Notes from robbiepoo2341 since both of y'all asked about Rachel not letting the firebird out: you gotta remember that Rachel is bone-deep terrified of letting the Phoenix out. As soon as she got that cold shower and realized what was happening, she SLAMMED the brakes. She's mad, but she's spent literally her whole life since getting powers terrified of dying in Phoenix fire. She doesn't have the same control Jean did because she never lets the bird OUT. This isn't about favoritism of Nate v James. James isn't second class because he was adopted. Erase that idea from your mind for any adopted people. /end rant from Robbie, who is an adoptive mom herself.

Chapter 97: An Island Paradise

Billy, Kate, and James were just starting to really get into recovery mode … sleeping, seeking comfort and company, and feeling protected when new intel started to trickle in through SHIELD and Natasha's hidden feeds. For as freshly safe as they were, they weren't out of the woods. Hydra wanted to hit back and reclaim their prizes. Two of them, anyhow. Once word was out that Wanda was away from Dr. Doom, alive, well, and looking for a fight, suddenly Viper had no interest in Billy.

And for as smug as she wanted to be about that, Natasha took it as reason to want to spend time with Billy herself to see if there was a reason Viper backed off beyond the obvious attempt to keep from pissing Wanda off more. It wasn't like Viper to be cautious - even with those far more powerful than her.

But the newest trouble was that both SHIELD and Stark Industries very likely had moles or worse within their numbers. And that meant that the kids were no longer safe at the top of the tower. At least … they weren't safe until those in charge got the chance to really sift through their personnel.

Naturally, Betsy offered to step in and help Tony with anyone with clearance into the tower - but that meant the group needed to relocate somewhere safer. But there was always bound to be blowback. Scott just hadn't expected the angle it was coming from. They player, yes, but not the argument.

"No, I agree with you, really," James was saying with his hair sticking up several different directions as he tried to keep Tony from touching him while Tony directed him toward the living room. "Get them out - get them to safety, but I have to try and salvage my degrees-"

"Don't be ridiculous," Tony said. "I'm already on top of that. You'll be fine if you go. You need to reorient yourself. Breathe."

James swore and in a fit of frustration stood his ground - something he had never needed to do with Tony. "it's not your problem!"

"Like hell it's not!" Tony bellowed right back, refusing to give an inch. "We know we have Hydra trouble in the building and if you think for one second that I'm going to take a risk with your life regardless of how old you are, you're out of your damn mind and need to rest more than I thought!" He gestured with one hand as James' shoulders slumped. It was exceedingly rare for Tony to raise his voice with him like that. "Go! Get some distance or I'll block you from doing anything but taking a vacation until you're feeling more like yourself."

"How is that different from what you're doing right now?"

"Right now, it's still a choice you can make yourself," Tony said in a low, serious tone. "Make good choices, kid. You're too much of a powerhouse to push through to exhaustion like I do. Be smarter."

"I rested-"

"So rest more."

"I have work to do."

"Take it with you when you visit the island," Tony said as he took a few steps backward with his hands in his pockets. "No supervillains to screw with your projects when you roll with the mutant monarchy. Go. Maybe Vision will be able to help you. Be good for both of you." He finally forced a smile, and James could see that part of why Tony was so anxious was because he couldn't handle James like he normally would have. He couldn't throw an arm around his shoulders or pull him into a quick bear hug. The physical restraint Tony was showing putting up distance and keeping his hands in his pockets was evidence of that … and that more than Tony's argument was enough to get through to Tony's protege. A little. "Tell him I said 'hi' while you're at it."

James could feel it as Scott came to a stop just behind him, and for a moment, he was very sure that Scott was fighting the same urge Tony was to hug him or put a fatherly arm around his shoulders. And he was grateful that Scott didn't act on that impulse any more than Tony did - though Scott had a lot better control of himself.

"You know I hate to agree with him," Scott said quietly as Tony turned toward his lab.

"I know," James said in a sigh. "So what's the plan?"

"What do you think?" Scott said, raising one eyebrow.

James shook his head, ignoring the others as they started to gather, too. "I know Tony said we're going to Genosha, but we both know that we can't keep you away from Miss Hale for that long." His tone was all off even if the tease was well placed.

"Annie will be going with," Annie said, though James had known she was there without turning to see her. "So will Craig. You'll both have everyone you need."

"Is that even legal?" James asked.

"Not under the old laws," Wanda said as she came over with her boys. "But new management is far more welcoming to non mutants."

"She changed it so people had the option to visit family and friends," Billy explained. "And so Kate can come."

"That's true, you know," Wanda agreed - just to watch Billy smile. "And I'm not taking away anyone's support system, so … let's get moving sooner than later. We can always just … conjure whatever you're missing if you don't have everything."

With precious little left to argue over, James reluctantly agreed and fell into step with Scott as they gathered up close to Wanda. The near-entirety of the Hale clan was going along with the young heroes and their families(though Natasha had insisted on flying herself), so the group was a lot bigger than James had ever seen Billy handle on his own.

But none of them were really expecting it when Wanda and Billy clasped hands and worked together to magic the whole group of them right to the palace.

The rush of hot, humid air was intense - especially prominent since they'd just come from the frigid northeast where an ice storm was blowing in. Instant travel also had a means of making the jet lag worse too … mid-morning in New York meant dinner time in Genosha - and the peak of the heat. Very suddenly, everyone felt overdressed for the weather, though James only burrowed into his hoodie a little deeper. The last thing he wanted to do was to shed any clothes. But he wasn't about to say anything.

Instead, James turned toward where his dad and his girlfriend's family had stopped fully to stare at the scenery around them.

"So, welcome to our home," Wanda said to the Hales and the rest of the group who had yet to visit Genosha.

Annie was already peeling off her jacket to sling it over her shoulder. "Well, that's a familiar pea soup feelin'," she teased Craig, who rolled his eyes at her. "Turns out mutant paradise is just like home. Says somethin', I think."

"Ignore her," Evie said, laughing at her sister. "This place is amazing." She gestured around at the metallic structures that seemed to cut themselves into the horizon instead of rising naturally from the sea like any other island would do. "You can actually feel the power that went into makin' this place."

Wanda smiled lightly, not quite sure what to make of their reactions just yet. "If you'd like a tour," she started to say.

"Oh, yes, please," Annie said immediately. Then, realizing who she was talking to, she blushed. "But I know you're busy. Scott can find Alex, I'm sure."

"Ooh, can we go with Billy?" Leslie Ann asked, her eyes wide as she took in all there was to see. "I can't feel any plants around here. This is kinda weird."

Billy glanced toward James, but when James looked like he was trying to disappear into his hoodie, he sighed and then put on a smile for the youngest Hales. "Sure thing. I think we have a greenhouse you might be interested in if all you want to do is find plants," he teased.

"You need way more plants around here," Leslie Ann told him seriously. "And not just for me. I've been talking with Dr. McCoy, and he told me how much my powers can help people because having greenery helps with mental health and stuff like that."

"He's not wrong," Billy agreed. "There are a lot. more plants outside of the city, but in it? Some flowers and trees would absolutely help." He was already leading the two girls off - though Anton stuck with their tour group because he wasn't entirely willing to let both of them wander off with a freshly-traumatized teenager. Besides, Mary Beth wasn't a mutant like her sister was, and while Wanda had promised that was alright, the rest of Genosha might not have gotten the memo, and Anton figured a huge guy with a cop's build would do plenty of deterring in the meantime.

Annie winced as she looked Wanda's way. "It is a bit… imposing," she admitted. "Beautiful in its own way, but I wouldn't want to live here."

"You haven't seen our beaches yet," Wanda said, knowing exactly where Alex was going to take them and blatantly setting her brother-in-law up to impress his future sister-in-law. "They're renowned the world over."

"That sounds like a perfect vacation," Evie said, nudging Craig's shoulder with her own. "And our brother is gonna need someplace to relax in between sessions. He's emotionally invested in all those kids."

"Like you aren't," Craig shot back.

"I'm not a therapist," Evie said with a sniff. "I raised a family on a cop's salary and work schedule. I didn't need other people's problems to make my life interestin'."

"Oh, here they go," Annie said, shaking her head with a smile as her siblings fell into an old argument the whole time they waited for Alex - who then proceeded to show up looking like Christmas had come early now that he got to see Scott surrounded by his future in-laws. (And that was, really, how Alex referred to them, even in front of Scott, because he could see where this was headed.)

"Hey, Annie," Alex said, grinning as he strode toward her. "How long you been here?"

"Long enough to adjust my wardrobe," Annie said, indicating the jacket slung over her shoulder and the fact that her sleeves were pushed up to her elbows.

Alex looked toward Scott, grinned obnoxiously, and then said, "Well, I know we have some swimsuits if you want to really change things up. Besides, you gotta come see my favorite part of living here. Aside from my beautiful wife, of course. Scotty won't mind the view, will you?"

Scott ran his hand down his face. "Alex…"

"Thought so." Alex draped his arm across Annie's shoulders. "Come on, Scotty. Keep up."

With the bulk of the Maximoff family playing host in one capacity or another, James took the chance to get away from everyone. He knew it was a huge deal for half the people that had shown up in Genosha to even be there, so he was glad to see Erik's family playing friendly welcome wagon to the small insurgence of humans in his stupid utopia. So … considering the fact that he needed a break, too, he found a quiet balcony and tucked himself away from everyone. That felt more comforting than being with anyone. Especially when everyone wanted to try and reassure him… and he was being pretty ruthless about keeping Rachel and Nate out of his head, too. They didn't need to know anymore than they already did, after all. Knowing wasn't going to change anything. Wasn't going to make him feel better … in fact, he was convinced that it'd only have him feeling worse.

As for Nate, he'd finally felt alright about leaving Kate behind. She still liked to sleep where she could see him when she woke up, but she'd been having some sort of delayed reaction to a poison and was going half out of her mind scratching her arms, so Hank had given her something, and she had fallen asleep curled up with her head on her mom's shoulder, and Natasha had honestly been half wrapped around her for the better part of a day. Nate had known since he was a kid that Natasha could be incredibly protective of his family and hers, so he wasn't necessarily shocked, though it always did manage to surprise him when she would get that cuddly, no matter how many times he saw it happen.

And while Kate had been relaxing with her parents, Nate had been building ammunition for himself, keeping a simmering rage going that had him glad he wasn't the member of the family the Phoenix had chosen, because he absolutely planned to rain down some destruction. He'd peeked some more at Kate's memories whenever he needed more fuel for that fire, and seeing as there were two weeks of awful to choose from, he wasn't ever short on reasons to go to war.

Not to mention Billy, who was beside himself and blaming himself for everything he could conceivably blame himself for, not the least of which having been the bait to lure in Kate and then being unable to do anything but break his hand at the very end of their captivity - and even that had him wishing he'd done that in the first place… or wishing he hadn't at all and had found another way.

And James wouldn't tell Nate anything, but seeing as the guy still had an eyepatch and didn't want to be touched at all, and was getting more withdrawn with everyone except Billy (who obviously needed James's reassurance, so James wasn't going to slow too much for Billy's sake). Nate had plenty of evidence to fuel suspicions, and that was enough to piss him off as-is.

His eyes were glowing blue when he wound up running into James - not necessarily on purpose but simply because he was trying to be sneaky about giving Kate space with her parents - and when he saw his big brother, his hero, trying to be that small, he knew if he didn't move, he was going to snap.

"Wanna get out of here?" Nate asked in a bluster, his eyes still glowing.

"Your face is glowing," James replied, rather than answer openly.

"Yeah, I'm aware," Nate said. "I peeked at some of what happened."

"Oh," James said, then fell into a deeper frown. "That'd do it. Who'd you peek at?"

"Both of them," Nate said, knowing full well that James was aware he couldn't peek in his head at this point without hurting him.

"Yeah, that was ugly," James said quietly.

"Don't suppose you could ID some guards for me…"

"Oh yeah."

Nate smirked, glad that, with his brother, he never had to do too much prodding to be on the same page when it was something important. "I've got faces out of her memories, but…"

"I can tell you who the worst offenders were too. Saw it. Was in the room when the idiots reported back."

Nate stopped and swallowed, trying not to lose his temper just yet. "Reported back," he repeated, glowing somehow brighter.

"She didn't give them permission, but she wanted to know what was going on - and she wanted to make sure I knew." He was turning a piece of beach glass over in his hand as he avoided looking directly at anyone or anything. "Part of her schtick, I guess."

"Wasn't just you," Nate said, because he recognized James's tone. "They timed it so Billy knew, and Kate saw what happened to Billy half the time too."

"Billy didn't see it on a live feed," James countered bitterly.

Once again, Nate stopped. "God," he whispered, horrified.

James was on his feet in a blink and doing what he could to put up some distance from where he'd been, not really taking into account anything else at the moment. But sitting still for too long was bad for him. And Nates horror was clear in his voice. Admitting to his brother that he knew what had happened to the others had James's stomach twisting into knots. He needed air. Now.

"Hey, wait up." Nate jogged to catch up and then turned to jog backward to face James. "C'mon. Let's steal a jet or something and go make sure those creeps never get their hands on anyone else."

"I was up for that before we left last time," James pointed out.

"You had all the right rage, yeah," Nate said, not pointing out that James couldn't have actually raged like he wanted to when he'd been that bad off. "And now I know what you know, so…"

"We'd have to be back before Dad realized it," James pointed out. "And I'm not going back there without the GPS trackers off on the way in. Especially after seeing what she has in tech."

"And I've already got a psychic timeclock in Wanda if we don't get back before Dad can know we're gone. Seeing as Viper made sure you knew, I'm not taking the chance she's not expecting us."

James looked out of the window for a long moment, weighing it out. "Tasha's jet is the fastest."

"Perfect. She'd probably want to come too if Kate wasn't half wrapped around her."

James nodded to himself and shifted direction since he had been watching the comings and goings much closer than Nate had realized - and he knew who was set up on which runway. But, when they got to Natasha's quinjet, they found they weren't the first ones there. "Oh good, you're handing off your bow," James said as they walked up on Clint. "We'll bring back your arthritis cream."

Clint rolled his eyes. "You're hilarious, kiddo, considering you're trying to tag along. I was here first."

"Yeah, well I know exactly who you're looking for, so you're tagging along," James said.

"Well, ain't that something," Clint said. "Great, you're intel man. Still tagging along, but with an important job."

"Nate, you wanna knock him out? I'll tie him up and we can get back before he realizes it," James said, perfectly serious.

"Sure you don't wanna stay here and stare at the tour guide's best features some more? That's the only reason you come here, right? The view?" Clint shot back.

"If that's what you want to believe," James said.

"He's not that wrong," Nate said, smirking as he walked past Clint to the cockpit. "He's wrong, but not that wrong."

James looked between the two of them and took a step backward. "Or, I can just stay here for now and come get you later when you can't find anyone you're actually after. You two probably need to bond anyhow."

The back of Nate's neck was red enough for both Clint and James to know that the tease struck a little close to home, especially after how much Nate had realized he couldn't lose Kate. "Shut up," Nate muttered as he finished up the pre-flight and telekinetically pushed James back.

James looked over to Clint. "You really shouldn't go. Avenger rules and all that."

"I used to work for Hydra. Ain't lines I haven't crossed before," Clint said. "And if you think Steve or Jan or Tony is gonna kick me out for this? They're not stupid. They can figure out the gist of what happened."

"You won't get the chance to do anything," James said. "You'll be clean."

"I don't need to be, but thanks," Clint said as Nate started up the jet, and Clint dropped into his seat, his easy posture belying how much he wanted to go after these Hydra creeps.

"I'll handle navigation when we get close," James told Nate as he pulled up a laptop and started working. There was no way he was going to let them go in as is - and he fully intended to draw fire to the wrong side of the island to distract Viper's men.

"And once Clint knocks out any dampeners, I'll handle crowd control," Nate agreed.

James nodded once - already deciding that if they needed the distraction, he'd split off and play bait … it'd work, but it would also piss off his brother a little more if he began to lose his nerve going in. "Don't worry about the crowd," he said.

"Gonna be Hydra soldiers once we get in," Nate pointed out. "And I've been stuck just being angry this whole time. You're not the only one who gets to let it out."

"Nate, I thought I was just here to get into her systems and point out who needs their ass kicked," James said flatly. "Nothing to let out."

"Sure," Nate said, and the two of them lapsed into silence until they were nearly there - and James did take over on the systems.

James had been doing some thinking on the way, and there was one facet to their loose plan that he just couldn't get behind. "I know the plan was to play dress up, but forget the uniforms and pretending to be Hydra," James said as Nate set the plane down. "I don't want to wear that idiotic uniform for one minute. Just make us invisible. That'll be better."

"Done," Nate said, his eyes glowing - and Clint grinned crookedly and purposefully projected to Nate:

You'll be fun to play with at family get-togethers.

Really?

What, you think I don't know where you two are headed?

You gotta do this now?

Yes.

Nate pinched the bridge of his nose. Whatever.

Once they were out of the jet, Nate started to rush forward, but James put a hand on his chest to stop him as he watched the soldiers run around them looking for intruders and scrambling to defend the other side of the compound. It took him a moment or two, but finally, James started to walk toward the building, taking his time as he reoriented. He hadn't been able to wander, but he'd watched enough on the surveillance while Viper had him to know which areas bled into which - and he knew where the offenders were generally stationed.

They walked at a normal pace through the winding halls deeper into the Madripoor maze under the Princess Bar - pausing at busy cross sections in the building and cutting down one hall to the next until they saw the cells. "Dampener will be closer to the cells themselves," James said - which was Clint's cue to deal with that little mess so the three of them could continue to infiltrate invisibly.

It didn't take Clint long to find where the dampener was tucked away by some of the closed-circuit cameras, and once that was disabled, he went ahead and messed with the feed, too - a quick trick he and Natasha had been doing since they met that would intermittently fuzz the feed just to be obnoxious.

James stood there for a long moment with his eyes closed, scenting out the air as he tried to decipher when the idiots in question had been through there, though that was a little tough when so many Hydra agents had been through there. Then, he pointed past Nate toward a darker hallway. "Guy's blonde. Has a limp right leg."

"Right. I saw that happen, too," Nate said, his eyes narrowed as he started to float, already in motion to give the guy a psychic lobotomy.

James crossed his arms to wait, and even looked toward Clint who was obviously ready to fight. "You can go too."

"I'll get the next one. The way that kid works, there's not gonna be a fight to have." Clint shrugged, though he was obviously raring to go. "You got a scent trail for me?"

"Sure." James took a few steps toward the cells and stood between the two smallest ones - the ones Kate and Billy had been stuck in. He closed his eyes and pivoted, moving through the next door to where the hall came to a 't'. He looked down both directions, took the time to try both out and then pointed to the one that led to the right. "Short. Weasley looking. He's got a broken nose and a fat lip. Left handed."

"Thanks, kiddo," Clint said, though his tone was steel as he grabbed an arrow.

It didn't take long for Clint and Nate to circle back to James, either, and neither of them looked all that apologetic. Clint was still wiping blood off his arrow - he never left behind any he could re-use, and he'd only needed one shot to kill the guy - and Nate was still angry but starting to glow less now that he'd turned his Hydra creep into a vegetable.

The three of them were walking through the compound - and it was clear James was trying to keep his temper in check - or his nerves. It was still awfully close to the rescue, after all. They hadn't found the idiot that had crossed both Kate and Billy yet. But it was just a matter of time.

Traffic was getting busier, and more than one Hydra creep had bumped into one of them in the tight quarters, so it was not just a matter of time as to when they found the guy, but also to when they were found.

One soldier bumped into Nate, then stopped and turned, realizing that something was just … off. But since he couldn't see them, instead of trying to engage, he took a few backward steps and then headed off with the rest. But that came back to bite them after they'd turned a few corners.

They stepped out to cross a large room that echoed with every step - but Nate hadn't been thinking about something like that when he hadn't had to worry about that. The first steps echoed loudly enough for the soldiers across the room to turn, looking for the source and surely expecting reinforcements. But when they saw no one, one of the commanders shouted what he suspected.

"Investigate that," he ordered one of his underlings. "And be quick about it!"

James reached out for Nate and pushed him behind himself, bodily blocking him from harm in case someone had an itchy trigger finger.

Nate very nearly whispered what he was thinking, then fell into a more foul mood when he remembered that James was refusing to let anyone into his mind. So he projected to Clint instead. I can stop the bullets before they get to us, don't worry about it too much. My brother's just being … stupid.

Yeah, well, that seems to be a condition in your family, Clint said, totally glossing over the fact that he would have done the same.

But they still hadn't been seen. So after a moment, James held one finger over his lips as he looked at Nate and Clint then started walking silently, continuing on the path.

Clint and Nate shared a look, and since they both knew they couldn't manage to be as quiet, Nate simply used his telekinesis to lift them off the floor so they could float after James. He was their navigator, after all … they did need to know which way they were going. And that was all fine and good until ….

As they were following James, who was only moving faster the further down the scent trail he went, the group of them happened to cross into an area that was armed with motion sensors. The eye for the trigger was nearly invisible, and James didn't even see it until after he'd tripped it.

Nate 'heard' the rush of excitement from some of the closest guards and immediately put up a telekinetic bubble that protected him and Clint - but James had rushed forward instead of stopping where he was and ended up getting hit by two darts and a bullet high at his shoulder.

He didn't even try to stop the roar of pain as the bullet spun him toward the Hydra guards, and for an instant, James looked shocked. Until he saw who it was leading the pack of soldiers. He drew in a quick breath and with a rippling snarl, he charged forward claws out and hyper focused on one guy.

The guard raised his gun belatedly and squeezed off a few rounds, but couldn't adjust for how fast James was going toward him. James didn't say anything - though the snarls spoke for him clearly. He remained focused on the one guard, even while others were trying to get clear or help their friend.

But that's what Nate and Clint were there for and as soon as someone touched James, Clint put an arrow in him and Nate blasted them back telekinetically. At least until he got a hold of a weapon … then he was shooting them with their own rifles, too.

James wasn't letting up. For just an instant, Nate heard the soldier's thoughts and realized that this … this creep his brother was killing was the worst of the group of men that had tortured Kate in her cell. He was the one that had beaten both Billy and Kate - and he was on the fast track to die by the way James was tearing into him. The thought had barely crossed Nate's mind when James finally let the guy fall - very clearly dead. But he didn't stop, either. Not when there were so many Hydra soldiers so close. He kept going, all snarls and claws and vicious ripping and tearing. There was little to no style involved and Nate had never ever seen James anywhere close to this.

So he took a step forward to try and stop him. He reached out with one hand intending to touch James' shoulder with a quiet "we don't kill" but …

The claws went by Nate's nose close enough to leave blood splatter in their wake and Clint rushed forward to get a hold of Nate from behind and pull him backward out of the kill zone. "Woah-kay that's too close," Clint told Nate. "You can't get that close to him right now. Just let him work it out."

"Work it out?" Nate repeated, looking at Clint as if he'd grown a second head.

"Yeah, it's a thing that happens," Clint said. "Trust me on this, okay? I've got previous."

Nate probably wouldn't have believed it from many other people, but… well, Logan had been an Avenger with Clint before he died. So, Nate held back to see what James would do.

However, James couldn't keep going. Not like he had been. He was hurt, still not healing properly, and drugged to boot. So when he started losing steam, he lost it fast. Especially with blood dripping down his fingers from using his claws while his healing was barely working.

It started with a little stumble - just a small misstep as he realigned himself to charge. But that was the cue for the Hydra men still alive and able to fight. When James stumbled, they raised their weapons and two of them tried their hand at blow darts. When one of them hit, James turned toward the injury moving slowly and exaggerated as his head swam. He frowned at the dart's feathers, then took a few heavy steps backward before he lost his footing. He tried to hold on to a nearby table, but ended up pulling that over with him when his knees gave out., which left Nate and Clint to get him up and out as soon as possible.

Not that James seemed to be concerned at all. Nor did he seem to even know where he was or what was going on around him. But the soldiers sure as hell knew who he was - and as soon as James quit actively attacking them, the Hydra agents regrouped and started moving in with clear intentions to recover him.

"James!" Nate shouted trying to get his brother to snap out of it, but instead of waking up or doing anything that would keep the creeps back, James slumped a little more as his eyes drifted closed. This was not at all what Nate had in mind when he wanted to go rampaging after the jerks who had attacked Kate. He absolutely wasn't supposed to lose his brother to those creeps again.

An arrow flew by Nate's ear, passed James close enough to rustle his hair, then sunk into the closest Hydra goon that was just reaching for James. And that pulled Nate out of it fast. They were too close, they were going for his brother. There were too many for them to fight fairly… but when did Hydra ever fight fair?

With a roar of his own, Nate's eyes glowed brighter and he lifted off the ground with his hands outstretched. A moment later, a percussive shock wave rippled out from him, knocking every Hydra agent near them backward. Those who sat up with the first thought of 'recover' found themselves on the wrong end of a telepathic mindwipe. He was tossing people left and right, not caring where they landed as he made his way over to his brother with Clint covering their backs.

"I know you guys are still kinda new to this," Clint said as he got to work. "But you're not actually supposed to give the bad guys one of ours after you wipe the floor with them."

"I know," Nate said in an irritated tone as he rushed to stop James' hands from bleeding so freely. "And so does he. This … is … I don't know. Massively overestimating how much he can take or … I don't know. He doesn't do that. This. Whatever this was."

"I know," Clint said, then helped to get James out of there so Nate could concentrate. "I'm willing to bet this is something Viper did to him."

"What?" Nate said, turning toward Clint in confusion. "Aside from her evil organization and the poison they used on him … she's not even here."

"No, but she had him for what? Two weeks? Ish? Your brother should probably spend some time with Natasha getting rid of whatever brainwashing she did to him."

Nate narrowed his eyes as a few pieces clicked into place - things Kate and Billy had been projecting along with everything he was seeing from James. "Yeah," he said simply, though he managed to make the one word ring with the telepathic shockwave of his frustration, clearing the rest of the way to the jet.

Which meant that, now, the mission was to get back home in one piece. And with Nate flying, Clint had done what he always did … cleaned up the stuff on the kid's face and hoped for the best. He could clean up and get proper medical attention for himself later. Clint was just trying to make sure that no one died on the way back.

And loathe though he was to admit it, Clint was almost glad that they had the darts still. They just hadn't fallen off after James was hit, so they could at least analyze what was being used. It was just … the rest of it that was troublesome. And because James was so bad off, Clint headed to the aft of the plane to take out his cell and warn his wife of what was coming in. Not necessarily to alarm her, but to make sure she knew they were inbound and therefore likely to have tails chasing them.

When the quinjet touched down on Genosha, Natasha was there to meet them with a few other concerned family and loved ones, though Natasha swore outright when she saw what kind of shape they were all in. She'd long expected Clint to come back from any mission or grocery run a little dinged up, but Nate had taken a few hits and had a black eye and James had yet to wake up - still passed out cold, though Clint had managed to bandage him up a little. But they just didn't have the materials on the jet to clean up all that blood.

"I've been tracking you since you called," Natasha said. "You didn't tell me you were headed out that fast. And you turned all my trackers off." She was obviously upset with all three of them, though she was directing her anger at Clint simply because he was the senior member and should have been able to rein in the two generally obedient Summers boys.

"I was informed that I was a tagalong," Clint said. "And I'm pretty sure your little genius is the one that turned everything off."

Natasha didn't argue it, though she did turn toward where Wanda's best doctors were attending to both Nate and James. Nate was in need of a few stitches - his black eye was more dramatic looking than anything, but there was a cut in his hairline that was being pretty stubborn about behaving, so Nate looked much worse than he was.

Even if Scott didn't appreciate the idea that someone had targeted his telepathic son's head, there were a lot more pressing issues than just his boys' inability to sit still when there was a situation that needed more information. But seeing as James was unconscious, all Scott could do was to turn his frustration toward Nate.

"What were you thinking," Scott bit out, his gaze hard, even as he watched Nate get medical attention. "I swear, if this is just because you didn't get enough action when you helped rescue them-"

"Dad, that's not it-"

"- your brother still isn't healing either," Scott continued. You know he's not stable right now. You both could have been killed!

Dad, we went back in because Kate's been projecting what those guards were doing to her every time she relives it, and I got a good look at their faces. I couldn't just let them get away with it! Nate's explanation was desperate, a shout that only Scott heard.

And when Scott heard that, he slowed down enough for Nate to finish explaining.

"Viper made James watch all the torture the others went through," he told his father quietly, though Natasha was close enough to hear it - and so was Billy and Kate. "He knew who we had to find. He could identify them by sight and by scent. He wasn't planning to do what he did."

"What did he do?" Billy asked, frowning at James as he kept Kate close while the medics were working - and Kate for her part was sticking close to Billy, one hand over her mouth as she tried to hide her emotions.

"Lost his temper entirely," Nate said, then gestured at where his brother had passed out. "I have never seen him come anywhere close to that. He entirely snapped and went after this one guard…" Nate looked between Kate and Billy. "... anyone that was too close was in danger. He was cutting through people so fast…"

"He went berserk," Clint said, explaining it to the adults perfectly, even if the kids just didn't know.

"That's a little harsh," Nate said, frowning at Clint.

"No, that's … that's what Logan used to call it," Clint told the kids. "It was a feral break. He completely lost control when it happened. No one was safe if they got too close or drew his attention. That's what happened."

"What triggered it?" Scott asked, frowning now that he understood what had transpired.

"If I had to guess, it would be the creep he was chasing down for us," Clint said. "He wasn't intending to get involved, but then he snapped .. and it was a total bloodbath. As you can see." He gestured at James, who was enough of a mess that it was hard to tell how much of the blood on him was his, or someone else's.

"Ah." Scott ran both hands through his hair and paced a small path before he turned back to Nate and pointed at him. "I don't care that you had a good reason. Pull something like this again without telling anyone what's going on, without backup, without a solid exit strategy, and-"

"I got it," Nate said, holding up both hands. "For the record, I left a telepathic suggestion-"

"Nate, no." Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. When Nate watched him, knowing his dad had to be stressed beyond belief and not wanting to make anything worse when his whole family seemed to be on shaky ground, Scott finally let out his breath. "Let me know when James wakes up," he said and turned to leave, purely to get some distance and clear his head. He couldn't get as mad as he'd wanted to because what Nate told him was actually one of the few exceptions he'd made to the rules even when he was an X-Man - but he was still stressed about the danger they'd put James in without thinking, knowing that Viper was fixated on him. And then to know that James had a feral break in defense of Kate… Yeah, he needed a minute.

Nate watched his dad go, sighed, and got to his feet once his stitches were done. He'd meant to go toward Kate, but to his surprise, she was glaring at him - and at Clint.

"Katie," Clint started to say, but Kate crossed her arms and stepped back from him.

"Don't do that," she said sharply. "It's not worth it, okay? Don't get caught because of me."

"We didn't get caught," Clint pointed out.

"Dad, that's not the point," Kate said, stepping backward nearly into Billy. "I'm fine, okay? You guys getting caught and tortured isn't going to fix anything."

Nate frowned, obviously not expecting this reaction, especially because the only thing he could hear from Kate telepathically was a driving, almost desperate need to be okay and to pretend nothing had happened. He'd figured getting rid of the guys who had tormented her had to be a step in the right direction for making sure she was okay, right?

"Kate, what they did-" Nate started to say, but she rounded on him and pointed at him in accusation.

"I was there. I know what happened, and I'm fine. Hank checked me over, even. Tyler fixed me up. I'm fine."

"Katie-Kate, you're amazing, and I love you, but you're not fine," Clint said gently.

"I am," Kate insisted, despite the fact that everyone there could see that she was on the brink of tears. "You didn't even ask, Nate," she added, and she was no longer yelling, but her tone hadn't changed. "I didn't tell you any of that because I didn't want you to go on some stupid white knight quest to try to fix it, because you can't. You can't fix it, and you can't undo it, and you can't just go charging in there and get caught because of me when you've spent your whole life staying out of the grasp of exactly this kind of bad guy."

Nate stared at her for a moment, knowing that there was precious little that he could say that wouldn't set her off in that moment. He barely glanced at Clint, who could only give him a crystal clear 'don't look at me' moment before he said the only thing that he hoped might get her off the ledge. "Kate, I'm sorry." He didn't try to justify it, or explain it. He just apologized and left it to her. Now was not the time for defense. So he kept a perfectly open expression and hoped he looked pitiful enough for her to not freak out any further.

And just like that, Kate froze, suddenly without a retort. "Well… good," she managed to say at last. She pulled her arms tighter to herself. "Just don't - don't scare me like that again, okay? I'm not- they're not worth it."

"I know, you're right," Nate said. "They're not." He did everything he could to keep from smiling, even a tiny one before he projected to her. But you are totally worth raging. If you ever feel like it, just know that there really isn't any more Hydra in Madripoor now.

Kate blinked at him for a second and then let out a slow, even breath. "Well, that's my guy. In a league of his own," she said, trying to give him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She didn't seem to know what else to say, though, and she clearly wasn't entirely herself, so she simply bit her lip and backed away, leaving to clear her head - though she was headed toward where she knew America was so at least she wouldn't be alone.

Clint turned to Nate, one eyebrow raised significantly. "You catch all that?" he asked.

"Yep," Nate said quietly. "And a lot more, too."

"I'll bet. Said plenty with her body language, too." Clint turned back toward the door Kate had just left.

"She's screaming mentally," Nate told him. "About everything. Everything you can think of."

Clint nodded, his gaze still on the door. "God, it hurts to watch that happen to your baby," he said softly.

"She's one of the strongest people I know," Nate said, turning toward Clint. "She'll work through it. I know she will."

"Yeah, still doesn't make it easier on her in the meantime," Clint said, finally turning back to Nate to let out a breath and give him half a smile. "Well done on defusing, though," he teased. "Tactically sound, that apology."

"It was honest," Nate countered.

"Like hell you're sorry about what we did," Clint shot back.

"I'm sorry she's upset about it," Nate said. "And about all the stuff Dad was mad over."

"Nah, we had Nat as backup if things went south. We were fine."

"Yeah," Nate said, shifting his focus from Clint to Natasha for a moment; she was supervising James. "About that …" The medics waited just long enough to tell Natasha where they were headed before they moved James, and when they left, Nate caught her attention. "You don't have to worry about anyone following us," Nate told her. "I made them turn off their security systems, monitors, radar - you name it. The whole building was dead, including defenses." He paused and smirked grimly. "I left the power on for the booby traps though. Figured they deserved to run into those in the dark."

"Good," Natasha said with a sharp nod, though she wasn't moving with as much of an edge as she had been when James was still being worked on. "What else?"

"If they were true believers in Hydra, they are now doorstops," Nate said. "Except the worst of them. If they were high-value Hydra, SHIELD will be getting a lot of eager confessions and finding a fair number of Hydra executions of their own." He let out a shaky breath. "You know. Except for the ones James got a hold of."

At that last part, Natasha let her shoulders drop and came to stand by him, putting one hand on either of Nate's shoulders. "When that happens," she said softly, "it's because he's been pushed to the brink. And you can absolutely believe that when it happened with Logan, it often happened when he was defending women and children and furious at those who stole their innocence."

"This was so much worse than when he took down Magneto," Nate admitted softly.

"He got too close," Clint explained, and Natasha simply let out an "ah."

"Next time, just step back and let him work through it," Natasha advised.

"Kinda hoping there isn't a next time to this," Nate said.

"I hope so too, for his sake, but the world is cruel, and I don't doubt someone will deserve his rage in the future," Natasha said. She sighed. "It's not easy on him, either, you know. It's devastating to lose control of yourself."

"So, we really did make it all worse then," Nate decided.

"No," Natasha said, shaking her head. "He's been on the edge since you got them out." She gestured toward the door Kate had exited through. "They all are. None of them are themselves."

Nate nodded and followed her gaze. "James said Viper made him watch everything that happened to the others."

"I'll kill her," Natasha said - and meant it.

"He wouldn't tell me anything specific, though." Nate really was doing his level best to be honest with her. "Just that much and then refused to discuss it."

"He wouldn't," Natasha said. "And you've seen more than Kate was willing to tell you too. Don't do that, by the way." She held up a hand. "I'm not saying I'm not grateful or that you didn't do exactly what they deserved, but-"

"It wasn't intentional," Nate promised. "The peeking. She was projecting some of it."

"Then tell her that," Clint said. "Because that's kind of a big violation of privacy."

"I will, when she calms down a little bit," Nate said.

"Yeah, speaking of." Clint turned toward Nat with one eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry, babe, but she's dealing with trauma the way I do."

"Oh god," Natasha said, running a hand down her face.

"Okay … well, if you two are going to start that, I'm going to head down to the kitchens and make sure Kate has a few things she'll pick at," Nate said, holding up both hands as he walked backward.

"You do that. I'll make sure my husband knows how much he has to make up for," Natasha said, and Nate smirked on his way out.