Xavier Mansion – Medbay
The steady beep of a monitor was the first sound Shigeo heard. His eyes blinked open, vision blurry, but the white ceiling above him felt foreign because it was too clean, too safe to be his home.
Slowly, he turned his head. A tall, blue-furred figure was leaning over him, adjusting a tray of instruments with careful precision. Beast.
Shigeo's breath hitched. His chest tightened, and he scrambled back against the bed's headrest, trembling. His powers flared instinctively and metal trays rattled, a chair levitated, papers swirled into the air.
"Ah," Hank McCoy muttered, calmly fixing his glasses even as the room around him floated in disarray. "A perfectly understandable reaction, all things considered."
The door opened. Jean Grey stepped in, green eyes locking immediately onto Shigeo. She crossed the room quickly and knelt at his bedside, her hand reaching for his.
"Shigeo," she said softly. "It's me."
He didn't speak. His breath came fast and shallow, his shoulders shaking as the weight of his panic pressed down on him. But when Jean's hand covered his, warm and steady, he didn't pull away.
"It's all right," she whispered. "You're safe here."
Shigeo's gaze flicked up, uncertain, then dropped again. Slowly but hesitantly he leaned toward her, his forehead brushing her shoulder. The moment he did, the floating objects crashed harmlessly to the floor, the air settling heavy again.
Jean wrapped an arm around him, not tightly, just enough to let him know he wasn't alone.
Behind her, Beast quietly jotted a note and muttered again, "Fascinating," before slipping from the room.
Outside the Medbay
Moments later, Beast stepped out into the hall, where Charles Xavier and Scott Summers waited.
"His abilities are extraordinary with psychic energy on an omega-level scale," Hank reported. "But more than that, his power seems to be tethered directly to his emotional state. Fear, shame, grief these aren't just triggers, they're accelerants."
Charles' face was solemn. "And his mind?"
"Fragile," Hank admitted. "Seventeen, but scarred by years of abuse. The kind of scars that don't heal easily." He paused, pushing up his glasses. "But with Jean… he stabilizes almost instantly. She's his anchor."
Scott crossed his arms, nodding grimly. "Then we keep him close. If he loses control again…"
Charles' voice cut him off, calm but firm. "Then we teach him not to."
The door hissed open again, and Charles Xavier wheeled quietly into the room. His presence filled the space without force, calm and steady.
Shigeo tensed immediately, shrinking back slightly against the bedframe. Jean squeezed his hand gently, grounding him.
"It's all right," she murmured. "This is Charles. He's a friend."
Charles gave a small, kind smile. "Hello, Shigeo. You may call me Charles, or Professor, if you like."
Shigeo didn't answer. His dark eyes were wary, searching Charles' face for any trace of the cruelty he'd learned to expect from adults.
"I imagine you're very confused," Charles continued gently. "What happened to you… what you did… is frightening. But it doesn't mean you're alone anymore."
The words pierced through the silence. Shigeo swallowed hard. His voice was barely audible, but the weight behind it was heavy.
"I destroyed my school." His hands tightened in his lap, knuckles white. "People died. People got hurt. And they all hated me before that… they said I was worthless, a freak. Maybe they were right." He lifted his gaze, shame twisting his features. "Maybe I am a monster. Maybe I don't deserve to be here. Maybe I should just…" His voice cracked, but he forced the words out anyway. "…die."
Jean's breath caught, her grip on his hand tightening, but she stayed quiet. This was Charles' moment.
Xavier's expression softened, deep sorrow behind his eyes. He wheeled a little closer.
"Shigeo," he said firmly, but not unkindly, "you are not a monster. A monster revels in cruelty. A monster destroys without care or regret. But you?" He leaned forward slightly. "You sit here trembling, broken by guilt, because you do not want to hurt anyone. That alone proves you are not what they called you."
Shigeo's lips trembled. He turned his face away, as if ashamed to hope.
"What you are," Charles continued, his voice carrying warmth and conviction, "is a young man with extraordinary power. A power tied to emotions so deep, so raw, that it overwhelmed you. That does not make you a curse but it makes you someone who needs guidance. A place to belong. A family."
Charles paused, letting the words sink in. "That is what we offer here at this school. A chance to learn control. A chance to heal. And a chance to discover that your power can protect, not destroy. But it must begin with one choice: will you stay, and allow us to help you?"
The room was silent except for Shigeo's unsteady breaths. His chest rose and fell sharply, eyes darting between Charles' steady gaze and Jean's supportive one.
Finally, his voice broke the quiet, small but sure. "…I don't want to hurt people anymore."
Jean brushed his hair back gently, whispering, "Then let us help you."
Shigeo's throat tightened. His eyes burned with unshed tears. He nodded, almost imperceptibly at first then again, more firmly. "…Okay."
A faint smile touched Charles' lips. "Then welcome home, Shigeo."
For the first time in his life, the boy didn't feel like a mistake.
That Night
The mansion was quiet, the halls lit only by dim moonlight. Students slept soundly… until the walls began to tremble.
At first it was subtle, a low rumble like distant thunder. Then the floors quaked violently, light fixtures swaying, books sliding from shelves.
Scott sat bolt upright in bed, red lenses already in hand. "What the hell?" He scrambled to his feet, instincts kicking in.
Down the hall, Jean jolted awake at the psychic wave rippling through the mansion. Her head snapped toward its source before she even processed the shaking. "Shigeo."
Elsewhere, Storm rose gracefully from her bed, winds swirling instinctively around her as plaster cracked along the ceiling. "This is no ordinary quake."
Logan cursed under his breath, claws snikt-ing free as he stormed into the hallway. "Kid better not be doing what I think he is…"
Kitty phased through her wall half-asleep, eyes wide. "Is this...? Are we under attack again?
In the rec room, Gambit set down his deck of cards as the lights flickered, muttering, "Mon dieu… that ain't normal." Rogue braced herself against the shaking wall, her hair whipping around her face.
Nightcrawler bamfed into the hallway in a cloud of sulfur, golden eyes sharp with worry.
"Jean?" Scott called out, seeing her rush past him. "What's happening?"
"It's Shigeo!" she shot back, urgency in her voice. "Stay back he's not in control!"
Scott tried to follow, but the moment he neared the boy's door, a sudden psychic shockwave blasted him off his feet, slamming him into the opposite wall. "Agh!"
"Mon dieu!" Gambit cursed as he and Rogue were hurled backward by the same invisible force. Storm barely held her footing, her eyes glowing as she shielded others with a gust of wind.
But Jean forced herself forward, each step like pushing against a hurricane. Her psychic defenses flared, sparks of pink energy around her head as she pushed through.
She shoved the door open...
Inside, the room was a storm of chaos. Furniture hovered in the air, books spiraling like trapped birds, glass shards suspended midair like deadly stars. At the center of it all, Shigeo floated several feet above his bed, his small frame trembling. His eyes glowed an eerie, tear-streaked white.
And his voice was broken, pained, barely above a whisper spilled into the room, over and over again.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Jean's heart clenched. "Shigeo…"
She reached out, her voice steady but warm. "It's just a dream. You're safe. You're not alone anymore."
His tears drifted upward in zero gravity, glowing in the white light of his psychic aura. The mansion groaned around them, wood and steel crying out under the strain.
Jean ignored the storm of flying objects and pushed closer, until she was right under him. Then, with all the psychic strength she had, she pulled herself into his dreamscape with her voice ringing in both mind and air.
"Wake up, Shigeo! Come back!"
For a moment, nothing. Then his body jerked, aura flickering. He gasped sharply as if surfacing from deep water. The glow in his eyes snapped out, and he fell…..
Jean caught him, stumbling to the ground with him cradled against her. He screamed, the sound raw and terrified, like a wound torn open.
Jean only tightened her arms around him, holding his trembling frame. "Shh… it's okay. It's okay, you're here. You're safe. I've got you. You're not a monster."
The chaos around them collapsed, objects crashing to the floor one by one. Outside, the mansion grew still.
Shigeo buried his face against her shoulder, sobbing quietly, while Jean rocked him gently. "It's all right, Shigeo… I promise, we won't let you face this alone."
Timeskip
Later – War Room
The senior X-Men gathered around the round table. Scott stood with arms crossed, still tense. "We need to talk. That wasn't just a nightmare that was an uncontrolled surge that nearly brought down the entire mansion."
Storm nodded gravely. "Had Jean not been present, the destruction would have been catastrophic."
Logan leaned against the wall, smoking a cigar despite the damage around them. "Kid's a time bomb. You saw what happened. What's gonna stop him from leveling this whole place again?"
Gambit twirled his staff, eyes narrowed. "Maybe we should be askin' if keepin' him here puts the rest of us at risk."
Rogue folded her arms, conflicted. "He's just a boy. He didn't ask for this."
Scott looked to Charles, who had been silently watching. "Professor, what do you think?"
Xavier steepled his fingers. "I think Shigeo is terrified of himself. That terror nearly consumed him tonight. But fear is not malice. He needs guidance, compassion… and yes, discipline. If we turn him away, we may be unleashing something the world is not ready for."
Jean entered, still a little pale but composed. "He's awake. Shaken, but stable. I left him watching TV to calm down." She looked around at the team, her voice firm. "He's not a monster. He's a boy who's been through hell. If you felt what I did in his mind, you'd understand that he doesn't need us afraid of him. He needs us to show him he belongs here."
The room fell quiet.
Scott exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "…Then we better make damn sure we're ready to help him. Because the next outburst might not stop at the walls of this mansion."
Student Lounge
The TV flickered dimly across the empty room. Shigeo sat curled on the couch, eyes fixed on the screen but not really following it. His fingers twisted nervously at the hem of his shirt, his shoulders tight.
The door open, and Kitty Pryde stepped inside carrying a blanket. She spotted him and offered a warm, careful smile. "Hey. Mind if I join you?"
Shigeo hesitated, then gave the smallest nod.
Kitty dropped onto the couch beside him, not too close, and spread the blanket so it covered them both. "I'm Kitty, by the way. Kitty Pryde."
Shigeo's lips moved slowly, almost like he had to force the sound out. "…Shigeo."
Kitty tilted her head. "Shigeo, huh? That's… kinda long." She grinned. "Mob. That's a good name. I'm gonna call you that."
For the first time since she'd seen him, Shigeo actually smiled and it was small, hesitant, but real. "…I like that."
Kitty froze for a second, startled by how soft and pure it looked. She thought to herself, That smile needs to be protected.
Then Mob's smile faded just a little, replaced by confusion. He looked at her with wide, almost childlike eyes. "I… have a friend?"
Kitty blinked. "Of course you do. Me."
He stared at her, shocked, like the words didn't make sense. "…I never had one before. What… what do friends do together?"
Kitty softened, her chest tightening at the question. She nudged his shoulder playfully. "Well, friends talk, watch dumb movies, eat snacks, sneak into places we're not supposed to be…" She smiled. "Mostly? We look out for each other."
Mob thought about that, then smiled again but a little brighter this time. "…That sounds… nice."
"Good," Kitty said warmly, leaning back on the couch. "Because you've got one now. And I'm not going anywhere."
The TV flickered quietly as Mob sat in stunned silence, processing the idea that for the first time in his life, he wasn't alone.