Revamped!


Chapter 69: After all This Time

New Mexico - 23:36 PM

Xavier looks at Apollo in shock at that question. Surely, seven years have passed since the two last saw each other but no amount of time could make you forget one of your longest and best friends, or so he thought. It's not like Xavier has drastically changed his appearance either. He still looks the same as he did in high school just with seven years of SHIELD training on his body.

Xavier's imagined this reunion many times but never thought of this scenario.

"Really?" Xavier asks him. "Who am I?"

Apollo's face is blank yet serious. Xavier wanted to believe his friend was joking.

"It's me, Xavier," he tells him, surprised that he has to introduce himself. Apollo's face needs more information. "Xavier Rogers."

Still nothing.

"We grew up together. We went to school together. We played football and watched sports together. We were - are friends. We're good friends. We're best friends. What more could I tell you?"

Nothing.

"You lived in Manhattan. I lived in Brooklyn with Angela, my twin sister."

Nothing.

"Come on!" Xavier exclaims at him. "Oh, Britney. Britney Braun. You have to know who she is."

Apollo shakes his head.

"Britney!" Xavier yells as if a louder volume will make a difference. "Your cousin, my girlfriend - ex-girlfriend. Whatever."

Apollo backs away and then turns to walk off. Xavier runs up to him.

"You're from Asgard!" Xavier exclaims, getting Apollo's attention again. "Your father is Thor and your mother is Jane. He's a god and she's a mortal. She raised you on Midgard with us."

Apollo nods a little. "How do you know any of that?"

"Because I'm trying to tell you that we're friends!"

"Then how come I don't know you?"

"I don't know! Look, Thor came to get a crown from us and he said that you and Britney left Asgard and have been gone for a while. What are you doing on Midgard?"

"I don't know."

The two men continue to stare at each other, on their toes as if the other was about to attack. Apollo's playing offence while Xavier's defence. Xavier is begging for something this instance just to whack Apollo into remembering but that's only hopeful thinking. Apollo, on the other hand, balls a hand into a fist that Xavier notices.

"Do you know all this about me because you're a threat?" Apollo asks, his voice ironically threatening.

Xavier holds his hands up warily. "Apollo, I'm not a threat. I'm your friend."

"I'm supposed to believe a man who approached me in the middle of nowhere who knows every detail about my life?"

Xavier takes a breath, knowing how bad this all sounds on his part. "I am not your -"

Xavier is suddenly tackled to the ground by Apollo. The two men hit the ground instantly, Apollo on top. Xavier attempts to push Apollo off but the demigod sends a punch right across his face. Xavier spits, unsure if there was blood in there or not. It's at this moment he realizes that this is different from when they two of them would play-wrestle as kids. Back then, they weren't as strong and were playing nice. Now, it's life or death.

Again, not the welcome back scenario he imagined.

"I have to warn you, I'm a pretty strong puncher," Xavier tells him.

"Are you?"

Xavier punches him and Apollo flicks his head back. Apollo nods impressed a little before flat-out laughing at a pathetic attempt of a punch on him. Just like when they were kids. Xavier doesn't even bother to roll his eyes, especially since one of them is throbbing right underneath where Apollo punched him the first time.

They continue beating each other up like little boys, neither of them stopping or trying to communicate with one another. This is exactly how they play-wrestled as kids, except with lighthearted punches and throws, unlike this moment which is brutal.

Xavier grunts as he lands on his back. He tries to get up but Apollo steps on his back, forcing him to stay down. Xavier turns his head and looks at Apollo holding his hand up towards the sky.

"Oh," Xavier mumbles, not accounting for that. He should've brought his shield. "son of a -"

The night sky fills with thunder and lightning but to both of their surprises, Apollo is the one to fall over after screaming. Xavier looks the other way and sees Angela holding a taser gun with the rest of his friends behind her.

-o-

His head aches. He ignores the throbbing pain from whatever sent him to the ground as he gets up in the cold darkness and dry sandy air. One of his hands brushes across his soft beard as he begins to sway back and forth from sudden nausea. Underneath his anger, he feels like crying but no tears come out. He can't remember anything that happened before he got here - he barely remembers facts about himself.

He remembers that his name is Apollo Foster, he came from Asgard where his parents are the King and Queen, and he has a lightning-summoning axe but has no clue where it is now. That's all his memory could retain at this current moment. Everything else is nothing but blurs and jagged memories.

That Xavier said things that made sense, that filled in blanks. His mom's a mortal, something about Manhattan, maybe the best friend part?

Once complete consciousness arises for him again, he sees other people. There's Xavier crumpled on the ground, a girl who looks like the one he just beat up (probably the twin sister he mentioned. Angela?), a redhead with an archery set, a boy with glowing hands, and two brunettes huddled close together. They all look at him strangely but with recognition and fear. If they're talking to him then he can't hear a thing but by the way, their mouths are moving, they're saying his name.

They know him but he doesn't know them. Why is this happening?

But then a memory fashes before his eyes - it has a sorceress. She fires her magic at him and he could feel his thoughts and memories escaping him at that moment.

"Where is she?!" Apollo yells at them, their hands hovering over their weapons.

One of the six, he can't tell which one, tries to talk and reason with him. He takes his head into his hand and everything goes black for him.

-o-

Fear, pain, and sorrow run through his body as Xavier looks at Apollo lying on the ground, seeming lifeless. He could guess that Apollo's looking for Britney too, but Apollo doesn't even remember who Britney is. Xavier softly bites down on his bottom lips and tastes blood as he turns around to face his friends.

"I had that under control," Xavier says as Daniel helps him up.

"Of course, you did," Merida replies sarcastically, "just like Apollo controlled the lightning he was going to use to blow you up."

Xavier narrows his eyes at her as Daniel quickly bandages his split lip and gives him an ice pack for his eye. Emily kneels beside an unconscious Apollo with James standing behind her as she gets his vitals. She nods at all the normal results.

"No offence but Apollo totally wrecked you," Emily says to Xavier.

Xavier narrows his eyes at her because he didn't need that right now. Everyone turns to see Emily poking Apollo's bicep just for fun and pleasure.

Emily gasps. "I didn't think he could get stronger. It's like a cinder block. Holy hell, this is a sight. I think he was going easy on you."

"Em, please, stop talking," Xavier replies annoyed.

"Sorry. Sometimes I wish I could keep my mouth shut, but look at him. Apollo's here."

Xavier pats her back with his free hand. He's mad at himself for how the whole encounter with Apollo went. He has one thing - five words - to do and this is the result.

"Can we please go at least 24 hours without one of us getting mortally wounded?" Daniel asks.

Merida scoffs. "Have you met us? Look at how we greeted Apollo and how he greeted Xavier."

One being unconscious due to tasering and the other beaten up by the first guy.

"What are you guys doing here?" Xavier asks them, changing the topic.

"SHIELD sent us on a classified mission," Angela replies.

Xavier looks at Angela who's already crossing her arms at him, disappointed. He sees right through her lie since that was the story he told them when he came here. That, and she's a bad liar like him even when doing so purposely.

"I can explain," Xavier tells him.

"I'm going to get some popcorn because this better be good."

Xavier huffs at her. "Britney appeared in my dream. At first, it was just memories of us and then it turned into something I've never seen, something that looked like the present, telling me to save him." He points at Apollo. "I kind of ignored it at first when I woke up in the middle of the night but she kept on telling me to save him. I know it was just a dream but she just kept on appearing and I really felt like it was her somehow. So I just left to get him."

The team is silent. The wind picks up and Angela's face softens completely.

"Britney was in my dream too," Angela admits. "Different memories, I'm sure, but the same ending."

Xavier looks at the others and they're all nodding in agreement. Britney was telling them to get Apollo but he was the only one who saw it as more than just a dream.

"Maybe Britney meant someone had to rescue you," Emily jokes, reminding Xavier of how Apollo nearly wrecked him.

"He doesn't remember me," Xavier says. "He doesn't remember Midgard at all."

"That hurts," James replies, not yet taking in the seriousness of this situation. "Just for that, I'm glad we gave him a shitty welcome back party."


[There's one more chapter left before I'm stopping for the summer]. [2020: *is trying to finish revamping before the end of the summer*]