DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds, or any other recognisable characters/programs. I am not making any money from this story.
A/N: Thank you again all who reviewed/added! And yes, I did mean Rogue, not Rouge. Stupid Auto-Correct! Sorry for the typos! Blame the twins :)
Don't forget italics are thoughts! Hmmm... Zinger Burger!
Heroes – Chapter Three
The team had disbanded and were now sat in various groups and parts of their new home. Reid had gone back to the bedroom. Hotch and Rossi were standing in the kitchen talking in hushed voices. Prentiss, JJ and Garcia were sat on the sofas.
Morgan had locked himself in the bathroom. He stood looking at himself in the mirror. In any other circumstance he would have found the bathroom quite impressive with its marble walls and floor. The fixtures seemed to be fairly modern. A large shower was located in one of the corners and a roll-top bath sat in the middle of the room.
The sink was located in a vanity unit like those found in hotels. That was were Morgan now stood, hands by his sides, looking into the mirror. "This is ridiculous." He said to himself.
He came to the conclusion that one of three things had happened. Option one, he was dreaming and having the most surreal yet realistic dream he'd even had. Option two, the car accident had put him into some sort of coma and this was just his brain trying to sort everything out. Option three, this was actually happening.
After contemplating these options for a while, he decided there was no harm in playing along. If it was one of the first two options, then no harm would come from trying. If the third option was true, and this was all happening for real, then if he played along at least he'd be ready for whatever they were here for.
"Ok," He said aloud. "Shape shifting." He clicked his tongue for a few seconds. "How the hell do you do that?" he asked himself.
He sighed in defeat. He had no idea what to so. A little bit of him envied the others for being able to at least use their abilities a little, all except Reid that is. He shook his head and sighed again. He couldn't even begin to imagine what was going on in Reid's head. The whole situation was indescribable and unbelievable for all of them, but it seemed Reid had it just that little bit worse. Well, a lot worse.
He smiled, thinking about the younger agent as memories of things the team had done together over the years filled his mind. Things Reid had done and wouldn't be able to do again. He looked down at his hands and noticed something odd. Very odd.
His hands were white.
"What the..." he trailed off and looked into the mirror, almost screaming at his reflection. Looking back at him was not an image of himself, but the image of Spencer Reid, dressed in his long sleeved black top, smiling Spencer Reid's smile. "Oh my God!" He exclaimed, looking confused when her heard Reid's voice not his own.
He'd done it. He wasn't sure how, but he'd managed to change. He smiled broadly and headed for the bathroom door.
(((((())))))
"We could try and break out." Rossi said in a hushed voice. He and Hotch were standing in the kitchen area.
Hotch shook his head, placing his bottle of water down on the black surface of one of the kitchen units. The units were made of what looked like beech wood and the appliances were all silver. "I think it's too risky at the minute." He said. "We don't know how to control what we do and Reid..." He trailed off.
"You worried about him too?" Rossi asked.
"I'm worried about everyone." Hotch said, looking at the older man. "But Reid just keeps shutting himself away." He shook his head.
"I think he's scared of hurting someone." Rossi said, turning to look at the bedroom door. Although the current situation was confusing and scary to everyone, they all seemed to be attempting to deal with it. The girls were talking about how best to practice their new found talents and Morgan had gone to the bathroom presumably to practice on private for fear that he may embarrass himself. He turned to look at Hotch. "Wouldn't you be?"
Before Hotch could answer the bathroom door opened and Reid walked in.
"Hey, Reid." Garcia greeted him. "I thought you were in the bedroom?"
"Where's Morgan?" Prentiss said, the penny dropping after the words left her mouth.
"Oh my God." JJ said, smiling broadly. "Morgan?"
"Believe it, Baby!" Morgan said, smiling and dancing a little.
"Please don't dance when you look like Reid," Prentiss said. She couldn't help but laugh a little as he performed his trademark 'Morgan' dance next to the fireplace. "It's very disconcerting." She'd never been able to imagine Reid dancing. Now, thanks to Morgan, she didn't have too.
"Oh, really?" Morgan asked in Reid's voice. "Then how about a little of this?" he asked. For a brief second, he disappeared in a swirl of white light and was replaced by the carbon copy of Hotch.
"Morgan." Hotch warned, moving out of the kitchen area, closely followed by Rossi.
"Damn!" Morgan exclaimed. "I was going for Prentiss!"
JJ couldn't help but laugh a little at hearing Hotch's voice so animated. "This is too weird..."
Morgan began dancing again, this time humming along, with the occasional grunt thrown in.
"You're a good dancer, Aaron." Rossi said, tapping Hotch on the shoulder.
Hotch grunted at the older man before turning to face Morgan. "While we're all very pleased you managed to change... Morgan! Stop dancing!"
Morgan froze on the spot, one arm still in mid air.
"Can you change back, please?" Hotch asked, "You're freaking me out." He admitted.
"Oh, but you can walk through walls and that's ok?" Morgan asked, before turning back to look like himself once more.
"All of this is freaking me out if I'm honest." Hotch said, rubbing his hand against the back if his next. "But until we hear from Buxton again, I guess we're on our own."
"You know," Prentiss said, looking around the team. "Between us, we can do some pretty amazing stuff. I bet we could get out of here."
Hotch shook his head. "None of us has control yet. Plus we don't know where we are or what's outside." He shook his head. "Until we know more I think its best we stay put."
The team silently agreed. None of them knew if they were even in Montana anymore. They could be anywhere, and anything could be waiting for them outside.
"So how have you girls been getting along?" Morgan asked, sitting next to Garcia.
"We haven't." Prentiss said bluntly.
"I still don't understand what's happening to us." JJ said, looking at Hotch who had just sat down next to her. "I mean, this is the sort of stuff you make games up out of when you're little."
"I know." Hotch said, sombrely. "But we have nothing to loose by trying." They were stuck here now, for the time being. Maybe it was a dream, who knew. But their best chance of getting out was to learn to use their new found talents. If Buxton was willing to help them do that, then why not let him?
"We've not heard off Buxton for a few hours." JJ said, looking at the group, then back to Hotch, who was looking at her suspiciously. "Sorry," she said. "I just get little bits of what everyone's thinking now and again." She explained. "I can't really stop it or use it at the minute." She smiled shyly, as if embarrassed that she'd been caught. A puzzled look came across her face.
"What's wrong?" Rossi asked, now sitting on the arm of then sofa next to Prentiss.
"I get little bits of what all of you are thinking." She said, thinking. "Except Reid," she looked at Rossi. "I haven't had anything on Reid, not at all." She shrugged.
"Yea," Prentiss said, looking at Rossi then back to JJ. "Earlier when I froze all you guys, Reid didn't freeze."
"Maybe his whole empathic thingy stops other peoples thingies working on him?" Garcia suggested, not able to think of anything else.
"Maybe." JJ said, standing. "I'm gonna go check on him." She started towards the bedroom door. "He's been in there for a while."
"Be carful." Hotch called gently after her.
"Come on, guys." JJ said, turning to look at them over her shoulder. "Its' Reid."
(((((())))))
Reid sat on his bed looking at the pair of gloves he'd received. They were black leather, with black stitching. He pulled them on, noticing they came up slightly higher on his wrist than normal gloves. They were surprisingly comfortable. That being said he still wasn't overwhelmed at the though of having to wear them for the rest of his life. He hoped Morgan was right, that this was just a dream that one of them was having and in a while he'd wake up and everything would be ok.
He couldn't help but be a little envious of the others. He knew what they were feeling, that they were scared, worried and, believe it or not, a little excited. Maybe he would be too, if it wasn't for the whole 'Do not touch' policy that he now had to follow.
He lay down a little on his bed. He couldn't remember ever feeling so tired. He looked around the bedroom again, having not really paid much attention the first time. The beds were all identical, metal framed with a headboard made from horizontal metal tubes. Each bed had a small wooden bedside cabinet besides it, although his, at least, was empty.
He closed his eyes and sighed, trying to block out all the images in his head. Flashes of the team kept flying through his mind. Would they be there forever? Or would he forget their memories and just be left with his own? He had an eidetic memory. Did that mean he'd had flashes of their lives for the rest of his? He rolled onto his side facing away from the door. He sighed again, trying to recall a happy memory from his past to think about so as to block out all the other images swirling around in his head.
He wasn't sure how long he lay there for when he heard the door open. He knew it was JJ. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. He heard her approach his bed, silently wishing she'd turn around and leave, thinking he was asleep. He felt her sit down of the edge of his bed.
"Hey, Spence." She said quietly. He didn't answer her.
'Why can't I read your thoughts?' She mussed to herself, reaching out to touch his upper arm.
She jumped when Reid's gloved hand shot up and caught her by the wrist. 'Because I don't want you too.'
"Spence?" JJ asked, not sure what just happened. Reid had replied to her question, but she hadn't asked it aloud, had she?
Reid let go if her wrist and sat up to look at her. "Please just leave me alone." He said.
The sadness that JJ heard in his voice made her want to cry. "Please, Spence..."
"No," Reid interrupted. "I can't be around you guys." He said, shrugging and looking at the floor.
"It's ok," JJ said, placing a hand reassuringly on his thigh. "We'll be careful. It'll be fine." She said, assuming he was worried about touching them again.
Reid shook his head. "It's not that," he said. "I know you guys are confused about all this. And I know some of you guys are excited too and I get that, but you all feel sorry for me," he looked down at the floor again. "And I can't be around you because it drives me mad having to feel everything you guys are and it all mixes together and I can't handle it." He said, not looking up at her.
"Spencer, I..." But she didn't know what to say. She'd always seen in TV shows and comics that telepaths were overwhelmed by voices until they learned to control it. But she wasn't. In fact, hers was the opposite. She only got snippets. Reid obviously was not. She couldn't imagine being on a room of people and feeling every emotion they were.
"Please, JJ." Reid said, looking at her. "Please go."
JJ didn't move, she looked at him for a moment. She didn't know why but she felt a sudden surge or anger run through her. It was odd, she wasn't angry, or she hadn't been. But now she felt angrier than she ever had in her life. It took her a second to realise that Reid was talking.
"Go!" He said, sounding as angry as JJ felt. Before she had time to move, she was shoved off the bed and landed forcefully against the edge of Morgan's bed. She let out a small gasp as her side made contact with the metal frame.
Reid sat looking at her in stunned silence. After a few seconds he found his voice. "Oh my, God, JJ. Are you ok?" He asked, moving to kneel next to her. "I'm so sorry I don't know what happened."
JJ shook her head. "I'm fine." She said, sitting up straight and looking at him. "What the hell was that?" She asked, her voice still gentle.
Reid shook his head. "I... I don't know."
"What happened?" Prentiss asked, heading over to the pair. They looked at her confused, then at the rest of the team as they entered behind her.
"We heard someone shout and then a crash." Rossi said, "Are you two ok?"
"I think so," JJ said, standing. She winced a little as her side flared up, but she was pretty sure she'd just bruised it. "Reid?"
Reid was still knelt down. The look on his face was one of shock and confusion. "Did I do that?" He asked, looking at JJ.
"Do what?" Hotch asked.
JJ looked at Hotch then back to Reid. "You wanted to be like everyone else." She said, smiling sadly at him.
Reid shook his head. "No," he said. "No, it can't..." He looked at her. "I can't..."
"Woah." Morgan said, "What the hell?" He didn't know what had happened, he suddenly felt so sad. He turned to look at Garcia, who was now crying. "Baby girl?"
Garcia shook her head. "I don't know," she shrugged. "I just feel sad..." she said, trying to control her tears.
"It's Reid." JJ said, looking around the group. Reid remained silent, confusion and worry evident on his face.
"Ok," Hotch said, sighing. "Just tell us what happened." He said calmly. He didn't know what was happening anymore and it scared the hell out of him.
"I was talking to Reid," JJ began. "I was wondering to myself why I hadn't been getting any kind of read off him, like I do with you guys, but," she shook her head, slowly putting the pieces together. "But he answered me, like he'd heard what I'd said. But he didn't say anything."
"So," Morgan said, slowly starting to understand. "He answered you telepathically?"
JJ nodded. "Then I started to feel really angry and I didn't know why. The next thing I knew I was off the bed and on the floor."
"I wanted you to leave." Reid said, quietly, standing up to stand beside JJ. "I'm sorry."
"So you pushed her off the bed?" Garcia asked, still sobbing. The sadness was still their, although she didn't know why. And now it was topped of with an edge of guilt.
"No!" Reid cried. "I never touched her!" He put his gloved hands in his pockets, hanging his head.
JJ shook her head. "He didn't touch me." She said.
"Oh My God," Prentiss said, realising what was happening. "He wanted to be like everyone else." She looked around the group. "Don't you get it?"
"He threw you off the bed telekinetically." Hotch said bluntly. "He can copy our abilities."
"No," Reid said. "I can't, I mean..." He didn't know what to say. He was so confused. Copy everyone else? How? As if he didn't have enough going on. He sat down on his bed and sighed, causing Garcia to burst into tears again.
Prentiss put an arm around her. "What's wrong?" She asked, gently. Garcia shrugged, unable to answer for sobbing.
Rossi looked from the still sobbing Garcia to Morgan. He noticed how sad Morgan's eyes looked. He then turned to look at Hotch. His eyes showed the same emotion. Everyone's did. He had to admit, even he felt like there was little hope in the situation. He turned to look at Reid. Reid's eyes were different they didn't seem to show any emotion at all. "Reid," he said gently.
The younger profiler looked up at the older man, but didn't speak.
"You need to get your emotions under control." He said softly but sternly. He indicated the rest of the group.
"I don't understand," Garcia said between sobs.
"The reason you feel sad?" Rossi looked at the Tech. "The reason we all feel this way?" he turned to look at Reid. "Reid's projecting it." He said, simply and calmly.
"He's what?" Morgan asked. Garcia sobbed harder. Prentiss, JJ and Hotch stood in stunned silence.
Rossi tried not to, but he couldn't help a wave of sorry pass over him for the younger man. As difficult as this was for all of them, it had just got ten times worse for Reid. "Reid," he tried again.
Reid glanced down at the floor then back up at Rossi. "Why's this happening to me?" He asked.
(((((())))))
Hahaha! Some of you guessed right. Reid is half Rogue, half Peter Petrelli. You see now why he needed the whole 'massive flaw' thing? Other wise he'd be so bad ass it'd be ridiculous and he would leave the rest of the team for dust! Hahahahaha!
I know there's a lot of abilities and stuff going on, but what I have planned requires all of them to be used and I hadn't got enough team members for one each so I doubled up.
Won't be able to update for a few days, going away. But I'll be back! Don't forget me!