Chapter 121 - The Eyes Have At It
While James was finally healing a little, Scott finally left the room, if for no other reason than that he knew James was overwhelmed, and he was trying to lead by example and give Billy and James some space.
Besides, he needed to make sure Annie wasn't overstressed. This was a lot to take in, especially on top of everything else.
The two of them went upstairs, and Scott sat down with her in the living room, making sure to kiss her and promise her that things would work out. He'd seen James through a hundred childhood illnesses; they could see him through one more. But just as they were both starting to finally relax, a replay from the late night news in the background caught their attention. Scott hadn't had time until now to pay closer attention to the news. It just didn't seem that important when he was so anxious on James' behalf…
The anchors on the news had their most serious expressions on as they covered the riot and shooting, and though they showed the same footage of the crowd beating James down - obviously from one of the rioter's camera's up close - for the first time that Scott could remember - they hadn't aired it until well after they'd warned their viewers that it was disturbing footage.
They detailed what had happened after the beating of course, though they stopped short of the video that was circulating the internet of the actual shot, and instead started talking about who this young Wolverine was in a manner that sounded … different to the kinds of reports Scott had heard about his team in the past, or even the most recent reports on him now. Scott braced himself, unsurprised when the first clip they showed was of Tony presenting James as his heir apparent. From there, though … Scott found himself watching footage of the night that a hate group had dropped a building on his kids - and the film they were showing of James started as he came out of the wreckage with a little kid attached to him. All of the footage they were using of him was like that too - taking care of little kids, helping people out of danger, fighting thugs and Hydra, and half the time he had his cowl off to do so. Scott almost missed the tone the commentary was taking as he was caught up in the footage they chose to use - but that was just as positive.
Which was when he realized the anchors were angry - on James' behalf.
Scott was honestly stunned. This had never happened to his team. When there had been issues, the X-Men had always taken the blame. The news had always sided with their attackers. Even with the semi-positive spin Jameson had been using … this was … new.
"They're doing so well," Annie said, breaking into his thoughts.
"They are," Scott said, a proud, surprised smile starting up in the corner of his mouth. "That's probably why they went after James. They wanted the team to be scary terrorists again."
Annie nodded and then tucked into him again, watching the news and the anchors talking about the heroes on the team - and smiling the more she could feel Scott unconsciously nodding along and puffing out his chest just the slightest bit. She didn't think he was aware of it, but that nonverbal cue told her that he was proud - and that he would be alright.
Which was good. She liked her fiance to be less stressed.
Billy was floating, so Kate knew he needed someone to sit with him. She was tired and coming down from adrenaline after everything that had happened, so she couldn't think of much more to do than to grab him by the hand and pulled him down to the ground and hug him - but, hey, that was probably what he needed, right?
Billy startled when Kate grabbed him, but by the time he caught up to what was happening and wrapped Kate up in response.
"This happens to the Summerses a lot," Kate whispered. "This is why we have a support group."
Billy coughed a laugh of disbelief as he doubled down on the hug. "You're ridiculous."
"I am, but that's why you love me."
Billy smirked and buried his face in her shoulder for a good, long time, and Kate just let him stay there as long as he needed. "It just feels like everything's happening at once," he muttered.
"Yeah, I know," she agreed.
"Like… this on top of all the stupid from what happened with my grandfather…"
"I know," Kate agreed again.
"And I feel like we just got done cleaning up after Emma…"
"I can start investing in bubble wrap, if that would help," Kate offered, and Billy snorted.
"No, I just… I'm just really tired of things going wrong, Kate. I'd like for something to go right for a change."
Kate sighed and hugged him tighter. "Okay, so, I can't do much to help you right now, but I'm going to suggest something a little out there, and I want you to try it anyway. But, I mean, when Rachel gets this overwhelmed, America takes her to a vacation in a better dimension. I bet you could ask her to take you too."
Billy glanced up at her, genuinely considering it. "Maybe…"
"And you can spend however long you like there," Kate pointed out. "Time gets kind of bendy with interdimensional travel."
"Personal experience?" Billy teased.
"Mile high club in the middle of the school day," Kate said without missing a beat.
"That kind of thing is off the table right now," he pointed out.
"Yeah, but you personally need to relax. You're floating, and you're starting to wallow, and if you get too caught up in how unfair life is, you're going to turn into your grandfather. So let's not do that."
Billy scoffed. "Really, Kate?"
"I'm right, and you know it," she said. She ruffled his hair just for dramatic effect. "Take a break, Billy. You need it. Go get a tan on a beach or hang out at a space spa. Whatever. But you're going to snap if you don't get a break, and the way things are going, you might need an artificial break, you know?"
Billy let his shoulders drop but started to nod along the more she talked. "Okay," he said slowly. "Okay, I'll talk to America."
Kate beamed at him until he wished himself away - and then leaned against the wall and dragged her hand down her face. It was exhausting keeping up with all these dramatic superpowered gods.
Meanwhile, Rachel was keeping herself busy, running interference between the other team members, the newbies, and the adults. She was mortified on how badly she'd frozen up on James and Nate. she'd never lost it like that … she'd never seen either of them hurt or scared so badly that she froze and she was so frustrated over it she was sick to her stomach.
She couldn't quite bring herself to go down to do as Nate had and try to reach out telepathically to James. The Phoenix flames were licking at the edges of her flurry of emotions and she just knew that if she had been the one to discover how utterly blank James was, she would not have handled it as well as Nate did. And she hated that right now, in this crisis, between the two of them, Nate was the more in charge and in control.
She was pacing the ready room - four different television screens showing the flow of information on everything that had just happened and more. She saw the way that the news anchors were handling it, and she was at least glad to see that the overall consensus was in James' corner, but … it was still a lot.
It also didn't help that half way through the traffic and weather report Rachel found herself drifting - lost in the what if worries that had plagued their father for years. What if … they'd actually lost him? What if he didn't get his memory and personality back? What if … what if the last time she'd spent with James had been weeks previous. She couldn't remember what their last conversation was. She couldn't remember if she'd given him a hug, or gotten angry with him over minor irritations that truly didn't mean anything in the long run. Did he go into that mission thinking she was mad at him? Or that she didn't want him around? What if she never got the chance to fix it …
The screen on one of the television monitors went black, and for just a few seconds, Rachel saw her reflection - outlined in fire, her hair levitating around her head along with various objects in the room as they floated, too.
She was letting the Phoenix get the better of her. And she'd been doing so well.
She had to get a hold of herself. And that wasn't going to be easy to do as it stood. She had to make a decision on how to handle it and go forward. Nate was more or less attached to James' side, regardless of who was on schedule to stick with him, and though she hated to admit it, if James wasn't going to recover, she had no idea on how she was going to handle that. At all.
But she didn't have to face that yet. Not when there was a lot of work to be done, and official commentary to be had, which for now, was officially 'no comment'.
"Authorities say that residents should exercise caution after a rogue gunman attacked a trans-agency escort early this morning. The attack was marked by a wake of destruction that left every single vehicle attached to the escort disabled or ablaze. There are early reports that several SHIELD agents died or were severely injured as a result. No civilians were harmed in the attack.
The escort was carrying the suspect from last night's shooting that left X-Man and Avenger, James Howlett Jr, better known as Wolverine, with a head wound after the X-Men broke up an anti-mutant riot near Washington Square Park. Authorities say the suspect was a vocal supporter of Magneto, the former ruler of Genosha and noted terrorist. Witnesess say that police have already begun a search of the suspect's home to see if his attack on the young superhero was a lone act, or one that was supported by a terrorist cell that was angered by the charges that were levelled at Mr. Howlett regarding his involvement in the death of Magneto last year.
We now take you live to a press conference with the NYPD."
The reporter broke away as video played of what was clearly a formal statement from the NYPD. As usual, the police were fairly tight-lipped on what little they knew - stating that the suspect was being moved to SHIELD custody at the time of the attack and that all officers involved were relatively unharmed, though the person who had shot James was now dead as a result of the attack.
When the video ended, they went back to the solemn reporter. "There has been no comment from anyone attached to the X-Men, Avengers, or Stark Industries regarding Mr. Howlett's condition after the shooting, but we'll keep you posted on this story as it develops."
Scott had been pacing as he listened to the news report, though when he heard about the lack of comment, he had to admit to being relieved and frustrated at the same time. No one needed to know how much danger James had been in, but at the same time, he didn't want rampant public speculation.
With a sigh, he sent off a text to Tony asking him if SI could handle the updates, knowing he wasn't in the right emotional state to know what to say. And, James's phone had been ringing for a while…
He had decided to pick up when Harvard called and he had assured them that James would be able to attend. With the start of the semester looming so close, though, he had intimated that James might need a gap semester before he could get started simply because brain injuries took longer to heal from. He promised the administration that they would be kept abreast of the situation - as well as the developing one in regards to the trial - and assured them, again, that James would be back to his old self soon enough.
And Scott knew that was true. He did. But that didn't change how hard it was to watch James look like a passenger in his own body or to know that he had no idea who his own family was around him.
Scott was still on the phone with Harvard when someone knocked on the door, so he didn't answer - though he did do a quick scan through the door and saw that it was a delivery man carrying a bouquet of some kind. Well-wishers, probably. Scott couldn't see anything hidden, nothing electronic, no sign of explosives either.
He hung up with Harvard and then opened the door after the delivery man was gone, shaking his head when he saw the cookie bouquet… only to stare at the note on a red card.
I know. It's rough when your kid is hurting. Especially when they're hurting because of some asshat with a vendetta. But it'll be okay because this asshat has a vendetta, too. Give my lil nephew a kiss for me. First head shot's the hardest. It'll get better. He'll heal quicker next time, too. Kisses!- DP
Scott closed the door and leaned against it. Deadpool. It had been since before the X-Men disbanded since Scott had heard from him, and he'd been happy not to question the guy's disappearance. But he did remember how Deadpool had been overly attached to Logan to the point of delusion… it almost wasn't a surprise that he'd feel protective of James.
He sat down with the bouquet and dragged a hand down his face. This… complicated things when he absolutely didn't need anything more complicated on his plate. He didn't need a mercenary with a warped sense of humor trying to "look after" his son.
However, Deadpool also hadn't shown up himself. And based on the news reports, he was probably the one who had gone after whoever shot James.
Once Scott thought about it, the handwriting on the note was suspiciously similar to the one that had come with the Muramasa blade.
Scott pinched the bridge of his nose and then set the note down. For now, with everything else going on, it was best to just let this go. As long as Deadpool operated in the shadows, as long as he didn't get the X-Men implicated in his actions, as long as he was watching from a distance, that was about the best Scott could ask from him.
More than likely, Deadpool would want to be more involved. To actually meet the kid and confuse or irritate him with a long comparison list to his father.
But Scott could deal with that later. For now, he had more important things to focus on. And if Deadpool was going to look out for James, Scott wouldn't stop him. He was skilled, even if he was nuts.
After all, the Summers family was about to stand trial for Magneto's death. And they'd pissed off the Hellfire Club. They each had a media circus following them around. Scott knew, even if he didn't like it, that he couldn't be choosy about his allies when so many interested parties were out for their pound of flesh.
Scott was still deeply in thought, trying to strategize on how to move forward when his focus was blown - and he couldn't stop worrying about his middle child. Even with Stark and Wanda both offering to take him away from the school, the commotion, and protect him from all of the outside pressures that were all quickly building, he couldn't hand him off again, not after everything he knew - not after realizing how much handing him off for his own safety had left his son with such a low self worth. He had to be there, regardless of the risks, to help him come back to himself.
Especially when there were still major risks in sending him off. As much as Wanda wanted to help, Genosha wasn't safe when the man who'd shot James in the first place had done so because they were worshiping Magneto. Stark Tower wasn't safe when the military and SHIELD was going in and out so freely. As protective as Tony was, he still had to answer to them - and there were a few times when he had straight up hidden or sent James away and out of his care to avoid military connections confirming his existence.
He'd left the texts from the Hudsons and Moira unanswered, though he had read that both of them were offering safe haven as well. It was a generous offer in both cases, but neither of them had been close to James since he was a child. And even if James would ever agree to spend time with them again, the Hudsons were still too close to Canadian military contacts. Moira felt too far away both in distance and in how well she knew James. Not to mention the fact that Muir Island had always been vulnerable in its isolation and lack of real defenses.
There were precious few places left to hide a fully grown, empty slate of a Wolverine - and that wasn't even taking into account the paternal need to protect him. With Deadpool circling, it was likely that he'd have a lunatic option to shoot down, and Scott was trying to keep his focus on how to stop Deadpool if he decided that he had a perfect hiding spot - and Scott was very sure that was going to be an eventuality now that Wade was being bold enough to let his continued existence be known. That … was also something Scott had on his mind, and he'd started sifting through possible interactions that they hadn't looked into as suspicious but now seemed like too-lucky moments. How long had Wade been sticking his nose in the middle of the kids' work?
He'd been in the ready room, going over intel and news, reports, questionable movement of forces that normally would have been handled by Natasha, and generally trying to remember if there was anything at all that would help James move forward in his healing, when the ambient lighting in the room switched from a warm white to red.
He looked up and switched the cameras to see where the threat was coming from, fully braced to see a military incursion to recover his son. Or … to arrest all of them, he wasn't entirely sure, but that wasn't off the table, either. But he was still disappointed to see the black helicopters and convoy of military vehicles coming down the drive that led up to the school.
Upstairs, Bobby had taken up a protective stance, fully focused on the approaching black-clad units marked with SHIELD's logo. He had reached deeply into the ground and had ready enough water and ice just under the surface around the mansion that it would take a lot more firepower than SHIELD had ready to breach, but he waited until the first armed units exited the convoy with guns drawn to form the ice into a ten foot thick barrier fully around the school.
"This is a gun-free, drug-free school zone," Bobby shouted. "No military or paramilitary allowed!"
"Mr. Drake," Fury's voice came back after the hum of shouts and threats on the other side of the ice-wall died down. "If that's the case, we have reason to believe you're in violation of both of those laws. Take the ice down and I won't have you arrested for obstruction."
"Why are you here?" Bobby shouted back, even as he could hear the sounds of the soldiers working on setting charges to break his wall down. Not that it was going to slow him down from making it stronger and thicker at those points. Idiots.
"Don't you watch the news, Drake?" Fury called out. "One of your guys attacked a SHIELD convoy transporting the accused shooter. SHIELD doesn't take lightly to anyone taking the law into their own hands. We're here for everyone involved in X-Force."
Bobby took a visible step back. That … hadn't been in effect for … well … for fifteen years at least. "Is your intel ever out of date," Bobby said just loud enough to carry. "X-Force … there is no X-Force."
"You have several members from that team in-house right now," Fury replied. "Including its old leader. We have arrest warrants for those that we know are here: Psylocke, Angel, Forge, Storm, Deadpool, and Cyclops."
"Oh, is that all?" Bobby said sarcastically.
"No. Not even close." Fury sounded well beyond his usual brash, over confident tones. "Warrant. Keep this up and we'll come in for all of you on charges of conspiracy and terrorism."
"Damnit," Bobby said under his breath. "Like I haven't heard that before." The truth was that for him, he wasn't afraid of Fury or his prisons and charges. SHIELD at least followed basic rules that were expected of them - even with mutant prisoners. He'd lived through a lot worse than SHIELD would throw at him if he was arrested. But he also really didn't want to do that when he had spent so much time in prison already. And things were going so well with Johnny, too.
Bobby looked over his shoulder at the slowly growing crowd of both X-Men and students, then started to let the ice recede. "Students should probably go to a safe room. Just in case," Bobby said quietly, though the message was relayed easily enough, even as Storm and Scott stepped past a few curious onlookers.
"Probably safest with you, Bobby," Scott said. "Impressive wall."
"Kinda wanted to see them try to break it down and fail," Warren added as he stood at the door, directing some kids inside.
As soon as the ice was gone enough to permit SHIELD's troops inside, they swarmed, barely a few steps ahead of Fury, who himself came with a couple of agents he was clearly trying to teach, judging by how young they looked. A member of the tech division looked toward the group of mutant teachers and students nervously and set up a device on a tripod, then hit a switch, leaving the school's residents sharing looks.
But in an instant, Bobby's powers were gone - and he looked human, no longer made of ice. And once the dampener was in play, the agents seemed even more emboldened. They rushed in, ordering the students into classrooms to get them out of the way and then pushing even deeper into the school, while a few remained close to the X-Men they had warrants for.
The ones that did try to go too deeply into the school, however, came on the wrong end of Nate, who laid them out with psychic feedback, not from his powers but from something he and James had set up forever ago, using both his powers and James's knowledge of tech. It was a way to make sure no one could get into the lower levels, even if the school's defenders were down. And the SHIELD agents got to experience firsthand the worst headache they'd ever had. And it would last for an entire day, just to teach them a lesson for trying to get where they weren't wanted.
So any of the students or X-Men who had been downstairs were safe, but the rest were herded into the classrooms. And Leslie Ann was almost shaking, scared and worried and texting behind Lexi Barton's back.
Dad, a bunch of agents are in the school, she texted. I don't know what's going on, but they've got big guns, the powers are off, and it doesn't look good. Help?
There were three dots floating on her screen for a minute before she got a response: Hang tight, baby girl. I'm sending backup.
…
Outside, once the students were inside and SHIELD was swarming the place, Fury looked smug as he headed toward Scott - but Scott was already heading toward him, his hands in fists and then his fingers stretching out and then back in fists again.
"You want to tell me why you're on a power trip or should I assume it's a late-life crisis?" he asked, his eyes glowing green as he scanned Fury to see what weapons he had on him - and there were plenty. "The hell do you think you're doing at our school, terrorizing our students?"
"Oh, no. You don't get to come at me like that. Not when you're running your old black ops missions sending lunatics after anyone that crosses your little dream team."
"You're losing your touch, Fury. I'm not running a damn thing, especially not when you know full well I've got my hands full right now." He narrowed his eyes and pointed at Fury. "Some of us actually take care of our families."
Fury glared. "That's not on the table for discussion, but your knowledge and direction of one of the most wanted mercs on the planet is."
"And I'm telling you I didn't even know he was alive until he pulled what he did. Now get off my damn lawn."
"That isn't much of a threat these days, Cyclops."
A muscle at the corner of Scott's jaw was working as Ororo came to stand next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "No, he's right," she told Fury coldly. "You're looking in the wrong place. Your intel is out of date - so much so it's laughable. Any real legwork would have told you that. So why are you really here - now that you have a semblance of an excuse?"
"We're trying to get better intel on the merc, for one thing, and for another, we're here to help, believe it or not. You have a target on this place in neon right now."
"That's not new," Scott said through his teeth.
Fury raised an eyebrow, then took a step forward. "When was the last time you had someone like your boy that blank?"
Scott closed the distance so that he was almost toe to toe with Fury. "Anyone comes close to my son, they'll learn firsthand how Viper died."
"He needs to be in a more secure location," Fury said evenly. "Unless you're alright with all these kids risking their lives too."
"Tell you what, Fury," Scott said, his tone low and dangerous, "you turn around and leave now and I won't hold it against you. Keep pushing your luck, and I won't stop what's coming." He brushed Fury's shoulder off. "We're not as unprotected as you think we are."
"This isn't about your pissing contest or territory marking," Fury insisted, even managing to come off sounding like he almost cared.
"No, it's about your pissing contest and territory marking of my son."
"I am trying to do my job, which is to protect this country. You knew that once."
"I stopped believing a word you say when I found out you knew what Greydon Creed was up to. And if that hadn't done it, when you knew what Viper was doing, you lost any credibility."
"And if the wrong people get a hold of that kid, it'll be on you."
Scott narrowed his eyes, but before he could say anything, a flash of red light filled the woods beyond the area of effect of the dampener. And then, the part of the ground where the tripod was set up simply opened up, and the dampener dropped into the center of the earth, with the ground sealing itself back up once it was gone.
And then, Wanda came stalking up to Fury, her cape billowing out behind her, her eyes flashing with red power that was still lingering at the edges of her fingertips as well. "Tell me something, Director," Wanda said, angry enough that her accent was sharper than usual - and so much so that Scott stepped back from Fury, smirking - "do you enjoy testing me?"
"You don't have any authority here, Wanda. Don't make this into a bigger mess than it already is."
"So you're not here trying to come after exactly the children I told you were under my protection," Wanda said without touching down.
"I wasn't aware that Summers and his group of hired men qualified as your children."
Wanda waved her hand impatiently. "Don't." She pointed at Fury, and both of the agents beside him simply dropped unconscious. "Don't pretend I'm other people, Nicholas Fury. You may be here with some delusions about arresting my friends, but I know you, and I know your version of protection. And that boy is my future son-in-law. I'll not have him hidden away like some asset of SHIELD's."
Fury kept a steady expression as he glared at her. "That is entirely beside the point," he said. "Keeping him here, in the condition he's in, is like rolling out the welcome mat to every black ops underground unit on the planet. They will come, and they will kill anyone in their way. You can't say it hasn't happened before."
"Do you think, for even one second, that he isn't safe under my protection?" Wanda shot back.
"You can't protect him all the time, Wanda."
"Neither can you," Wanda replied evenly. "But I'd bet my power and the X-Men against your pitiful attempts at relevance any day."
"He's a security risk as it stands. Nothing he did. Nothing anyone here did wrong, either."
"That's interesting, because I thought you were here to arrest us just for once upon a time working with Deadpool," Angel drawled out from the doorway.
"I'm here to arrest you for sending Deadpool out in your mutant kill squad," Fury shot back, glaring at Warren. "We didn't even get the chance to interrogate his mark."
"Which is how you know damn well Scott didn't run it, because he didn't get to interrogate the guy who tried to kill his son," Warren pointed out. "You really think Cyclops wouldn't want answers? The man has more plans than you do."
"Considering how he ran that team in the past? You want me to answer that?"
"Everything you know about how he operates since becoming a father… you want to be that wrong in front of all these witnesses?" Warren shot back. "You're slipping, Fury, and you're too desperate to be in charge to see it."
"That doesn't really counter my argument well when everything he's done while operating in charge as a father has been vendettas!"
"Because you wouldn't do your job!" Scott shouted. "It's the same story - it's always the same story! You won't step in to save our lives, you won't stop anything unless it suits you."
"Sometimes, Summers, it's not as simple as you want to lay it out. The decision that was made while Viper was playing her games was to save the greater numbers. There was more at stake than one kid, or even three."
"And you never gave them a choice. You never warned them. You did nothing. You did nothing to save my team. You did nothing to save my people. You did nothing to stop Magneto unless you thought it would boost your power. SHIELD is a glorified police force full of delusional has-beens, and you have always hated that my team doesn't answer to you." Scott was back in Fury's face, nearly flanking Wanda. "And if you would just get out of our way and stop acting like we're the villains, fewer people would have died over the years."
"It all boils down to something very simple," Ororo said, joining the two of them, her eyes flashing with lightning. "You have no proof that anyone here was even remotely involved with whatever insanity Deadpool is involved in. You have no proof that anyone here has had any contact with him in well over fifteen years - because lets be honest. That team was defunct long before the Graydon Creed mess. You're here to bully your way through and to force an already marginalized group to listen to your bullshit - but you have nothing. And the idea of you … you being a safer place or a safer person for James to be around when he is in the state he's in is so far beyond laughable it verges on parody. Lawyers have already been called. Go back to your little floating warship before we end up suing you badly enough that it becomes our floating warship - and I assure you, we'd put it to much better use."
As Fury looked between the three of them, obviously realizing that he'd been outmaneuvered, he had nothing to say, and so, Wanda touched down on the ground and held her hands to her sides.
"We're going to forget this happened," Wanda said pointedly. "You'll take your agents and leave. I'll even help." She snapped her fingers, and every agent who had been inside was suddenly outside. "You and I? We're going to come to a better understanding, or this is going to keep happening." She tipped her chin up. "Genosha has always looked out for the well-being of mutants. Consider the X-Men part of that interest. Act accordingly." With that, she snapped her fingers again, and the entire SHIELD group, tech and all, disappeared.
Wanda held out a hand to catch Ororo's shoulder and steady herself. "Well then," she said, nodding once she had better hold of herself. "While I'm here, I'll stop in and check in on James myself, I think."
"You alright?" Scott asked, making an active effort to calm back down after how furious he'd been with Fury.
Wanda waved off his concern. "When I lose my temper, I'm not as good at holding back the consequences of my magic," she explained.
"And consequences mean you need to recharge with snuggles?" Bobby teased.
"Obviously," Wanda said with a fond smile. She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she straightened up. "Oh, Scott, would you call your future brother-in-law and let him know we're alright? Leslie Ann texted him, and I gave him my number last time you were all in Genosha."
"Anton?" Scott was surprised into a smile. "I'm surprised he didn't come down himself."
"He's probably on his way," Wanda chuckled.
Scott let his shoulders drop. "I should probably check on Leslie Ann, too," he said, and Warren smirked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.
"Second classroom on the right," he said. "You know this isn't helping to slow her down on wanting to join the team, right?"
"She did wonderfully," Wanda said as she walked past them on her way to James. "She'll be an excellent X-Man."
"I heard that!" Leslie Ann called out, grinning, as she poked her head out from the doorway with a few other kids, who had seen the agents disappear and were coming out to see what the story was.
Wanda grinned at Scott. "Have fun," she said and headed down to James, leaving Scott shaking his head.
"You did good," he promised Leslie Ann as she came skipping over.
Leslie Ann grinned and threw her arms around him for an excited hug. "Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes wide. "That was crazy!"
"Yeah, calling backup was the right move," Scott promised. "Thank you."
She bounced on her toes, her eyes alight as she leaned toward him. "So you'll talk to Captain America about me joining the team?"
"I will talk to him," he said - not promising anything more than that.
"Thanks!" Leslie Ann grinned and then flounced off again, off to join Lexi to gossip about everything that had happened.
The group of family and friends were incredible about making sure James had someone with him at all times, but eventually, James found himself alone with his thoughts and an incredibly fast-growing frustration. Billy had to rest, too … and there were always going to be gaps between the family members that shifted out to sit with him. It was hardest, of course, when he was left without a telepath because James hadn't yet figured out how to make his mouth say what he wanted and the concentration involved even for yes and no answers to their questions was frustratingly difficult to manage. He might not remember much, but he knew speaking had never been this hard.
The rest of his coordination was even worse though. He couldn't force his limbs to do what he wanted to the point that the first time he managed to hide his face in his hands was after a failed attempt to write a response for Hank. He couldn't hold the pen right, let alone make his hands direct it. He knew how … he just couldn't force his body to do what it was supposed to. And he couldn't explain it to anyone, either.
The telepaths helped with that, but that left him with a different level of frustration because then he had to rely on them to explain for him … and that was quickly wearing thin.
As James thought about all of this - while concentrating hard to make his hand grip a pen at all - forget properly - he felt a low rumble rolling out from his chest. Across the room, he saw Hank and Tyler lift their heads and turn his way. But he didn't register the growl until a moment after his fingers shifted wrong and the growl changed pitch and got louder. The pen fell to his lap and James let out a frustrated sigh as the growl cut off.
"James, my boy," Hank said in a warm, reassuring rumble as he came toward him from across the lab. "I know you're frustrated, but you are doing amazingly well considering the extent of your injuries."
But that just sparked up a fresh growl because James was frustrated enough that he couldn't find the right words. He couldn't hold a damn pen, and he couldn't say what he was thinking when he couldn't speak properly, so James closed his eyes tightly and put his head in his hands, frustrated beyond words as he tried to figure out what good he was to anyone when he couldn't even function.
"James, wait," Hank said as James tried to push himself more upright.
His legs felt heavy, but he needed to get out. The antiseptic smell along with the complete inability to do anything had James' skin crawling with frustration. He had one leg over the side of the bed, and already he was swaying, unsteady. He couldn't remember feeling like that before … not that he had much to measure by, but he had a driving urge to get out of that lab.
"James," Hank said more firmly. "You're not healed enough to go anywhere. It's alright. You need rest and to work on your-" the second Hank touched him, James let out a snarl that honestly startled everyone in the room … including Nate, who had just stepped through the door.
He couldn't stop the growl as it rolled on, even after Hank backed off and let him sit there - swaying.
"Woah," Nate said in a breath, then reached out to James telepathically. It looked like James simply wasn't trying to reply, but what Nate found was that his mind was going a hundred miles an hour; he had thoughts and impulses he was trying to make good on, but instead of anything working, nothing was doing what he wanted. The level of frustration and hopelessness was palpable. "Hey, wait. I can help if you let me."
James looked up at him, then forced himself to throw his other leg over the side of the bed. With a lot more effort than he should have needed, James tried to force himself to his feet, only to utterly fail at coordinating enough balance to even stand, let alone walk.
Before James had even started to fall, Nate rushed forward to catch him, and found himself at a complete loss as his big brother slipped from frustration to pure hopelessness for how little control he had over himself. Nate looked a little deeper, and could actually watch as James' mind made new connections between memories. Physically, he was mostly healed. Mentally, there was a lot to repair.
So Nate decided to try a different route. Hey big brother, Nate projected, and that at least got James to look at him as Nate helped him back to a sitting position. It'll all come back.
You don't know that, James shot back sounding angry.
Yes, I do, Nate said. You're making all kinds of progress. James scoffed as Nate tried to convince him. You are. Nerves heal last, right? Making everything work goes along with that. Come on.
I can't even stand up, James replied bitterly. Or hold a pen - or freaking speak.
Nate's shoulders dropped, and he saw how easily it would be for someone nefarious to misdirect his sense of self worth at this stage of recovery. You will, Nate promised. You're slower than you want to be, but you are recovering well. Let me help you. Between the two of us, I'm sure we'll have it covered in no time.
Sure, James answered, very clearly sounding as if he thought Nate was nuts.
It's okay-
James snarled again as he snarled telepathically, too. No it fucking isn't.
Nate blinked at him. Woah. Dial it back. Alright. Fine, it's not okay. But … we're trying to help.
James' growl was rolling freely, and it was clear he was agitated -unable to tamp it down. All at once, James looked like he was on the edge of a different kind of breakdown.
"It hasn't been very long," Hank said, taking advantage of how lost and off kilter James was to put him back into bed and help him get somewhat comfortable before he turned the lights off over his head and covered him up - very much like he used to do when James was small. "And though I know you're motivated to do more, you still need to rest."
With some serious effort, James shifted onto his side and halfway curled up, though Nate could see he couldn't even get his limbs to cooperate with that and he'd given up on trying to make himself comfortable before he allowed himself to drift off in an awkward position.
Nate shared a look with Hank before reaching out silently. What can I do to help him? He asked. He's so … I've never seen him like … he's going crazy, Uncle Blue.
What is primarily the issue?
What do you mean? Nate asked, alarmed. He's frustrated that nothing is working the way it should. Nate turned toward his brother and reached out gently to check on him again only to find that he'd gone back to sleep. He's …
Asleep, Hank said, gently redirecting Nate to where he and Tyler were reading research. We're trying to determine what we can do to help. I know he thinks he's overly slow, but the fact is, he's improving faster than we can get the proper materials to assist him. I am a great many things, Nate, but I have never had to deal with a patient progressing through this severe of a traumatic brain injury before. And certainly not as quickly as he is.
But he can't talk.
And most other people that had suffered that kind of damage would be dead. Those that weren't would still be in the emergency department on watch to see if they were strong enough to attempt surgery. I've reached out for help. We need someone far better prepared and knowledgeable about this kind of injury. And until we have better guidelines on how to help him, all we can do is try to keep him calm and not let him push too hard.
But-
His mutation will repair him. Of this, we know for certain. It's simply a matter of time.
And while we wait, he gets to go crazy trapped in his mind with no way to communicate or move his body right.
Hank sighed. As I said. We'll wait for Doctor Strange to come and evaluate him. He'll be far more capable of telling us how we can help.
Nate half glared at Hank because very little of that was useful or helpful right then. And he knew, by brushing James' mind, his brother wouldn't be asleep for long. Frustrated depression and cat naps were only going to let him hide for so long, and he knew James wouldn't be able to just … wait and hope it all fixed itself. So, he took out his phone and made his way over to sit with James and wait for him to wake up so he could try to help James at least move better. Even if that meant cheating with TK to help him balance enough to get upstairs and outside.
It was almost dinner time when Scott went looking for Nate, only to find him looking pensive outside near the boathouse. He was sitting in an adirondack chair next to his brother, who was asleep in a matching chair, entirely passed out. It didn't miss Scott's notice that he wasn't curled up like he normally would have been, either.
How's he doing? Scott asked Nate, unwilling to speak up in case he woke James.
Instead of answering, Nate just gave his father a look and shook his head, letting the silence hang between them for a long moment.
Nate?
He was going completely crazy in the lab and had no idea why. So I helped him try to walk up here. That … didn't go well. His balance is non-existent. He focuses so hard on what he's trying to do, then he can't make it happen anyhow. Two minutes out here in the fresh air and he passed out cold and hasn't moved a muscle more than to breathe. He doesn't remember why he hates being in the lab, but he knows he does. He can't remember much of anything past waking up and he's going crazy for it. On top of that, his coordination is non-existent and that's frustrating him to the point that I can't repeat what he's screaming at himself in his head … because he can't coordinate himself enough to speak and he knows he never had trouble with words.
Scott looked toward James and let out a careful, controlled sigh. This was a good call. Getting him out here.
He was growling, Dad. A lot. And snarling when he couldn't put the word to things. So … that's happening.
Scott nodded softly. His parents had adamantium to protect them from exactly this and they still had moments like this. Bad enough hits, their brains bounced around in adamantium cages, that kind of thing. And… no one could get close to them when it happened. I guess it didn't occur to any of us what they were dealing with.
Well no. If they did what he's doing, they were probably pushing everyone away.
Again, Scott found himself drifting to silence, thinking of how often Logan and K had snarled at him when he tried to talk to them after missions that had been rougher than normal. Yeah. Probably.
He's so angry, Nate told him. I don't think he can pull it back yet.
We'll just have to be there to keep that anger from turning inward, Scott said. That's the only place he can direct it right now.
Yeah, he's already cursing himself, so …
Logan and K used to call me curse words I didn't know existed. I guess we'll call that the next benchmark, Scott said, almost but not quite smirking.
He doesn't usually curse that much, Dad.
Yeah, well, you've heard me when you kids are in trouble…
Ah. Yeah. that's … like not even a warm up. He dove straight into f-bombs.
Scott raised both eyebrows. Huh. Not sure who to blame, then.
He can't think of the right words for what he wants half the time, but the swearing? Sailor level.
Scott pressed his lips together. I wish we could fix it for him. This has always been the hardest part of loving someone with a healing power; you can't do anything to help them when they get hurt and you're stuck just … watching their bodies pull them back together.
Yeah, well … I don't trust him not to pull himself into the lake with how frustrated he is, so.
So we'll do the same thing you did for me after Magneto. We'll get a rotation to keep him safe from himself.
Baby alarm? Nate teased.
Scott smirked at last. Something like that.
Nate took a moment to reach out to check on James again before he reported back to Scott. He's out. Like. really, really out.
Good. Hopefully, his mind and body run with that. He'll need much more rest before this is over. Scott got to his feet and tipped his head toward Nate. "Do you want the first shift? I was going to go talk to Rachel and Ororo about a rotation anyhow…"
"Either way," Nate said. "I'm just going to hang out if you want to do that first. I'm sure I can talk Kate into grabbing a bite with me if I ask nicely."
"I'm very sure," Scott agreed. "Alright. I'll be back to take over for you."
Kate had just gotten the run-down from Ororo on what the story was with James and with the rotation of people who would be looking after him, so she knew Nate would be on his way up from the boathouse. She'd only just gotten back from talking with the new kids - and advocating hard for Steve to let them join up, even if Kamala, the youngest, was a few months shy of sixteen.
But her good mood from hanging out with the enthusiastic new heroes completely evaporated when she saw Nate's expression, and she ran to close the distance between them so that he wasn't even halfway across the lawn before she skidded into him and hugged him.
"Hi, gorgeous," Nate half-whispered as he picked her up in a bear hug.
"Hey, handsome," Kate said, holding on tighter. "I heard the story, and I'm already on Ororo's schedule. How are you holding up?"
"Well, I'm okay. He's … very angry."
"And you've been in his head this whole time," Kate said, wincing lightly.
"No? I mean, when he was awake I had to - he's not really able to speak right."
"Oh, that's actually really good - I mean, that he's sleeping, not the -" Kate waved her hand.
"Yeah, well, I think we'll have to put a warning label on him when he can speak right because … wow. The mouth."
Kate raised both eyebrows and then, to Nate's surprise, giggled. "On a scale of your dad to Cap when Hydra drugged him…"
"Absolutely Captain America," Nate said with no hesitation.
"Now I get to tease him about being a bad influence, and I love this for me," Kate said delightedly.
"Okay, but … Captain America with a growl about 90% of the time. Snarls go with f-bombs." Nate held up one hand. "And … whatever you do, don't tell him he'll be okay or anything close to that. Instantly pissed off."
"Which is a problem, since your family says 'I'm fine' one hundred percent of the time…"
"No, that's okay. It's when someone says it to him. To say it for yourself - that's acceptable. To tell him that he will be fine … nope. Don't do it. I think Uncle Blue is marked for death right now." Nate leaned forward to steal a quick kiss. "Good news though … he's not coordinated enough to stand up or to hold a pen, so I"m pretty sure claws as a threat are a ways out."
"Well, that's good news when he's still that mad," Kate agreed. She took a deep breath and let it out. "But… you've been spending all your time taking care of your big brother, so I officially declare it's time for me to take care of you, okay?"
"Yes. Let's go. Don't know what you want to do or where you want to do it, but let's go." There was no hesitation and he stepped on the last few words she spoke.
Kate let her shoulders drop before she stole a much longer, less polite kiss. She could see how hard this was for him, because his big brother was his hero. And he was going to tear himself apart if it meant he could help James, so her job, as she saw it, was to keep him together. "I was thinking we'd start with dinner, obviously."
"Oh, obviously," Nate agreed with a grin.
"Remember that wing place Jan always used to order from? They have a whole new selection and I feel like this is perfect comfort food and burn-your-nose-out adventure at the same time," she teased.
"Perfect. And probably ice cream after," Nate said. "To salvage dying tastebuds."
"Precisely," Kate said, grinning up at him. "And then we'll curl up and watch mindless shows until we fall asleep. Or decide to do something else. Depends on if you crash as hard as I suspect you will." She reached up to brush his hair out of his face.
"I will not," Nate said, sounding insulted, though it was all for show.
"Sure, sure. We'll test that theory," Kate said, grabbing his hand to lead him toward her car. She was sure she was right, though. Just the past few days had been so stressful, and he hadn't really slept. She'd know; she'd been by his side the whole time. The stress was affecting everyone. Even the newbies were freaked out. Kate wasn't sleeping well either; she was an emotional wreck, too. And she was so stressed out she'd skipped right through her period - again - which really only happened when the pressure was bad. She'd done the same when Scott had nearly died when he fought Magneto and after all the Hydra crap.
But she wasn't going to tell Nate that she was worried about James or that she'd cried about it or anything like that. And she didn't have the emotional bandwidth to double check that she wasn't more than late, because everything was already too overwhelming; they didn't need anything else on their plates. Besides, she skipped all the time from stress. No biggie, right?
She'd talk about all of that with him later, when James was better. Right now, he needed her.