The Hulk and the Beast: Chapter Eleven

December 25, 2013

This was bad. This was really bad. It was really, really, really bad. What if they opened the photo album and saw all the magical pictures Mam and Dad had taken? It was bad enough he accidently Apparated on the Tricarrier, now this? This was a huge mess there was no way they wouldn't find out and then the Ministry would have such a big clean up they'd kill him out of spite, they wouldn't even need to figure out he was a werewolf on top of that.

Remus spent the rest of Christmas pacing him room, alternating between anxiously pulling his hair out, flipping through the photo album trying not to get tears on the pictures, and begging the mirror to show him his friends. Between all the worrying and the panicking and the nail biting, it was a miracle he managed not to turn completely. As it was, he could tell his ears had hair sticking out of them and he had fur peeking out from under his ugly Iron Man jumper.

He sequestered himself in his room from breakfast to dinner. There he lay, at seven o'clock, listening to the faint sounds of the Avengers bustling around the common room. They were talking about how relieved they were that they'd finally gotten a Christmas free of supervillains. That wasn't even a thing Remus had been worried about. He was slacking.

He glared up at the top of his canopy bed, fortified by his curtains and defended by Gwyllgi and her squeaky toy. He pet her absentmindedly in an attempt to feel better. Her tail thumped happily against his chest.

"I'm a wizard, Gwyllgi," Remus whispered. "I'm a bloody wizard and if anyone finds out, I'll be executed on the spot probably."

Squeak, squeak, was her toy's response.

"No I'm not catastrophizing. That's an awfully big word for such a small puppy."

Gwyllgi growled happily.

"Dad said that if anyone found out that I was a werewolf they'd kill me," Remus insisted. "He never said they'd kill him and Mam."

Gwyllgi rolled against him, trying to get the perfect angle on her toy.

"JARVIS, as you understand it, is magic real?" Remus asked. It was a crazy thought, but what if…

"Of course, sir," JARVIS responded. "I am aware of the Mystic Arts."

Huh, how about that.

"So… like wizards?"

"The three most well-known and powerful magic users in this dimension are Dr. Strange, Dr. Doom, and Loki."

"Two people have doctorates in magic?"

"Negative, sir. Sorry for the confusion, Dr. Strange was a neuro surgeon and Dr. Doom was expelled from college but still charades himself as a doctor. Quite uncouth, if I may add."

"You may," Remus said. "So… I guess wizards don't hide here, do they?"

"The correct term is sorcerer or magician. They are not as public as Iron Man," JARVIS answered. "But no, they do not actively hide. Nor do they make their presence or magical abilities widely known aside from Loki. There are several other practitioners of the Mystic Arts in both mine and SHIELD's files."

That was fine and dandy for magicians, Remus suspected, who were not on the Ministry's radar. But what about him? Did it matter?

"JARVIS, do you record what happens in my room?"

"I do, young Master Remus."

"Does Mr. Stark or anyone else watch it?"

"The files are highly confidential unless I detect an immediate threat to your life or viewing the files becomes paramount to your safety. So far, nothing has happened to warrant such measures. You have the utmost privacy in your room."

That was good at least. No one had seen the conversation he had with his friends over the mirror except JARVIS and JARVIS was programmed not to snitch on him. He still chastised himself for not thinking of that sooner. At least this time being too trusting hadn't backfired.

"JARVIS, I can… I can trust the Avengers with anything, can't I?"

"Of course, sir," JARVIS sounded as sincere as an AI could possibly be.

"You were programmed to say that," Remus sighed.

"Everything I do was programmed by Mr. Stark."

Gwyllgi growled at her toy again.

"No, I shouldn't tell them," Remus admonished her, ruffling behind her ears.

She yipped quietly.

"Really, I really, really shouldn't," he insisted.

Gwyllgi did not look impressed. Or like she was listening, but that was beside the point.

"Honest, Gwyll," Remus rolled over to wrap his arms around her. He came face to face with a picture of his father showing him a flower blooming charm. The mirror sat next to it, showing only the roof of his canopy bed. "I shouldn't. I can't. It's not allowed."

He wasn't allowed a lot of things. He wasn't allowed to have a wand, he wasn't allowed to go to Hogwarts, he wasn't allowed to go outside alone, he wasn't allowed to make friends, he wasn't allowed to have a pet, he wasn't allowed, he wasn't allowed, he wasn't allowed!

He'd done all of those things. The worst thing that happened was he was an orphan now.

That was hardly his fault. Captain bloody America said so himself. It wasn't Remus' fault he was a werewolf, that his parents had been murdered, that he was experimented on, none of it. It wasn't his fault he was a wizard either, but he was.

"Alright, Gwyll," Remus sighed. "You make some valid points, but I'm only going if… if you come with me. Is that a deal?"

Squeak, squeak, said Gwyllgi's toy.

Remus went back into the common room. The Hulk ate all of the Christmas hams, all fifteen of them, so there was a massive spread of Chinese takeout. It was the only place open on Christmas. Very few restaurants complained about the Avengers' habit of massive last minute orders when they saw the five-thousand percent tip on a bill that was already nearing four digits.

It smelled delicious.

"The prodigal son returns!" Mr. Stark saw him first.

"Having a nice forty thousand dollar Christmas dinner?" Remus asked.

"It's holiday spirit," Mr. Stark shrugged. "We even got a raw meal for Goose."

"It's Gwyll at least," Remus quipped. He was so incredibly nervous, even with Gwyllgi at his side, his photo album under one arm, and the mirror clutched to his chest.

"We'll get it right someday."

Remus started rehearsing what he was going to say in his head. Mulling things over only for a moment before deeming them too ridiculous and moving on. He was well deep in his own head when Captain Rogers put a hand on Remus' shoulder and he nearly jumped out his skin.

"Easy, sold… Remus," Captain Rogers said. "You feeling alright? You missed lunch."

"Yeah, sorry, but… uh…" his brain wasn't working.

"What's the mirror for?" Mr. Stark asked.

"Oh, this?" Remus looked down at the mirror he was holding to his chest. Yeah, it's a magic mirror, he wanted to say. "Nothing!" Was what he said. "It's… nothing."

"Sorry we sprang the photo album on you like that," Clint pipped up from across the room. "We didn't mean to scare you."

"That's alright, really," Remus sighed. "I… scare easily. I'm high strung."

"Like a greyhound," Clint nodded, not all cheekily.

Remus huffed.

"Is it a present for someone? You should have asked JARVIS where the wrapping paper's kept."

"It's not a present."

"Shame, it would have been perfect for Tony," Ms. Widow said.

"I resent that," Mr. Stark said. "Didn't take you for the mirror type, kid. When did you get it?"

"Uh… when I was out?"

"When were you out?" Clint asked.

"With Sam! We saw it in a charity shop and… my Mam had one just like it so I bought it!" It was probably a convincing lie, and it would probably hold up until Sam returned from his holiday and refuted it. And Ms. Widow did not looked convinced, even a little bit. Oh, bugger, "I'm hungry, let's eat!"

Remus ate more that dinner than he ever had in his life. His thought process was if he always had food in his mouth it would be impolite to say something foolish like 'I'm a wizard' or 'This is a magic mirror that can show me my friends during the witching hours of the full moon'. It worked for the most part, and the only conversation at the table was based on food wrestling between Hulk, Thor, and Clint, and Mr. Stark and Captain Rogers bantering with each other. Ms. Widow never stopped looking at him. It was unnerving.

When dessert came, he wanted to continue the trend of a full mouth, quiet voice, but he couldn't stand the thought of even putting a little bit of Christmas Pudding in his mouth. He might throw up. No one should ever eat that much Chow Mein. Not even the Hulk. He should have chewed slower.

"You really like your present?" Mr. Stark asked.

"Yup!" Remus squeaked. "It's great! Love it! I… uh… I was afraid I'd forget what they looked like."

"No problem, kid," Mr. Stark said. "If there's anything…"

"I'm a wizard!" Remus screamed. "Okay, thanks for the food, really good. I'm full! Goodnight!"

Remus was back in his room before he could process what he'd said or the see the looks on their faces after he said it.

December 26, 2013

No one came to check on him that night. Well, that was a lie. Everyone came to check on him, one at a time, all through the night. No one knocked on his door, they just hovered outside. He could smell them and hear their heart beats. It was really weird. Captain Rogers even rested his forehead against the door when he checked on Remus.

JARVIS assured him no one would come in without his permission unless he turned into a wolf, so that was good. He couldn't sleep, so instead he focused on breathing and listened to Billy Joel on his Walkman. Mr. Stark wanted to get him the latest in everything, but Remus was more comfortable with the old fashioned stuff.

At four in the morning, the team was called out on a mission, so much for a quiet holiday. Something in Vermont, which was where Sam was. Remus hoped he was safe. Mr. Stark stayed behind, something about keeping someone at home to make sure New York wasn't undefended.

That sounded like a load of baloney. New York City was teeming with more heroes than just the Avengers. There were at least as many heroes as there were rats. That might have been overexaggerating. There was a distressingly large amount of rats.

Some time at six in the morning, Gwyllgi had to go to the bathroom. After letting her go in the sandbox installed on the roof, Remus took to wandering the empty halls. The rest of the Avengers wouldn't be back until late afternoon or the next day, at best. He enjoyed the seven of them, but all of them at once was overwhelming. It was a relief to be alone in the Tower with just Mr. Stark.

Eventually, Remus and Gwyllgi walked past the lab levels. Remus looked in through the glass, where Mr. Stark was working on his suit, listening to his rock music full volume. He was so engrossed in his work he didn't notice Remus watching him from the hallway.

"Don't look at me like that, Gwyll," Remus pouted.

Gwyllgi was sniffing a plant at the other end of the corridor, completely uninterested in either Remus or Mr. Stark.

"Look, I said it, you don't have to get on my case. They had to have heard me, I said it loud enough."

Gwyllgi squatted to pee on the potted plant.

"No!" Remus bolted to stop her before she piddled on Mr. Stark's floor.

He took her out to pee again, then paced his room this time. He kept glancing at the mirror on his dresser. Why was his life so bizarrely complicated? That was universally unfair.

"Alright, Gwyllgi, I'm going!" He exclaimed.

He grabbed the mirror and stalked back to the lab, Gwyllgi wagging happily behind him, content so long as she had her boy nearby. Remus made it all the way to the lab, raised his hand to knock on the door, then spun around on his heels and started back down the corridor.

"Stop!" Mr. Stark called after him.

Remus stopped, but he didn't turn around to face Mr. Stark.

"Get back here."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, you have to," Mr. Stark said. "No dogs in the lab, she might hurt herself or eat something."

"Right, yeah, of course," Remus said.

He hadn't been in the lab since he took the entrance exam for Midtown High. It was exactly as he remembered it. In spirit at least, everything had been moved around, but there were projects everywhere. Most of it was equipment for the team. For Iron Man's lab, there was a surprisingly small amount of strictly Iron Man tech.

Remus stood there, expecting some kind of lecture or punishment.

"What's with the look?" Mr. Stark asked, waving in Remus' general direction. He'd gone back to work. "You look like I'm about to start yelling."

"You're not?" Remus looked up, wringing his hands around the handle of the mirror.

"I mean, it's a bit weird you've got the mirror on you, but there's nothing else you've done that requires a lecture. Besides, I prefer to leave that bit up to Cap, he's better at it than me. Don't tell him I said that, I'm better at everything, got it?"

"Yeah, right," Remus sighed.

"What's up with the mirror. Don't lie this time."

"You're not mad that I'm… I'm a…"

"Wizard?" Mr. Stark asked. "Of course, I think magic is a crime against science. Mystic Arts my ass, I just haven't gotten around to explaining it yet."

"Oh," Remus said. "Uh… cool."

He stopped what he was doing and spun his chair around to face Remus. "I'm not mad at you," Mr. Stark sighed. "Jesus, kid, will you sit down or something. You're making me feel bad about not lecturing you."

"Sorry," Remus sat on one of the rolling stools. It was surprisingly comfortable.

"You gonna explain why you brought the mirror to my lab?"

"Yeah, but… was the photo album the only thing you… recovered?"

"No."

That was when Remus saw his lines journal on the table, covered in petri dishes of his blood. The quill was nowhere in sight, but Remus could still feel his hand shaking in distress just looking at it.

"He… Mam found it and said she'd leave him if he made me do any more," Remus said. "He didn't… think I could feel pain at the time, so it wasn't that bad, really. Mam set him straight. He was doing his best."

Mr. Stark grimaced. "Been using it to get a base line," he admitted.

"For what?"

"For what Red Skull did to you with that serum. I didn't get a sample of the serum, just you post serum," Tony said. "I'm not the best at stuff like this, but if I can help…"

"Thank you," Remus said. "It's alright, I can live with it. Even if Red Skull is evil and most of what he does is horrible and the reason he did it to me was bad… the results have been… great, honestly."

"It doesn't hurt?"

"Well, yeah," Remus admitted. "But it always hurt, so that's not new."

"Nothing else to worry about?"

"It's a bit weird not having to change and also being able to change whenever. I've never seen the full moon before, so that was cool. It has messed with my ability to tell time. I used to be able to track it through the pull of the moon, but now the pull's always there."

"I could find a way to cure you," Mr. Stark said.

"Yeah, bet you could find a way to cure the Hulk, too," Remus said.

"That's a good point."

"But if you can find a cure for Lycanthropy, do it. Not for me… its… Spider-man said that with great power, comes great responsibility. Now that I can control it, I want to use it help people. But there's people out there who don't deserve the power or the suffering."

"Spider-man is annoying as all hell," Mr. Stark smirked. "But he's a good kid. I'm glad you two get along. You might be able to keep him out of trouble."

"Oh, I'm horrible at that," Remus gripped the mirror tighter. "And… uh… about that…"

"Am I going to get the rundown on the 'magic' mirror?" Mr. Stark leaned a little closer.

"Well… I am…" Remus swallowed nervously. Mr. Stark saying the word Magic made his whole body tense, like the Ministry was just outside the door, ready to burst in with their silver axe. "I am a wizard…" the words almost stuck in his throat. "So a magic mirror is a perfectly normal thing for me to have!"

"Alright, but what's it do?"

"How would… how would you feel if… if there were more of me?" Remus squeaked.

"More werewolves?"

"No! No, no, no," Remus said hurriedly. "No, no, not… I mean more… uh… wizards like me."

"I don't get along with most wizards," Mr. Stark said. "I like you, though! Don't get the wrong idea, kid. Dr. Strange is ruder than I am and Dr. Doom tries to kill me pretty regularly. That's saying nothing about Loki. You're very polite and haven't tried to kill me yet, so we're good."

"I… I… yes… well… good, that's good… I," Remus wished Mr. Stark would keep talking. He like to talk, it was unfair of him to expect Remus to say something now. "I mean more… uh… kids like me that are wizards…"

"You want to go to wizard school?" Mr. Stark asked. "I can look into it. SHIELD won't be happy you're backing out of Midtown, but you leave them to me and…"

"No… I don't mean school," Remus said. "I mean… uh… wizard kids who have nowhere else to go really… like me because I'm here but they're not here yet and…" Remus' words were getting shakier. He couldn't ask Mr. Stark to open his home to more wayward kids. "I know I'm a big enough burden…"

"Hey, hey, whoa," Mr. Stark reached out and put a hand on Remus shoulder. It was very awkward. Mr. Stark wasn't very good at showing affection when things started getting more serious than ugly jumpers. "You are not a burden, kiddo. I don't care how many times I gotta say we love having you here, I'll keep saying it until you believe it."

"Uh… thanks," Remus said, his face turning red.

Mr. Stark pulled his hand away like it was on fire.

"Good, right, good talk," Mr. Stark turned back around to get back to his project. Remus could smell how nervous he was. Nerves, motor oil, and whiskey. "You need anything else just ask."

Remus could tell by Mr. Stark's tone of voice that the conversation was over. Mr. Stark said he wasn't a burden, but Remus had used up all of the time he was allotted today. He expected if he used anymore, he'd be in trouble and Mr. Stark would start yelling at him.

"Uh… okay, Mr. Stark," Remus said, getting up. "I… is it alright if I take Gwyllgi on a walk? I know there's no one to take me…"

"Bring a tracker, so I know where you are," Mr. Stark didn't turn around, but he did hold out a little fob to Remus. "The red button is if you get attacked. Stay in Central Park, you can always find your way back to the Tower."

"Thanks, Mr. Stark. I'll be safe."

This is my favorite chapter. I'm particularly fond of Remus shouting 'I'm a wizard' and then running away like his butt's on fire. And it's got Anthony Edward 'Foot in Mouth' Stark in it, which is always fun.

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