Chapter 8: "Warden Wagner"

After Annie had finally let James go after another quick kiss on the cheek, and Lily acted as the world's best distraction, James managed to slip around the fringes of the group and then silently went up the stairs to his room — or where Sadie had said his room was set up.

The Howlett suite was much the same as it had been before, but there were some notable differences in how the rooms were laid out — and of course, fresh drywall and paint had it smelling brand new, which, technically it was.

There was a new desk with a brand new laptop from Tony, and a bunch of new hard drives were stacked up in one corner. Not to mention a whole box full of flash drives that were just waiting for him to use. All of the photos that he'd had hanging on the walls had been destroyed in the attack on the mansion, but Kurt had left a note on his desk that said there were some new ones on order already.

Looking at the new version of his old room had James more than a little overwhelmed, and like him, even though it was the same, there were some serious differences. Like the fact that the katanagake was empty, and when he considered it, he didn't see his father's swords displayed, either. It was subtle, but still a solid reminder of a moment of weakness that he wasn't going to shake any time soon even if he did manage to get away from that line of thinking, which he had not.

He closed the door behind himself and then crossed the room, still taking in his surroundings. He frowned when he dropped onto the bed at how much it sank down. For an instant, he wondered what was wrong with his mattress, but then he saw the metal bracelet on his wrist, and the errant thought disappeared. For a fleeting moment, he'd forgotten how much had changed about himself. But the bracelets were a reminder of the metal hidden under his own skin. With a disheartened sigh, he rolled over onto his stomach, hugging his pillow. It wasn't much, and he still wasn't healing properly at all, but he'd been restrained and kept mostly isolated for the last six weeks, and with all the healing he still had ahead of him, he was fried already. He honestly needed the peace and quiet away from the sounds of the lab and the privacy of finally being able to be alone.

He was comfortable and even almost drifting off when he felt the bed move an instant after he could smell brimstone, and the pink smoke gave away who it was.

"What are you doing?" James asked sleepily as he picked up his head and turned her way.

"Don't worry; I brought my own blanket," Kari said as she climbed in and made herself comfortable beside him.

"I wasn't … that wasn't what I was asking." He shifted over just a little bit to give her some room and pulled over the other pillow to hand to her.

"Well," she said slowly before she glanced up at him, "I decided that if you were going to do something stupid while everyone is asleep, you'll have to either leave me or make me wake up to you dead." She didn't sugarcoat it or dance around it, holding his gaze steadily even as she pressed the pillow down to her liking.

He stared at her for a long moment. "Kari …" James let out a sigh and propped himself up on one elbow. "That's not fair."

Kari raised an eyebrow his way. "Why not?" she challenged.

He looked properly ashamed of himself before he sat up further. "I don't have a plan." he hedged as he thought it over. "Alright, I didn't have one before, either. It … I just did it last time."

Kari frowned his way for a moment before she sat up with him. "I don't want you to 'just do it' now either," she said simply. "I care about you too much to leave it to chance."

"I just want to sleep and be alone," James said before he eased himself back down onto his stomach. "I'm already set up to have a babysitter all the time."

"Well, you really don't need to be alone right now, so consider me the night shift," Kari said simply as she settled back down and curled up. "See you in the morning."

James turned his head her way to peek up at her with one eye. "Really."

She smirked and didn't even open her eyes. "Are you shy, James?"

"About what?"

"I brought my own blanket, but if you're going to be a prude about it, I'll tell your mom that you need the refresher course in the birds and bees," Kari said, her smile turning a bit more impish.

"I don't understand why I need a twenty-four hour watch," James grumbled.

"I'm not even watching you; I'm just making sure you don't do something stupid and hurt me," Kari said in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone. "Do you need me to spell out why you need someone with you?"

"I won't have to do anything to myself," James said in just as a matter-of-fact manner. "Your dad'll drown me when he takes me to the lake if you're going to sleep in here."

"Lies," Kari said. "He's too happy to have you around."

He closed his eyes and snuggled into his pillow, though he didn't turn away from her. "I'll just tell him you couldn't keep your hands to yourself."

"If you say so, James," she said with a sedate smile as she relaxed and pulled the blanket up around her shoulders to go to sleep.

When James woke up the next morning, he realized that he'd barely moved from where he'd dropped onto his bed, but there was an arm across his back, and Kari had wrapped her tail around his ankle.

He found out quickly that it was her first warning system, since as soon as he shifted his leg, she was awake and frowning at him accusingly. "What were you going to do if I wasn't sleeping so soundly?" James asked in a rough sort of voice before he readjusted his arms and resettled in.

"Probably not slept too well," Kari replied, though she did at least let go of his ankle before she half-burrowed in. "Are you getting up, then?" She watched him as he settled into place, more on his side instead of face down, but still with his eyes closed.

"To be honest, I'm kind of enjoying the option of being able to turn," he replied. "Or use my arm for a pillow." To accentuate his point, he pushed his pillow off the bed and doubled down on his snuggle.

"You have such low standards," she teased.

"I don't know," he argued thickly. "More like realistic expectations."

Kari smirked at that. "So, what are we going to do today?"

He frowned and finally cracked open an eye to look up at her. "What are you talking about?"

"I know my dad wanted to steal you away for a trip out on the lake, but if you can squeeze in some time with your best friend…"

He shook his head at that. "I'm not going anywhere, Kari. I told your Dad I'm on a tether, so I'm just … here."

"Okay, so… we can ride horses?"

He let out a little scoffing sound. "They're not going to cut me loose like that. That would be idiotic."

"Well, you're not going to just sit in his room all day. That would be idiotic," Kari said, matching his scoffing tone.

"They don't trust me, and they have no reason to. I'm just … going to stay here and try to not make it any worse than I already have."

"So you're just going to stay inside. I know you're not supposed to be alone, but that's no reason to stay in one room. I thought the whole point was to make you feel less trapped!"

"Oh, is that what the point was?" he asked in his most sarcastic tone.

"Yes, it was," she said evenly.

"So what am I supposed to do then, do you think?"

"I think you're supposed to be James," she said, readjusting the way she was sitting so that she was propped up on both of her arms to look at him. "Not this shadow of yourself hiding in his room. I think I'd like James back, even a little bit."

"I don't know that's even possible … can I at least get some alone time to change, or were you planning on supervising me stripping too?"

Kari smirked at that. "Oh, I suppose," she said. She waited for James to get out of the bed before she simply pulled her blanket up over her head to hide.

He stood there for a moment and stared at her. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you alone time," she said from under the blanket.

James continued to stare at her before speaking in a clipped tone. "Am I on. A. Timer?"

"No, but I'd really like to be able to breathe away from the blankets, so…"

"Oh, my God," he muttered before he headed over to find something to wear. "I can't believe you." He rushed to get changed and waited until he'd pulled on his shirt last and then whipped the old one at her. "Who do I have to thank for the nth degree here? My parents already took all the sharp objects out of here."

She poked her head out from underneath the blanket and smiled sweetly at him. "You act like I have to be prompted to take care of someone I care about," she said.

"This is a little ridiculous; you have to admit at least that much. Even Dad gave me privacy to get dressed — and he took all of the weaponry out of here."

"It is," Kari said. "But James, you scared me half to death when I heard what happened. This is just as much for me as it is for you," she told him honestly. "Please."

He let out a breath and held up both hands. "How about I swear that I'll never do anything here that would make anyone upset? Even a little."

Kari watched him for a long moment before she nodded slowly. "Alright. Swear on your honor."

"I don't think I have any of that left," he said dryly.

"Do it."

"Fine. On my honor," James said, though he clearly thought she was cracked.

But it seemed to help Kari significantly, and she let her shoulders drop before she teleported over to wrap him in a hug. "Thank you, James."

"You're welcome. What do you want to do now, Warden Wagner?"

"Well, if you're going to start pulling that, I'm going to have to suggest a jailbreak movie."

He scrunched up his nose at that. "I think maybe I'll get some coffee before you put me to sleep again. It's been a while since I had any."

"Which is positively a shame," Kari said with a smile before she teleported them both down to the kitchen and tried not to laugh when the 'port had James staggering sideways and looking for balance. Then she teleported herself to her room to change once she saw that there were others downstairs too.

James looked around the room as he kept one hand on the wall, then let out a little breath before he headed over to get a mug, planning to just hop up on the counter and stay there to avoid the table and those around it. But clearly, that plan was destined to fail from the beginning when everyone there wanted to take a turn at keeping an eye on him.

Tyler was the one to get there first, though, and he didn't look pleased with him. Still.

"You aren't going to give me a reason to have to come back here," he said in a tone that was not a question.

A flicker of irritation that James hadn't expected sparked up, and he met Tyler's gaze with a vindictive glare. "I sure won't."

"Good," Tyler said, his lips pulled back a bit. "I got a pregnant wife at home; I don't have time for you to be stupid."

James leaned forward slightly and set his mug down next to him. "No, you don't. And it wouldn't matter where you were. If I go that route again, there won't be time for anyone to worry about it. And you know it. So mind your own damn business."

Tyler's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward in return, a growl rising up in his throat. "I am minding my business," he said.

James just held his gaze for a long moment. "You wasted your time here. You should have been with them weeks ago."

Tyler growled at him deep in the back of his throat. "Keep talking like that and I'm moving in."

"Then I'll just quit talking, but you're the one sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. I'm not going to interfere with anything."

"You better not," Tyler said with his eyes narrowed.

The staredown continued until Logan cleared his throat from the doorway, his arms crossed as it was clear he'd been watching the two for a little while. "No, this doesn't look familiar at all."

Tyler let out a deep growl before he turned on his heel. "Just saying goodbye."

Logan wouldn't let him pass, though, and he was sure to get Tyler to look him in the eyes. "I'm on it."

Tyler met his gaze for a long moment before he nodded once. "Good."

Logan watched Tyler pass before he headed over to James and refilled his mug to watch him for a moment. "You can stop poking the Creed any time. I know it's easy, and you know his buttons. But you need to stop."

James let out a little sigh and picked up his mug again. "He's leaving. Shouldn't be an issue." But the young man didn't exactly leave his father feeling like it was any kind of a victory — or even a ceasefire.

"You know you're projecting, right? Tristan could hear you as soon as you got close."

Tyler hadn't even taken off his coat before Tammy had taken his hand to lead him inside, her gaze soft as she looked him over. There were gray streaks in her hair, and he could hear their kids in the next room, but for the moment, all he could see was the same expression she always used to wear when they were teenagers and a mission on the junior squad was going south.

He stepped into her embrace and tucked her under his chin, wrapping himself completely around her as he rested his head on hers. "I'm just glad to be home," he admitted.

"I'd be more convinced of that if your head wasn't still in Westchester."

"Tammy…"

She looked up at him and took a step back, both hands raised. "I know, I know," she said. "I'm worried about him too." Then, she took a step back into him and took his hand to rest it on her already growing stomach. "But you've got a lot of good to think about here. Don't forget that."

He smiled and leaned over to kiss her. "What would I do without you?"

"Get lost in drama, apparently," she teased.

Tyler chuckled and then swept her off her feet and into a long, deep kiss. "Someone told me I should spoil my pregnant wife," he said rather than rise to her bait.

"Smart someone," she agreed, rearranging herself with her arms around his neck — and Tristan quietly took his sister to their room to play so the two of them could get some privacy.

James wasn't the only one to get one of the new tethered phones that Tony had designed for them. Tony had been sure to create them for each of the Horsemen, so that in the middle of all of the public uproar about the decision not to punish the kids, their parents would have a way to keep track of them and make sure that they were safe. It was a good enough idea that Scott had even made it known, in a closed session, that the four of them would be closely monitored for a time period to prove that they weren't going to revert to Apocalypse's wishes.

Leslie Ann hadn't been able to keep from watching the United Nations debate, even if her parents had told her not to. But she was a grown woman, and she'd been through it all before with the Leslie Initiative and everything else. She wanted to know what was coming for her.

And now that it was over and the ICJ wasn't coming after them… Leslie Ann was almost waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She was standing out in the garden, tending to a few of her favorites — a pair of tiger lillies that had come with a note from Amadi saying that she was doing better and hoped Leslie Ann was alright — when David caught up to her with a phone in hand.

"Hey!" the grinning, dark-haired technopath called out as he caught up with her. "This just came in from Stark Industries. New phone — pretty much all of the perks you'd expect from him, totally secure, all that — also, probably not a good idea to lose it because it's got a built-in alarm system so if you're separated from it, we're all going to assume you've been attacked or something and go on the warpath…"

Leslie Ann turned to stare at him with her eyebrows raised. "Woah, that's… a lot at once," she said.

"Well, it's a pretty cool invention," David said with a grin. "It's got a way to monitor vitals, so if you're having a panic attack, someone can come help. And — hey, there's one downside, though. You can't text the other Horsemen or call them."

Leslie Ann frowned, thinking of Amadi. "Why not?"

"People are kind of all up in arms about the four of you, and the last thing we want is some kind of accusation of collusion."

Leslie Ann frowned at that as she took the phone from him. "Alright," she said slowly.

"Listen," David said with an almost sheepish smile. "I know you guys aren't going to do anything, so if you really do need to check on someone … you can go through me. In the meantime, how about I show you all the features?"

Leslie Ann nodded and gestured for him to sit with her on a bench in the garden. "You're the tech genius behind that website about the X-Men, right?"

"Yes, yes, I am," he said with a little nod before he cracked open the case he'd brought with him. "And you're the doctor that decided to actually help save the world — Apocalypse notwithstanding."

She couldn't help but shake her head with a little blush. "That's not really true," she said. "I'm a cop's daughter; that's just… me."

"Excuse me, Amazon, but like you said, I am the guy that's been running the websites, and from the stories I've seen coming in, you have been helping to save the world. Even if you have been maybe overshadowed by little people like Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor." He paused and turned her way. "He sent a flower for you, by the way. Thor, that is."

"He did?" Leslie Ann asked, honestly shocked.

"Yeah, we haven't been able to pick it up to move it, but that was the 'thing in the foyer' that Rachel was telling you about earlier? She said there was no rush for you to get it, but Thor sent you some … Asgardian flower."

"Okay, that… is way more interesting than a phone, no offense," Leslie Ann said with a smile.

David couldn't help but smile at her. "Yeah, I probably should have waited to tell you about that, huh?" He drew in a deep breath and held it before he gestured at the phone. "I guess I'll try to be quick so I can get out of your way, then."

"You don't want to see the Asgardian plant with me?" she asked with a small smile. "It sounds impressive."

He smiled again and tipped his head to the side. "Well, sure, I guess, but I do have to get you through this first." He paused. "But … if you promise to pay close attention, maybe I can tell you about it on the way?"

"I suppose if I can sit through a decade of university classes, I can listen to a phone lecture," she said with a small, teasing smile.

"Yeah, school wasn't really my strong point," he admitted before he simply started to show her the features and explained a little bit about how it worked restrictions wise. "I'll transfer all your contacts so you don't have to worry about that too."

And Leslie Ann really was listening and nodding along to all of it right up until they got to the foyer and she let out a little sound of surprise and delight when she saw the bright, electric blue flower in the huge pot. The petals were at least the length of her arm, and the interior of the petals turned a sort of turquoise closer to the stem.

"Wow," she whispered quietly as she reached out to touch the petals, smiling to herself as she stroked them. "Wow," she said again as the sensation sent tingles down her spine — the plant was slightly empathic, at least enough to be felt even without empathic abilities. She walked around the plant a few times, still wide-eyed as she ran her hands over it and whispered "wow" a few more times.

She was surprised, too, to find that there was even an envelope beside the plant, in Thor's almost calligraphic script.

I hope that this finds you in better spirits than you were last I saw you. The tower isn't quite the same without your lovely plants or your cheerful disposition. Please, take care of this while you're away from us. You should know that though our worlds are different, there are common threads through both. I look forward to joining you in battle again. - Thor

Leslie Ann stared at the letter for some time with one hand over her mouth and her eyes brimming with tears before she simply turned to David and hugged him — because he was the closest huggable thing. She let him go quickly and cleared her throat, and she grinned at David sheepishly. "I just… he's so sweet. More people should know that about the God of Thunder. I can't believe he's so nice, and I lived with him."

"Yeah, that's... not what I expected."

"He's the one that stopped me, you know," Leslie Ann told him quietly.

"I did know that, actually."

"Right, yeah, you probably watched the UN broadcast and all of that," Leslie Ann said, shaking her head. "I think this is his way of saying 'bygones', seeing as I tried to drain the life out of him, and he made me literally sick." She looked over at David with a little smile. "Like I said, he's very sweet. I've seen him take down entire armies, but he knows what Kamala's kids' favorite foods are."

"Yeah, I saw a lot of that, and we were kind of flooded with submissions from people that you helped before all that. They were swearing up and down you guys weren't in your right minds, and I was scrambling to keep them in order and all lined up."

Leslie Ann turned his way in surprise. "Really? Even after everything we did?"

"They were reacting to the UN saying it was you acting of your own free will, and well... You four kind of broke the internet."

Leslie Ann couldn't help but smile at that. "My friend Jana would have liked that. She used to love your website."

"Yeah, there were people that were talking about you back when you were in the X-Men and people that had met you when you were in the Avengers … Amadi had a lot of students that had gone through LA that came out of the woodworks talking about what a great kid she was. I know you two kind of got along. There were pictures attached from some of the students."

Leslie Ann nodded. "It's hard to find someone who understands what it's like to have an entire force of nature at your fingertips," she said. "It's humbling — and Amadi handles it with so much grace."

He shrugged at that. "Well, she does have the original weather witch for a mentor and mother."

Leslie Ann nodded. "Storm taught me a lot when she was in Westchester. She taught me how to control myself and how to respect the forces that I was reaching into." She glanced his way. "What about you? I heard that you were close with Kitty…"

"I was," he said, losing some of his smile. "And it's been hard here without her." He gestured openly for a moment. "I knew James for a semester, too. He had an epic prank war with Peter Quill that … well, the marks on the ceiling in the hangar still won't come off."

Leslie Ann couldn't help but smile at that. "He's been like that forever. I remember when he was born — and Sying too. That whole group was so tight when they were growing up. It was kind of adorable."

"They were good kids," David said. "All reports considered, too."

"Yeah," Leslie Ann said quietly. She trailed her hand over the petals of the plant once more before she turned David's way. "Can I see the marks on the hangar?" she asked. "I think I could use a good story like that."

He gave her a little smile and gestured for her to follow as he started to launch into how James had finally taken it a step too far and rigged the Milano.

Even though the Horsemen were no longer on the hook at the UN, Sying still felt better getting away for a while with his family on a trip to Hala. They usually went for a little while every year, but it just so happened that it was right around his parents' anniversary, so the idea was a trip to the stars for the whole family.

They even met up with the Guardians for a little while, to the delight of Celeste in particular, who had been writing Jayce every week since the Quill family left.

They met up on Hala, where Melody was thrilled to see E'tann again, too — which meant that Noh was a bit grumpy as he realized that his girls were starting to pair off.

"It's not quite the same as with Sying," he muttered into Jubilee's hair as they sat alone together, finding a quiet place on Hala for their anniversary. "He and Krissy have known each other their whole lives, grown up together… this feels different, and I'm not entirely sure I like it."

"Oh, I see … but it's okay when it's a strange prince from Hala instead of a boy you know inside and out," Jubilee said, nodding slowly.

"That's not what I'm saying," Noh argued. "With E'tann, there is distance…"

"And there's no distance with Jayce? While he's out cruising the galaxy?" She tipped her head to the side slightly, blinking up at him. "Or is it just that they're girls and your little boy going out and picking up an Elf is some kind of dumb … male thing?"

Noh shook his head lightly and wrapped her up in a kiss. "I never said any of those things, my Jubilee. I'll thank you not to put words in my mouth." He shook his head. "I just meant that we know Sying will stay close to home, and our girls seem to be looking as far away as possible."

"You don't have to say it when you're all tense and worked up — and what makes you think our girls won't enjoy being out in the stars?" Jubilee had to tease. "Or are you going to be all overprotective? Even Wolvie was okay with Kitty and me going to space …"

Noh shook his head at her and simply started to kiss her gently. "I think I'm allowed to be protective of my beautiful girls. Especially when they look so much like you."

She reached up and covered his mouth with one hand. "Excuse me. Was that you putting E'tann through his paces back in Westchester?"

"Please, Jubilee, I was acting as an ambassador at that time," Noh said. "Telling the crown prince what happened to our home."

"Riiiiight," she said, nodding slowly before she turned on her heel and started to bounce away.

Noh shook his head before he broke into a little laugh and zipped over to simply pick her up and scoop her into a kiss. "I'm sorry — would you prefer that I spend all of my time preventing any dating opportunities for our girls and running all suitors into exhaustion? Because I can," he teased.

"I would prefer that you show the same level of overprotectiveness across the board and not give so much favoritism just because your racist Kree tendencies are showing."

Noh blinked at her for a moment before he let out a breath and shook his head. "I'm deeply sorry, Jubilee. That was not my intent."

"Uh huh. No issues with the Kree prince or even the part demon but straight up human … nooooooo," she said, shivering to emphasize her point. "So grody."

"Jayce is a mutant," Noh pointed out. "And I don't mean to give favoritism, Jubilee, really."

She shrugged one shoulder. "Uh-huh, we'll see."

Noh laughed and kissed her gently. "And what about you, my darling Jubilee? Are you quite prepared to see your daughters dating such stunning young men?" he teased her.

"Yes," she said, nodding her head and sticking her nose up in the air. "Good for them if they find sweet boys that aren't total bozos at her age. Lord knows I didn't."

"Well, I was not there at that time," he teased.

"Of course … I was busy. Travelling the world kicking bad guys butts with Wolvie …"

"Lucky for me, or someone likely would have snatched you up for themselves."

"As if," Jubilee said, rolling her eyes.

Noh chuckled and kissed her lightly. "Yes, this is true. We were meant to be, and there is no substitute."

"Not according to Billy," she said in a sing-song tone. "I heard about the alternate reality possibilities …"

"Nonsense," Noh insisted. "This is the best one."

"Not arguing that …. Just saying there are other possibilities. You were miserable in every single one of them, of course. Lost little soul …" She rolled her shoulder up to her ear. "Wandering the cosmos alone …"

"Oh, certainly," he chuckled before he simply started to carry her off. "But for you and me, Jubilee, we have found perfection."

"Pretty sure that's the case for all of us? So how about you let the girls find their way?" She kissed the end of his nose and gave him a broad smile. "They can look into their heads and know if they need their faces rearranged."

"Oh, alright," Noh allowed. "I suppose we'll just have to find something else to do with our time here in the stars, then…"

"What ever shall we do?"