Author's Note: This is an AU! So, things are gonna be a bit different and possibly out of order. But, if you have questions or thoughts, leave a comment :) So, read and review!
Cliff could tell the second that Steve come over the comm unit that the plan had changed. They were in the process of heading back to the jet after a mission. As usual, they maintained silence. Larry was keeping pace with him, looking at all the abandoned buildings and trash. The brotherhood had missed them, again, and Cliff was preparing himself for another week of Steve being a complete ass.
"Get to our position now!" Steve didn't yell like that. He never did. There was a new sense of urgency in there, and it only concerned him more when he could hear Steve telling Rita not to go closer right now. The two men broke out into a run, and in less than a minute, though it felt longer, they rounded a corner and caught sight of the two other members. Steve was at the mouth of a crumpled home, Rita closer to where the door would be, crouched down and speaking softly.
"What's going on? Was there a survivor?" It didn't happen often, the Brotherhood hated leaving witnesses and possible loose ends. It had been months since they actually saved anyone. The whole superhero business could be depressing at times.
"Not exactly." Mento didn't take his eyes off of where Rita was. "Cliff, how much medical supplies do we have on the jet."
"Two packs, but nothing for anything serious. There wasn't time to restock at the manor before we left." They had gone in a rush after Chief managed to get a hit on the Brotherhood. That had been almost a week ago.
"Shit, ok, it'll have to do. We just need to get them out of here." Larry frowned.
"How many are there?" Steve glanced at them.
"Two. This…it's not related to the Brotherhood. It's something else."
Cliff glanced around uneasily at that. There wasn't anyone around for miles, and Larry didn't like to think of two survivors trying to keep out of sight. Steve looked haunted. That alone made him unnerved. Steve didn't get spooked like this, he could block out his emotions on missions. Cliff started to make his way towards Rita, and he stopped jerkily when she motioned with her hand to stay where he was. Larry wanted to know what they were dealing with. There was a city almost twenty miles away; they could help patch them up and get them over there.
"Are they not used to mutants? Maybe we should go and bring the jet here." Cliff suggested. Steve shook his head.
"They're just kids. Rita doesn't want to overwhelm them by having all of us crowd them." Larry's stomach dropped. It was always the worst when children were involved.
"God, are their parent's dead?" Steve shook his head.
"Larry… these kids aren't from here. And the building they were in…" Steve trailed off and Cliff reached a hand out to knock his shoulder. Rita still hadn't come back over.
"What was it?" Larry finally asked.
"It was a lab. One of those labs. I… I think that was why the Brotherhood was here." A cold feeling settled over the bandaged man. There had been rumors of illegal labs popping up, usually trying to invent new soldiers. The Brotherhood, of course, was interested if it meant they could elevate their ranks. But to think that they had been using children…
"How old?" Steve crossed his arms.
"Maybe six or seven. One of them talks, the other hasn't said a word." Cliff looked at Rita.
"You think they could be mute? Could be shock, too." Larry knew they were avoiding the obvious question.
"Steve, are they mutants? Is that why the Brotherhood was here?" The silence after that statement gave a pretty clear answer. "We can't just drop them off at the next city. They were smart enough to stay out of sight, but if we leave them alone, who knows what might happen to them."
"You suggesting we look after them? We can't take a bunch of kids with us!" Cliff yelled. Steve shushed him as he glanced over at the destroyed house. Rita was closer now, but Larry had yet to see the kids appear. They were probably too scared.
"Ya, I am. We can't leave them with other people. Who knows if the Brotherhood will come back for them. We're their best chance. So, we can take them from here, get them patched up, and hey, maybe we just added a few new recruits." Cliff was gaping at him. Steve said nothing. "It's not a good plan, but it's better than doing nothing. We can't just leave them on their own after fixing them." The kids probably didn't have anyone else to look after them. Did anyone know two little kids were missing? Probably not. Larry waited for a response.
"Why don't we start with getting them out of here. We can debate what to do after we get them somewhere safe." It was the best answer he could get right now. Steve perked up when Rita stood up. Two kids were with her, well, more like hiding behind her. A boy and a girl. They didn't rush to meet them, knowing that any sudden movement would scare them. The little girl was covered in dirt and didn't seem to mind staring them all down. The boy didn't look at them and had a head of bright green hair.
"Rita?" Steve didn't move from his position. Cliff was aware that he was doing everything not to move too quickly. These kids were probably wary of them, with every right to be, and none of them knew what they could do. "Everything ok?" Ok, that was the stupidest thing to say.
"We need to get the jet. I don't want them here any longer." There was a coldness to Rita's voice, one Larry hadn't heard in a long time. "We can talk about this once we're on our way home." The girl perked up at the mention of leaving and her grip on the boy tightened. They had to walk to the jet and once they got there Cliff went about getting things ready. Larry stood off to the side, watching everything play out.
"Do you want to sit down?" Rita asked gently. The girl, who was openly looking at everything around her, nodded.
"Yes, please." Rita looked at the boy.
"You can sit with her, honey. It's not a long flight." The boy didn't talk but nodded his head.
"No straps. He doesn't like those." The girl mentioned. Rita tensed for a second before relaxing.
"That's fine. Cliff flies the jet very gently. You can't even feel it!" The forced cheer didn't work. She got the kids situated on two of wall seats before Mento came over.
"My name's Steve," And wow, Larry hadn't heard that soft tone of voice for years. "Can you tell me your names?" The girl bit her lip and glanced at Larry. He tried to offer her a reassuring smile.
"Terra. Mine's Terra." She squeezed the boy's hand. "This is Gar." Mento frowned.
"Buddy, it's ok. We aren't going to hurt you."
"He can't answer you." Terra whispered. "They took his voice, Mister Steve."
If there had been any doubt what had happened, there wasn't anymore. All the air seemed to have left the jet, and from the corner of his eye he could see Cliff tightly grasping one of the chairs. It was likely broken or on its way to becoming damaged. Just another thing to fix. But Steve, the fearless leader, recovered quickly. Right now, the kids had to be the focus. The adults could fall apart later on.
"What do you mean they took it?" Gar, for all his avoidance to them so far, moved his head up. The kid had some strong green eyes, for one, but all of them were drawn to the line across his neck. Right where his vocal chords were. Hot rage went through him. This was a child, and those bastards had snipped his voice. It wasn't fresh, but still in the stages of healing. Could something like that be reversed? Chief would know.
"Can you fix it?" Terra asked. Tears were building up behind her eyes, but the girl didn't let them fall. Probably afraid to show weakness around a bunch of strangers. "He got in trouble because of me." Gar shook his head at that. Whatever the circumstances were, these guys were gonna have a lot to answer for. And Larry was sick of kids being caught in the crossfire. "Please, Mister Steve, you can fix it, right?" Rita walked back over and crouched in front of Terra.
"We're gonna try, sweetie." The girl frowned at the nickname. Poor kid probably never had a pet name thrown at her. "Right now, let's get you and Gar out of here." Cliff managed to get the jet going, and Larry went to assist him. Steve and Rita had things safely under control at the moment.
"We really doing this?" Cliff's voice was gruff. Larry knew that he was holding back his emotions; something in the manor would be broken and repaired by the end of the night. The poor guy was probably hiding so he didn't scare the kids.
"Ya, right now we're their best shot. Maybe they have family looking for them. Rita said she was gonna have Chief run through the database and see if any hits come up." It was the best they could do. Who knew how long they had been held there.
"How're they holding up?" Larry sat down heavily.
"Right now, ok. Once we get back… I don't know. These kids have been through hell, Cliff, it's not gonna be easy. I thought Steve was going to lose it when the girl told us why the boy didn't talk." The pocket of anger hadn't subsided. Some of his bandages were beginning to tear. He'd repair them later.
"Who does that to a kid? I knew that the Brotherhood was evil, but this. This is something else." Larry shook his head.
"We don't know if it was the Brain that ordered this. Lots of people want to get their hands on a mutant."
There had been rumors of illegal labs popping up for years. Larry hoped they were just rumors, but not anymore. They turned their heads as Steve walked in and shut the tiny door. The silence was thick.
"They need a look over when we get back. Some of the injuries are new." The man looked drained. All of them felt that way. "They've been there for months." Larry felt sick. What would have happened if they hadn't found them? Would the Brotherhood have circled back and picked them up? "They're staying with us for now." He announced.
Larry wondered if they had anything suitable for a couple of kids back at the base. They'd need to secure up the more dangerous tools and weapons, clear out some rooms, maybe even go shopping. Most likely go shopping. God, what did kids even like? Should they take them out and let them pick their own things? Just guess and choose for them? The familiar feeling of panic was coming, and Larry knew that they were in way over their head. He meant to voice his fears, but this came out.
"We should keep them together at the base, Steve."
"What do you mean?" Steve asked. The jet shifted a bit to the left and the telepath moved his feet to keep his balance.
"We should have them room together for now. It's obvious they trust each other, and having them in a new place with strangers is going to have them on edge. They can comfort each other." It was clear Rita was good at keeping them calm. But, they hadn't opened up the can of worms that this was, and they knew that the emotional field was covered with mines. Those kids had been through far too much.
"Probably be best. I think Chief is working on clearing out a room. We might need to take some time off." There was a sour look to Steve's face. "I'll make the call tomorrow. Bruce was saying how the League was bored, they can take a stab at our workload." Cliff laughed. It wasn't genuine, but it cut the tension.
"I'm going to go check on them. Introduce myself." Larry moved out of the cabin and into the other part of the jet. Rita was sitting on the ground in front of the kids. She smiled when he walked in.
"Remember that I told you that there was a team of us? This is Larry. He helps us." Larry came closer, but maintained his distance. He didn't want to scare the kids. The boy, Gar he remembered after a moment, glanced at him from beneath his hair before looking down again.
"Why are you all bandaged? Did you get hurt?" Terra blurted out. Under the wrappings, Larry smiled.
"Something like that. That's a story for another time. Just thought I'd come see you guys since we're gonna be together for a bit." He walked a bit closer and sat down.
There were two seats in between him and the boy. The kid didn't seem scared, just tense, and it was clear that he didn't seem to want him to get any closer. Larry leaned back and made himself look as relaxed as possible. No need to worry them for nothing.
"So, you got a favorite color, kid?" He turned his head to look at Gar. The kid looked back at him and shook his head. "I got one. Neon yellow, drives Steve nuts. Says it hurts his eyes. We can share it till you find one you like." Rita smiled.
She knew what he was doing. As long as she didn't point it out then he would be good. The rest of the flight went smooth. Until they landed. Then the kids get scared again, the girl curling and uncurling her fists as she sat.
"Where are we?"
"Morocco. The base is hidden, completely safe. No scary baddies here." The joke fell flat. Chief was patiently waiting for them. Gar seemed curious when he saw the old, metal wheelchair. Larry knew that any questions he had couldn't be asked. The scar on his neck was still burned into his memory.
Carefully, he held his hand out. The boy eyed it before moving closer to the girl. Larry didn't feel bad; there would be time to earn their trust. Chief kept his tone light when they finally got close enough.
"Nice to see you made it back in one piece." He raised an eyebrow at the kids. "And picked up a few strays." He looked at Mento.
"The medbay is all set up for you. Take your time, I already notified the League that we'd be unavailable for a few days."
"You get them settled, I'll take care of the jet." Cliff moved to get everything settled. Chief rolled over to the kids.
"My name is Chief." He held his hand out to shake. Terra didn't take it, and Larry smiled a little when Gar did. The kid quickly reached out, shook it, and then pressed against Terra's side again.
"My name is Terra, this is Gar." Chief raised an eyebrow when the boy didn't introduce himself. Mento coughed.
"We should get them inside. They need medical attention and rest." They made their way slowly into the manor. The kids were looking at everything and Larry wondered if they needed to childproof the place.
"You live here?" Chief looked over at Terra.
"Yes."
"It's a big place to live in all by yourself."
"Well, I don't live alone. The others live here, too."
"But they leave a lot."
"Yes, but they come back. Plus, I rather like the quiet." Chief stopped to push the elevator button. He could go up the stairs, but that would take too long. "I prepared a room for you and Gar. You can pick a different one later, if you wish." The two looked shocked to hear that was a room made up just for them. When the elevator opened, Larry knew they were gonna break up.
Rita led the kids out and when they saw the medbay, they froze. Terra was trying to move back, while Gar seemed to shake. Ever perceptive of the situation, Chief came over to the kids.
"I know you're scared. But this isn't like the type of place you've been kept at."
"No doctors." Terra said. Her voice shook. Chief nodded.
"That's right, no doctors. I can look the two of you over. I'll tell you everything I'm doing and we can stop if you get uncomfortable. Do you understand?"
Both of them seemed so amazed by the very idea that they could speak up if they were uncomfortable. Terra narrowed her eyes and Larry could see the similarities in that look; Mento looked the same way when he was arguing something.
"We stay together. I'm not leaving him."
"Of course, would you like any other people in the room with you?" Gar looked over Rita. She smiled at him, and Larry could tell he wanted to return it, so he wasn't mad when the kid didn't. Building a relationship with the kid would take time.
"Can Miss Rita stay?"
Once Rita had agreed the four of them walked into the medbay. Larry could have followed, as could Steve, but they wanted the kids to get a sense of control.
"I'll go help Cliff with the jet. Make sure he doesn't break anything important." Steve nodded and they slowly went back into the elevator.
"How bad do you think it's going to be?"
"Honestly, if they make it through the exam without having a panic attack, I'll be surprised." Mento's face went sour. Larry left him on the main floor and went to join Cliff with the awful task of waiting.