Chapter Five:
Mustang slept like the dead. Fullmetal could have destroyed the building they were in and he was pretty sure he wouldn't have stirred. However, just because he slept like the dead, that didn't mean that he woke feeling completely rested. Apparently, he decided as he woke to the sound of someone banging on their door, dimensional travel takes a lot out of you.
Groaning, he rolled over and pulled the covers off of himself. He stood up and padded across the floor to the door just so he could make the infernal banging stop. He stole a quick glance at Edward and saw that the younger alchemist was still dead to the world. Clearly, he was invulnerable to loud noises when he slept. Mustang envied him that ability. Rubbing his face with one hand and covering a yawn, he opened the door to reveal Dr. Reid.
"Good morning, Colonel Mustang. Hotch sent me down to see if you and Major Elric were ready to accompany us down to the station so that we can continue working on the lead you two provided us yesterday." He sounded way too cheery for the morning, in Mustang's opinion and actually reminded him more than a little of Alphonse – especially now that Al was back in his real, human body.
"Alright, just let me get ready and wake Fullmetal up. You're welcome to come in and wait, if you'd like. Also, you can just call me Mustang or Roy. If we're going to be working together, there's no need to be so formal." Leaving the door open for the agent to enter if he chose, he entered the bathroom and gathered up the rest of his now-dry uniform. Putting on his dress shirt, he opted to leave the rest of his uniform in the room, since he wasn't in Central and there was no one in this dimension that he needed to impress. Grabbing his shoes and socks, he moved towards Edward's bed to wake him. However, as he looked at the teen's peaceful expression, he paused and reconsidered his options.
He knew from his recent conversation with Alphonse that Edward hadn't been getting much sleep in the past six weeks and was basically subsiding on coffee and bad hospital food, save for the rare occasions when Alphonse was able to convince him to leave the hospital and sleep over at the Hughes' house for a few nights. As long as Edward remained off active duty (granted to him by Mustang and now-Fuhrer Grumman) so that he could tend to his brother), Mustang didn't really have any direct control over the teen's health since it didn't affect his ability to perform his duties.
But now, given the opportunity to let his youngest subordinate catch up on his much needed sleep, he found he couldn't simply pass that opportunity up. After all, he had a reputation for taking care of his subordinates.
Looking back at Reid, who was standing awkwardly next to the bathroom door, he asked "Is it necessary for Fullmetal to come in with us? If possible, I'd prefer to let him sleep for a while longer. From what his brother has told me, Fullmetal's been getting little to no sleep for the last couple of months." He quirked a slight smile. "Also, he's less likely to blow things up if he wakes up on his own terms."
Reid blanched a little at that. He couldn't tell if the Colonel was kidding or not. "Uh, I'm not sure. I'd have to go ask Hotch or Rossi. I'll be back in a few minutes." He turned and hurried out the door, leaving Mustang to finish getting ready. Mustang had just finished lacing up his final boot when Reid came back.
"Hotch said it was fine, but he wants me and JJ to stay here with him. That way when he wakes up, we can take him to the station with us."
Mustang raised an eyebrow. "Why two of you? Surely one would be sufficient?" He asked the question, although he suspected that the answer the agent would give wouldn't be the entire reasoning behind his superior's decision.
"It's because our cars only seat five. There are eight of us with the two of you included."
Mustang grunted in response. He checked on Edward one last time before letting Reid lead him to where the others were waiting in the hotel lobby. "So how come Agent Hotchner picked you and Agent Jareau to stay here?"
Reid's expression turned thoughtful. "I'm not one hundred percent certain, but probably because we seemed to get along with Major Elric the best yesterday. I mean," his tone changed slightly and became more nervous, as if he was afraid of offending Mustang, "I know we aren't friends or anything like that, but I'm really interested in learning more about where you come from. The two of you seem really interesting, and you probably don't trust us very much, but –"
Mustang cut him off, not having any tolerance for nervous babble. "Dr. Reid, you seem very trustworthy, and based on what I saw, Fullmetal does seem very responsive to you, Agent Jareau and Agent Prentiss. If he didn't he wouldn't have talked with you as long or as openly as he did yesterday. And trust me when I say that Fullmetal getting along with anyone is extremely rare. I've known him since he was eleven, and we've only really started getting along in the last couple of months. Now, if you want to maintain Fullmetal's responsiveness, let me give you some advice."
Reid nodded. "Okay."
"Don't ask him about the night he lost his limbs. Don't ask him about his parents, and especially about his father. Don't call him short. Try to avoid offering him milk. Don't ask him about his reasons for joining the military. And don't ask him why he hasn't been sleeping recently. Okay?" Reid nodded again and they stopped as they reached the others waiting in the lobby. Morgan was just ending a call on his phone. Giving Reid and Mustang a brief, cautious smile, he turned back to Hotch.
"She's catching the next flight out. She should land just after lunch, hopefully."
Seeing Mustang's questioning look, Hotch elaborated. "Our technical analyst, Penelope Garcia, will be joining us later today. I need her on site to run through the city's security cameras and assist the camera surveillance team with finding your missing alchemist."
Although Mustang wasn't one hundred percent certain what a technical analyst was, he knew he'd find out soon enough, so he didn't both asking for more details. He waited while Agent Hotchner finished issuing instructions to his team.
"Reid, JJ, I want the two of you to stay here and wait for Major Elric to wake up. Bring him straight to the police station unless I call to say otherwise." The agents nodded and turned back in the direction of the hotel rooms to wait for Edward as Hotch motioned for the rest of them to follow him to the car. As they pulled out of the hotel parking lot, Mustang glanced back at the building and hoped that Edward didn't blow the building up when he awoke to find Agent Jareau and Dr. Reid in his room.
Edward grumbled as he slowly woke. The bed didn't feel familiar and the walls weren't the right colour to be his room at the Hughes' apartment. He didn't really think too much about it since he was used to waking up in unfamiliar places until he heard two faintly familiar voices coming from one corner of the room. Rolling over onto his right side, he stretched hugely underneath the covers.
A warm hand landed on his left shoulder. "Edward?" The voice was warm and gentle, but the sound and touch were so unexpected that he reacted without thinking about it. Startled, and not fully awake, five full seconds passed before he found himself standing beside the bed, his automail blade pointed straight at Agent Jareau's throat.
Reid was on his feet, his hand hovering over his gun, eyes darting back and forth between his fellow agent and Edward. JJ, however, simply stood with her hands raised in a placating and submissive gesture.
It took another three seconds for Edward to remember everything that had happened the previous day. His golden eyes widened in shock as he realised that he'd almost hurt someone. Quickly leaping back so that the bed was between him and the agents, he clapped his hands and transmuted his automail back to normal before he hung his head and fixed his eyes on the floor, shame filling his eyes.
"Agent Jareau, I am so, so sorry. I swear, I didn't mean it," he apologised profusely, clutching his automail like he expected it to turn back into a blade again. He couldn't believe he'd been so careless. In all his military service, the only person he'd ever actually killed was Father, and in all honesty, he didn't consider Father to be human. But this time he'd been a hairsbreadth away from hurting a person.
Reid and JJ had both relaxed the moment Edward had transmuted his arm back to normal. They could both see that Edward hadn't meant it – it was clearly on display in his eyes and body language as soon as he realised who they were. But both of them were also concerned for the teen as well. What exactly had happened in his life to this point for that to be his automatic reaction to waking up somewhere familiar? JJ took a cautious step forward, not wanting to spook the teen further. "It's okay, Edward. It was my fault. I should've realised that you were going to be a bit disoriented when you woke up." JJ smiled sincerely at him when he looked up, the shame in his eyes turning to shock at her reaction.
"No, it wasn't your fault. It's just, the last few times I've woken up somewhere unfamiliar with no one I know near me, it didn't end well. You couldn't have known that, but that means I should have realised a lot sooner who you were. I'm really sorry."
He almost jumped out of his skin when JJ rounded the bed and placed both of her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Edward, it's not your fault. I'm not hurt. I promise that I don't blame you." Edward studied her for a few seconds before offering a tentative smile when he didn't see any sign of a lie in her voice or face. "Now, how about you go and get ready so that we can meet the others at the station?" Edward nodded and she removed her hands so that he could head into the bathroom.
JJ walked back over to Reid and took a seat at the table, looking a little shaken, as they heard the shower running. Reid sat down in the other chair, resuming the placed they'd been in before Ed woke up. They looked at each other and both of them let out a breath they felt like they'd been holding for hours.
"That was intense," JJ stated.
Reid raised a brow at her. "Intense? Yeah, that's putting it mildly. Poor kid. He must've been through something awful for that to be his reaction to someone waking him. You handled that really well. I don't know what I would've done."
"You wouldn't have been in that situation. You did tell me not to wake him like that," JJ reminded him.
They heard the water stop running and heard a heavy thunk as Edward climbed out of the shower. Two minutes later, Edward came out wearing his boxers, with his hair down and a towel slung over his shoulders. He took a seat on his bed and stretched his automail leg out in front of him before he began thoroughly drying it off, making sure to get the edge of the towel into all the grooves and seams between the plates.
The two agents stared at the fully displayed automail. Nearly three quarters of Edward's left leg – from the middle of his thigh down to his foot - was gone, replaced by shiny steel that glistened with moisture from the shower. Scars circled his entire thigh at the point where flesh met metal. Worse by far, however, was the sight of the teen's right arm. His entire arm had been replaced, and a huge metal plate also covered half of his chest, having been bolted into place. More scars littered his torso, including a large, ugly one on his left side just a few inches to the left of his stomach and abdomen. The sight of such obvious hardship displayed on such a young person horrified both of them and at first they didn't hear Edward's voice as he addressed them.
Edward was frowning slightly when they finally blinked and tore their gazes away from the sight of his scars. "Did you say something, Edward?" JJ managed.
"Yeah, I asked if either of you have a comb I could borrow?"
JJ nodded and disappeared to grab it, and in the meantime Edward quickly pulled his pants, shirt, and jackets back on, ignoring Reid's stare. By the time JJ returned with a brush, he was pulling his white gloves back on over his hands. He took the brush with thanks and began combing out his long hair. With practiced ease, he braided the golden tresses and tied off the end of the braid. With another thank you, he handed her back her comb, shoved his feet into his boots, and stood, ready to leave. "Oh yeah, do either of you have anything I could use to draw on myself with? Something that would last for a while?"
A little surprised by the odd question, and still shaken by the events of the morning and the sight of Edward's automail on full display, both agents shook their heads.
"We could ask the hotel receptionist for a permanent marker. If we can't get one there, the police station should definitely have one," Reid suggested.
"Okay. Can we stop by the receptionist's desk before we leave then?" Ed asked.
"Sure, shouldn't be a problem. I'll call Hotch to let him know we're on our way while you ask," JJ agreed, leading both of them out the door and towards the lobby. Once there, Reid led Edward to the receptionist's desk and JJ got on her cell to call Hotch. She hung up just as Edward and Reid reached her, Edward holding a black marker in his left hand.
"So I didn't ask, but what did you want that for anyway?" Reid asked as they headed out to the car.
Edward smiled in satisfaction. "I figured out an array while I was in the shower. It should double the amount of alchemic energy we regain while we're here. That way, we'd last longer in a fight and be able to help you more." JJ and Reid looked at him in shock as he climbed into the backseat.
"You figured out an array that could do something like that while you were in the shower?" Reid asked, a little disbelievingly while he and JJ slid into the front seat of the SUV.
Edward laughed. "Yup. Alchemic prodigy and genius, remember?" He pulled his door closed. "Are we heading to the station to meet the others now?"
"Actually, Hotch asked us to pick up the last member of our team," JJ said. "Her name is Garcia, and her flight should be landing shortly. Do you want to come with us, or would you prefer to go to the police station, Edward? I can drop you and Reid off at the station before I go to pick her up."
"What do you mean by 'flight'? She flew here? How?" Edward was legitimately confused. As far as he knew, humans couldn't fly, not even with alchemy. JJ took his question to mean that he was interested in coming with them and headed for the airport.
"You don't have airplanes where you come from?" Reid asked.
"What are airplanes?"
With a smile, Reid launched into a full explanation about what planes were and how they worked. It lasted for most of the short trip to LaGuardia International Airport. Edward was following and asking intelligent questions whenever Reid paused for breath, but the expression on his face indicated that he didn't believe a word Reid was saying.
"There's no way that that's real," Edward declared, crossing his arms over his chest as Reid finished his lecture. "It would be too heavy to fly."
JJ smiled as she pulled into the short-term parking lot and slid into the first empty spot that she saw. "Take a look out the window, Edward. There's one coming in for a landing behind us. It'll come right overhead any second."
Edward popped the door open and scrambled out to take a look, with the two agents moving at a more sedate pace. Turning to look behind the SUV, he gaped to see the huge jet descending from the sky. It zoomed overhead, and despite the fact that it was still hundreds of feet in the air, he could hear the roar of the engines. He watched in awe as it passed over their head, descending more each moment until it disappeared behind the building in front of them. "They're real!"
JJ and Reid shared a smile before JJ caught Edward's attention. "Come on. We need to go and wait for Garcia's flight to land, and we can probably grab some lunch too. Her flight should be landing in a few minutes."
Together the three of them entered the building, Ed's eyes looking every which way as he caught sight of all the signs pointing travelers to the terminals where they would board their planes. To the two agents, the teenager looked like a kid seeing a theme park for the first time or experiencing his first Christmas. JJ checked the arrivals board and discovered that Garcia's plane was due to land in another fifteen minutes.
Reid went over to one of the vendors and came back with three cups of coffee and three burritos, which Edward devoured with nearly as much enjoyment as he was showing in looking around the airport. Once the last scrap of food was gone, the alchemist continued to look around, before he met JJ's gaze. "Is there any way that we can get a closer look at one of the planes?"
JJ shook her head regretfully. "I'm sorry Edward. Airports have very heavy security checks these days, and no one is allowed past the security checkpoint unless you have a confirmed boarding pass or a warrant for a passenger's detainment. Even I couldn't talk anyone into letting us past the checkpoints."
Disappointment crossed the teen's face, but it was replaced with a smile after another moment. "That's okay, Agent Jareau. I understand. It's similar to trying to get into Central Command these days without being a member of the military or having a military escort."
"Exactly."
Reid checked his watch. "Garcia should be landing any minute now."
"What's she like?" Edward asked. JJ and Reid exchanged a look before JJ turned back to Edward.
"Well, she's one of a kind, but I think you two will get along," the agent replied, trying to come up with the best way to sum up Garcia.
Edward nodded and entertained himself by watching the passengers coming and going. Several met family members with hugs and kisses, while others moved briskly through the lobby pulling or carrying suitcases. As an experienced traveler himself, Edward was less curious by the way they acted as he was by watching where they went and how they found their way to where they were going. The security checkpoint held his attention for quite some time.
He watched as people formed lines and emptied their smaller bags and purses into plastic tubs which they placed into a large machine, while they themselves removed their shoes, belts, and jewelry and stepped through a different large machine under the watchful eye of uniformed officers. He indicated the machines to Reid. "What is that?"
"The machine the bags are going through is a scanner – special cameras are able to see what's inside the bags and look for dangerous objects like guns, knives, or explosives. The machine the people are standing in is a body scanner – it scans the body and looks for concealed weapons that people might have underneath their clothing."
"Huh." Edward thought that over. "It's probably a good idea that we can't go past. I don't know how I'd be able to get through, considering half of me is made of metal."
"They make allowances for people with implants or prosthetics," Reid admitted. "But you'd definitely set off the alarm even without your ability to alter the shape of your arm."
Just then, a colourful blonde woman came down the hallway from the direction that other arriving passengers had been travelling. She spotted the three of them almost immediately and greeted JJ and Reid warmly and cheerfully before offering her right hand to him.
"Hi! I'm Penelope Garcia, but you can just call me Garcia."
"Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Feel free to call me Ed or Edward," he responded automatically as he shook her hand.
She gasped when he took her hand and that was when he realised that he'd used his automail arm out of habit. Snatching his hand back, he shoved it in his coat pocket quicker than they could blink. Garcia's natural inquisitiveness was about to ask for an explanation when JJ cut her off.
"I'm sure Edward will be more than willing to answer questions when we're somewhere a bit more private, but we'd better get going or Hotch will wonder where we are."
"Sure thing JJ. Anyway, it's really nice to meet you Ed. Morgan told me about you and your boss Colonel Mustang. He told me that you can use something called alchemy?"
Edward hummed an acknowledgment. "Yeah, but Mustang's not my boss. That would imply that I actually listen to him. And yes, we use alchemy, but I'm not going to explain it here. Too many people around. What do you do in the FBI? I'm guessing that you're not a field agent since you didn't arrive here with the rest of the team."
Garcia shot him a wide smile. "Nice observation skills. I'm a technical analyst. Basically I do background checks on suspects, figure out details about our victims' lives and whereabouts, and try to find hidden connections between the victims. I also provide witty humour when the team calls me. I don't accompany them on cases unless I'm needed on site, like this time when Hotch needs me to help use the city's security cameras. They're on a closed circuit, so I can't access them from my office back in Quantico."
"That sounds really cool. You're like a combination of our investigative branch and Master Sergeant Fuery all rolled into one," Edward said, impressed. Garcia would have blushed at the compliment if she knew what he was talking about. Edward continued to ask more questions about her job and how it differed from that of the other members of the team, or for more details about the things she said that he didn't understand.
By the time they got in the car, Ed's head was spinning with the new information he'd gathered. Garcia turned to Ed as soon as JJ pulled out onto the road.
"Now it's my turn to ask questions. First up, what's with your hand? It felt really cold and stiff and un-hand-like."
Finding her blunt approach a little refreshing, he pulled off his glove to reveal his automail and wiggled his fingers. "I lost my entire right arm and three-quarters of my left leg due to a stupid alchemic mistake I made when I was eleven. This is automail. It's a metal prosthetic that's attached to my nerves, which means that it works like a normal limb, except that I can't feel anything."
"Wow, that's unbelievable! Did you use alchemy to make it?"
Edward shook his head as he slid his glove back on with practiced ease. "No, my mechanic back home made them. She and her grandma run an automail shop. Granny Pinako does the surgeries with Winry's help and Winry designs and builds the automail limbs with Granny's help. They're the best in the country. Automail surgery and attachment is too delicate and painful to be done with alchemy. There are just too many risks to do it that way."
Garcia nodded in understanding. "Okay, next question. What is alchemy?"
Ed flashed a grin. "Simplest explanation? Alchemy is the art of equivalent exchange. Alchemists are able to take one thing and transmute it into something of equivalent value. For example, I can transmute water into ice, but not into wood. I can only use the materials I have, but I'm able to break them down to their base elements. As long as the resulting product is made from the same base element and has something of the same nature as the original object, I can change it. But I'm also limited by the quantity of what I have available. I couldn't change a glass of water into a six meter ice sculpture. Does that make sense?"
Garcia thought about it for a second. "Yeah, I think so. Could you show me?"
Edward nodded. "I would, but the transmutic light can be blinding and I don't want to get into an accident. Can I show you once we get back to the station?"
"Sure! Can all alchemists change anything they want?"
Edward shrugged. "It depends. Most have a specialty. In theory, and if they're willing to put in the effort to learn and practice the various arrays that are needed, then yes. I'm considered a genius and a prodigy when it comes to alchemy, so I can do a lot more than Mustang can without having to think about it or research it. But on the other hand, alchemists who have specialties are usually really good with their chosen field."
Garcia nodded. "So you don't have a particular specialty then, but what about Colonel Mustang?"
"Mustang's specialty is fire alchemy. He's the only person in Amestris who can use fire alchemy, but since he's spent most of his life studying one ability, he isn't that good at others. There are other alchemists who specialise in air alchemy or plant alchemy, or creating crystals, or fixing houses and household items. There are a lot of different ways to use alchemy, but most alchemists are like Mustang. My brother and I are special. We practiced alchemy without anyone to teach us from the time we could read until our mother passed away and we found our Teacher. She taught us how to fight and helped refine and broaden our alchemic knowledge. Al's always beaten me in a fight, but I'm better at alchemy, so it's a fair trade." Edward laughed a little, ignoring the brief pang of worry that went through him at the reminder that he wasn't with his brother and wondering if Al was going out of his mind yet.
"Wow, so alchemists are like the X-Men? That is so awesome!" Garcia grinned at Edward, but his blank look in response must've told her that he had no clue what she was talking about. "You don't know who the X-Men are, do you?"
Edward shook his head, causing her to grin like a Cheshire cat, which, if asked, Edward would swear up and down that it definitely did not make him nervous. Nope, not one single bit.
"Well, my young grasshopper. Let me enrich you in one of the most important parts of our culture. Comic book characters."
A/N- So here's chapter 5 revised! You'll notice a fair amount of change, especially the airport scene. I'm Australian and I've never been to America so I have no idea what your airports are like, other than them being really tight with security, so when I wrote that scene, I was basing them off of our airports. The lovely PhoenixQueen fixed the scene up so it better reflected American airports. Make sure you guys check out Chap 6 after you've read this one because I'm updating it right now. Also, let me know what you think to this chapter!