X-Men: The Gifted Ones

32. BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILWAY, EN ROUTE TO NEW YORK CITY, NY

Hank cursed the railroad.

Hank cursed the CIA.

Hank cursed the Strykers.

Hank even cursed the Professor.

Hank cursed his own stupidity.

He knew he should have let Charles know that there was a new student, and Charles could have met him. Charles could have brought him back to New York.

Instead, Hank was stuck with babysitting duty. On a train. For nearly six hours.

The CIA couldn't be bothered to get him a helicopter because he had the boy. The boy didn't have any security clearance, William had claimed. So the CIA purchased them train tickets.

You shouldn't have, Hank thought bitterly.

He had no luck getting the boy in a bathtub before they left, and there was no proper bathing facility to be had on the train. He did the best he could with a sink, a bar of soap, and a towel, hoping the boy would wash himself properly once he excused himself from the washroom. The boy let him comb his hair. He was reasonably presentable to go into the dining car.

Hank had no idea if the strange looks were from the bizarre, almost malnourished appearance of the boy or from his own robust blue appearance. He imagined they made quite the sight. Hank was content to order dinner and eat it in the sleeping car, but the boy insisted on going to the dining car and eating the all-you-could-eat salad. Jason seemed to get as much food on himself and his clothes as he did in his mouth. Hank thought between the boy's lack of anything resembling table manners and his trail of shedding blue fur, it was a wonder they were allowed to ride the train all the way to New York.

The boy was talkative once he was away from his mother and grandfather. Hank even found him quite enjoyable. The boy was animated and chatty as long as he was eating. Hank wondered how on earth a child could be so emaciated but eat so much. "Do you ever stop eating?" Hank teased.

Jason shook his head, "Daddy used to keep food from me when I was bad. Mommy does, too, because Grandpa makes her. He says it will teach me a lesson. Will the Professor do that?"

"No," Hank smiled, remembering how it was food that had brought Charles and his sister, Raven, together. "The Professor refuses to let a child go hungry."

"Daddy wouldn't like to hear that."

Hank shook his head and laughed. "You'll have plenty to eat there."

"How does the Professor punish people?" the boy wondered, his eyes filled with dread.

"He is a kind man," Hank reassured him. "He may want you to do something over until you get it right, but he will treat you as if you were his own child."

The boy seemed to be filled with terror.

Hank softened. "He won't treat you like your parents."

"Will he let me eat as much as I want?"

"He'll make sure you have food," he reassured him.

"What is the Professor like?"

"He is a lot like you, Jason. He can read people's minds."

Jason's unique eyes grew wide. "Will he send me away, too?"

"Send you away?"

"Daddy sent me to Forest Haven. I ran away. Daddy tried to take me back, but they said no."

Hank wracked his mind. Forest Haven sounded familiar.

"Is this place like Forest Haven?"

Hank noticed the boy trembling. "What is Forest Haven?"

"It's a place, for kids like me. Crazy ones," the boy trembled. Hank noticed the boy seemed to shake with terror. "There were doctors and nurses there, but they weren't very nice. They did things to patients there. They didn't let me have food, either."

Hank wondered if lack of food was the worst thing the boy had to say about Forest Haven, and wondered what untold horrors were in the boy's memory. "No, this is not a hospital, it's a school for children with special talents. The Professor will teach you how to use your talent with reading minds so that you can help people. There is a girl there with the same talent, her name is Jean. Everyone there can do something special. You'll have a lot of new friends."

"I don't have any friends. I don't like friends."

Hank nodded in understanding. "You may change your mind. Everyone likes friends."

"Nope. Doubt it." The boy kept eating. Hank found himself growing angry at the idea of starving a child to teach them a lesson. Poor boy likely gorged because he never knew when or if his next meal would come. He noticed the child's shirt growing tight on his distended stomach. Jason ate as if he were a bottomless pit.

Hank then realized what went in, would have to go out, too. God help them all if he clogged the toilet on the train. He'd be more likely to have to use a toilet at the worst of times, on the way to the mansion in West Chester from New York City.

Hank was starting to feel drowsy and he asked the boy to order food to take back to the sleeping car so he could have some rest. The boy eagerly complied and ordered more food than Hank had expected. He was glad he had brought enough money to pay for the boy's gluttony. Hank slept soundly while Jason unwrapped and sampled sandwiches, indulged in ice cream, and drank so much soda he had belched uncontrollably. He had never felt his stomach so full in his life.

Jason decided he liked this odd-looking stranger. He had planned on casting a few illusions to scare the shit out of the man, but the man seemed caring. He let him order as much food as he wanted. He didn't throw a fit if Jason wiped his hands on his clothes. He found himself on his best behavior. If his stomach growled, it was only in protest of being so full. Daddy had said so many bad things about mutants, but dummy Daddy forgot it was his fault that Jason was a mutant. At least his mutation was one where he looked like everyone else. He could look like this beast of a man with him.

Jason decided it would be best to behave himself. He wanted to meet this Professor and Mrs. Xavier. They sounded kind, they sounded like the parents he wished he had. They didn't know him yet, and he was sure that once they did, they may end up treating him just like his own parents. Still, they were mutants, too. That made them worth Jason giving them a chance.