Scott and Jack, backdated to June 23

[om_captain]

The day of the rescue, Scott approaches a very on-edge Jack. Paranoia party!

He hadn't known who the unfamiliar guy was when he'd seen him early that morning. But Scott hadn't intervened, either; New Guy had been with Tessa, and if he'd been dangerous, she'd have put him down.

She wasn't with him now, though, and New Guy was watching some of the other students. Not with the usual, wide-eyed curiosity, but something far sharper.

"It's rude," he said idly, crossing his arms over his chest, "to creep on people like that."

"Says the guy sneaking up behind me," Jack answered evenly, turning away from where he'd been watching a few students on the running track. He looked Scott over, taking in his height and build, stance and unusual eyewear. He flashed him a flirtatious smile that clashed with the intense, guarded look in his eyes. "But maybe I don't mind. Jack Harkness, and you are...?"

A trained manipulator - sharp eyes, even with the smile that Scott assumed was supposed to be charming - great. "Scott Summers."

"What can I do for you, Scott Summers?" Jack asked easily.

"You can explain why you're watching them," Scott replied, voice calm. His eyes were trained on New Guy, Jack, though he doubted the other teen noticed. They weren't exactly visible. "And who the hell you are. Why you're here."

"Haven't you heard? I'm the newest Gifted Youngster." He dropped the smile and tucked his hands in his coat pockets. This guy reminded him of the guards he'd known back at the compound. "And I'm trying to figure out what's really going on here. Is that a problem?"

Scott shrugged. "Maybe not."

Jack carefully controlled the surprise that tried to flicker across his face. "I take it you're a 'student' then?"

"I'm afraid to ask what you thought I might be instead," was Scott's dry response. "But yes, I'm a student. Got here last fall."

"And here I had you pegged for the welcoming committee," Jack said, some genuine amusement coloring his tone. "So, Scott, how's student life been treating you?"

Scott shrugged. "Abductions by psychopaths aside, not bad."

Jack sobered immediately. "What do you mean?"

Scott raised an eyebrow. "You were there weren't you? The mission to get them back? Might come as a shock, but we weren't real thrilled when they were taken."

Outside attacks on the school in general, not that Scott had been abducted. Jack had misunderstood.

"Trust me, they weren't thrilled to lose us either," he returned lightly, unwilling to give any ground to Scott's sarcasm. "And I suppose Xavier obtained all these students of his through completely legitimate means - willing participants, one and all?"

Scott shrugged again. "Pretty much. Anyone here against their will was put here by their parents, not the headmasters. And they've let people leave."

Considering Jack had arrived at gunpoint and had his memories threatened, he wasn't exactly convinced. "How'd they get you?"

"They paid me a little visit back home. Asked me to come here. Nebraska sucks, so I came here." It wasn't an untruthful answer, even if it wasn't a complete one. Scott would chalk that up to Xavier's encouragement of forthrightness. Or whatever.

Jack blinked at him, unimpressed. "That simple? 'Nebraska sucks, let's put my life in the hands of these strangers and see what happens?'"

"Not that simple, but give a little get a little, Harkness. I don't know anything about you."

Jack raised a suggestive eyebrow at Scott, but otherwise left the remark alone. "What do you want to know?"

"How did you end up at the Island of Misfit Toys?"

Jack raised a much less suggestive eyebrow this time. "You mean here, right?" He didn't really see it, but referring to the Facility that way seemed flat out sadistic.

"Yes." Scott clarified. "Here. Obviously you were dragged here from the Facility. And you apparently aren't a threat, because Tessa left you breathing. So what's your story?"

"Similar to yours, really. Got recruited by some people who knew about my ability. Food, shelter, training, in exchange for the use of my abilities to help with medical research. My version has an exciting detour through getting strapped down and forcibly experimented on, a daring escape attempt and a few bullets to the chest." Jack gave him a look that clearly said so drop the bullshit already. "Skip ahead a bit, I save your friends' asses this morning - from the weapons experiment they tell me they're there to rescue - and then I wind up here. So tell me, Scott, how does this story go?"

"Old guys show up where people have powers. Invite them here. Some of them come because it's their best chance, others because their parents want them to. They say it's for us, to keep us safe and help us learn." Scott met Jack's eyes, even if the other boy didn't realize it. "Hokey kind of story, but they haven't seemed to deviate from it yet. There's probably a plan. But whatever it is, they haven't shared. So far, though, all they've done has been to let us come here, feed us, clothe us, and rescue people kidnapped and mutilated by your...medical researchers."

Jack's smile was dark and humorless. "I think they get more volunteers when they call it 'medical research.' The sign up sheet labeled 'Wildly Unethical Human Experimentation for the Creation of Bio-weaponry' had notably fewer names on it." Mutilation felt like an apt enough word, though, even if he didn't have the scars to prove it. "Your rescue only had one old guy. The rest were kids - and they almost died. Did their parents sign them up for that too?"

"Each of them did, parental permission or not," Scott said, not impressed with the implication. That much he was certain of.

"Some field trip," Jack retorted. Not that he didn't believe Scott, the mission had clearly been very personal for the rescuers. But it had also been a battle. "Speaking of, I'm looking for a flying Canadian - fast, rude, gorgeous? Nearly bled to death this morning? Maybe you can tell me where to find him."

Scott's jaw tensed, just for a moment, as his eyes narrowed on New Kid. Jean-Paul - no one else could fit that description (Lil wasn't fast or flying, and Jeanne-Marie wasn't rude) - who looked like he'd lost a fight against a biker gang, what did Harkness want with him?

"Why?"

Scott didn't give much away, but Jack knew he'd hit a nerve. His gut said that it was a protective response, but protecting what, exactly? "Because he nearly bled to death this morning. And I'm not believing anything about this place until I see that he's alright."

"He lived." Scott said shortly. "And he will be fine."

Jack's response was equally short. "Glad to hear it. Still want to see for myself." Unconsciously, Jack's hand flinched as he remembered the gun firing, half a second before it was too late. He looked away from Scott, expression finally softening a touch. "I almost watched him die to protect his friends this morning. If he's alive, he's the one I want to talk to."

For a long, long minute Scott just looked at him. New Kid seemed sincere enough, but Jean-Paul was also beat all to hell. "From what I know, he needs more rest. You go down there right now, his sister might tear you apart. She seems nice usually...and then she turns French-Canadian."

"I'll take my chances," Jack said after a pause, turning over what Scott had said. "Down where, exactly?"

Rather than answer, he pulled out his cell phone, texting Jeanne-Marie. Got some new kid here, Harkness, who says he wants to visit JP. Should I send him down?

"Maybe I don't want to be gutted by her," Scott said once he'd finished.

Jack had definitely twitched when Scott reached for his pocket. For a mindless second it had been an unseen holster, a weapon or a syringe, and he'd been careless to let Scott get so close-

But it was a phone. Just a phone. And that would be the exhaustion taking its toll... Jack covered his relief by taking a step away from Scott and turning to look at the running track again (without losing sight of Scott, of course). He wasn't sure exactly what warning he was getting, so he stayed silent and alert.

"A little twitchy, huh?" Scott asked, cocking an eyebrow. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket again. He is resting now, but ask him to come later? ty <3

"And apparently Jean-Paul is resting, so you'll have to wait until later."

"A few too many nasty surprises lately, a little jumpiness comes with the territory." Jean-Paul - seriously, could he be more French-Canadian? "Where do I find him?"

"The infirmary. It's downstairs." It wasn't that he judged new people for being cautious - he couldn't, as the poster-child for paranoia. (Okay, he could. He was a world-class hypocrite.) Hell, even Scott sometimes wondered what the end-game here was. Why they had brought these particular mutants to this particular place.

But that didn't make dealing with it much less annoying. And, weirdly enough, he was kind of offended on the headmasters' behalf that New Kid was questioning him. Hell, Harkness had just joined them from Sociopathic Facility World; he should just be grateful he was invited to stay. "I'd wait a little while, though, so he can get some sleep. She might hurt you, otherwise."

"So you said," Jack answered sharply, filing away 'infirmary' for further investigation. "And I still can't tell if you're trying to warn me or if you just have a sick sense of humor, so let's cut the crap: is there something dangerous happening, or do you just get off on saying things like that?"

Scott bit back the sarcastic observation that he'd rather Jack not speculate as to what he got off on. He didn't know this New Kid, and everything about him said that it wouldn't go over well at the moment. And though Scott didn't really care of Harkness liked him, he liked to keep his non-training physical altercations to a minimum.

"I'm saying, don't go down there right now. You'll upset her, and then someone - possibly the guy you're trying to check on - will feel obligated to tell you off. He doesn't have it in him right now, and she doesn't either. So please respect their wishes, and give him some time to sleep it off." He said instead. "It's not a threat. It's a request."

Jack eyed him warily, but that seemed honest. Bizarrely tame and family-oriented, but honest. Still... "Here's a tip for you: try to avoid words like 'gutted' and 'she might tear you apart' with people who've been down that road."

Scott fought the eye-rolling he wanted to do. "Got it. Do you know where the infirmary is, or do you need me to show you?"

No, Jack didn't want that - Scott was taller than him, slim but possibly quite strong, mutation unknown. Going anywhere enclosed with him (especially some kind of medical facility) was risky. Besides, he'd rather avoid the shepherded tour and wander the halls solo. "How about you just tell me and I find it myself?"

Scott shrugged; it made no difference to him. "Downstairs. If you take the closest stairwell to here, go down a couple floors, then go right. Big, shiny area, so it should be hard to miss. He should be towards the back."

Jack hated the edge of fear he felt. Underground medical facility - 'infirmary' - it turned his blood cold to think about. Jack was well aware that he was alone and unarmed, that it wouldn't be hard to force him into a new laboratory and restrain him. But he wasn't going to make it easy by being stupid this time, and no way would he go in blind.

He considered Scott again. The series of honest answers made Jack relatively certain that Scott could be... trusted was a strong word, but believed, at any rate. So he sighed and, without any challenge, sarcasm, or levity, he asked, "If I go in there, will I come back out?"

"Haven't seen anything to suggest you won't." Not that Scott spent much time down there, but...

"The geniuses that hang out down there always seem to come back."

"Your geniuses hang out in the infirmary?" Jack asked dryly. He'd known some 'geniuses' with 'pioneering research' who liked to hang out in medical facilities. He didn't think that's what Scott meant though, intentionally or otherwise; he was now relatively certain Scott believed his own words. But for an obviously intelligent guy, he didn't seem to realize how suspicious his offhand comments were.

Which, it occurred to Jack, might be its own kind of evidence.

"Just the nerdy, science-inclined ones, the ones that feel a need to do science class on top of science class." Scott said, shrugging. "Advanced coursework."

"So the school thing is more than just a cover, I take it?" Jack asked, not sure what to make of that.

Scott looked at New Kid seriously, wondering exactly how much he wanted to get into this with him. He wasn't sure how trustworthy Harkness was, and he had no idea what his agenda might be. Of course, he might not have one, but it wasn't entirely clear yet.

"More than just a cover. The whole story? Probably not. But not a lie, either."

Jack was silent for a long moment, watching the kids on the running track. Mutant school, a self-contained bubble of safety and nearly-normal life? The idea was captivating, for so many reasons, but it couldn't be possible...

Not after the Facility.

Finally he turned back to Scott with a superficial smile. "Well, this has been informative."

"That's me," Scott said, bone dry. Ignoring the fake grin plastered on New Kid's face. "Mr. Helpful."

Jack had been ready to leave, but that got a smirk of genuine amusement. "Not the nickname I would have picked for you," he said with a wink.

Wait. What?!

Scott just stared at Jack for a second like the other guy was some kind of alien or lunatic who had just dropped in from outer space or something. "I'm pretty sure I don't even want to know. Actually...I really don't want to know."

"But you will," Jack said with a knowing smile as he turned to walk away. "See you around, Scott Summers."