Everlasting Changes
by Kiamii
Chapter Six "The Breakdown"
Alex felt overwhelmed and his eyes burned. No.. He would not cry. He. Would. Not. Cry! Alex turned away from the four men who had gathered in the front hall, and he turned about to run towards his room when Wolf had stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.
"Cub.." Wolf began. He stopped short when Alex turned around.
Alex's eyes shone with pure grief. His eyes were dead looking and Wolf blamed instinct for what happened next.
He grasped Alex's arms with both of his and held him at arms length, kneeling down. There was no way he'd let that kind of thing happen to Cub. He was only a kid! Mentally 14 and physically 5.
"Alex.." Wolf began hesitantly, "Its alright to cry you know."
"No. It's not. Spies don't get attached." Alex said in a monotone, a light in his eyes dimming. Wolf looked at the boy in disbelief. What on earth had MI6 done to this kid? Alex was slowly closing up to look like the teen that Ben Daniels had met in Fox's place. He was going to suppress his emotions, Wolf noted.
"Cub." Wolf firmly said, "Even spies have to cry sometimes too."
"No they don't!" Alex replied. Alex had unsuppressed anger left it seemed. Letting yourself be suppressed for too long could not be good.. Wolf hatched an idea.
"You're scared." Wolf stated. Alex looked at him in surprise, "You're just a whiny little brat looking for attention."
"How dare you say that!" Alex growled.
"I'm right, aren't I? Jack was probably nothing to you!" Wolf stated.
"Wolf..." Fox said, looking at his friend in surprise. He was taken by even more surprise as Alex suddenly wrenched away from Wolf and aimed a punch at his stomach. It hit but, his body being smaller, it wasn't as effective. Wolf easily blocked the boy's oncoming punches and kicks.
"Jack was my best friend besides Tom! How dare you say she was nothing. You never met her!!!" Alex screamed. He high kicked Wolf and Wolf didn't block as it hit his shoulder. Wolf winced but, allowed Alex to keep hitting him. Each blow was faster and harder as it came and Wolf wasn't able to block some of them. Alex seemed to be having a fit of rage and didn't notice what he was doing anymore.
"I hate you!!" Alex yelled out. He tripped and Wolf caught him, letting the boy hit his chest. He sat on the floor and leaned against the wall, wrapping his arms around Alex and pulling the boy to his chest. Alex trembled suddenly and tears formed in his eyes again.
"Just let it out Alex." Wolf sighed. Alex looked up at him and suddenly something in him seemed to snap. He felt weak and helpless. He dropped his head onto Wolf's shoulder and wrapped his arms around Wolf's neck. He began to shake and for the first time since his Uncle Ian had died, Alex grieved. Tears fell from his brown eyes and wet Wolf's shoulder. Wolf didn't mind as he somewhat awkwardly patted Alex's back. He had no experience with kids but, he knew he needed to help Alex.
Alex cried as hard as he could, his body racking in sobs. For what seemed to be hours later, the sobs calmed down and Wolf blinked before looking at the still body.
"Are you done?" Wolf questioned. Alex nodded into his shirt and leant back, his eyes puffy and red. He sniffed and rubbed at his eyes. Wolf really felt idiotic when he inwardly thought of the action as adorable. He shook his head at the thought. Dang! He was getting soft!! Wolf sighed.
"I'm sorry..." Alex murmured. Wolf simply rustled Alex's hair in response. Alex gave a small smile before he looked down at his trainers and bit his lip. Wolf rubbed the back of his neck in irritation at how to handle the next part of this situation. Thankfully Fox came over to them.
"Come on Cub, let's get you cleaned up." Fox said gently. He took hold of Alex's hand. Alex did not protest. 'Must be still in shock.' Wolf pondered dryly. He watched as Fox took Alex up the stairs and into the bathroom.
Fox removed a pair of clean cotton pajamas from the sack they bought and started a warm bath. He stood Alex in front of him next to him and Alex was hiccuping, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. Who knew breaking down for nearly an hour could be this tiring? Alex allowed Fox to sit him on the toilet and unvelcro the shoes, pull off his socks, stand him up, and unhook the overalls.
"Are you going to be okay Alex?" Fox asked worriedly. Alex nodded.
"I just miss Jack. Its my fault she got killed. All she had ever wanted to do was move from America to England and be a student. Yet, she became my caretaker. She should have moved back to America when Ian died." Alex said softly.
"Ian is your Uncle?" Fox asked curiously. Alex nodded as Fox pulled off his T-shirt and finished undressing him before lifting him up and placing Alex in the bathtub. Fox found the shampoo bottle and squirted a bit in his hands. He grinned and scrubbed Alex's blonde hair.
"You know," Fox began as he rinsed Alex's hair, "I'm sure Jack would have said something along the lines of 'If dying meant you get to have a second chance, than so be it' if she knew about what happened to you now. I mean, look Alex. You're literally getting to be a kid again. You're best friend is actually alright with this. Look at the bright things of life, I say."
"You're crazy Ben." Alex murmured. He gave a small smile as Fox poked a sensitive side of his stomach.
"Oh, I've been meaning to ask. How did you get the bullet wound? When we were sent in to find the agent, that's how we identified you were Alex Rider. Alan Blunt told us to look for the wound."
"I messed with a deadly organization." Alex simply said, feeling exhausted. Fox was quiet for a few minutes.
"This is kind of fun." Fox laughed. Alex looked at him with a raised eyebrow before he smile a little. Fox took hold of the sponge and started to gently apply pressure to Alex's bullet wound. Alex bit his lip at the touch.
"You know," Alex started with a breath, "I keep thinking you guys are treating this like a joke. I'm not even in public and you're still treating me like a baby instead of even a five-year-old let alone a fourteen-year-old. They don't even get carried this much!"
"Honest? I'm an only child. James (Wolf) is an only child. Matt (Eagle) is a younger brother and Eric (Snake) is a younger brother. We're really not that experienced in what and what not to do when taking care of a kid. Even though you have the mental capability of a fourteen year old. the wisdom of an adult, you're still a little kid and the drug that you were given by that crazed scientist was made to make sure you couldn't be a spy again." Ben answered. Alex looked away but, said nothing. Fox smiled and finished cleaning Alex before draining the tub, grabbing the big woolly blue towel, and wrapping Alex in it. He lifted Alex in to his arms.
"Besides... you're cuddly and fun to pick up." Fox teased, hugging the boy. Alex sighed.
"You are nuts." Alex murmured drowsily.
"I'll tone down the coddling if you are more willing to make this work. We're doing this still inside the house because we don't want to mess up." Fox said quietly. He stood Alex up and got him dressed in the cotton pajamas with the blue and white striped pattern. He placed the towel on Alex's head and gave it an air dry. Alex protested at the movement until it was over, his hair ruffled in every direction. Fox couldn't resist that laughter that escaped at the sight of a tired looking 5-year-old Cub in striped pajamas with his blond hair ruffled so badly like he'd been in a race without something to cover his head. Cub yawned again and rubbed his eyes with his fists. Fox responded by picking him up and carrying him to his room. He was slightly surprised to see Wolf, Eagle, and Snake in Alex's bedroom. He simply placed Alex on the spot where Snake had pulled back the covers in the middle of the bed. Alex finally finished rubbing his eyes and blinked in surprise and sleepily.
"Huh?" Was the only thing Alex could manage to say as Fox pushed him lightly on his back and Snake covered him up and tucked him in. Alex found the movement familiar and guessed Snake had tucked him in last night. He half closed his eyes, too exhausted to do anything. K-Unit obviously thought he was asleep.
"Cub. I'm sorry for everything you've been through," Fox said softly, "I still don't even know most of that. I know you work for MI6 and was shot in the chest before. By whom and why? I don't know and I'm afraid to find out now. I just want you to be a normal little kid again."
Alex, through his fogginess, heard the statement and said nothing. He wanted to say that it was Scorpia and because he betrayed them but, he had no energy left to say such a thing.
"Goodnight Alex." Snake said quietly.
"Night Cub." Wolf replied.
"Night Alex," Eagle whispered. Alex in his mind thought Eagle's tone wasn't funny this time and thought that was strange. He didn't dwell on it too long and before he knew it, he lost all process of thinking and was asleep before he knew it.
It wasn't until the next day while Alex was cooking breakfast in the pair of pajamas (he didn't want to change out of them right now. They were pretty comfy) when Eagle burst into the kitchen causing Fox (who was reading the newspaper), Snake (who was chatting with Wolf), and Wolf to look up.
"Let's go to the PARK today!" Eagle said excitedly. Alex ignored Eagle's exclamations before he hatched an idea. The plan was sounding too good a chance to miss. He turned around and put up a fake grin.
"I agree with Eagle. We should go to the park. There is one nearby with in walking distance." Alex said.
"Well... if you really want to go." Wolf said wearily. Alex hopped off the chair he had been standing on and smiled, inwardly smirking. He let Fox place the cooked pancakes on the table and he helped Alex up into the chair before they ate. Alex allowed Snake to take his hand and pull him upstairs and into the bathroom after grabbing a pair of clothes. Alex allowed Snake to dress him as he remembered yesterday when Snake had first done this.
Snake lifted Alex up on to the bathroom counter and grinned at him. He then picked up the sack and deposited it next to Alex. Pulling out a pair of clothes, he set them on top of the sack and turned to Alex. He began to take hold of the bottom of Alex's shirt and was tugging it upwards. Alex reached out a hand downwards to stop him, blushing.
"What-t a-are yo-ou doing?" Alex stammered.
"Getting you dressed." Snake said simply.
"I can do this myself." Alex pointed out. Snake ignored him, simply pulling the shirt upwards. Alex's arms went up and he bit his cheek to keep from growling at the man. He resisted his natural instinct at kicking Snake as the man undid his trousers and pulled them off him. Alex's cheeks were bright red. Snake had not replaced his clothes just yet and he examined the bullet wound on Alex's chest with carefulness, analyzing the other bruises and scratches.
"I'm mainly doing this to see how far your body is progressing. You've been hurt a lot." Snake said and if to prove his point, he touched one particularly painful looking scar. Alex winced and Snake looked at him sharply.
"During the remaining time of this... punishment," Snake looked amused at that word, "I want you to promise me you'll allow me to check over your injuries. You've been shot Alex. It wasn't even that long ago."
"I'm alive and breathing aren't I?" Alex had said sarcastically. But allowed Snake this one promise. So now, today, Alex had no real problems with Snake undressing him and looking him over.
"It's getting better at least." Snake said, tracing the bullet wound gently, "that's good to know."
Snake then pulled the dark blue shirt over Alex's head and helped Alex as he pulled the light blue shorts on. Snake gave Alex the shoes and socks and Alex quickly put them on. He followed Snake out the room and they went to the front door. Alex was ahead of them as they walked down the block to the central park.
"I wonder why he's so happy to go." Wolf murmured. Eagle and Fox shrugged while Snake was smiling at the boy. As they neared the park, Alex stopped and turn.
"Play tag with me," Alex stated innocently, making sure he was in front of the parents who were sitting peacefully at the benches.
"You want to play tag?" Fox asked slowly. Alex nodded, smiling at him.
"Why don't you uh.. go play on the playground for a bit before we do that?" Wolf suggested hopefully. He couldn't straight down deny the kid. Parents had heard the boy's request and noticed the four men and one child. Alex looked at him before giving in and running towards the playground.
"I see Cub is more active since the other day," and amused voice said.
"Panther!" Eagle chirped in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Fox asked.
"I live nearby and was taking Ashley over to the park to play around." Panther said, smiling down at the little girl who was latched onto his leg with one hand.
"Ashley, do you see the blond boy over there? That is Cub." Panther said to the girl. Ashley looked up at him and looked at Alex who was going on the monkey bars.
"Why don't you go play with him while I talk to his uncle?" Panther suggested.
"Okay!" Ashley said happily. She ran off to where Alex was and K-Unit watched in amusement as she stopped in front of him. Alex had paused, dropped from the monkey bars and said something to her that had the girl laughing.
"He is so cute! Is he yours?" A woman said, coming up behind Panther. She had directed the question to K-Unit.
"He's my nephew." Fox said, remembering their tale.
"Is she your sister?" Wolf asked.
"Ah sorry, this is my wife Kaitlyn. Kaity, this is my unit Wolf, Fox, Eagle, and Snake. Fox's nephew is nicknamed Cub." Panther introduced.
"Kaity! I made a new friend!!" Ashley's voice rang out. The adults turned their heads to see Ashley clutching a blushing Alex Rider's hands.
"Oh, and who is this?" Kaitlyn asked in amusement.
"I'm Alex." Alex said in a shy voice. He was nervous now. He didn't know how to act in front of her.
"Hello Alex, I'm Kaitlyn. So, Fox is your uncle?" She asked, kneeling down to their height.
"Mhmm." Alex said, another idea forming, "I live with him and Wolf and Eagle and Snake!"
"All four of them live with you?" Panther asked in surprise. Alex nodded. Fox was suddenly suspicious at what the kid was planning.
"Uncle Fox told me that since I'm an orphan, I live with him and Wolf and Eagle moved in with us to keep Uncle Fox company," Alex happily made up, loving that he had control right now and if K-Unit tried to kill him well... they couldn't shut him up right now.
"Keep Fox company?" Kaitlyn began.
"Snake moved in cause of one time I walked in on Wolf and Eagle doing something weird in the living room." Alex answered. Wolf was gaping at the boy's words and Eagle was going red. Snake was snickering at this and Fox was just plain grinning at Wolf and Eagle's misfortune
"Oh really. Doing what kind of weird thing?" Panther asked, also kneeling down. Ashley was looking at Alex curiously.
"Uncle Fox said it was hugging but they were touching each other on the lips..." Alex trailed off at Wolf's murderous glare. He hid behind Panther.
"Calm down Wolf! Alex is only a little boy after all. You're scaring the poor kid." Panther defended Alex at Wolf's growling.
"Sweetie, why don't you and Alex go play?" Kaitlyn suggested.
"I want to play tag!" Alex said to Kaitlyn, looking at Fox and the others.
"You know, that isn't such a bad idea." Panther said thoughtfully. K-Unit shared a look and promised revenge on Alex as soon as this was over. With a sigh, Wolf, Eagle, Snake, and Fox played 'Tag' with a 5-year-old Alex. Let's just say that the boy was pretty fast and energetic. It wasn't until it hit almost dark that Alex announced tag was over. Ashley and him were sharing grins while Panther and his wife were resting on the bench now. K-Unit was just on their knees, panting and sending glares at the boy. Alex had weaved in and out of the jungle gym and like most adults, they couldn't fit and got trapped a lot. Alex had spiced up the fun by stealing Wolf's keys, Eagle's phone, Fox's wallet, and Snake's watch to get the men to keep going.
"You are so going to pay for this." Wolf growled out at the boy in front of him once Ashley ran over to Panther. Alex grinned at the panting man.
Author's Note: Some have expressed their wonder that Alex is acting like a kid. I am defending myself and admitting. I have only ever read the FIRST Alex Rider book Stormbreaker and I haven't been able to get the others yet. I'm relying on fanfictions I've read for now and the characters are developed how I feel it would help the story. The thumb sucking thing is something that can happen to anyone. He may be mentally fourteen but, his body got reduced down and naturally he can't escape that without his mind somewhat thinking like a child. That insane Circe guy wanted to make sure Alex couldn't give it his all as a spy anymore. There will be times when Alex will attempt to get that instinct back but, for the meantime K-Unit is trying to get him open up. Some of these things I bring up during Alex's first two days are naturally things I've seen little kids go through (I co-worked with a bunch of counselors during my camp days to take care of a lot of 5 to 12 year olds even though I'm 15...) and the drug is doing its 100% job on what it was made to do. K-Unit has never taken care of a little kid and so they don't know what is right and what is wrong. Thank you Wolfmonster for the wonderful suggestions/advice. Alex is about to start having more fun with this new advantage. MI6 will make an appearance sometime in later chapters and other people. Ashley and Kaitlyn made their first appearance. They wont show a lot but, Panther will! I hope you liked it!