Chapter Text
Hank stood outside the convenience store waiting for Raven to come back out. She invited him in with her, but the music they were playing bothered him enough that he'd rather wait. He stood on the sidewalk, checking the time on his watch as people walked by. Hank couldn't really complain about people being near him since it was a busy street, but he did mind when people accidentally touched him as they walked by.
He started to get a little bit impatient, though he knew there would be a long line. Hank fiddled with the keychain in his pocket and hummed, trying to entertain himself. He was able to drown out the noise of the street enough to where he didn't quite mind being out there anymore.
Until he felt a hand grab his. Hank looked beside him, hoping he didn't notice Raven coming out of the store, but he saw a kid he didn't recognize. A teenage girl with medium length silver hair was standing next to him, holding his hand.
“Hey, Dad,” she said. Hank noticed she sounded scared, “when are we leaving?”
“Um,” Hank tried figuring out what to do.
“Please,” she whispered hastily. “Some guy is staring at me, please help. I don't know where my dad is.”
“Uh, soon,” Hank responded, loud enough to be heard by people passing. Whispering, he added, “You're okay. I can try to help you find him.”
Her eyes kept flicking towards a middle aged man in a black hoodie and baseball cap. He was standing several meters away, but he kept staring at the girl. Hank slowly put his arm around her shoulders, giving her time to take his hand again if she wasn't comfortable with that. He tried shielding her from the man's vision.
“I don't know where he went,” she whispered, her voice breaking.
“That’s– uh, what does– what does he look like?” Hank asked.
She buried her face in his side, but kept looking towards the man who was watching them. Hank noticed she had her arms wrapped around her own midsection, covering where her crop top exposed her skin.
“Here,” Hank said, taking off his windbreaker. It was chilly, but he'd be fine. He draped it over her shoulders and she put it on before pressing back into Hank’s side.
“He's tall,” she answered. “Has short, red hair. A British accent, though that's not part of his appearance. If you hear someone with a British accent, though, that might be him.”
While she spoke, Hank scanned the area for anyone matching her description. It wasn't a very good description, but it helped a bit. He saw several tall men, but no one with red hair. What Hank did notice was that the guy in the black hoodie started moving closer.
“Stand behind me,” Hank whispered, watching him. “You're okay.”
“Hey,” the man said, approaching them. “Thanks for watching my kid, I can take her back home now.” He tried grabbing the girl's arm, but Hank shoved him away.
“Leave her alone,” Hank warned.
“Come on…” he hesitated, trying to come up with a name, “...kid. Let's go.”
“Touch her again and I will–”
“You will what? You gonna fight me?” He laughed in Hank's face.
Hank glared at him. “Can you hold this for me?” He softly asked the kid, handing her his glasses.
She took them and looked at him, confused. She moved farther behind Hank, trying to get away from the man. Hank strained, trying to activate his mutation. He didn't like to flaunt his mutation, but if it would scare away creeps, it worked. The man started to slowly back away, horrified, as he watched Hank transform.
Hank roared and stomped towards him, holding him up by his collar. The girl shrieked, whether it was at Hank's appearance or the action, he wasn't sure. The scream was loud enough to alert everyone on the block and people nearby started running away while others watched. Hank held the man up and slammed him down onto the concrete.
The sound of a bell chiming got Hank's attention and he looked at the door of the convenience store, seeing Raven run out. She immediately apprehended the man who was scrambling to stand up.
“What the hell is going on?” Raven asked.
Hank ignored her, hearing the girl behind him start crying. “Oh, come here,” he said gently, walking over. “It's okay, let's go find your dad.”
She hugged him tight, clinging to his shirt. The bell on the door rang again and Hank heard a familiar voice.
“Peter? What is going on out here?” Hank heard, immediately recognizing Erik's voice. Erik came over and the kid held onto him instead of Hank right away. “Come here, love. You're alright, what happened?”
Hank saw Erik — more gentle than he's ever seen him in his life — hold the kid tight. He looked to Raven, asking if she knew anything.
“Your father is… Erik?” Hank asked.
“What are you two doing here?” Erik asked, completely skipping over Hank's question and the fact that they're in a public space.
“You should be more concerned that your daughter was hit on by a strange man.”
“He is my son,” Erik corrected Hank. He turned back to the kid. “Peter, what happened? Who was that?”
“I don't know, some creep,” he, Peter, answered. “He–” talking about Hank– “kept him away.”
“It's okay,” Erik said, holding Peter close. He kissed the boy’s head lovingly. “I'm here now, you're safe.”
“You weren't here when I needed you,” Peter said.
“I know,” he stroked Peter's hair. “But you found a good man to help you.” Erik looked at Hank as he said that.
Raven stayed on the ground holding the man until the police came and took him away.
“Thank you, Hank,” Erik said as Peter calmed down. He saw Peter was still wearing Hank's jacket and he took off his own coat. “Do you want to wear this and give Hank his jacket back?” He asked Peter.
Peter nodded and took off the windbreaker Hank offered him. He had his arm covering his midsection while he handed it over. Hank took it back with a small ‘thank you’ and put it on while Peter put on Erik's coat.
“How about we just go home?” Erik asked Peter.
“Please,” Peter said.
Erik smiled at him softly and had one hand on his back while he spoke to Hank. “I had been thinking, even though I'm not a part of your group anymore, if Peter and his sister might be able to go to Charles’s school,” he said.
The topic caught Hank off guard. He didn't know how to ask if Peter was a mutant or not, and Erik seemed to pick up on that since he continued.
“Peter is a speedster and Wanda is a telepath,” Erik filled in. “I think Charles could help them both out.”
“What are you talking about?” Peter hissed when Erik brought up his mutation.
“Hank and Raven both work at a school for people like us,” Erik told him.
“We help teach people how to control their gifts,” Hank elaborated. “That, and the regular subjects. I'm an English teacher–”
“And a doctor, and a scientist, and an engineer,” Raven started listing. “He has basically every job you’d need at a school like ours.”
Hank blushed and looked down, putting his hands in his pockets.
“I knew the headmaster,” Erik said, pulling the conversation away from Hank and Raven. “I think he'd love to meet you.”
“I've been doing fine at my school,” Peter said. “I hate it, but the work is easy.”
“You're too advanced for your school,” he responded. Erik looked back at Hank. “We must be going now,” he said, “I'll see if I can give Charles a call later. Rather, Peter's mom might, I don't think he'd like to talk to me at the moment.”
Hank nodded. “I can bring it up when Raven and I get home,” he said.
Hank watched as Erik and Peter walked off to a car parked nearby. Raven came up to him, startling him when he turned around and saw her.
“So, what happened?” She asked.
“I'll explain in the car,” Hank answered. They left and got into their car, Hank driving and Raven in the passenger seat.
It was… strange, really, for Hank to be put in that position. Even stranger that it was Erik Lehnsherr’s child who came to him for help. Hank was just glad he could help. He hoped Peter was feeling better and couldn't help but imagine on the way home if he did start coming to the school. Hank didn't get a good idea of what he's like, but he seems like a sweet kid. Not too energetic or loud.