"Petit, who the hell are the Avengers?"

"The who of the what?"

"Come with me." Gambit said and practically dragged me to the kitchen.

"Is this our meeting place now? Why are we always here!?" I asked, sitting next to Dad who passed me a beer. "Great... There's nothing better than alcohol at ten in the morning."

"Helps wash down the bullshit we're about to watch." He smirked. "Where's Summers?"

"I'm here." Scott grumbled, sitting across from us and turned on the TV. "Jean and I just got back from the protest. It's chaos out there."

"How bad?"

"We had to use the backup glasses. Luckily, we found the original ones before Hank kills us."

"That bad?"

"Horrible!"

"Shh!" Ororo scolded and grabbed the remote. "Listen."

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Captain America and these... Are the Avengers. We're here today to discuss the current situation regarding the mutant community."

"Oh, look. It's Mr. Star-Spangled Banner here to sing your national anthem." Dad snickered. "It's a good day to be Canadian."

"Yet another group that's gonna make us seem like the bad guys." Rogue rolled her eyes and sat on the counter.

"While we respect the struggles and rights of mutants, we are concerned about the recent violent actions taken by a certain faction in the community, better known as the X-Men."

"Excuse me!?" I yelled. "Take down a few dozen fifty-foot droids and then talk to me about violence!"

"Remember, moonlight. We're the bad guys around here."

"As heroes, we believe in protecting all people. However, we can't support the methods these mutants are using, which seem to promote division rather than unity."

"What division!? The one that was already there!?" Jean protested.

"I'm Iron Man... We're not here to point fingers. We want to work together, but that requires transparency and trust."

"Trust is earned, not demanded." Scott butted and stood up. "What they don't understand is that trust has been shattered long ago. They can't just waltz in and expect us to fall in line."

"We believe in a future where humans and mutants can coexist, but we need to confront the reality of violence in our communities... We're asking the X-Men to step back and reconsider their approach."

"Step back!?" We all yelled in unison.

"We need to open a dialogue... We want to listen, but it has to be a two way street."

"Dialogue?" Dad scoffed. "They should've started with that before pointing fingers."

"They're presenting themselves as heroes while pushing us to the side. How the hell is that fair!?" Scott added and turned off the TV. "I'm scheduling a press conference for this afternoon. Everyone suit up and meet me in the Blackwing in an hour."

"What are we even going to say, Scott?"

"They wanna listen? We're gonna make them listen."

。✯ ＼ ｜ ／✯ 。

"Summers, I'm not on board with this."

"I am. I'm done staying hidden and then people thinking I'm a murderer... I mean, I am one but they don't need to know that." I shrugged and adjusted my cowl.

"Which is why I need to ask you a favor." Scott said and pulled me aside. "You know I wouldn't ask this if I knew you couldn't handle it, sweetheart."

"Do I really have to?"

"We'll know when we cross that bridge. I'll do all I can to avoid it, but it might be necessary."

"Scott, I said I wasn't gonna talk about it anymore."

"Let's see how we can deviate from it, okay?" He assured.

"Guys, we're on." Jean announced and a curtain opened.

We all walked out to be met with screams from everyone and bright flashes that made me and Dad wince.

"I've got you." Gambit whispered and helped me up the stage while Scott glanced at us in worry.

"Bright lights." I mouthed and he nodded before turning to the podium.

"Thank you all for taking the time to be here... We are not here to justify our existence, we do much of that already. We're here to clear up a few misconceptions, and maybe even remind some people of what it means to protect others." Scott started and everyone fell silent. "My X-Men and I have spent years trying to protect a world that hates us. We've fought to keep the peace, we've fought against threats to humans and mutants alike. And yet, most of you want to paint us as villains when all we're trying to do is simply coexist and protect our peace."

"We understand the Avengers' concern." Ororo continued. "But they need to understand that we do not use force unless absolutely necessary. Protecting our own from persecution isn't violence, it's survival."

"Persecution from what!?" A reporter yelled and I stepped forward before Kurt and Dad could grab me.

"From this." I spat and showed my claws. "Twelve years ago, I was kidnapped and forced to undergo an experiment that bonded the metal adamantium to my entire skeleton. It cannot be removed because I will die if it happens and for twelve years I used to live with constant pain in my entire body... I was turned into a living weapon and treated as nothing more than an animal for almost a year. Humans did this to me when I was just a kid... An innocent child who still believed that the world was full of sunshine and evil didn't exist."

Once I retracted my claws, Scott reached out to hold my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, a signal to keep talking.

"This is what persecution looks like. This was done to me because someone thought that I was better off as a weapon than a person with dreams and feelings... And do you all know what I wanted to be when I grew up? I wanted to be a scientist. I wanted to change the world for the better as a lot of my fellow mutants do! But we might never get the chance and that's the reality we have to face each day... All because we're labeled as threat just for simply existing."

"Lyla isn't the only one." Scott said and gave my hand another squeeze. "Hundreds if not thousands of mutants go through similar experiments every single day and most don't get to live to see tomorrow... Our abilities are not something we choose and yet we're forced to live in constant fear. That's why we fight... We fight to make a world where mutants don't have to fear for their lives every waking moment."

"Protecting our lives isn't violence, it's a necessity." Jean added and placed a hand on my shoulder. "And the X-Men will continue to protect these lives."

"Captain America says he wants peace." Another reported called out. "Why can't the Avengers and the X-Men work together to achieve that?"

"Peace isn't just a goal to aim for." Scott defended as me and Jean stepped back. "We're willing to work with the Avengers, but not if it means compromising the safety of our own. Peace can't be achieved if we're asked to turn our backs on our family... We need a genuine partnership, not an arrangement where we're being watched like time bombs. We want assurance, not just pretty words... We're willing to talk, but we won't be silenced or pushed aside."

Everyone started yelling again up until Dad and I showed our claws and stepped forward. I glanced at Scott and gave him a small nod, gesturing for him to keep talking.

"To the Avengers, I speak on behalf of all the X-Men when I say this: If you truly want to protect humanity, you need to recognize that mutants are a huge part of it too. You want our trust? Earn it. Stand with us, not above us."

。✯ ＼ ｜ ／✯ 。

"Today was... something."

"I'm sorry I even thought about asking you to speak about what happened, sweetheart. It wasn't my place and-"

"If it's towards a change in the way they see us, I'll keep talking about it till kingdom come." I interrupted and pulled back my cowl. "So... this is our house?"

"Home." Scott corrected and I smiled. "And yeah... Logan and I laid down the foundation yesterday while you were out with Jean. We have some trucks coming in tomorrow with wood, cement and God knows what else."

"Walk me through it."

"That area that overlooks the lake is your art room and next to it is the kitchen since you've been baking a lot lately with Rogue and Kurt. Where we're standing is our living room where it'll hopefully be full of children's toys in a few years. To your right is gonna be the dining room that directly connects to the kitchen and it's big enough to fit all the X-Men. That small area is the staircase and I'm still trying to figure out the bathroom and backyard porch, but I'll let Logan figure it out."

"And the second floor?"

"Four bedrooms and three full bathrooms. Obviously one of them will be in our room, but the other two the kids can fight for it."

"Three kids!?"

"I've been thinking maybe two, one of each." He shrugged, wrapping his arms around my waist. "But I'd be perfectly content with just one."

"Two little mutants driving you up the wall and learning to control their abilities? I'd pay good money to see you try and keep your composure." I laughed and leaned back against his chest. "But you really think we're gonna have time for all of this, Scott?"

"I say we just pick a moment and let it happen. There's never going to be a perfect moment where we can fully settle down, especially with the lives we live... But maybe we can just force it to happen. A small break where we can somewhat relax and start a family."

"I can see it... Two little kids learning to control their abilities and everything that comes with it. You showing them to fight for their rights while their aunts and uncles spoil them and Dad and Charles being amazing grandfathers."

"Yeah? And their mom showing them that their abilities won't define who they are, but who they choose to be."

"And secretly worried that our walls won't be shredded to bits or with marks from potential optic blasts." I mused and glanced up at him. "I'm impressed, Summers. You turned me into a sap."

"Nah, I just think you and I found something to fight for."

"Maybe we did."