Author's Notes: And some background on Z.
spize666: Heh. Sorry for the frustration. :)
AsgardianGrizzly: Eh, glad to hear it. Though it didn't feel like fantastic advice. LOL. Thanks!
Windy: Kevin gets angry over everything nowadays. Put half and half instead of whole milk in his coffee, prepare for a zap. PFFTHEWISHESHECOULDGETCOFFEE
Disclaimer: Ultimate Spider-Man is not mine. Nor are any of its characters. That's Marvel's job. Any Original Characters and art you note, however, are all me. No. I'm not making money. Don't rub it in.

Chapter 12 - Sore

Relax, Zeelan, relax. It's fine. Fury had only whisked Danny away several hours ago. Okay. Maybe it had been a whole day. Still, he would survive the Director's wrath. …Right?

Come to think of it, why did the question even pose in her mind? Danny was SHIELD. He worked for them. Followed them. Like Kevin had said, anyone with ties to such an organization shouldn't be trusted. She should be shunning him or expecting a backstabbing revelation.

Yet she wasn't.

He and his team felt different—especially Spider-Man and Danny. She could recall all their auras from memory. Like Danny's green and brown dance and Spider-Man's whirl of orange and yellow with hints of green and pink. The one called Power Man also had a big heart with a worry in his teal-brown halo that Z couldn't dissect. White Tiger cared, but the rigid veins of black creeping amongst the deep purple and gray surrounding her left her less open than the others.

Then, there had been Nova. Glowing with reds and yellows like a star, he felt the most open and vivid. Even so, he also harbored the most black of them all. And it remained constant.

She should really figure out what black means. As well as the other colors. It would make life so much simpler for her, who needs facts to weigh possibilities. Meanwhile, nothing, save her gut, could guide her through her Radiesthesia. Her logical mind told her not to trust it; feelings could be misinterpreted. That lesson had been learned the hard way. Regardless, what choice did she have? Not only were they her only leads, they had also begun influencing her.

'I'm starting to trust them,' she thought with a slow shake of her head. 'Kevin would call it silly…I should call it silly. But…'

She grimaced, struck by a thought. She could guess just what Danny would say about it. He would call her Radiesthesia an extension of herself. Probably in a cryptic way. Then, he would no doubt find a means to convince her not to disregard it. He would want her to embrace it and maybe immerse herself in it. All of which went against her very nature.

'And Danny would call it a challenge or an obstacle and bring up belief. Again. He's fairly stubborn, but at least he's consistent. I don't like controversies so much. And it doesn't really bother me much when he brings up similar points multiple times. At least he spices them with metaphors and similes. Strange ones, yeah. But he keeps things interes—wait, mind…why are we dwelling on him?'

Zeelan's second head shake was more violent and felt hotter. No. She didn't want her thoughts to drift that far. She only wanted to assure herself Fury wouldn't imprison Danny for visiting her. That goal would run smoother if she had some kind of sign. An alert. A visit. An announcement over the PA system that Fury had used to force Danny from solitary. Anything!

Hiss. Creak. Alright. An open door worked. Zeelan stood as tall as she could, given her weakened state, and kept force-fields at bay. No one bothered to taint the glass wall after Danny's last visit, so her cool vision was set beyond it, at the flash of green and yellow that entered.

Iron Fist. He didn't bother with a mask—not over his pale face or in his clenched hands. He regarded Zeelan with solemn green eyes that sunk her stomach and forced an invisible weight on her shoulders. The fractions of black around him were too numerous to ignore, too certain to mean anything good. And the mutant found meeting his gaze again a hard task.

"Z," Danny started, voice as tired as he looked, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, th—that's never a good way to start a conversation," remarked Zeelan timidly.

"Truly."

"You were gone a long time."

"I was."

Silent, Z questioned with her prickling eyes, and Danny's chest rose with air.

"The verdict leaves something to be desired," he said. "Fury talked with me first then the whole team."

"Even Spider-Man?

"Yes. He had slipped from bed, much to his watchers' displeasure. He's now back to resting."

"That's good. And what"—the mutant gulped—"did Fury say?"

"You're a perceptive young woman, Z; I'm sure you already know…"

Yeah, but that didn't mean she wanted to acknowledge it. "Is—is he going to kill me?"

At her whisper Danny's form grew stiff, the black of his aura darkening. "Executions aren't Fury's style. However…he is prepared to use it as leverage against your brother."

"I figured." And that sealed it: Zeelan's shaking body met the floor, hard. The prickling of her eyes grew, but she held back the tears. Barely. "Fury and K are the two most stubborn people I have ever known. This could very well—I…I mean, I could—"

"My team won't allow that," injected Danny with heated words. Somehow, his assured tone eased Z's panic before she hyperventilated. "It isn't often Fury's heart conflicts with his head, but recently, that seems to be his trouble. He just won't fully explain why."

"Naturally," Z grumbled.

Danny stared down at her frown. "Zeelan…the truth has been avoided for too long. It's been a week. I've done my best to understand you. Still, like a raging river, you make it impossible to see through your troubles."

"Does a river have troubles?"

"Zeelan."

The mutant met the hero's stern stare for a moment then glanced away.

"I haven't told you"—Danny added—"but…Fury mentioned Illinois."

No. No. Please, say he didn't. Another glance at Danny proved it, though. He did. A sense of lightheadedness washed over Zeelan then, forcing her to tuck her face between her pulled-up knees. She smelled horrid, which enhanced her nausea; however, facing Danny would have surely pushed her over the edge.

"That supposed incident has been my team's leverage against Fury," the blonde continued, even. "We convinced him that he hadn't heard your side of the tale yet. It's injustice to accuse you without giving you a chance to defend yourself. Up until your brother kidnapped Nova…we even had him convinced."

"And now…"

"He still wants a full account. He wants your testimony, but he isn't willing to release you, regardless of its content."

"So why would I speak at all if it makes no difference?"

"For me."

Zeelan froze—eyes wide as they stared at her too-thin stomach.

"Please," Danny said warmly, "don't tell Fury. Tell me."

Better judgment warned her against lifting her head. She did so anyway. The blue in Danny's aura broke through most of the black, splintering it with its brilliance. Yes, a gut feeling told her he really wanted to know. And it could be good for someone to know the truth, she reasoned. Danny, at least, would believe her. Or should. She hoped.

"It's like one giant sore, but fine," she conceded, grim. She about grinned at the light that twinkled in the hero's eyes. "What's Fury's account of Topeka?"

"Simply put: that you had killed an agent while a SHIELD team was tracking you for aid."

"Aid?" drawled Z confoundedly. "He called it aid? He wasn't aiding us. He was hunting us for recruitment. Like you guys."

"For a team?"

"Not sure about a team. I only know for sure he wanted Kevin, who had never liked the idea."

"Just how bad is the blood between your brother and Fury?" Brows furrowed, Danny sat in the lotus position. Zeelan was starting to feel that was a natural instinct for him.

"Has Fury told you how long they've known one another?"

The hero stared back blankly.

"Of course. The answer is 'very bad'. Fury had been coming around our home for a long time. At least twice a year. Each visit, he would try to convince K to join SHIELD because his powers are…substantial."

"And your brother denied him every time."

Z nodded. "K didn't have time or a desire, even at age twelve. By that point he was already leery of most humans. Fury just ticked him off, but the Director wouldn't stop showing up."

"Fury must've had high hopes for Kevin then," mumbled Danny.

"For years, he said he saw something in K. That didn't matter, though. K grew more resentful of Fury because of the pressure the visits put on my family…"

"Yes. You described Kevin as a protector, a rock, before. Why?"

"He was—is." The mutant sighed lightly. "My mother was always…extreme. Eccentric, quick to judge, resilient—the whole package. She very clearly let others know she saw danger in mutants. She was…scared of them. Thought them monsters…

"My earliest memories of her consist of rants, arguments with my father, and"—she flinched—"episodes when either K or I would defend mutants."

"Did she ever know her children were mutants?" Danny questioned, soft.

An image flashed in Zeelan's mind—one of a tanned beauty with one too many coats of hair spray over her dark, curly locks and a disgusted glare that could end the ages. She could still smell the nauseating scent of cigarette smoke and kerosene; hear the rebukes that cut like razors through the soul.

"Sh—she did," the mutant managed through broken whispers. "Thanks to Fury. She didn't let on while he was in Enderlin, but once he left…"

"She confronted you?"

"Me? Oh, no. Not me. I didn't have my powers then."

"You didn't?"

"No. Only my hair had lightened from strawberry blonde to white during Middle School. K's another matter, though. I remember him always having his abilities. They didn't manifest in puberty like a lot of other kids with the X-Gene. He was eight, I think, which is why he's so skilled with them now. He knew better than to tell our parents, but trusted me with the secret. So I thought it…natural."

"What did your mother do when she found out?"

Here, Z couldn't control her wince. "A—as a kid, I didn't understand how my mother could talk about mutants so badly. My wonderful big brother, who promised to always protect me, was a mutant. So I stood up for their kind. My mother…didn't like that in the least."

"She beat you." Danny spoke so frankly and assuredly that Z's head rose. A glimmer of red pulsed around him, shoving the green aside until Z nodded. Then, red overcame the green completely as the blonde narrowed his eyes.

"Just until we took back what we said," replied Zeelan, finding the red uneasy. "Over the years we learned to watch our words around her. Still, sometimes we would slip. Mainly, I would slip. And K would cover for me. That's how it went for years. I began relying on my logic to keep from speaking 'out of term' while mother..."

The mutant huffed in a sardonic manner. "You don't notice the signs much when you're a child. I didn't see just how sick my mother was until the end. But looking back on it, the tells were glaring. Papa knew. He tried to help her. All to no avail. And in the end she was shipped off to a ward for the criminally insane."

The red pulsed with a wave of black. "Criminally?"

"Yeah," Z answered—a dark and lifeless action. "It was five years ago. After Fury's last known visit. We, uh, overheard mother talking with Papa. She had seen K use his abilities on Fury to answer him 'no', and she"—her throat closed, causing Z to croak—"she broke. Papa tried to calm her down, but she wouldn't listen. She was irate, screaming so late at night. She said she would kill K. She said she would, and my eleven-year-old self believed her. Then she told Papa if I was a mutant too, she would also kill me.

"K stood up at that. He's the kind that can take threats against himself, not others. He revealed himself to her and she…doused him in kerosene from the fireplace. Then tried to light him on fire. After stabbing my father for protecting me and breaking K's leg."

Damn. Telling the story was painful enough without recounts blurring her vision. Her mother had gotten the upper hand on her young brother. Quick. Probably because, at that point, K wanted to be accepted by her. It was his one hope and weakness. He never voiced it, but a sister could tell. What that woman did to him had dashed his hope, his belief in others. And ever since then he'd grown more cynical than Z naturally was.

"And y—your father?" Danny's tone wavered. "Is he—"

"He lived," Zeelan interrupted. She raised a hand to her temple to soothe an oncoming headache only to realize she had been crying. The great moisture over her cheeks and down her chin wasn't a concern, however. She left her heated face as was and tended to the ache in her skull instead.

"I am sorry about your mother." Such soft words. They were accompanied by the return of green in Danny's aura, as well as the displacement of red. The blue grew brighter, though black lingered, and part of Z swore the blonde would shed a few tears. "I understand what it means to lose a mother," he whispered. "The circumstances are radically different, but still the same. Mine was killed. Yours…in a way has been as well."

"I think she had died long ago," Z grumbled. "I'm sure your mother was…far better. She must have been to raise you."

"Actually, I was only raised in part by her. A great deal of my development, honestly, is thanks to the monks of K'un-Lun. I was lost before them."

"Oh?" Z's lips quirked into a little smile she couldn't fight. "Well…I'm glad you were found then. Still, I—I'm sorry about your mom as well."

"I humbly accept your condolence."

"Uh, likewise?" The duo chuckled softly, though Z forced a stony expression on her face when the short urge passed. "Now you can see what trouble Fury has brought us," she continued, stern. "Maybe it would have only been a matter of time before our mother found out. But Fury kept provoking K. We had plans to move out together when he turned legal, keep her from ever knowing. We wanted to…convince her mutants could be good guys. K blames Fury for changing that."

"That's why he wouldn't accept SHIELD's help. And is leading your group cross-country."

"Kai's had a few dealings with Fury before as well, so it wasn't hard for him and K to convince the others we were alone after the—the Enderlin Uprising."

"And when SHIELD caught up to you—"

"Oh, they weren't as innocent as they report," snapped Zeelan. Pop. Pop. Two force-fields gave way to five. The mutant waved them away, yet didn't bother controlling them. "It was an accident. I didn't even have my powers until the uprising started! They were threatening Trent. I was just…protecting him."

"Are you saying…you did kill her?"

"I…" She couldn't bring herself to keep eye contact.

"Fury tells us that Agent Reyes, whom you"—Danny paused—"killed, was loyal and good."

"She was," Z croaked with new tears. "She tried to help Trent. Me. She tried to be the mediator."

"Then…"

"It was the others. They were tired of chasing us, and willing to take us by force. When their weapons went missing, they immediately blamed us. But we didn't take them. We were set-up."

"Who would do that?"

"Oh, I don't know." Danny couldn't hide his uncertainly from Z's senses, so she sought a solid, convincing stare. "Someone. Look. I didn't see him, but the others did. Said something about him wearing a full-red costume and swords on his back. He talked like a maniac, claimed the weapons were easy pickings before boasting to the group that they were lucky to be his scapegoats…Danny? Danny, do you know him?"

All uncertainly fled Danny's aura after he blinked. "I have a pretty good idea. That's a topic for another time, though. Tell me, how did Agent Reyes die?"

"An accident." The blonde's stare pushed further. "I—I freaked out, okay? My powers are still new. Trent was scared. And those agents had already hurt him. I didn't want them any closer to us. Miss Reyes, she said her name was Monica. She was trying to calm me when another agent went after Trent. I…I tried blocking him, but wound up crushing her…"

"The agents reported that you threatened their lives."

Z's eye narrowed. "Jackasses. They're the ones who threatened us."

"That explains why they lied on the report. Well…not fully."

"I know. It…It was an accident. A—are you going to tell Fury all of this?"

"Fury already knows," a deep, unwelcomed voice answered.

Surges of dread seized Zeelan's body as she glanced over Danny's shoulder to the black-clad SHIELD Director that approached with loud steps. He disregarded the blonde's mild attempt to keep him three feet from the glass barrier, and a large pit in the mutant's gut wished her friend had succeeded. Fury's aura read complete ambiguity, which left Z speechless under its weight.

"Zeelan Ishbel Weir," he addressed, calm, "prepare to be moved."

Author's Notes: And the plot thickens. Don't forget to review! Next chapter, we switch back to Sam.