Memories

Chapter Five

Charles spent weeks searching for Scott Summers, with and without Cerebro. Cerebro only had a limited reach, though. Cerebro could only detect mutants in the northeaster US and a bit of the southern part of Canada. So Charles needed to find another way to search the rest.

Alex had told him that they put Scott into the hands of social services after their parents' death, so Charles had gotten his lawyers on it. They were scouring all adoptive agencies, orphanages, and social services they knew of to find the boy.

When his lawyers had finally found him in a small town in Oklahoma, housed in a rundown orphanage, Charles flew out immediately. He had Banshee and Beast accompany him, just in case of trouble. He didn't have Alex come along in case of Alex losing control of his powers- they didn't know what they were going to find. Plus, someone needed to take care of Jean.

When they knocked on the door, he had their perception of Hank be a normal man. A woman, middle-aged and looking drunk, answered the door, a scowl already on her face. Charles faked a pleasant smile to the women, searching out Scott with his mind. The state he found Scott's mind in angered him, memories of abuse floating to him.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm here to take all of the children under your care," Charles stated, holding a briefcase. Originally he had planned to only take Scott, having his lawyers draw up papers stating as such, but he'd also had his lawyers right up documents that would give him legal right to all children under this woman's care just in case of more mutant children or if Charles found her unfit, which he did.

"What are ya talkin' about?" She slurred, swaying on her feet, and looking down her nose at him. He held back a scowl and rolled himself forward, forcing her to step back. The other two followed him awkwardly, following their professor's lead.

"I am taking the children. You are an unfit mother, and they deserve much better," Charles replied coldly, his gaze like stone as he gazed at this drunken woman. They could see bottles just laying across the room, empty and a few broken.

"I'm a good mother," She growled, taking a swig from the bottle in her hand. Charles rolled his eyes, mentally telling Sean and Hank to search for the children. They did, and she yelled at them, asking what they thought they were doing.

"They're looking for the children you keep locked away, beaten and starving," Charles replied, getting the custody papers out of his briefcase. She turned to him sharply, eyes alarmed and furious. He could see her memories, flying through all of the beatings she'd inflicted, how she punished them with no dinner frequently, and how she often locked them away when they were annoying her. His blood was boiling.

"How do you know that?" She slurred. "Doesn't matter. Now, if you'll sign these, we can part ways. If not, you won't make it out of the court systems in time for your sixtieth birthday," Charles said, knowing she was about forty. Her eyes lit up with fear. "Fine, I'll sign!" She growled, ripping the papers out of his hands. He smiled as she signed on the dotted line.

Sean and Hank joined them, several children with him. Seven of them were mutants, and among them was Scott. There was in total twenty children, and all were starving, bruised, and frightened. They were in a tight huddle, the youngest children in the middle or being carried by the older children. They all carried their personal things in a backpack per each child, which Hank and Sean had requested them to do.

"Hello, children. I'm Professor Charles Xavier. I'm going to find you suitable homes. But until then, you'll be living with me," Charles told the children calmly, and the younger children lit up at the thought of families, each broadcasting images of their ideas of perfect families or what they remember of their families. The older children, clearly untrusting after years of this abuse, were wary at the thought of going with him. They knew that there would always be worse people in the world than their current foster mother.

Despite any of the children's hesitation, when Charles rolled out of the house, the children followed, followed by Sean and Hank (who was still being seen as a normal man). They bordered the jet, and Hank flew them home.

Charles led each of the children to a room for them, some of the smaller children rooming together because they wanted to. Two of the children were twins, a boy and a girl, both mutants, and Charles let them share a room.

Once it was only Scott, he took him to see Alex. Charles hadn't yet revealed to Scott that his brother was here, and Charles had asked Alex not to come out yet. He also hadn't revealed to the mutant children that Charles knew they had powers (some didn't even know that they had powers) or the fact they would be staying at the mansion indefinitely so that the human children would not feel lesser for not being able to stay. Charles just couldn't put human children in danger by keeping them in close quarters with mutants who still haven't gained control of their powers.

Not in good conscience, anyway.

Charles knocked on Alex's door, not saying a word to Scott. Alex opened the door, seeing the twelve-year-old with Professor Xavier and began to tear up, recognition swimming in his eyes. Scott's mind was flooded with the familiarity of the older boy, but mental barricades were blocking the memories.

Charles apprehensively broke those dams, and the memories flooded the twelve-year-old. Charles stayed away from those memories, the painful memories of Scott's childhood threatening to wash Charles away. He regretted breaking the dams for a moment, but as Scott hugged his older brother with a huge smile on his face, Charles knew it was the right thing to do.

As the brothers hugged and cried, Charles left them to grieve and rejoice together. Alex mentally broadcasted a thank-you to Charles, and a smile lit up Charles's brooding expression.

Jean met Charles in the living room, sitting quietly on the sofa. "Are some of them... Like me?" She asked apprehensively, obviously meaning the new children. Charles could sense the fear she had of him replacing her- her telepathy naturally sought out others, and she had no clue as to how to put up mental walls.

"Yes, some of them are like you. Some of them are not, though, and will be placed in loving homes." Charles replied, sending her reassuring feelings subconsciously to ease her worries. "I'll talk to my parents about adopting one, maybe two. They already feel like their nest is empty- maybe they'd like to add one more chick," Jean said, smiling at Professor Xavier.

"Thank you, Jean," Charles said, honestly quite relieved at the prospect of already adopting out some of the children. The children needed to start new, happy lives.