate their fill, someone else was giving Scott his own. That being Kurt, who hummed happily as he watched his little friend drink his bottle carefully

"I wanted to be the one to feed Scotty…" Amara mumbled, sighing in disappointment

"You’ll get your turn next time, Amara" Tabitha reassured her friend, patting her shoulder sympathetically

Eventually, as the last of the pizza slices was eaten up, Jaime let out a yawn of tiredness as he rubbed one of his eyes

And he wasn’t the only one. Between the fortress building, the movie, the pillow fighting, scary stories and now the pizzas, everyone was ready to hit the hay

"Okay, back to your rooms everyone" Jean told them in her best leader voice, and no one argued with her as they were all pretty tired and begun dragging their limbs back to bed

"Oh Rahne, could you do me a favor and get Scott back to his nursery?" The telepath asked her fellow redhead, giving the baby to her who was about to completely doze off "Kurt, Kitty and I are going to return everything back to normal"

"We are?!" Kitty asked with a whine, something that she shared with her friend, as they expected to just go to bed already

"Yes, we are! Unless one of you two want to explain to the Professor or Logan what did we do to their lounge?" Jean told them firmly, raising an sharp eyebrow

"Ve’ll do it right away!" Kurt cried in full attention, all exhaustion immediately leaving his body as he 'ported himself to work with Kitty phasing close behind, causing the redhead to smirk and giggle slightly with amusement

"Ye got it, Jean! I’ll make sure tae laddie’s back on his bed, nice an’ warm!" Rahne assured her with a mock salute, turning into her wolf form and gently grabbing Scott by the back of his shirt, like a mother wolf would do it her pups

Despite his tired state, the baby did let out a little giggle of excitement, just like every time the Scottish girl carried him

Rahne turned back to her human self once they reached the nursery and gently placed Scott on his crib, wrapping him in his warm blanket and kissing his wee little forehead

"There ye go, bairn. Sweet dreams, now" The girl cooed quietly, watching with love and protection stemmed from a deep, primal side of herself at the baby that she has claimed as her own

"Nighty, wolfie…" Scott whispered back, and the red line of his visor promptly darkened, indicating he was asleep

Rahne cooed, her heart unable to handle so much cuteness. But nevertheless, she turned back into her wolf form and returned to her own room, but will always be back for anything her pup might need

Chapter Text

“Time for bubbles!“ Alex cried happily and Scott cooed, as his brother poured the bubble bath soap onto the tub

The surfer was once again in charge of taking care of his little brother, and normally, he would use their bonding time by taking a swim together. But considering how young his brother was currently, he opted for the next best thing which was a warm bubble bath

Both brothers were wearing their individual swimming trunks, with Scott’s being black with cartoon sharks on them, plus little orange water wings. He was comfortably seated on Alex’s lap, as they were sharing the surfer’s bathtub, considering it was large enough to hold the two of them

Plus, the baby’s tiny size also made him fit perfectly

Scott giggled as the pretty bubbles filled the bathtub and immediately tried to grab ahold of some, only to grumble in disappointment when they dissolved. To try and cheer him up, Alex grabbed a hold of some of the bubbles and gently blew them in front of the baby’s face, causing him to make a noise of surprise first before giggling

“‘Gain! ‘Gain!" The baby pleaded, clapping his little hands in delight

“Again? ‘Kay, little bro" Alex conceded, grabbing yet another fistful of bubbles and blowing them at Scott’s little face, causing him to giggle

The two brothers continued playing with the bubbles for a while and the proceeded to splash each other in the face with the water, laughing with delight all the while

"Y’know, this takes me back…" Alex mumbled, with a small nostalgic smile "I remember how you and I used to have baths like these…"

"I also would try and grab the bubbles, and you would blow them at my face when I couldn’t catch them in order to cheer me up" The surfer giggled slightly as Scott looked at his brother with a little curious look

"I remember I couldn’t wait to actually join you in the big boy pool. I wanted to get my revenge on you for all the times you defeated me when we threw water at each other" Alex huffed, and then added "Maybe that’s the reason why I started swimming earlier than other kids. Remember, bro?"

Scott made a tiny nod, showing he remembered. He remembered how as soon as he discovered that fact, his brother immediately asked him for a race, which he agreed upon. And he proceeded to absolutely leave the surfer on the dust

"Of course, just caused I was an early swimmer didn’t meant I was a good one" Alex joked with a amused smile "You beat my butt every time we raced"

Scott teasingly giggled, a little smug smile on his little face. The surfer frowned and flicked some water on his face to teach him a lesson, causing the baby to gasp in surprise and the older boy smirked

"Yeah, you little tease, you would always rub that in my face every time that happened" Alex growled through a tight smirk, before he relaxed and his smile became more genuine and he proceeded to tickle the baby’s chubby tummy

"But, you would always apologize afterwards, and you even offered to teach me some techniques so that I could beat you one day” The surfer recalled fondly as Scott giggled in delight at the tickle attack

The baby sighed once Alex stopped his tickling and curiously grabbed onto his brother’s hand, cuddling against it and even chewing slightly on his thumb

The surfer smiled with certain amusement. Ever since he started living at the Institute, Scott had showed a strange fascination for his hands, always grabbing onto them whenever he could. Something that the surfer seemed to share, but not for the baby’s hands, but rather, his eyes, as he sometimes would remove his brother’s visor and kiss his little eyelids

Hank had explained a few days ago during one of the baby’s checkups that, in truth, the Summers brothers didn’t draw their powers from the sun as previously believed, but rather, from a dimension made out of pure energy

And that connection they shared with that dimension made them naturally, almost instinctively, attracted to each other’s nexus to it; with Scott’s nexus being his eyes and Alex, his hands

Back on the present, the surfer smiled fondly and gently activated his powers, allowing his hands to be coated with red energy. That made his brother giggle even more and grabbed ahold of his hand even tighter

The Professor had once told the New Mutants in class over how mutants that shared the same genetic material, like siblings for example, are naturally immune to each other’s powers. Alex had learned about it when he accidentally shot Scott that one time, but the baby was completely fine afterwards, not even a scratch on him

As the baby continued chewing on his brother’s powered-up hand with all the happiness in the world, the surfer decided that was enough bubbles for the day. Standing up with his little brother still safe in his arms, the blonde stepped out of the bathtub and covered them both with fluffy towels

After Alex made sure he was dry yet again, he proceeded to do the same with Scott, blowing little raspberries on his chubby tummy to entertain him and make the baby giggle once more

“You like that, huh?" The surfer asked with mischief in his eyes, and proceeded to blow more raspberries, over and over again

"S’op! S’op!" Scott begged between giggles, his little face becoming red due to the lack of air

"Alright alright, sorry bro. Got a little carried away there" Alex said, finishing his raspberries attack with a smirk

He then grabbed Scott back into his arms and kissed his tiny forehead, making his brother coo in delight and nuzzled against the surfer’s chest

Alex then proceeded to dress his baby brother with comfy clothes, first giving him a fresh new diaper which was dark blue and depicted sea life, and then he gently dressed the baby with some warm footie pajamas of a bright, orange color

"There, nice and snug, little bro" The surfer cooed, carrying Scott back into his arms and kissing his chubby cheek

"Bwo! Bi' bwo!" The baby cooed back, hugging Alex’s neck happily

The two brothers then rubbed their noses together and the surfer made a small, humming sound of thoughtfulness

"Y’know, we both have Mom’s nose…" Alex told Scott quietly, making the baby’s eyes widen in realization behind his visor

“Mommy…" The baby mumbled, sadness filling his tiny being "M’is Mommy…"

"I miss her too, bro…" Alex whispered, for once not being his usually exuberant and outgoing self as a deep sense of sadness also filled him

He never got over the death of his parents, even after he discovered that Scott was still alive. And even though his foster parents were great, that was a hole in his heart that was never going to be filled again

“But hey! I’m sure wherever she is, she’s having an awesome time with Dad, snowboarding like she always used to and whatnot" Alex assured both his little brother and himself with a small smile

"As long as we remember her, then she’s never truly gone. Or at least, that’s what my foster mother said” The surfer shrugged, and that actually lifted Scott’s spirits a little

"Wuv U" The baby cooed, hugging his brother’s neck once more and cuddling against him

"I love you too, bro" Alex said, hugging his little brother back

Chapter Text

Saturdays became Scott’s favorite day of the week. The reason? He gets to go outside!

After his scheme to sneak into school, the adults have come to the conclusion that part of it was because he felt cooped up. After all, it’s been two whole weeks since the transformation and he was getting restless

It wasn’t just the sneaking into school thing, though. Scott had also become grouchier after that, refusing to drink his milk despite loving it, making temper tantrums when his diapers were changed and throwing his toys at people

In the end, it was decided that the baby deserved to spend some time outside, and he returned to his regular, happy and adorable self afterwards

"Are you ready to go, sweetie?" Jean cooed at Scott. Considering how it was getting quite chilly recently, he was wearing a beige wool beanie and soft dark grayish green onesie, as well as wool mittens the same color as his beanie

The baby cooed back with a nod and the redhead strapped him in his brand new stroller and gave him his favorite toy; which was, of course, his beloved red toy plane, which he immediately began munching

"I hope you and Scott have a nice outing today" Charles told his student, and with an amused smirk,  jokingly added "And please, don’t go stopping any more illegal car stealing operations"

A small embarrassed blush appeared in Jean’s cheeks as she giggled apologetically. After their impromptu return as the Bayville Sirens from earlier this week, the Professor had found out almost immediately, and while he did thanked them for having saved the baby and stopping that gang, they were still promptly punished and had to wax the Blackbird for the next three days

Yup, even Tabitha. Despite her insistence that she was no longer a student there and therefore, she couldn’t be punished

"Don’t worry Chuck, I’ll tag along to make sure Red doesn’t do anything’ crazy" Logan promised the Professor gruffly, eyeing the girl who giggled bashfully

"Be sure to return by 5:00 pm sharp, and have fun" Charles told them, and after exchanging goodbyes, and the Professor kissing Scott’s forehead, they were on their way

It was the middle of fall, nearing the ends of September. As such, the leaves were already changing colors from oranges, reds and yellows. All of which were incredibly mesmerizing to the baby. Fall has always been his favorite season, considering how it was the only season where he could actually see the accurate colors around him

Scott raised a tiny arms and attempted to catch one of the falling leaves with a small giggle, causing Jean and Logan to smile fondly at him

The three eventually reached the park that was nearby the Institute. It was a popular hotspot amongst teenagers, as it gave them a chance to met with their friends and hang out. But considering it was fall and therefore too chilly, most of them were at home playing video games or something else, so the park was empty

"Why, what a cute little thing!!"

Well, mostly empty…

An older woman gushed as she leaned in to appreciate the lovely baby in the carrier, who scrunched his little face, a little uncomfortable about how close the lady was to him

"Is he your little brother, dearie?" The woman asked Jean while still gushing about Scott

"Um, yeah! We’re taking him on a stroll because he was feeling cooped up in the house" The redhead expertly lied, however she was frowning slightly over how this lady wasn’t respecting their personal boundaries and how clearly uncomfortable the baby looked due to her

Something that was shared with Logan, whose frown was more prominent and even begun to growl slightly

"Why, if I had a grandson like him, I’d bring him out every day and show it off to everyone!" The woman cooed with a saccharinely sweet voice, and roughly begun to pinch one of his cheeks "He’s just too adorable!"

Scott whined and fruitlessly attempted to slap or at least slap the lady’s hand away to no avail, as it was impossible to escape her iron grip. Logan’s growling became a little more noticeable as his claws were itching to come out

They eventually managed to escape from that woman and continued their peaceful stroll, with the baby playing with his toy plane and making little plane noises as he imagined it flying freely through the sky, when suddenly—

"What a cute baby!" Yet another woman gushed as she begun pinching Scott’s little cheeks much to his displeasure. He begun to wail and shake his little limbs all around the place, trying to get her off him

"Why, he’s so cranky! Are you sure you’re feeding him right? You can’t leave all the work to your mother!" The lady criticized them in an judging tone, clearly not seeing that she was the reason why the baby was so upset

"Now look, lady—" Logan growled, but Jean grabbed his shoulder in a subtle way to tell him to stop

"Thank you, ma’am. We’ll be sure to remember that" The redhead thanked her politely, her face prim and proper, but on the inside…

She wanted to make this lady believe she was a chimpanzee

"C’mon Dad, let’s get going!" Jean singsonged, grabbing Logan’s shoulder with one hand and a screaming Scott’s stroller with the other and lead them away

Scott was no longer having a fun day out. The three decided to seat down in a nearby bench and get a quick break, hopefully away from all the crazy ladies. In his stroller, the baby huffed with his chubby cheeks puffed up in a pout and had his little arms crossed in displeasure

"I’m sorry you had to go through that, sweetheart" Jean soothingly told the little boy, whose only response was to let out yet another huff

"If I have to meet yet another lady with expensive perfume, I’m unsheathin’ my claws. I don’t care what anyone else says" Logan grumbled, his own set of arms crossed

In truth, the immortal was upset that Scott was constantly smooched upon those crazy ladies. His instincts as a feral made him extremely protective of his young, and due to the baby’s distress, it took everything in his willpower not to pop out his claws and ripping those women a new one

Just then, a small butterfly flew overhead and perched itself on the baby’s little button nose. His little face un-scrunched in favor of looking at the winged insect with great curiosity, gaining the attention of the other two mutants

Scott giggled at the charming little thing on his nose and cooed with amazement as it left his nose and resumed its flight, disappearing into the distance

"Buh-bye!" The baby cooed, waved at the butterfly, his previously cranky mood having lifted in favor for a happier one

Scott’s happiness was infectious, as Jean began smiling back and even Logan had a small grin that he instantly tried to hide away with a huff

"I’m sorry your day out wasn’t so great sweetie, but if you want, we can go to the toy store before returning home?" The redhead suggested and the baby clapped his little hands in delight, absolutely loving that idea

"Is that alright with you, Logan?" Jean asked, turning to the man who huffed in good nature

"Well, if it makes Slim happy, I don’t see why not?" The immortal complied, and Scott cheered with happiness

New toys, here he comes! His day out was fun once more!

"What a cutie!"

"We spoke too soon…" Jean thought mentally with a sigh, as yet another woman begun checking a disappointed Scott out

"He’s so precious! Although…" The lady frowned “What’s with this ugly thing covering his eyes?"

That actually made Scott freeze a little. He has always been a little self-conscious about his sunglasses and visor and hated when people asked him about them, as all he could remember is that those things meant he is never going to have a normal life, because his mutation will never be able to be turned off

The baby begun sobbing quietly. It wasn’t like his usual wailing where he would scream like madly and fat tears would flow down his cheeks, but it was the kind of crying that only his older self would do

There was no tears coming from his eyes as he had conditioned them not to do that, and his sniffling was so quiet even Logan would’ve had a hard time hearing them with his enhanced senses

However, Jean could sense with her telepathy how upset the woman’s comment about his visor had made Scott. She was one of the few people who knew about his insecurities, and having it be pointed out to him so bluntly like that made her frown

"He has an eye sensitivity condition" The redhead told the woman sternly "The doctors said he always needs to wear that 'ugly thing' to protect himself"

"O-Oh! I’m sorry, I had no idea…" The lady stammered

"That’s right, you didn’t" Jean said, standing up and grabbing the stroller "So next time, how about you leave people to their own business before barging in and start making assumptions?"

"Good day!" And with a huff, the redhead turned around and left, leaving the still stunned woman behind

"Great job back there, Red" Logan complimented her with a smirk, feeling proud for his student

"Thanks. Now, how about we go to that toy store now?" Jean suggested and Scott cheered, causing both of them to chuckle fondly at the baby’s cute enthusiasm

Chapter Text

It was raining today, but Scott wasn’t afraid. After all, he was spending time with Storm!

The weather goddess hummed a tune as she gently rocked herself in his nursery’s rocking chair with the baby in her loving arms. Today he was wearing a grey cotton romper that resembled a mouse and was very warm and comfortable

The rain outside gently patterned against the window and the wind blew lowly, making Scott feel both peaceful and sleepy at the same time. He also briefly wondered if Ororo had something to do with the pleasantness of the weather

"Oh my dear child, you are so precious to me…" The weather goddess whispered at the sleepy baby, whose only response was too let out a small coo as he snuggled closer to her

Ororo chuckled and planted a loving kiss on Scott’s little head, making the baby hum happily. After his mother died, the weather goddess was the closest thing he has ever had to a mother figure in his life

He remembered the first time he came to the Institute in what seemed like a lifetime ago, as a scared and malnourished teenager from the streets who was practically blind, as he still needed to use a bandage to cover his eyes to keep his disastrous powers under control

Back then, Scott had major trust issues and was always on guard around them despite their good intentions. And who could blame him? After all, he came from a life where people often used him to their advantage and was experimented on when he still lived in his orphanage

But being around Ororo always helped him calm down his nerves. There was something about the weather goddess that just so soothing, that even the most untrusting man in the world wouldn’t be able to resist her charm

"No wonder Logan has that huge crush on her…" Scott thought with amusement as a little smirk appeared on his face

"Wuv u, T’orm…" The baby cooed as his little eyes finally gave out, and he proceeded to slip away into a blissful, dreamless sleep

"I love you too, my child…" Ororo whispered back, kissing Scott’s forehead

After Scott’s nap, he was playing in Professor’s office while Charles was busy working on some paperwork

The telepath looked positively stressed. Between managing a school filled with superpowered people, paying for his students’ school face, dealing with raising anti-mutant sentiments, and keeping track of all their enemies, the Professor looked more than a little tired

Besides, they still haven’t gotten any word out of Magneto or his Acolytes. After the fight against Apocalypse, it was if his old friend and his team had just disappeared from the face of the Earth

Charles knew Erik probably wanted to lay low for a while, but it’s been almost six months. And despite their differences, Magnus was still his friend and he was worried about him

At least Mystique was back and started living with the Brotherhood again, but they have yet to do any move against them, besides that time when Tolansky kidnapped Scott on a personal whim. And somehow, Raven not doing anything yet worried him even more

Charles sighed, dropping his pen for the moment and massaging his temple in a tired way. He could really go for an aspirin right now

The Professor’s tiredness wasn’t unnoticed by Scott, who lifted his little head from his building blocks to look at the older man with worry. Determined, the baby began to crawl towards the wheelchair-bound man and plopped himself besides it

"Is there something wrong, Scott?“ Charles asked his de-aged student with a formal grin, but the baby could notice the bangs underneath the wise man’s eyes, causing him to frown disapprovingly

"Prof!" Scott babbled, raising his arms towards him, a gesture that meant he wanted to be carried

"Carry you? I’m sorry Scott, but I’m really busy right now…" Charles rejected him politely, but the baby was anything but persistent and once again lifted his little arms up, frowning even more

The Professor sighed. He should’ve known better that anytime his student was set on getting something, he’ll achieve it. It was one of his most frustrating and endearing qualities. No wonder he’s got the entire Institute wrapped around his little finger by now

"Alright then, coming up" Charles finally yielded, grabbing Scott and placing him on his lap, which the baby giggled, pleased with himself

The baby then tapped his little head twice with his tiny finger, indicating that he wanted to have a telepathic conversation with the Professor. Charles lifted an eyebrow, wondering what his student wanted to tell him, but nevertheless activated his powers and tapped into the baby’s mind

"Can u hear m'?" Scott asked his telepathically, his little face scrunched in concentration

"Yes Scott, I can hear you" Charles assured him with a little grin "Your telepathic projections are certainly getting better. Great job!"

The baby giggled briefly at the praise

"Prof, u sh’uld res’t" Scott told him, pointing a tiny finger at him "U lookie t’red"

“I’m fine, Scott. While I appreciate your concern, this is simply something that I must do" Charles told him, but the baby didn’t looked convinced

He had his little arms crossed and his chubby face was scrunch in a disapproving frown, like a stern father. It was honestly a little amusing, considering how he was just a baby scolding a grown man

"Res’t!" Scott told him firmly, breaking the telepathic conversation, and gently slapped the Professor’s chest twice to further establish his point

"How amusing…" Charles huffed out a tiny chuckle at his student’s attempts to try and make him take a break "I remember a time where it was I who tried to convince to get some rest"

That actually made Scott stop frowning and had a little expression of surprise, who quickly turned into embarrassment as his chubby cheeks became a bashful pink and covered his face with his little hands, much to the Professor’s fond amusement

"Very well then, I suppose I can take a quick tea break" Charles finally agreed, causing the baby to stop hiding his face and giggle happily

The Professor grabbed Scott into his arms and nuzzled their noses together, much to the delight of the baby, who then proceeded to grab the telepath’s cheeks and playfully squeezed them

"Prof! Wuv U!" The baby babbled happily, repeating a phrase that he never got tired of saying to the man whom he loved like a father

"And I love you too, Scott" Charles told back his first student, a boy whom he loved like if he were his own son

Chapter Text

It has become a tradition in Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters that every month they will have a mandatory movie night

The students were already getting ready to watch the newest horror flick that has been taking the town by storm, each of them getting the snack of their choosing and a blanket or two, plus some pillows, and all of them huddled together in the living room in front of the huge plasma screen

"Are you sure that Slim should be watching this?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow, as he glanced towards the baby that was perched safely in Kurt’s lap

Scott was wearing a white t-shirt that had the words "BRO" on it with big, bold letters, plus some dark orange-grown khaki shorts and was only wearing his favorite set of white cotton socks with no shoes. He was also wearing a backwards baseball cap that gave him a boyish charm

"It’s fahne Logan, he’s a very brave boy" Rogue assured the man with a slight grin, turning to the baby and gently tickling his tummy to make him giggle

“Yeah, if he didn’t got scared when Ah told my spooky story during our slumber party, then nothin’ can scare him" Sam agreed proudly

"Oh yeah, and about that, remind me to give ya double the time in the Danger Room for havin’ had a slumber party without supervision" Logan said teasingly with a vicious smirk, causing everyone else to groan

"I really thought we hid our tracks vell…" Kurt mumbled sadly, already dreading those upcoming Danger Room sessions

"We totally forgot that Mr. Logan has that, like, freaky nose of his…" Kitty sighed at the unfairness that was to try and hide something from the Wolverine

"Shh! Quiet guys, it’s starting!" Bobby shushed them, and the movie began

It was pretty good, no wonder it became so popular so quickly. It’s effects were already showing themselves on the students whose faces began scrunching up in uneasiness

"They’re just special effects, just some CGI…" Jaime quickly mumbled, trying to calm himself as he witnessed the televised massacre

Jubilee was starting to eat her popcorn rapidly to deal with the stress, and when she finished her bowl, she stole Rahne’s and started eating that one, and the Scottish girl was too petrified to say anything about it

Ray was screaming like a little girl again, Sam looked like he was about to get sick. Bobby began shivering and biting his nails in fear, Amara was spilling her drink on the ground due to being unable to move her hand because of what was happening in the film

Roberto and Alex were holding each other for dear life and Forge looked ghostly pale. Kitty covered her eyes and Kurt covered himself with his blanket. Evan, like a little boy, was holding onto his aunt while Ororo gave him a few reassuring pats on the back

The only ones that didn’t actively looked scared were Logan, Rogue, Charles, the previously mentioned Storm, Scott, Jean, and Hank. Though Beast did was starting to look a little unnerved as the film continued

"Gotta say Jean, wasn’t expectin’ ya to not be afraid of the movie" The goth told the redhead who watched the movie with great enthusiasm

"Are you kidding? I love horror films! I been seeing them ever since I was a little girl" The telepath gushed "In fact, Scott always accompanies me whenever there’s a new one in theaters. Isn’t that right, sweetie?“

The baby, who was calmly resting on his belly and watching the film, babbled in agreement and returned his visored gaze to the screen

"Well, Ah guess we have more in common that Ah originally thought" Rogue hummed thoughtfully "What’s your favorite film then?"

"Ironically, it’s Carrie" Jean told her with amusement, causing the goth to snort because it was indeed ironic

"Ah’m more a fan of the classics. Dracula, Frankenstein; all the good black-and-white ones" Rogue told her

"Maybe you and I can have a horror movie marathon one day?" Jean suggested kindly, who hummed thoughtfully. But before she could give her an answer, Logan roughly shushed them

“Kept it down! Here comes the good part" The immortal’s face was one of vicious anticipation and morbid excitement. He was clearly enjoying this film way too much, though no one knew if it was because of the movie itself or the amusing reactions of the students

In the film, the woman had finally managed to escape from the killer. Or so she thought, because the madman had managed to destroy the closet she was hiding on!

The students all screamed at the same time the woman did, with some of them even jumping in fright. Kurt even teleported somewhere else, causing Kitty who was sitting next to him to turn her screaming into coughs

Once they calmed down a little more, they heard tiny giggles that were in no way from the movie. But rather from Scott, who was laughing while pointing at them with his tiny finger, clearly amused by their reactions

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up little man…" Evan grumbled, still sitting in his aunt’s lap like a little boy, which caused the baby to laugh even more

"I taught him well" Logan rumbled, pleased with himself as he grabbed the giggling baby into his arms and the two proceeded to high-five each other

Finally, the movie ended and everyone worked together to clean the lounge. Everyone except for Scott, who was already becoming sleepy after both a good movie and good laugh. Ororo took it upon herself to bring him back into his nursery, changing him into his red plaid pajamas and settling him in his crib

"Sweet dreams, fearless little one" The weather goddess whispered, and Scott sleepy waved at her before going to sleep

However, an hour later or so, the baby’s peaceful slumber was interrupted when the door was knocked on. Groggily, he opened his eyes with the thin red line of his visor being the only light on the room besides his nightlight as he wondered who could’ve possibly woken him up at this hour

That was usually his job

"Hi Scotty" Jaime ended up being the one who had knocked. The second youngest in the house was wearing his dinosaur pajamas, holding his own teddy bear and had a tight smile on his face "Are you awake?"

The baby let out a weak grumble as of to say, "What do you think?"

"Oh right, silly me” The preteen laughed awkwardly "W-Well, I was wondering if you would want me to sleep with you tonight? I mean, you obviously kept a brave front during the movie but I bet you’re pretty scared right now and would like me to accompany you!"

“I’ll be here in case you have nightmares or wet your diaper and sing you soothing lullabies if you’re too afraid to close your eyes!" Scott frowned at Jaime’s rambling. It was obvious that the preteen was trying to convince himself that it was the baby that needed all those stuff, not him

Nevertheless, the baby didn’t had the heart to push him away, so he let out a weak babble of acceptance, just wanting to go back to sleep

“Great! By the way, I brought Ray and Roberto with me" Jaime told him, and both aforementioned boys also stepped into his view

"Um, we just followed him to make sure he didn’t get lost?" The Brazilian boy said with an awkward smile, his excuse sounding pretty weak

"Yeah! It’s not like we’re too terrified to close our eyes because we fear Jayce Voortrekker and Freddy Cragger will jump on us at night" Ray agreed, laughing to try and hide his fear

Scott grumbled even more, but waved his little arm airily and allowed all three boys inside. The three scaredy cats then placed their blankets and pillows besides the baby’s crib and went to sleep, causing the baby to sigh in relief and return to his slumber

Or at least, that was the plan, because a few minutes later, his door was knocked yet again

It was Jubilee and Rahne, the latter having her red hair sticking out in all directions while the former snuggled with her monkey plushie. Scott didn’t even knew the Chinese girl even had a plushie

"Hi, Bǎobao. Sorry to wake you up, but we were wondering if we could sleep with you?" The girl asked the baby, who noticed the red lines on her eyes, a clear sign that she hasn’t closed them in a while

"Aye, just to mahke sure ye don’t get any bad dreams after seein’ that movie” Rahne agreed, raising an eyebrow at the three sleeping boys around Scott’s crib

That made them feel a little better, knowing they weren’t the only ones that were too afraid to sleep wanted to make sure the baby was okay

Scott whined, he really just wanted to sleep. So, after airily waving at the two to go ahead, he planted his face back into his pillow and could now hopefully return to his dreams of flying the Blackbird through the vast sky

But the baby can never have anything nice in his life, as his door was knocked on yet again which made him let a cry of frustration. In came Bobby and Sam, who didn’t even got the chance to speak before the baby huffily pointed at the ground, telling them to go ahead and sleep with him before planting his face back on his pillow

And lo and behold, his door was knocked on again. Someone was really trying to fuck with Scott tonight, maybe the same someone who turned him into a baby in the first place

"Hi, little bro—Woah!” Alex cried, looking with surprise at the pile of sleeping New Mutants gathered around his crib

"I guess we weren’t the only ones…" Amara commented with a awkward chuckle, looking at Scott’s unamused expression

"We promise we’re the last ones" Alex assured his brother, grabbing him into his arms and giving him an apologetic kiss on his forehead

Scott groaned tiredly, but nevertheless accepted his brother’s apology and nuzzled against his chest as the two settled into the soft blanket that served as their mattress

"Good night, love" Amara whispered at the baby, who could finally, finally, go back to sleep, settling comfortably in his brother’s arms, who held him like if he were a teddy bear

The nursery was soon filled with the gentle snores of the New Mutants plus Scott, all of them dreaming pleasantly with the thought of the movie far away from their minds. Instead, they somehow collectively dreamt about flying the Blackbird through the endless blue sky…

…KNOCK KNOCK!!!

"Whoever it is, you have five seconds to go away before I wreak havoc upon you" Alex said tonelessly, and whoever was at the door squeaked and promptly shuffled away

The surfer smirked and returned his gaze at the sleeping baby in his arms, snoring soundly, making him smile

"Sweet dreams, little bro" Alex whispered, kissing Scott’s forehead and returning to sleep

Chapter Text

Today, Scott had gotten more than a little messy playing outside with the New Mutants. Granted, they probably shouldn’t have gone outside to play in the fresh mud puddles after last night’s storm

Now, they were all covered head to toe in muck and grime. Needless to say, they ended up getting scolded by Logan and told to wash up, and later, they’ll go outside to have another training session

"If you want to get down and dirty so badly, then you’re gonna do it in a productive way!" Was the Wolverine’s response to the whining students

A mean look from Logan stopped all complaints and they all went to freshen up while the immortal carried Scott into his arms. The baby looked like a little swamp monster with mud covering almost his entire little body, with twigs and dried leaves sticking out in random places

"You really did put a number on yourself, bub…" The feral mumbled, his sensitive nose scrunching at the odor the baby was letting out now "Do you even still have your diaper on you?"

Scott blushed underneath all the mud. He didn’t mean to get so dirty, but this was the first time he’s ever had so much fun alongside the New Mutants. He isn’t dumb, he knows they call him stiff or a stickler to the rules behind his back, but in truth, he also wished to get to know them better but they all seemed to shy away from him

Turning into a baby has been by far the only way he has ever gotten to hang out with them casually, but he didn’t want to get into trouble with Logan for it

"Sowwy…" Scott mumbled as his gaze behind his dirtied visor looked at the ground in shame, prompting the immortal to sigh

"It’s fine, I guess boys will be boys" Logan reassured him with a small grin "It’s nothing a good bath can’t fix, right Slim?“

That made Scott raise his previously ashamed gaze and look at the immortal with a big smile. The baby loved taking baths and playing with the bubbles! He began clapping his little hands in excitement, causing the Wolverine to chuckle in amusement

"Alright then, let’s go get you cleaned up" Logan told the baby, who giggled excitedly

Scott’s nursery also included its own personal bathroom which had been redecorated alongside the room itself. It had little boats decorating the cream walls, all matter of baby shampoos and hair conditioners near the tub, there was a green basket in the corner of the room that held the baby’s bath toys

Since the baby was still very small, he needed to be placed in a special bathtub inside the larger tub. His little tub was red and shaped like an airplane, much the the baby’s absolute delight as he could pretend he was flying the Blackbird with it

Logan opened the faucet and allowed the water to fill the baby tub until it was completely filled. Once he made sure that the water’s temperature was fine, he carefully placed Scott inside of it, who let out a little sigh of relaxation once he felt the warm water touching his little being in comparison to the cold mud he was covered in

"Want me to add the bubbles now?" Logan asked the relaxed baby, who nodded rapidly in excitement

The immortal grabbed the bubble bath soap and squirted a hefty amount inside the tub, and soon enough, all matter of bubbles began surfacing, much to Scott’s utter delight

The baby happily began splashing the bubbly waters of his bath, with some of it flying through the air and sprinkling everything, an amused Logan included

"Hey, this is supposed to be your bath Slim!" The immortal growled playfully at Scott, who giggled, not looking any tiny bit apologetic

Logan chuckled and playfully rolled his eyes. What was he going to do with this kid?

The immortal put himself to work and began to gently rinse Scott’s hair, which looked quite murky due to the mud and the twigs sticking to it

The baby moaned slightly at the firmness of Logan’s grip, so to distract himself, he began to poke the bubbles one by one and watched them go pop

Scott’s little popping game got interrupted when he let out a little shriek of discomfort when the immortal’s rinsing became stronger, causing him to look up at the man with betrayal

"I’m sorry bub, but you have so many things sticking to your hair it’s not even funny" Logan grumbled, hating himself for the hurt look in the little one’s face

And idea appeared in the Wolverine’s head and he bended over to grab a rubber ducky from Scott’s basket of bath toys and presented it to the baby

"Here, whenever you think I’m going to rough on you just give it a squeeze and I’ll try to be more gentle" Logan told the baby, as he grabbed the toy with great interest

"Pwo’miss?" Scott asked, looking at the immortal with an intensely glowing visor

"I promise, Slim" Logan reassured him with a fond little grin, and that was enough for the baby, who giggled happily, already forgiving the man

The immortal continued rinsing Scott’s hair with him slowing down whenever the baby squeezed his little toy. The boy also used the rubber ducky to entertain himself by bringing it to his mouth and chewing it with his still-inexistent teeth   

Eventually, the baby’s soft chestnut curls were revealed to the world once again. Logan then proceeded with the next phase which was to wash the rest of the baby’s chubby little body

Using a sponge that was shaped like a turtle, he covered it in some kid-friendly soap and gently began rubbing it against Scott’s dirty face first. The baby made a noise of discomfort at the feeling of having his chubby cheeks squished by the itchy sponge

"I’m sorry bub, but maybe this’ll teach you to not play in the mud again" Logan lightly chastised the little one, and playfully squeezed his cute little button nose twice, causing his groaning to become giggling

Once Scott was covered in soap, the immortal grabbed a little bucket that was next to his toy basket and filled it with water. And after making sure it’s own temperature was nice and warm, he let it fall on the baby like a waterfall, causing him to laugh

"'Gain! 'Gain!" The baby babbled, clapping his little hands. A smirking Logan was quick to grant his wish, and another cascade fell on the giggling boy

This proceeded at least two more times, with the immortal scrubbing Scott’s body with more soap here or there in between the process, until there wasn’t a single speck of mud or dirt left on the baby’s little body

Logan poured one last bucketful of water on the baby before getting him out of the tub and wrapping him in one of his soft towels. The little one looked fresh and smelled like various citrus fruits which were pleasant to the immortal’s sensitive nose

"There we go, nice and kissable again" The immortal cooed, kissing one of Scott’s chubby cheeks, making him giggle

"Wuv U!" The baby cooed, hugging Logan’s absolute trunk of a neck and nuzzling against his chest

"Love you too, Slim. So, how about after I get you in a nice set of diapers and warm clothes we go watch those kids fumble in their newest training session?" The Wolverine said with a vicious smirk, making the baby laugh mischievously and rub his little hands together in agreement

Chapter Text

Breakfast, as always, was a chaotic ordeal at Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters

Chattering and the clinking of silverware filled the mess hall, pieces of food powers were tossed at other students and some sneakily  stole the food from someone else’s plates

However, all the chaos suddenly came into a crashing halt when a certain someone entered the room by loudly opening the doors, causing everyone’s attention to shift towards them

That someone being none other than Weapon X-23, otherwise known as Laura, Logan’s cloned daughter, who scanned the room with her sharp green eyes

She was created by a collaboration of the secret terrorist organization known as HYDRA with the Weapon X program, who specialized in experimentation on mutants to turn them into living weapons, for one specific purpose

That being succeed where Weapon X had failed. In other words, becoming the perfect weapon and killing machine

As such, from the moment she was born, Laura received a brutal isolation and training from HYDRA’s part, detaching her from any sort of emotion or weakness

Eventually, they put her through the same adamantium bonding process Logan had gone through, granting her indestructible claws that could cut through everything, the only difference being that she had two claws instead of three that came out from her knuckles and one extra claw that came out of her feet

HYDRA had succeeded, as X-23 became the ruthless killer they wanted. However, their attempts to detach Laura from any emotions caused her to have an enormous rage inside of her worthy of her predecessor, which is why they were never fully able to control

Eventually, the clone escaped her creators and began her search for the Weapon X, whom she found responsible for all the suffering she had to go through. Later, she started yet another vendetta, this time against HYDRA, where she was believed to be dead by everyone except for Logan

A few days back, Laura had appeared in the doorstep of the Institute, awkwardly saying that she has thought about her template’s offer and wanted to join the X-Men

While the Professor was delighted to receive the young clone with open arms and placed her alongside the New Mutants, everyone else thought that the girl was, at best, intimidating and at worst, scary, and promptly stayed away from her

It also didn’t helped that Laura wasn’t really trying to appear more appealing to them…

The clone used her own enhanced senses to sniff around the room and eventually found her prize, grabbing a undented cereal box from the cupboards and ripping the top off with one of her claws. She then grabbed a handful of cornflakes and started to loudly munch on them while glaring at the other students, as if to dare them to try and take her breakfast away from her

Obviously, none of them were crazy enough to do that. So they awkwardly glanced away from Laura and tried to resume their usual chatter, but it was certainly more strained now and none of them could help but sneak a fearful glance or two at the snacking clone

"Hmm, I wonder whom she reminds me of" Ororo commented lightly, glancing briefly at Logan who was sitting besides her before returning to her meal

The weather goddess was one of the few people asides from Wolverine in the Institute that wasn’t intimidated by Laura as she just saw her as another child that needed guidance. Likewise, X-23 also really liked Storm and often told her predecessor that she liked her scent, as it was warm and soothing

A few students had joked that Ororo must have a soft spot for Wolverines

"Oh, kid…" Logan grumbled, facepalming and then using that hand to rub his eyes tiredly at the antics of his cloned daughter "I keep tellin’ her that she’s just goin’ to scare the others away if she keeps doin’ that!"

"Well, old friend, you were quite the same when you first came into the Institute" Charles reminisced with a smile that was both nostalgic and amused, causing the immortal to grumble even more in embarrassment

"Don’t remind me…" Logan moaned, remembering those days where he was more animal than man "If it weren’t for you and 'Ro, Chuck, I still wouldn’t be able to remember how to even have a coherent conversation that wasn’t just growling"

"And I’m certain that Laura will eventually find a way to bond with her fellow students, given time" Charles reassured his old friend, as they watched the young clone finish her meal and threw the box to the ground

"That was my favorite cereal…" Jaime moaned woefully at the emptied box which had been utterly devoured by X-23

Logan proceeded to facepalm once again

Scott, who had been sitting in his high chair all this time and playing with his baby rattle, watch the scene with a pensive look. He was wearing a white onesie with little blue stars on them and his white cotton socks, plus white mittens

Unlike the other students, he didn’t feared Laura. He thought she just struggled a little with opening up to others. Lord knows he was the same when he first came to the Institute

Perhaps what she and the others needed was a little push…

Scott threw his rattle to the ground and made it look like an accident. He whined softly and made grabby hands at the toy, trying to reach it to no avail

Laura had watched the scene with her sharp eyes and raised an eyebrow when the baby turned his gaze towards her and let out the most pitiful of whines, begging her to pick it up for him

X-23 had been raised to not feel any emotions, and she was still struggling to understand them. But there was something about this little baby asking her for her help that provoked a warm, fuzzy feeling to pool her chest

Silently, Laura grabbed the rattle and gave it back to Scott, who giggled happily now that he had his toy back

"T’ank U!" The baby thanked her with a big smile, and that weird fuzziness overcame the young clone once more at the little one’s gratitude

Without even realizing it, a small grin appeared in Laura’s face and silently told Scott, "You’re welcome…"

Afterwards, Laura kept thinking about that strange fuzzy sensation she felt when she helped Scott out during breakfast

She needed to learn more. Needed to learn what this strange sensation was and what exactly had caused it

And so, Laura ventured off to Scott’s nursery, where Logan was already there changing the baby’s diaper

"Hey, kid…" The Wolverine greeted his spawn, a little surprised to see her in the nursery

"Hello" Laura formally greeted him back, but her attention was focused on the nursery’s colorful appearance

She vaguely remembered her own nursery from her infancy, if you could even call it that. It was just a dark, cold metallic room that only had her crib in the center, which was every bit as uncomfortable as the room she was in

There was no soft colors decorating the walls, no fuzzy rug underneath her feet, certainly no toys to play with unless you counted weapons, and no one to be there to change her diapers no matter how hard she cried

Stepping into Scott’s nursery was like stepping into a whole different planet for Laura

"Ya need somethin’?" Logan asked the girl, who stopped her curious glancing of the room to look at her predecessor

"This morning, at breakfast, when I helped Scott retrieve his toy, I felt something…" Laura confessed, her face scrunching in thoughtfulness "I don’t know exactly how to describe it…"

"It was like, a fuzzy sensation suddenly overcame my stomach but it had nothing to do with hunger" The clone attempted to describe this unknown feeling, and Logan chuckled slightly at her words, causing her to frown in indignation

"Sorry kid, I didn’t mean to upset ya, it’s just that I think I know what you felt in that moment" The immortal told the girl, finishing up changing Scott’s diaper to grab him into his arms and handing him over to her

"Here, try holding Slim for a while" Logan suggested, stunning the girl

"What?!" Laura cried in surprise “You want me—? I’ve never carried a baby before!"

"You’ll do fine. I’ll teach ya" Logan reassured her, watching with a slight grin when Scott giggled and made grabby hands towards the clone "See? Slim certainly wants you to carry him"

"Lau-Lau!" The baby giggled, causing the girl’s cheeks to heat up unfamiliarly at the nickname. The fuzzy feeling was back!

“…But what if I hurt him?" Laura asked quietly, staring at the ground

Logan’s face turned sympathetic and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, grinning slightly at her

"Ya won’t, I promise" The immortal reassured his clone, and once again gently nudged Scott towards her, once again suggesting her to hold him

Laura yielded and carefully held the baby in her arms, being instructed by Logan over how to do it properly. At first, she was as stiff as a board in fear of accidentally dropping the little one, but started to relax when he playfully begun tapping her cheek

The clone curiously sniffed Scott and then scrunched her nose

"He smells weird" Laura pointed out bluntly

"It’s the baby powder I just put on him. He normally smells nicer" Logan told his daughter, who hummed as she registered this new information

Acting on her instincts as a juvenile feral, Laura curiously licked Scott across the face. This made the previously happy baby squeak with surprise, having not expected that

That actually made the clone freeze, fearing she had done something wrong and accidentally upset the baby. But much to her surprise, and Logan’s, the baby giggled and actually licked her back

A strange noise suddenly could be heard in the nursery. A strange, rumbling sound that came from Laura herself!

"What was that?!" The clone gasped at the noise she just did, fearing there was something wrong with her

"It’s fine kid, it also surprised me when I did it the first time" Logan assured her "That was a purr you did just now"

"We can do that?" Laura asked her father with great curiosity, almost a little girl. She actually looked rather adorable just now, which brought a small grin to the immortal’s face

"Apparently" Logan told her with amusement

Laura turned back to Scott who was nuzzling against her neck, getting comfortable and cooing happily. And for the first time in her artificial life filled with suffering, the clone allowed herself to relax and hugged the little boy like a teddy bear, finding herself not only purring, but also smiling just a little

All under the watchful eye of the Wolverine, who was also purring happily over seeing his kin happy and safe

And Laura believed she finally had a name for this comfortable fuzzy sensation in her stomach. It was something she had only heard Dr.Risman and Ororo talk about but have never thought she’d be able to experience it herself…

Happiness

Breakfast was a chaotic ordeal as always in Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters the next day

Chattering and the clinking of silverware could be heard, pieces of food flew through the air, and a sneaky few stole food from someone else’s plate

However, all noise ceased once Laura barged into the room, scanning the room yet again with her sharp green eyes

All eyes followed the clone as she grabbed another brand new cereal box from the cupboards and opened it with one of her claws, but to their surprise, instead of immediately devouring it, she stopped…

And turned to look at them, with something akin to shyness

"Would you…" Laura started, her voice strained and awkward, as her sharp gaze softened somewhat "Would you like to share the cereal with me?"

The students glanced at each other with surprise and uncertainty, for this was the first time the clone had reached out to them

"Um, like, yeah. Sure thing" In the end, it was Kitty Pryde who broke the ice and with an uncertain yet friendly smile, tapped the empty seat besides her "Come seat with me"

Laura’s eyes widened with surprise over actually having been invited, before a small grin spread through her face and promptly went to seat down next to the valley girl

Chattering soon resumed, so did the clinking of silverware, the pieces of food flying through the air and the sneaky thieving of food from plates

But now, it had the nice addition of one very happy Weapon X-23

"You wouldn’t happen to have planned this, right Scott?" Charles asked with a knowing grin at the baby, who was sitting besides him in his high chair, as they watched Laura laugh at a joke that Bobby had just cracked

The baby’s only response was to giggle and wink at his Professor behind his visor

Chapter Text

It was a beautiful day. Granted, all days were beautiful when Ororo Monroe was in a good mood

Today she was tending to her beloved garden. A plethora of all matter of flora, from the most ordinary to the most exotic, all housed with tender love and care in the Institute’s greenhouse by her

And Scott was helping out! Sorta. In truth, he was actually playing with the dirt more than anything, using his little toy gardening tools. The baby was wearing an orange shirt underneath his shortalls plus a straw hat that was way too big for him, but he didn’t cared

The baby cooed as he huddled dirt together, creating a mud pie and then placed it with the others before starting again

"You seem to have already made quite the collection, Scott" Ororo mentioned with amusement at the small pile of mud cakes besides the giggling baby

He innocently held one of them in his tiny hand and offered it to her with a grin

"Thank you Scott, but I’m afraid I have already eaten” Ororo gently told the baby, who simply shrugged and continued playing

However, something caught the little one’s attention and away from his mud pies. A little butterfly that was passing by, making him coo as he stared to the curious winged insect with wonder. He tried to grab it only for the nimble butterfly to swiftly fly away from his reach, making him pout

And his pouting just became more prominent when Ororo giggled at his failed attempt to reach the butterfly

“I’m sorry darling, better luck next time" The weather goddess encouraged him, making Scott forget all about his pouting and started giggling again. He could never stay angry with Storm for long

"Want to see what I’ve recently planted?" Ororo asked the baby with a playful whisper, who cooed with great intrigue and nodded rapidly

The weather goddess grabbed Scott into her loving arms and brought them in front of a small pot with a rectangular shape, where four neatly green sprouts where already beginning to show themselves

"These are snowdrops. With enough time, love and nurturing, they’ll grow into beautiful flowers" Ororo instructed the little boy, who cooed in great interest

His visored gaze then turned into another set of flowers, ones which were yellow to him, which meant they were actually orange. He curiously pointed a tiny finger at them and slightly tilted his head, looking up at the weather goddess for an explanation

"Those are Orange Lilies. In the Language of Flowers, they symbolize passion, good luck and joy" Ororo explained and Scott cooed yet again, fascinated by them

He then pointed at yet another flower set, making Ororo gently smile at the great curiosity that the baby was showing for her pride and joy. He has always been this way, ever since he arrived at the Institute

In fact, he was probably the only student here that regularly volunteered to help her out with her garden without expecting anything in return, simply doing it because he wanted to learn more about flowers and their different meanings

"Those are daises. They’re commonly known for representing innocence" Ororo explained, and began tickling Scott’s tummy, making him laugh happily "Much like you, little one"

When the baby finished his laughing fest, he bent down and plucked one of the daises from the pot and kindly offered it to the weather goddess with an adorable smile

"For me? Why, thank you Scott" Ororo cooed and graciously accepted the little one’s kind gift, gently placing the daisy behind her ear “How do I look?"

The baby was too speechless to answer, as in his young eyes, the weather goddess looked incredibly beautiful. The daisy really blended in beautifully with the rest of her snowy, white hair

Ororo took Scott’s silent cooing of admiration as a good sign and fondly kissed his cheek, causing him to giggle

The baby’s soon returned his visored gaze at the beautiful flowers, and the thin red line on it began glowing with curious intensity when he saw something hiding amongst the petals. He pointed a tiny finger at it, making the weather goddess shift her attention to it as well

Scott wasn’t pointing at another flower set however, but rather at a curious little insect perched in one of the pink petals. A little ladybug, so small that anyone else that didn’t had the infant’s pinpoint accuracy would’ve missed it

Ororo grinned and gently placed her index finger in front of the spotted insect, prompting it to leave its flowery perch and place itself on her finger instead, right above her nail

"Make a wish, Scott" The weather goddess told the baby, bringing the ladybug closer to him

The little boy admired the insect for a moment before closing his eyes, with the thin red line of his visor darkening due to it. He thought about his wish for a minute before opening his eyes yet again, filling his visor with a beautiful bright, red glow and blowing the insect away with all his little might

"Did you made your wish, Scott?" Ororo asked the little boy, who nodded "I see. Well then, we shall see if it becomes true"

The baby really hoped so, because his wish was to always stay with the X-Men

Eventually, Ororo was done tending to her garden for the day and was ready to go for some refreshments. Plus, Scott was more than a little dirty for having played with the dirt before and it was time for his afternoon bath

But before leaving the greenhouse, she took a quick photo of the baby being surrounded by multiple colorful flowers, laughing and looking extremely adorable

Ororo could already think of a couple of girls in the Institute that would love to see this photo later on

Chapter Text

Scott was dreaming. But the way in which he was tossing and turning uncomfortably in his crib, it wasn’t a nice dream

In his dreams, he was relieving the worst day of his life. The day where his happy childhood abruptly came to an end and left him to live in misery

The day of the accident

What started out as an amazing plane flight home in Christopher Summers’ plane, the Corsair, from a family vacation soon turned into a nightmare when the plane suddenly suffered a horrible accident. Scott didn’t exactly remembered what caused the accident in the first place, everything about that day was a blur

What he could remember was the hysteria and fear they were all feeling in that moment, believing they were going to die

The Corsair only had one parachute, so Dad had given it to Scott with little Alex strapped alongside him. He told him to jump, to save themselves while they still could and promised them they’ll be right behind them as Mom tearfully kissed both of their foreheads and whispered how much she loved them both

Scott desperately tried to tell them to jump with them now, to follow them and tell them that if they stayed in the plane then they’ll die. But it was as if he was planted in place, unable to say a word, simply forced to relieve this horrible experience all over again

And so, the brothers jumped while holding each other as tight as they could. They both watched in horror as their father’s plane, whom they thought could survive anything, violently exploded in a fiery display with their parents still inside them

They were gone. Mom who would kiss their injuries better when they got hurt and bake them the world’s most delicious cookies and tucked them in at night and Dad who was the coolest guy ever and had a great job as a Air Force pilot and always gave them the best hugs were gone

Their parents were gone!

But that wasn’t the end for little Scott…

The impact of the explosion caused the boys parachute to caught on fire, and they both began violently plummeting to the ground. It seemed as if they were going to reunite with their parents in the afterlife sooner than they had thought

And on the chaos, Scott had let go of Alex…

He watched in double horror as his little brother, his best pal in the world, the kid he would often tease but always had his back slipped through his fingers and began falling, further and further away from him

Scott had let go of his little brother! He had killed his little brother when he had promised Mom and Dad that he’ll always take care of him!

He lost it all. All the members of his family. Mom, Dad and now, his beloved little brother Alex. All in the same day at the same time

And what more could a broken boy do in that moment but scream…

"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Scott shouted his little heart out, as he woke up in a cold sweat from his awful dream

The baby’s heartbreaking cries echoed across his nursery as he sobbed uncontrollably, having just relived one of the darkest moments of his life. He could also feel his diaper getting warm and sticky down there, implying that he had just wet himself

This just caused him to cry even more, this time in embarrassment, as he felt gross out by himself

Scott’s harrowing screams could be heard all across the Institute, waking every soul up and wondering what could’ve happened to their youngest resident

The baby was so focused on his crying, that he didn’t heard the door to his room opening and didn’t noticed someone coming in, until he was grabbed into the firm, loving arms of someone and rubbing his little button nose against someone’s chest, messing it up with his boogers

"Oh, Scott…" Charles whispered sympathetically at the crying baby in his arms, feeling his distress thanks to his telepathy and gently rubbing circles on his little back to comfort him

"Alright alright, nothing to see here! Go back to your rooms!" Logan, who was loyally standing guard at the nursery’s door, growled at the curious band of students that were standing in the hallway, all of them woken up by the baby’s screaming

“But…vhat about Scott?" Kurt asked, worried about the crying baby

"Yeah, he’s my bro! Shouldn’t I be allowed to see him?” Alex argued with brotherly concern for his baby brother filling his being

"Whatever happened, I’m sure Chuck can handle it" Logan reassured them with a softer tone, momentarily returning his gaze to the Professor comforting the crying baby before returning it to the worried students "Now go back to sleep. Some of you have school tomorrow”

The students still didn’t looked so convinced, but they trusted their teachers to handle the situation. So, they slowly returned to their rooms while exchanging worried glances between them, still wondering what could’ve happened to Scott that woke him up in such a fright and hoping he would be okay

Logan looked at all of them with sympathy. It was clear that they all greatly cared for their leader and teammate, and that caring just became even stronger after he became a baby. A part of him actually felt great pride for the strong bonds they have forged between them, but this was something they adults should handle

Once they were all gone, the Wolverine entered the room to find the Professor still carrying Scott in his arms with a worried Ororo and Hank flanking him. The baby’s harrowing cries had ceased, but he was still sobbing and cooing lightly

"He’s still crying. Whatever happened to the poor dear must’ve frightened him" The weather goddess whispered towards Logan, her heart aching for the little baby

"Hank, would you mind fetching the humidifier?" Charles asked the beastly mutant, returning his gaze to the baby with great concern “I fear all these crying will cause Scott’s throat a great deal of soreness"

“At once" Beast reassured him and promptly left the room in search of the device

Charles returned to gently rub Scott’s back in a rhythmic pattern, sending out telepathic waves of comfort and soothing to help calm down the frightened baby

"There there, little one. It’s alright, I’m with you" The Professor told his beloved student in his mind "Everything’s going to be alright"

Finally, Scott finished his crying and carefully removed his face from Charles’s chest. His little face was overcome with guilt and shame when he saw the ugly patch of wetness and mucus in the telepath’s fancy sleeping robe caused by his tears, boogers and drool

“It’s quite alright Scott, it’s just a robe after all" The Professor assured his student, not needing telepathy to know that the baby was blaming himself for having dirtied his clothes "All I care about is that you’re okay"

The baby moaned, suddenly having made aware of the consequences all that crying brought to his little body. His squishy face was red and not in the adorable way, as he had a good amount of shortness of breath and felt a little heated. His tummy felt queasy, and he just remembered how he had just wetted himself as well

"Oh, child…“ Ororo cooed sympathetically, her heart breaking for Scott as she brought him into her arms with the permission of Charles

"I’ll bring out the diapers" Logan informed them both, having already smelled the piss on the baby thanks to his powerful nose and went to work, sending a worried glance at the pup

"Roro…" Scott mumbled sadly as he looked at the woman holding him with such a heartbreaking expression that you’d have to be Apocalypse himself to not feel bad for this baby

“Shhh, don’t try to speak my child" Ororo quietly instructed the little boy, holding him even closer "It’ll just upset your little throat more"

Scott sniffed, but did as he was told, as his throat felt like if it was burning up. Logan had finished setting up the changing station and gently removed the baby from the weather goddess’s arms, with her very reluctantly giving him to the immortal

"Alright Slim, let’s go change that diaper" The immortal told the baby with a soft grunt, causing the baby to blush in embarrassment but nevertheless nodded

Logan gently placed Scott on the station and took the dirty diaper off him, cringing slightly at the odor that invaded his sensitive nose, which just made the baby feel worse. The immortal soldiered through cleaned the baby’s skin with a soft set of wet wipes, after crunching the dirty one into a ball and throwing it into the bin

Once that was out of the way, he changed the baby into a new, fresh diaper that had little fireworks designs on them, a gift from Jubilee. The little one was good as new, and yet, he still felt unhappy and his throat still hurt

Hank had returned soon after with the humidifier in one large, furry hand and Scott’s bottle in the other

"I took the liberty of also bringing the little one something to drink" The beastly mutant informed them, activating the device to the cool-mist setting

"Thank you, Hank” Ororo said, grabbing the bottle from her large furry friend and bringing Scott into her arms once more "Here you go, child”

Scott was pretty tired, but he still grabbed the offered milk and slowly drank its contents at a gentle pace. The warm, soothing liquid helping with his upset throat and making his eyes feel heavy all of a sudden

Once he was done, he letted go of the bottle’s nipple with a satisfied pop and burped adorably after his back was firmly patted twice by Ororo. The motherly woman then gave the sleepy baby to Charles, who placed him back into his crib

Scott, however, was putting up a fight. He didn’t want to go back to sleep and potentially suffer through the same nightmare or have an even worse one

"Please Scott, you need your rest" Charles pleaded with his student, who was wrangling in his arms and shaking his head, refusing to be placed back on his crib

“Nyo!“ The baby babbled, stubbornly defying to go back to sleep despite the tiredness in his body

Just when the adults were beginning to brainstorm into a way to get Scott his sleep, the door was suddenly opened by none other than Jean Grey herself

”I thought I told you to go back to yer room!" Logan barked at the recently arrived redhead

"I know, but I just couldn’t. I can still feel Scott’s distress in my head, and it’s preventing me to go back to sleep" Jean explained the adults, worried for the baby

"You can still feel your psychic link to Scott?" Charles asked his first female student with surprise, and she nodded

"Yes. It’s a little rawer and undefined since he’s just a baby, but it’s still as present as ever" Jean explained, and turned her gaze at the baby who still refused to sleep

"Professor, can I try helping Scott?" The redhead asked and Charles nodded, handing the stubborn baby over to her, because if anyone had a chance to get the little boy some rest, it was her. The adults left the nursery to return to their own resting, trusting the younger telepath with this situation

"Hi, sweetheart" Jean cooed gently at the little baby in her arms, who turned to look at her with a tired expression

"J’nie…" Scott babbled, his voice hoarse from all the screaming he did before and also due to exhaustion

"You’re look so tired, baby. Why don’t you want to go to sleep?" Jean asked him kindly as the baby weakly shook his little head yet again

"Scawwy…" Scott told her, and unconsciously began using their psychic link to display flashes of his nightmare to her, causing her heart to break for him

"Oh, sweetheart…" Jean whispered, a stray tear falling down her cheek, feeling the baby’s pain as if it were her own

The redhead quickly wiped the tear away and kissed Scott’s forehead, making the baby coo silently at the gesture

"I’m sorry that you had to go through that sweetie, but I promise, you’ll never have to experience that pain ever again" Jean assured the little boy, who was soothed by her kind words exhaustion overcame his once more, and this time, he didn’t tried to fight it

"Pwomise?” Scott asked her quietly, not even noticing the redhead placing him in his crib again even as his little head greeted the soft mattress

"I promise. You, me, and everyone else, we’ll always look out for each other and have everyone else’s backs" Jean reassured him, using her telekinesis to cover the sleepy baby in his warm blanket "You won’t ever lose us, sweetheart“

Scott nodded, feeling reassured by the redhead’s words, and with that reassurance he could finally go back to sleep. The young telekinetic smiled warmly at his peaceful sleeping form, and leaned in to give him a loving kiss in his little forehead, whispering goodnight to him and wishing him happy dreams before returning to her room

This time, there were no nasty nightmares to scare the baby awake

Instead, his dreams were filled with a happy picnic with both of his families; his biological one, and the one he made with the X-Men

Chapter Text

Today, the entire X-Men team were off on some mission. Not only that, but the Professor had also come with them. They were apparently going to the UN to continue speaking for mutant rights worldwide

Which meant, the New Mutants would be left alone to look after the Institute and Scott, with no supervision

They were all having a blast together. All of them were hanging out in the living room, trying to make the baby laugh

Scott was wearing a white romper with a grey, happy bunny face right on the center of his tummy. Fitting, considering how he was happily laughing at the funny faces the New Mutants were displaying for him

"Man, this is just too easy" Roberto bragged, tickling the baby’s belly and making him giggle even more

"I’ll say. I honestly don’t know why the adults and the older kids are so stressed all the time" Amara agreed, fondly watching Scott and resting her head in both her hands

"Yeah, taking care of babies is a piece of cake" Jaime bragged. But Alex, who was sitting next to him, didn’t exactly shared the same sentiment as the rest of his peers

"I don’t know dudes, babies are unpredictable" The surfer warned them "Yeah, my bro may be cute right now, but you may never when he’ll—"

Before Alex could finish his prediction, Scott’s previously giggling face scrunched up in discomfort. And soon enough, he started bawling his eyes out behind his visor, filling the Mansion with his screams and worrying the New Mutants

"Told you…" The surfer sighed, facepalming

"What happened?! He was just fine a minute ago!" Ray complained, covering his ears in a futile attempt to shut down Scott’s screaming

"Bobby, what did you do?!" Jubilee accused her boyfriend, who had been the one to previously played with the baby before his unexpected tantrum

"Nothing! I swear!" The cryokinetic mutant promised as he brought Scott into his arms and began rocking him, trying to calm him down

"Well, it can’t be the bottle. We just fed him an hour ago" Sam theorized

"…Wait! I got it!" Rahne cried, transforming into her wolf form and running off

When she returned, she carried a sheep plushie in her muzzle, one of Scott’s favorites. The Scottish girl presented it to the baby, who stopped crying in favor of staring intently at the offered toy

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, believing it was over. But then the baby slapped the toy away, and began crying even louder

Just as panic began to fill in the clueless New Mutants, salvation came in the form of X-23, who watched the whole scene with unamused eyes

"Laura, help us!" Bobby wailed pathetically, still holding a crying Scott in his arms "Scotty began crying, and none of us knows what to do!"

"I can see that" The Wolverine clone said bluntly, raising a sharp eyebrow at the disheveled state of her teammates

Laura then brought Scott into her arms, smiling just a little at the baby even if he was screaming. She briefly sniffed him with her powerful nose, and then turned away due to the horrible smell

"Just as I thought" The clone said "He just excreted"

"You mean he just pooped himself?" Jaime asked, a little grossed out

Scott’s screaming had turned into slight sniffles, his face very red. He hated this part of being a baby, and he hated it even more now that he did it in front of the New Mutants, kids that were younger than him and whom were supposed to admire and respect him

"Correct" Laura nodded, handing the baby back to Bobby, who now looked more reluctant to take him back into his arms

"Um, here Jubilee, you can hold him" The Iceman said, quickly giving Scott to his recoiling girlfriend

"Oh, no way! You hold him!" The Chinese girl complained, giving the baby back to Bobby

"No, but I insist!" Iceman cried with a tight smile, shoving Scott back to Jubilee

The Chinese girl gagged at the horrible smell emitted by the embarrassed baby, and quickly shoved him at the closest person to her, which turned out to be Roberto

The unlucky boy grimaced at the stinky little boy, murmuring something quick in Portuguese, and also shoved him to the nearest person to him, which was Rahne

This started a game of Hot Potato in which everyone continued giving Scott away, as none wanted to be a victim of the horrible smell he was letting out in that moment

Unfortunately, it also made the baby begin to sob, feeling unwanted by his peers due to this awful and humiliating thing he couldn’t control. Alex took notice of that, and quickly grabbed his brother away from a reluctant Ray

"Enough! I’ll hold him" The surfer informed them seriously, Scott safely on his arms "You should be ashamed of yourselves, dudes! He’s a little guy! You think he wants to crap himself like this?"

The New Mutants saw the hurt expression in the baby’s squishy face, his bottom lip trembling sadly at the way his fellow students rejected him like that, making them, in turn, feel awful

"Sorry, Scotty. We didn’t want to make ya feel bad" Sam apologized, and the others nodded in agreement

"Yeah, who cares if you smell a little bad right now?" Bobby added "You’re still our friend and our leader, and all of us still respect the heck out of you"

"Even though you can be a little stiff sometimes…" Jaime mumbled underneath his breath, and was promptly elbowed by Jubilee for it

Scott sniffed, but started to smile again slightly. He was grateful for the New Mutants and their acceptance to his situation

"Wuv U!" The baby babbled happily, making grabby hands towards them, throughly melting their hearts due to the adorable display

"Let us take care of that dirty diaper now, alright?" Laura said to Scott with a small grin, grabbing the infant in her arms, who promptly giggled and nodded happily

They settled the baby in the table, not without placing a delicate blanket over it first to make it more comfortable. Alex carefully removed his romper, and Rahne removed the used diaper while covering her sensitive nose

She quickly threw the hazardous waste to Jaime, who threw to Jubilee, who in turn threw it to Amara before she swiftly threw to the garbage bin where it belonged

Roberto took out the baby powder and stylishly applied it to Scott’s bum, making the baby sneeze at first but then giggled. Rolling his eyes at his friend’s overachieving nature, Ray wiped off any residual nastiness on the little boy’s downwards area

Sam brought out a new, fresh, clean diaper which was cream-colored and gave it Bobby, who carefully slid it onto the baby. Finally, Laura put the romper back on him, and Scott looked good as new

"There’s our happy baby again" Amara cooed, bringing the giggling little boy into her arms and giving him a peck on one of his chubby cheeks

Scott giggled, and turned his visored gaze at the toy he had slapped away earlier, laying discarded in the ground. He cooed as he made grabby hands towards it

"See? I knew ye wanted it, bairn" Rahne said smugly and gave the plushie back to him, and this time, the baby happily accepted it

Once the X-Men returned later in the day, they were relieved to see the Institute was still standing. But that didn’t mean the rest of their worries were lifted just yet…

But when they entered the living room, they swooned at the adorable sight that greeted them. The New Mutants were sleeping on the carpeted floor, with Scott safely in the very center of their cuddle pile

A few pictures were taken, and they promptly left the room afterwards, allowing them to continue their sleep peacefully

Chapter Text

It was grocery day, and Jean Grey was in charge of shopping for all of the Institute’s essentials. She decided to bring Scott along as moral support, as even though initial histeria towards mutants had died down, there was still a few who still gave her death glares every time she shopped through the aisles

The baby was sat in the kart’s inbuilt infant seat, wearing a mustard onesie depicting some football team. His little face was scrunched up in a serious manner, looking attentively at anyone or anything that moved, as if to dare them to try and do something to the redhead while she shopped

"Are you looking out for me? Awww, you’re so cute!" Jean cooed at Scott’s protectiveness of her. The baby cooed negatively, shaking his head. He wasn’t being cute! He was supposed to be protecting her!

Unfortunately, the baby’s defensiveness of his actions just made him even cuter in the redhead’s eyes, who leaned down and gave him a peck in his little forehead, momentarily surprising him before pouting and crossing his arms

Jean giggled at Scott’s adorable pouting and gently tickled one of his little feet before looking at her shopping list

"Well, we’re nearly done here. All it’s left would be shopping things for you” The redhead informed the baby, who stopped his pouting to look up to her with great interest reflected in the red light from his visor

"Are you excited?" Jean cooed, and Scott clapped his little hands enthusiastically with a big smile "I’ll take that as a yes"

The redhead directed the cart to the baby area of the supermarket, but on her way there, she was blocked by a familiar group of people

"Well well, who we have here?" Lance Alvers sneered, being flanked by the rest of the Brotherhood members as always "If it isn’t little Miss Perfect Jean Grey, and the little stink bomb”

Scott whined angrily at the other mutant group, waving his little fists at them defensively, daring them to not hurt her or else! The redhead however soothed the baby’s worries by gently patting his soft chestnut curls, while keeping a serious face around the Brotherhood members

"Hello, everyone" Jean greeted them cordially "May I ask what are you doing here?"

“We are doing a little shopping on behalf of our blue-faced boss, but when we saw you and Commander Poppypants, we thought we’d get a little revenge on the brat for having reeked up our place" Pietro informed her arrogantly

"Yeah, that’s my job yo!" Todd agreed

"Well, maybe that wouldn’t had happened if certain someone hadn’t kidnapped him in the first place!" Jean accused them, glancing angrily at the toad-like mutant, who flinched at her gaze and coward behind Wanda

The redhead noticed how the Scarlet Witch was the only one in the group that didn’t looked happy to be there, glancing away from the telepath and her accusing look, almost looking ashamed

"Enough talk, Red! Freddy, if you’d be so kind…” Pietro turned to the group’s largest member, who smirked cruelly and began advancing slowly towards the duo with a smirk

Jean reading herself for a fight, ready to protect herself and Scott if the situation escalated. But then, something unexpected had happened, both for her and for the Brotherhood

“Is this who we are now? Just a bunch of thugs who gang up against a baby?" Wanda wondered out loud, gaining everyone’s attention and interrupting Fred’s approaching

“What are you saying, Wanda?! That baby is Summers!" Pietro told his twin, pointing an accusing finger at Scott, who frowned at the speedster

“Yeah, babycakes! When are we ever goin’ to have another opportunity like this against the geeks’ leader?" Todd agreed

“Maybe. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s just a baby that can’t even defend himself right now" Wanda said, looking at them disapprovingly "I’m sorry, but I don’t want any part of it! I’ll go back to the Boarding House, don’t follow me”

With a huff, the Scarlet Witch turned around and began walking away, much to the shock and displeasure of the Brotherhood. Jean also watched the goth with surprise, but also a newfound sense of respect. Scott, meanwhile, watched the girl with great curiosity

He never knew much about the only female member of the Brotherhood, only that she hated her father for having abandoned her in that mental hospital once her powers became to volatile for him to exploit. The baby knew a thing or two about people using you only for your powers, and discarding you as soon as you showed that you couldn’t control them

And in his curiosity, the baby side of Scott ended up winning against his logical one and apprehension against the Brotherhood…

“Wa! Wa-Wa!” The baby babbled, stopping the Scarlet Witch from leaving and making her, and everyone else present, turn towards him in surprise

"What did you just say…?” Wanda asked quietly, looking surprised at the infant

“Wa-Wa!" Scott babbled once more, making grabby hands towards the goth with a little grin forming in his adorable face

“Wanda…" Jean started, slowly looking up at the stunned girl with a little grin forming in her own face "I think he wants you to stay"

“W-What?" The goth cried, confused over why the baby would want her to that. And she wasn’t the only one, as the Brotherhood exchanged confused and surprised looks with each other

Scott still had his doubts about them, but he remembered how the Professor always said that the Brotherhood members weren’t inherently evil, just some troubled kids who were dealt a bad hand in life and had no positive role models to turn to

If the baby had been much like them, not so long ago. He lied, he stole, he cheated; he did whatever he could to survive. He had also been under the thumb of some awful people, forced to commit crimes in their behalf

Those awful people never seemed to care about Scott, other than what he could provide with his powers. They would leave him to starve alone for days, all alone in a horrible and inhospitable environment, just like them

If it weren’t for the Professor and all the support he had given him, he might as well had become a Brotherhood member himself

Maybe it was time for Scott to let go of his mistrust of them, and take the first step to hopefully make peace between the two groups…

"Froggy!” The baby then babbled, pointing a finger at Todd, who literally jumped in surprise

"W-What…?" The toad-like mutant mumbled, struggling to understand what was happening. Scott, however, grinned adorably and then pointed his tiny finger at Blob

“Freddy!" The baby giggled, but it wasn’t the usual mocking laughter that Fred had experienced in his life. It was soft, happy and innocent. He wasn’t laughing at him, but rather, wanted to laugh with him. That caused the Blob to blush and bashfully cover his face with his large hands

"Speedy!” Scott continued, now pointing at Pietro, who for once, was as still as a rock

The usually confident and arrogant speedster was rendered speechless at the baby’s innocent gaze, not knowing what to say in this bizarre scenario

Scott finally turned at Lance, the last of the Brotherhood members and the one he had the most grief with. Maybe their personalities clashed, but there was no mistake that they were quite similar in many different ways

Both were leaders of their respective teams, both cared deeply about them as if they were family and both were willing to do anything for them

Lance was staring at the baby, looking deadly serious, reading himself for whatever reaction he might do. Scott was also staring back, an intense gleam in the thin red line of his visor, with an equally serious look

And then, to everyone’s surprise, including Avalanche’s, the baby smiled yet again and pointed at the Brotherhood leader

"Lancey!” Scott babbled happily, and the boy in question looked like if he had been punched in the gut, because out of all the possible reactions he expected the baby to do, he never imagined this one

"…. Lancey?!" Pietro gasped, being the first to return to his usual self after the initial shock wore off, and began laughing out loud at his leader’s new nickname

"Shut up, Maximoff!" Lance shouted, but due to the red blush on his face, it just made the speedster laugh even harder

This quickly made the rest of the Brotherhood also start laughing, even Wanda was letting out a few giggles. Avalanche growled, swearing to get revenge on them soon enough

Scott also giggled alongside them, bathing in Lance’s dismay, gaining their attention

"Say Summers, you’re pretty funny when you want to be" Pietro admitted, poking the baby’s stomach, making him giggle

The speedster smirked and rapidly poked Scott all over his chubby little body, making him squirm and laugh in delight

"Yeah, you like that don’t you?" Pietro asked, his arrogant smirk softening a little as the baby nodded

“Hey, is that football onesie?” Fred asked, pointing at large finger at the clothes that Scott was wearing

“That’s his favorite team" Jean informed him, smiling a little, feeling the change that the baby had inspired in the Brotherhood

“No way! It’s my favorite team too!" Fred cried happily, which in turn, made Scott cry happily too and made the Blob grin

And then, an idea appeared in Jean Grey’s head

“Scott and I were going to shop for more baby essentials for him. Would you like to join us?” The redhead offered

“Oh, can we Lance? Can we? Can we? Can we?" Todd begged his friend like a little kid, hopping in his place and making puppy dog eyes at him

“Yeah, c’mon Lancey!” Pietro agreed, leaning against the older boy’s shoulder. Fred and Wanda also looked pretty eager themselves

"I don’t know, you know how Mystique gets whenever we’re late from her shopping…" Avalanche reminded them, and it looked like he was about to say no, which made the Brotherhood look at the ground disappointed

"…Ah, but what the hell! Screw her!" Lance finally agreed with a smirk, which caused Todd to cheer in happiness, something that was shared with his teammates although more subtly

"Yes! Us stinky guys have go stick together, dont’cha think?" The toad-like mutant told the little boy, who giggled in agreement 

The mutants then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for things for Scott, and Jean was able to witness a new side of them she had never seen before

Either it was Pietro with his rapid poking which always made the baby giggle, Todd wanting to buy a onesie for Scott that had a little frog in it, Fred’s extra carefulness whenever he carried Scott in order not to accidentally squash him with his great strength, Wanda blushing at the cute baby clothes or Lance’s surprising greatness with kids

Not only that, but Jean also saw them laughing at each other, arguing with each other and joking with each other, much like everyone else in the Institute did, showing that they weren’t really all that different after all

Eventually, they ended their shopping and the redhead insisted on paying herself for both her and the Brotherhood’s stuff, despite them telling her that it wasn’t really necessary. She also slipped a few extra cash inside one of their shopping bags, just in case they might need it in the future

"Thanks for the help, you guys” Jean thanked them as they all exited the supermarket, Scott in her arms while Fred carried all their bags "Are you sure you want to carry them all by yourself, Fred?"

"It’s fine, this is nothing" The Blob bragged about his strength, making her and the baby giggle, but in a good way

"Thanks for the offer, Red. It was…nice" Lance admitted quietly, a ghost of a grin in his face

"You’re welcome" Jean told him softly "We had fun. Didn’t we, Scott?"

"Yup!" The baby cooed in agreement, nodding his squishy little head

"Think we can repeat this again some other time?" Jean asked them with something akin to hope, as they unloaded her bags into the X-Van

"…Maybe. Take care of yourself now, Red" Lance told them quietly, as he and the others walked towards their own ride

"See ya, losers" Pietro said cockily, with a two finger salute and ran off

"Bye, lil' guy” Fred waved at Scott, who happily waved back. He was accompanied by Todd, who said nothing, but the baby playfully showed his tongue at him, which in turn made the toad-like mutant to show his own long, green tongue back at him, making them both giggle

Wanda was the last to leave, who also said nothing. But they could see the smallest of smiles in her normally scowling face

Jean grinned as the Brotherhood disappeared into the parking lot and proceeded to place Scott in his car seat, before entering the car and began their drive home

“It was nice spending time with them, wasn’t it?" The redhead told them baby with a grin, who grinned back in agreement "I’m glad you’re finally making peace with them, sweetheart”

Strangely, Scott felt the same, and he really hoped that this wouldn’t end up being a one-time thing. This could be the start of a wonderful new friendship

Chapter Text

Today, Scott was helping Logan out in the garage

The baby was wearing his newest outfit, a gift from the Wolverine himself. It was a white onesie with the words "Daddy’s Drinking Buddy" on it, with the image of an ice cold beer and a baby bottle clinking together bellow it. The immortal had bought it for him because he thought it was funny, and the baby thought so too

Asides from that, Scott was also wearing stripped, black-and-white socks. The baby was watching intently as Logan fixed his beloved motorcycle with the same tender love and care Ororo showed when working on her plants

"I guess they’re not so different, after all" The baby thought, amused

“Pass me the wrench, Slim" Logan told him, and Scott dutifully passed him the wrench from the tool box laying next to him

He was rewarded with a fond head pat by from the immortal, causing him to giggle happily. As he continued watching the feral work on his bike, his mind couldn’t help but go down the memory lane

When he was younger, Scott would often help out Logan in the garage, much like this. He displayed a great interest in all the vehicles that the Institute had, though his favorite was obviously the Blackbird. Eventually, when he was old enough to drive, that’s when the Professor gave him his beloved red convertible as a birthday present

And it was the best birthday the boy had ever had

Afterwards, Scott treated his new car like if it was the greatest treasure in the world. He loved feeling the smoothness of the steering wheel, the comfiness of the leather seats, the soft purring of the engine, and always admired how the red paint seem to shine under the sunlight

His car was with him, high and low. Whenever he was upset, he would have a quick drive to clear up his head. When he was angry, the would scream at the steering wheel and make some furious drifts. And when he was happy, he would drive it and feel the wind going through his hair

Once his nostalgia trip was done, Scott hummed sadly as he watched his beloved vehicle, parked all alone in the garage. At least it still looked in prime conditions, thanks to everyone that had volunteered to look after it until his transformation wore off, but it still hurt his little heart to see his old buddy just laying there without being used

The baby crawled towards the car, and began to rub one of his little hands on one of its shiny wheels both fondly and sadly. Logan took notice of this, and after finishing up with his girl, he sat down besides the little boy

"You miss her, don’t ya?” He asked, and Scott nodded sadly as he sat down again. If he had wolf ears like Rahne, they probably would be down as well

Logan gave the baby a few comforting pats on the head, his instincts kicking in again seeing the little one so upset. That did made the infant feel a little better, but he was still looking at his car with sadness and yearning

And then, an idea appeared on the Wolverine’s head

"How 'bout we go for a ride, Slim?" Logan suggested with a smirk, and Scott blinked behind his visor

"Wheee!" Scott cheered, as he felt the wind flying through his chestnut curls in a familiar fashion, as Logan rode his red convertible around the Institute

The baby was safely strapped on his car seat, lifting his chubby arms in the air and kicking his little legs in absolute delight. Seeing the little boy’s enthusiasm made the immortal chuckle as he went for another drift

Scott trusted Logan with his car, after all, he’s the guy that thought him to drive in the first place. And he also knew to respect another man’s vehicle, as seen with his motorcycle

Their stunt was soon discovered by the rest of the Institute, who gathered up outside to watch the two for for another lap around the mansion. A few of them were even cheering for them, and the baby would occasionally wave at them in delight

Scott was the happiest little baby in the world right now, the adrenaline and euphoria that came from riding his car filling every inch of his little chubby self

Eventually, after an hour or so, Logan finally ended their impromptu ride and perfectly parked the red convertible in the Institute’s garage. The baby was panting heavily as if he had just ran a marathon, his chestnut hair sticking out in all directions and he had the biggest, most adorable smile in the world

"That was fun, wasn’t it Slim?“ The immortal told Scott, who nodded so fast that his squishy head could’ve fallen from his neck

"'Gain! 'Gain!" The baby pleaded, still high from the feeling of riding his car

"Maybe some other day Slim, you’re a mess" Logan told him, unstrapping him from his car seat and bringing him into his strong arms

Scott giggled, not at all unhappy. Because as long as he continues to ride his car, then he’s okay with that

“Bye-bye!” The baby happily waved at the red convertible, still perfectly parked in the garage, silently promising it to ride it again some other time

And in his mind, Scott imagined the vehicle responding to him with a happy purr

Chapter Text

It was a beautiful morning

As always, Scott woke up with the sun, the first few rays of sunlight peaking through his soft, baby blue curtains. The baby was wearing a pastel green romper with four-leaf clover patterns on them; a gift from Rahne

He awoke after having peaceful dreams filled with fun, happiness and his beloved friends. But as he stretched his little limbs, he noticed something odd in his otherwise happy morning…

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Scott’s scream awoke everyone in the adults wing, and Logan quickly bursted into the nursery, still in his boxer shorts and claws unsheathed

"Slim! What’s—“ Whatever the Wolverine was about to say died in his tongue, and behind him, the rest of the adults entered the room, confused over what could’ve happened that made their toughest member freeze up like that

But when they entered the room, they got their answer. Ororo gasped, Hank’s jaw was so wide opened that it could reach the ground, and Charles’ eyes widened

For Scott was trapped inside a perfectly round red bubble, looking just as confused and surprised as them

"Prof!" The baby babbled, his voice a little muffled due to the sphere he was trapped in "Hwelp!"

"Calm down, Scott" The Professor told his student in an attempt to comfort him once he broke out of his shock "We’ll find a way to solve this"

Scott really hoped so. He didn’t understand what was happening. Why did this red bubble suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and he worried that it had something to do with his de-aging

And in his panic, the baby started to sniffle. The sphere began to shine with a very familiar glow, and Logan’s eyes widened in recognition before shouting, "Hit the floor!"

Suddenly, the red sphere Scott was trapped inside popped, much like a regular bubble. It exploded in a burst of bright, red energy. But not just any energy; it was Optic Blast energy!

Red streaks of pure concussive power began flying all over the room, breaking some of the baby’s toys, knocking things out of place and even breaking the window. The adults quickly obeyed Logan’s orders and their chests met the floor, while the Wolverine acted as a sort of a human shield for Charles to protect him from the projectiles

Eventually, the streaks finished their attack and died down, leaving a complete mess in the nursery. But thankfully, everyone was left unharmed, but in shock over what just happened

The only thing that was heard after a long minute of shocked silence was Hank McCoy’s soft exclamation of, "Oh my stars and garters…"

A little while later, Scott was in the med lab yet again as Hank studied him, trying to figure what exactly was that red sphere he had supposedly manifested

"Anything yet, furball?" Logan asked, and even if he didn’t showed out outwardly, he was filled with concern for the baby, his protective instincts screaming at him

"Well, my friends, let me assure you that there is nothing wrong with Scott" Hank informed them, a hint of a smile in his furry face "Rather, it seems like he has unlocked a secondary mutation!"

Everyone was surprised over Beast’s analysis, even the baby himself. After all, secondary mutations were incredibly rare and only a handful of mutants manifest them in their lifetimes

Scott began looking at his chubby little hands with awe, as if they held all the answers in the world

Naturally, this needed more answers. So the baby found himself in the Danger Room for the first time since his transformation occurred, wearing a special black romper with big yellow X on the center and yellow baby mittens that Forge and Hank had built in order to monitor his body during the exercises

"Alright Scott, we’re going to start with a simple exercise" Charles told the baby on the intercom, as he and the rest of the teachers watched from the Control Room "Try summoning the sphere again"

The baby sighed and closed his eyes behind his visor, curling up his little hands into fists and concentrating as hard as he could. The little boy frowned and concentrated yet again, but no matter what he did, nothing seemed to happen. It made him let out a little noise of frustration and kick his little legs, pouting in disappointment

"Don’t worry, Scott" Ororo’s kind voice reassured him “Try to imagine the energy covering your body. We know you can do it, sweetheart"

The baby nodded, and followed the weather witch’s instructions. He closed his eyes again and concentrated, trying to imagine the bubble surrounding him again, and as he did, his chubby little body began glowing with red energy similar to his blasts

Soon enough, the adults watched in awe as Scott was covered in a red bubble yet again an the baby clapped his little hands in delight when he saw it worked

"Great job, Scott. You did very good" Charles praised his student, as Hank took notes besides him

"So far, so good. All his vitals seem in order, and he seems to be having fun" The beastly mutant grinned when he saw the baby giggle happily inside the bubble he had created

"Let’s proceed to the next phase, then. Ororo, if you please" Charles turned to the weather goddess who nodded and clicked a button in the control panel, and a target appeared in front of Scott

"Scott, try to shoot an Optic Blast at the target" The Professor told the baby, who nodded obediently

Imagining himself shooting a regular Blast, his protective sphere began glowing with intensity and a single red streak of concentrated energy flew through the air and hit the target in a perfect bullseye, making the baby cheer and clap his little hands

"Well, I’ll be damned" Logan chuckled, a small grin on his face. There wasn’t much in his long, long life that could surprise him, but this was definitely an exception

Practice continued as all matter of different targets began appearing in the Danger Room, their difficulty increasing as Scott showed more and more proficiency with his new ability

The baby could dictate how much force he wanted his blast to have, much like with his visor. Whether they be as strong as a gentle push or strong enough to bring down a house. He could also shoot dozens of blasts at a time from his sphere and make them fly in the air like missiles, though these were lower in intensity and could only be used for stunning, and the little boy had less control over them than with his singular attacks

The sphere itself was dangerous too, as when Logan poked it for an exercise, he was quickly thrown across the room as if he had been hit with an Optic Blast in the chest. It seems like it Scott could also use it as a sort of forcefield

Soon enough, the baby was shooting targets left and right with the blasts from his now dubbed Optic Sphere, as if he had this ability his whole life while laughing

"Remarkable! He became adept with his new ability in just a matter of minutes!" Hank praised the baby

"Well, Scott has always shown himself to be a quick learner" Ororo commented, looking at the baby with fondness

"Alright Scott, I believe this is enough for today" Charles told his student "Try to dismiss your Optic Sphere"

The baby nodded and closed his eyes, imagining the bubbles in his baths going pop. The glowing in his sphere began diminishing and then it disappeared with a harmless popping sound, leaving the giggling little boy by himself

"You did wonderful, sweetheart" Ororo praised Scott as the adults entered the room, bringing him into her loving arms and kissing his forehead

“We’ll still require to study this secondary mutation further" Hank informed his fellow faculty members

"True, Henry. We still don’t know what exactly caused this secondary mutation to manifest itself, or if it has something to do with Scott’s transformation" Charles hummed thoughtfully, but then he looked at the baby who smiled cutely at him from his place in Ororo’s arms, making him smile as all "But whatever the case, we’ll help him through it"

"Ain’t that the truth" Logan agreed, fondly patting the baby’s squishy head

The baby giggled in agreement, but then his little button nose scrunched up due to itchiness

"Ahhh…!" Scott started, as his body began to glow and an Optic Sphere covered him and a surprised Storm "Achoo!"

A single Blast was shot from the bubble, almost grazing Hank and Logan, who moved out of the way on time thanks to their enhanced agility. The baby giggled apologetically, as the Sphere around him and Ororo disappeared

"It seems like there are still some kinks in need to figuring out" Beast said jokingly, causing the adults to chuckle and the baby to giggle

"You’re a dangerous lil' guy, bub" Logan told the baby, and with a slight grin, added "I like that"

"Dangerously adorable, you mean" Ororo cooed, and proceeded to shower Scott with kisses, making him squirm with surprise and causing the men to chuckle at his dismay

Chapter Text

"Achoo!"

Scott sneezed, as his little button nose curled up in itchiness being a bright red color, and not in a cute way. The baby moaned miserably in his crib, wrapped around in a soft pastel blue blanket like a burrito and wearing a white cotton beanie

Apparently, awakening his secondary mutation came in with the nasty side effect of gaining a fever. It’s only been two days since it started, and already he felt like he was dying

Just trying to move a little hurt Scott’s chubby, little body. His little being felt hot, but he was shivering like a leaf if he tried to remove his blankets. His nose hasn’t stopped expelling nasty boogers, and his throat felt as dry as the desert

He has never had a fever this bad, and he didn’t if it had something to do with his secondary mutation or the fact that he was a baby

"Aww, like, don’t worry sweetie" Kitty cooed, removing a few of Scott’s chestnut curls that poked out from behind his beanie "We’ll make sure to, like, take care of you until this nasty fever goes away"

“Ja! Soon enough, you’ll be playing vith your toys again and be back to your regular once more" Kurt agreed, and softly added "You’re always taking such good care of us, Scott. Zhis time, let us be the ones to take care of you"

Despite the pain, the baby managed to weakly smile at them, grateful to have such wonderful friends. However, his smiling face quickly scrunched again as he felt another sneeze coming in, and the two friends gasped when they saw Scott’s little body get covered in red energy

"Achoo!” Scott coughed, and a handful of red streaks flew through the air. Fortunately, they were left unharmed thanks to Kitty’s phasing and Kurt teleporting away just in time, but the rest of the room wasn’t so lucky

Furniture were knocked back, toys were destroyed and pictures were thrown off the walls they were hanging in. It wasn’t the first time this happened, as the nursery looked as if a tornado had passed through with how messy it was due to the baby’s involuntary attacks

In his weakened state, it seemed that Scott’s sneezing was a trigger for his newfound abilities to activate, which just made the baby feel even worse

"Sowwy…" He mumbled apologetically at his friends despite his throat feeling like sandpaper right now, and Kitty gently shushed him

"It’s okay, cutie. Don’t try to, like, speak. You’ll hurt your little throat" The girl reassured him kindly, gently rubbing soothing circles on Scott’s small throat

That made the baby smile again, and maybe this fever wouldn’t be so bad, if he had his family by his side

Rogue was reading Scott a story today. The baby loved whenever the goth read to him, as he believed she was a very good narrator

"—An’ the prince saved the princess from the nasty dragon, an’ they all lived happily ever after" The southern belle finished the tale, the sick baby safe in her lap, and closed the book "The end"

Despite the tiredness he was feeling, Scott managed to smile, even if it was a little weak. He loved that story, as he always imagined himself as the prince and Jean as the princess

But he mostly loved spending time with Rogue, as evident by how he turned to look up at her and gave her a weak embrace

"Wuv U…" Scott babbled hoarsely, and the goth grinned a little, wishing she could kiss his little forehead like the other girls did

"Ah love ya too, sugah. More than ya think…" Rogue whispered, hugging the sick baby back, because even with the circumstances, she was content with simply being by his side even if she couldn’t properly touch him

Sam and Ray decided to take Scott on a stroll around the Institute, believing some fresh air would help him

It seemed to do the trick somewhat, as the baby recovered a little of the rosiness in his chubby cheeks and was cooing more peacefully behind the pacifier he was wearing right now

"If you want, you can take a nap, little man" Ray softly suggested to Scott, who was strapped to his chest in the baby carrier Berzerker was wearing

The baby decided to follow the elektrokinetic mutant and closed his little eyes behind his visor, its thin red line darkening as he began to snore peacefully against the older boy’s chest

Ray grinned slightly and gently patted Scott’s head, allowing the baby to get some much needed rest

"Wow Ray, you’re pretty good at this" Sam said, in awe at his friend’s ability with their de-aged leader, feeling a newfound sense of respect for him

"Thanks, I used to look after the younger kids when I lived with the Morlocks" The orange-stripped boy told the southerner with something akin to nostalgia, remembering his old sewer-dwelling family "Though, none were as young as Scott is right now"

"Ah remember when Ah looked after mah siblings when they were babies, an' all of 'em were lil' devils" Sam grumbled, and then looked fondly at the sleeping baby "But Scotty here is one sweet angel"

"Yeah, you’re right" Ray agreed, and kissed the baby’s forehead

"Hi, Scott! Look who’s here to see you!" Amara cheerfully told the baby as she entered the nursery, and the baby curiously lifted his little head from its resting position, wondering who it may be

"Hey, Scooter" Tabitha Smith greeted the sick baby with her usually cocky smile becoming a little softer, as she also entered the room

She also took notice of the disheveled state of the nursery, and it seems like what Amara had told her was true, and Scott’s newfound abilities were running rampant due to his fever

"Boom! Boom!" The baby babbled at the sight of her, happily making grabby hands towards her

"Well, it’s seems like you’re getting better. Your voice doesn’t sound completely awful" Tabitha commented with a slight tease, as she grabbed Scott into her arms

The baby giggled a little, but then scrunched his little face in a telltale sign that he was about to sneeze

"Tabby, look out!" Amara cried, but it was too late, as Scott was covered in red energy and let out a sneeze which made multiple red lasers flew through the air

The Nova Roman princess squeaked and quickly found refuge behind the nursery’s rocking chair, all while Tabitha watched stunned as the sick baby in her arms wrecked chaos in his room

Once the lasers died down, everything was silence inside the room. Until Tabby let out a snort, and began laughing out loud

"Wow! I was told about your new powers Scooter, but that was off the rocker!" Tabitha commented, as she gently bopped Scott’s little nose appreciatedly "I like it!"

The baby smiled, and giggled out, "Boom! Boom Boom!"

"That’s right, baby! Boom boom!" Tabitha cried playfully, and the two proceeded to say more funny sounds at each other

Meanwhile, Amara crawled out of her hiding spot, and watched her two friends with a smile

Bobby was Scott’s favorite person right now

Due to his fever, his ice-manipulating powers were really useful. The boy was in his ice form right now, sweetly carrying the baby in his arms

Bobby smiled fondly as Scott let out a relived sigh, his icy form helping him soothe away the hotness that his small, squishy body had been feeling. The older boy playfully wiggled his iced finger in front of the baby’s face, and he happily grabbed on to it with amazing strength

"God, you’re so precious" The Iceman cooed softly, as Scott began sucking the finger he was holding in the cutest of ways

Bobby then proceeded to leave a frosty kiss on the baby’s adorable forehead, making him giggle at the tingly feeling

"Scott, I got something to tell you" The cryokinetic mutant told the little boy, and he looked up at him with a curious glow in his visor “I kinda wanted to tell you this once you went back to normal, but I think I should tell you now…"

"The Professor talked to me a few days ago. He said that, in light of my recent accomplishments, his placing me with the X-Men!" Bobby cheered happily with a big smile, lightly bouncing the baby in his arms "Can you believe it?! I’m the first one to make it to the team!"

Scott giggled, happy for his friend. He gave the Iceman a big hug around his neck, and the older boy reciprocated the hug immediately

"Wuv U!" The baby babbled, and he couldn’t wait to see what Bobby would accomplish now that he was an official X-Man

"Love you too, Scotty" The Iceman cooed, and leaved another frosty kiss in his little nose

It was nighttime, and Jubilee was singing Scott a lullaby to help the sick baby go to sleep

He didn’t really understand what she was saying, as the lullaby was in Chinese, but he enjoyed how melodic the girl’s voice sounded and how she lovingly rocked him in her arms

For a girl as fiery and spontaneous as the fireworks she generated, Jubilee could sure be warm and soft whenever she wanted

Scott closed his little eyes behind his visor, entering a blissful slumber and peacefully sucking his pacifier. The Chinese girl cooed underneath her breath and gently placed the baby back in his crib, lovingly covering him in a warm blanket and kissing his forehead

"Hǎo mèng, xiǎo bǎobèi" Jubilee murmured in her mother language and quietly left the room, and the baby dreamt about beautiful fireworks decorating the starry night sky

"Here you go" Jaime mumbled softly as he handed Scott a cute teddy bear with a big red bow wrapped around its neck

The baby tilted his head, not understanding why the preteen would gave him this

"H-Her name’s Daisy, she always helps me whenever I’m sick" Jaime gulped, his eyes were sad and his voice sounded a little hesitant "She’s also good listener, so you can tell her all your problems and she won’t judge you for them”

“She has very delicate fur, so you’ll have to be careful with her" The preteen’s voice began to crack "She’ll protect you from any nightmares you may have and scare away the monsters that hide in the dark and she gives the best hugs and—"

Jaime stopped when he felt a little hand being placed above his own, and he noticed that Scott was looking at him with concern in his adorable little face, the thin red line of his visor shining softly

It’s only then that Multiple realized he was crying

"A-Anyway…" Jaime sniffed, clearing away his tears and placing the teddy bear in front of Scott "I’m giving her to you"

"I think it’s time for me to let her go…" The preteen mumbled. It was clear that this decision was breaking his heart, but his tearful eyes had a decisive glint to them "You clearly need her more than I do now…"

Scott was surprised by the amount of maturity Jaime was showing, but nevertheless, he nodded in understanding and hugged the teddy bear close, being extra careful with it

"T’ank U" The baby thanked him with a little grin, promising to take good care of his friend’s precious teddy bear

And Jaime smiled though the tears, fondly ruffling Scott’s chestnut hair, convinced that he has made the right decision

Rahne was in her wolf form and gently carrying Scott in her back

No matter how sick the baby may be, riding the Scottish girl like if she were a horse never failed to entertain him. He had the biggest of smiles as he firmly gripped her soft, orange fur while they rode through the living room

"I’m back!" Roberto announced his return from the kitchen with his usual flair, as Rahne morphed back to her human form with Scott safely in her arms

"Are ye sure this will work?" The Scottish girl asked her boyfriend, looking unsure at the small bowl he was carrying with a bubbling mixture inside it

"Trust me! It’s my Avó’s homemade recipe for fevers" Roberto assured her, grabbing a spoonful of the mixture with a small spoon "If this doesn’t help Scott, nothing will!"

"Open wide, Minha vida!" The Brazilian boy cooed softly, presenting the baby with the remedy in the spoon. The little boy scrunched his little nose at the odd odor it emitted, but he decided to trust Sunspot, so he hesitantly opened his mouth and Roberto feed him the remedy

And Scott immediately hacked in disgust over the horrible taste. It was as if he had just eaten a pack of snails!

“Yeah, maybe I forgot to mention that it tasted horrible…" Roberto giggled sheepishly as he scratched his nape, while Rahne glared at him while she rubbed the disgusted baby’s back in an attempt to soothe him

"What? Don’t give me that look!" The Brazilian boy told his girlfriend, hands on his hips "As my Avó always says; Se tem um gosto bom, então não funciona. If it tastes good, then it doesn't work"

Rahne rolled her eyes

Forge and Hank were doing a check-up on Scott

It was mostly for his fever, but it also served that they get more information of both his secondary mutation and his transformation, plus that mysterious vulnerability cannon that caused this situation in the first place

“Well Scott, the good news is that this fever is almost over" Hank informed the baby, who throughout the check-up was laying dutifully on one of the lab’s beds "Who knew Roberto’s homemade remedy would actually work?"

The baby scrunched his little button nose and made a hacking sound, being reminded of that thing’s horrible taste

“I got some more good news, Hank“ Forge said, gaining both of their attentions as they turned to look at the holographic screen "With the information we have gathered so far, it seems like we’ll be able to find a way to return Scott to normal soon enough"

“Well, that’s a relief“ The beastly mutant sighed, grabbing the baby into his large, furry arms and smiling fondly as he began cuddling against his soft, blue fur "Although, it has been fun to look after him during this state"

"Yeah, trippy!" Forge agreed, as when he had been trapped in the Middleverse, he never thought he’ll get this kind of opportunity to live again

And he owed it all to the X-Men

Scott playfully grabbed one of Alex’s long, luscious golden locks and happily began chewing it

“What are you doing, bro?" The surfer asked with amusement as he watched his brother’s antics, who was being carried in his arms "You think my hair’s pretty?“

Scott stopped chewing Alex’s hair and began giggling, nuzzling against his chest. The baby could feel the energy that ran through their bodies brimming within his brother, which was soothing for him

"I can’t wait for you to fully recover, bro. I want to have another bubble bath with you" The surfer cooed, and the little boy giggled in agreement, as he also wanted to have a bubble bath with his brother again

"Wuv U, bwo!" Scott babbled happily, and Alex rubbed their noses together, nonverbally telling him he loved him as well, and gently placed the giggling little boy back on his crib

And just then, the baby sneezed once more and glowing red energy covered his chubby, little body, and red streaks flew through. But unlike previous times, the energy was harmlessly absorbed by the surfer before it could make impact with anything else, as he was immune to his brother’s powers

“Oh bro, what am I going to do with you?” Alex chuckled as he fondly shook his head, and Scott sheepishly giggled

"Hold him like that—Good" Logan told his daughter, as Laura dutifully held Scott into her arms, her face scrunched in deep concentration

"Now, gently support his head. Let Slim drink his milk at his own rhythm" The Wolverine clone followed her father’s instructions and gently brushed the tip of the bottle’s head against the baby’s mouth

Scott immediately grabbed ahold of it and began drinking its contents at a peaceful pace, all while Laura held him safely in her arms, a ghost of a smile on her normally stoic face

"You’re gettin' pretty good at this" Logan complimented his daughter and she seemed to preen at the praise, having never received it before in her life

“How long before Scott fully recovers?" Laura asked him, looking at the baby with something akin to concern

“From what the Furball’s been tellin' me, a couple more days" Logan answered and his daughter hummed thoughtfully

"Somethin' on your mind, kid?" The Wolverine asked her, raising an eyebrow

“It’s nothing. It’s just that…" Laura murmured, glancing at Scott who was still peacefully feeding himself "I’ve never been sick before, so I guess I’m worried about him…"

The cloned girl didn’t looked any different from her regular stoic face, but as someone that went through the same process as her, the Wolverine could notice the small micro-shifts in her face, such as how her lips slightly thinned or how her eyebrows twitched momentarily

Logan suddenly placed his hand on Laura’s head, surprising her, and he began ruffling her hair in a fond manner

"Slim will be fine, Laura" The Wolverine reassured his daughter, his usually gruff voice softening. And the girl’s eyes widened in surprise, as this was the first time her father called her by her name "Trust me"

The cloned girl broke out of her surprise and nodded, trusting her father’s judgement

The doorbell to the Institute could be heard across the Mansion, and Jean Grey offered to go see who was at the door

To her surprise, it was the Brotherhood members, all of them standing awkwardly in front of the Institute’s grand front doors

"Hello, guys" Jean greeted them politely “What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Red…" Lance started awkwardly, looking at the ground "We, um, Tabby told us Summers was sick…"

"We-wanted-to-give-Summers-this!" Pietro said, faster than usual, and he shoved something at Jean’s chest

It was a crudely sewn, yet beautiful blanket, made from multiple colorful fabrics, patches and old pieces of different clothing

"Oh you guys, this is…" Jean cooed, looking at the embarrassed Brotherhood with grateful eyes

"Don’t get the wrong idea, yo!" Todd cried, a green blush on his equally green face "I only did it because my babycakes needed help sewin’ it!"

"Yeah, it’s not like we care if Summers is sick or anything!" Fred agreed, though the blush on his face gave him away

"A-Anyways, we better head back before Mystique wonders where we all went…" Lance mumbled, as they all began walking away "Take care, Red"

Wanda, however, stayed behind a little longer, her face was as red as her clothes and she refused to look at Jean’s face

"They won’t say it out loud, but they’re truly worried for Summers…" The goth murmured, but her voice was steady enough for the redhead to hear her

Jean could also sense with her telepathy that Wanda felt the same way as her teammates, but she was too shy to say it out loud too

"Thanks, Wanda. I’ll be sure to let Scott know" The redhead assured her kindly, and the sound of Lance’s loud claxon from his Jeep gained their attention, telling the goth to hurry it up

The Scarlet Witch turned around and promptly walked away without saying another word, but her blush was so big that it Jean could see it reaching the tips of her ears, making the redhead smirk knowingly 

"Look out, Auntie O!" Evan cried, as Scott sneezed triggered multiple lasers to fly through the air yet again

Ororo acted quick however, and flew out of the streaks reach just in time. The spiked mutant also found refuge behind some pieces of furniture, and a whole minute passed before the lasers finally died down and the baby sniffed, his little nose still clogged with disgusting boogers

"Man, now I know how everyone felt whenever I made my spikes fly through the air…" Evan commented, rubbing his nape and feeling apologetic for his antics in the past

“Yes, this ought to make you more careful in the future" Ororo lightly commented at her nephew, and brought Scott into her loving arms, gently rubbing his back, making him feel a little better "Anyways, I trust your time with the Morlocks went well?”

Ever since he came back to the Institute after defeating Apocalypse, Evan had decided to divide his time between the X-Men and the sewer-dwelling mutants, as that way, he could be a part of both groups

“Oh, yeah! I told them about Scott and how he became sick, and they wanted me to give him this” The spiked mutant said, and rummaged through his bag to show them what seemed to be some sort of green, sticky ointment inside a cracked glass jar

"The Morlocks use it whenever one of them gets a fever. They said that it could help with the boogers" Evan explained

“Well, that was certainly kind of them. Next time you visit, you should tell them that we are grateful for their help" Ororo commented, grabbing the jar and then lifted a curious eyebrow “Well, if Roberto’s remedy worked, I don’t see why this wouldn’t work either?”

Scott moaned weakly, not really looking forward to it

It was a long, painful week filled with boogers, sneezes that triggered projectiles with the same intensity as a bazooka and weird, icky homemade remedies, but in the end, Scott was good as new and back to full health

The fully recovered baby was giggling happily as always, as Charles Xavier lifted him up and carried him in his lap

"I’m glad that you’re back to full health, Scott” The Professor told his student fondly, and gently kissed one of his chubby cheeks which had recovered their natural, rosy color

The baby nodded and cutely hugged his mentor’s neck, for he was also grateful for everyone else for having looked after him

Chapter Text

It was Kitty’s turn today to look after Scott, so naturally, she decided they should do her favorite activity; Dancing!

The baby was wearing a soft, fluffy pink romper that funnily enough, resembled a kitten. He watched with great intrigue as his friend moved her body fluidly to the beat, and this time, there was no nasty Nightcrawler to interrupt their time together

Finally, Kitty finished her performance flawlessly and Scott was quick to clap his little hands in awe at her great talent

"Thank you, thank you, like, you’re too kind" The girl thanked her lovely audience, performing a playful bow "Like, what do you think, Scotty? Did you liked it?"

"Pwetty!" Scott praised her with a big, adorable smile and his visor had a beautiful, red glow

"Aww, thanks sweetie! And you’ve been, like, a lovely audience as well!" Kitty cooed, and left a big smooch in the baby’s cute forehead, making him giggle

"'Gain! 'Gain!" Scott babbled after he finished his giggling fest

"Alrighty, then! Anything for, like, my number one fan!" Kitty cooed fondly, and began playing the next song found in her boombox’s playlist, and thus began dancing yet again

Just then, Rogue entered the room to find her roommate and best friend dancing with all the grace of a ballerina, and her babified crush sitting comfortably in her bed, watching the dancing girl with great amazement and slightly swaying his little, chubby body to the music as well

"What’s goin’ on here?" The goth asked with some amusement, smiling and placing her gloved hands on her hips

“Hi Rogue!" Kitty greeted her cheerfully while still dancing "It’s, like, my turn to look after Scotty, and I’m showing him, like, some of my new moves!"

"Damcey!" Scott babbled, cutely raising his little arms in the air in agreement, causing both girls to chuckle

"Hey, Rogue! You should, like, totally join us!" Kitty suggested to the goth "You should still, like, have my dancing moves from that time you touched me, so this should be, like, total piece of cake to you!"

"Meh? Dance in front of Scott?!" The southern belle cried, her pale cheeks gaining a pink color over the thought of dancing in front of her crush "Ah…Ah don’t know"

"Oh, please Rogue!" Kitty begged, stopping her dancing to clasp her hands together and giving her those puppy-eyes looks that even Logan wasn’t immune to "It would be, like, so much fun!"

"Roguey damcey!" Scott then babbled, clapping his hands together eagerly

"See? Scott, like, totally agrees!” Kitty said, grabbing the baby in her arms and the two proceeded to give her the most powerful puppy dog eyes in the history of the world

"Pweaseeeeeee?" The two begged at the same time, even wobbling their lower lips adorably and rubbing their rosy cheeks together in a display of total adorableness

It was all too much for the poor goth, whose heart couldn’t handle so much cuteness

"Okay okay, fahne! Ah’ll dance with ya! Just please stop doin’ that! You’re gonna give meh a heart attack!" Rogue finally yielded, her cheeks embarrassingly as pink as Kitty’s sweater

Both the valley girl and baby cheered and she began jumping in place and twirling around with Scott giggling in her arms

"My little student, I’m so proud" Kitty sniffed, wiping a fake tear from her eye "You, like, totally mastered the art of puppy-dog eyes. No one will be able to resist your cuteness now"

Scott giggled mischievously, rubbing his little hands together. He was already formulating plans in his squishy little head over how he could exploit this newfound power at its fullest

Kitty settled the baby back in Rogue’s soft bed, and the goth blushed a little when she saw the little boy get comfortable in her bed, stretching his little arms and settling peacefully on the mattress like a newborn kitten

She was sure she’ll never be able to see her bed in the same way ever again

Kitty replayed the song she was dancing to before from the start, and both girls got ready, with Scott watching them in anticipation

As soon as the music kicked it, the two began dancing in perfect coordination, which was probably because Rogue had sapped a little of the other girl’s dancing proficiency from before

Scott was completely enthralled by them, how their bodies gracefully moved around as if they were mermaids swimming in the sea, and began humming the song they were dancing to and swaying his little, chubby body to the rhythm

"Like, check it! It think Scotty’s copying us!" Kitty giggled as she danced, watching with amusement how the baby eagerly tried to replicate their dancing moves

"Well then, we could use a dance partner" Rogue commented with a grin, and grabbed the squirming baby into her arms, twirling them around which made him giggle in delight

The girls continued their little dance party, alternating between giving Scott to one another so that he could dance alongside them, making the baby very happy

Finally, the song stopped, and all three of them bowed for a nonexistent audience, and the baby then cutely began clapping his little hands

"That was, like, so much fun!" Kitty giggled, hugging Scott and cuddling against him like if he were a teddy bear

"Damcey!" The baby babbled happily, which made the Valley Girl coo and smother his chubby little face with kisses

"Ah have to admit, that was pretty fun" Rogue said, a small grin in her pale face

Scott giggled and made grabby hands towards her, asking her to be the one to carry him next. The goth fulfilled the baby’s request and brought him into her fully clothed arms, and he began cuddling against her chest

"Roguey! Pwetty damcey!" He babbled happily, and Rogue could fill her heart being squished due to the adorable display

"See? Told you Scott would like it" Kitty giggled at the stunned look of her blushing friend, who hid her face in the baby’s warm head "We should totally, like, do this again some other time!”

The baby giggled, totally agreeing with her. And Rogue, despite her blushing embarrassment, wasn’t exactly against the idea

And in a small, traitorous part of her mind wished she could continue dancing with Scott even after he returned to normal…

Chapter Text

DING-DONG!!

"I’ll get it!" Jaime Madrox shouted as he ran to the door, and to his great surprise, the one who had knocked was none other than Tabitha "Boom Boom" Smith herself

"Hi, Jaime-baby! How’s it goin’!" The girl greeted the younger boy in her usual bombastic nature, ruffling his hair

"Tabby!" The preteen asked in between laughs, as Tabitha ruffling his hair tickled him "What are you doing here?!"

Jaime’s question made the girl freeze, as she stopped ruffling his hair and slowly retracted her hand. The preteen looked at her with worry, noticing how her face looked quite conflicted, and he even noticed the modest bag she was carrying in her back

"Could I talk to the Professor?" Tabitha asked him in an uncharacteristically quiet voice "I kinda have something to tell him…"

Jaime was still very concerned for his usually aloof and unbothered friend, but nevertheless nodded and silently lead her to the Professor’s study. Once there, he gave another worried glance at the older girl, who the whole trip to get here she remained unusually silent with that same conflicted look on her face before gently knocking on the door

"It’s open" The Professor’s said from inside, and the preteen entered the fancy room

"Ah, Jaime. What can I do for you?" Charles Xavier’s voice was as comforting and soothing as ever, which did raised some of the boy’s concerns

"Professor, I got someone here that wants to speak to you" Jaime told him, and stepped aside for that Tabitha could come in

"Tabitha? What a lovely surprise" Charles expressed genuinely at the sight of his wayward student, a grin adorning his face

"Hey, Chuck" Tabby greeted him, grinning a little, but still looked uncharacteristically sad, which concerned the Professor

"While it is always a delight to have you here, may I ask what is the reason for your visit?" Charles asked his student, feeling a great deal of conflict brewing from the girl due to his telepathy

"Is it possible that I could talk to you…" Tabitha started, and then glanced back at Jaime, who was still standing by the door awkwardly "…In private?"

"Jaime, please return to the others" The Professor instructed his student, who nodded and obediently left the room, giving the older girl one last look of concern before shutting the door behind him

"There Tabitha, it’s just you and me right now" Charles told his student in a reassuring way "I even checked with my telepathy to make sure that no one else was standing by the corridor and could hear our conversation. You can speak to me freely now"

Feeling a little more comfortable thanks to the Professor’s reassurance, Tabby settled the bag she was carrying on the ground and sat on one of the plush chairs in front of the telepath’s desk, looking at her hands for a moment as if searching for what to say, before finally gulping down her nerves

"Is…" Tabitha started quietly, not looking at Charles "Is it possible that I could return to the Institute?"

The Professor’s eyes widened somewhat it surprised, but he also felt great deal of happiness at her words. He had always hoped that Tabby would return to live with them when she felt that the time was ready, and it seemed like that moment was finally here

"Of course, Tabitha" Charles said, a smile on his face as he wheeled himself to her side and grabbed her hand, squeezing it comfortingly "This is your home. You will always be welcomed here"

The Professor’s words came as a huge relief to Tabby, who felt like if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Her usual cocky grin returned, and the telepath now felt happiness and relief coming from her, which made him happy

"If you want, we can tell the others about your official return" Charles offered the girl as she stood from her chair and grabbed her bag "I’m sure all of them will be elated to learn you’re back. Amara especially, considering the deep bond that you share"

"That’ll be cool, Professor" Tabitha agreed, and with a grin, the Professor send a telepathic message to all the residents in the house to met in the living room as quickly as they could

"I wonder why the Professor called us for this meeting?" Evan wondered out loud, as all the students and faculty members got comfortable in the room’s plush furniture as they waited their mentor to arrive

"He said he had a big surprise for us" Kurt remembered, his tail swinging around in a curious way, much like a cat’s

"Maybe he’s going to give me a huge party as a way to celebrate my recent promotion to an X-Man!" Bobby bragged, which caused the rest of the New Mutants to groan

"We know, Bobby! You’ve been telling us that ever since the Professor gave you the news!" Jubilee groaned at the antics of her boyfriend

"It’s becomin’ insufferable…" Rahne grumbled underneath her breath

"Just you wait! I’m gonna become an X-Man next and I’ll make you eat your words!" Ray swore, pointing an accusing finger at the Iceman

"Good luck with that, dude" Alex drawled at his roommate, and pointing his thumb at X-23, who was sitting besides him "If anything, Laura has more chance to become an X-Man next than the rest of us!"

"True" The clone of Wolverine agreed with a smug smile

“What do you think, Scott?" Jean asked the baby in her arms, ignoring the other’s little bantering. He was wearing a long-sleeved onesie with a stripped pattern of different hues of red, plus his favorite white cotton socks

The baby hummed and made his usual thinking position, before shrugging, equally as clueless as the rest of his friends

"I’ll guess we’ll just have to wait and see" Jean chuckled, lovingly removing a few wayward strands of his chestnut hair from his forehead

Just then, Charles Xavier wheeled into the room, looking uncharacteristically excited. Whatever surprise he was going to tell them must be pretty big for him, too

"I see everyone is here already" The Professor hummed, watching at the people who have become his family over the years "As you may know already, I have exciting news for you all"

"Then don’t leave us waiting and get on with it, Chuck!" Logan demanding, folding his arms impatiently

"Wolverine" Ororo scolded the immortal with her usual glare and hands on her hips, which caused him to growl apologetically, glancing his blushing face away and causing the students to start giggling, but they quickly shut up once he gave them all a warning growl accompanied by a death glare

“Please continue, Charles“ Hank told the telepath, ignoring what had just happened

"Thank you, Henry" The Professor nodded thankfully at the beastly mutant and turned to his beloved students; his children, in almost every way "As I was saying, I have exciting news for you all…"

The telepath then wheeled himself asides, and they all watched with great intrigue when someone walked into the room. Someone they all knew very well

“Tabitha?!" Amara cried happily, jumping from her seat in delighted surprise at the sight of her old roommate and best friend

“Hey, geeks!" Tabby greeted them in her usual cocky fashion, but something on her eye was genuine

Amara quickly sprang out of her seat and gave her friend a big hug, causing Tabitha to laugh and hug her back

"What are you doing here?!" The Nova Roman princess asked as she continued hugging her best friend "Don’t get me wrong, I’m always happy to see you! But why didn’t you told me you were coming to visit?!"

"I wanted it to be a surprise" Tabitha told her friend as she finally let her go "I believe Charlie X was 'bout to tell you the good news"

The students began glancing at each other, all of them wondering what their Professor was going to tell them

"I’m pleased to announce that Tabitha is formally rejoining the Institute as of today" Charles told them, looking very excited, and all the students, particularly the New Mutants, jumped from their seats and cheered at the good news

"That’s right, baby! Boom Boom is back!" Tabby cried with a dramatic flair, lifting her arms up and looking rather pleased with herself, though her eyes reflected genuine joy for having returned to the place she now knew had always been her home

"Alright! Group hug, everyone!" Roberto cried and all the students began crowding Tabitha, suffocating her into a cheerful embrace

"Okay, okay! I’m happy to be back, you geeks, but—!” Tabby’s voice became more and more muffled as her friends continued to squeeze her "I can’t breathe!"

Thankfully, they took the hint and finally let her go, and she began breathing in air in an exaggerated fashion. But despite having almost been squashed alive like a fruit, she was very happy to see her friends welcoming her back despite everything else that had happened

"I’m glad you decided to come back, Tabitha" Ororo said, smiling fondly at her, something that was shared by the other adults, even if Logan tried to remain aloof

"Aww, thanks Stormy! It’s good to be back!” Tabby bragged, but deep down, she was rather happy to hear the weather goddess’s words

"Yeah well, now that you’re back, we can catch up in all those Danger Room sessions that you missed" Logan teased with a vicious smirk

"Don’t mind him, he’s also very happy to see you back" Ororo reassured the girl

“Oh, I know Stormy! Badger’s just being shy" Tabitha teased, and Logan grumbled something amongst the lines of 'It’s Wolverine'

"Badger?" Laura asked her father, lifting an amused eyebrow and smirking, which caused him to grumble even more

"We should, like, totally celebrate this!" Kitty cried, and everyone murmured in agreement, and looked at their Professor for confirmation

”Well, I suppose a celebration is in order for such a momentous occasion" Charles agreed, and they all cheered, and immediately ran out the room to start their impromptu party for the return of their friend

Tabitha stayed back for a moment, looking at the door in which everyone had ran off to, and her cocky smirk softening into a real smile

"Aren’t you going to join the others?" Hank asked the girl, who wiped away tears she didn’t even knew she was holding back

"Yeah, in a minute. It’s just that…" Tabitha turned to look at them, and had a big, tearful smile in her face "It’s just so good to be back”

The teachers smiled, even Logan had a little grin. The Professor then gently guided his returned student out the room to join the others, also feeling pride and happiness to have her back

Tabitha’s Welcome Back party was everything she could ever hope for

Sure, it was a little small and simplistic due to the suddenness of the situation, with just a few banners from the other students’ previous birthday parties hanging on the walls, a few lights from last Christmas decorating the ceilings and a makeshift poster made by the girls with an old blanket that said "Welcome Home, Tabby!”, but to her, it was perfect

All of Tabitha’s favorite songs were blasting from Kitty’s boombox at full volume, and most of the students were dancing to them on the makeshift dance floor, which was just the foyer that had been cleared out of all the furniture

Pizza had already been ordered by the teachers, enough to feed two whole armies. The girls, sans Kitty, were working together to bake Tabby’s favorite cake as a sort of welcoming gift, and they were all drinking from old sodas that were kept cool and refreshing thanks to Bobby’s powers

Tabitha looked extremely happy with her party, but even more happy to be back with her old friends and teammates

She could be watched dancing alongside them, pulling pranks at them with her Cherry Bombs that, which even though they made them mad initially, they always ended up laughing as well, and chatting and gossiping alongside them

Tabitha even got along pretty well with the new members of the Institute, as seen when she began talking with Forge about how to become more versatile with her powers, flirting with Alex and him flirting back, and even managed to make X-23 crack a grin with one of her pranks

It was as if she had never left

Eventually, it was way past midnight and everyone was left exhausted. The teachers allowed them to turn in for the night, promising that they will clean away the mess and just telling them to get a good night’s sleep

Even Logan told them there will be no Danger Room sessions tomorrow morning, so they could sleep in all they wanted. It was a shock but also great relief to the others. It seems that Tabitha coming back also put the Wolverine in a good mood

"Hey Red, if you want, I can tuck in Scooter for the night" Tabby offered to the tired Jean, who held an equally tired Scott in her arms

"Are you sure, Tabitha?" The redhead asked the younger girl, while yawning

"I’m sure. Now that I’m back, I want to get back into the program" Tabby said, and fondly bopped Scott’s little button nose "And that includes taking care of this little cutie"

"Boom! Boom!" The baby babbled despite his tiredness, making sleepy grabby hands towards her

"Alright, then" Jean agreed, handing Scott to Tabitha, who carried him with surprising ease, and gave the baby a little forehead kiss "Good night, sweetie"

"G’night…" The little boy whispered, practically asleep already, and gave the redhead a little wave

With that out of the way, Jean proceeded to leave the room. But not before giving the younger girl one last smile

"It’s great to have you back, Tabitha" She whispered, and Tabby blushed, but nevertheless smiled back

"It’s good to be back, Red" She whispered back, and Jean smiled at her one last time before finally returning to her room

"Alright, Scooter" Tabitha glanced at the baby "Let’s get you to bed, alright?"

Scott nodded tiredly, resting against her shoulder and even began cuddling against it, which Tabby found extremely adorable

Finding the baby’s nursery was easy enough, as she had visited it in the past from previous visits. But this time, she wasn’t visiting, but staying for good

Tabitha lovingly placed Scott in his crib, who had already dozed off and was snoring peacefully, with the thin red line of his visor completely darkened

The girl continued watching the sleeping baby for a while, just fondly admiring him as she rested her arms on the crib’s barriers, resting her head above them

It was a little ironic. When Tabitha lived with her criminal father, she would’ve never thought she’d be more than a problematic wild child that was always forced to aide him in his crimes

But now, she was living in a freaking mansion of all things, with adults that truly cared, friends who loved her like a sister and whom she loved back, and a genuine chance to become something greater than what everyone else in her life had told her before

Sure, the world was still a crappy place, and anti-mutant hysteria was still a pain in the butt. But with her family by her side, Tabitha Smith truly felt that everything would be all right

"Sleep well, kiddo" Tabby whispered fondly at Scott, kissing his one of his totally adorable chubby cheeks, which left a big kiss lipstick mark on it, causing the baby to giggle quietly in his sleep

Tabitha grinned and after gently wiping off the mark, she quietly left the nursery

And that night, Scott dreamed of little balls of energy that exploded into the most beautiful of stars

Chapter Text

Today was the day. Scott could feel it

Today was the day he will finally be able to walk

The baby had been practicing in secrets for the past few days, and today, he was finally going to reap the fruits of his labor

Sitting in his living room playing mat and being watched over by Evan, who was a magazine about skateboards, Scott clenched his little fists in determination

He was wearing a cute pastel blue shirt that had the words "Baby Boy" written on it, but no pants, so his stereotypical white diaper could be seen. He was also not wearing any footwear, though he was wearing his favorite pacifier

Scott positioned himself in all fours, much like when he’s ready to begin crawling. But today, he wasn’t planning on crawling. Looking at the living room’s table which was just a few feet away from him, the baby sucked his purple pacifier determinately and with a gleam in his visor, he began lifting himself

His first attempt to stand on his own proved in failure, because as soon as his little hands left the ground, he lost his balance and plopped back into his playing mat, landing on his chubby tummy. The baby made a noise of frustration and punched his floor, but he refused to give up

Scott tried once again, getting into position and then lifting his body up. This time, he managed to stand still a little longer before he lost his balance yet again and landed on his diapered butt, but it was a good start, and sucking on his pacifier even more frivolously, he tried once again

By now, Evan have taken notice over what he was doing and lifted his gaze from his magazine to watch the baby’s antics

"What are you doing, little man?" The spiked mutant asked Scott, lifting an eyebrow from behind his spiked headgear

The baby, however, didn’t responded as he was way too focused on his work. Frowning adorably in concentration, he tried to stand up one more time, lifting his chubby little body again. Evan gasped, his eyes widened in surprise as he recognized what his de-aged leader was trying to do

"Auntie O! Anyone! You gotta come see this!" The spiked mutant shouted as loudly as he could, jumping out of the couch he was chilling in and throwing the magazine he was reading far away, immediately losing interesting on it

After all, what Scott was about to accomplish was much more important

"Evan!" Kurt said as he teleported into the room, curious and a little worried over why his friend had called them so suddenly "Vhat’s going on, my man?"

The spiked mutant didn’t said anything, just eagerly pointed at something, looking as excited as a little boy in Christmas morning. The demon-like mutant raised an eyebrow and turned at whatever his friend was pointing at, and quickly understood what got him so excited

Kurt gasped with surprise but also great amazement and happiness as little Scott Summers was wobbly standing up on his own. And not only that, but he was also beginning to take a small step forwards all on his own

"Mein Gott…" The demon-like mutant whispered, and his tail began wagging in excitement "He’s starting to make his first steps!"

"You got to tell everyone, dude! They just have to see this!" Evan told Kurt, and he nodded in agreement, quickly teleporting out of the room to share the good news with everyone

"And tell them to bring a camera!" The spiked mutant shouted, hoping his friend had heard him, wherever he had teleported to

Soon enough, every member of Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters were in the living room, all of them brimming with excitement and anticipation as they watched with prideful joy this fateful moment in Scott’s life

"Like, you can do this Scotty!" Kitty squealed as the baby sucked his pacifier in deep concentration, taking yet another shaky step towards the table 

“That’s it, sugah! Just a little longer!” Rogue cheered Scott on, the usually reserved goth having a big smile in her pale face, brimming with pride for the determined little boy

The baby then lost his balance and fell on the ground, and Jean was about to get up and help him up. But then he squealed underneath his pacifier and gave her a determined look, the same one he made whenever he sat his mind on something

The redhead didn’t need her telepathy to know what Scott was telling her. He wanted to complete this by himself, without getting helped by them. So she gave him an encouraging nod, accompanied by a soft smile

This was all what the baby needed, as he let out a huff and lifting himself up again, struggling a little to keep his balance, but once he did, he sucked his pacifier with determination and carried on with his quest to reach the table, being encouraged by his family

"That’s it, little man! Ya can do it!" Sam encouraged Scott, while also fondly remembering the first steps of all his little brothers and sisters

“Aw, yeah! Tabby, are you getting all of this?!" Ray asked his fellow blonde, who was recording everything with her hot pink video camera

"You betcha, Crispy!" Tabitha told Berzerker, not lifting the camera away from Scott for even one second. She was also already making plans to show the video later on to the Brotherhood, as she bets that they’d also like to see this

"Yeah! Let’s go, Scotty! Woooo!" Bobby cheered like if he were in a football game, but in his mind, this was so much better

Besides him, Jubilee was generating a few, small fireworks to cheer Scott on, while chanting a encouraging words like if she were a cheerleader

Amara was praying to the Nova Roman gods to bless the baby with good fortune in this fateful moment, while also taking a peek or two to see his progress

Jaime was filled with a sort of pride he never got to feel before as the Institute’s youngest member; the feeling of pride of watching a little sibling accomplish something great

"Vamos, minha vida! Você consegue! Eu acredito em você!" Roberto passionately cried out in his mother language, enthusiastically flaying his arms in the air. And while it made Rahne roll her arms at his antics, she couldn’t exactly fault him, as she was very excited herself

"C’mon, bairn! Just a lil' more, laddie!" The Scottish girl cried, a deep sense of primal pride for her pup filling her being

"Trippy!" Forge was snapping picture after picture with his advanced-looking camera that he built himself for grand occasions like this, never taking his eyes away from Scott, who was nearly at his destination

"Almost there, Scotty! Make your big bro proud!" Alex encouraged his brother, and he briefly wondered if Scott had felt the same way he was feeling right now when he himself gave his first steps

Laura felt a strange new sensation fill her entire body, something she has never experienced before, but it felt warm and amazing in the most unexplainable of ways, and it was all stemming from watching the baby’s progress

"Is this pride?" She quietly asked her father, who was standing besides her, and he grinned

"If it's not pride, then I don't know what is" Logan told Laura, watching Scott and purring appreciatively at just how close the cub was from his goal

The baby sucked on his pacifier, just a short distance from reaching the table. Just a little longer, just one last step…

And then Scott finally, finally, reached the table and grabbed on to it with his chubby, little arms. He began to jump in place in happiness over having reached his goal and successfully learning how to walk, all while the Institute members cheered loudly for his accomplishment

"Oh, my dear child! I’m so proud of you!" Ororo cooed, and immediately carried the baby into her arms, which was good as his stubby little legs had finally gave out

The weather goddess left a big, proud kiss in Scott’s forehead, and he giggled behind his pacifier

"Remarkable! Typically, babies only start walking until they reach at least nine months" Hank praised the baby’s ability "Scott here has just recently become seven months old, and yet, he’s shown an incredible ability to walk like no other!"

"Well, he has always been a bright and marvelous child" Charles commented, looking at his first student with nothing short of complete adoration

"Prof!" Scott babbled from his spot in Ororo’s arms, removing his pacifier, and making grabby hands towards his mentor, wanting to be carried by him next

The weather goddess handed him over to the telepath, and Charles settled the baby gently in his arms

"Scott, I would like to tell you just how proud and happy I feel for you" The Professor told his student with an emotional voice, and glanced at the rest of the room "How we all feel for you"

"You did it, Liebling!" Kurt laughed, his tail wagging rapidly with happiness for his friend’s accomplishment

"You rock, little man!" Evan praised him as well

"I’m so proud of you, sweetie!" Jean cooed, and more words of praise and congratulations followed, making the baby giggle sheepishly, unused to such flattery

But also feeling extremely happy and proud of himself, and grateful for his friends, as it was their encouragement that always helped him keep going

Chapter Text

"Come here, Scotty! You’re doing great!" Jean cooed as Scott, who was wearing a simple red footie pajama, wobbly walked towards her with a big grin in his squishy face, cooing adorably and making little grubby hands at the redhead

Ever since he first started walking a few days ago, the baby has been practicing even more every day and proved to be a fast learner, as he no longer tripped whenever he took a step forward and his balance was getting even better

Eventually, Scott reached Jean and plopped down at her feat with the redhead catching him on time before his little face met the ground

“Great job, sweetie! You did even better than last time!" She congratulated the baby as he carried him into her loving arms, leaving a big kiss in his one of rosy, chubby cheeks, which never failed to make him giggle

"It’s a little sad, however…" Jean murmured, her smile saddening a little “Once you officially get to walk, I’ll no longer need to be carry you like this…"

Scott cooed, his little squishy face scrunched sadly. He quickly shook his head and hugged the redhead’s neck tightly, as if he were afraid that she’d disappeared if he were to let go

”Nyo!" The baby cried, his little voice muffled due to hiding his face against Jean’s neck "Nyo! J’eanie uppy!”

The redhead chuckled, amused at Scott’s determination and gently patted his little back comfortingly, her spirits lifted somewhat

"Are you trying to tell me that you’ll still allow me to carry you even when you start to walk by yourself?" Jean asked the baby, who hugged her even tighter "You’re so sweet, Scotty"

The redhead once again left another kiss on his forehead, which also lifted the little boy’s worries as he finally letted go of her neck while giggling adorably as always

"Wuv U, J’eanie!” Scott babbled happily, his ruby quartz slit in his small visor glowing mirthfully

“I love you too, sweetheart" Jean cooed, and they proceeded to rub their noses together affectionately

Just then, Ray entered the nursery and found the oldest students of the Institute rubbing their noses, making him smirk

"Hey guys" The orange-stripped boy greeted them both and teasingly added "Am I interrupting something?"

“Hi, Ray" Jean greeted him back, settling Scott into the ground again and allowed the baby to scurry off to play with his toys "And we weren’t doing anything, I just helping him his walking"

"I hear ya. Who knows what that little guy will do once he starts running around the place" Berzerker joked, glancing fondly at the baby who was starting to play with his shape organizer, his little squishy face scrunched in concentration in the most adorable of ways

"Anyways, could you tell the Professor that I’m off to visit the Morlocks?" Ray asked the older girl "Winter’s almost here, and I want to check that everything’s alright with them before the cold kicks in"

"The Morlocks?" Scott thought, piquing his curiosity, gently settling his toy aside to hear the rest of the conversation

“I think that’s a lovely idea, Ray!" Jean told the slightly younger boy "I’m sure the Professor will be thrilled to know that you still keep close ties to them”

"Close ties is putting it broadly…” The boy mumbled, glancing away, looking a little downtrodden which made Scott feel bad

"Ray? Is something wrong?" Jean asked him with concern, being able to sense the upset mood in Berzerker due to her telepathy

"It’s nothing…" The orange-stripped boy mumbled, looking at the ground dispassionately

"It’s definitely not nothing" Jean said, and placed a comforting shoulder in Ray’s shoulder, gaining the younger boy’s attention "You can tell me, Ray. I promise I won’t judge you or tell anyone about it"

Scott also abandoned his toys and began crawling towards the New Mutant, and halfway through his crawling he stood up and continued to wobbly walked towards him, softly landing against his leg and hugging it

"Ray-Ray…" The baby babbled, looking up at him with concern in his little squishy face, pulling at Ray’s heartstrings

"I think Scott is trying to make you feel better" Jean told Berzerker, her concerned face gaining a little amusement at the stunned expression of the orange-stripped boy’s face

"…Thanks, little buddy" Ray murmured, his downtrodden face smiling a little as he lifted the baby up and carried him in his arms

Scott giggled and began cuddling against the boy’s chest, looking extremely cute while doing so, which caused Berzerker to laugh a little and playfully boop his nose in retaliation, his mood getting lifted up again by the baby

"…The Morlocks feel as though I betrayed them when I choose to live at the Institute" Ray said softly, his face looking quite saddened, not lifting his gaze away from the concerned baby in his arms "They feel as though I no longer care about them"

"But that’s true! They are still my family! They were the only ones who took me in after my parents kicked me out of the house when my powers first manifested!" The orange-stripped boy shouted, more to himself than anything else, his face getting more and more upset the further he talked

Scott intervened and placed one of his little hands on Ray’s cheeks, gently tapping it comfortingly while cooing softly. That did seemed to make the boy calm down somewhat, as he held the baby’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as a thanks, smiling lightly which in turn, made the baby smile back

"I try as often as I can to try and help them out in any way, but they always turn me down because they say that they don’t want my pity…" The boy whispered, the grin he had on his face having disappearing "I just wish there was a way to show them that I still care about them, even if I’m now a part of the Institute…"

Jean had stayed quiet during the entirety of Ray’s tale, her face filled with something akin to motherly concern. She wordlessly leaned in and gave the slightly younger teen a comforting hug, being mindful to not squish Scott who was still being carried in the other boy’s arms

“I’m so sorry you’ve been feeling like this all this time, Ray…" The redhead whispered, and Berzerker was a little surprised at the sudden display of affection, but not exactly uncomfortable with it, as he leaned in her shoulder

“It’s fine Jean, not your fault" The boy mumbled, closing his eyes, and his mind wandered off to a distant time where he used to be held just like this, long ago, by the woman who had been like a mother to him

Scott also gave Ray a hug by wrapping his chubby little arms around his neck, cooing softly as he rubbed his squishy little face against him

“Nyo ur fwault etter…" The baby babbled, making the older boy chuckle as he cracked a grin

“Look at you, using your big boy words already" Ray joked, teasingly booping Scott’s small button nose ”Keep that up and soon enough you’ll be speaking in full sentences, buddy"

The baby giggled at the older boy’s joke, and Jean smiled warmly now that Berzerker was in a better mood, ending their hug

"Do you feel better now, Ray?" The redhead asked the younger teen, who shrugged sheepishly, a somewhat embarrassed blush in his face

"Yeah, a little. Thank you, guys” Berzerker admitted, and despite his embarrassment, he was grinning a little

But his face saddened slightly once more as his thoughts reverted back to the Morlocks, and wondering yet again what he could do to regain their trust in him. Something that was picked up by Jean with her telepathy, and an idea appeared in her head

"Ray, I think I have a solution for you" The redhead said confidently, looking conspiratorially at both Berzerker and the baby he was carrying, causing both of them to blink in confusion

The Bayville sewers were a dark, depressing place. With murky waters and a horrid stench, and with winter nearing, its chilliness just became even worse

But for Ray Crisp, it was home

He knew every nook and cranny of this place, so much so that he didn’t even needed to bring a flashlight to know where he was going. As he traversed through the dark tunnels of his previous home, memories of his sewer-dwelling past came rushing back with a punch of nostalgia

Through this very walls, Ray lived throughout most of his formative years. He remembered playfully running with the other Morlocks, or playing hide and seek with the younger kids. The dark tunnels were the perfect hiding spots, but somehow, they always managed to catch him

He knew the hallways that lead to the best garbage dumps in town, knew where to hide when the humans came knocking and knew where he could overhear the conversations from unsuspecting teenagers to learn about the hottest new gossip

It was here where Ray learned how to read, fight and have a moderately good control over his electric abilities. And even after he decided to live in the Institute, he knew in his heart that the sewers will always be his home

"How you doing, Scotty? You comfy?" Berzerker asked the baby, who was resting inside the baby carrier that the older boy had strapped around his chest

The little boy wore warmer clothing considering the chilliness of the sewers; a beige wool sweater which had been knitted by Ororo herself, black stockings, little combat boots and an adorable red wool beanie with a big, red pompom on top

Scott, who was cuddling his squishy little face against Ray’s chest for warmth, nodded as he sucked on his purple pacifier, telling him he was fine

"I’m glad. Hold on a little longer, we’re almost there…" The teenager told the baby, as he approached the main Morlock campsite, hidden deep inside the heart of the sewers

Ray’s arrival wasn’t unnoticed, as his ears that had been sharpened by living underground throughout a good chunk of his life, could pick up someone approaching him from behind. Despite that, he didn’t panicked, as he knew who it was

"Hello, Façade" The teenager calmly greeted the camouflaged mutant, not even turning around to knew he was there

The Morlock abandoned his resting position and made himself known, landing behind Ray. He was a middle-aged man with some French descent, who had the power to literally blend into his surroundings

In terms of physical appreance, he actually didn’t looked that bad, with his facial features just being a somewhat stretched out

"Berzerker" Façade greeted him with that typical French accent of his, nodding politely "What are you zoing here?"

"Is it wrong that I want to visit my own home?" Ray questioned him, turning around and placing his hands on his hips

"Zis is no longer your home" Façade told him seriously, narrowing his beady, little eyes "Callisto said so. You left ze Morlocks, Berzerker"

"Well, she’s wrong! Just because I decide to live in the Institute, doesn’t mean that I abandoned you!" Ray insisted, and Scott began cooing with concern "They’re my friends, but you guys are my family! Why can’t you see that?!"

Façade didn’t said anything, just thinned his already thin lips. The teenager, for his part, began frowning, and the baby cooed softly, looking up at the older boy with his visor glowing with concern

"Ray" A gruff, but unmistakably female voice said, and everyone turned around to look at the silhouette of the leader of the Morlocks herself, accompanied by a few others

Callisto was an intimidating woman, she had to be, if she wanted to protect the group that had become her family. She was lanky yet tall and had a fairly athletic build, yet her most iconic characteristic was her scarred face and the eyepatch she always wore

No one knew what had happened to her that made wear that eyepatch, as she never told them. But whatever had happened, it was probably what led her to live in the sewers and eventually take in other mutants like her

Besides her was Caliban, a man whose mutation gave him skin that was as pale as a corpse. He had the unique ability to be something like a living Cerebro, as he could detect any mutant, with some limits

Due to this, he was often exploited by others in the past, which led him to have a sad and downcast demeanor almost all the time

Another other person flanking Callisto was Torpid, the youngest member of the Morlocks after Ray. She mostly looked like any another sweet little girl, with the exception of her abnormally huge hands, which seemed to be a byproduct of her mutant that allowed her to paralyze anyone she touched

The little girl also barely, if ever, spoke. The teenager guessed that whatever had happened in her short life had left the poor dear so traumatized that she could no longer utter a word. Nevertheless, she continued having a sweet and cheerful personality, and Berzerker always loved her like a little sister

But the last person that accompanied Callisto surprised Ray, as he has never seen him before. He recognized him as Dorian Leech, a young boy with pale and sickly green skin and big, wide eyes who had the power to disrupt energy fields around him, including mutations

He was a key part in taking down Apocalypse himself when Rogue sapped a little of his powers, but as far as the teen could remember, he was still living with his mother. What was he doing here?

"Dorian?" Ray asked the boy, who shyly hid behind Callisto’s leg

"H-Hi…" Came the green-skinned boy’s squeaky greeting, and then promptly hid himself yet again

"What are you doing here, man?" Ray asked him kindly, trying to appear as friendly as possible, and then his eyes widened with worry "…Did something happened with your mom?"

As far as he could tell, Mrs. Leech was a somewhat overbearing but genuinely loving mother who simply wanted the best for her son in this awful, hateful world. There was no way he would’ve kicked her own son out

….Not like Ray’s own birth mother did to him

"His mother’s fine" Callisto answered for the boy, her voice firm and neutral "It was Leech’s own decision to come here"

Ray’s eyes widened in surprise and glanced at the hidden little boy, who sadly began looking at the ground at his gaze

"But this is not about Leech" Callisto’s voice regained his attention and he turned back to look at her frowning face "Why have you returned, Berzerker?”

"I came back because I miss you…" Ray told her softly, his longing gaze looking at the ground "I miss all of you. I just wanted to see that you were fine"

Callisto raised an unconvinced eyebrow, and the other Morlocks shuffled awkwardly, not knowing what to say or what to do at their leader’s scorching gaze or their former member’s pleading look

"…What’s with the kid?" The intimidating woman finally asked, after a long while of uncomfortable silence, nodding at the baby that was strapped to Ray’s chest

"Don’t tell me you just became a teenage dad?" Despite the situation, Callisto couldn’t help but tease the teenager, smirking a little

"Oh! N-No, he isn’t mine!" Ray stuttered out rapidly, his cheeks gaining a pink color, which caused the other Morlocks to either chuckle or giggle at his dismay

"This is Scott-Um, Cyclops. He’s been turned into a baby" Berzerker explained, shrugging off his embarrassment "I’m sure Evan already told you already. You gave him some of our ointment when he got sick, remember?"

Scott certainly remembered, even if Ray wasn’t talking to him. He made a little hacking sound from behind his pacifier, recalling how awful that thing felt

"He’s telling the truth…" Caliban commented in his usual tired, soft-spoken voice "The child’s signature is the same as that of Cyclops of the X-Men…"

Callisto hummed and leaned forward to look at the baby strapped on Ray’s chest, analyzing him with her one good eye

Scott seemed to make himself smaller underneath the intimidating woman’s sharp gaze, but refused to look away and met her with his own frown, the ruby quartz slit on his visor gleaming steadily

"Yeah, that’s Cyclops alright" Callisto commented, returning to her casual position and placing her hands on her hips "Any other kid would start crying at the sight of us"

"Well, Scott here is a very brave boy" Ray couldn’t help but praise his de-aged friend, fondly patting his squishy little head "Aren’t you, buddy?"

The baby sucked his pacifier in agreement. He was indeed very brave

"Still doesn’t explain why you brought him here" Callisto told him seriously, narrowing her eye "The sewers are no place for a baby"

"Let’s just say he would’ve thrown a fuss if I hadn’t brought him" Ray told them vaguely, and seriously added "It’s nighttime in the Topside, and you know how dangerous things can get for mutants during that time"

"You have no option but to let us stay here for tonight" Berzerker told the Morlock leader, challenging her firm gaze with one of his own "I know you aren’t so cold-hearted as to allow a baby suffer any potential danger"

The two mutants continued to stare at each for a full minute, with neither  of them backing down. The other Morlocks stayed quiet, worried for the outcome of this particular staring match

Scott, meanwhile, stayed quiet and cooed softly at Ray, a little concerned for him, but trusting his ability to deal with his former leader

Finally, Callisto yielded, and let out a hard sigh

"One night, and then, I better not see you bringing him here again" She told them firmly, and then lead the group back to their campsite