A/N - Much love for the reviews - we love to read them! Our general plot is all laid out, so we won't be taking requests, though I appreciate the speculation!
Chapter 78 - Telepathic Battle Lines
It was clear when Scott called in Betsy the following morning to help reinforce the entire team of young X-Men against telepathic tampering and to strengthen their mental defenses that James was pretty down on himself. It didn't help matters that by the time he'd gotten home the day that Emma had approached him, he hadn't even brought it up to Billy. So even Billy was a little surprised by the explanation of what had happened and why they were on edge - and more surprised when he didn't even hear it from James, even if he and Tommy were going to get their telepathic booster shot when they returned from Genosha.
Of course, that helped to reinforce in Scott's mind that Billy was as out of the loop as he was, thinking that Billy didn't know because he hadn't been around when it had happened. He still didn't know that James was more or less completely separating things that happened at school with his home life. Even with Bobby playing guardian Iceman, unless a panic button was hit, Bobby wasn't looking inside the house when James was alone.
Betsy was sure when they all gathered up at the tower, to double and triple check that James' psychic defenses were as strong as she could make them before he had to drive back to school the next evening before she moved on to the others since he'd been the one to actually encounter Emma. "I want you to call me if you feel as if anything is off," Betsy warned. "I've done all I can, and your natural defenses are incredibly tough, but … Emma Frost is a far less ethical telepath than I am, so I won't send you off with a false sense of security. If there is even a tiny chance that something is wrong, you need to call for back up." Betsy waited for James to nod his agreement before she let out an uneasy breath. "Don't try to handle it yourself if there's even the tiniest bit of doubt. The last thing any of us want for you is for you to have your mind compromised."
"Yeah, the security risks alone," James deadpanned.
Betsy smiled warmly, then took a hold of his arm. "It's more a consideration of how well you always care for the people you love. No one wants to lose that, or your troublemaking, or anything else about you … all of which goes back to your mind."
James didn't argue with her - not that she expected him to - and when it was clear she was done with him, he headed over to check in with Tony and Scott, leaving the rest of his team with Betsy working on each of them in turn.
"How's your head, kiddo?" Tony asked, resting a hand on the back of James' neck.
"I'm fine, really," James insisted.
"Physically, sure, for now," Tony agreed. "But I gotta tell you, this is exactly the kind of thing we need to hear about right away, not … well after." The suggestive tone and teasing look was a little too much for James though, who went back to looking at the ground as he nodded - not about to argue it with either of them. Even when Tony was making it sound as if something more dirty had happened already.
"Alright, lay off, Stark," Scott said. "He's scarred enough already and I already warned him about Emma's favorite methods."
The two of them shared a look and Tony made a face. "I was going to say her victims seem to be getting younger, but this is stone cold evidence-"
"I really hate it when you do this," James said, cutting Tony off. "Nothing happened and you know it."
"But if you weren't taken-"
"Hey," James said with a little more force, earning a grin out of Tony since they were pretty likely to pick hard back and forth. "I have never been so desperate to accept passes made by someone that …"
"She not evil enough for you?" Tony cut in. "Because if I understand your brother's scale of things, you're underestimating the Hellfire Club. Particularly their Inner Circle."
James stared at him, mouth still open from being interrupted. "No. I have never considered someone who'd sleep with you," James said in a pretty fair shot.
"That'd leave out a large population of the city," Tony said.
"So wrong," James said, shaking his head.
But at least Scott was willing to step in and try and rescue James from the direction this conversation was going. "How about you tell us how things are going with your newest project, since … I haven't heard much on the progress."
Scott raised an eyebrow Tony's way, and Tony supplied: "Been seeing if Tyler can mesh well with the team-"
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Scott cut in before Tony could finish his explanation, one eyebrow raised and both arms crossed.
"Well, he can't chase what he wants to do," Tony said. "He explored it a little but it's not something that's really … he isn't able to get into the right schools with his background, and honestly, anyone that takes one look at him has already made up their minds before he can even talk. And since he can't be a physician, officially anyhow - he said he'd like to help do some good somewhere."
Scott frowned, thinking off all the problems James had with MIT and knowing, deep down, that Tony was right and no medical school was going to let a Creed in. And he knew that Tyler wasn't his father and had been kidnapped and forced into a weapons program - none of which was his fault. And yes, he knew he would be a hypocrite to have fought for Logan's inclusion on the team and then not let this kid have the same chance.
He just… didn't trust the kid. And he didn't have a good reason to. So, he rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. "I just hope you know what you're getting into," he said at last. "Even with Logan, even with the professor helping, when he went into the red… there was so much that we never were able to fix for him."
Tony closed one eye. "Maybe that's something Betsy can help with, then," Tony finally said. "We've been trying to get Tyler to react a little less … completely, but he hasn't figured out how to stop once he starts."
Scott paused as he considered how to break it to Tony. "Well … that might depend on what the problem is. Betts … had a specific conflict with his father that might be either very very helpful or a fast route to trouble."
"Okay, what's the story there?"
"She was primarily the one that was working alongside the Professor when he tried to help Sabretooth." Scott blew out a breath. "She nearly died when he broke through the psychic work that they'd done and he gutted her. She doesn't have a lot of love for the whole … look. I'm sure."
Tony frowned, looking over to where Betsy was working with the young team. "Still … can't hurt to ask, right?"
Scott gestured openly. "I think, all things considered with Tyler's history, that you're right. It would be good for him to get some help and get back to the kid he was before that department got hold of him. So if she can help, yeah, she will. I just wanted you to have all the background going in."
"He's really not a bad guy, most of the time," James put in for Scott's benefit, since he had spent a lot of time at the tower before he'd had to pack up and head to MIT. "Completely worthless with any kind of tech, but he still tries." That had Tony smirking as he put an arm around James' shoulders. "But considering what Dad just said? You probably ought to be the one to bring down the wrath of Psylocke."
"You can't 'not it' on something like this," Tony said flatly.
"Just did," James replied. "And it's your idea so …"
Tony nodded and gave James a little shake before he started off to talk to Betsy leaving James and Scott to watch the show.
"He might actually be good for the team, Dad," James said. "And he fights a lot differently when someone else isn't pushing the buttons."
Scott sighed. "I know," he said. "And I know I've got no right to tell him he can't… I fought for your dad under the same circumstances."
"His file wasn't as extensive as Logan's," James said. "They skipped a lot of the torture and went straight for programming. Theoretically, it should be something workable if he can commit … if I understand it from Rachel right."
Scott nodded and made an effort to relax. "That's good to hear too," he said. "But even just the programming will be hard to fight. That's all I'm saying."
"Hit him in the head hard enough and he stops," James said flatly. "Probably where the manual reset is…" It was a tease, but a quiet one in an effort to help Scott relax a little.
Scott let out a breath, recognizing the tease for what it was, and then reached out to ruffle James' hair. "Sorry. I'm not being a good example right now."
"You're being a great dad though, so … I'll take it. I just wanted you to know we've fought a few times since that first 'hello' and it's just different."
"And I trust your judgment," Scott said. "I did, in fact, admit that Tony Stark was right about something, so I'm hoping that makes up for me being so hesitant because of someone's genetics," he added with a wry smile.
"Yeah, don't gotta do that," James said.
"He says after I've already done it," Scott chuckled.
"I didn't know you were going to do something like that and he's off doing the whole ask the mutants for help thing. He needs to do this, you know. I've softened him up, but he doesn't reach out because he still feels guilty." James gave him a look.
Scott frowned. "Still?"
"I'm reasonably sure that's about half the reason he's bent over backwards for me."
"At the start, maybe, but that's not giving you enough credit since then," Scott pointed out.
"Alright." It was a solid non-confrontational disagreement, but he really didn't want to hash out what he really thought about all of it - and only part of that was from some of the crap he'd heard at school.
Fortunately, before the quiet discussion could turn into an argument, Tony returned with Betsy along with him. And before either could say anything, James pointed to Scott. "His idea."
"His idea to have Tony ask me to try and fix this Creed boy? Or his idea to get me here where stupid questions like asking me to fix the Creed boy could happen?" Betsy asked with a little more edge to her tone considering the subject matter.
"Yes," James said, nodding slowly.
Scott held up both hands. "Neither," he clarified. "James is trying to start something to get out of admitting he's a good kid."
Betsy smirked at that. "That's not news to anyone here," she said. "I told him, so I'll tell you too, I can't agree to do anything until I see what his feral break looks like. I need to know the triggers, his response, and of course, see how hard he is to break into. His father welcomed telepaths, but I don't know if that was purposeful or just the difference between his mutation and your parents."
"Door's open if you want to watch and weigh in," Tony said to Scott. "And you do have a lot more experience in this field than anyone here."
But that had James giving Scott a 'see?' sort of look as a silent 'told you so'.
Scott gave James a dry look but nodded all the same. "Yeah," he said. "If he responds more like Logan did than Sabretooth did…"
"Sabretooth reacted … well," Betsy stopped herself. "It was very very different between the two of them, and the only real problem I can see is if he does react more like Logan." She gave Scott a look. "We never could help him handle it when he really lost it, so I don't think we could do anything to help the Creed boy if he reacts like that."
"Not us, anyway," Scott said. "Jubilee could, though. Or K."
"I doubt someone hugging him would help," Betsy said, smirking at him.
"Alright then," Tony said, clapping his hands together. "On that note, if it's just an evaluation, I'm sure we can get that rolling to save you a trip back here. Take some time, decide after you see him work … then let me know. But I do want you to think it over before you come up with any answer." He waited for Betsy to nod, then he turned to James with a look and a moment later, James headed off to find Tyler leaving the three adults to walk to the training room together.
The walk was silent, even though it was clear Tony was trying not to start talking to make a case for Tyler from the angle of the kind of person he was proving himself to be when he wasn't fighting. But he really was trying to leave it wide open for Betsy to see for herself without the pressure he'd normally put on.
And Betsy was doing her best callback to her days on the catwalk, nose in the air, nearly strutting and looking prepared to smack down anyone who crossed her. Her icy look didn't melt in the least when they turned the corner and she spotted Tyler as he chatted with James and Thor outside of the training room.
James turned to see them approach as soon as Tyler looked their way, though he didn't say anything to help or hurt Ty's chances as Betsy slowed down and Tyler took it as a cue to make his attempts at being friendly. He excused himself as he stepped between James and Thor, his head down and his shoulders rounded forward in an effort to look smaller on his way over. He half-tripped over his own feet a few steps into his trek, and he couldn't stop the broad smile as he ran a hand through his short hair and offered his other hand to Betsy to shake while he introduced himself. "Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Tyler." He smiled again, more nervous this time, and it was clear from the wide eyes and the fact that he was half holding his breath that he didn't think anyone outside of whoever was in the tower usually would even consider helping him in any capacity. "I… don't really know what you want to see, but I'll do my best to show you … um … I guess whatever you tell me."
"I want to see you fight," Betsy said, frowning at the boy's outstretched hand for a moment before she gingerly shook it - surprised when he was incredibly delicate about it.
"Oh. Okay," Tyler said slowly, turning to look over his shoulder at James and Thor. "I've spent more time practicing with James-"
"No," Betsy said harshly, shaking her head as she said it. "No, you can fight Thor."
"Alright," Tyler said, looking a little anxious about that decision. "I can do that."
When he started back toward Thor, James came back, though Tony redirected him to keep going. "Go check in with your teammates," Tony said as he looked past Betsy to Scott. The two of them shared a nod in silent agreement that Betsy wasn't up to watching this Creed fight this Wolverine. "Pretty clear you don't need to be anywhere near this evaluation."
As always, James didn't argue, though he did kiss Betsy's cheek on his way past, which got her to relax a little bit. She smiled to herself, then turned toward Scott. "I guess we get to see what a junior Sabretooth can do."
"I won't tell you about how he met the team until this is over," Scott said with a quiet smirk. "Just in case you need the laugh."
"Laugh is kind of a stretch, don't you think?" Tony said, frowning.
"For the first part, it is, but the second part?" Scott said, which had the two men smirking.
"Now I want to get this over with," Betsy said as they followed Tony into the booth and Scott pulled out her seat for her.
As it happened, Tyler was a little shy to start fighting, and even once it was going well, the taunts from Thor weren't quite enough to really rile him properly or get him to take the offensive. Not even when Thor started really working him over. It wasn't until Tyler found himself in a pin that made it hard to breathe that he even started growling, but once that happened, it all came in quickly. He pushed Thor back bodily and barely dodged a heavy hit. It came down to grappling though - when Tyler knew that Thor could force him to cease all movement - and could handle whatever Tyler dished out, too.
The moment that it was clear that Thor was taking him down - and dragging him backward - Tyler had what almost looked like a break, but where Tony and his team saw a whole lot of fight, Betsy was leaning toward the glass with her lips parted. But all she offered in commentary was a whispered out 'bullocks' that both men seemed not to have expected from her.
It took Thor some time to get Tyler to finally simmer down, and when he finally did, out of breath and apologizing profusely, Betsy gestured widely with both arms before she crossed them over her chest, muttering curses under her breath the whole time.
"Betts…?" Scott ventured when she didn't say anything.
"That's not a feral break. Not as we know it anyhow," she said, her accent thicker when she was this far off of what she'd expected. "He's having a bloody panic attack."
Scott blinked - and even Tony didn't respond for a good few seconds. "Well, damn," Tony said, the first to recover his voice.
Betsy ignored Tony entirely to turn toward Scott, pointing at Tyler through the window. "That boy … his mind is so much like his father's - minus the complete and utter lack of humanity. But the thought process -the basics on how things connect? This makes so much sense now." She leaned toward Scott, the start of a smile playing at her features. "It's fight or flight, Scott … guess which way his family runs?"
Scott was trying not to smile as well, because he simply couldn't fathom what she was suggesting. "Flight? Seriously?" he asked, the smile escaping him despite his best efforts.
"I could never understand why the man never had a break like Logan did …" she broke into a grin. "He wasn't capable of it. Any time he came close to his panic attack and his flight, his tried to deflect. He began to hurt people to hide the fact that he was trying to end the panic attack. He couldn't stand the idea that anyone might know he was afraid."
"Alright," Tony cut in, "but the end result here is still that Tyler's slicing and dicing, you know…"
"Next time, see what he does if he has what he thinks is a clear escape route. I'll bet he goes for it. Now … as long as he's not a complete and total narcissistic sociopath, he should be workable," Betsy said. "That was what his father's real issue was. Not the mutation - other than the fact it wasn't the one he wanted, that is. He never did stick around when Logan truly went into the red. He got out of the way and ran."
Scott shook his head slowly, still fighting back a smile. "Well, this kid has no problem with expressing his panic. You should ask Rachel to project the way they met."
"Is it that good that you can't just tell me?" Betsy asked, swiveling toward him, though he'd already reached out for Rachel to meet up with them so she could do just that.
"Oh, I could tell you, but I think to see it for yourself is so much better," Scott said.
"Have you seen it then?" Betsy asked.
Scott nodded. "Accidental projection when it happened. She panicked thinking James was in trouble."
Betsy raised an eyebrow at that, but it wasn't long before Rachel made her way in, wearing a smile. "What did I miss?" Rachel asked, pulling up a chair to squeeze in between Scott and Betsy.
"Just the fact that we've discovered that Tyler Creed - and his father - have a flight reaction that is far stronger than their fight reaction," Betsy said.
Rachel almost said something witty but realized her father was projecting to her to wait until Betsy had seen Tyler's pure flight reaction to James kissing him, and she nearly laughed when she realized what her father was up to. "Oh, okay," she said, nodding as seriously as she could before she went ahead and pulled them both in so she could project the memory out to them in all its glory from when Rachel came up to where they were fighting to Billy's intervention, but it included the now-legendary kiss-to-disarm.
Betsy, for all her poise and aristocrat upbringing held on as long as she could before she covered her mouth with an entirely undignified snort and broke down laughing. "Does he know how much like his mother he is?" Betsy said finally, with tears of laughter rolling down her cheeks.
"That was the first thing Dad said," Rachel said, laughing along with her and holding her dad's shoulder for support - not that he was much help either.
"Oh, he's never going to live that down," Betsy laughed. "And the two of them - have there been any other incidents?"
Rachel smiled wider. "Now and again, they joke about it. Tyler's trying to keep up to James' snark - and he does okay. The first time they fought here, Tyler told him kissing was off the table and James countered by telling him he'd have to buy him dinner for another shot."
But that had Betsy laughing all over again. "It's like hearing the stories of K and Tony…"
"Never did get her to agree to the dinner," Tony said, grinning good-naturedly. "Offer was open and everything. She's the one who said that's what it would take, and I met her conditions, right?"
"You never had a chance against Logan," Betsy said. "Didn't even make it to the starting line, did you?"
"Hey, didn't meet her until she was dating him. Not a fair race," Tony pointed out.
"No, not at all. And he still would have won even without the headstart," Betsy said, laughing to herself before she took a moment to compose herself. "Get a specialist in the same disorders that Creed had. Have them clear Tyler of any major psychotic mental health issues and I'll work with him." She turned toward Scott. "And aside from his whole … wide eyed bumpkin routine, he has a lot of the same interests of a few people we love dearly."
"Yeah, it's a shame no medical schools worth anything will take a Sabretooth lookalike," Scott said, let down on Tyler's behalf now that he better understood where his breaks were coming from.
"That's not the only one they won't take," Betsy said before she got to her feet and squeezed Rachel's shoulders. "But that kind of thing should be heard from a sweet little redhead who knows much more about everyone's business than she should."
Scott turned his whole body toward Rachel. "I'm not surprised. Spill."
"It's … it was a few years ago," Rachel said. And I didn't want to make you worry. I'm pretty sure it's not really a thing anymore.
"Rachel." Scott raised a single eyebrow.
She sighed and looked from her father to where Betsy had left, to where Tony still sat trying not to look like he was entirely invested in whatever was going on between the two Summerses. It was something James had considered and didn't push for because he did his research and figured out early that it wasn't even a remote possibility. He never said anything because he didn't want to make a big deal out of something he said would never happen.
Scott let out a soft sound that he simply couldn't stop. Oh, was all he managed to say, and even that sounded heartbroken.
He's alright, Dad. That was a while ago that he even admitted it to me.
Still. Scott let out a breath. We can't let him give up on anything else.
Rachel raised an eyebrow at that. You do know he's already fed up with how things are going in light of this Emma Frost crap, right? And he's half convinced we don't need him on the team, either. You know - because we can do small stuff without him while he does what he needs to for school.
Scott sighed. His parents both felt the same way sometimes. Depression is a hard fight to win. He paused. I'd know.
I'm not sure why Betsy wanted to drag that up, Rachel said. You knew he was down.
I didn't know he'd given up on a future for himself in something that actually interested him, Scott pointed out.
What he's doing now interests him too, Rachel countered.
I know. I just want to make sure… He paused to reorder his thoughts. I want you kids to have what we couldn't. That's all.
We're working on it, Rachel said with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
Billy and Tommy ended up staying in Genosha for an extra couple of days, since, once they got home and settled in with their family, they found it a little bit hard to leave - even if they both really were missing their sweethearts. When they got back to the states, they went straight to Betsy to get their telepathic check up as well.
Both boys had their own concerns ringing through their heads easily. And it had Betsy smiling. While Billy was fretting about why James hadn't told him about Emma Frost and worried that there might be trouble on the horizon if his sweetheart was keeping damaging and upsetting things like this to himself, Tommy was just excited to get back to kissing Mia … just kissing Mia. Billy was too worried to think about the reunion whenever he got back to James, but Tommy wanted to actually sweep his sweet little elf off her feet and into a long, drawn out kiss…. Which totally contradicted everything she'd gleaned off of him when he'd first started up with Mia.
Though she didn't share things with people after a session, she felt this was an important enough turn of events that Ororo at least needed to know that there was likely little reason to worry about her daughter carrying on with Tommy for how utterly head over heels in love he was. What had started out as a fling was turning into something else for him, and he was trying not to wreck it by purposefully moving slower than he wanted to. And Ororo had worked with Tommy one-on-one enough to know how big of a deal that was.
When she was done with Tommy, his knee was bouncing and he was staring at her with wide eyes waiting to hear if he was cleared to go.
"She's in the library," Betsy said with a sly smile. "And she has no idea you're here yet so … remember it's a library."
Tommy grinned. "Thanks, Mrs. Worthington!"
She barely heard all of it for how quickly he zipped off, and she was smiling still as she turned to Billy, intent on explaining before he could disappear too. "Billy," she said, catching his attention - but only just. "So you know, James wasn't trying to hide anything from you. He's just trying to keep going in his studies so hard he's really only focused on school, you, and his family." She smiled warmly. "And not necessarily in that order. Please, take it easy on him. He's already thinking that he should quit the teams and the school."
Billy nodded, then frowned as he looked at her. "Should you be telling me this?"
"Absolutely not," Betsy said as she got to her feet. "But I think that the potential for misunderstanding is too high in this situation, and I don't want to see either of you hurt when it can be avoided. Especially when I know how the two of you feel about each other." Billy's shoulders dropped, and Betsy continued. "I'm sure he'll explain himself later tonight when you go see him."
His head popped up and he did his best not to look too busted. "What makes you think-"
"You've been going there every night, haven't you?" Betsy challenged. "I haven't told anyone and I don't plan to, but you should reconsider what you're trying to do. It is a little early."
Billy shifted for just a moment, but by the time he spoke, he had his full confidence in swing. "I don't know what's early about it. We've been dating for like a year now and we're serious … we're happy, and besides … this is the only real way I get to see my sweetheart and get good snuggles so … thanks for the concern, and for keeping it to yourself but … yeah."
"You're going to get caught."
"We're not doing anything wrong," Billy insisted. "Look at my grades! I'm doing better with him than I have been not with him. And I'm not distracting him from school. We're both doing everything we're expected to and being amazing in school." He smiled her way as he started to walk backwards. "It's alright. We'll be fine!"
But that only left Betsy knowing something that she didn't want to share. Billy was right - his grades were stellar, and from what little she'd seen in both of their minds about what they were up to in Cambridge, it was surprisingly out of the R-rated stuff. Mostly. So, until they busted themselves out, or someone started to slip more seriously in their grades, Betsy decided to hold her pattern for now. Even if she wasn't sure about that decision one bit.
Billy waited as long as he could to wish himself to Cambridge, and the fact that he had to sit through a whole day of school before he could do exactly that was cruel. And it left him thinking it all over. Deeply.
As soon as he had even half of an opportunity, he was in Cambridge, in the house, glaring a little as he headed to where James should be … then remembered that he had a late class to deal with still. So instead of calming down, he found himself getting a little more upset as he really thought it over.
By the time James finally walked in the door, Billy needed to get it off his chest. "So, why is it that you don't ever tell me things?" Billy asked, even before James could set his bag down. James watched him for a moment, hung his keys up and started toward him as Billy continued. "Why is it that I had to hear from your dad about Emma Frost? I thought you realized that it was really bad form to not talk to me about things after you decided to move to Cambridge without talking to anyone about it first. I had to be the one to suggest moving in together - and I know the thought hadn't even crossed your mind until I brought it up."
James took his jacket off and started toward Billy, intending to sit down with him or say hello before the fight could take off. "Can we sit down and talk, please?" James asked. "You're absolutely right; I've been screwing up one thing after another, and I owe you a big explanation and a deep apology."
Billy didn't look sure if he wanted to hear it or not, but curiosity won out, and the two of them sat down on opposite ends of the couch facing each other as James tried to explain.
"First of all, I didn't mean to leave you out of it," James said. "I had kind of forgotten that it happened."
"Is that why we all had to go through Psylocke's brain conditioning?" Billy asked, looking concerned, even after James shook his head.
"No, I'm clean. That was really more because I was stressed out and pushing to get things done and I had too much on my mind," James said. "When I come here to you, I don't want to think about the crap at the college. And to be perfectly honest, I didn't even tell Dad until he … got mad at me for going to Nate's game without my inducer…" Billy raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I know. It was a mistake. I told you I wasn't entirely with it. Anyhow, Dad found her business card. It was out of sight, out of mind. I promise."
Billy was still frowning though. "James, I love you, but you need to tell me things when they happen so I don't get blindsided like this all the time!"
James tried to find a way to reply, and Billy waited, giving him a chance to say what he really thought, until he was just about to give up. "I don't mean to not say anything," James said finally, trying to explain himself a little. "I'm just … used to not telling anyone stuff that doesn't feel like a big deal… and I honestly had put it out of my mind. I didn't tell anyone. By the time Dad started in on Emma and how dangerous she is, I had Rachel show him what had happened from my memory, I just …" He sighed and shook his head, sure he'd said too much or that even if it felt like too much that it was the wrong thing. "I know I blew it. Seems to be what I do best. I'm pretty much ready to just quit. Everything. That's why I didn't text or tell anyone once I got home. In my defense, Emma Frost didn't actually do anything to me, and I had work to get done. I didn't think it was important."
Billy was frowning by that time. "Why wouldn't it be important? It's the White Queen of the Hellfire Club. Why would you think…"
James sighed heavily, then entwined his fingers as he glared at his hands and decided on a little history. "I didn't think it was a big deal because before I met you, I was … kinda … screwing around with her niece, Izzy. You met her at the game. All I got at the time was chewed out and a warning. I didn't get the full history of how awful the Hellfire Club is like I did this time. I didn't think it was an end of the world scenario either. Just a nosy, manipulative, miserable, old witch."
"You clearly didn't get the same lecture I did," Billy said, shaking his head in pure disbelief. "How - how - is it that your paranoid family didn't give you the same lecture my grandfather did? He made it very clear that the Hellfire Club's influence had spread after the X-Men disappeared and told us to avoid their members. And he would know. They wanted him so badly, they made a new position just to get him to join."
James frowned at him, which tipped Billy off that he didn't know about that, either. "Didn't you just say he wanted you to avoid them? But he was a member?"
"He was the Gray King, but he quit when he saw how they operated. After he saw what they really were up close, he wanted nothing to do with them - and he spent so much time making sure we knew what kind of people they truly were. He didn't want us recruited." He made a face at the very thought. "You remember how he was about anyone interfering on his turf."
"Might have gotten the memo, yeah," James said, watching Billy as carefully as Billy was watching him.
"How … seriously. How did your dad and Tony miss something this big?"
"Considering that there have been huge bounties on tips about my existence? I think they were more focused on avoiding everyone, so it wasn't exactly like … a specific thing. But when Kate lost it snorting laughing when she was telling them about how I was making out with a Frost a few years back, Tony and Dad both lost their minds for a whole afternoon, tag team yelling. That was the talk I got. And it mentioned the Hellfire Club exactly zero times." James scrunched his nose. "But … I can see them trying to get you or your brother. That's political sway. That is not the kind of people after me."
"Might be why she's showing up now," Billy pointed out. "I mean, you're the heir to the Stark Empire now." He couldn't help but smile, starting to lose some of his anger when he realized he could so openly tease James now. "Who's the little prince, again?" he asked, grinning outright.
"You."
Billy laughed outright. "Seriously, you never got the Hellfire Club speech? Even from Tony? He knows what they're like. He was a member once, too."
"No," James said, shaking his head, "they were too focused on weapons groups and shady military organizations that want to use me like they did my parents. Maybe Hydra a little, too. That's who wants me. Not stuffy, self important elitist clubs." He shrugged. "That's where my trouble's always been. And Tony's always tried to give me space to not worry about that stuff when I've been with him because my family is so high strung about everything else, so no. Not even from him." He raised an eyebrow and did his best lofty voice. "I've never been important enough for anything other than to be used as a mindless blunt instrument."
Billy shook his head and finally scooted closer than he'd been when he'd started out ready to fight. "Well, now that the world is starting to see the amazing guy I know, I guess I'm going to have to fight off all the people who want my guy, huh? The list keeps growing the more they see how amazing you are."
"Flattery is totally unnecessary … but if it makes you feel better I won't tell you how wrong you are. And I'm pretty sure you can take out a dried up old hag and her geezer party without ruffling your cape."
"Not only that, but I kinda speak their language," Billy said, wincing one shoulder up to his ear. "I mean, groomed for the throne… I speak 'power moves'. Not fluently, but I can do it…"
"This is me, not surprised one bit," James said with a crooked smile. "Impressive little prince."
Billy smiled to match him. "Hey, this means I get to mentor you for once."
"Then I should warn you that I'm a very remedial student." He leaned over to very carefully kiss his cheek.
"I guess that means we have to meet often," Billy said. "Oh no."
"You know my schedule … whatever isn't spoken for is yours anyhow, far as I'm concerned. So … can I start on my apology now?"
"Please, carry on."