Chapter 6 - How Do You Move Forward?


James was in his room editing some pictures when Noh arrived, knocking lightly on the door with a small, self-conscious smile. "Can I steal a moment of your time?" he asked.

James glanced up at him for a moment and shrugged. "Free country."

Noh nodded and then sat down close by and took a deep breath. "I owe you an apology, first and foremost," he said.

"Forget it," James replied in an almost monotone.

"I cannot," Noh said, shaking his head. "I was completely idiotic, and you reminded me of what life truly is, and I'm sorry that I caused so much … frustration."

"It's fine," James said. "Everyone has their days."

Noh nodded slowly, though he was still frowning as he considered James. "I wonder if I could ask a favor of you all the same," he said at last.

James turned his way for a moment and nodded again. "Shoot."

Noh took a deep breath and let it out. "I want to teach you how to design nanites. Not upgrade them. I want you to know how they work and how to give them to my descendents." He smiled tightly. "I may not be giving up, but I am facing my own mortality. It would be foolish not to make preparations for when I'm not around to help my enhanced progeny."

James watched him for a long moment. "You sure you want to tell me? Considering my ties … I know how you feel about Tony."

Noh shook his head. "I trust you," he said. "You are my little brother, for one thing, and for another, I have never seen you use any of your knowledge to anyone's disadvantage — not when you are in your right mind." He paused. "And… I would not be opposed to you working with Howard. He is your partner. And he is far more… reserved than his father."

"Howard … would take whatever he learned to his dad if he thought it would get Tony going," James replied.

"I didn't say I was going to teach him, just that you could work with him," Noh said with a little smirk. "I can work with Tony, for example. It's the rest of it that I want you to know." He shrugged. "Ariel is at an age where she will need nanites to deal with her genetic gifts. Perhaps I can take you through the entire process with her. She adores you, after all."

James thought about it for a moment and let out a breath. "At what point did you pull Tony in for Sying and the girls?"

"With Sying, I have to admit, I wasn't prepared, and he broke his foot before I realized my mistake in not ensuring that he had nanites to protect him," Noh said with a sigh. "With the girls, we made sure they had nanites when they were about four and were trying to follow their brother in his roughhousing — since he had gotten his mutant abilities at about that time as well, and they were all little handfuls."

"But … is it necessary?" James asked, honestly not sure of the answer. "I know you need it for the extensive work they did to create you … but they're half-human, and Ariel is only a quarter of your dimensional Kree. There have to be some barriers in the genetic code that were filled in."

Noh nodded. "I'm personally hopeful that as the generations go on, the nanites won't even be necessary," he admitted. "Whether that's through natural evolution or through the dilution of my genes, time will tell. But thus far, Ariel does have enhanced strength, and Phillip as well, and I'm not so willing to risk this generation. Perhaps the next one… but this one…." He shook his head. "I've seen what happens when strength outpaces the body."

James nodded. "Okay," he said slowly. "And I should at least live through the next round."

"I should hope you live to see my great-great-great grandchildren," Noh said.

James held up both hands. "I'm not taking anything for granted. Don't read into it."

Noh nodded. "Then I hope you will understand when I say I still think you are my best hope for my family's future," he said. He took a deep breath, held it, and watched James carefully. "But perhaps… if you were to leave notes… someplace that cannot be found except for you and the good Doctors McCoy…"

"I'm sure we can figure something out," James said.

Noh nodded. "Thank you, James," he said, resting his hand on James' shoulder. "You have already done so much for me and mine. I'm lucky to have you as a brother."

"When do you want to get started?" James asked, blowing over the sentiment.

"Let's wait for just a while longer, until Ariel is four. She's close enough, but I think that is a good age all the same."

James nodded. "You know where to find me."

Noh beamed at that and got to his feet. "And you know where I am should you need anything, little brother. Remember, it goes both ways. And as you reminded me, the people I love are the reason for my being."

James nodded at that. "I try to just keep out of the way, honestly."

"And should you need help with that, I'm sure Kari will be your choice above me," Noh couldn't help but tease. "It is very nice to see you so happy, James."

"It's a work in progress," James said. "So … you know. Go … do whatever it was you had in mind before you came to get sappy on me."

"Oh, I intend to get sappy on Jubilee," Noh said with a smile as he got to his feet. "As you well know, I have a lot of making up to do to her."

"If you go by her measure, you'll never catch up."

"I'm perfectly alright with that," Noh said with a little smile before he headed off, humming a bit to himself and in a considerably better mood for having talked to James.


While a lot of the focus had been on Noh and his incredibly bad reaction to the news that he wasn't healing like he was used to, the truth of the matter was that Ael honestly didn't know what to do with himself since the wreck of the Marvel and the subsequent kidnapping. The worst part was that he hadn't realized he was struggling as much as he was until well after everything had happened. He had been in too much shock, running on too much terror and adrenaline, to realize that he was going sort of numb until he was back in his room and realizing… he didn't know what to do with himself.

There had always been this irrational part of him, ever since he was little, that hated going back to Hala, because Hala was where he had lost everything. Earth had always been better, because that was where Jubilee and Noh had taken him. And even with everything — Apocalypse and Superior Rising and everything in between — he hadn't been a fighter, so he'd always been so shielded and sheltered and safe in his grandparents' cabins or hiding places if their home wasn't secure that Earth was still his haven.

So, this was the first time he'd really felt unsafe and exposed personally. Sure, his family got knocked around a lot, but they chose the jobs that they did. This time… he hadn't even been fighting, and they still sought him and his family out, and Ael couldn't quite figure out how to get past the feeling that he just wasn't safe anymore.

Add to that the fact that he didn't know what to do with his grandparents either. It wasn't that he hadn't known they were great warriors — that was one of the first things his mom told him about them when they met. And he'd seen some of their missions, pieces of action. But again, he'd always been insulated. And it really was something else seeing them in action in person.

There was a part of him that thought he should be scared of them — of their predatory nature and their ferocity. But actually, all he could think was that he felt safest around them… but he wasn't three anymore and couldn't just hide behind his grandmother's skirts every time something scared him.

So, he had just sort of been sitting in his room. He couldn't quite figure out how to move forward or if he should be doing anything differently now or… he just… didn't know what he wanted to do.

"You know, take it from a pro: if you're trying to act like you're in here looking over your marine biology… it helps to turn the page every once in a while so you're not on the same page when someone comes back in to check on you," Sying's voice said from the doorway, and Ael looked up to see his big brother leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and a frown on.

Ael straightened up quickly and shook his head. "I was just…"

"Yeah, I know," Sying said, crossing the room to come sit beside Ael. "You know it's okay to not be okay, right? Nobody's asking you to brush it off like we weren't kidnapped and nearly experimented on."

Ael almost replied that it didn't seem like that big of a deal to him, but then, he remembered how badly Sying had been freaking out before and closed his mouth, looking down at his hands. He didn't know how to explain that it didn't feel like the same thing, since Sying had a reason to freak out when he was captured, and Ael was just… sheltered.

Sying watched him for a while longer before he took a deep breath and let it out. "I think… you should talk to Grammy K," he said at last.

Ael's eyebrows rose. "What? Why?"

"Because she's the one who helped me after what happened on Chandilar," Sying told him quietly. "And I needed the help. Badly."

"I remember," Ael whispered.

"It wasn't all about trying to learn how to get used to the collars and stuff," Sying said. "She also showed me how to come to terms with the fact that I had been traumatized — and yes, that's what happened to you, too."

Ael looked down at his hands. "I know that," he said. "I was there."

Sying almost couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah," he said before he sat down and put a hand on Ael's shoulder that turned into a hug that Ael didn't hesitate to return. "I'm sorry they grabbed you, Ael. You shouldn't have to have anything to do with these idiots."

"These are the guys you deal with all the time with the team, right?"

"These kind of guys, yeah," Sying admitted with a sigh.

"Then these are the people that grab people regardless of the 'should haves', as Dad would say," Ael pointed out. "It wouldn't have mattered to them if I was on the team or not, and you know it."

Sying raised his eyebrows at Ael and then couldn't help but nod his agreement. "Yeah, that's a good point."

"I'm smarter than you; don't forget it," Ael said with a small smirk that had Sying laughing — especially because that sounded a lot more like his little brother.

Sying ruffled his little brother's hair and then pulled him to his feet. "Come on, Ael. You need to find Grammy K. I promise you'll feel better afterward, and even if you don't, I'll take you to Mom's favorite candy shop."

"Don't you think I'm a little too old to try to win me over with candy?" Ael asked.

"Oh man, you're lucky Mom isn't around to hear you trying to put age limits on candy," Sying laughed, putting his arm around Ael's shoulders. "Shame on you."

Ael shook his head at that, though he was feeling at least a little better for getting to mess with his brother, so he didn't fight too hard as Sying directed him toward where he knew he could find K.

When he finally found K, she and Logan were taking a little time for a change, leaned against each other on the couch in the movie room, snuggled up and quietly acting like they were watching the movie. Even if they weren't fooling anyone.

Ael swallowed hard as he looked over the scene and then took a small step forward. "Would… you mind if I borrowed your time?" he asked, suddenly not sure how he was supposed to start this conversation and wishing Sying had stuck with him for this part.

Both of them turned his way with little smirks. "It's yours any time you like," K said easily. "Come on over … what's up?"

Ael took a deep breath before he made his way over to the couch to sit with his grandparents. "I'm not sure what to do here," he admitted, worrying his hands in front of him as he tried to find words — but his sisters had always been way better at this kind of thing than he was. "Sying suggested that I talk to you after the whole… wreck… thing."

Both of them frowned slightly and sat up straighter. "What did you want to talk about?" Logan asked.

"I don't… know," Ael said. "I just don't know about any of it."

"The guys that had you weren't exactly nice about how you were handled," K said. "Is that bothering you? Or which part of it, if you had to guess?"

"That might be part of it," Ael said, nodding and frowning. "They treated us like …" He trailed off and shook his head.

Both of them tipped their heads for a second. "Animals? Less than human? Yeah. They're not known for their people skills," Logan said.

Ael nodded, his gaze down and his cheeks flushing purple and betraying his pure humiliation.

K waved him closer. "Hey, it wasn't your fault. At all. There wasn't a thing you could have done differently to have changed it, either."

Ael nodded and leaned into her, snuggling her before he'd even thought about it — and feeling much safer between the two of them. "I've just… never had to deal with that. I barely remember the Shi'ar, but it felt… a lot like that."

"You know, you're not the only one that's been in a spot like that," Logan said. "Sadie had to put up with some idiots trying to kidnap her on her way out of ballet."

"Just being around the people in your family seems to be enough," K agreed. "Sorry about your luck, sweetie."

Ael nodded, though his cheeks were still flushed as he hugged K. "I guess I just… why do I still feel so humiliated?" he asked. "I couldn't care less about those bad guys, but I still feel like dirt — and I don't know why."

"Because you couldn't do anything about it," Logan said. "And they hit you out of nowhere."

"They stuck a gun in Ariel's face," Ael said. "How do you — what do you even do with that?"

"Not much you can do," K told him. "You do whatever it takes to keep them safe and then figure out how to get free later."

"We've done that more times than I can count," Logan added. "It's a cowardly trick, but one that works."

"I hate it," Ael said. "I hate them. They threatened my niece and they nearly killed my dad and you should have seen Sying barely keeping it together and—" He took a deep breath. "I hate them, and I don't know how to stop."

"Stop hating them?" K asked. "They earned it."

"I don't know how to stop thinking about it and move on," Ael said, his tone clearly frustrated.

"That just takes time," Logan said. "You try to do the things you love, and the more time you get between you and the mess, the easier it'll be. But it takes time."

"I don't think my family does patience," Ael said with a small smile. "Even those of us that aren't super speedy."

"No, they don't," Logan agreed. "But break the mold anyhow. Try and give yourself a chance."

"I was trying to read earlier, and I just keep getting caught up in how mad I am," Ael admitted. "And just… how much I hate that they made me feel like that."

"What do you usually do when you're mad?" K asked.

"I usually go swimming," Ael admitted. "Or go to the beach."

"Then you need to go swimming or hit the beach," she said.

Ael nodded slowly. "Is it alright if I stay here for a little while longer first?" he asked quietly. "But you can't tell anyone."

"Stay as long as you like," K said. "We're just watching a movie anyhow."

"Thanks," Ael said, letting out a breath of relief as he simply made himself comfortable where he was, settling down into the couch with his grandparents and feeling somehow much safer between them.


With so many people and programs setting their sights on building up weapons programs — and specifically targeting healers — Kate had her detective hat on again. K and her family (including Jana, who clearly wanted to be on her way to joining that family) were dealing with the problem the way they could, so Kate was looking into funding avenues to shut those down.

Kurt smirked as he came into her office and then rested his chin on her shoulder, peeking at what she was working on before he turned to kiss her cheek. "This has always been a good look on you, liebchen."

"Everything's a good look on me," she said without missing a beat — and without looking up from what she was doing.

"This is true," he agreed and kissed her again, more properly this time.

Kate wrapped him up just as enthusiastically, and they were starting to get more involved when they both heard voices down the hall. With a twinkle in his eye, Kurt was about to teleport them… until he realized one of the voices was Krissy's.

Kate met his gaze, and Kurt could see that she'd come to the same realization he had, because they both nodded subtly and moved to the doorway to eavesdrop, knowing that Sying was still shaken — and that Krissy wasn't thrilled with the weapons programs looking their way, either. Especially after their interrupted date.

They barely cracked the door open to see Krissy walking with Sying, her tail wrapped around Sying's wrist, her head on his shoulder. Sying's eyes were wide, and he was obviously having a hard time in that moment, but Krissy was steadily talking to him, her tone even and her words not nearly as important as the reassurance she was to him in that moment.

They waited until the kids were gone before Kate smiled and leaned into Kurt. "Those are your genes," she said with an affectionate laugh.

"I think you're mistaken," he said and kissed her, starting to pick back up where they'd left off. "You have always gone above and beyond to take care of those you love."

"And you are the romantic one. Always taking care of me."

"I think you'll find it's a mutual arrangement," Kurt said, grinning steadily wider between kisses.

Kate beamed at him and then tackled him into a much more impolite kiss, which started off something that they simply had to take elsewhere before it could go any further.