A/N - Hello friends ... here we are with a little update for the holiday weekend, Yes, I'm later than I wanted to be getting it out, but that's how it be. Enjoy!

Chapter 135- The Jig Is Up

The boys did their best to make the most of what was left of their weekend, but James was set on going to the lab at the usual time on Monday … which meant they needed to try and sleep at the usual time, not that either of them managed that too well when James kept insisting that he didn't have a plan to share with Billy - or one in play at all. It was hard to reconcile 'no plan' with any kid that Scott had raised, after all. It wasn't right. And yet …

James approached the morning exactly as he usually did - outwardly anyhow. He had a latte in his hand on the way to the lab, though he noticed several ridiculously large men as he got close to the lab. He didn't pay them much mind, though. He guessed that these were Sinister's Marauders … the ashen complexions and inflated size matched the descriptions in the files he'd read more or less to a 't'.

He refused to be set off by a bunch of thugs, though. So he did his best to ignore the obvious additions to campus and headed up to the lab with his backpack over his shoulder. When he got to the genetics lab, Windsor was agitated and looking as if he was ready to lose his temper - entirely distrustful of James as he came up so casually and simply settled in to get to work as if nothing at all had changed, even taking a moment to silence his phone before he dropped it in his pocket.

There weren't any other students in the room - and there weren't going to be as this was more of an open lab time - and most of the other students didn't bother with going to it in favor of studying. Which was why James insisted on going. Under normal circumstances, it would be the perfect time to get something done. Under these circumstances though … well, if there was going to be a conflict, there wouldn't be any collateral.

Windsor narrowed his eyes and then crossed the room to slam his hands down on the table in front of James. "Let's not play this game, young man," he said sharply. "We both know what you've discovered. I'll not have you pretending any differently."

James held his gaze for a moment. "Okay. I have questions, but, I guess what I need to know is why are you here? Is it just your usual MO, or is there a reason you stuck your nose into my degree?"

Windsor narrowed his eyes, and James could feel his telepathic touch in his mind as he searched for any glaring deception.

"If you want to look, you can just ask," James said. "I'm not trying to hide anything from you."

"Then let me see what you think you know," Windsor said, still obviously leery.

James nodded and closed his eyes against every instinct not to - then focused enough to actually let the guy in. "Okay. Go ahead."

Windsor kept his eyes narrowed as he scoured through James's head, then leaned back when he was done. "You don't have a plan," he said. It wasn't a question, though he seemed almost… amused. "All that you know, and you have no plan but to continue on as things are."

"I don't know what you're up to, but I actually came here to learn something," James replied. "And I am not letting anyone get in the way of that."

Windsor smirked despite himself, then leaned forward. "Then," he said slowly, "in the interest of honesty, I will answer your question." He met James's gaze. "My curiosity was piqued. Everything publicly available indicated that you were exactly what Stark claims you are: a genius in every right. Knowing that, and knowing that Scott raised you, seeing your application to the genetic department at Oxford? How could I not be interested in what potential you might have?"

"And now?" James said, still keeping his calm in place even now knowing that he'd triggered this himself by looking into genetics.

Windsor broke into an almost-genuine smile. "You're asking all the right questions. Pursuing all the right threads. You have talent, my dear boy. And this is my life's work. I am not so set in my ways that I am not interested in the avenues a young, brilliant mind could open."

"You could have sated your curiosity without coming into the classroom," James pointed out.

"Perhaps," Windsor allowed. "And yet if you have the potential that I have come to truly believe you have, you could be a great help to my own research." He leaned back and gestured with one hand. "As your teacher, I can direct you well beyond what this … modern science knows."

"If that's what you're actually here for, then do it. Teach me."

Both of Windsor's eyebrows raised, and he broke into a smile. "I will," he agreed.

"I'm sure you have new rules you'll want me to follow," James said, surprising Sinister at his initiative to move into negotiations. "But I have a few myself."

Windsor chuckled. "Go ahead," he said. "I'm curious to see where your priorities lie."

"You know I don't have a plan - and I don't really want to have to make one," James started out. "But … if we're going to go forward with this arrangement … I can't keep focused if you're playing with my family. And I'm no good to you unfocused."

Windsor waved his hand instantly. "Well-argued, but I'm afraid this study has been my focus for far longer than you or your father have been alive."

"I know," James said. "But you don't need to conduct it while mocking him. I know you're capable of finding out whatever you need to without being cruel."

"My dear boy," Windsor said with a quiet smile, "I have never been so unobtrusive."

"I'm just asking that you preserve his sanity by not tormenting him."

Windsor nodded slowly. "Alright," he said. "That's a fair proposal. Continue. I'd like to hear more."

"My family is of course, my biggest concern," James said. "And I'm not going to get nit picky before we can even start. As things come up, I expect to be able to talk with you the same way I'd talk to any of my other teachers - openly to resolve our conflicts."

Windsor tented his fingers together. "And my rules are the same that your father is following. You will tell no one the true nature of our agreement."

"I had no plans to tell anyone," James said. "I don't want my team to get their asses handed to them again if they decide to dive in head first."

Windsor smirked at that. "Then, my dear boy," he said slowly, "I believe we have an understanding."

James nodded and took a deep breath. "So with all that in mind - I'm actually not comfortable calling you by a fake name, either."

"When we are alone, I see no reason to continue the charade," Windsor agreed.

James held his breath for a moment, more nervous now than he had been to start. Especially since he really didn't know the depth of the trouble he was about to dive into. But he knew he was in deep. "Then where would you like to start, Dr. Essex?"

At first, after James had filled his siblings in on what was going on and who, exactly, was behind all the weirdness going on in their family lately, Nate had thought that the feeling in the back of his mind was nothing but anxiety.

Which he had a lot of, admittedly, because Kate was pregnant, and they were only eighteen, and there was a lot going on. And he wanted to keep the creep away from Kate as much as he could so he didn't end up like his dad, hidden away and trying desperately to keep his kids safe. He didn't want history to repeat itself.

So that's what he thought that nagging something in his head was: that lingering doubt that he was going to end up following his father's footsteps in all the worst ways.

But the more time passed, the more he realized that he wasn't just anxious. Something about this whole situation was ringing bells for Nate that he hadn't even realized existed to be rung. And all things considered, even though he had full confidence in his own telepathic abilities, the fact that Sinister had been able to harass his mom hung around his neck until his concern pulled him into knocking on Rachel and America's door that morning. It was early enough that classes hadn't started yet, but not so early that Rachel wouldn't be getting ready for the day, he knew. Though he did reach out telepathically to make sure she and America weren't occupied before he knocked on the door.

Rachel answered it herself, not telepathically either. She was ready for the day, though her hair wasn't entirely up to snuff. She frowned as she took in Nate's appearance, then simply grabbed his arm to yank him inside. "What went wrong?"

"I'm okay," Nate said, first and foremost, because he knew she was a bundle of nerves since James had told them about Sinister, too. He paused, then corrected himself. "Well, I'm not okay. But I'm not hurt; just… I think I need you to check something for me. As soon as Dad and James let us into the secret, it's like it's familiar, and I'm not sure what my mind knows that I don't, you know?"

"Familiar how?" Rachel asked, pulling him a little further into her suite so they could sit down together away from the door. "And what do you want me to do?"

"Familiar like… when Dad was talking about him dropping in. That rang some bells," Nate said, both eyebrows raised significantly. "I just want you to check to see if I've forgotten something I shouldn't have, and I mean, I could do it myself, but outside eyes are always better, you know?"

Rachel narrowed her eyes at that. "Okay. You know the drill." Before he could get more comfortable she was already ghosting fire at the tips of her fingers and the flames were reflecting in her eyes.

The part that bothered her right away, though, was that she could feel that someone had been nosing around in her brother's mind scape. The impact wasn't apparent right away, either, so the interference had been both subtle and minimal. Which was troubling, all things considered. In her own memory, as well as along with the old stories Rachel knew of Sinister, the man did not seem to understand anything close to subtlety. And yet …

She looked around closer, digging deeper into the little details, looking for any impacts that weren't Nate. She was just about to shake her head and declare him free of any unusual normal defects when she had to do a small double take at the tiniest of loose bricks.

Nate had followed behind her, letting her do her thing, but when she stopped, he did too. "Rach…?"

"Do you see that?" Rachel asked, barely gesturing at the loosened brick. The brick didn't even look that far off … just … barely shifted with a tiny bit of debris under it. "Or do you have a suggestion not to look too closely?"

"It's … a brick wall, Rach. Part of my defenses. You've seen it before, and I checked it myself. Whatever you're seeing, I'm not." He frowned. "Which is why I asked you…"

When Nate didn't seem to notice how off it was, Rachel turned his way, then took a closer look to make sure there wasn't a trap attached to it. "It's loose, Nate. One brick is loose and it shouldn't be."

Nate narrowed his eyes, and Rachel could actually see him force himself to look closer at each brick until his gaze finally found the brick she'd pointed out. "Wow. I didn't even…" He stepped closer to her so he could check as well. "There's got to be more involved than this. I don't remember an encounter that would leave something like this behind."

"I'm sure. So … let's take a look at his trail," Rachel said before she held up both hands and concentrated to find exactly where Sinister had been. It was a neat little trick she'd come up with on her own - and one she had yet to teach Nate how to do. "Follow the neon trail, little brother."

Nate laughed when he saw the brilliant trail that seemed to light up in exactly the way America's star portals did. "You've got it bad, sis."

"I'm very sure you have absolutely zero room to talk," Rachel pointed out.

"What, me? Get a girl pregnant, have a shotgun wedding, me? Noooo."

"Shut up and let's figure out how big of a mess the vampire made, huh?"

"Yes ma'am, Phoenix ma'am," Nate said - because he absolutely couldn't resist.

"I'm not even tapping into that part," Rachel laughed. "I was trying not to burn anything."

"But it's more fun to tease you," Nate said, though he was well on his way down the trail Rachel had lit up.

"You're probably right, Mr. Barton."

"Okay, okay, shutting up." Nate held up both hands, laughing, and followed Rachel through his mind, though the path split in two directions. One was more toward his conscious thoughts, which suggested to Nate that it was either a command or surveillance, and the other was toward his memories. And as much as Nate wanted to know the story of what had happened, the possibility of a command was more pressing, so he nodded to Rachel without saying a word, and they headed down that way first.

Nate's mind was structure not in hallways or pathways or buildings but in highways, open roads that led from one part to the next. When he wanted to go exploring in his own mindscape, he usually conjured up a nice car and drove around with the top down, too, watching as the road split in places depending on where they were headed.

When they turned down the road that led to his more conscious thoughts and most recent experiences, the road turned to cobblestone as pop-up tents and a marketplace a lot like the farmer's markets in the hidden places they'd grown up when he was little dotted the scene.

Rachel and Nate got out of the car to look around the booths and tents. One had a ton of baby gear and was clearly representative of the constant anxiety he had around making sure he was a good dad once the baby got there; another was an archery showcase; another was a fortune teller's boutique with a crystal ball that showed all of the futures Nate was anxious about possibly coming to pass; and so on.

Eventually, Rachel was the one to spot it: Sinister had literally bugged Nate's mind. Near a stall that sold old books that, when opened, revealed Nate's life literally being recorded as it happened - a representation of his conscious understanding - was a large beetle. It was shiny and black with just the slightest pattern of red to it, and it was the red that caught Rachel's attention enough to look closer.

"Find anything?" Nate asked, nearly startling Rachel when she was looking closely at the beetle.

"Maybe, maybe not," Rachel replied, trying not to trigger anything into happening - and looking for something near at hand that might be useful.

"Okay. I'm going to remain willfully ignorant, because you have that tone of voice-"

"That is your natural state of being, what are you talking about?" Rachel teased, then snagged a glass mason jar from the next stall over when Nate turned his head. After that, it only took a second for her to dump the contents and scoop up the little black and red beetle. "Hope this works …"

The beetle walked a little circle in the jar but didn't otherwise seem to try to escape, even after Rachel was sure it was trapped. It passively fluttered its wings, but… it didn't seem to be active, either. Like it was waiting for something.

"O…kay. You caught an actual bug," Nate said, shaking his head.

"An actual bug with a red diamond on it."

"Yeah, I'm just wondering if it's a listening bug or something else, you know?" Nate said. "And you're the one who could actually look at the brick, so… any thoughts?"

"Well … if I had to put money on it, I'd say it's his relay? Dad sounded like he couldn't really make any kind of a meaningful move without Sinister knowing about it. This would kind of explain that, I think."

Nate nodded slowly. "Think we could find Dad's or do you think Sinister's got, like, a bazillion of those in Dad's head at this point?"

"I don't know," Rachel said thoughtfully. "I think if we meddled with those he'd know right away. Aside from Dad being his favorite …"

"Yeah, good point." Nate tipped his head as he stared at the glass. "Okay, so… he can't monitor if we've covered the mic on his bug, more or less… let's find whatever memory he hid so we can see what his goals were."

"I feel a little better about looking now that this is taken care of. Think you can put it somewhere safe and non-triggering?"

"Is it totally immature of me to want to put it over there?" Nate asked, gesturing to where Rachel had been avoiding the place in his head that constantly wanted privacy with Kate. "I feel like it's immature, but that just makes me want to do it."

"I mean … if that's what you think would be fitting," Rachel said with a shrug. "I doubt that will be much of a deterrent, but hey. Not like that's not on a constant loop for you."

"It is." Nate nodded to himself. "And I figure, honestly, tactically, it wouldn't raise suspicions if he's got a bug in a teenage boy's head that's constantly on the sex train. Being genuine about that."

"Yeah, sure, your mind," Rachel said easily, though she was incredibly entertained by his train of thought.

Nate scooped up the mason jar and disappeared with it, and when he came back, he opened Rachel's car door for her and Rachel pretended for his sake that he didn't look a shade redder at all.

They drove deeper into Nate's mind from there, away from his conscious thoughts. They got deeper into the countryside, where the roads were a bit quieter because his memories weren't changing, though they weren't even so far from civilization that he couldn't call up a memory for any reason.

In this part of Nate's mind, the memories were more like farm houses than pop-up tents and booths. They were sturdier; they'd settled into the area. And after a while, Nate came to a stop near a house whose windows were reflecting scenes from the trial.

"Dad said it started after this, so anything east of here is more recent than the trial," Nate explained. "Just start looking for boarded up windows or something… I'm sure you'll see it before I do, seeing as you're not playing with one hand tied behind your back like I am."

"I am not even going to take the easy shot here," Rachel said half under her breath as she started her search more earnestly. It took a little while, but back behind one of the nearer houses that looked more at home beachside, she found what amounted to a busted up tent. It almost looked like someone's attempt at a shed gone wrong - the upright poles were twisted and the structure was crumpled with a slight trail of sand spattered around it. "Oh. Eew."

"Eew like you've stumbled into something embarrassing or eww like…"

"Eew like I don't think that hiding that bug in your sex-library is going to be effective eew."

"Eew." Nate came to join her and then swore out loud when he realized that the tent was erected in the back yard of Nate's memories of his honeymoon.

"I told you. Eew."

"The problem here is that we need to know what he's up to, but I also very much do not want to know what he was up to. You see this dilemma, right?"

"On so many levels," Rachel agreed. "So many levels."

Nate glanced at Rachel, took a deep breath, and nodded to himself. "I'll go first," he said, careful of the debris as he approached the tent with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, good." Rachel held up both hands. "I'm not nearly mature enough to look in there first."

Nate wasn't looking long before he got the tent partially up again, and when he did, he poked his head out, looking red-faced - and at first, Rachel thought she knew why.

"I'm even going to refrain from pointing out you didn't need any help pitching that tent," Rachel had to tease in an attempt to lighten the mood a little.

"Yeah, shut up, come and look at this," Nate said, his good humor gone - which was when Rachel realized he was furious, not embarrassed.

Her smile slipped quickly, and she cursed her amazingly good one liner for not hitting when she rarely got those shots anyhow. But when she saw what nate was glaring over, the fire kicked in fast. "Okay. fix it here, then we can fix it for her."

"Good," Nate said, still staring at the memory of Kate half bent over as Sinister smirked at him, knowing he had the upper hand. "And once we figure out how to do it, I'm gonna kill him."

When they got to Kate, Rachel was sure to dive in fast before Kate could even register that they were there. She didn't want to set off any triggers or alarms - and she was pretty sure Kate would forgive her in the long run. But, she knew what she was looking for - a bug or something like it acting as a relay, a tampered memory, and likely something to keep her keen perception from realizing something was off.

She worked quickly, though she kept the fire barely at bay while she righted what she could and tried once again to ease over some of the long-fought with triggers against anything like this setting her off. And yet - when Rachel backed out of Kate's mind, she was half holding her breath and had one arm held up in front of her, ready to freeze her if Kate reacted badly. And to test the water, she opened with an offer.

"I am absolutely willing to cancel all my classes today and take you to coffee, little sis," Rachel said. "Hi. Sorry about the intrusion."

Kate had doubled over, and she hadn't opened her eyes yet. "Oh, hello, Kate. It's nice to see you, Kate. Let's warn you about the latest Summers drama now that you're one of us, Kate."

"I would chant 'one of us' but let's be real, I needed to do the pushy sister thing so that the creep couldn't do anything to you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, memory's starting to come to the surface. Feel a little ill about it; I'll get back to you in a second," Kate said, her eyes still squeezed shut.

"Sorry. So, so sorry," Rachel said. "Probably the wrong time to tell you Nate and I need to put up some way better defenses … and something a little offensive for you, too," Rachel said.

"Honestly? I get that. I do. Just…" Kate took a few deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth. "Okay. Sorry. The timing was really bad. I just threw up not thirty seconds before you came in the door."

"Yeah, sorry," Rachel said with a wince. "It's not even the only tragedy today, either. I made jokes - good ones, you would have appreciated them, and the timing was just as bad. So."

"It's okay." Kate let out a long breath and straightened up. "Okay. Sorry. Go back to the start - is that offer for sister bonding still on the table?"

"Yes, absolutely," Rachel swore. "I'll make Nate cover my classes." She grinned brilliantly.

"Then let's do that. I'm desperately craving spicy food, and we haven't hung out just the two of us in, I think, ever."

"Breakfast burritos then?" Rachel offered.

"Please and thank you," Kate said, seizing Rachel's arm. "And while we're out, you need to catch me up, clearly. It's barely past coffee time and you're already rampaging."

While Rachel was heading out with Kate, Nate took the opportunity to try and talk to James about the same mess. He hadn't had a chance to do that yet - and the idea that his big brother was going into Sinister's face after finding out all that the guy had done to him and Kate already … Nate was pissed. And concerned. Which one was winning out though was still a toss up.

But it was still early enough that reaching out like he was meant he'd catch James during coffee - or at least before he got to classes. And as usual, James wasn't keeping his mind open for Nate to reach out, so the best he could do and get attention quickly was to make a call. And it was a measure of how little he knew about his brother's schedule when James answered his phone sounding like he was still asleep.

"You running late for class?" Nate asked, sounding a little unsure.

"No. Class got canceled first thing," James said thickly, though Nate could hear him working on getting more upright. "What's wrong?"

"Dude, there is so much that you didn't tell me, and now you want to know what's wrong?"

"Nate-"

"Can I come over? Or - can you come here? One of the two."

James ran a hand though his hair. "Yeah. Of course. Give me like … two minutes. I'll ask Billy if he can get you here - unless you don't want to leave Kate."

"She's with Rachel."

"Ah. Okay then. See you in a few." James hung up, then let out a weary sigh before he reached over to shake Billy awake. "Hey, handsome, I hate to wake you, but-"

"Your brother needs a minute?" Billy said, though he hadn't picked up his head or moved more than strictly necessary.

"I'll make you breakfast if you can get him here. Sounded like he was ready to have a melt down."

"Do I have to get up otherwise?"

"Not if you don't want to."

Billy let out a put upon grumble. "I'll give you long enough to get more dressed and start coffee."

James leaned over to steal a long kiss. "You're amazing. Thank you." While Billy was still smiling, James bounced out of bed and started to get dressed, though he didn't bother brushing out his hair or trying harder than simply upright and clothed. He was still barefoot as the coffee percolated when Nate appeared in the living room.

"Hey, so, I need to tell you what happened when Sinister invited himself to my honeymoon," Nate said with absolutely no other preamble.

"Eew."

"Yeah, no kidding. That's not the point." Nate waved one hand in irritation. "Can I just - this would be easier if I - just let me project what happened?"

James nodded before he answered properly. "Yeah, go ahead."

James had barely finished his sentence before Nate had projected the whole recovered memory to James, and even then, Nate didn't wait long for James to process it before he said, "I didn't even remember that had happened until Rachel clued me in to look for that."

"How did she- what now?" James asked.

"Everything she was telling me about Sinister - it was ringing weird mental bells, so I asked her to check for me in case I just wasn't seeing it. Which I wasn't. Which is not normal for me."

James was quiet for a long moment, barely tapping the side of his mug as he thought it over. "Okay. I'll see what I can do."

"Okay, but I was kind of coming here to tell you that you should probably let me and Rachel do the same check on your mind. If he could hide stuff in my head and make me forget I agreed to it… I mean, I let him in. There was no scarring to draw attention. He obviously knows where to apply pressure, and you can't tell me you don't have people you care about you'd let him in for, you know?" Nate said, sounding more stressed the more he talked.

James considered him for a long moment before cautiously nodding once, exaggerated and slow. "O-kay … s-u-ure."

"Okay. Good." Nate nodded once and then sat down, running both of his hands all the way from the front of his hair to the back.

It took James a moment to join him - and when he did, he set a cup of coffee down in front of his little brother first. "Rachel's busy, right? And you're more in tune with what it's like in my head anyhow. Go for it when you're ready."

"Oh. Um. Okay."

"Not up to it?" James teased with a smirk.

Nate rolled his eyes and shoved James at the shoulder. "No, just wasn't expecting this to go this smoothly."

"Well you'll need to go spelunking before I go read him the riot act, right? So … clock's ticking."

"Oh, are you - can I come?" Nate said, redirecting when he heard that.

"No," James said, shaking his head. "But he knows that I know who he is. We've got a cease fire for the time being."

Nate narrowed his eyes. "Can I look at that too? I don't trust anything you agreed to unless we know he's not in there."

"Wow. Okay, that's some faith, but sure. Feel free."

"It's called healthy paranoia, and you have it too. Respect it," Nate teased.

"I'm not knocking that part," James promised. "I just know that everyone who's tried to go head first at this guy ends up losing. I'm trying something else." He gestured to his head. "You'll see. That was my working idea before I let him in. Trust building exercise with a monster. Horrifying."

"O…kay." Nate narrowed his eyes and then sat up straighter, letting his eyes glow blue as he looked through James's mind. He was thorough, too, since his own defenses had only shown a small brick out of place. But he was able to see everything James and Sinister had agreed to - as well as the stories Alex had told him and the conversation he'd had with everyone in Genosha.

Nate didn't trust any of it. But as far as he could see, Sinister hadn't influenced James, either. The only thing he did find was a slight kink in the armor in James's head - practically the same thing that had been in his own head. Just a way for Sinister to get in easier for subsequent telepathic ventures.

But nothing else had Sinister's touch, so Nate backed out - and paused right before he would have left when he saw something tucked away, hidden under lock and key. It didn't have Sinister's telepathic touch to it, but it did have something to do with Sinister, judging by its position in James's memories.

"Hey, what's with the lockbox?" Nate asked as he came back out of the telepathic dive, only to find that breakfast had been going on around him.

"I can't focus on that or I'll lose it," James said. "So I'm not sharing that."

"If I can help-"

"Ah - no. Not with that. Not right now. I'm okay, really." He passed Nate a bagel. "I will have a talk with him about boundaries, though."

Nate took the bagel and stared at James for a much longer time before he did finally take a bite. "I don't get creeped out often, but everything about this has my hair standing up on the back of my neck."

"Same, but - I can't see any alternate move right now that won't backfire spectacularly," James agreed.

"Yeah, Rachel's with Kate right now. I have to agree - we can't move until what you saw with Kate can't happen again - but we have to shore up the others too, you know? Billy, Dad, Annie… God."

"Yeah, that last one's a doozie. I wouldn't wait on that," James agreed. "I know he likes to peek in on Dad from time to time, but I don't know the mode of transport - and I don't know how in depth that goes."

Nate nodded to himself. "Yeah, I'll talk to Rachel. We'll peek on Dad's head… and Annie's going to take a while, because a new telepath is just… so hard to defend…" He still had the bagel in one hand, but the other was scrunching his hair.

"Ask Dad how bad it is," James suggested after a long moment. "He'd have the best metric to measure. I already negotiated on his behalf - I'll do it again, too."

"Don't put yourself out," Nate said quickly. "I'm going with Kate to all her appointments. I'll keep an eye out for her."

"Alright, but, our original agreement was that he backed off my family. I will find a way to make him hold to that."

"Here's the thing," Nate said, still sounding stressed. "What you guys talked about was being nicer about it. Not torturing Dad. Which, you know, good call. But I don't see anywhere he said he was going to stop 'studying' us. Sounded pretty firm on that point, you know? You're kind of surprisingly … almost optimistic?"

"I had to have a baseline to start with, but I have more leverage now." James's tone was almost flat. "And I know how he works."

Nate gestured with the hand that still had a bagel. "I don't trust any of these deals. And I'm worried about you, okay? Working with him all the time…"

James took a drink from his mug. "How do you feel about blackmail?"

Nate smirked lightly despite himself. "Take me through it, then."

James shook his head. "I can't think it through too clearly or he'll realize something's up when I go in. You can eavesdrop though. I'll keep my phone on if you'll be around for a little bit."

"Now I'm curious."

"Same," Billy said - around a huge bite of French toast.

"Then I'll hurry up and get to it," James said before he got to his feet. "It'll take me about twenty minutes to get to the lab. I'll call before I go in." He leaned over to kiss the side of Billy's head. "No solid plans, remember?"

"I mean, I could always just do a supervillain float."

"Nope. Let me be subtle," James said. "It'll work. I'm sure of it." He stopped to grab a jacket at the door. "Or, he'll flip out. One or the other."

He slipped out before either Billy or Nate could react, and rushed down to drive in - he'd be a little early to when he should show up, but that was fairly common behavior when he had something on his mind, so he didn't think that Essex would care too much. But, he also wanted to make sure that the guy knew he was up for something serious, so to screw with him - just a little- he made sure to grab a cup of darjeeling alongside his latte before he came into the lab. Of course, the last thing he did before he left his car with everything was to call his brother - and make sure Nate put himself on mute so whatever Nate and Billy had to say would remain between Nate and Billy while James got to work.

At the lab itself, James made his usual entrance - sunglasses on, bag over his shoulder, and a cup in each hand just like it was any other day, and like every other day, Essex watched him come in with a half-smirk tugging at the corner of his expression, until he saw the second coffee cup.

"What's this?" Essex asked as James set both down and let his bag slide to the ground. He made his way over before James could answer and gingerly picked up the cup of tea when James gestured that it was his. "What are you after?"

"I figured I'd reopen negotiations with some civility," James said, then, for the first time that Essex could remember in their work together, James returned the smirk - though it looked more trouble making than dangerous on him.

"I don't recall leaving negotiations open," Essex said loftily.

"Yeah, we did. I said I'd come back to it as things came up - that I expected to be able to speak to you civilly. You agreed to that, so -" James sat down and pulled his coffee toward himself. "I wasn't supposed to come in today anyhow, Dr. Essex. You know that."

Essex loomed over him, instantly on the defensive. "Have you and your little team decided to come up with a plan?"

"Absolutely not," James insisted. "Those that have figured it out know to keep back."

Essex took the seat opposite James, though he was clearly on guard. "And what is it that's inspired you to attempt a negotiation?"

James was mid-drink when the question came, but he made a point to continue on - keeping it civil and calm. "We agreed that you'd leave my family out of things - and that you wouldn't torture them. You're not holding to that."

"We agreed that I would not be, as you put it, cruel. I did not agree to halt my lifelong study of your family."

"You went after my brother and his new wife and child while they were on their honeymoon. That qualifies as cruel."

Sinister waved his hand impatiently. "Neither remembers, and it was before our arrangement at any rate."

James tipped his head, since that was actually true enough. "Then I guess we need to have a talk about consent. You need it to continue studying them. At all."

"That's beyond the purview of our arrangement, and I've already told you I'll not have you interfering in my work."

James entwined his fingers and sat back, shifting into business mode - something he'd had a little practice at from working with Tony. "If you don't want me interfering with your research, you'll have to get permission from my family. You've had me neck deep in your database. And it is … impressive. But I'll be perfectly honest with you - I've erased more with less thought."

Sinister had looked bored with the conversation until that point, and then, everything about his posture changed. He shifted so that he was facing James more directly, and his eyes were narrowed to slits. "How dare you," he said in a whisper through his teeth.

James held his gaze steadily. "How are you so shocked when you knew damn well that I'd do anything to protect them? I know you saw that as a weakness. What makes you think that I'm not proactive in protecting them?"

"Do you have any idea the wealth of information contained in-"

"Still contains," James said. "I haven't done anything to it yet. Which is why I came to you civilly."

"You cannot threaten that data. It represents decades of-"

"You cannot tamper with my family."

"I'll do as I damn well please with my family!" Sinister shot back, slamming his hand down on the table - knowing from pawing through James's mind before that he knew the truth anyway.

"Then I hope you've suddenly become a helluva lot better than me on your coding skills, doctor."

"You short-sighted little cretin," Sinister spit out as he got to his feet, once again falling into overbearing intimidation. "Do you have any idea - I have used the lightest touch I have ever taken with your precious guardians, and you're still upset because I dare to check on my work?"

"I'm not upset," James said, sounding more calm than he actually was, one hand resting over his heart. "I'm thinking about this with a lot more science than emotion. Out of all of your studies over the generations, how many of them did you directly interfere to the point that they knew all that you put my family through?"

"You know damn well-"

"And you know just as well that altering someone's mind, screwing with their sense of security, altering anything like that can be enough to corrupt the genetics."

"This family-"

"Are you so unsure of your own work that you need to check it and recheck it over and over, or is this your subconscious response to knowing you screwed something up by meddling too much?"

Sinister scoffed at the notion. "Did it occur to you that the last time I neglected to check in, the entire original X-Men disbanded?"

"They didn't disband," James said. "Half or better were murdered. The other half went into survival mode."

"And the time before that, when I had my attention elsewhere, your adoptive father was coopted by Apocalypse."

"Yeah, is that guy actually gone?" James asked. "You'd know."

"Of course not," Sinister said, irritated. "So did it occur to you, in any of your uncle's stories, that I could be checking in specifically to gauge their readiness - to gauge his influence?"

"Dr. Essex, if I hadn't considered all of that, your archives would be entirely blank."

"Then you understand."

"I do. Do you?"

"I understand that you have somehow managed to become your mother despite your lack of real memories of her," Sinister said in pure irritation. "Willing to destroy good work out of sentimental attachment."

"Do you really want to argue sentimental attachment on this particular subject with me?"

"You're the one willing to toss aside generations of necessary work put into stopping a genocidal madman, all for comfort."

"The way I see it, you're the one willing to do that rather than leave subjects that you have all the pertinent information on to live in peace."

"That child is a new subject."

"And is off limits unless you get permission from his parents."

Sinister let out a breath of frustration and pace a small circle. "Just like your parents."

"Do you really think that they're so blind as not to listen to logic if it's presented properly? Or … maybe you believe they can't because of generational trauma."

Sinister waved a hand in irritation. "It doesn't matter. The girl already prefers me to any other doctor she's seen, because the ones on hand were buffoons."

"Then that part of the discussion is between them and you. I'm not telling you to avoid them entirely, as much as they would prefer it," James said. "But any involvement you have needs to be done with consent. There needs to be a discussion with all those involved. This is family, after all. Treat them like it."

Sinister narrowed his eyes at James for a good, long time before he muttered a curse under his breath. "Fine. The agreement changes for now."

"Thank you," James said, going back to a mild smirk. "For hearing me out and keeping this civil. I'll avoid deleting anything without your approval. For now."

Sinister waved him off. "You've wasted enough time. Your next assignment is at your desk. I expect you to keep up with the work I give you, or I will prevent you from doing anything outside of my permission." He paused and looked up at James. "Get to work."

"Looking forward to it," James said before he got to his feet and went over to do exactly that. He knew hed started that chat strong, and that he'd gotten done what he'd intended - this time - but he was also aware that now, the clock was ticking before Essex figured a way out of that addendum. So, he discreetly ended the call with Nate, and then texted once he sat down. Talk to you when I get back. I need to zip through this before I go.

Yeah. I have questions.

James quietly ignored that text, though, and worked through his assignment as quickly as usual, paying extra attention to details that he knew Essex would nitpick. When he got done, he got up - as usual - and calmly made his way over to Essex to hand the finished paper to him. "Usual time tomorrow?"

"Yes, of course. That hasn't changed."

"See you then," James said, then headed over to pick up his bag and head out. He kept his meter the same, at least until he was well away from the building - then he broke into a run for the car. Nate wasn't going to be nearly as patient or cool if he made him wait for too long.

He was barely in his car when he asked his AI to call Nate. This was one of those bandage situations that needed to be dealt with before he got there. The feeling of creepy crawlies was climbing up the back of his neck.

"Hey. Um. So … this is nuts," Nate said in lieu of hello when he was still spinning from all he'd heard. "This explains so much. I can't believe this guy has deluded himself into creepy adopting my family?"

"Nate," James said, but the train was already rolling too fast.

"- it makes sense in a twisted way, i guess-"

"Nate."

"But in another sense, what kind of creep experiments on people they consider family?"

"It's not a delusional situation, Nate," James said as soon as he caught a moment to speak. "It's genetic. He's your distant relative."

There was a very, very long pause on the other end. "What."

"I know. I'll explain it better when I see you."

"No. You can't just … what? You mean distant like … like how people are connected to Kevin Bacon, right? Or … or … how far away they are from being the king of England - right?"

James sighed. "I didn't do the math on your position in line for the throne, little bro, but unfortunately-"

"No."

"- it's a lot more direct than that." He paused and tried for some levity. "But … you might be higher up on your spot to reign over England."

"Oh my God, I hate you."

"It's not that bad, I promise. I'll be there as fast as I can."

With that, James hung up, shifted into gear and headed out. Yeah … he was going to try and ease his brother into it, but … it wasn't every day that you found out the familial bogey man in the closet was a relative.

He was fully expecting to find Nate still trying to reason his way out of being related to Sinister when he got to his apartment.

But Nate wasn't the first one to James when he showed up. Instead, Kate jumped at him, hugging him at first and then sticking a finger in his face to half-shout, "How long did you know I was carrying a Sinister-related baby and didn't futzing tell me, you lunatic?"

"Oh my god, Kate," James laughed, then held up both hands. "I was not expecting him to drop that bomb so openly. I wasn't telling anyone because I didn't want anyone to stroke out."

"Anyone being Scott. Get it. Totally get it. But also. Oh my GOD."

"Not just him," James said. "Nate? I almost lost my control when I realized you heard that. Was there a wave of suddenly lobotomized bystanders?"

"He did that thing your dad does where he goes still and silent and his jaw turns into stone," Billy confirmed.

"Yeah, well … Rachel knows, too."

"Of course she does," Nate grumbled from where he was sitting with his arms crossed.

"By chance," James said. "She was here when I freaked out about it."

Nate still had his arms crossed and didn't seem to be in the mood to get up, either. "Uh-huh."

"I'm sorry your great-great Grandfather is a vampire," James said. "I dunno."

"I dunno either," Nate said thickly.

"I mean, I saw the relationship - I had to go back to it and figure out how that looked on paper. Sorry - if it makes you feel any better, you're only 6.25% Essex, but I still had a panic attack when I saw it."

"Fair enough," Nate said, and Kate rolled her eyes.

"He's still tense because I told him I'm going to keep going to the same doctor," Kate said in a sigh. "And he's processing all the rest of it."

"As much as you hate to hear it, he … is actually very talented," James admitted.

"He's the only doctor who hasn't treated my PTSD like it either doesn't exist or is an imposition," Kate said. "Well, besides Blue, but he can't guarantee he'll be there for all the appointments because he's got a full-time job keeping my dad from dying in a dumpster. And the other teams, too."

"Weird, right?" James said, then focused more on some items of discussion. "We have to keep this away from the Avengers and the old team, though. Their reaction - without fail - is to go full frontal attack, and they will lose if that happens." He thumbed over his shoulder. "And … I think this is … kinda working?"

"That or he wants to make use of your brain more than he wants to send you through a wall," Billy pointed out.

"First bad guy not to want my body. Score."

"I mean, at the very least, I can get on board with not going full frontal attack until after I have my baby," Kate said. "But I don't like keeping this secret too long, James. Something's going to break. Something bad is going to happen. We all know it."

"Yeah, I know. But I want to figure out what - there will have to be some kind of tip off somewhere. And we need a better way to handle him than what anyone has tried before. Guy has too many powers at his fingertips to come up with anything reasonable."

"And isn't shy about using hostages and other underhanded tactics," Kate said. "Got that memo."

"I think the bigger problem is that we can't just close off everyone we love to Sinister's telepathic attacks without, you know, tipping someone off," Nate pointed out. "And it would take forever and come with its own host of problems."

"He'll back off now," James said.

"We'll see," Billy said. "I didn't like the way he ended that talk."

"He knows I wasn't bluffing - and the depth of that data … he'll back off. At least until he has a way to back it up safely and make me behave." James shifted uncomfortably. "Besides … he's too invested in what I can figure out."

"Everything about this is creepy. We can all agree on that part, right?" Billy said, making a face. "Are we sure I can't just… wish him into-"

"What are you risking with that?" James asked.

"I mean…." Billy took a deep breath and let it out. "I…. am maybe also adding a class with Doctor Strange to my classwork so I can find out?"

"Smarty pants."

"I have my moments," Billy said, smirking. "And anyway, I could… I don't know. I know I can't depower him, because it took all my power plus a power deficit to get Emma Frost's two powers gone. But I could do… something?"

James tipped his head. "Might be different for augmented powers? He's not actually a mutant."

"I know, but I want to talk to Strange about that too, because that starts to get into possible blood magic. Pieces borrowed from others, you know?"

"He's fine right now," James swore. "You have time."

"I know. I'm just thinking out loud because I'm creeped out. I mean, tell me you're at least a little creeped. You have to be, right? It's creepy."

"Oh, absolutely. Hard to go from civil talk to open threats to class as usual without a little whiplash … and how calm he was by the end? I know he was trying to poke around, but he didn't get anywhere."

"You're welcome," Nate said, looking perfectly smug.

"Hey. I didn't have anything to hide from him at that point anyhow," James pointed out.

"No, but he left himself a back door that I closed," Nate said.

"And you're very impressive and sexy and I'll take you somewhere to have my way with you in a minute," Kate said, smirking when Nate gave her such a dry look for that. "I will. But not before I give James another hug." Which she did, totally throwing her all into it until he was bear hugging her back.

"I've got your back," she whispered while she was hugging him. "Thanks for having mine."

"Love you too, brat," James whispered back, though he was curled into her pretty well. This whole fiasco was already wearing on him more than he wanted to admit. Especially when everyone kept warning him about how dangerous it was. He knew how dangerous it was. And knowing that when Sinister was as angry as he'd been just a little while ago - fully directing his ire at James while isolated and in total privacy? He didn't show it at the time, but James was a bit shaken. He'd seen Sinister's research. He knew what the man was capable of to a degree that until now, none of the X-Men had been close to.

Kate hung on for as long as he wanted her to, not about to back off until he was ready. She knew he was stressed out beyond belief, and she could see the look in his eyes that she'd seen when they were kids. The one she'd been terrified of when they were little. The one he wore when he stayed with her family or with Tony when Scott had to sometimes drop him off. That feeling of powerlessness coupled with understanding why he was in that position while not feeling like he could say anything because nothing would make it better.

He was trying so hard. And Kate needed him to know he wasn't alone.

When James finally let up a bit, Kate smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "Okay, Billy, please wish me and my husband off to privacy. I promised to have my way with him."

Billy couldn't help but laugh - especially since Nate and Kate had a room at their place right there that they just hadn't used much because they were setting up the apartment with a nursery. But just to remind them of that, he wished them there first, long enough for them to see the room and remember it was there, before he wished them on to their apartment.

"Yeah, they may have the right idea on palate cleansing activities," Billy said, giving James a significant look.

"As usual, I have no control over the situation…" James said with an open shrug.

"Well, that's terrible news. You should take the lead, then. Where are we going and where can I wish us?"

"I mean … we were pretty cozy before Nate called.."

"Brilliant. A day in. I'll order pizza for dinner so we don't even have to worry about it."