Ruth stepped into the hall, wearing the gray sweats and hoodie combo. Charles seemed to have a surplus of them and it worried her that he had them in extra-small.
"You look ready," Scott commented, coming out of his room. He was dressed in his suit, a visor on his eyes in place of his glasses.
She smiled and walked down the halls with him, their hands brushing every few arm swings. "My work in the lab is exhausting. Sometimes, I have to stand up."
He laughed, shaking his head. "How do you manage?"
She sighed wistfully. "I wish I knew." She laughed, then bumped his shoulder. "How's training?"
He sighed. "Exhausting. But Mystique's toned it down a bit ever since Kurt got hurt."
Ruth frowned. "He did?"
He nodded. "Yeah. You weren't here, but he got trapped between two sentinels and he couldn't get out. He had a panic attack, something about cages. He doesn't like small spaces."
Ruth felt a pang in her chest, imagining the usually happy mutant in that state. She knew what panic attacks felt like, she wouldn't wish them on anyone.
'It's okay, Ruthie, it's okay," ten-year-old Lionel cried, trying to calm down his friend on the floor of the bathroom, 'Breathe, Ruthie, breathe! Please, calm down! Please!'
"Ruth," Scott said, pulling her back to reality, "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Uh, hey, Lee."
The two smiled at Jubilee who was bounding down the hall. She stopped in front of Scott. "Mystique said you're exempt from training until Ruth is ready to work with us. She said it's best if you help her since Hank's notes said her mutation shifts most when she's with you. Are you gonna burn him alive?"
Ruth shook her head. "I don't think so."
Jubilee shrugged. "That's a shame. I'll catch you two later!"
Scott waved, then looked down at Ruth. "Let's go. Alex is probably with Hank right now and I don't want him to get any ideas."
The two sprinted to the lab, Ruth considerably slower than Scott due to her lack of physical anything.
Scott burst through the doors, expecting to see something that would be burned in his retinas until the day he died, only to find Erik standing in the middle of the room, Alex sitting in the corner, a barricade of chairs keeping him prisoner.
"Why's Alex in time out?" Ruth asked, jogging into the room.
Erik lifted his hand, closing the lab door. "He tried to distract Hank while he was working."
Scott nudged Ruth. "I called it."
Hank sighed, trying to pull the chairs away. "Well, now that you're here, he can come out and help us. Erik, please get him out."
Erik sighed and flicked his wrist, all the chairs returning to their original spot; Ruth was impressed. He sighed long-sufferingly when Alex practically jumped on Hank, proclaiming that he nearly died of boredom.
"Alex, you're an adult, please be a good role model to the children," Erik said, pulling Alex away from Hank by his belt buckle.
Scott snorted. "Alex couldn't be a good role model if he tried."
Alex pointed a finger at him. "When you were eight, you had to fill out a paper on what you wanted to be when you grew up. You drew a picture of me. When you were eleven you had to write a paper on who your hero was. You wrote three pages about me."
Scott crossed his arms, glaring. "Yeah, then I grew up." Alex looked like he'd been slapped. Scott hurried to add, trying to stay aloof. "I was kidding, jeez. Don't be a baby."
Ruth stared at him. "You're so weird." She turned to Hank. "What're my cool gadgets?"
Hank picked up a set of gloves and boots, motioning for her to sit on the chair.
She sat taking the gloves from him, noticing a small circle where the palms were. She slid them on, glad they were fingerless; she didn't do well with regular gloves.
"What's the circle for?" she asked, testing the feel.
"They concentrate the power. It's a lot like the chest plate I had made Alex," he explained, "You'll be able to throw fire the way you threw that spark at Scott. Speaking of which, try throwing one at him now."
Scott looked up from where he was reading Hank's notes. "Excuse me?"
Alex patted his little brother's back. "Don't worry, bud. Hank and Charles stood as targets when I tested out mine. It's a sign of trust in a relationship."
Ruth shrugged. "Hold still, Scott."
She formed the flame in her hand, gasping when she saw it rise from the circle; it was more concentrated than before.
She tried to throw it, but only succeeded in throwing it on the floor. She shrieked. "Put it out!"
Alex grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the flame. "That's what I'm here for! Try again!"
She sighed and tried throwing a flame at him, but it veered off course and burned a stack of papers. "Shit, were those important?"
Hank sighed. "No. I'm glad I made copies of all my notes before you came over. These are the copies, by the way."
Ruth sighed and looked at Erik who narrowed his eyes. "Throw one at me and I'll push you off the satellite again."
Alex scoffed. "He'll do it anyways, throw it at him!"
She sighed and pulled her arm back, forming the flame in her hand. She tried throwing it, screaming when it hit the ceiling.
"I can't do it!" she cried, throwing her gloves down.
Scott ran over to her, picking them up. "Sure you can. You just have to focus. Do you know how to throw a regular ball?"
She shrugged. "I think so."
Scott nodded and walked to the table, putting the gloves down. "Hank, do you have a ball we can throw around?"
The taller man nodded, much to the surprise of the other two men. He walked to his desk and plucked a baseball from it.
Erik frowned. "I didn't take you as a baseball fan."
Hank shook his head. "I'm not. I appreciate the physics behind sports, but nothing else. I do like running, though."
Alex sighed fondly. "You're such a bozo."
Scott took the baseball from Hank and threw it to Ruth who fumbled to catch it, only to drop it.
"That's okay!" he called to her. "The point isn't to catch, it's to throw. Throw it to me and focus on getting it to me."
She nodded and pulled her hand back, throwing it. She winced, looking away when she saw it head straight for Erik.
"That's okay!" Scott called out, "You can look, it's okay."
Erik groaned. "No, it's not."
"Yeah, it is, he's just grumpy," Alex added. "Go on, Ruth, try again."
Scott threw it back and she fumbled again. They threw it back and forth multiple times, cheering the first time it was only a foot away from Scott and the first time Ruth caught they ball. They cheered a lot because every time she didn't fail was a minute closer to being finished.
After twenty minutes, the two were throwing it back and forth with ease, only slipping up a few times.
Scott nodded. "Great. Okay. Now, I'm going to start moving around and you need to hit me or at least get it to me."
She frowned. "That's hard."
"I'll start slow. And you're going to be hitting moving targets when you're in battle, so...hit me."
He started walking, slow but purposeful, in a line, walking sideways so she had a clear shot.
She threw the ball at him, but missed by a good three feet. She groaned, the ball floating to her, courtesy of Erik who put a bit of metal in it.
"Try again!" Scott called, still walking.
It took twenty tries before Ruth finally hit his arm on a whim. By then she hair was flaming and she was extremely frustrated.
"Focus," Hank called, "Try to relax."
She shook her head, gritting her teeth. "I can't! Once I'm pissed, I'm fucking pissed. You said anger natural so let me be mad!"
"You can, you can," he soothed, looking at the others, "Honestly, I think this will be good for you. Try to work around your anger. Let yourself be as mad as you want, but don't lose sight of your goal."
She threw the ball at Scott. "What are you, a motivational speaker?"
The ball hit Scott in the leg, sending him to the ground. She froze, sobering instantly. She rushed to his side, sliding to her knees.
"I'msorryimsorryimsorryimsorry," she cried, placing her hands on his shoulders, "Scotty, I'm really sorry."
He sat up, propping himself on his elbows. "It's okay, I'm okay. Hey, hey, don't cry."
She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "This is so hard and I can't do it! And then I hurt you and I keep hurting people and it's hard!"
He pushed himself up on his knees, pulling her into a gentle hug. She clutched his shirt, her sobs loud and raw.
"You're okay," he whispered, rubbing her back, "You're okay."
She wiped her eyes, pulling away. "Sorry."
He shook his head. "No, don't be sorry, you didn't do anything. C'mon let's try again." She shook her head and he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Please? For me?"
She laughed slightly. "I'll do it for myself, thanks."
He smiled. "Works for me."
He picked up the ball and handed it to her, standing up. He nodded as she jumped to her feet and jogged to her position, smiling when she tripped.
"Don't smile, she fell," Alex hissed. "You're a terrible boyfriend."
"I'm not her boyfriend," Scott hissed back, trying to stay calm.
"No, but you wanna be," Alex sang, "Scotty loves Ruthie! Scotty loves Ruthie!"
"Shut your face, Summers!" Ruth called, tossing the ball in her hand.
"Which one?" the brothers called back.
Hank sighed while Erik pinched the bridge of his nose. The older man shook his head. "I'm glad I don't have a son."
º º º º º
An hour later, Scott and Ruth were throwing the ball back and forth while they ran around the lab.
Ruth had gotten more than a little frustrated multiple times and had to work around her anger.
Hank had taken note of her behavior as time went on. He chose not to share the information with her, lest it throw her off, but the results were positive and he was shocked at how adaptive she was.
"You think you can try with the fire now?" Scott asked, not throwing the ball back.
Ruth's smile faded. "I don't think I should."
He put the ball on a table. "You're going to have to do it in the danger room. Better be encouraged by Hank than yelled at by Raven."
She clicked her tongue. "Good point, let's do it. Gloves."
He tossed her her set, looking at Hank as she put them on. "Is she...is she supposed to hit me?"
Hank nodded. "That or a target."
Ruth pouted her lips in thought. "Would I get in trouble of I used Scott?"
"Use a target!" he yelled, waving his hands. He ran to Alex who was carrying a mannequin out from the side.
"I used one exactly like this," he said wistfully, placing it against a wall. "Hank! Remember that?"
"'Course!" Hank called, smiling at his notes, "It was the first time you ever smiled at me." He glanced up, smiling at Alex. "I'll ask you again. Am I still a bozo?"
Alex grinned. "Yes, Hank, you're still a bozo." He opened his mouth to continue, then something shifted in his eyes. He went on, "But you're my bozo."
Ruth squawked in delight, Scott punching the air. Erik groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Say one more romantic thing and I will strangle you."
Alex rolled his eyes. "No. Light it up, Ruth!"
Ruth grinned and lit up her hand. She pulled her hand back and threw the ball of fire. She cheered as the mannequin's chest went up in flames.
"Killed it!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air.
"Was that a pun?" Scott asked, "Because I think that was a pun. Or word-play using slang. Unless that's the true meaning of a pun, then nevermind."
She snorted, skipping towards Hank who waved her over. "Chill out, Dexter." She lit up her hand, grinning.
He sighed. "Was that a joke? I can't tell with you."
She ignored him in favor of Hank who held out the boots. "Am I done with the fire balls?"
He nodded. "For now. Raven will no doubt have you work on them more. As of currently, we're going to test a theory."
She nodded, sitting down, putting on the boots, grimacing. "No socks?"
He shook his head. "You'd just burn through them."
She blinked. "I'm lighting my feet on fire?"
He nodded, holding a hand up so Alex wouldn't explain for him. "You are going to propel yourself using your fire, from your feet and maybe your hands. It's like rocket boots."
She blinked. "I'd be burning everything."
Hank nodded, his smile dropping. "I am aware. Which is why you won't be doing this often, but it's a theory and I wanted to test it."
She sighed. "I'm a guinea pig." She looked over at Erik who was starting to doze off. "Can you throw me off the satellite now?"
He waved his hand. "Hank and I made a deal, I'll throw you off the satellite later. Now hurry up and finish so we can get on with it."
She looked up at Hank. "What do I have to do?"
He motioned for her to follow him. "I'll explain when we get there."
"What can I do?" Scott asked, running up to them.
Hank opened his mouth, but Ruth cut him off. She might as well go for it.
"Hold this." She held out her hand, waiting. He stared at her hand, glancing up at her. "Well?" She tapped her foot, wiggling her fingers.
He smiled and took her hand, intertwining their fingers. "Let's go!"
As they neared a familiar set of doors, Ruth slowed. "Wait...what are we doing?" She slowed down, staring at them, shaking.
Hank turned and gave her a sympathetic look. "This is the only place in the school that won't burn if you practice here, except for the danger room, but we can't go in there without you having to fight something. I know this will be difficult for you, but please try."
Scott squeezed her hand. "Do it for me."
She swallowed thickly and nodded to Hank. "I'll do it for myself, thanks."
º º º º º
Ruth had bruises all over herself. All over.
"Scott," she whined, "My body hurts!"
Scott walked over to her and crouched down. He patted her shoulder. "I'm sorry. Try again!"
She smacked his leg. "You're a terrible person. Hank! I can't fucking fly using fucking rocket boots, can I have a helmet or something?"
Hank helped her to her feet. "Try to focus on staying upright for now. Don't try to move around, just try to stay upright. Propelling yourself is next to impossible with your level of control right now."
She scoffed. "I'm offended, but you're right. Hold on."
She focused all her energy onto her feet. It was harder than lighting her hair or her hands because of the sheer amount needed to carry herself. It took her an hour to finally get herself off the ground and another hour to get herself three feet higher.
"Balance is key, Ruth," Hank called, seeing her legs start to shake. "Try to keep yourself upright!"
"Easy for you to say!" she shouted, getting frustrated, "You're not the one standing on fire!" On the last word, there was a burst of energy and she was flying towards the ceiling. "Shit!"
She maneuvered herself so she was parallel to the ceiling, heading for the wall. She was screaming the entire time.
Then she was falling. Falling from the top of the room down towards the ground. Her heart was racing so fast she wasn't sure if it was beating at all. She looked down at Scott and Hank who were shouting nonsense at that point, waving their arms.
She felt the familiar tug on her back and the sound of fabric ripping. Her wings. She righted herself, staying stagnant in the air. "I ain't flying on the death boots!"
"Fair enough!" Hank called up, "But can you keep them? I don't have anywhere else to put them and they might prove to be useful at some point."
She gave him a thumbs up. "Yup. Hey, wait, can I wanna try something. Can you give me some targets and shit?" Hank nodded and disappeared out the door. Ruth gasped. "Shit! I didn't know he could run that fast!"
Scott laughed. "I didn't either." He looked up at her, grinning. "How's the weather up there?"
She rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. I'm gonna do a flip!" She tried to move forward, but lost her balance and scrambled to right herself. "Nevermind! I ain't doing that again! Nope!"
Scott laughed again and looked over as the door opened to reveal Erik, Alex, and Hank, a row of various items floating behind them like an army. "This'll be fun."
Ruth grinned and started to circle around the room, getting used to the push and pull of the fluffy, raven-colored appendages. She watched as Alex and Hank stood to the edge of the room, Alex pulling Scott with him by the arm.
Erik followed, his hand still in the air. "I'm going to move them around now, Ruth. Try and hit them as you fly."
Ruth nodded and watched as the items starting floating around her, some slow, some fast. She screamed, narrowly dodging a mannequin flying towards her head. She lit a flame and threw it at the mannequin, releasing that burst of fear and frustration.
She flew around the room, shooting down the targets while dodging the ones that hurled themselves at her. She did twirls and spins, trying to get a shock out of Scott who had screamed when a mannequin hit her in the arm.
He could be really dramatic at times.
In fifteen minutes all the targets were on the ground, singed and deformed. She landed softly on the ground, throwing her arms out. "I did it! All in a day! I'm a fucking goddess!"
Scott grinned and pulled her into a hug. "We're gonna have to change your name."
She pulled away, looking up at him. "What'd it be?"
"Pyro."
a/n 3098 words...oh well...Ruth got her cool gadgets! Don't be fooled, she's not mastered anything. Not in the slightest. She has a lot of work to do. A lot. The next chapter won't be long, I promise, it won't be more than 2300 words, I'm pretty sure.
The gif above is of Pyro who, if you saw the original X-Men movies which I didn't (at least not all), is a person who can control fire. Let me make it clear, I had no idea this guy existed. I had the name picked out for Ruth loooong before this time. Like, I figured it out the minute I decided her mutation. Just a disclaimer.
This chapter I'm not really proud of. I'm not going to be proud of the next one since she'll be in the danger room and I have no idea how to write battle scenes, like, at all so...yeah. The next few chapters are important. Not super important, but something happens in the next one and the one after that is just SCOTT/RUTH AMAZINGNESS SO STAY TUNED!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry I couldn't update for two days.