Chapter 67: Promises Kept and Prices Paid

Jay stood under the scalding shower spray, watching pink water spiral down the drain. Logan's blood and brain matter washed away easily from his adamantium skin—one of the few perks of the metallic form. Steam clouded the guest bathroom as he methodically scrubbed every trace of gore from the indestructible surface.

The adamantium had retained heat from the drilling procedure, making even the hot shower feel lukewarm by comparison. When he was satisfied he'd gotten everything, Jay shifted back to his normal form. The sudden weight difference always caught him off guard.

His clothes were spotless, of course—another benefit of his powers. But the deformed bullet on the counter caught his eye. He picked up the adamantium fragment, rolling it between his fingers. This little piece of metal had cost Logan sixty years of his life. More valuable than vibranium, considering how rare true adamantium was. Wakanda and Talokan might have mountains of vibranium, but this? This was irreplaceable.

Jay pocketed the fragment. Fair payment for services rendered.

The mansion's hallways were quiet as he made his way back toward the main hall, still running fingers through his damp hair. He was looking forward to rejoining Fury and Coulson—maybe grabbing coffee and pretending today had been normal—when someone stepped into his path.

Kitty Pryde stood blocking the corridor, arms crossed. Her usually bright expression had been replaced by something cold and furious.

"Well, well," Jay said, forcing a grin. "What's with the attitude, Kitty?"

Wrong thing to say.

"Don't you dare make jokes!" The words exploded out of her. "You absolute bastard! You broke Rogue's heart!"

Jay blinked. He'd expected pushback about the Morlock tunnels, maybe criticism of his methods with Logan. Not this. "Kitty—"

"No!" She stepped closer, and he could see tears threatening at the corners of her eyes. "You promised her control. You made her believe she could finally touch people without killing them. And then you just... you made it impossible!"

"I gave her exactly what I offered," Jay said, his smile fading. "Complete control over her powers. The fact that she turned it down—"

"She turned it down because you're a monster!" Kitty's voice cracked. "Because you would have murdered innocent people to give it to her! What did you expect her to do?"

The accusation hung in the air between them. Jay felt that familiar disconnect, like he was watching someone else's conversation. He'd offered Rogue everything she'd ever wanted. The methods were irrelevant—results were what mattered.

"I always deliver on my promises," he said quietly. "What Rogue chose to do with that opportunity was her decision."

"Her decision?" Kitty's voice pitched higher. "You gave her an impossible choice and then acted like it was her fault when she couldn't live with the consequences!"

Footsteps echoed down the hall. Warren appeared first, wings folded tight in the narrow space. Colossus followed, still in his metallic form, the steel plating of his face somehow managing to look concerned.

"What's happening here?" Warren asked, immediately moving to Kitty's side.

"This asshole," Kitty said, pointing at Jay, "promised to help Rogue and then made sure she could never accept his help. He dangled hope in front of her and then snatched it away."

Piotr's expression darkened. Without asking for context, he stepped protectively closer to Kitty. "Perhaps you should go," he told Jay, his Russian accent thicker when he was angry.

Jay looked at the three of them—young, idealistic, convinced of their own righteousness. He felt nothing. No anger, no hurt. Just mild irritation at the delay.

"Fine," he said, stepping around them. "I'm tired anyway."

He'd made it ten steps when another voice stopped him.

"You lied to me."

Jay turned to see a young man with unremarkable brown hair and average features. There was hurt in his eyes, but also a desperate kind of hope that made Jay's chest tighten uncomfortably.

For a moment, Jay's eyes wanted to slide past him, his mind trying to dismiss the figure as unimportant. But his psychic defenses kicked in, and suddenly the man's name surfaced through whatever fog had been clouding his thoughts.

"Ah, Xabi," Jay said carefully. "I nearly forgot—"

"Of course you forgot," ForgetMeNot said bitterly, and the pain in his voice was raw enough to make Kitty take a step back. "Nobody remembers. That's my power, isn't it? To be forgotten by everyone I meet. But you..." His voice cracked. "You promised you could help with that. All this time, you've been going around curing people who didn't even want their abilities removed, people who had families and friends and lives. But you didn't even remember me while I did your dirty work, while you used me and practically blackmailed me with my family's memory, despite all your promises."

The hallway had gone dead silent. Kitty, Warren, and Piotr were staring at this man they should know but didn't, a growing horror dawning on their faces as they realized they were looking at someone who'd been erased from their lives.

"What do you want then?" Jay asked, his voice softer. "For me to take your powers and have you be forgotten by everyone? And secondly, I didn't forget our promise—can't you see it's just been three days since my enhancement and all the DOOM bullshit happening all at once?"

ForgetMeNot's face crumpled like a paper bag. "So that's it? You can help everyone else but not me? I've been here for years, helping the X-Men, saving their lives, and they don't even know I exist!" His voice broke completely. "Do you have any idea what that's like? To be alone even when you're surrounded by people? To watch your own mother thank a stranger for help and then forget you existed the second you're gone?"

The last part hit like a physical blow. Kitty pressed a hand to her mouth, tears starting. Even Piotr looked shaken, his metallic features managing to convey deep sorrow.

Jay's expression softened, something twisting in his chest. "If it's about tweaking your power instead of removing it completely..." He reached out before ForgetMeNot could react, placing his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Hold still."

Power flowed through Jay's fingertips, more complex than his usual suppressions. He could feel the mutation's structure, the way it affected memory formation and recall in others. With careful precision, he added what amounted to a psychic switch—a conscious control mechanism that would let ForgetMeNot turn his ability on and off at will.

"There," Jay said, stepping back. "You should be able to control it now. But I'd suggest waiting until we reach the main hall to turn it off completely. You'll want witnesses for that reunion."

ForgetMeNot stared at him in wonder, tears streaming down his face as he tentatively reached for the new sensation in his mind. It was like finding a light switch in a dark room—obvious once you knew it was there.

They walked to the main hall together, an odd procession. ForgetMeNot flanked by three X-Men who kept glancing at him with frustrated confusion, trying to grasp memories that slipped away like smoke.

The main hall looked the same as when Jay had left it. Fury in his wingback chair, Steve by the windows looking less haunted now that Logan remembered their friendship. The X-Men scattered around in various states of exhaustion after the day's revelations.

"Ready?" Jay asked quietly.

ForgetMeNot nodded, tears already starting. His hand trembled as he reached for that mental switch—the moment he'd dreamed of for years.

He flipped it.

The change was immediate and devastating.

"XABI!" Jubilee shrieked from across the room. She launched herself through the air, trailing sparks, and tackled him in a flying hug. "Oh my God, where have you been? I've been so worried and I couldn't remember why!"

"ForgetMeNot?" Scott's voice was thick with dawning horror. "You've been here the whole time. Fighting with us. Saving our lives." His hand went to his visor, a habitual gesture when overwhelmed. "How could we forget you?"

Storm rose from her chair with fluid grace, but her face was stricken. "The FOH attack. You were there. You saved Kurt when those Sentinels had him surrounded." Lightning flickered briefly in her eyes. "We never thanked you."

Kurt teleported directly in front of ForgetMeNot in a puff of sulfur, his yellow eyes wide with anguish. "Mein Gott. You have been our brother, and we... ach, how does one apologize for something they cannot remember doing?"

The room erupted as memories crashed back. Years of interactions, battles fought together, quiet moments of friendship—all suddenly vivid and real again. The guilt was overwhelming. These were people who prided themselves on being family, on never leaving anyone behind.

Jean pressed her hands to her temples, psychic feedback from everyone's returning memories hitting her in waves. "Even the Phoenix couldn't hold onto you completely. There were flashes, moments, but never the full picture."

Xavier wheeled forward, his face pale. "I had mental alarms. Reminders set to trigger at intervals. But I would still forget you for weeks at a time." His voice barely rose above a whisper. "The isolation you must have endured..."

"It wasn't your fault," ForgetMeNot said through his tears, overwhelmed by suddenly being surrounded by people who could truly see him. "None of you could help it."

But the guilt was written on every face. To forget a family member, even involuntarily, violated everything they stood for.

"No more," Storm said firmly. "That ends today."

Fury stood up, his tactical mind already spinning. Jay could practically see the calculations—a perfect invisible agent, someone who could walk into any facility and be forgotten the moment he left.

"I should get going," Jay said into the emotional chaos. He'd done what he'd promised. Time to leave before anyone started asking uncomfortable questions about his methods.

He turned toward the exit, then paused and whispered to the professor. "Oh, Professor. That Dr. Sinister I mentioned?"

Xavier looked up, trying to focus despite the reunion happening around him.

"He was Hydra's partner during the war. He's the one who gave Shaw his energy absorption powers through artificial X-gene enhancement." Jay let that sink in. "This isn't just about protecting mutants anymore. It's personal."

The implications hit like a physical blow. Shaw—who'd killed Erik's mother, tortured both Charles and Erik, nearly started World War III—had gotten his powers from the same monster now orchestrating anti-mutant hatred worldwide.

Jay didn't wait for a response. He walked out into the fading daylight, leaving behind a room full of people grappling with recovered memories and new revelations.

Behind him, he could hear ForgetMeNot's voice, stronger than it had been in years:

"I need to call my mother. She's going to remember me this time."

For once, someone would.