Title: There is Only so Much That can be Done

Summary: Alex is sent back to Brecon Beacons to train with K-Unit until he reaches majority. This is done in the hope that he will revert back to the person he was before Blunt and the MI6 got ahold of him... But really... There is only so much that can be done.

Spoilers: Up through Crocodile Tears.

A/N: Hey guys this is my first fanfic so I need all the reviews I can get. Good, Bad, Ugly (bad spaghetti western reference there) I'll take them all. Oh, and I am looking for a Beta, so I hope you enjoy, if not, tell me that as well.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything... If I did then I would not be posting this to fanfiction would I?

Alex's POV:

The sun was just cresting the horizon as the bloody, bruised, exhausted, but miraculously still breathing teen unlocked the multiple locks on his door. Silently cursing pretty much anything and everything, in all the languages he knew and then some; he stumbled up the stairs to his room. Not even bothering to change, he threw himself on his bed for a full two hours of sleep before school the next day.

Tulip Jones' POV:

Tulip Jones was not one to pace but there she was, pacing in her office, where she had been doing the same thing, pacing for the past two hours. There's only one person in the world who can cause her pace and that would be Alex Rider, the object of her worry for almost all of her waking hours lately. That boy attracts trouble like moths to a flame, she thought almost fondly. And that is why she was pacing, not because of the sheer amount of trouble he gets into —He has always managed to get out of that —but because of her fondness for him. He was turning into the perfect agent, which would have been great, but he is still a boy and she will not be the one to take that from him, god knows he has already lost enough. She recalled the day that he had sent Jack back home to her parents less than a year ago after a botched assassination curtsey of Scorpia. After that day, Alex had become colder and colder, more like the agent Blunt wanted him to be, and to have to watch this was killing her. There was only one option left that could possibly return him to the fiery, happy boy that he once was, and she knew Alex wasn't going to like it.

Alex's POV:

The weak rays of sun shone through his window, causing the sleep deprived teen to stir. Rolling out of bed he walked silently to the loo and walked passed the mirror to the shower. He allowed the hot water to cascade down his back, hissing as it hit a particularly painful gash as it went. After washing what felt like a lifetime's worth of grit from his body and hair he shut the water and got out. Looking in the mirror, he raised a delicate brow at what he saw, shaggy blonde hair, deep serious brown eyes accented by a rather nasty looking black eye, and cuts placed at random intervals across his sharp cheekbones and jaw. His classmates were going to have a field day with this one, he thought, but honestly couldn't bring himself to care. Steeling himself he glanced down at his upper chest noting several new gashes that would no doubt soon be added to his impressive array of scars, that covered his chest, arms, and back. Shaking his head to clear it from the memories of how he got the scars he changed swiftly and ran down to the kitchen to grab a yogurt before running out the door. Checking to make sure that all of the locks were locked, he hopped on his bike and headed out to Brookland Comprehensive School.

Sitting back in Spanish he finally allowed his body to rest, the sound of his fellow classmates' failed attempts at Spanish wash over him like a wave, and gave in to the need for sleep. He awoke to the sound of him being called to the office, the class immediately started whispering, his Spanish teacher gave him a sympathetic glance as he sighed, gathered his books and left the room. Walking down the uncharacteristically empty halls like a specter, passing classrooms full of children, oblivious to his presence in the halls as he soundlessly passed. Stopping outside the office, he paused for just a second allowing himself to hide his curiosity behind a mask of cold, calculated indifference. Miss Bedfordshire looked up as he entered, smiling in greeting she directed him to Headmaster Bray's office and looked back down at her computer hoping he hadn't seen the worry etched into her face.

Henry Bray's POV:

Sighing Henry Bray looked across the table at the man who had just entered, already he knew it had something to do with Rider. Thinking back on it now, when he woke up this morning his coffee machine had been broken, he should have taken that as a sign that it was going to be a bad day and called in sick. He could have been at home watching paper-view with his wife instead of being faced with the enigma that is Alex Rider. Looking back up at the blank faced man sat across from his desk —Mr. Cragley... no, Crawley... no, that wasn't right, Crowley, that was it —then looked back at the file he had been handed over an hour ago. They both looked up in unison as Alex coughed from behind Crowley to signify his entrance. Briefly Henry wondered how he had entered so silently, but then remembered what he had read in that file... A spy, had it been any other student Henry would have not have considered it for a second, but as he remembered Alex's disappearances, and unlikely illnesses he began to wonder how he had missed it before. Although the file was mostly blacked out, it left enough information to make it impossible for him to doubt that any of the information was true. When Alex spotted the open file on the desk his face remained impassive but a trained professional could have see his eyes darken almost imperceptibly. Before Henry could begin to speak, Alex turned to Crowley, "Did you even consider if I had any opposition to Mr. Bray reading my file," he asked, his tone dangerous.

"We thought it to be in your best interest," Crowley replied smoothly.

"Since when, has anything you've done been in just my best interest?"

"We are pulling you out of school, you are going to continue your education and training at Brecon Beacons until you reach majority. You are leaving tomorrow, we expect you to be packed and ready to go by 06:00." He then left the room without waiting for so much as a reply.

Henry was momentarily frozen with shock, at the rather one-sided conversation. As Alex turned to leave the room Henry called him back, "I know that we have had our difficulties in the past Alex, but now I just want to thank you." At Alex's incredulous look he continued, "There wasn't much that wasn't blacked out, but from what I gathered, the rest of this school and I owe you an apology. If there is anything I can do, just ask. Stay safe out there, okay," and with that Alex walked out of his office seemingly for the last time.