Okay, so I don't know why my second installment into Lazer Team is a hurt-comfort story, but here we are. There will be some spoilers because of the fact that it takes place after the movie. Also, Zach curses; like a lot. He has a potty mouth. Hagan's working on it. There's also a good amount of headcanon on my part, so if that makes you wary, I suggest reading this with caution.
"They can spend thousands of dollars on their fancy video game, but they can't even get us some good food?" Zach complained, taking a bite from his unappealing hamburger. "This is bullshit."
"It's a virtual reality system, not a video game," Hagan corrected after swallowing the turkey sub that he had just taken a bite from. "Also, are you going to bitch about the food every day?"
"If it gets us better food, I will," Zach replied.
"Pffft. Good luck with that," Herman chuckled. "Three weeks and counting."
"It's bullshit that you get to have alcohol, and I eat shit," Zach complained, glaring at Herman half-heartedly.
"Hey, if they don't want me smoking, then they had to let me have my liquor," Herman responded with a shrug.
Hagan rolled his eyes at his teammate's reasoning. Herman had complained endlessly about the military cutting his habits, and so they allowed him to have his alcohol so long as he stopped his smoking (Herman was secretly smoking, but he had cut down the amount of cigarettes he used). Hagan liked to believe that the military just didn't want to deal with Herman's bitching anymore.
Hagan glanced away from his two teammates to take a look around the Mess Hall. The room was empty, save for the three of them and the cafeteria staff. They always had lunch away from the rest of the occupants on base; Colonel Emory had scheduled it as such. There was one member missing from their table, and he was late. Hagan took a second glance around, still noticing their teammate missing. He went back to his sandwich, trying to keep the worry at bay. It wasn't working.
It had become pretty obvious early on that Woody was incapable of consuming food like they were. His helmet was latched to his body, and they were still working on getting the visor to retract so that he could properly eat, drink, and breathe. So, in order for Woody to not die from starvation or dehydration, the young man would go to the Medical Wing on base while his team was eating their meals and receive shots of nutrients and water by being injected with a needle. It wasn't entirely painful, but Woody did sport bruises simply because of how constantly a needle was being stuck in his body.
Hagan hadn't been okay with the arrangement at first (or at all). Although Emory made it clear that Lazer Team was a part of the DETIA one hundred percent, and that they were going to be treated like real soldiers instead of prisoners, Hagan was still wary of the Medical Wing. The team had a silent understanding that the Medical Wing was to be approached with caution, and so he and the other two men avoided the wing at all cost. They only went there for their physical, and the occasional injury. In those cases, they were all together, or at least two of them were.
Woody was always alone.
The arrangement had unsettled Hagan greatly when it was first presented, and he had argued with the colonel on it tooth and nail. He didn't like the idea of Woody being alone with the hospital staff, even when Emory promised they wouldn't harm any of them. His arguments had been rebuffed by Woody, who had used his logical mind to counter his worry. The army wasn't going to look for a new set of heroes after they already saw that Lazer Team was up for the challenge, so they wouldn't take off his head. Hagan had reluctantly agreed with Woody and let the arrangement occur, but that didn't mean it settled well for him.
And now, Woody was running late.
Hagan took another bite of his sandwich, trying to fight off the worry that was readily making its way through his entire system. He knew he was a worry wort, and that Woody was a grown (almost) adult and could handle himself. That didn't stop the worry one bit. What if he was hurt? What if the doctors did operate on him without his knowledge? What if something was seriously wrong with the man? What if a rouge soldier was beating him up?
Hagan allowed another couple minutes to pass by before he finally had enough. Woody was, according to the clock, twenty minutes late. Hagan could feel something was wrong, and he chalked it up to his parental instincts. Putting down his half-eaten sub, the former sheriff stood up from his place on the bench and made his way to the doors. Herman and Zach noticed his actions, looking at his retreating figure in surprise.
"Where you going Half-Ass?" Herman called after him, still using the nickname even after they made up.
"Going to go find Woody," Hagan responded, turning his head over his shoulder slightly so he could glance at his teammates. "He's late."
Zach and Herman watched him leave, not bothering to mock him for his worry. They knew what he meant, and though they didn't show it outwardly, they were worried about Woody as well. They hadn't raised a fuss when Woody was basically ordered to spend a majority of his meal times with the medical staff, but they hadn't been okay with it either. In their subtle ways, they'd probe Woody for information, to see if he was being wrongfully treated and just didn't want to own up to it.
The soldiers didn't bother Hagan as he stalked through the corridors, looking for a certain helmet wearing man. Two months prior, he may have been taken down by the soldiers for venturing the compound without supervision. Now, as a member of the DETIA, he and his teammates were allowed to walk around the base without issue (provided they didn't venture into restricted territory). Hagan was happy that they were no longer bothering them; he wasn't in the mood to deal with their crap if they tried to stop him. Woody was missing, Hagan was entirely worried, and he was running on parental instinct as he searched out his younger teammate.
He decided that the first place to check was the Medical Wing of the base. He really didn't want to go there, but that was the last place Woody was. As he was making his way toward the building, he noticed Officer Vandenbloom walking his way toward him. The man, although creepy, could be trusted. He was the nicest to them out of the rest of the military, even if Hagan felt uncomfortable around him. Vandenbloom was in charge of making sure Woody went to all of his check-ins with the doctors, so he'd have some clue on Woody's last known whereabouts.
"Hey, Vandenbloom," Hagan called jogging over to the man.
Vandenbloom looked flustered for a moment before regaining his cool and putting on a straight face. He greeted the gauntlet wielder with a nod of his head.
"Hello Hagan," the officer greeted. "Is there something you needed?"
"Have you seen Woody?" Hagan asked. "He never showed up at the Mess Hall."
"He was discharged from Dr. Hellop almost half an hour ago," Vandenbloom stated, looking mildly confused.
"Okay, thanks," Hagan stated with a quick nod of his head. "I'll keep looking then."
Hagan patted the man on his shoulder before continuing to walk down the hallway. Some of his worry had dissipated because at least the doctors hadn't done something to him. But a whole new level of worry sprung forth because if Woody wasn't with the doctors, and he was with the team, then where was he? On a whim, he decided to check the barracks; perhaps he had gotten tired?
Their barrack was a bit of an upgrade from the brig they had lived in while they were apart of Project Perseus, and Hagan was stressing the word 'bit.' They were still bunking, and they had the same sleeping arrangements they had back in the brig. There was no toilet or bench, but they did have windows to see outside. There was also the plus that there weren't armed guards standing outside their door, waiting for them to screw up.
Making his way to their barracks quickly, Hagan didn't hesitate to open the door, stepping inside and giving the room a very quick scan. In a few seconds flat, he found Woody lying on his bed. Cautiously, Hagan approached the bed, noting how Woody looked. The young man looked so small, his legs tucked in close to his body, his arms wrapped tightly around his legs. It was such a jarring image, but Hagan's parental side kicked in, and he operated on autopilot without even thinking about it.
"Woody? Are you okay?" he asked the young man, walking over to the top bunk.
Woody didn't respond to his question. He continued to stare blankly at the wall opposite him, not even acknowledging Hagan's presence. Worried because he'd never seen such a blank look on Woody's face before, Hagan reached out and laid a hand on the younger man's shoulder.
"Woody?" he questioned in concern, looking the young man over for any sign of injury. Had the doctors hurt Woody without Vandenbloom noticing? Was he sporting an injury that no one knew about?
Woody's body tensed at the touch, and his body curled into itself just a tiny bit more. If Hagan hadn't been watching Woody carefully, he would have missed the body shifting in on itself. Woody blinked a couple times, coming back to himself before he glanced up at Hagan, noticing him for the first time. Slowly, the young man sat up, Hagan's hand falling off of his shoulder and landing back at his side. Hagan studied the young man carefully, watching the way Woody's blank face was hidden behind a mask of confusion.
"Is something wrong Hagan?" Woody asked.
"You tell me," Hagan replied. "You skipped out on the Mess Hall. Did everything go well with Dr. Hellop?"
"It proceeded as normal," Woody responded robotically. "I decided to come here and rest instead of go to the Mess Hall. That's all."
"That's all?" the older man repeated for clarification.
As a cop and a father, Hagan considered himself to be pretty good at pinpointing a lie. It was incredibly easy to do when it came to Zach and Herman, but Woody was a different matter entirely. Before their encounter with the Antareans, Woody had always been truthful, simply because he had no mental capability to come up with a lie. Hagan had hoped this characteristic would continue to be true, even with the helmet. As he studied Woody and the mask that he wore, he was beginning to think Woody was learning how to lie.
"That's all," Woody confirmed. "I'm fine, honest."
Hagan studied Woody with a frown, but sighed. He had no real evidence to disprove Woody's claim, and he didn't want to push the young man too far. If there was one thing he had learned from his daughter, it was to back off and wait for them to come to him. If something was bothering Woody, he'd eventually come to Hagan.
"Alright," Hagan stated. "If something is wrong, you know you can come to me with your problems, right?"
"Yes," Woody answered.
Hagan expected Woody to continue, but the young man didn't, making Hagan sigh in exasperation under his breath. He clapped the young man on the shoulder, thankful that he didn't flinch away from the touch.
"Alright," he repeated again. "Well, I'm heading back to the guys, you coming?"
"I'm going to stay here a little longer," Woody answered.
"Alright. See you in a few minutes," Hagan replied, exiting the barracks with one quick look at Woody.
The young man didn't respond, once again looking at the wall with a blank look on his face. Hagan frowned, but left Woody alone once again. He didn't entirely believe Woody, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong. He closed the door and made his way back to the Mess Hall, expecting to see Woody at their training session once their break was over.
Hagan was walking briskly toward the barrack, leading Zach and Herman from the Mess Hall. Woody hadn't shown up their entire session, and while the scientists had looked annoyed by his no-show, no one went to grab him. Zach had said a few colorful words about the situation, but one hard glare from Hagan and a jab in his ribs from Herman shut him up pretty quickly. Hagan had barely focused on his training session, and the scientists had noticed the team's entire lack of focus, so they released them early. The three had gone to get food, but were now on their way to the barrack.
"Woody?" Hagan called when he entered the barrack, stepping in first.
Woody was still on his bunk bed, but he had turned and was now facing away from the other bunk. His body was tucked in on itself again, hidden by the blanket that was pulled up to his chin. He looked like such a child it made Hagan's heart hurt just looking at him. Zach did not feel the same way, and he pushed his way past the older man, stomping his way over to his teammate.
"What the hell shithead? Who said you get to skip training while the rest of us have to bust our asses?" Zach demanded, seething at Woody's back.
The scrawny man didn't acknowledge his loud teammate's words. He didn't acknowledge any of them. Zach, furious that he was ignored, reached out and grabbed his teammate by the shoulder.
"Hey," he snapped, giving the shoulder a rough shove. "Are you listening asshole?"
"Zach," Hagan scolded, leveling a hard glare on the young man.
Zach removed his hand from Woody's person, and he looked at Hagan in mild surprise. Hagan hadn't taken that tone with him since the days before the Worg attacked. In another time and place, it would have been hilarious to Zach on how much of a parent Hagan looked like in that moment, but the situation was too serious for him to laugh, and so Zach kept silent and backed away from the non-responsive man. Hagan looked Woody over, but the young man still wasn't responding to his environment. The older man stepped forward and placed a hand on Woody's shoulder.
"Woody?" Hagan asked in concern.
He would have made an attempt to move Woody's shoulder, but he had noticed the way Woody's body curled in on itself, trying to break itself free of Hagan's touch. He stopped and removed his hand, looking at the back of the helmet in concern and worry.
"Are you feeling okay?" Hagan asked.
Woody remained silent.
"Did you go to the doctors?" Herman asked from his bunk, his eyes revealing how worried he was.
Again, Woody remained silent.
"Are you giving us the cold shoulder?" Zach demanded, looking miffed but also worried.
Woody continued to be silent.
The three teammates looked to each other, unsure of what to do. Woody was typically outgoing and always talking, often blabbering about whatever came to mind and going off of tangents that usually ended with one of the three telling him to shut up. Seeing Woody so closed off was unsettling, and they felt out of their element. None of them were very good at emotional support, and they weren't entirely what to say to get him to open up. Without needing to speak, the three decided to let Woody be. They climbed into their beds and fell asleep, uneasy about the situation but hoping that things would be better in the morning.