Authors Note: All of my other stories have dealt with Scott's past. So here's a little bit of the future -- with complications from the past thrown in for good measure. This story came about because while much is made of Scott's father, almost nothing is said of his mother. I'm trying to even that out a bit. :-) And just to be clear, in this story, Scott's parents are dead. There are no intergalactic space pirates, megalomanic emperors with a thing for blonds, or anything else.

The story takes place some time after the events in X3 -- whatever they turn out to be . So it will either be AU or I was channeling Bryan Singer!

Standard disclaimer: I don't own them; I'm just borrowing them for our entertainment.

Pasts Imperfect

Chapter 1

As with many of the daily chores around the mansion, Scott was the one who sorted the mail. All of the students had their own cubbyholes for mail, but mostly they were used for internal messages. Only half the students had family or friends who cared enough to write.

Scott himself fell into the former category. Most of his mail was either junk mail or the occasional postcard from his brother. So when he got a letter with no return address, he was a little surprised.

He was even more surprised when he opened it. There was no note -- just an old photograph. A small group of people were clustered around his parents. He recognized his parents, although it was clearly taken before he was born. His mother was the only woman in the photograph. But he had no idea who the others were.

Scott stared at the photograph with some confusion. Logan came up behind him and looked over his shoulder.

"Who's the babe?" he asked.

"My mother," Scott replied, not without humor.

"Lovely woman," Logan corrected himself. Then he looked at the picture again. Okay, Scott Summers was obviously a dead ringer for his father, but there was something familiar ...

"I know that man," he said firmly.

"Which one?"

"That one." Logan pointed to the oldest man in the photograph. "His name is Nick Fury."

x x x x x

Logan remembering anything from his mysterious past was an event enough. But that someone Logan knew was in a photograph with Scott's parents -- that was downright strange.

As always, with anything truly bizarre, there was only one person they could consult. They went to see Professor Xavier.

x x x x x

Professor Xavier studied the photograph with interest and listened to Logan and Scott.

"All I remember is his name," Logan said. "Nick Fury. How I know, or why I know, I couldn't tell you. But I know that's Nick."

"Does the name S.H.I.E.L.D. mean anything to you," the Professor asked.

Logan thought about it and shook his head. "Not really," he admitted. "But I feel it's something I ought to."

"I'm not surprised," Professor Xavier replied. "Nick Fury is -- or was -- in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's a secret government organization."

"Spies?" Scott asked.

"Sometimes," answered the Professor. "They've done various things over the years."

"But why is someone like that with my parents?" Scott wondered. "And why does Logan know him?"

Professor Xavier smiled. "I suggest we ask him."

x x x x x

It only took a few phone calls for the Professor to track down Nick Fury. A short conversation later, Nick agreed to come to Westchester. Professor Xavier didn't mention Scott or Logan in the phone call. He wanted to observe the other man's reaction when he arrived.

x x x x x

The next day, Nick Fury arrived. He came alone, in a nondescript black car. While Nick Fury might (or might not) still be involved with S.H.I.E.L.D., old habits apparently died hard.

Both Scott and Logan watched the arrival from a window, but from different rooms. Scott was waiting in the Professor's study; Logan was in the hall, hidden in the window alcove. Professor Xavier answered the door.

"Good morning, Nick," Professor Xavier said politely.

"Charles, it's been a long time," Nick Fury said by way of greeting. "Now, what's this about a photograph?"

"If you come to my study I'll explain everything," the Professor said as he led the way down the hall.

As Professor Xavier expected, there was an immediate reaction when Nick Fury saw Scott Summers, albeit a restrained one. He blinked. But for Nick, that was tantamount to jumping up and down.

"Well, there's no doubt who this young man is," Nick drawled. He held out his hand. "I'm Nick Fury -- I knew your parents. Are you Scott Summers or Alex?"

"Scott," he replied as he shook the other man's hand.

"Why don't we sit down," the Professor suggested.

As they were getting settled, Scott looked at their visitor with interest. Nick Fury had definitely been through the wars. A little older than the Professor, he wore an eye patch and moved with a certain stiffness that came from too many injuries or the beginnings of arthritis, or both. But the face was alive with intelligence.

Professor Xavier passed him the photograph. "Scott received this in the mail," he explained. "There was no note, no explanation. Do you remember where this photograph was taken?"

Nick Fury looked at the photograph. "I haven't thought about this project in years," he mused. "Lord, this must be almost 30 years old." He smiled at Scott. "Of course, it would be about that. You're what, twenty-eight? Your parents met on this project."

"Why is my mother in the photograph?" Scott asked.

Nick Fury cocked his head in some surprise. "You don't know? Son, your mother was my project manager. Best one I ever had. She was an engineer; she designed airplanes. It's how she met your father; he was the test pilot on the project."

Scott was stunned. "I knew my father was a pilot," he said. "But I didn't know my mother was an engineer."

"Scott received a severe head trauma in the crash," Professor Xavier explained. "His memory from before the crash is -- somewhat uncertain."

Actually, it was practically non-existent. But for some reason, Professor Xavier didn't want Nick Fury to know that. So, Scott played along.

"I couldn't tell you why someone would send you this photograph," Nick said, returning to the topic at hand. "We took this at the end of the project. My secretary took the photograph, in fact. She and Kathy were pretty close; I think they kept up a correspondence after your parents got married." He smiled suddenly. "She probably has some things you'd like to see."

Scott nodded. He had very few mementos of his parents. "That would be great."

Nick Fury pulled out a cell phone and hit the speed dial. "Shelley, it's Nick. You'll never guess who I'm sitting with right now -- Chris and Kathy Summers' son, Scott." Nick Fury listened to the other speaker for several minutes. He looked at Scott and smiled. "He's the spitting image of his dad, I can tell you that. I'm at Xavier's in Westchester. I want you to bring everything on the ZK-87 project. Also, bring anything you've got from Kathy. Scott says he'd like to see it. Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." He looked up. "She'll be here tomorrow afternoon. Shelley's thrilled at the thought of meeting you. Can I beg a bed for the night, Charles?"

"Certainly," Professor Xavier replied graciously. There was a knock on the door and it opened. It was Logan.

His entrance generated even more of a response from Nick Fury. He blinked twice. He turned to Professor Xavier. "You're fully of surprises today, aren't you, Charles." He turned his attention back to Logan. "I must say, I never expected to see you here. But then, I didn't expect to see you again, period."

Logan merely nodded curtly. Whatever their relationship was, Logan got the impression it was not warm and fuzzy. He had been a hired hand, nothing more. But what kind of hired hand?

Logan stepped aside when the door opened again. Jean Grey-Summers walked in. Eight months pregnant, she tended to be derisive if anyone complimented her on her looks. But the truth was, she was still stunningly beautiful, and cliché or not, she glowed. Logan thought she did, anyway.

"I'm sorry, Professor," she said. "I didn't realize you had guests." That was a lie; she had sensed her husband's emotional upheaval and came to see what had happened -- which the Professor knew.

If he was annoyed with his former pupil, Professor Xavier didn't show it. "Nick, this is Dr. Jean Grey-Summers -- Scott's wife. Jean, this is Nick Fury."

"Delighted to meet you," Nick said with a true smile. "It looks like Scott takes after his father in more than looks. He married a beautiful, intelligent woman as well."

"Thank you," Jean replied with a smile. {{What's all this about,}} she sent her husband.

{{I don't know,}} he replied. {{But we will, soon enough.}}

x x x x x

Professor Xavier conducted their guest to his room himself. The other residents of the mansion didn't see him again until dinner.

In the dining room, the students glanced at their guest, but after a few minutes of gossip dismissed him. Nick sat at "the teachers table" with the Professor, Scott, Jean, and Logan. Ororo and Kurt were out for the evening.

Scott said little at dinner. While someone who didn't know him well couldn't have told the difference, Jean knew better. Scott was chewing on something internally. Finally, he spoke.

"Did you know my parent's well?" he asked.

Nick shrugged slightly. "Your father about as well as you can know someone in six months. I knew your mother better; I worked with her longer. But I hired both of them."

"What was she like?"

"Kathy?" Nick smiled at a long forgotten memory. "She was -- brilliant. That's the only word for it. She knew, instinctively, what she was going to need in a project and how to arrange it. She could just look at a design schematic to tell that. She was never wrong. It was eerie."

Jean took a bite of her chocolate cake. In general, she avoided the trap of "eating for two," but desserts were her weakness. "Sounds like some things were inherited," she remarked with a smile at her husband.

"Did you keep the planes?" Nick asked suddenly.

"Planes?"

"I always had model planes made after every project. Your mother collected them. Do you still have them?"

"They're in storage," Scott replied. Actually, they were in his brother Alex's adoptive family's shed in Hawaii. Neither Scott nor Alex had known what to do with them, so they remained there.

"That's a shame," Nick said. "There were about a dozen of them as I recall. Kathy loved those planes."

Scott only nodded and lapsed back into silence.

Jean, however, eyed her husband's untouched dessert greedily. "Are you going to finished that?" she asked.

He passed the cake over to his wife without comment.

x x x x x