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A/N: A "bonus scene" that takes place at the end of this chapter will be available on my profile under the title 'Chipped Bonus Scenes,' but if you want to read those parts of the story, you might as well just read the chapter in its entirety on AO3. A link to the AO3 version of the story can be found on my profile (right bellow the disclaimer and the link to the Reviews Lounge, Too).

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Chapter 13: A Part of Himself

"I can't say with certainty either way," Beast said, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck. Erik had walked to the lab with Charles that morning; Beast had said it was good for Charles to get up and move around, and Erik was sure it would be even better for Charles to talk to the doctor about this awful thing his step-father had claimed. "But I can tell you that it is very unlikely. Statistically, males are simply more likely to die in utero, and multiples are always at increased risk of stillbirth—this is why female twins are the most common type of multiple birth." Beast's hand fell back to his side. "And while I don't doubt that a fully mature telepath could certainly kill someone with that power, it seems highly unlikely that a baby could do any sort of damage to anyone." He shrugged his shoulders. "I can't speculate on why your step-father believes what he does, Charles, but it is my professional opinion that he is almost certainly wrong."

You'd know if he was lying? Erik asked, more for Charles' benefit than his own.

I would. Charles' brow wrinkled slightly as if he were contemplating some puzzle. He actually...he actually believes that Kurt is just entirely wrong, believes it quite strongly, but he has to say he's not sure, because he can't prove it; it's a professional thing for him. A smile broke out on Charles' face like sunlight cutting its way through clouds. "Thank you, Hank." Charles stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Beast, resting his head against the white fabric of his lab coat.

Beast awkwardly patted at Charles' shoulders—barely touching him—while glancing nervously at Erik, but Erik just grinned. The doctor deserved a hug. Erik might have considered hugging him himself.

I still can't really know for sure. Charles' voice was soft in Erik's mind. But at least now I know what's likely to be true. He sighed, pulling back from Beast, offering the doctor a grateful smile. It helps.

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"So..." Charles said, drumming his fingers on the smooth metal surface of the table. It felt great to finally be back to work in the lab, though Hank clearly was still watching him closely to make sure he was doing okay—which he was, really; he felt as least as healthy as he had when the Brotherhood had first found him, if not more so now that the chip could no longer cause him debilitating headaches and inconvenient fainting spells. The special goggles or 'visor' they'd been making for Scott lay before them on the table, apparently complete. "Is this—are we—is it done?"

Hank rubbed at his nose. "We'll have to test it out, certainly, to see if it does indeed work as intended. And to make sure it fits him."

"Of course." Scott hadn't exactly seemed enthusiastic about the idea of ever using his power, but... Charles sighed. "All we can do is give Scott the option, right?"

Hank grimaced. "I would like to at least know if I—if we did this right. Just—" He rubbed at the back of his neck. "In the interest of science."

"I'll talk to him. I might—" Ducking his head, Charles let out a quiet, laughing breath. "Well, I think I may have gone through some similar reluctance. Recently."

o0o

Magneto, Charles, Beast, and both Summers brothers were gathered once again in the training room. Erik stood near the door, quietly watching as Beast and Charles presented Scott with the complex goggles they had made that would allow the child to use his power. Thinking of how the human scientists had broken Scott's power in the first place still made Erik seethe with rage, but Charles sent a gentle wave of calm his way, and he couldn't help smiling, if only slightly. Charles always worried that too much anger was bad for Erik's health, and since too much worry wasn't good for Charles' health, Erik had been working on calming his mind.

Charles was crouched down in front of Scott, speaking softly and explaining the different parts of the goggles and the controls. Erik didn't think he could ever get tired of seeing Charles like this: gentle yet confident, radiating calm, profoundly patient. "It would be very helpful to myself and Doctor McCoy if you could at least try the visor on," Charles said, "to see if we made it the right size."

Scott bit his lip then nodded once. "It's just—I don't—" Tilting his head forward so his brown bangs hung in front of his glasses, he opened and closed his hands nervously.

"You don't like taking your glasses off," Charles said. "I understand."

Scott took a shaky breath. "Okay, I'll—" He tilted his head to one side. "You'll help me put the new goggles on?"

Charles smiled warmly. "Of course I will."

Taking another breath, Scott pulled his glasses off—steadfastly squeezing his eyes closed—and held them out to Alex who took them.

Charles carefully fit the new goggles over Scott's eyes. "How does that feel?"

Scott shrugged. "It feels fine."

"Doesn't pinch, scratch, or poke anywhere?" Charles asked. "Anything like that?"

"No, it's fine." Scott wrinkled his nose. "Like I said."

"Are your eyes still closed?" Charles asked.

Scott nodded.

"All right." Charles took Scott by the shoulders. "How about you look this way—" Charles gently turned Scott so he was facing the empty end of the training room. "—and try opening your eyes? Go ahead."

"Okay." After a moment, Scott said, "They're working the same as the glasses now, right?"

"Yes," Charles said reassuringly. "If you want to use your power, you have to turn it on, like I showed you."

Looking down, Scott scuffed one foot against the floor. "I don't want to wreck the walls—that's all my power does: wrecks stuff."

"We do have some targets you can practice with," Beast said helpfully.

Turning towards the doctor, Scott asked, "You want me to wreck your targets?"

"We do." Charles grinned. "We made them specifically for that, for you."

Beast and Alex set three large targets up across the end of the room, bright-coloured concentric circles dominating each. "They have a ruby-quartz backing," Beast explained. "So if you do manage to hit the targets, you won't wreck the walls at all."

"And if you happen to hit the walls," Erik commented, "I can fix them easily enough." He demonstrated by gouging a jagged crater into the wall with his power and then smoothing it over once again.

Scott let out a surprised breath, turning towards Erik. Behind the goggles, Erik imagined Scott's eyes were likely wide.

"Erik's also offered to help you train with moving targets," Charles added, "if you'd be interested in trying that sometime."

Ducking his head, Scott nodded slightly. "I think I'd like try these targets from closer—is that all right?"

"That's perfectly all right," Charles assured him. "Stand as close as you like."

It turned out 'as close as Scott liked' was less than a foot away from the target, where Erik was sure it would be all but impossible for Scott to actually miss. When the boy finally reached up and worked the controls to let out a narrow burst of energy that hit the lower edge of the bullseye, he jumped back, mouth open. "That's all—that's all I want to do for today."

Charles was praising Scott, but Erik doubted the boy was hearing anything he said. Scott was only too eager to put his old glasses back on, visibly relaxing once that was done.

At least he'd used his power. That had to count for something.

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Alex caught Charles in the hallway that evening while Scott was playing Crazy Eights in the kitchen with Darwin, Raven, and Angel. "I need to talk to you about my brother."

Charles nodded, sensing Alex's anxiety, sharp and bitter like orange zest. "We could talk in my room," Charles offered.

"Sure." The sense of relief that Charles was willing to listen was somewhat disturbing—it suggested Alex was not used to such. Once he was settled in the metal chair at Charles' desk, sitting sideways with one arm resting on the desk as he faced Charles, he spoke again. "I don't really know—um, I'm glad you're feeling better—recovering—from the—from your surgery."

Charles nodded, smiling encouragingly. "I'm glad of that as well."

"Yeah." Alex let out breath that was almost a laugh. He scratched at the back of his neck. "I suppose you're more...that you're more happy about that, um, yourself. And your power..." He fiddled with a loose thread at the edge of a rip in the knee of his jeans. "I—" He took a breath. "I hope it's...working again...for you."

"It is." There was an important swirl in Alex's thoughts, behind yet still connected to his words, but Charles kept his power in check, waiting for Alex to order his own thoughts and pose whatever the question might be.

"So...I don't know if you've, um, read my mind or my brother's mind—not that I'd be angry or whatever." He looked up quickly, meeting Charles' eyes. "That's your power, and you—you can use it; it's not hurting anyone to...to look."

Ah. The worry was understandable, given the nature of Charles' power. "I have...overheard some surface thoughts, and certainly sensed a few emotions from the two of you, but in general I don't pry without permission. So no, I haven't exactly 'read' either of your minds, as such."

"Oh, okay." Alex let out a breath, projecting an odd mixture of guilty relief and disappointed frustration. "That...that makes sense, actually. About the permission thing." He scratched the top of his head through his spiky blond hair. "The thing is, I think you're the best one to... You could probably help my brother. With the whole thing with his powers. He seems to trust you, and..." He looked to the side, blowing air out through his lips. "His power...when the researchers at the lab...when they did...that to him..." He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees and running one thumbnail over the other, staring unseeing at the floor. "I was in another room; I didn't see it. But there was a lot of screaming, loud noises. I heard people..."

And then the image was suddenly bright in Charles' own mind, confused as memories often were, and tinged with Alex's fear and horror. Screams of pain, angry shouting. Someone yelling, 'He'll kill us all!' "Oh," Charles whispered. I'm sorry; I didn't mean...

"No, no; it's fine." Alex waved his hand dismissively. "That's—that's what it was like." He scratched at the hair on the back of his head. "I probably, um, projected that. Just now. I guess. Anyway, suddenly the door—well, most of the wall really—was just...gone, and Scotty was lying there strapped to that table. There were...bodies...on the floor. I tried not to look, you know? I just wanted to help him. It was like my power, but just...just coming out of his eyes, and it wasn't stopping, and he was so scared. I didn't even think to be scared for myself; I just went to him and unstrapped him, and...he kind of destroyed my shirt, but I realized he couldn't hurt me, and I managed to get him to close his eyes." He paused, blinking a few times. "It wasn't too long after that when Magneto arrived and brought us here, but...I thought it was good that Scotty couldn't see...what was there. I thought maybe he didn't realize...everything—everything that happened."

Charles let out a slow breath. This information was...disturbing, to say the least. Even if Scott blamed his power rather than himself, that didn't bode well, considering his power was part of who he was. Much as Charles' own power was a part of himself that he was only now learning to embrace and accept. I don't need to tell you that this isn't Scott's fault.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Of course not." Those assholes hurt my brother and hurt themselves in the process. "But still...I understand why he'd feel guilty. And scared."

"Yeah." Rising, Charles placed a hand on Alex's shoulder. So do I.

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The next morning, Charles was washing his breakfast dishes while Darwin was putting away the now dry pots and pans from the previous night's supper. Charles scrubbed at the stubborn egg yolk on the tines of the forks in his hands—it always seemed to harden so damn fast. "Hank seems to think there's evidence of another lab, somewhere up in western Canada," Charles said. "He needs to find more information to give Azazel a real location, though."

"Yeah." Darwin crouched down, moving pots and pans around in the cupboards—sometimes people just stuck things in haphazardly, and then the bigger things wouldn't fit. "Lots of wilderness up there. Lots of places to hide something like that."

Charles nodded, even though Darwin wasn't looking and probably wouldn't see it. Before he had thought of what to say next, loud footsteps and childish squealing came from out in the hallway, and an instant later Scott careened around the doorframe and slammed into Darwin. It happened so damn fast, but Darwin's skin visibly changed, hardening as it did when struck, and Scott basically bounced off of him, as though off a brick wall.

"Ow," Scott said, picking himself back up and touching his nose gingerly. He had bright red spots of blood on his fingers when he pulled them back.

Alex entered the kitchen behind his brother, confusion—and a touch of worry—on his face.

"Oh, man, sorry!" Darwin, back to his usual human-looking self, just stood there looking helpless. "Sometimes my mutation really overacts! Are you okay, Scott?"

"This was...this was my fault," Scott said. And then he actually smiled—a bit tentative, but it was a smile. "I need to learn to watch where I'm going. And maybe not go so fast." He scuffed his foot against the floor.

"That's right, Scott," Alex said, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder and turning him so he could look at his face. "How's your nose?"

"It's fine—not really bleeding." Scott smiled at his brother. Then he ducked his head and hunched his shoulders. "I could have broken my glasses, though."

"Hank and I could always make you another pair," Charles offered, drying his hands off on a dishtowel. In fact, they should probably have a spare pair or two just in case. "You're sure you don't want Hank to take a look at your nose? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Scott shook his head. "But, Charles...um, do you think I could train a bit with my visor today?"

Charles exchanged a quick startled look with Alex. "Yeah, of course. Do you want me to be there?"

Scott nodded, scuffing one foot against the floor again. "If you're not busy."

Charles smiled brightly. "I would be happy to."

Scott grinned. "Now?"

"Now works for me." Charles hadn't exactly had anything else planned that day. Well, helping Hank, but this technically qualified, if somewhat indirectly. He sent Hank a quick mental message to let him know where he'd be.

Scott actually asked to train? Hank sent back.

I was surprised too. Charles added a mental shrug.

Right before leaving the kitchen, Scott turned and gave Darwin a very gentle hug. "Don't feel bad about my nose." He smiled up at Darwin lopsidedly. "Sometimes your powers do things you didn't want them to. And sometimes that's someone else's fault. So don't feel bad, okay?"

Darwin grinned and ruffled his hair. "Okay, I'll try not to."

Charles tried to swallow past the lump of emotion in his throat, all while unable to suppress a smile at the warmth expanding in his chest. He was suddenly hit with an urge to hug Alex, since it was obvious he was feeling the same. As they walked through the hallways following Scott to the training room, Charles settled for sending something of a mental hug, adding, I think your brother will be okay.

Yeah, Alex responded, radiating awe and wonder and pride. I think he will.

I'll still help him any way I can, Charles clarified.

Of course. Alex smiled at him as they walked side by side. That's the Brotherhood way.

o0o

Charles was practically glowing. Maybe part of that was his telepathy; maybe he was projecting his happiness, maybe it was a telepathic illusion even. Erik wondered idly if perhaps Charles could project illusions without consciously intending to. It still seemed unlikely that Charles would paint himself a halo, so maybe that was Erik's imagination after all. Erik grinned up at him from where he lounged on his bed. "I am also very happy for the Summers' boy. I am." He was, very relieved and happy. "And I've been listening to everything you've said." He had been. He was. "You're just...distracting."

Frowning, Charles turned fully to face Erik, fixing him with an intent look. "A halo, Erik? Really?"

Chuckling, Erik sat up and took Charles' hand, pulling him closer. "You're happy. And...I guess, healthy?" Charles, recovering as he was from the surgery, was probably healthier now than he'd been in all the time Erik had known him.

"I am happy." Charles took him by the sides of his face, and moved closer to kiss Erik's forehead. "You make me happy. Well, not just you, obviously, but you're a big part of it." He kissed Erik's nose. "An important part of it."

Erik rubbed his face cat-like against Charles' palm, enjoying the dual sensation of his stubble catching against Charles' bracelet through his sense of touch and his sense of the metal itself. "Helping Scott makes you happy. That's good."

It's the Brotherhood way. Charles smiled softly at him. "But..." Looking away, his eyes unfocused, Charles made a soft frustrated sound. "I didn't—Alex asked me to help Scott, but I don't really feel like I did much. At all."

He figured it out for himself. Erik laid back on the bed, pulling Charles down with him. Like you did. Scott was kind of like Charles, really. It was sort of like mirrors or echos or some other suitably metaphorical...thing.

Charles was grinning against the side of his neck. I like your thoughts—I like that image of the mirrors, too. I like that you want to share your thoughts with me.

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A/N: For the record, the science Beast tells Charles about pregnancy and multiples is all real-world stuff. I got it off of Wikipedia, and you can look it all up there as well if you want. The statistics might be a bit modern for this timeline, but they're still true.

So there you have it - the whole thing, finally all done and posted. I'd love to know what you think of it! :D (This is a pretty huge accomplishment for me, because it's the first time I've actually finished a real multi-chapter!)

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