Haha! Chapter 11 is here! The characters gave me a run for my money last chapter, so I'm glad this one was much smoother to write.
Deadpool: Suureee. That's why you brought me out right?
Spoilers! Though I shouldn't be surprised you're here. Whatever. Enjoy the chapter everyone! It's a good one!
0=change focus to a different character
00=scene change (no matter how big or small)
000=timeskip
F000=this means that we move back to the next avengers time.
P000= No this is not poo. it's moving back to the past.
Chapter 11: As Light is Shed
James' head hurt, that much he knew. He felt drained of energy and sluggish. He felt the concrete below him and some wind brush by his face. He started trying to open his eyes. He succeeded in cracking them open. His senses were overwhelmed by the light at first. He felt like he hadn't seen the sun in… wait…wait! The world around him came into focus more and the people around him. He froze at the sight of his father and mother looking down on him. As well as Iron Man, whose faceplate came up. He was really young. It was then that it came back to him. Everything took a minute to catch up and he realized. He was himself!
He scrambled to sit up, regretting it as he felt dizzy. He stopped and grabbed his head a second.
"Rogue, are you alright?" The voice almost made him jump. It was Captain Americas voice. He had to stare at him a minute once the dizziness passed. The first time he was himself in months and he couldn't even form words. He shook his head. He didn't like being called Rogue for obvious reasons, but what could he say about it?
"Y-yeah... just shaken," he finally got out. "Thanks..." He wanted to say more. He wanted to start spilling everything to them. Where he's from, what happened, how it's not him that they've been facing, how he needed help… but he couldn't. The programing… it wouldn't allow him to. He'd be in too much pain to speak before he got a word out.
"We're the good guys, that means we help people. Even people like you," Tony said pointedly. James tensed at the jab, looking away from Tony in response. Widow raised an eyebrow at Tony for that. James mumbled something incoherently.
"What was that?" Steve asked. James looked back at him and shrugged.
"Nothing," he replied. Steve studied him a moment and offered him a hand. James looked at it. The red glove so closely matching his own. Understandably so as his was made from it. Tony... his Tony hadn't had clothes small enough to fit them when they'd first gone to the place he'd raised them. He had to use the clothes meant for the Avengers to make clothes for them. He remembered being proud to wear clothes made from the ones his father wore. It had inspired him for a time... He took his hand and got pulled to his feet. He was unsteady at first and had to hold onto the Captains arm until it passed. He grimaced as the movement also brought a headache on...that was from the movement, right?
"That containment field really did a number on you," Natasha commented. She sounded concerned. Just her voice though. So many years of not hearing it. He'd almost forgotten what she had sounded like.
"Yeah... whatever it was doing was draining my energy and I felt like I could barely breathe in there," James answered, forcing himself to look at her. She was beautiful. There was something in the way she looked at him… The way they both looked at him. It was like the look they'd give him growing up, what he remembered from that time anyway, but they didn't know why.
"That seems strange. They went to all this trouble to catch you. Why risk using something that could potentially kill you…" Steve wondered out loud.
"I don't think it was meant to kill him. I think it was meant to keep him in a state easily transportable," Tony stated, having examined the device. "If what we've seen when we try to catch you, they didn't want you to be able to put up a fight." James wasn't sure if that was another jab or a compliment. He rubbed his head some more. The headache was getting worse.
"Why did AIM want you?" Widow asked straightforwardly. James shrugged but heard the words exit his mouth before he could stop them.
"Hell if I know, not like I'd tell you if I did though," he spat out. They were hostile. He didn't say that. Rogue did. The headache was blaring now. He couldn't keep it back. He could feel it... he could feel him. Panic was setting in.
"Well that's one way to speak to the people who just helped you despite everything you've done to us," Iron Man said.
"N-no I didn't mean- It's not-"James couldn't finish that sentence as his breathing quickened. Pain exploded in his brain, forcing him to stop talking and stagger away with a yell. He clutched his head and grit his teeth, fighting the pain. Fighting for control. Fighting Rogue.
He wasn't sure he could win.
00
Francis has barely made it to the infirmary with Clints help before passing out. The headache had entered full blown migraine territory very quickly. It made Pym even more worried than he was previously. He watched Clint lower Francis on the cot. Just looking at Francis' face, Pym could tell that he was in quite a bit of pain despite being out cold. He approached the cot, determined to help him friend.
"Jarvis, what's wrong with him?" Clint asked, focusing completely on Francis.
"I'm scanning him now sir, but something seems to be blocking a deep cranial scan," the AI answered him. What?Pym thought hard a second. What could possibly be blocking that?
"Your friend ever have any head surgery? A metal plate or something like that?" Clint asked. Pym shook his head quickly.
"I don't think so, but I can't say for sure... he's been missing for the last 6 months," he finally told him. It was possible this information could help his friend. Clint seemed to pause at the new information.
"The ambush?" He asked. Pym nodded. Clint seemed to think for a second. Then he took a hold of Francis' arm that was closest to him and rolled him on his side. "Hold him like this," he instructed. Pym quickly did as he was told. Clint started using both hands to do a thorough search through Francis' head. His hair was longer than it had been so it took a minute, but Clint stopped when he felt it. There was a patch of hair, rectangular in shape that was shorter than the rest. It was still growing out it seemed and began at the base of his neck and made its way about halfway up his head. His longer hair had covered it. Pym stared at the spot as Clint pulled back the mess of hair to show it.
"I don't suppose that means he made a choice to cut his hair like that based on fashion?" Pym jokes nervously. He was barely coping with this.
"Jarvis..." Clint said wearily.
"It appears to be similar to the patches reported on those who have had brain surgery, but without the ability to perform a deep brain scan I cannot give an optimal diagnosis," Jarvis informed him.
"Brain surgery... I might have to wait for Tony to get back to figure this out," Clint said as he moved Pyms hand and rolled Francis back over. Pym was quiet a moment and then gained a determined look.
"Jarvis, what exactly is keeping you from scanning him?" He asked seriously. Clint looked at him in surprise.
"A low frequency is being emitted that is blocking any scans from taking place at that level," Jarvis answered. Pym mulled it over a second then looked at Clint.
"Call Falcon, I'm gonna need his help," Pym said.
F000
He'd promised to go to bed and get some rest, but this new revelation and his missing kids had him wide awake still.
Tony stared at the photo in his hands. Him and the kids, taken after they'd cleared Ultra City of robots. They were about to move on to other cities and countries, taking apart Ultrons old resources piece by piece. However, taking back the city had been a big win for the kids and Tony had managed to find a camera in one of the old rooms of the tower. It was a happy day.
Placing the photo down, he closed his eyes. He couldn't help but think of Cap, of his promise to him. He'd promised he'd take care of the kids. To him, that meant keeping them safe. He was supposed to protect them. He thought he'd failed several of them. Then he learned that Francis was alive. And now, the picture that Jocasta has found from his armors camera...
He looked back at the photo of the winged girl that was now being displayed on a hologram, blown up. The girl was clearly African American. Her red streaks stood out against her long black hair. He had Jocasta zoom in on her wings. Could it really be?
"If she's alive... then maybe..." Tony muttered to himself somewhat hopefully. It was a long shot. But they've been dealing in long shots since the kids faced Ultron.
"Tony, Azari is asking for you in the infirmary," Jocasta informed him. He smiled a little though was somewhat worried about what Azari had to say. He closed the hologram out and tabled his train of thought for later.
"I'm on my way. Keep running the other programs," he told the AI. A beeping sound told him that the AI would as he exited the lab. He made his way down the hall, pausing at a door. He had the computer open it a crack. It was Torunns room. He saw her fast asleep on her bed. He smiled, glad she was getting some rest and had the door shut before continuing on. When he reached the infirmary, he first checked on the screen outside it for Azari's digital chart. After being satisfied that the boy was still recovering alright medically speaking, he went inside.
Azari looked up from his cot. For what he went through, he looked okay. Tony smiled at him, just glad to see him alive before him.
"Jocasta told me you wanted to see me. How are you feeling?" Tony asked him. Azari gave him a small smile that didn't reach his worried eyes.
"I'm fine, Tony. We've got bigger problems," Azari told him and attempted to sit up. He was still weak so Tony helped him. He then sat in a chair and waited for Azari to continue. "Tony, where I was… the robots that ran the lab. They didn't always talk to us, but I could overhear brief conversations," he picked at the blanket on the cot. Tony recognized the look on his face. He'd seen it on some heroes that had gone through or seen something terrible. He was trying to keep his mind from going back too that place again. Tony reached over and took one of his adoptive kids hands to assure him. Give Azari an anchor mentally to the here and now.
"It's okay, Azari. Take a second," He told him. Azari took a breath. The boy had always been more level headed one in their group. A voice of reason, even when Francis joined their team. To see him like this was heartbreaking.
"I've taken enough seconds sitting in that cell. Tony, when I heard them talking…I swear I heard them say they were receiving orders from Ultron," Azari told him seriously, attempting to be strong. He was clearly shaken and the seriousness of what he said made Tony tense. They'd beaten Ultron and Torunn threw his halves into space. It was certainly much more difficult for the old enemy to come back, but he learned long ago that if anyone could keep coming back, it was Ultron.
"Are you sure, Azari?" He asked. He didn't know if he'd be able to handle having to fight his accursed creation again.
"I'm sure. The first time I heard it, I thought I was too delirious to have heard right. But I heard it multiple times," he insisted. He'd remembered telling James about it, but for some reason he'd never really talk about it. "How could he come back though? How could he do all this..." Tony rubbed his face as he listened to those two very important questions. He didn't have the answer to them.
"I don't know, but if he's out there, we'll find him. First we need to get the rest of the team. Do you have any idea what happened to James and Hawkeye?" He asked. Azari shook his head.
"One of the days they went in for tests, they didn't come back... I'm starting to think..."
"They're still alive," Tony interrupted to assure Azari, who sighed in relief. "You told us back at that lab that you hadn't seen them in a long time. When was the last time you saw them?" He watched Azari's face. He wanted to be sure he wasn't pushing him too hard. The teen took a moment to collect himself.
"I can't tell you exactly how long. Time blended together in there. But I haven't seen James in months from what I figure. And Francis hasn't been gone nearly as long as James. Few weeks maybe?" Azari frowned as he relayed this. Tony mirrored it. This meant that they'd been close, possibly twice, to saving the members of their team. "They were acting so weird towards then end..."
"Weird how?" Tony asked, remembering how Francis had behaved when they had found him in the past.
"They started getting aggressive or monotone. It was like most of the emotion was sucked out of them. Francis was losing time. And their eyes... they turned red somewhat," Azari told him. He still remembered the last time he saw both of them. He remembered that last conversation with James.
"Red eyes... are you sure?" Tony asked. That could be a big clue as to what happened to them. Azari nodded. "That actually gives me an idea of what we're dealing with."
"What do you mean?" Azari asked a little tiredly, not sure what idea that could possibly be.
"I'll tell you when I'm sure that's it. For now you should try to get some rest. It's pretty late," Tony gave Azari an assuring smile while squeezing the hand he was still holding lightly. It's something he still wasn't quite sure he was good at, but it seemed to work. Azari sighed but let it go.
"I'll try... can you-never mind. It's stupid," Azari laid back down, pulling his hand away from Tony's, and turned over with a grunt. Tony raised an eyebrow.
"There is nothing you could say that would be considered stupid by me, Panther Cub. What is it?" The old man asked, using a nickname he hadn't used since Azari was a child. Azari peeked at him, his gold eyes shining in the recognition of the nickname. He seemed to consider it a moment more.
"Can you stay here tonight? I...don't really want to be alone right now," Azari said quietly. Tony smiles at him and nodded.
"Sure thing," He told him. "Jocasta, dim the lights in the infirmary and turn off the lights in the lab so we don't unnecessarily waste power." A moment later the lights dimmed to make it more comfortable for Azari to sleep. Azari shifted a bit for comfort, but soon seemed to settle down and fall asleep. Tony kept his word and stayed in the infirmary, watching Azari's chest rise and fall with each breath. The rhythmic breathing of the panther cub eventually helped lull the old man into his own, much needed, sleep in the chair by Azari's bed.
P000
Even Tony was surprised by the yell Rogue let out before grabbing his head and collapsing to his knees. It was full of pain to the point he'd almost winced himself from it. Something was very wrong, but what? A side effect of the containment field maybe?
"Rogue! Rogue, can you hear me?" Steve asked, kneeling by the boy. He was trying to see what was wrong. Both Widow and the soldier had such concern on their faces. Even more so when Rogue didn't respond with anything more than a grunt.
"What's happening?" Widows question was directed at him. Tony put his faceplate back down and tried to scan him. To his surprise, his scans were blocked, especially around his shoulders and head. He couldn't get a proper read.
"I can't tell. Something's blocking my scans," Tony told her. Cap could feel how tense Rogue was. He didn't understand what was happening. First he acted completely out of it and seemingly happy, then hostile, and now this. Cap reached over to check his eyes, remembering the red in the one. He couldn't help but think that had something to do with it. Plus with Tony's scanners unable to work, they'd have to rely on the only fashioned way to discover what's wrong. He gently took a look at Rogues right eye, still fully red and clearly constricted and unfocused. Then he checked the other eye. To his surprise, the once beautiful blue left eye had turned partially red and was just as constricted as his right eye. He let the eyelid squeeze shut again.
"Tony, his eye is turning red..." he told the knight, who wasn't so much surprised by this and working to solve it.
"What?" Tony said, having Jarvis pull up files for him. He was getting a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"His left eye is turning the same color as his right," Cap repeated exactly what Tony thought he meant.
"What does that mean for him? Why are his eyes changing? Unless..." Widow seemed to arrive at the same conclusion Tony was drawing up.
"Yeah... anyone else think that sounds familiar?" Tony quipped, having Jarvis pull up the files of the first time the team got together after their break and Sam Wilson's first day as an avenger. Specifically the one detailing what he knew about MODOCs microbots. Cap and Widow shared a look.
00 (~Inside James' Mind~)
James looked around from his place in the drivers seat, not paying attention to the screens before him. He was panicked, in pain, and didn't want to let Rogue take over again. He wasn't sure he could handle it for much longer. He stood up from the chair in front of the currently black screens and looked around carefully. He felt weird. He wasn't used to being the one in control anymore. He knew by the way it felt that he wouldn't be in control of his own body for long unless he fought hard for it. Rogue was drained, but he regained energy a lot quicker than James did.
"I know you're there! I wouldn't be feeling this way if you weren't here!" He yelled, listening to it echo in his mind. He didn't see the cage. He didn't see Rogue or hear anything. It was...too quiet.
Something flew through the air. James quickly ducked seeing the silver and red shield dissipate after it passed. A yell alerted him to Rogues position. He turned around, just in time to catch his fist. Rogue looked genuinely surprised the James was able to catch and stop his punch, but it gave James a much needed confidence boost. He used his other sides surprise to grab him and hoist him over himself, slamming him on the ground. James coughed as soon as he did though, finding it harder to breathe. Rogue was having a much harder time breathing than he was. James got a good look at him while working on recovering quickly. Rogue actually looked pale and drained. The circuitry on him was hardly glowing. He was weak. It was a weird sight to see, but satisfying.
Feeling that he was able to breathe better, and suspecting that Rogue wasn't too far from being able to himself. He got on top of him, holding him down with one hand. He hit him with all the strength he could. Rogues head ricocheted off the ground and he looked knocked out. James has bought himself some time. He rubbed his head, feeling the pain and throbbing lessen some. He knew that it wouldn't be much, just from experiencing this the first time around. Rogue would just keep coming until he was strong enough to beat James... He turned his attention back to the screens.
00
James was able to open his eyes some, the headache subsiding but still slightly present. He was nauseous. He felt a hand on his shoulder but he didn't want to look up as the light stung his eyes. Things were coming back into focus a lot slower than before.
"Rogue, are you alright?" He couldn't actually tell who asked that, the voice seemed far away and his mind was still recovering from the feeling of being on fire.
"You guys really like to ask that, don't you?" He said with a small laugh. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back. He gave himself a minute before attempting to open them. It took several tries for him to be able to keep his eyes open with the light. Glancing at the heroes, he found that it was Captain America who had his hand on his shoulder.
"Considering you just collapsed while clutching your head and went completely unresponsive for a minute there, I think the amount of times we've asked that is warranted," Tony said, though his voice didn't contain the same pointedness as it had before. James chose not to look at him. He couldn't really say much about that unless he wanted to go round two in his head.
"Must've been a side affect of the containment field," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes again.
"Ah-huh. And what about your eyes?" Tony pointed out. James tensed up around that. He knew Cap felt it too as his hand on his shoulder was keeping him balanced.
"Can't tell you about that. They've been this way for a long time," he said truthfully. He couldn't remember the last time his eyes had been blue, not that Rogue looked in a mirror much, and he definitely couldn't tell them why they were.
"We should move, get somewhere safer. We don't know if AIM is sending reinforcements," Cap said before Tony could prod sooner. That was smart. He didn't want to deal with another containment field, even though that field seems to be the whole reason he's back in control of his body. He still didn't get why they wanted him so bad.
"We could take him back to the tower," Widow suggested. James felt a weird sensation travel down his spine.
"Oh hell no!" Rogue's voice boomed in his head as the sensation then traveled into James' arm. Before he knew what was happening, he'd activated his shield and hit Cap away from him. The sensation faded and James felt frozen just from that. Another reminder that he didn't have a ton of time. Cap was knocked back by it but seemed to be okay. Widow and Tony now had their weapons aimed at him.
"Shit..."James said as he deactivated the shield. He then rubbed his head, the headache getting more prominent and painful now. He glanced at the two with there weapons trained on him before looking back at Cap who was getting up.
0
Tony looked between the kid and Cap. He saw him tense up and go almost rigid. His eyes got wide, the red far more prominent in his blue eye than it had been before. Quickly, he had reached over pressed something on the metal device on his arm. The shield cap had spoken of materialized before them. By the time he had his repulsers aimed and charged, Steve was already several feet away from James.
"Shit..." he heard James mutter.
"The hell was that kid?" Tony asked. James didn't answer him and just stared at Cap in what looked like concern and realization. "Rogue!" He said, raising his voice but not quite shouting yet. The kid jumped a second, turning to look at Tony with breakneck speed. Then he saw it, the struggle in his eyes. He was fighting something, and considering what happened earlier, Tony had an idea of what.
"S-sorr-nevermind," he was struggling to say something to them. Widow lowered her stingers cautiously. Tony kept one repulser raised, just in case. "The tower isn't a good idea."
"And why's that?" Widow asked. Cap had gotten back up and was dusting himself off.
"It just isn't. I don't care we're we go for cover, but the tower is the one place I will fight you on," James said, sounding agitated.
"There are plenty of other places we can go, calm down," Steve spoke, using his soldier tone. James seemed to shut up at that.
"Stark, Hulk and I have dispatched of the Agents. No more appear to be around. Should we regroup?" Thor's voice spoke through the coms. Tony mulled it over briefly.
"Negative. We're moving Rogue and we'll need eyes in the sky in case AIM tries to come after him again," he answered. James went tense again and a small sound split the air. He jumped up and in front of Tony, activating the shield again. To their surprise, several throwing stars hit the see-through shield that was also quite a bit bigger than it had been previously. He deactivated the shield, letting them fall to the floor and looked back at Tony.
"Uh... thanks," He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice as he said that.
"You're welcome," James replied with a shaky breath. Widow and Cap gave him surprised looks but seemed to be mostly looking for where those came from.
"Yooohoo! Over here!" A familiar and very annoying voice said to the right of them. The four looked over and Tony couldn't help the groan he let out at the sight of none other than Deadpool. "Hey-o, Avengers!"
"You've got to be kidding me.." Tony muttered to himself. James looked between the red and black weirdo and the Avengers several times, appearing confused.
"I'm going to choose to ignore that weirdo comment for now," Deadpool said as he looked at a small screen in his hands.
"What are you doing here, Deadpool?" Tony asked, annoyance clear in his voice. Deadpool turned back to the Avengers.
"The writer ran out of ways to further the plot," he answered nonchalantly.
"What?" James said in confusion. Deadpool sighed and shook his head.
"People just don't appreciate a good wall break anymore," he mumbled before rephrasing entirely. "I have a job to do."
"And that is?" Steve asked cautiously. He unconsciously stepped slightly between Deadpool and James.
"Him," Deadpool pointed at James.
"Hate to break it to you, but that's not gonna happen," Widow said, stepping in front of James as well. Tony briefly noted the way the two were behaving, but kept his focus on the weird one.
"Again with the weird thing, do you want me to help further the plot or not?"
"Who are you talking to?" James said in frustration.
"Best not to ask kid, he just does that," Tony told him. Deadpool shrugged and pulled out his katanas.
"Whatever. I got a job to do, so hand over the kid, will ya?" He said, pointing his sword at them.
"No," Tony said charging his repulsers. Deadpool shrugged.
"Fine then, we get to do things the fun way." The fight commences.
00
Falcon was at the infirmary quickly. Pym was relieved he'd been so fast. He looked back at Francis. He didn't look as in pain as he had before, but they still needed to know what happened.
"I need your help. We need to get into Jarvis' systems and help him override the frequency that's keeping him from being able to find out what's wrong," Pym told him, speaking a little too fast to be understood properly.
"Whoa whoa, slow down and say it again, speaking that fast isn't going to help anybody," Sam said. Hawkeye spoke up for Pym.
"Francis isn't getting better but Jarvis can't scan his head to see what's wrong. Pym needs your help to get around that," Clint explained in a calmer manner. Pym nodded.
"What he said. Jarvis won't recognize me beyond letting me go to specific rooms, but you have full access and you're smart. If we work together we can figure out a way to get through the frequency that's blocking the scan. I'd do this myself but... I don't want to piss Mr. Stark off. Plus two heads are better than one, right?" Pym took a deep breath after that. He'd explained that at a more normal but still urgent pace and it took everything in him to not start ranting slightly from his worry. Falcon nodded slowly, taking a second to process this. He glanced at the white haired young man and then at the teenager before him.
"Alright. Let's just hope Tony doesn't kill both of us when the others get back for this," Sam agreed. Pym grinned before grabbing the tablet containing Francis' chart, handing it to Sam.
"I need you to pull up the the scan as Jarvis does it, so we can see what kind of frequency is being emitted. Hawkeye," Pym turned to Clint, pausing a second to remember how weird it was to call someone else Hawkeye. He seemed to have Client's full attention though. "I need one of your arrows, preferably any that had to do with sound." Clint raised an eyebrow and Pym could tell he had some questions. "Now please! We need to find out what's going on." Clint glanced at Francis before nodding and leaving the infirmary to grab an arrow like the one described.
"What exactly are you thinking off?" Sam asked as Jarvis commenced another scan, the results of which were showing up as inconclusive as the AI tried to get a read on the frequency blocking it.
"Using one of Hawkeyes sound arrows to reverse engineer the frequency and cancel it out," Pym told him.
"And you just need the reverse frequency to go long enough for Jarvis to get a read. That's brilliant," Sam said with a smile. Pym nodded, focusing on Francis. A moment later, Clint was back with an experimental sound arrow. It was a prototype and the only one he had, but hopefully it would work and not blow things up. Pym took it from him, inspected it and started messing with the wiring.
"You sure you know what your doing?" Clint asked, more concern in his voice than anything else as he glanced at Francis. Pym looked up at them.
"That's my friend on that bed that I haven't seen or heard of for the better part of 6 months. If I wasn't sure of what I was doing I wouldn't be doing it," Pyms serious tone threw Clint and Sam off a little bit. It felt like there was no room for argument afterwards. The glanced at each other before Sam got back to work mapping the frequency and Clint sat next to Francis' bed, watching them both work.
00
The fight that broke out on the rooftop was an interesting one to say the least. Thor and Hulk had joined them, but whatever the Avengers threw at Deadpool, he survived just fine and he always seemed to have some kind of weapon on him. Lord only knows where he kept half of them. James wasn't much of a help as this was going on around him. His blood was pumping in his ears and sometimes his movements would freeze up. Rogue wanted control and wanted to take this opportunity to attack the Avengers. Nothing James was saying was getting through to him.
"This guy is after us and the Avengers are barely handling him, why the hell would we attack them right now? It's not strategically sound!" He argued with his other half in his mind.
"Actually it's the perfect time. They're distracted, we have a mission-"
"No, you have a mission. One I will fight you on any chance I get. Have you forgotten what it was like when our parents were alive? How happy we were?" James retorted as he threw his shield, which Deadpool unfortunately was able to dodge and it disappeared. This allowing Tony to get a shot off with his repulsers.
"Just as you say this is my mission, those are your parents, not my own. My creator is Ultron and I will serve the purpose he gave me," Rogue replied and with that the pain exploded in his head once more. James grabbed his head and backed away from the main fight unnoticed. He couldn't let this happen. With Deadpool keeping the avengers busy, they'd be open to an attack from Rogue. He didn't want that to happen. He wouldn't let that happen. James took one last look at Captain America and Black Widow, wishing that he could stay normal and just spend time with them, and backed up to the edge of the building, fighting passed the pain as best he could. He'd be able to use the fire escape to get down safely and from there he could run. He didn't want to leave the Avengers to deal with the person that was after him, but it was his only choice.
0
Captain America happened to look back as James jumped off the side of the building. Cap threw his shield at Deadpool before running to look over the edge, just in time to see the edge of His boot disappear behind a corner.
"Cap, lookout!" Tony called and Steve ducked as his own shield flew over his head and imbedded itself into the wall of the other building. He had a feeling that this was planned somehow... something wasn't right here.
0
James didn't stop running, he took so many twists and turns, using alleyways to stay low. He had to get as far away as he could while he could. After a few minutes of running this way, he started to slow down. He was reaching his limit of pain tolerance. He stopped finally, out of earshot of the fight, and collapsed to his knees. He couldn't keep this up anymore. He fell over onto his back, breathing heavily. He clutched his head in anguish, the pounding getting louder and louder. He could barely hear the footsteps approaching him as his senses were overwritten. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to hold on. He was unable to, however, and his body went limp.
A moment passed and he sat up slowly, methodically, and opened his completely red eyes. Rogue found that a man wearing a skull mask and white hooded cape stood before him. Clearly wearing body armor as well. He was still working for control of the limbs and working through James' system. So when the powerful punch came to his temple, he was too slow to react. He was out like a light with a second punch, cursing James for forcing him into this position in the first place.
00
Something was wrong, Cap knew that. It felt like he wanted the Avengers to be too busy to pay attention to Rogue. He pulled his shield out of the wall and jumped back over to the roof the fight .
"Missed me!" The merc with a mouth shouted as he dodged another repulser shot. Cap shook his head.
"This is a distraction Tony, Rogue just ran," he told his team over the coms.
"What?" Tony looked in Caps direction and saw no Rogue. "Damn it, why did I expect any less." He looked back at Deadpool.
"We're not playing these games, Deadpool," Widow said, tired of this.
"No? But I've been having fun!" Deadpool said, a sarcastic grin under his mask that they could just hear in his voice.
"What's your endgame here Deadpool? You're not getting Rogue so what are you trying to accomplish?" Tony asked him. Deadpool pauses in his dodging and throwing sharp objects to consider Tony's questions briefly.
"My endgame huh? Interesting choice of words," Deadpool looks pointedly off into the space known as the fourth wall a second before looking back at Tony.
"It would be wise to actually answer his question," Thor said from above, hammer twirling at the ready. Deadpool seemed to roll his eyes.
"Fine. I'm not trying to accomplish anything!" He said as he did a flip and landed by Rogues helmet, picking it up. "I will take this off your hands though." Before one of the Avengers could respond, a smoke bomb was thrown down and Deadpool disappeared, much to their annoyance.
00
The man stood before the teen he'd just knocked out and looked him over a moment. He wasn't someone he'd recognized, which is normal, though he was curious as to why the Avengers had been with him.
"Well that was certainly easy. The plan worked Tasky! Now let's go collect our prize!" Deadpool said as he landed behind the man with a chimichanga in one hand and helmet in the other. The man let out a breath of annoyance.
"Don't call me that ridiculous nickname. It's Task Master," He told the weird man firmly as he bent down and picked up their target. Deadpool huffed.
"After everything I've done I still get called the weird one. No rest for the weary I guess," Deadpool ate the remainder of the chimichanga. Task Master ignored him and and walked to the van waiting for them. He placed the kid on the floor inside and got in. Deadpool got in beside him, talking about something he was tuning out. He could tell by the posture of the AIM agents in the car that they were annoyed already.
00
"Which way did you say he went Cap?" Tony asked over their coms as he flew up to get a better look.
"He headed north," Steve replied. Tony flew over the area, looking in the alleyways and scanning them. Nothing. He saw several of his team doing the same but Rogue had disappeared again. Finally, he had to make the call.
"I'll keep Jarvis scanning for him, but we all know his disappearing act. We should head back to the tower... Sorry Widow and Cap," he said, apologizing to both as both had acted strangely with Rogue.
"I don't know Tony, something doesn't seem right about this," Steve said. His instinct told him that they should've been able to find Rogue. "It seemed almost too easy for Rogue to slip away, even for him."
"I have to agree with Steve," Widow said. Tony sighed.
"We can't look for him forever. Look, AIM found a way to locate the kid. Since he keeps getting into the tower, I've had Jarvis on the lookout for him and clearly that hasn't been working. If we can figure out what Advanced Idea Mechanics has, then we can find Rogue. Maybe even help him with whatever was happening earlier," He told them. His tone was different than it had been before. Because of what he'd witnessed, he no longer believed that Rogues actions had been something he could control. It's changed the way he looked at the kid.
"You have a point," Cap conceded. "But I still want to look a little while longer. You and the others should go back and work that angle." Tony mulled it over a moment before he responded.
"Okay, but be careful," he agreed and changed course to go back to the tower. He really hoped Hawkeye and Pym hadn't managed to blow something up somehow, not that he knew the latter well enough to know whether he'd do that or not. Call it a hunch.
00
"How's it coming?" Clint asked as he glanced at Pym again. They'd already gotten the frequency though something seemed to be trying to change it as they worked. Pym was able to keep up however.
"I almost have it... there!" He held up the arrow, feeling a little proud of himself.
"Jarvis get ready to do a deep brain scan," Sam said.
"Right away, sir," The AI replied. Pym double checked his work and took a breath.
"3...2...1...now!" Pym activated the frequency arrow. Sam monitored scan and smiled.
"It's working!" He told them. Clint gained a look on his face of discomfort. Francis did as well, but for an entirely different reason than his younger father. Clint eventually reached up to his ears and took something out of them. He relaxed after that and focused on Francis. The young man was starting to toss about on the bed, seeming to be in even more pain. Clint. Did his best to keep him steady.
"How much longer, kid?" He asked Pym. Pym looked at Sam for the answer.
"Just one more minute," Sam answered. Clint looked at Falcon as he spoke, then at Francis with worry. Pym hesitated a bit at hearing this. He knew Francis could take a lot, but he didn't know just what the frequency was doing to him. He didn't like seeing him like this. "We got it!" Sam said and Pym quickly shut off the arrow. Francis settled down after that, breathing heavily but he seemed alright. Clint checked him over and nodded.
"It looks like that frequency triggered the worst of it, but I think he'll be alright," Clint said with a sigh. He started messing with his ear again and Pym realized what he was doing.
"Wait... Are you deaf?" He blurted out, confused. He hadn't known that about the archer, but his reaction told him that he still had a lot to learn about their parents. Sam looked bewildered as he looked up from where Jarvis was processing the deep brain scan.
"What?" He looked at Clint surprised. Hawkeye shot Pym a bit of a look, but before he could answer, Tony interrupted them, no longer in his armor.
"The hell happened in here?" All conscious eyes turned to the man in the doorway. That's also when they noticed that the mirror by the door was cracked.
"Uh..." Pym said nervously, fidgeting with the arrow still in his hands.
"Francis collapsed. Pym was helping us figure out why," Clint said, breaking a bit of the tension. Tony raised an eyebrow. He had several questions.
"I'm guessing Francis is the kids name," he said, receiving nods. "Why did you need Pym?"
"Something was blocking Jarvis from scanning his head to see what was going on," Sam said. This got Tony's attention. He thought back to the rooftop earlier where something was blocking his own scan of Rogue when he was holding his head.
"Really? Did you figure why his scans were blocked?" He asked and then Pym found his voice.
"It was a low level frequency that was being emitted. Instead of scanning his head, Jarvis scanned the frequency and we used one of Hawkeyes arrows to release a sound frequency that cancelled it out. I guess it also broke your broke your mirror...sorry... but we got the scan! Jarvis was processing it when you came in!" Pym pointed excitedly at the tablet in Sam's hand that had seemed to be forgotten about when Tony came. Tony got a look on his face Pym recognized. He looked impressed. He held out his hand for the tablet and Sam gave it to him, moving behind him to study it himself.
"Huh.. not bad kid," Tony told Pym, earning a beaming smile from him. Pym walked over to Francis' bedside, just to check on him.
"What's it say?" Clint asked Tony, something in his voice showed he wasn't just concerned. He needed to know. Pym had no idea how Clint hadn't figured out who Francis is yet by the way he's been acting with him. Tony studied the scan results briefly and nodded, glancing at Francis. He looked at little solemn. That look sent Clint teetering on edge.
"It says we need to call a team meeting," Tony said seriously, looking at Sam to get a confirmation of he was seeing the same thing. Sam nodded. He sent the scan over to the screen on the wall, showing Pym and Clint. They stared at it for a while and then looked at each other with the same question in their eyes.
What is that?
What did they discover I wonder? It's a mystery! But it was fun to Explore James' outlook on this. And mess with Deadpool a little bit.
Deadpool: I still don't appreciate the jabs you made.
All in good fun, Wade. All in good fun. If ya'll could leave a review that'd be awesome. even constructive criticism is welcome. See ya next Chapter!
~June 28, 2020~