New York, St. Nicholas Avenue, Children's World clothing store.
"Rachel, do you like this hat?"
Scott Summers looked at his daughter in the stroller, settled a little red beret on Rachel's head, and smiled.
His eyes had begun to heal at Essex Corporation, restoring his sight. He still needed sunglasses to protect them, but he was used to wearing those.
In the stroller, little Rachel answered her father with a delighted babble, her big eyes blinking curiously.
[Yes.]
A young voice sounded directly in Scott's mind.
"You should say it out loud." Scott's smile faded as he corrected her seriously. "You can't always use your powers to talk to people."
[But talking is hard...]
[Telepathy is easier...]
Hearing his daughter's thoughts, Scott felt a headache coming on.
Maybe having her powers awaken so early wasn't a good thing after all.
"Listen, Rachel. Everyone in this world speaks with their mouths. If you only use your mental powers, people will see you as different."
Scott straightened the little beret as he spoke.
[But... we already are different.]
"..."
Scott fell silent.
He looked into his daughter's clear eyes and, for a moment, had no answer.
In a way, little Rachel was right. They were mutants, different from other humans.
When Jean had been pregnant, she had imagined more than once that their child might be ordinary, free to live a simple, happy life without worries.
But things hadn't turned out that way. Not only was Rachel a mutant, she had awakened powerful mental abilities while still an infant. With a gift like that, her future would never be ordinary.
Even so...
"Rachel." Scott took a deep breath and stroked her cheek. "You're right. We are different..."
His touch was gentle, as though she were a priceless treasure.
"But even if you're