Jubilee was close. She thought she would have been the first there. She could feel the power in her hands already building, aching for release at their prisoner. She skidded to a halt seeing who had made it there before her.
"-and for what you and your kind did to her... I will kill you. Do you understand?" Mystique said menacingly as she launched herself forward. Wakimoto was outside his cell standing with his back humped, breathing heavily. Mystique's delicate bare foot snapped into his face, his already broken jaw cracking violently out of place again. With a combination of fury and grace, she spun, planting her heel in his stomach. Jubilee could hear ribs snapping as Wakimoto flew backward landing heavily on the floor. Silver plates sprang from nowhere, covering his body. Mystique smiled wickedly. Her skin turned grey, its texture becoming rough, resembling granite. She hurled herself at him, summersaulting in the air to bring both fists crashing down on top of him. The concrete floor beneath Wakimoto cracked loudly. Crimson blood flew from Wakimoto's mouth. The plates slid away to reveal Wakimoto's horror of a body.
Mystique's skin turned blue once more, but long silver talons grew from her fingertips. "This is for all the people you've hurt, and for the innocence your kind stole from a pleasant and loving girl... Enjoy this breath of air. It is your last." Mystique said as she reared up, and stabbed forward. Jubilee could see a look of confusion on Mystique's face as the sound of metal on concrete rang out in the room. Wakimoto smiled even as the blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.
"Another day perhaps..." he choked out in a rasping barely human tone. Slowly his body sunk through the floor as if it was water, soon his face disappeared. Jubilee had only seen one person capable of doing that. And it explained the things they'd seen late at night. One of Wakimoto's victims... had to have been Shadowcat.
Bobby snapped the inhibitor collar on once more, feeling his body warm and the ice slip away. He shivered a moment, something that never used to happen. He turned as he removed his jacket and shirt. He was so tired... All he really wanted was to curl up with Hank and sleep for a month. Hank sat on the end of the bed with slumped shoulders. Something even about the way his fur looked said how exhausted he was, more mentally than physically. Bobby sighed as he crept up behind him, laying his head on Hank's massive shoulder and encircling his arms around his waist. Powerful hands covered Bobby's as he heard Hank sigh.
Bobby didn't know what to say... He didn't know if there was anything he could say that would alleviate even part of the misplaced guilt Hank was feeling. Gradually Hank allowed himself to be moved to lay on the bed. There were several long minutes of silence. Hank rolled on his side to spoon with him, something Bobby never knew he would grow to like. Hank was so warm, almost instantly warming him down to his toes, something Bobby found incredibly comforting. When one's body temperature went as low as his, warmth, in most forms felt very good. Maybe they could lay here forever, just ignore all the things that Bobby knew would pull them out of this bed. It was a nice thought at least.
"I think I'm in love, Bobby." Hank whispered softly. Bobby's brain froze. Of course he loved Hank, but he just hadn't expected this. What was he supposed to say? He choked, instinct taking over.
"With who?" Bobby asked, smiling. He silently cursed himself for the joke. He'd always used humor as a way to defuse an awkward situation. Hank chuckled a little. One of those laughs that, while genuine, only slightly touched your face. Bobby rolled over, facing Hank. "It's Jean isn't it? Maybe if I had long red hair and huge b-" he said jokingly before he was cut off by the softest kiss he'd ever encountered. That was the way Hank was… Gentle. Soft. Loving. Love. Dammit. He'd done it again. They parted, and Bobby tried to stop his head from spinning, and stomp out the butterflies in his stomach. He was determined not to tell another joke, but he was worried what Hank might say if Bobby told him the truth. He looked into Hank's eyes and knew he was waiting for a response. Bobby was suddenly scared.
Was it cliché for Bobby to just say 'I love you too'? Wasn't there supposed to be some poetry for this? Some kind of right response that didn't sound cheesy? A thousand things flew through Bobby's mind. He could see their lives play out in an instant. From where they lay now, to twenty years down the line, still together, still hopelessly stuck on each other. Further as Hank's hair began to go gray and Bobby's as well. Further when they lay in this same bed complaining of all the things going wrong with their bodies. How Hank would devote himself to finding a cure to arthritis instead of cancer. Bobby smiled at that last thought. He felt Hank pull back only slightly, probably not even thinking about it, but he had that look in his eyes, like he'd said something he couldn't take back and expected Bobby to start laughing at him.
"I think I've always loved you, Hank. Even when we first met. You thought you were some kind of hideous creature, hiding away in your lab, barely coming out for food... I think you had me then." Bobby explained slowly. Didn't sound too cheesy, but he was still nervous, as if Hank wouldn't accept it... Maybe that's what was going through Hank's mind just then. Another kiss, more passionate. There was something permanent in the way this felt. Something that Bobby knew he would always feel, no matter what happened.
"Do you think all gay men are saps like us?" Bobby asked chuckling slightly. Hank sighed and smiled, hugging him close. They just lay there together until sleep took them. Hank's eyes didn't close until long after Bobby's breathing took on the rhythm of sleep. The guilt-ridden nightmares Hank had feared never came.
Raien just lay there numb. He'd slept all he could. He'd even stopped the morphine. He didn't know how long it had been. A day perhaps. He'd heard that Wakimoto had escaped. Angry as he was at the man, he knew there was nothing he could do in his current state. He'd needed everything just to drive the man back. If a man is what you would call him. Wakimoto had moved with the speed of some kind of demon. He'd been able to match Raien's speed, even with his aura burning around him...
Raien looked to both sides. He didn't know where Chimera had gone. It was the first time the man had even left his side. His leg ached. After a few moments, he decided to look at it. Even when Chimera had helped him bathe that morning, Raien had tried to keep his eyes on other things. Carefully, he moved the blanket away, and unwrapped the bandages. He blinked. It didn't look so hideous has he thought. It just... ended. A few inches below the knee, it just stopped. He could see neat stitches in red/pink skin. He touched it and grimaced. It was a really strange kind of pain. Half numb, half burning and dull.
That was when he realized he really needed to use the bathroom. He swiveled to the side and put his foot on the floor. His head spun a little bit from the long hours spent laying in bed. Such a simple thing as using the bathroom had become much more complex. He looked down and groaned at the pair of boots laying at the side of the bed, knowing that he'd only ever need one boot now. He stood slowly. The soft carpeting of the room made it a little easier to balance. Raien took a small hop forward, and pain went shooting up his left leg. He lost his balance and began to fall. Out of pure instinct, his aura burst into the air around him and he stopped, floating barely six inches from the floor. He opened his eyes and smiled. He pushed off from the floor toward the bathroom and was there in a matter of seconds.
Raien thought about it for a moment. He'd used his power in any number of ways. A means of travel, to strengthen his fighting, he'd even used it as a weapon once or twice. He'd have never thought to use it like this. Setting his foot on the cold tile floor of the bathroom, Raien allowed his aura to disappear. He could feel the drain of even that small amount of movement on him. He knew that he wouldn't be able to maintain it enough to walk freely around the mansion like he used to. Sure, he'd done amazing things before with his abilities, but using them that extensively had taken its toll, and nearly cost him his life. Hank had said something about massive hemorrhages in the outer layers of his brain during Chimera, Hank, and Jubilee's rescue. He could feel the same thing building again whenever he used his power, and it scared him a little. Raien shook his head and made his way into the bathroom with a triumphant smile on his face.
Hank had gotten a full eight hours of sleep for once, something he found himself doing more and more frequently since co-habitating. As he padded down the gloomy looking hallways to his lab, he pondered the last few days. Such a mix of emotion, all in such a short time. Mostly though, he felt guilty. He needed to pour himself into something. Bobby had always been able to cheer him up, but this was a bit different. Hank wasn't just lonely or sad. He'd taken a man's leg.
It was easy to look on Raien as a contemporary. It was easy to just talk to him as a normal person because he was mature beyond his years. Though he was only in his very early twenties, Raien had always come across as an adult. Perhaps it was the struggle that all mutants go through. Constantly they fought to just be accepted by the world. Hank would give anything to be able to go out into the city and just walk. No worrying about who was staring at him. Nobody calling names or whispering behind him. Hank would love to take Bobby into that world with him. That too was something that would always set him apart.
He'd once studied homosexuality, when it had been classified as a neurological disorder. He'd seen several studies, each attempting in their own weak way to explain what probably couldn't be explained. It just was. There were theories about children being raised by single mothers, and picking up feminine traits from them. There was once even a report claiming that it was genetic. Even one that talked about a male child being born with a female brain. Each of these notions were absurd in their own ways. Hank himself had been raised by both parents, and would generally classify himself as a masculine personality. He was also fairly certain that his brain, while far from the norm, was definitely male.
There had been similarities, however. In most of the studies, the fact that these children were often very bright, self sufficient, and mature. Hank had never been able to put the pieces together, and he didn't think he ever would. But he needed something to study. Needed something that would require him to spend days in his lab (with time set aside for Bobby, of course). He knew why he wanted to do it, not that he'd actually consciously admit it to himself, but he was avoiding Raien. He didn't know how Raien was taking this. He'd done what had to be done... but there had to have been another way. The sinking feeling came back to him as he realized that these hallways were often traveled by the others.
He ducked quickly into his lab, nearly jumping out of his skin when he saw Chimera sitting there. After the initial shock, Hank was shocked again. Chimera had multiple holographic displays up, each showing strings of text that looked vaguely familiar to Hank. It took him a moment of squinting to make out the characters. It was programming code. Chimera was teaching himself to program. Hank smiled. He'd known from the moment he'd met the man that they were kindred spirits. Chimera was more than intelligent, though one wouldn't see it from the start. He was exceptionally bright, but lacked the confidence to make it show. Hank had always been clearly an intellectual. Anyone that talked to him would know that. He admired Chimera though, because he was capable of great things, and had little expected of him. He could only impress.
Thinking better of it, Hank decided that maybe joining his lover in the recreation room would be enjoyable, and that any research he needed to do could wait until Chimera was finished. He doubted that would be soon, but spending time just sitting wasn't a waste when it was with Bobby. Before he really thought about it, Hank had picked Bobby's scent out amid the mass of human-smells in the mansion, and was following it to the source. He stopped. He'd always had a somewhat heightened sense of smell, but this was different. He could pick out each X-Man or woman and tell roughly how long they'd been through the area. Hank got a bad feeling.
"Excuse me… Beast?" A woman's voice asked behind him. Even before he turned to look, he knew it was Mystique. He saw something in her eyes, like the name had left a bad taste in her mouth. "I… I'm sorry, is there something else I can call you? The name Beast… Will Dr. McCoy do?" She asked.
Hank was stumped for a moment. He'd chosen the codename because of what he thought he was. In a small way, anytime anyone said it, it hurt. He smiled at Mystique. "Hank, please. Can I help you with something?"
She nodded. "I need to practice. I was hoping I might use your Danger room, but it requires a pass code… I know I have not merited any-"
"Nonsense. You were an integral part in the defeat of Wakimoto. You could have ran away, become anyone, and just disappeared. But you stayed. One action may not be enough to dismiss your history with us, however we must move forward, especially in times such as these. I warn you though, I never make the same mistake twice…" Hank said evenly. He knew that Mystique was trying. That much was obvious just in the way she talked now. She seemed so different, almost humble. It was rather shocking to see.
They approached the door and Hank entered his combination quickly, obscuring view so that Mystique could not see. "When you enter, simply say the word 'Tutorial' and you will get a brief overview of the commands, difficulty settings, and options. We had recently rebuilt the danger room using Hard Light Technology. In essence, holograms that have mass. You can choose any opponent of over two hundred in the database." Hank explained. Hank knew there was nothing that she could do from within the danger room that she couldn't do from any computer terminal in the lower part of the mansion. There was no harm in her using it.
Mystique looked shocked, but slowly nodded and entered. She turned to look at him as the doors began to close. "Thank you. Hank." She said, still getting used to the name. Hank could see easily that she'd not expected to have been allowed to use the danger room. He smiled. Maybe showing the woman a little kindness would make her open up a little bit. However, he had warned her. If she was planning any kind of deception, she would get no such kindness in the future from Hank McCoy.
Bobby sat in an easy chair that was much too big for him. It was one of the chairs built for Hank's large frame. It wasn't particularly comfortable, but it smelled of Hank, who was most likely in his lab. Bobby flipped channels, suddenly remembering that a pro-mutant talk show was in progress. He flipped eagerly to the channel. Gunsmoke was playing. Bobby's nose wrinkled as he looked intensely at the remote, making absolutely sure he pressed the right buttons this time. The picture flickered for a moment but the channel had been correct.
"I see it's been cancelled." Said a deep manly voice behind him, making Bobby jump before he realized it was Hank.
"Yeah, I guess. Nothing is sacred anymore is it?" Bobby asked, making room for Hank as he eased into the chair with a sigh.
"Poor ratings, most likely. There will be others." Hank assured.
Bobby flipped channels for a few moments not really interested in anything that was on. He heard a small disappointed sound as he passed both the Discovery and Discovery: Health channels.
'And in other news, Mutant terrorist groups continue to gain followers, claiming that the Friends of Humanity are imprisoning and exterminating their kind. So far, the violence has been limited to FoH installations, but experts say that one of the traits of the X-gene is a heightened thirst for violence, and the attacks will soon spread to the general populace if nothing is done.' said the reasonably attractive token blonde anchor. There was obviously an anti-mutant spin on the subject, but both Hank and Bobby were shocked to see actual terrorist groups forming.
"Hank… Do you think we're going to have to go stop them?" Bobby asked, looking up at him.
As if on cue, the walls shook as several mortars exploded on the surface. Immediately images flooded both of their minds, making them understand that it wasn't a full out attack on the mansion, just an angry redneck looking to punish a scapegoat. Hank and Bobby looked at each other, and listened for a few minutes. Mortars. In the middle of a city! Hank shook his head. He knew well that even the upper parts of the mansion could survive a direct blast from even the more powerful mortars or rockets with the blast shields closed as they were. He himself had helped design the defense systems. As far underground as they were, they had a pretty good chance of surviving even a nuclear blast. Not one right on top of them, or of high enough yield, but they were far enough away from any large city to be worried about that. Hank had said, after the plans were complete, that only two things would survive a Nuclear world war: Cockroaches and the X-Men.
"I think I will wait for the world to ask for our help before offering it. Perhaps a little mayhem will show them how mistaken they have been." Hank said, staring at the screen. He still couldn't believe it. Even underground, they could feel the vibrations and hear the explosions. Though with all the things that had happened recently… Mortars were the least of their worries. Abruptly, Bobby's belly rumbled. Hank was about to ask him if he wanted something to eat when he realized how hungry he was. He craved a big juicy steak. He knew being only the middle of the day, nothing like that would be available, but there was a good chance of roast beef… He smiled as he got up and led the way without even saying anything to his lover. Bobby hadn't taken his inhibitor collar off all day, and now, if Hank was within ten feet of Bobby, he was in some form of physical contact with him. The time Bobby had spent permanently frozen had been agony.
They soon reached the kitchen, and Hank was surprised just how hungry he was. That morning he'd had a large breakfast even by his standards. He was so hungry, that the smells of meats and cheeses within the refrigerator were almost arousing. Nearly forgetting about Bobby, he deftly sniffed out the Roast Beef hidden between the turkey and ham. He piled 6 sandwiches high and smiled triumphantly.
"I hope we're not splitting this in half between just the two of us…" Bobby said, his eyes wide at the sheer amount of food balanced precariously on just one plate. Hank looked at him, puzzled.
"Can I make you something?" he asked.
"What? 'Make me-' Hank, you have six sandwiches on that plate… And those aren't just sandwiches… They're… Monstrosities!" Bobby said incredulously. Hank's brow furrowed.
"Hmmm… So it would appear. I am particularly hungry today… Perhaps the extra 'training' you've been providing me requires more substantial nourishment…" Hank said with a sly smile on his lips. Bobby couldn't do anything but grin and pull him close for a kiss. Something about the way Hank kissed him said clearly there would be more to follow. He loved that about Hank. Gentle and soft as he was, when he got in the mood, there was no stopping him. Bobby was sure that he would stop if he asked, but couldn't come up with a scenario that he'd ever want him to.
Bobby just smiled and retrieved a modest helping of leftover cajun-something that didn't look too limp or green yet, and Hank padded over to the table, Bobby following. Watching his lover eat was shocking. Hank devoured all six heaping sandwiches in under two minutes and looked up. Bobby just stared at him as he got up and fixed himself three more sandwiches, and devour them in the same manner. Finally content, Hank leaned back in the chair and patted his belly. Bobby shook his head as he finished his own meal.
Hank sat in his lab, relieved to find that Chimera wasn't there. He needed some time to himself, his brain had been idle too often recently. Like a blade, it had to be kept sharp. He took a moment though to chuckle about the experiences of this afternoon. He'd felt extremely good for several hours, with no explanation. The guilt over performing the amputation of Raien's leg was still there, and just as powerful, but Hank's mind was somehow stuck on 'happy'. Perhaps it had been ravaging Bobby properly right after their lunch. He'd left Bobby in their quarters sleeping, worn out, naked, and spread eagle on their bed. Already Hank was planning very evil things upon his return. He decided that he must do something more constructive with his mind and padded over to the bookcase.
Hank thumbed through his library of textbooks. He stopped and settled on String Theory and Quantum Physics. A dull ache grew in his stomach, and Hank suddenly regretted eating all those sandwiches. He took a step toward the desk and his whole stomach cramped up. Pain exploded in his chest, the kind that rendered a person totally mute, screaming in silent agony. Hank fell to the floor, text book crashing to one side. The pain grew beyond anything he'd ever experienced. He was so confused. He couldn't move. Couldn't call for help. Totally helpless, shuddering and convulsing on the floor, Hank pleaded with any supreme being that would listen to just let one of his team mates walk through the door.
Alone and hopeless, Hank felt something burst within him. The pain dulled as his vision fogged… If just one person could walk through the door… Time seemed to thicken, and all sense of how long he'd been on the ground escaped him. How could this happen? There were three telepaths in the mansion, surely one of them would do something! A terrifying darkness formed on the edges of his vision, creeping slowly, threatening to swallow him. He felt very tired and tried to fight it. Tried to hold out for just a few minutes incase someone should stumble across him. He was losing. The last thing Hank felt was his neck go slack and his head land limply on the sterile floor of the lab.