"I'm not saying I've had his exact experience, Athos," Brooke replied, trying not to envision the rude turtle as a delicately spiced soup just then. "But then again neither has Franklin Richards or that hideously accented little English boy, but he's managed to somehow connect with them." She fixed herself yet another cup of tea. "Fine. Maybe I haven't lost what he has, but I do have two estranged parents, very few people who I can actually call friend, and..." she trailed off. "I can't empathize, okay? Not exactly. I know how ridiculous that is because of my specific mutant gifts, but I can't. For a number of reasons. I can listen, though. I can help guide. I can counsel. Maybe not in a professional capacity, but as peer-to-peer. I can't do any of that if he insists on hiding, though, and if you insist on protecting him from someone who isn't out to harm him."