A/N —Thank you to Liza, FF and Dina for their help and encouragement with this.
[2400 words]
"You don't have to leave, y'know," James said, leaning against the wall opposite Regulus. He'd become used to James' abrupt appearances long ago — he'd grown up with Sirius, after all, and James was always teleporting into Regulus' bedroom.
"What are you doing here, Potter?" Regulus drawled, doing his best imitation of Lucius Malfoy.
"Just a quick visit." He grinned. "I wanted to see how you were." His image flickered, and suddenly he was leaning on Regulus' shoulder, grabbing hold of Regulus' left wrist. Regulus pulled away, shrugging James off.
"I'm fine," he snapped. "Not that it's any of your business."
"We're friends, aren't we?" James asked, seemingly hurt.
"No."
"Well …" James said, faltering. "I'm here. If you need me."
"I won't," Regulus said.
"Yeah, 'course." James smiled, one of those rare, genuine smiles, not his usual carefree grin. "But if you do. Go to the Shrieking Shack, in Hogsmeade —"
"I know it," Regulus snapped.
"Great. Well … If you need help, for whatever reason, just go there." James disappeared before Regulus could say any more, leaving him alone in the room.
.oOo.
Regulus walked up the path to Lestrange Manor, dark hood concealing his features. He could hear the crunch of gravel behind him, and turned to see Severus Snape approaching. He hadn't bothered to raise his hood, and the thick grease-like layer on his skin and hair glistened in the moonlight.
"Black," Severus greeted with a curt nod. Regulus nodded in return, but said nothing, and they walked the rest of the way in silence.
They were the last two to arrive, and the meeting had already begun. They slipped into the back silently, but the man at the front caught their entrance, his white scales shimmering a pale green in the dim light as he turned his head. His red eyes and serpentine features showed clear displeasure, and Regulus didn't doubt he'd find some way to ensure they'd never be late again.
Lucius gave them a disapproving look from his position near the front.
Voldemort continued in his strangely hissing voice:
"And, of courssse, I will be looking fffor a volunteer — my most fffaithhhful ssservant."
Bellatrix stepped forward, a strangely innocent smile on her face. Her dark glasses were resting on the top of her head, her kaleidoscope eyes standing out prominently in her pale face.
"I believe Regulus will be of assistance, my Lord," she said. She glanced at Regulus, her smile turning cruel and the patterns that made up her irises changing colour and shape. He'd always hated having to spend time with her as a child — her eyes had terrified him, and she'd always used her skills to her advantage, and very little had changed.
"Isss that ssso?" Voldemort asked, eyes flicking from Regulus to Bellatrix, seemingly amused.
"Oh, yes, my Lord," she said. "Regulus would gladly lend his assistance."
"Very well, thhhen." Voldemort smirked, the tip of his forked tongue flicking over his thin lips. "I will require your minion," he said. Regulus swallowed thickly, scared, but nodded. He knew better than to refuse.
"Of course, my Lord," he said, inclining his head.
.oOo.
"Kreacher, you don't have to do this," Regulus said. "I can find a way —"
"Master Regulus will be punished if Kreacher doesn't," Kreacher rasped. "It is Kreacher's job to serve."
"Yes, but —"
"Kreacher is glad to do it, Master Regulus. Kreacher is proud."
"But Kreacher, I don't have anyone else. I —"
"The Potter boy," Kreacher said, hissing the name as though it physically pained him to say. "Master Regulus should go to him."
"But he's a hero." Regulus screwed up his face in disgust, but he knew that Kreacher was right. James was his only option now.
.oOo.
"Are you sure someone's here?" Remus asked, looking around the room. He'd changed a lot in the last year; the scars that had covered his face and body for as long as Regulus had known him had increased in number, layering over each other like lines on a map.
"The alarms went off," Sirius said, stepping through the wall and joining Remus in the dilapidated room. James and Peter took a moment longer, having to reach the door.
Regulus stepped forward. Peter let out a cut-off shriek, his tail wrapping around his face to cover his mouth.
"You can teleport, too?" James asked, looking a little hurt.
"It's not like you're the only one," Regulus snapped, at the same time Sirius said:
"No, he can turn himself invisible. Pretty useless, really."
"About as useless as walking through walls," Remus muttered.
"Look," Sirius said, turning to his friend. "I didn't know I'd have to be touching all of you to get you through. I've already told you, I'm more than happy to try again."
"And I told you: I'm not risking it!"
"We got your hand out eventually," Sirius muttered, pouting.
"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" Regulus asked, glaring at the four heroes.
"No, no. Not at all," Sirius said. "We've been looking for a nemesis. All the good villains are taken."
"I'm not going to be your nemesis," Regulus snapped, at the same time James said:
"He's not our nemesis!"
"I need your help," Regulus said. "I need to rescue my minion."
"Can't you just get a new one?" Sirius asked. Remus gave him an incredulous look. "Of course we'll help, dear brother," he quickly amended.
"Don't you have … a base, or something?" Regulus asked, looking around in distaste. He was met with silence. "This is your base, isn't it?"
"We're remodelling," James said.
"My mum's helping to decorate," Peter said, gesturing to the pink quilt thrown over the back of the worn sofa.
"Right, okay. That's — Where are your shoes?" Regulus asked, staring down at Peter's large, bare feet.
"That's his power," Sirius said. "He can pick his nose with his feet."
"No, I —"
"Don't lie, Pete, I've seen you do it." He turned back to Regulus. "Not a pleasant sight, really. But I was a little impressed."
"He needs our help," James snapped. "Enough about Peter's feet." Regulus really wished he'd had more options, but these idiots were his last resort. "Just leave it to us," James said, turning to Regulus. It wasn't particularly reassuring.
.oOo.
"This is possibly the worst plan ever," Regulus muttered. Sirius adjusted his grip on his brother.
"I thought it was a pretty good idea," Sirius said.
"Y'know, I could —" James began.
"We talked about this," Sirius snapped. "You're not carrying my brother." He gave James a glare he'd probably spent hours practicing in front of the mirror. "Plus, you can't really teleport to somewhere you haven't been," he added as an afterthought. Regulus dug his heel into Sirius' thigh.
"Whilst your obvious concern for my well-being is touching," he drawled, "we should get on with this terrible plan."
"Don't kick me," Sirius snapped, pinching Regulus' arm. Regulus elbowed him in the head.
"Guys, we've talked about this," Peter said. "This is not the time for nonsense."
"Right," Sirius said, shifting Regulus on his back one final time. "You guys ready for plan B?" James, Peter and Remus nodded. "Alright then," Sirius muttered, stepping forward.
Regulus took a deep breath; he hadn't had to put so much concentration into using his powers in years. Nothing happened. Maybe they should have practiced this more? He'd been able to do it with —
He looked up. Remus was pacing, likely preparing himself in case they did need to use their backup plan. Regulus found himself hoping, for Remus' sake as well as Kreacher's, that they didn't. Peter's tail flicked nervously, and he was rocking on his feet. James gave an encouraging smile, and Regulus focused on that small gesture.
James grinned, nodding.
"Knew you could do it," he said, reaching for where Sirius had been standing just moments before, and grabbing hold of a wrist he could no longer see.
"Just to outside the cave, James," Remus said. "Don't try to take them further."
"Yeah, I got it," James said. While he was so used to his own powers he could no longer feel them working, James' were like a vice compressing his entire body, making it difficult to breath. He was both too hot and too cold, and still had to focus on keeping both himself and his brother invisible.
The time it took to reach the cave entrance were the longest few seconds of his life, and he was left coughing and gasping for air. Sirius seemed to be doing a little better, but Regulus could still hear his ragged breaths.
"You okay?" James asked.
"Glorious," Regulus croaked; he could feel a headache building — a combination of James' powers and his own over-excretion.
"Sorry," James muttered, unaffected. "It's easier when it's just one other person."
"It really isn't," Sirius whispered. James either didn't hear or chose to ignore him.
"I guess you're on your own, now," James said. Stepping away from the pair. "Try not to die." He smiled, but it lacked his usual care-free attitude, and for the first time Regulus realised how worried he really was. Not traditionally encouraging, but Regulus found solace in not being the only one afraid.
Sirius walked slowly into the cave, his fingers digging into Regulus' legs. Regulus didn't complain; the slight pain made it easier to focus.
Sirius stopped when they reached the back wall of the cave, and Regulus was really beginning to doubt their research. What if they'd been wrong? What would happen to them if it turned out to be just a regular cave? But Sirius was already stepping forward.
It was slow going, and Regulus supposed that was likely because Sirius wasn't used to doing this with another person, and painful. It felt like the stone was rubbing against his skin, cutting into it — cutting into him — and he began to think of James' teleportation a lot more fondly.
Regulus could feel the exact moment they were through the wall, but he didn't dare open his eyes. Sirius was breathing harshly, but he didn't seem to be in as much pain:
"You're okay," he muttered when Regulus just clung tightly to him. "We made it."
Regulus shifted, slowly at first, checking to see how bad the damage was. He opened his eyes. Nothing. No physical evidence of the agony he'd just been through. He briefly wondered if he'd imagined it, but quickly pushed the thought aside; he'd never been that creative.
He blinked slowly, finally looking up and taking in his surroundings. He could barely make out a small island at the other side of the lake, but the main source of light seemed to be emanating from the lake itself, though there was a small beacon on the island. There was no one else there.
"Wait here," Sirius said, setting Regulus on his feet. "I'll go get the others." As soon as they lost contact Sirius reappeared, and Regulus found it a lot easier to remain invisible.
"He's not here," he said dejectedly. "What's the point?"
"He was here," Sirius said. "We might still find something." Sirius stepped back through the wall of the cave, a lot quicker now he didn't need to carry Regulus through, and Regulus was left alone in the room.
.oOo.
"Don't worry," James said, hanging back to talk to Regulus without the others hearing. "We'll find him."
"How can you be so sure of that?" Regulus asked.
"Well, we've got this — horcrux," James said, pulling a face at the work; none of them were entirely sure of what the horcrux did, or even fully understood what it was, but Dumbledore had been quick to take it from their hands. "We can find a way to stop him, and we'll save Kreacher." Regulus nodded.
"Yeah, 'course," he said, still not at all convinced.
"We're a team now." James grinned, wrapping an arm around Regulus' shoulders and pulling him closer. "We'll figure it out."
…oOo…
Epilogue
"Now you're part of the team, you need a superhero name," Sirius said. "Remus is Mystique"
"What?" Regulus asked, frowning at this brother, at the same time Remus said:
"I'm not."
"We've all got them. Mine's Mr Super," he said proudly.
"Original."
"Better than Rat Boy," Sirius muttered.
"Hey! I asked for a new one, but you wouldn't let me!" Peter glared at his friend.
"What's that?" James asked, suddenly appearing behind Sirius.
"Superhero names. I still think mine should be changed. I'm not a rat!"
"I'm Mr Super," James said, ignoring Peter's last comment.
"Sirius said that was his name," Regulus said blandly.
"What? No!" James turned to Sirius. "You do this every time! I'm Mr Super!"
"Regulus could be Captain —" Remus began, trying to change the topic before the argument could continue.
"Oh, that's good! I want to be Captain Super!" Sirius yelled.
"That's not fair! He can't do that!" James turned to Remus. "Tell him he can't do that."
"Alright, no superhero names."
"Okay, but we still need to decide on his costume," Sirius said. "I've got some sketches —" Sirius pulled out several folded and crumpled sheets of paper from his back pocket. There was a name written in purple felt tip on the visible side of each page.
"Oh, I wanna see mine!" James pulled his sheet from Sirius' hands, unfolding it. He stared at the sheet in silence for a moment. "This is just the Doctor."
"Well, you travel around," Sirius said, defending his drawing.
"Not through time!"
"You should work on that," Sirius muttered sullenly.
"It's the thought that counts," Remus said placatingly.
"It's not even the good Doctor," James muttered sullenly, but fell silent.
Remus opened his own sheet, opening and closing his mouth, before:
"No."
"But that's my favourite!"