“He’s working this Avenging League thing that’s been going on for awhile. The X-Men have joined them a few times.” Scott still tended to keep his team separate and hadn’t wanted a complete merger, but things had been amicable. They were all fighting on the same side.
At the offer of repayment, Scott immediately waved his hand. “No. We offer this to everybody. You’re not in any debt to me or anyone else. But sure, if we ever need a big hand,” he smirked, “then I’ll give you a call. Until then, let’s get a roof over your head. If you’re looking for something to do, I’ve got some staff positions open at the school. We’ve always got some heavy hitting students who learn a little better from someone with that kind of experience.” And they didn’t always have someone on hand that qualified, but they made do. As always.
Scott walked with him until they’d reached a row of nearly identical looking apartments. From the outside, they were nothing particularly special, but all the necessities were behind the door. Ben’s was on the bottom floor, off to the side, in a special little block of them they’d modified just as he’d said. The ceilings stood higher, the rooms were a little larger, and the basics were already there. A lot of the people who came to District X arrived with nearly nothing, either only a bag or two, or just the clothes they’d shown up wearing. As long as they had the means to helped, they’d help.
“All yours,” he nodded inside as he opened the door. “I’ll drop a spare set of keys off later.”
“Actually, helpin’ out at th’ school sounds real good ta me, Slim… I need sumfin’ ta keep me busy an’ tha’ seems about perfect!” Ben grinned. “It’ll be nice t’feel useful fer'a change, an’ I reckon I can teach th’ kids a thing or too.”
Ben would’ve expressed his pride at his own pun, but he was momentarily stunned by the apartment Scott had just shown him into. Being the size & mass he was meant Ben always had to be careful in ‘normal’ buildings. He was enough of an engineer to know a thing or two about transfer of loads and weight distribution in structures, so he usually kept to the first floor or around the edges of flooring, just to be safe, and never used the furniture. However, this place was built for people like him…
The door frames were wide enough to accommodate his size, the floors didn’t shake or creak as he walked, even some of the chairs looked like they’d been made specifically to offer an elephant a place at the table. It’s hard to say that Ben Grimm was ever rendered speechless, but for a few moments it was as close as he would get.
“Holy Hannah…! Yer sure ‘bout this? I mean, I know yer sure, but… damn. Well, if Mama Grimm ain’ jus’ smilin’ down on her baby boy today!”
Although District X had largely been home to mutants since its creation, it was always meant to be open to anyone who didn’t fall under the umbrella of being baseline human. The school was the same. It was still staffed mostly by his X-Men, but having someone like Ben join the ranks would be a boon to them all. “I think you can,” he agreed. “I don’t think I need to tell you how hard it is for some of the kids when their powers activate. Especially the ones who don’t look the same anymore.” Having a physical mutation opened up a whole different level of difficulty, and after years of being involved with or running the school and different teams, he was well acquainted with how much that could affect them.
He let the subject drop and to give Ben the moment to acquaint himself with the place. Scott was proud of what they’d been able to do since sealing the District off. It wasn’t a perfect situation, not by a long shot, but every time they built something out of nothing it was hard not to look at it with satisfaction. Building something from nothing was what they were good at.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said with a huff of laughter. “It’s all yours. Once you get settled in, come see me at the school and we’ll get you set up.”
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