So apparently there's a fascination with Virgil Tracy amongst my reviewers, I assume he's a favourite character of some people reading this work? My favourite has always been good old John, he just writes so perfectly! Anyways, you asked for two prompts so here they are. A continuation of the last fic where I introduced a winged AU, and also some Virgil whump and TLC. I hope you are satisfied!
They boys were settling in nicely.
After they had been let out of quarantine, clear of sickness, bugs and listening devices he had let them wander the mansion as he took Scott and Virgil aside for a chat.
The boys weren't far apart in age, and both, while accepting of his offer of shelter and a place on his team, were not so accepting of him as a person yet.
They'd taken a seat on the couches in the living room, tucking their wings in as they did so, with Scott and Virgil crowding one couch and Jeff taking a seat opposite them, keen eyes watching their nervous twitches.
"I wanted to talk to you boys first, so you have a chance to ask me any questions," Jeff offered when silence reigned in the room.
Scott took the lead, the fire in his eyes reminding Jeff of his own teenage years.
"I know that you're…like us…but why exactly did you buy us? Surely there are better candidates for your team," Scott asked tensely, looping an arm around Virgil as he did so, the younger teen not seeming to mind at all.
"You're wrong about that, Scott. I was staking out black market sales for weeks on end and until two days ago I never found any worthy candidates for my team. The moment you boys chose to be resilient in the face of disaster and fought back despite your limitations I knew you were exactly who I needed," Jeff replied smoothly, watching them for any hints of nervousness and anger.
Virgil let out a soft growl at his statement.
"So this is all simply business. You care nothing about us, you just want our skills, our wings? You don't care about the humans attached!" He growled passionately, jade wings fluffing up in anger.
Jeff held out a hand to stall any agreement from Scott.
"I know it's hard for you to understand just now Virgil, but I really do wish to be a part of your lives, to nurture you and teach you. I want to get to know each and every one of you, and I plan to prove to you that I really mean that," Jeff murmured, his eyes softening as he spoke.
Scott's ears perked up and he lent forward with an intrigued glance.
"How?" he asked quickly.
Jeff spread his hands and his wings, rising from his seat with grace and poise.
"By letting you fly".
The air was cool today.
The breeze blew softly through his midnight hair as he stepped outside, the excited chatter of his brothers filling his keen ears. His obsidian feathers ruffled at the wind, his wings moving to stabilize him as he stepped to the edge of what Jeff Tracy had referred to as the 'flight deck'.
He hadn't flown in years. At least not properly. He'd fluttered about the cage and hovered above the cold floor to teach Alan and Gordon whilst Scott helped John to flutter higher. But true flight? He hadn't experienced that in so long he almost felt as though he'd forget!
Jeff stepped up beside him, immense white wings lifting to test the wind currents.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Jeff asked with a raised brow.
A excited cry issuing from his lips, Virgil leapt in to the air, powerful strokes of his emerald wings helping him gain both altitude and speed quickly.
Soon the figures on the flight deck below were small and insignificant, the wind rushing through his locks, currents tempting his long caged wings to be daring.
And so he was.
Swooping and diving at incredible speeds to touch the ocean with a happy laugh, playing chicken with Scott as his faster older brother flew right at him, and dive bombing Gordon from above so he took an impromptu swim.
It took him longer than anticipated to realize that Jeff was circling above them, white wings barely moving as he drifted on an air current, watching their every move with a calculative eye.
Shrugging at how strange the adult was being, Virgil went back to an all out war of tag with his beloved brothers. Oh how good it was to be free!
Virgil was disappointed when it was time to head back inside, the sun dipping low and sore muscles reminding him that he'd been cooped up for a long time and all this sudden flight was wreaking havoc on his starved body. He pulled his wings out to their full length to slow his landing as he fluttered closer to the flight deck, watching as Scott and John who had been before him safely tucked in their plumage and dropped gracefully to the ground.
He began to slowly retract his wings as the ground neared and extended his feet to touch the hard ground.
A panicked screech was all the warning he got.
Alan came tumbling towards him, never having been taught to land properly, his crimson wings flapping wildly about him. He crashed full on right on top of Virgil, sending them both crashing to a halt against the hard ground, Virgil thankfully having broken Alan's fall.
Virgil couldn't form a coherent thought outside of pain.
It rushed through his bones like wildfire, sending his nerves sizzling and causing him to stifle a scream in his throat. Oh god he was back there, back in the world of slavery and pain, so much pain, with electrified cages, cattle prods and whips and belts that scorched and flayed his skin. He was back with captors who attempted to sell him to men with lusty eyes and women with cruel sneers and even crueler intentions. They had hurt him, he was hurt.
His wings hurt! They hurt bad, and whenever the bad men had hurt him he had always relied on Scotty.
"S-Scotty!" He cried out, not daring to open his eyes from his dream world of a man with white wings and a proper home.
Hands on him, touching him, twisting his body to face a scorching sun.
"I'm here Virge, you're okay," Scott murmured softly in his ear.
How nice of him to lie. He had always begged Scott to lie to him when he was hurt, 'Lie to me! Tell me we're fine, that we're gonna be okay because I can't take anymore truth right now!' he had always begged.
"Scotty, they hurt me bad this time, i-it hurts real bad," Virgil sobbed softly, holding his eyes closed in the vain hope of maintaining a dream of love and hope for a possible future.
Scott gasped softly before his voice was back, lying to him just the way he always wanted.
"Virgil it's okay, we're free remember? Jeff got us out and brought us here, we flew, Virge! We flew! You got hurt because Alan crashed in to you! Now just lie still and let us look for injuries okay," Scott replied calmly.
Virgil huffed a painful laugh. Free…
Large, warm hands were touching his shoulders, running down to where his wings connected to his human skin, prodding and pushing against him before they hesitantly ran along the primary wing bone.
Immediately he screamed in blinding pain, writhing against hands that tried to hold him as waves of pain seemed to wash over him before they finally settled back down to the dull ache of before.
"It's his joint, he's dislocated the Radius bone form the Ulna in both wings, probably because he was mid retraction when they were hit, we need to get him inside now," A deep voice muttered above him, Jeff Tracy his mind supplied.
Hands were again on him, a hand under his wings and another under his knees pulling him upwards and off the hard ground which was his only constant in this swirling world of pain.
The explosion of pain the lifting caused had him letting out a choked breath, whimpering in the back of his throat as he was clutched tighter against a warm chest.
The sound of sobbing reached his ears but he felt no tears, who was crying?
By the time his sluggish mind had pondered that thought he was being placed on something soft, his head cushioned by a pillow cloud that he practically melted in to, his wings facing the sky and laying limp across his body, warming him deliciously.
It felt so nice. Of course that meant it had to end.
Hands on him again, pressing weight on his arms and legs.
"Stop.." He moaned listlessly, wanting to melt in to the pillows and forget the world of pain.
"Sorry Virge, just a moment longer".
Scott…What did he mean a moment longer? A moment for what? Pain.
Hands on his wings, cold now instead of warm and comforting, voices talking in hushed tones above him, hands gripping tight to his left wing causing him to cry out softly, it hurts, stop it!
A pulling sensation followed by a loud SNAP followed by pain worse than any before, clawing a scream from his desert of a throat and strength to his limbs as he pulled and twisted, attempting to gain better purchase.
His captors had never been this rough before.
Hands were on his right wing this time and he pulled and twisted in renewed fervor, he wouldn't go through that pain again, not again.
"S-stop it, please stop it hurts! I'll do anything!"
No replies, the hands were gripping tighter on his wing and he knew this dance, knew what came next.
"P-please noooo," He sobbed harshly, knowing it was pathetic but he was a child in pain and no one was listening to his cries.
His please were unwarranted as a second pull SNAP pain followed the first and he screamed louder, screeching until it died down and he was panting, gasping for any air that dared enter his lungs.
Hands were back, weight lifting from his limbs as warm, familiar hands cupped and turned his cheek.
"Hush now Virge, it's okay now, it's over there's no more," Scott's voice assured.
Virgil clung to the war hands, tears streaming down his face as he softly sobbed.
"No more…"
"Yeah tough guy, no more".
Something cold briefly touched his free upper arm as he clutched at Scott desperately, surprising him enough that he didn't feel the sudden pinching pain that followed until it was gone. Once he did register it his sobs renewed, hands clawing at Scott is pure terror, he knew that feeling.
"You said no more! Don't torture me anymore, please, I can't take it…"
His words drifted off as his mind drifted, sudden thoughts never making it past that sudden barrier of murky conscience. His muscles relaxed and his grip on Scott slackened no matter how hard he tried to clutch him harder.
"S-Scotty whas goin on?" Virgil slurred, his jaw moving sluggishly to form words.
A hand ran through his hair, soothing away the tenseness in his jelly-like muscles.
"Ssh Virgil, it's okay just go to sleep," Scott urged close to his ear, soothing voice relaxing him further.
He didn't want to go to sleep, but he couldn't help it, he was suddenly just so tired…
Jeff watched on in silence as Virgil drifted off, courtesy of the sedative that had been pumped through his veins. He needed the rest after having both wings dislocated.
Jeff knew from personal experience just how much that hurt.
Scott had been a good help, immediately comforting Virgil after the accident, being firm when required and then seamlessly falling back in to the role of comforter again.
He was definitely leader potential.
If his current possessive nature was any indication he would not be leaving Virgil's side until he woken again.
He did spare a though to the loudly sobbing Alan who he could faintly hear three floors above with his advanced hearing. Little Alan had been horrified when he'd picked himself up off the ground and saw the mishappen shape of his brother's wings, and John and Gordon had silently moved to comfort him knowing that Jeff and Scott would be busy.
His mother was probably up there with them, a plate of horrible cookies in hand. He shuddered at the thought of her baking, those poor boys.
"Will he be okay Mr Tracy?" Scott asked suddenly, breaking the silence between them.
"Yes, I daresay he will be, though I think your littlest brother is in quite a sorry state too," Jeff replied coolly.
Scott perked up, bluebell eyes wide with anguish.
"Alan! Oh he's probably so upset right now, he only calms down for John or I but in this case he's probably still crying his eyes out. I can't leave Virgil though…" Scott said quickly, casting torn glance at his peaceful sibling.
"I'll watch over him, you tend to your brother, he'll be right here when you all get back".
When the ends of Scott's silver plumage disappeared up the stairs Jeff sidled over to sit on the edge of the medical bed, ruffling Virgil's hair affectionately.
"Seems I'm not so bad after all. You'll see Virgil, this is far more than business, my dear son.."
Okay! So there you go Virgil whump fans, hope it was up to your standards. Now votes are back up for new fics. Send me in your requests, continuations, new ideas, I'm open.