The Hulk and the Beast: Chapter Twenty One

Earth, July 16, 2014

Tony let out a string of swears that made the dear Cap blush and flung himself from the chair. "JARVIS, suit!"

"It could be a malfunction," Steve said, reaching for his shield.

That said, they were both running towards the balcony in record time, pieces of the Iron Man armor latching onto Tony mid stride.

"I found a way to insulate my tech from Remus' magic," Tony said. "Gwyllgi's chip, his fob, and his phone all have it. My tech doesn't malfunction!"

"Maybe it was a powerful surge?" Steve didn't sound convinced.

"JARVIS, locate Remus' emergency fob and Goose's chip!" Tony ordered.

"I am unable to ping their location," JARVIS answered.

"Are they broken?"

"Negative, they are both offline. I am sending a reboot signal."

"If anyone hurt my kid…" Tony growled.

"We'll keep him safe," Steve assured him. "He's got Gwyllgi with him, that's good at least, isn't it? Maybe hold off on recalling the team until we know more. He could have been spooked trying to catch Gwyll and teleported again."

"Alright, but if anything's happened to him and we don't get there in time because we needed backup, I'm blaming you."

"You can hold me to that."

They were in Central Park at Remus' last location in under a minute. That was part of Remus' boundaries if he was walking the dog alone, stay within a minute of Iron Man's flight capability, and a minute was stretching it, even if it did include the suit up time. One of them should have gone with him, dammit.

They found the chocolate pretzel on the ground, not a bite taken out of it, chocolate dip smeared on the path. Why, why did they think for a second that being alone together for the first time since they became a 'Thing' was more important than Remus' safety? This was not worth getting to cuddle on the couch together with no prying eyes to catch them.

"We couldn't have known," Steve said, putting a hand on Tony's shoulder. He still wasn't comfortable enough to hold Tony's hand in public, even if he wanted to.

There were already a few people looking at them. Someone took a picture, but no one bothered them directly. By now, they only had to worry about tourists, all the locals minded their own business and understood how quickly things could go south if the Avengers were standing around in their gear, waiting for something to explode.

"Well, here's his phone," Tony picked the phone up from under a bush. It looked like it had been thrown into a tree. The screen was cracked and barely flickered on. "Thought I made Stark tech better than that," Tony grumbled. "JARVIS, can you access the memory?"

"Of course, sir, only the screen is broken."

"Mind sharing with the class?" Steve asked.

"Apologies, Captain," JARVIS said through the Iron Man speakers.

"Dad?" Remus voice came through, slightly garbled.

"What are you doing, get up! We have to get out of here."

It was a man's voice, tainted by panic and a paranoia that would put even Fury to shame. What followed was a very painful confrontation between Remus and a man who he thought was his father. Whether it really was or not was up to debate. Remus believed it.

"But… Mr. Stark…We can trust him, he saved…"

"Do as I say!"

And the argument ended with the sound of the phone hitting bark. Steve, with his enhanced hearing, did pick up the faint sound of a very harsh clap and some angry words, but he didn't bring it up to Tony and neither did JARVIS, who must have been able to isolate and identify the noise, with how advanced he was.

"That can't possibly be Lyall Lupin," Tony said. "It's a trick."

"I don't know, Tony. Remus has done the introductory SHIELD training," Steve said. "That includes identifying Life Model Decoys and shapeshifters. Remus has an enhanced sense of smell, better than anyone on SHIELD's files so far. No one has managed to pass an enhanced smell test while shapeshifted and computers are advanced, but not to the extent an LMD could fool someone with super smell."

That was true. The SHIELD kids had tried to prank Remus with one when he was still in school and he caught on immediately. They tried to trick him into thinking the LMD was Fury there to lecture him over a failed SHIELD lesson that he had actually passed with flying colors. Remus caught on immediately because LMD Fury 'Didn't smell of leather and paranoia'.

"So it really is Lyall Lupin."

"There are two options," Steve said. "Either Lyall Lupin isn't dead and he took Remus, which… I hate to say, he has every right to do." Even if the thought of Remus getting pushed around like that by his own father made his stomach churn.

"Or Remus was hypnotized to believe the man that took him was his father."

"Sir, I have pinged Gwyllgi's location in Hong Kong," JARVIS announced.

"What? How'd she get there that fast? Double check."

"I have already run several diagnostics. Gwyllgi is in Hong Kong."

"Where's Remus?"

"I am still unable to triangulate the emergency fob."

Whoever this man was, he better pray he didn't hurt Remus before they got to him, or Steve would send him straight to hell himself, morals be damned. He didn't like bullies and so far, Lyall Lupin, fake or not, was turning out to be one of the bigger bullies out there. It was all he could do not to think of the horrific notebooks full of Remus bloody scrawls of self-loathing that the man had already inflicted on the poor boy.

"Dad?" Remus whimpered. He hated Apparating, it always made him queasy. "Where are we going?"

"No time for questions, Remus!" Lyall shouted, giving Remus a harsh shake for unnecessary emphasis.

Several more cracks later, Remus was vaguely aware of the changing time zones and different languages on signs. Finally, the squeezing and the manhandling stopped, and Lyall landed them in an abandoned warehouse. Remus couldn't tell where it was, but it was certainly colder than New York in the middle of summer.

"Wh… where's Gwyllgi?"

"I left him behind, somewhere in Hong Kong," Lyall said, "Dead weight, I'm sorry, our safety is more important than a dog, Remus!"

The manic twinge was still lurking in his voice sent shivers down Remus' spine. Remus had never heard him so on edge. He was constantly looking over his shoulder and holding Remus as close as he could.

"You left my dog on another continent?" Remus cried. "Dad, that's… you could have at least left her in New York so Mr. Stark could pick her up or…"

"We're safe, Remus. It's okay. You haven't hurt anyone."

Remus yanked his arm away from Lyall and ducked under the open palm that swung at his face in response. He never dodged a blow from his Dad before – he'd never dodge any blow before, because he thought he deserved everything he got – but this…

"Is that all I am to you?" Remus cried. "I… I thought you were dead and… and I can't even be happy you're not because… that's all you've ever cared about!"

"Remus, don't be difficult!" Lyall snarled, closing in on Remus.

Remus back peddled away, keeping out of Lyall's reach. It was easy, he was faster, more nimble. Why hadn't he done this before? He was stronger than Lyall and yet he still rolled over and took everything Lyall threw at him. Why had he been a doormat? Why had be suppressed his anger for so long. Wasn't it justified? If his father was allowed to get angry and shout why wasn't Remus?

"It's been over a year, Dad! A year, and the first thing you do when you see me isn't… isn't check to see if I'm hurt, ask me if I'm alright, it's to… to… kidnap me so I can't hurt anyone else! That's all I am to you, isn't it? You're burden, your mistake!"

"Remus John Lupin you…"

"I'm not finished!" Remus shouted. "I'm not…" something was wrong. Oh, Merlin, something was really, really wrong.

"What did that muggle Stark put in your head," Lyall snarled. He closed in on Remus and grabbed him by the arms. "What did they do to you?" Rage melted into horror. "Remus?"

"Dad… I… I… why don't you love me!" Remus screamed, his voice changing half way through the sentence to one of a broken, scared little boy to that of a snarling beast.

"Remus!" Lyall back away, drawing his wand. "What did they do to you?"

"This is your fault," the Wolf growled. "You did this to me!"

The Wolf found that in that moment, he hated his father more than he hated himself. For the first time, someone else deserved it more. He lunged at the being of hatred, the thing that hurt him… hurt him… must… hurt.

"Flipendo!" Lyall shouted, hitting the Wolf square in the chest.

The Wolf was launched through the air, crashing into a stack of cardboard boxes with an all too loud crunch and a pained yelp. The Wolf was winded. He couldn't see, there was cardboard covering his head, covering his whole body. His very bones craved vengeance for all this pain and suffering.

"Remus?" Lyall's voice was almost as pained as Remus felt. "Son?"

"I'm not your son, anymore," the Wolf shook the cardboard off. "I haven't been since I was five. Isn't that why you hurt me?"

The Wolf faded into the shadows of the warehouse. If he was just a little bit less lost to the beast, he may have found the correlation between this place and himself amusing. As it stood, the only thing that would satisfy him was his father's lifeblood running down his throat. He bet it would taste like justice and vengeance.

"I'm sorry, Remus," Lyall pleaded. "I didn't mean it like that. I don't mean to get angry…"

"Soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death," the Wolf snarled.

"I didn't mean that about you. Never about you."

The Wolf lunged from the shadows.

"Stupefy!" Lyall shouted.

The Wolf was hit. He fell to the ground, dazed, winded once more. He tried to get up, but his head hurt too much to command his legs.

"Argyr Incarcerous," Lyall sobbed.

Enchanted silver chains burst from Lyall's wand and dug into the Wolf's fur, burning where they rubbed him raw, the sting of silver holding him firmly in place.

"I'm sorry, son," Lyall fell to his knees. "I… I thought they could help you. I thought… You and Hope, you weren't supposed to get hurt. It was supposed to be me for you, for your childhood back, for the childhood I couldn't give you. I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"I hate you," the Wolf snapped, struggling to try and rip at Lyall's hands.

"I know, Remus," Lyall said, gently brushing the fur on his son's face. "I deserve all of it and more."

Lupin was an idiot. With all his magic and his trinkets, he was still a fool, as human as any other man. All Red Skull had to do was 'accidently' let Lupin's wand get near him and then leave the two unattended, but heavily bugged. It was a shame only a wizard could remove the wand from the house, or he would have had the boy back in his possession sooner. But Lupin's paranoia was easily exploited.

Ironically, Greyback got around the wards protecting the wand quite nicely, and now all of Red Skull's stars were aligning.

The only thing that annoyed Red Skull was that the Avengers were at their weakest at the exact moment that the Soldier was on assignment. The Winter Soldier, for all his strengths, did need a bit more monitoring than other agents. No matter, the Soldier's current mission wasn't to retrieve the boy. Not yet. Lupin's supplemented paranoia would see to it that he remained unguarded long enough for HYDRA agents to get to him before the Avengers were any the wiser.

It was an added benefit that losing the boy to HYDRA would hurt the dear Captain just as much, if not more, than losing his precious Bucky the same way. Of course, Captain America was still under the impression that Bucky was dead, but Skull would still have the satisfaction. The Captain's pain was never mission critical to the Skull's success, but it was welcome, nonetheless.

Midnight, Purple Planet

"Call for help! You have the mirror!" One of the boys, the pale one, cried.

He didn't know how the dark haired girl had seen him, or what kind of code a scream like that was, but he commended the quick reaction time from the other children. They had promise. It was a shame they were in between him and the Mission.

As soon as his cover was blown, he lunged for the girl holding the Book, his Mission. He had to retrieve his Mission, at all cost. He felt her throat under his human fingers, his metal hand gently prying the Book from her grasp, but she held firm even as her hazel eyes began to dim. For all their warning and weapon drawing, the children were frozen in fear at the sight of him.

"Help!" The messy haired boy shouted at a mirror in his hands. "Remus! Remus!" His head whipped up in panic. "It's empty!"

"What do you mean it's empty!" The paler boy shouted.

"It connected but there's no one on the other end!"

Before the two other children could react, Greyback pounced, grabbing the pale boy while the redhaired girl shouted in surprise and fired an arrow that went very wide, arching off into the night.

"Get away from my sister!" The messy haired boy screamed, launching himself at the Soldier. He threw the mirror to the side, where it plinked uselessly to the ground.

The boy latched onto the Soldier's human arm like a monkey, pulling at his fingers and trying to kick at his chest at the same time. He kicked with alarming strength, but it barely bruised the Soldier. He was built for the Mission, no one could beat him, let alone an untrained child.

"Let her go!" The boy's voice cracked in desperation.

The Soldier calculated his options. He let go of the Book momentarily and back handed the boy, sending him to the ground, motionless. There was blood on his face and on the metal hand. That was acceptable. Anything to fulfill the Mission.

The girl in his hand rasped helplessly, looking at the unmoving figure on the ground. The Soldier felt a hot tear run down his fingers, "J… James…"

The name hit him like a viper strike. He dropped the girl and she fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, clutching the Book, the Mission, to her chest. But that didn't matter. That didn't… James.

Bucky! A voice shouted in the back of his head. A voice that wasn't his. The voice belonged to… no… Captain America was bad, he was evil, it was his fault.

"James, James," The girl was shaking. She'd crawled to the boy, James, and was shaking him desperately. "James, wake up!"

Each plea hit the Soldier's head like a brick. James, James, James.

The boy was breathing, faintly. Bucky hurt him. No… Bucky… wrong… Winter Soldier, the Asset. His head hurt. It was so loud that he couldn't hear a single one of his thoughts.

"You killed him!" The girl screamed. "You… you… James." Her voice was a broken sob, rasping from the violent red bruises already forming on her throat.

"Grab the Book, Soldier!" Greyback shouted. He had the other two children in his hands. "Use that muggle gun of yours, these cubs don't matter. We get the Book and he gives me the Lupins."

The girl pulled herself to her knees and started pounding at the Soldiers legs, completely disregarding her own safety. He was frozen, helpless against her. That wasn't right, she was just a kid. "You killed James!"

But he was James.

James Buchanan Barnes.

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Bucky, eheheheheheheh