Josh just nodded again, he was doing a lot of that in this conversation. ”Sorry. I did not expect that.” He said a bit sheepishly.

Lee hadn’t expected the whole thing to happen. Well, who did? Josh still wasn’t comfortable with the whole thing, liked it even less, but as he’d initially said…it ultimately wasn’t his business.

Kevin returned with the plates and a request for a subject change and Josh couldn’t have agreed more.

Lee suggested the boy tell Josh more about his powers and Josh figured that was probably a good thing. Knowledge was, most likely, power when it came to dealing with a teenager with new and exciting mutant powers.

Kevin was loading his plate now, and his appetite had clearly grown with his attitude. Still, the boy shrugged as he sat down and started eating.

”I already said all the cool stuff. I can make a shield, Mum can’t feel my energy when I have it going. I’ve gotten way better at bringing it up and down when I want.” he said, then he glanced at Lee quickly, ”My friend Zack has thrown a bunch of stuff at it and it all bounced off. We were going to try paintballs, but I chickened out.”

It was a definite fact that Kevin had gotten a lot better at bringing his shield up and dropping it whenever he wanted to. At least it certainly appeared that way to Lee with how often Kevin came out of his room with it up and then dropped it the moment he needed to grab something.

But as Kevin continued, Lee just looked at him with her eyebrows raised. It really didn’t surprise her that the pair had thought that it was a good idea to throw things at Kevin to test his shield.

”Excuse me?” Lee asked when she heard Kevin’s last comment, her eyebrows even higher on her forehead than they had been. ”And where exactly were the two of you going to get a paintball gun from?” Lee asked, having forgotten about eating at the moment.

Kevin shrugged when Lee questioned where he and Zack had gotten ahold of a paintball gun, ”His brother is on a team. I said we didn’t do it.” he added, then went back to hoovering the Chinese food. ”Maybe when I’m at school at the Mansion I’ll actually get to figure stuff out.” he grumbled.

Settling back in with his own plate, Josh had to shoot Kevin a look, ”Your Mom’s right. I’m glad you used the sense in your head and didn’t do it, but there’s got to be a better way to figure all that out.” he said, ”and what’s this about a Mansion?”

If the only reason that the boys hadn’t fooled around with a paintball gun was that Kevin had chickened out of possibly getting a direct hit, Lee was going to have to talk with Zack’s mother.

”There are ways of ‘figuring things out’ without having someone shoot at you, Kevin,” Lee pointed out, her told firm. But when Josh started agreeing with her, she reached forward and started dishing some food out for herself finally.

”The mansion is where the X-Men live,” Kevin told his uncle as though that should be obvious. Maybe if Josh hadn’t lived across the country it might have been.

”It is also a school,” Lee pointed out because that was the most important aspect. ”And they also have better facilities and experience teaching people how to use their powers than I do.”

”It’s a paintball gun…that’s what it’s for. Kevin grumbled, ”I realized we didn’t have the padding or any of the safety stuff and decided it was a bad idea, okay?” he added reluctantly, clearly concerned about the effect such knowledge could have on his image. He might have muttered a bit more under his breath, but let the topic drop.

Until it came to the topic of The Mansion, where the X-Men apparently lived. Josh found his eyebrows halfway up his forehead again at that until Lee explained that it was actually a school.

Josh had heard of it, just hadn’t paid it much mind in the last because it had seemed irrelevant.

”Well that’s cool!” Josh said, one of his concerns for Kevin at least partially alleviated.

That said, Josh cast around in his mind for other things to chat about that would remain Kevin approved. ”How is school?” Josh said finally settling on a nice, safe topic.

Lee was silent when she heard Kevin grumbling. Yes, she knew that is what a paintball gun was for, which was her entire point. She was about to say something when Kevin continued grumbling, and Lee was surprised. That was the reason he had ‘chickened out’?

If that was the case, Lee wouldn’t say anything else. She was proud that he had decided that, but thought that if she brought too much attention to it, he may not listen to his better judgement the next time.

By this point, Lee had sat back properly and had started eating. In time to hear Josh ask how school was going for Kevin.

”I’m glad I don’t have to go to school with most of them anymore,” Kevin grumbled. ”After I went back after my suspension, people kept saying things to try and get me mad again when the teachers couldn’t hear.”

Lee hurriedly swallowed the food she’d had in her mouth. ”They were doing what?” she asked. ”Why didn’t you tell me about that?”

”Because the school’s already talking about the ‘crazy mom’ that was yelling in the office?”

”Someone been giving you trouble at school?” Josh said, and Kevin nodded his head a bit uncomfortably from the other side of the couch.

”I hit another kid once for saying mutants should be in concentration camps.” he said, scowling. ”I thought that would shut them up, but when I got done with my suspension, a bunch of kids just thought that they could get me in trouble by saying other stuff.”

Josh was honestly shocked at what he was hearing. Kids? Children were actually saying things like that to other kids. It had been a long time ago now, but Josh couldn’t remember things being that bad when he was in school.

”When Mom came to get me that day she told off the Principal.” he added as an after thought, ”But then we went to get waffles, so I guess it was okay.”

”You only hit the kid once, and never hit anyone else? I’d say that’s pretty stellar self control. Did you at least tell the teachers or a principal?”

Josh could tell by the look of horror on Kevin’s face at the suggestion that he absolutely had not.

Josh looked absolutely shocked to hear about what had happened at Kevin’s school. It absolutely was horrible and should never have happened, but it unfortunately was not very shocking to Lee.

”The teacher decided to give an end of the year assignment about WWII concentration camps, so I decided it was time to tell Kevin about the ones we were in,” Lee explained to Josh, talking about herself and Kevin’s father. ”Tarin said that he couldn’t make out what I was saying, but he could hear me from outside, so I’m pretty sure that half the school heard me telling off the principal. Then I told Kevin that I was proud right in front of her before we left.”

Lee shook her head. She hated the fact that Kevin had had to deal with that the first time. But to have been put through more when he went back to school because the kids thought it was a good way to get him in trouble…

”I know I told you that you’re not allowed to get in fights at school, and I’m proud that you were able to stop yourself and proved you’re the better person. But the day you got suspended, you did do the right thing. It’s people believing that it’s alright to think and say those things that end up leading to there being concentration camps in the middle of Central Park.”

Josh was…admittedly out of his depth on this one. Sure he had kids of his own, and sure they’d dealt with their fair share of drama at school, but this was something on an entirely different level.

While Josh understood that you couldn’t have kids running around meeting out street justice left and right, ”What happened to the other kid?” he asked, voice quiet, brows drawn together. This was ridiculous. And to hear that the kids had continued to goad Kevin after the fact?

Lee spoke and Josh found himself nodding his head. Mutant rights hadn’t ever become a real big thing in Texas outside the national scope of the issue, but considering the Brooks’ family connections and the fact that they were decent human beings they’d always been on the right side of things. Considering the fact that Kevin was dealing with what he said…things weren’t going as well as maybe he’d thought in the grand scheme of things…or maybe kids just sucked. Hopefully it was the latter.

They hadn’t ever talked much about it, but Josh could remember the time right after he’d reconnected with his brother when Tarin had said Lee had gotten caught up in the registration act. Being so far removed, Josh hadn’t been able to really understand what that meant. It was suddenly much much more real.

Kevin was outright scowling now, ”Don’t make it weird Mum, I know” he said, somehow still managing to keep eating, ”I’m just glad I’m going to The Mansion.” .

h” Me too.” Josh said, voice still quiet but intense ”What’s that Principal’s name?”

That was a good question, actually. The day of, Lee had been too mad at the school once she found out what happened that she hadn't thought about asking. Then with the mansion tour, end of school and everything else, Lee hadn't gotten back in contact to ask.

”Honestly, between the suspension, end of school, getting a tour of the mansion arranged for Kevin, and him getting his powers, I’m not sure,” Lee admitted to Josh. ”But I can guarantee that it wasn’t close to enough.”

Definitely not enough, because ‘enough’ would be showing them what camps like that were like, but even with what they’d been saying, that was not appropriate for a child.

Yet, apparently telling Kevin that she was proud of him made things ‘weird’. Lee shook her head as she went back to eating for a few minutes. Until Josh asked in that tone what the principal’s name was.

”Mrs Vargas,” Lee answered.

”That’s the vice principal, mum,” Kevin corrected her. ’The principal is Mr Burgess.”

”Im sure it wasn’t.” Josh said, when Lee suggested that the other kid probably hadn’t gotten in enough trouble.

Josh was reminded again how difficult it could be for mutants in the world and he had to be impressed that Lee was still here in New York. Josh knew he was going to need to call ahead home to make sure everyone knew what to expect with Kevin. There wasn’t anything to worry about as far as how people would react, but Kevin didn’t seem to enjoy a big deal being made and Josh wanted to support that.

Lee provided the name of both the Principal and Vice Principal and Josh thanked her. ”Well, you’re gonna be much better off without any of that mess. Sounds like it wasn’t the place for you.” he said, then grinned, ”Only took one punch though?” he was taking his life into his hands with Lee once again, but Josh couldn’t help but be a little proud that Kevin didn’t just know how to start a fight, but how to end one too.

”The Mansion looks much more fun,” Kevin said, having finally cleaned his plate.

”I can’t wait to hear how you feel about that once you’ve been in Shin’s math class,” Lee said with a slight laugh. She’d heard Shin start down a math tangent a few times, and it left her more confused than his stories often did.

”Only took one punch though?”

Kevin grinned. ”He even cried. And still had a black eye when I came back from my suspension,” Kevin replied a little proudly, but the grin disappeared very quickly when he saw the look on Lee’s face. ”I think that’s why mum’s told me since I started going to the gym that I’m not allowed to get into any fights.”

It made sense that Kevin would focus only on the fun part of school. Josh knew that if Kevin was going to this new school there were sound academics too. Lee had high standards and anyone who thought otherwise did so at their own peril.

Kevin confirmed that it had only taken one punch to end the fight and and Josh had to smile a bit.

”My Dad always said not to start a fight you couldn’t finish. Doing both with a single punch seems like a good way to do it if it comes down to it.”

He didn’t miss Lee’s look either and he got just the slightest bit more serious. ”But it is better to just never fight at all.”

Josh could tell by the slight smile on Kevin’s face that he hadn’t latched on to the second part of that advice. He looked at Lee and shrugged. Everyone didn’t have to be the best role model all the time.

”Can I go tell my friends bye before I pack up my laptop?” Kevin asked,

”Fine by me, but you’re going to Texas, not Antarctica.” Josh said, looking at Lee.

So that was where it came from, that Kevin had done a ‘good’ thing by starting and ending the fight with a single punch. The way that both Tarin and Josh had been almost proud of Kevin for doing that, only reminding the boy that it was better to not fight after seeing Lee’s face.

It was their fathers.

They were obviously different men, but Lee would have bet that Tarin had heard a similar thing from his father at one point as what Josh was referring to.

But at least Josh was trying to get Kevin to hear and understand that part.

And then Kevin was asking if he could say goodbye to his friends as though he wasn’t going to be chatting to them tomorrow anyway. ”Go on. And make sure you don’t leave anything else on your desk that you’re going to want while you’re gone.”

That was it, Kevin was up and heading to his room. Lee took another bite of food while she waited until Kevin had made it to his room. Then she looked over at Josh. ”He’s learned a lot in the last year, so you might want to discourage any roughhousing, especially with his younger cousins,” Lee said.

”Also, he’s finally seen me sparring,” Lee continued. ”You might want to have him show you the video before you get to the house and give him ground rules for who he is and isn’t allowed to show. Because otherwise, I can guarantee he’ll be showing all of the kids the first chance he has.”

Just like that, Kevin was gone, off to say whatever goodbyes he needed to say before leaving New York. Josh finished up his food as Lee spoke and looked at her with slightly raised eyebrows as she revealed more and more. It made sense that she’d taught Kevin how to fight. A person needed to know how to defend themselves, and if Kevin’s school experience was any indication of what was coming down the pipeline it wouldn’t hurt for him to know how to end a fight like he had at school.

”I’ll make sure to talk to him, and I’ll warn the boys that they better think twice before they bite off more than they can chew.”

As for Lee sparring, ”There’s a video out there of you sparring?” Josh said, ”I gotta say that I’ll look forward to seeing that.” he said with a chuckle.

The slight smile on Josh’s face faded though, ”I’m real sorry he’s having trouble with kids at school Lee, it’s ridiculous that the school isn’t doing more about that.”