AN: Thanks for the reviews; I'm working as hard as I can to get a new ISP which is responsible for my delays in updating and responding to reviewers. It has been raining for about five days here and I can't get on my wireless internet when it rains. I'm working on fixing the situation. I also have been very sick as of late, so I'm not for sure how good this chapter is. Please be sure to let me know what you think of it and I'll try to get the next one out much sooner. Unfortunately that all depends on my health, take it easy, band 20.
Ed closed his eyes as he remained in the infirmary of the Xavier Institute, he was still trying to make sense of everything that he had been shown. Visions of new technology like fancy little devices with what appeared to be glass screens had been shown to him. He shook his head as he tried to make sense of the mess in his head before someone interrupted him in what appeared to be his only moment of peace.
'This world is completely different; it has technology that I well never would have thought of until now. Winry would love this, granted she would be trying to take everything here apart in an attempt to figure how things work. I find it hard to believe everything that I was shown, but I wonder why the gate sent me here.' Ed thought as he stared up at the ceiling attempting to figure things out.
Ed started to count the ceiling tiles when the door hissed open, the young man jumping a little at the door opening by pressing a button. His eyes glanced over noticing three individuals, two he recognized as the Professor and Dr. McCoy. The third was a young man carrying what appeared to be pieces of automail; the pieces were silver colored and a lot like the old pieces he used except they were a lot more streamlined and fancier in Ed's opinion.
"Good morning Professor, Dr. McCoy, so is that automail? I thought that you said automail didn't exist here." Ed stated slightly aggravated about being mislead regarding the situation.
"Hi my name is Forge, and what they said was the truth at the time," Forge replied calmly as he prepared the two to prosthetic limbs, "I designed these especially for you shortly after the Professor contacted me. It may require a few final adjustments though; I want to make sure that I got the lengths correct before Dr. McCoy begins the process of attaching them to you."
"Whatever, just hurry I want to get out of this damn bed already. You have no idea how long it feels since I've been able to get up and walk around." Ed replied as the three visitors merely smiled in response.
"Very well I'll begin preparing for the operation," Dr. McCoy started as Ed looked at him curiously; "you see we are going to use a new technique and technology to attach your new limbs. We will surgically attach a connecting device to your body and then insert your prosthetics."
"Sounds like the same thing to me, well get to work I'm sure it will hurt like a bit…" Ed started as the Professor shook his head no in response.
"First we have to make sure they are the right length and then make sure you get anesthesia so you don't feel anything while we attach the parts." Professor Xavier commented as Ed looked at him with a confused look on his face.
"Okay, but what's anesthesia?" Ed asked as Dr. McCoy let out a light laugh in response to the question.
"Anesthesia will allow us to operate on you without you feeling any pain or discomfort. Don't tell me that they attached this automail to you without giving you some, the pain would have to be well intense to say the least." Dr. McCoy answered as Ed merely nodded in response.
Ed bowed his head before responding, "I got something to dull the pain but nothing more was given to me. It was worth it, now would you please get started I want to walk and be able to use both hands soon."
"Very well, we'll get started as soon as you are under." Professor Xavier stated as Ed just leaned back in the bed closing his eyes as Dr. McCoy wheeled over a cart.
The cart held the aesthesia canisters as an air mask was slid over Ed's face. Dr. McCoy turned on the aesthesia watching as Ed went straight to sleep a few moments later. Professor Xavier watched as Forge handed over the new limbs. They were streamlined and metallic, a lot smoother and naturally more advanced than what were found in Ed's home. They continued the preparations for the surgery while Ed drifted off in sleep.
"This shouldn't be that hard," Dr. McCoy stated as he wheeled over a cart full of medical tools, "That being said however, I am concerned that this treatment might have unforeseen difficulties. After all I've never done anything quite like this before Charles."
"I know Hank, but this is the only chance that he really has for a normal life. He needs these limbs and I'm certain that you will try your best to get this done. In the meantime while Hank prepares for the surgery Forge could you show me everything that Ed will need to maintain his limbs?" Professor Xavier replied as Forge nodded, the two leaving the polished infirmary for a small storage room.
"Of course, it won't be that hard for him to take care of the arm and leg. Both limbs require some oil to keep them moving properly and I made sure that they both move as life like as possible. Besides the oil, there isn't anything else that he will need for maintaining my creations." Forge answered as the door hissed open revealing a small box with spare parts, oil, and finally two replacement limbs.
"I see you went ahead and made some back up replacements in case something happened. I really appreciate that Forge, Ed is one of the more unique individuals that have ever appeared at the Xavier Institute." Professor Xavier started as Forge looked around the small storage room, "We better get back in case Hank needs our helps with Ed's surgery. We have never done anything like this before, and who knows what will happen once we get started."
Both nodded before returning to the infirmary, almost all of the preparations done for the surgery. Walking over to a sink all three men washed their hands while Ed remained completely asleep due to the anesthesia. Taking a deep breath, the three took one last moment before beginning a stressful operation.
Upstairs in the institute Scott and Jean were relaxing with some soft music in the living room. The two had taken a very comfortable position on the couch with Jean using Scott's chest as a pillow. Most of the institute's occupants had gone out for the night and the two had decided to take the time for them while everyone else was gone. Kitty and most of the girls had gone to the mall, while the guys just scattered to the wind.
"Its so peaceful tonight," Jean began as Scott nodded in agreement, "I can't remember the last time the institute was this quiet."
Scott smiled softly before commenting, "I agree with you, it's nice to just have some time for us. I have to admit though I'm worried about the new guy that we picked up though."
"Yeah I can tell you are worried about him. I'm sure it isn't anything to worry about though, the Professor has been spending a lot of time talking with him after all." Jean spoke attempting to put Scott more at ease with the situation.
"Some how I just don't think that is enough," Scott replied as he looked at Jean, "Jean, you didn't happen to get a peak inside of Ed's head while we were transporting him back or talking with him. I know you don't mean to look but you occasionally pick up on things like that."
"That's the thing; I didn't get a very good look inside of his head. On the surface of his mind though he was very confused about the situation and what was going on. It seemed the date shocked him the most about the situation." Jean replied as they heard voices coming from the garage area, which meant the shopping trip had ended.
"Well so much for peace and quiet," Scott started as Jean laughed in response, "Guess it couldn't last forever though. Now that I think about it things have been really quiet lately though, hope this isn't the start of something that might cause us problems."
Jean stopped laughing before commenting, "You worry too much, I'm sure everything is fine. To be honest though, I just don't want to think about anything bad happening again. Apocalypse and that whole situation was a nightmare, so I really don't want anything else to happen."
"I can't say I blame you about that. Wonder what…" Scott said before a puff of sulfur smoke appeared in the room as Kurt teleported himself in the room.
"Sorry my freund for interrupting, but this iz an emergency. I really need your help; I don't know what to do." Kurt pleaded as Scott motioned for Jean to get off of him, the young man turning off the music before speaking.
"Okay, let's go. Sorry Jean, I'll make it up to you later." Scott said a soft smile on his face as he grabbed Kurt's shoulder, the two disappearing from Kurt's teleportation.
Jean didn't even get a chance to say anything merely sending her approval to Scott through the link they shared since the two had disappeared before she could respond. She was kind of disappointed that Kurt had interrupted the two of them, but he had said it was an emergency. Sighing slightly she walked out of the living room, deciding it was time to take advantage of the peace to get in some light reading.
Kurt and Scott ended up in Kurt's room, the room hadn't changed much since Kurt's arrival. Scott watched in slight amusement as Kurt paced the floor very nervous about something that was bothering him. Walking over to his friend Scott grabbed his shoulders, stopping the fur covered mutant from pacing to much.
"Okay Kurt, what is going on? I've never seen you this well nervous about something since well you went to meet Amanda's parents years ago." Scott commented as Kurt's eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of that event.
"Yeah vell that iz kind of related to the problem I have now," Kurt began as his thoughts went to that event which he considered to be the worse possible thing that could happen. "My liebe has finally convinced her parents to give me another chance and vell they are coming here in three days."
"That's great Kurt, so what is the problem exactly? This is what you have been waiting for after all, we all know how important this is to you." Scott replied as Kurt freed himself from Scott's grip and started to pace once more.
Kurt stopped pacing for a moment before answering, "I know that my freund, the problem iz that well I just don't know what to do. I'm so glad this happened, but this izn't going to be easy and well I could use a little advice."
"It's not a problem Kurt; you just go over there and be yourself. If they get to know the real you then this wont be a problem." Scott reasoned as his best friend nodded in agreement.
"But what if…" Kurt replied as his friend interrupted him.
"No what if nothing is is going to happen. You don't have anything to hide any more, so it isn't really a problem. Just focus on being you and well I am very sure everything will go fine, besides this is natural for guys. Meeting the parents is something even I had to do, believe me it is never easy but you'll be fine." Scott stated as he remembered his own meeting with Jean's parents.
"Danke, but that is only part of the problem, they also vant to meet my parents." Kurt said as Scott rubbed his chin in response, that was a difficult situation.
This was a bad situation; Kurt's foster family was in Germany, and his biological mother well Mystique hadn't been seen since Apocalypse. The shape shifting woman had literally dropped off the face of the earth after that situation was dealt with. This was a clearly the real problem that Kurt was facing, since he really didn't have family close by and well his biological mother wasn't someone that could be easily found.
"Well this is definitely a problem, between the two of us this shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure we will think of something, I'll lend you a hand." Scott replied as the two sat down quickly both moving into deep thoughts about what to do about the situation.
Back down in the infirmary, Dr. Hank McCoy had just finished the last attachment on Ed's prosthetic limbs. The limbs had fit perfectly, and Ed had literally slept through the entire operation. Wiping some sweat off of his face, Hank took a deep breath as he took a seat exhausted from the operation. It hadn't taken nearly as long as he thought it would have, in fact the operation had only taken two hours compared to the three or four that he was expecting.
"Well Charles, I've finally finished the operation. I suppose all that is left is to make sure that Ed's new limbs are fully functional." Hank spoke as the Professor wheeled over to the young man, the silver colored limbs shining slightly in the dull light.
"Yes, well I'm certain everything went fine considering the operation was finished well in advance." Professor Xavier started as he looked over at Forge who was on hand for technical support, "If you would like Forge you are more than welcome to stay for a little while. I would personally like to have you around in case something happens with Ed's limbs and we need your help to fix them."
"That's just fine with me; I don't really have anything else to do. College is so boring when you are genius, maybe there is something else I can help you out with while I am here. For now though, I'm thinking of getting something to eat." Forge replied as a murmur from Ed caused all three to look at the young man on the infirmary bed.
Ed's mouth moved no sound escaping until a few words came out, "Al, this is…what…we have…recreate your body."
"Whoa, no offense but you sure that anesthesia doesn't cause a few delusions. Nothing he said really made any sense." Forge replied as Professor Xavier looked over at Ed in response.
"That is nothing to worry about for the moment Forge, Hank could you please leave some clothes out for Ed in case he wakes up sooner than expected. I'm certain that our young friend is going to be very anxious to get out of that bed and move around for once." Professor Xavier spoke as Hank walked over to a drawer pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.
"Of course Charles, but I will be in here supervising his recovery until he wakes up. It would after all be poor manners on our part to leave our guest alone in a place that he is unfamiliar with outside of this room naturally." Hank spoke as the Professor and Forge moved to leave the room.
"Professor, have you ever considered letting me make you a wheelchair that would be much more mobile than the one you have now. I'm certain the increased mobility would come in handy for you." Forge stated as the two disappeared from the room leaving Hank behind to watch the young man.
Hank took a deep breath before speaking to Ed, "Well my young new friend, I have completed the operation. All that is left is for you to wake up; I must admit that you are a most curious individual. I can't wait to have a detailed conversation with you about chimeras and why you are acting the way you are."
Two and a half hours passed very slowly for Hank, but for Ed the time did not pass as slowly. The young blond haired man was reliving some memories he had with Al and some other precious individuals. His first meeting with Mustang, the time that Al and him were left on the island by their teacher to learn alchemy, and the truth of what homunculi were replayed in his mind. The last memory was that moment when he used alchemy to what he hoped ended up restoring Al.
'I have no idea if that last ditch attempt worked, but some how I just know it did. I'll find my way back to my world that much I can promise you. Hopefully though, I can find my way back without much trouble. Then again I probably can't use the gate again; it probably wouldn't send me back without a huge cost in exchange. I'll have to find another way to get home.' Ed thought as he merely watched memories play, one moment in particular stood out when Ed learned Al had become the Philosopher's Stone.
'I remember that so well, that was the exact moment where we became sought after by not only the state but also the homunculi. I thought it would just be us, but then Mustang and the others came to help. Winry helped and so did many others, I hope that coup against the Fuhrer went well. Knowing that smug bastard Mustang though, he will be holding it over me as soon as I get back.' Ed thought as he remembered the meeting that had happened between them before he started to wake up.
Ed grunted as he sat up in the hospital bed and much to his surprise he could move his two new automail limbs. He looked directly down at his streamlined silver arm; it was an interesting mix of technology and metal. Unlike the usual piece of automail from his home, this was very much different which meant that Ed would have a lot to learn before he could use alchemy the way he would on his old arm.
"Ah man, this means I literally have to go back to school to learn all about the chemicals that make up a lot of stuff in this world. Guess it will be interesting to see once I learn them all though, bet I could do a lot of interesting things with alchemy." Ed spoke as he slid out of the hospital bed; everything had already been disconnected from his body in regards to the IV and the other infirmary equipment.
"Well hello there Ed," Dr. McCoy commented as he entered the room. "I left you some clothes on that chair there, and then I'll sort of give you the five cent tour of the institute. You definitely don't want to stay in this room any longer; most people find it not very pleasurable to end up in here."
"Thanks," Ed stated in discomfort, he was still trying to figure out exactly what Dr. McCoy was if he wasn't a chimera.
Ed grabbed the clothes walking rather slowly over to the bathroom to get used to his new leg. He took his time changing into the sweatpants and t-shirt; luckily he also found a pair of black boxers to wear along with them. Granted this would have to be temporary because he really didn't like these clothes as he changed finally stepped outside of the changing room.
"I don't really know what to think of you, but I guess you can't be all bad since you did help me out. You really do look like a chimera, so for me it's very confusing. By the way could you explain all of the chemicals and materials that make up my arm and leg in detail?" Ed asked as he bowed his head slightly in response to the man.
"Of course, but that will be a very long discussion. Your limbs are made out of a combination of things, but how about I write all of the ingredients and their chemical make up on a piece of paper for you. That should make things easier, but first let's go take this tour." Dr. McCoy replied as he motioned for Ed to follow him out of the infirmary.
Ed followed him outside his mind taking in how the lowest level of the institute looked before speaking, "This is an interesting place, I've never seen a place quite like this before. It's so sterile and well cold looking."
"Hmm, well now that I think about it, I guess the lowest level is that way. That's because we mostly use this level for training, storage, emergencies, and a few other situations. Now I should probably tell you that we have a lot of people around your age here, so like all new arrivals you'll be bombarded with questions." Dr. McCoy responded as Ed nodded slightly the two stopping in front of the elevator.
Ed was very much in surprise at the appearance of the elevator, elevators weren't very common at all in Central. In fact only the military had the technology to make an elevator and this surprised him. He and Al had been surprised about it at first, but it became rather common just like this one was. Still Ed couldn't help but wonder what else was in store for him at this place.
"So long as this place isn't run by the military, I don't have a problem with most questions." Ed retorted as he followed what he considered to be a chimera into an elevator.
The doors slid open to the second floor of the institute at the most unfortunate time. Ed watched as a rather angry looking girl of an ethnicity he had never seen before chased after a guy holding a book. The girl was clearly very irritated while the boy much to Ed's surprise was manipulating ice to cover the book. Bobby however wasn't paying attention where he was going and bumped into a very expensive vase causing it to fall off of the table it was standing on.
"Great job Bobby, now give that back to me right now." Jubilee barked as Bobby shrugged and handed over his prize so to speak, he literally had bigger problems when Dr. McCoy had witnessed the entire situation.
"Okay, I'm so sorry Dr. McCoy, I really didn't, well I wasn't watching were I was going." Bobby stated as he looked over at Ed realizing the new guy was on a tour and had seen the whole thing.
Ed merely ignored Bobby and walked over to the broken vase, gathering all of the pieces in one place. 'Now is a good a time as any to see how well my alchemy works, and fixing this thing should be a piece of cake. I've done things like this a thousand times, it isn't exactly rocket science.' Ed thought as he clapped his hands together a familiar blue hue appearing as he placed his hands down near the vase.
The vase slowly reassembled itself from Ed's point of view, the fact was he was using very little alchemy because of the fact he was worried how his new limbs would respond. The fact was the limbs responded quite well and easily allow him to use alchemy; in fact the right arm and hand did a lot better job of handling the alchemy than the ones that Winry had designed for him. He took a step back as Bobby, Jubilee and Dr. McCoy looked at what Ed had just done, it was shocking to say the least.
"Whoa now that is cool." Bobby yelled as the vase literally disappeared in the color and reappeared completely undamaged from the accident, even Dr. McCoy was left shocked at what Ed had just done.
'Ed just reintegrated an object that was completely destroyed and what's more he didn't even seem to have to make an effort to do it. Is this what he was referring to as alchemy, this is absolutely fascinating. I will have to ask them to describe his abilities in more detail; this could be an utterly fascinating discovery.' Dr. McCoy thought as he touched the vase without giving it a second thought to make sure it was whole.
"Dude is that your ability because I mean that is just so cool, not as cool as mind but still you just saved me." Bobby spoke as Ed walked around the vase to make sure everything turned out as it should have.
Ed merely shrugged his shoulders before responding, "I don't understand what the big deal is about, and alchemy is commonplace where I'm from. I mean all kinds of people can use alchemy, granted some are pretty stupid about it, so it's kind of odd you can't do it. Isn't it common here? I mean that manipulation of ice could be an advanced form of alchemy, after all I've seen alchemist who have used fire and spikes before."
"Alchemy doesn't exist here, in fact although we made efforts many centuries ago it just never worked here. The principles were considered scientifically unsound and well it never succeeded in making common metals into gold or silver." Dr. McCoy stated as Ed looked at him in surprise, now understanding why they were so surprised about what he had done.
"I don't understand, but I'm sure that Professor Xavier guy will explain the messed jumble of images in my head." Ed stated as he crossed his arms waiting for the tour to continue. "Oh yeah the name's Ed, try not to break anything else. I'm not a repairman, so keep that in mind the next time you do something like this."
"Man I can't wait to tell the others what the new guy can do; this could be the best thing that has ever happened to us. A guy that could fix all of the damage we call without us getting into trouble, it just has so much potential. He's kind of short though," Bobby whispered to Jubilee as Ed started to walk away following Dr. McCoy.
"Yeah I know," Jubilee whispered back, "don't get your hopes up to much though, he doesn't seem thrilled about being a repairman. Well I'm going to go see what the others are doing, oh and Bobby never ever take my diary again."
"Hey who the hell are you calling short? You want to end up stuck in that floor keep on talking," Ed barked both of them surprised that the young man had heard them whispering.
Bobby merely nodded, jokes were all well and good but Jubilee had a nasty temper when it came to her belongings so to speak, at least lately any way. He also didn't know exactly what this new guy could do besides fixing things, so for once he decided to err on the side of caution that and well you couldn't exactly do something with an adult standing right there. Ed on the other hand was following the man that looked like a chimera down a well decorated hall with many doors along the path.
'Great now I sound like an old man, but its true alchemy isn't some great thing to repair all damaged goods with. There is a price to it and I don't want them thinking that they can just use me as a repairman as they see fit. What doesn't make sense though is that they can't transmute gold, even though it's a capital offense it's still quite easy to do where I come from.' Ed thought as Dr. McCoy motioned for him to follow.
"Your ability, you continually call it alchemy, I have to admit that I wonder why you do so. Are you afraid of admitting what you are?" Dr. McCoy asked curious as to what Ed's true intentions about the situation were.
Ed stopped for a moment seeming to think about his question before responding, "I don't really know what you are implying but I'm telling you the truth. I'm an alchemist nothing more and nothing less, I mean all of you are acting like you have never seen alchemy before."
"That is because well, we haven't. Ed, you are completely unique in this world, you are probably the only person that can use that ability. While you might see the ability as something commonplace, we see it as a special gift that not many individuals are born with." Dr. McCoy responded as he led the young man to an empty room. "This will be your room while you stay here."
Ed stopped for a moment starring at the inside of the room; it was like that mansion in the mining town. He had never, not once had such a nice accommodation like this and now this guy was just handing him this room. Ed immediately turned to look at his host, judging his reaction before looking over the spacious and well furnished room. A big bed, a nice window, large closet, and a private bathroom were all included as Ed looked the room over.
"So what's the catch?" Ed asked, he knew from experience that something like this didn't come without a catch.
"There is no catch, you simply must behave yourself and if you decide to stay to hone and train your abilities." Dr. McCoy stated as Ed shook his head in disbelief.
"Some how I don't buy that," Ed started as he walked toward his tour guide, "you see I still partially believe in Equivalent Exchange and that means that you guys have to get something out of this for me to get this nice place to stay at and these new limbs. Very few people do things simply because it's the right or just thing to do."
Next Chapter: Exchange part 3
Ed wonders around the institute eventually ending up in the Danger Room showing off his alchemy for everyone to see. Major problems however are building when the Professor discovers something in Cerebro that makes him wonder if finding Ed was as easy as he thought.