Chapter 5: Ashes


On the island of Genosha, Kate and the others who had volunteered to defend the mutants who were sheltered there sat down heavily on the shore, exhausted and banged up but grinning at each other for the role they had played.

They hadn't had to deal with Apocalypse or his men, thankfully, though Wanda had been prepared for something like that. Instead, they'd had to defend Genosha against opportunists - groups that saw that Apocalypse was drawing the heroes' heavy-hitters and hoped that meant they could take Genosha, kill mutants, or otherwise follow their dark desires.

And, honestly, those losers had gotten their butts kicked.

Kate wiped some of her hair out of her face and then made a face when she realized that there was blood on her forehead. A Doom Bot must have gotten her, and she hadn't noticed it while she had adrenaline in her veins.

"First big fight since maternity leave, right?" Kamala asked as she shrank down to join Kate sitting down; they both clearly needed the rest. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a Doom Bot hit me in the back of the head," Kate said, smiling and then wincing dramatically.

"You okay?" Kamala was already peering closer, ready to help if need be.

"I think so. I didn't even notice it at first. But I'm sure everyone will freak out and make me rest and everything, so don't worry too much," Kate said. She tipped her head Kamala's way. "What about you? How you holding up?"

"Honestly?" Kamala gave Kate a crooked smile. "I think I rocked that fight."

"You probably did," Kate said, matching her smile. "You usually do."

"Amadeus is exhausted, though," Kamala said, gesturing toward her other friends, who were all in various stages of lying in the sand or otherwise showing, in dramatic teenage fashion, how much the fight had taken out of them.

"Yeah, I saw him slam those two bots together when they went after Miles."

"Miles saw them coming, too; he just couldn't get away fast enough," Kamala agreed.

Kate smiled and leaned back. "So… came to check on me to have an excuse to run away from Sam flirting with my sister, huh?"

"Guilty." Kamala blushed lightly. "That and I think my parents will freak out less if they see me coming back taking care of the girl who just had a baby, you know? Hard to get mad at that."

"Strategic. I like it," Kate laughed .

"Not that I wasn't also legitimately concerned about you!" Kamala clarified quickly, both hands in front of herself, her eyes wide.

"No, I get it; I promise," Kate said, still smiling. She held her hand out and let Kamala help her to her feet. "Come on; I'll even play it up so you look heroic in front of your parents."

"You don't have to," Kamala said.

"Nah." Kate shrugged, but her smile dropped. "I don't have to pretend to be hurt; it's just not my head. I don't know where my husband is; I don't have to fake that I could use someone around right now."

Kamala let her shoulders fall. "Oh."

"Yeah." Kate blew all her breath out through her lips. "Okay, yeah, it's not a lie; I really shouldn't be alone with my thoughts. Walk with me, please?"

"Absolutely," Kamala promised, linking arms with Kate as they headed back toward where their families were gathered.


In the aftermath of the battle, Alex glanced around, seeing Scott still staring a bit too long at Apocalypse's severed head, Nate on the sand, James a mess… "Damn," he said under his breath before he shouted up at Rachel. "Hey, fight's over! Can I get my niece back down here so she can help me with her dramatic brother?"

The call echoed oddly, especially because, in the wake of Apocalypse's death and the initial wave of psychic backlash, the fight between the Avengers and Hydra had picked up again - much farther away. The beach itself was much lonelier now.

Rachel hadn't been expecting Alex to be the one to call out to her - and neither had the Phoenix. And it was such an Alex thing to say that she almost couldn't help but smile. The devastation and hurt all around her was feeding the Phoenix, but there was her uncle, trying to crack jokes like always.

She started to come down, but when she watched James get up only to again kneel beside Noh's body, she paused - because she could hear the Phoenix in the back of her mind reminding her that it could fix that too. She had the power of life and death at her fingertips - and to remind her of that fact, it reached out through Rachel and turned what was left of Katarina to ashes.

And that… that had never happened before. Rachel had always been in control. She'd never been along for the ride with the Phoenix. And it was so disconcerting, so viscerally disturbing, that she stopped her descent, the fires burning brighter as the Phoenix reveled in her fear.

"We don't have time for this, babe," America called out, her tone somehow both flirtatious and annoyed as she started to help Billy get the rest of the way to James. "The evil doctor we brought along is gone when we actually need a doctor, and you and I need to get these boys home before they hurt themselves any worse."

Rachel, please, Scott projected to her.

Rachel closed her eyes as she tried to regain her focus. She could hear everyone who was aware of the situation as they encouraged her aloud and through their link. And she could hear the Phoenix, still promising it could fix everything.

Scott had crouched down beside Nate to check on him, rousing him by shaking his shoulder, and Rachel watched as he sat up too fast, held his head, and then went wide-eyed when he saw James and Rachel and the state they were both in. C'mon, Rach; James needs us. He can't lose anyone else right now. You know he's a mess as it is, he projected - and it was telling that that was the first thing he thought upon waking up, especially since she knew he had no telepathic power of his own and was only projecting through her link.

James seemed to know the moment Rachel began to focus on him, too - but his response was more to the point, if not for the fact that his mental voice was entirely shaken. Nate hasn't ever dealt with losing his grip, sis. And Dad doesn't trust himself. They need you.

Rachel watched the injured members of her family. Her dad in his visor with Alex beside him, both of them badly hurt from their fight. James on the ground. Nate reeling. Billy was battered, America was even bruised up pretty badly.

I don't need you right now, she told the Phoenix, and that simple declaration got her closer to the ground than anything else she had tried yet. I need to be present for them, she said. She paused. But thank you. You saved my brothers. My whole family. I don't think we could have won without you.

For some reason, that seemed to work. Whether the Phoenix had needed the thanks for its own pride or whether Rachel really was getting more control, the fact remained: the fire was only in her eyes by the time she touched down. And America met her there, confident in her invulnerability in case Rachel was still fiery, and yanked her into a hug, letting Rachel fall apart in tears as soon as they both realized she was safe to do so.


When Billy finally made it to James, James didn't wait for Billy to try and speak before he wrapped him up in a bear hug as tightly as he dared and apologized quietly for not being able to protect him better.

Billy rested his head at James's shoulder. He couldn't fling his arms around James when one was broken and he was sore and bruised, but that was the best he could do and he needed that contact and reassurance after such an emotionally draining rollercoaster.

James curled around him protectively. He didn't know what else to do. There wasn't more he could do without hurting him, and James didn't have anything to say. He just didn't have anything left, and he felt guilty as hell on top of it.

"'m really sorry," Billy said quietly, his words mangled because of his jaw, so he had to enunciate carefully, "wasn' fast enough."

James was quiet and still for a moment, but finally, he shook his head. "I shouldn't have made the deal with Noh."

Billy frowned and whispered a quick spell that sputtered a few times before it took effect - he was obviously exhausted. But it allowed him to speak without moving his jaw. It wouldn't work if he wanted to cast spells, but it was enough to allowed him to send his voice outside his mouth for conversation, anyway. "What deal? You and Mia are the only ones who speak that dialect, remember?"

James swallowed hard. "I … told him I wouldn't fight him if he let Nate go. That I'd go with him."

"Okay." Billy swallowed hard. "Okay, but… to be fair… Nate had us all frozen…"

"Did you hear any of the speech he gave before he killed Noh?" James asked, and when Billy nodded, he continued, "That is why Noh's dead."

"No, it's because I was panicking and didn't think fast. I got him to drop you both, remember?"

"He was already dead, Billy."

"No, I know, that's why I - there was a whole speech first, and if I hadn't been panicking for you -"

"It took Nate some time to reboot, too. It's not your fault or Nate's or Rachel's," James said. "It doesn't change the fact that the reason he was killed-" He sighed heavily.

Billy squeezed his hand on his good side. "It was the right call," he said. "We were all stuck. It would've been worse if every single one of us were enslaved, right? That sounds really bad."

"I've got to tell Mia what happened."

"I can do that if you want me to," Billy said quietly.

"No," James said. "I'm supposed to be her best friend. I need to be the one to tell her."

"Okay." Billy watched James for a long time and then put his good hand up to James's face. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to help."

"You did everything you could, sweetheart."

"You did too," Billy said and just curled up with him - then sucked in a quick breath when he jostled his arm. "Right. Right; we need to get back to Tyler and everybody…"

"Yeah," James agreed, then got up and helped Billy upright as carefully as he could.

"I don't actually have enough juice to wish us back to Genosha," Billy admitted quietly.

"It's okay; I'm pretty sure Tony has jets inbound," James said. "He was hovering earlier."

"Fair enough," Nate said, sitting down right next to Mia to rub his temples. He'd come over to check on them, but it seemed that was all he had the energy to do.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before James' prediction was right - and Tony's private jet came in for a vertical landing not far from where the group was sitting. Everyone was muted and quiet, and Tommy and Mia both were still out all through loading up the jet. They were halfway to Genosha when Tommy started to wake up first.

He let out a soft sound that alerted the others to the fact that he was waking up, and since Billy was still hurt, Alex got there first, knowing there was a risk that Tommy would wake up swinging and more than willing to take the hit if need be.

And, sure enough, Tommy did wake up faster once he started to wake up at all, gasping and taking a blind swing that Alex easily caught - because Tommy, as scared as he was, was exhausted and hurt more than anything else.

Tommy's eyes were still wide, but he didn't keep swinging once Alex had a hold of his hands. He was simply panicking, even as Alex said, quietly, "Hey, you're alright. You're okay. It's over."

For several long seconds, Tommy's chest was still heaving. But then, softly, he said, "Uncle Alex?"

Alex nodded and then didn't give Tommy a chance to freak out any more before he yanked him underneath his chin into a hug. Even though Tommy was still wearing the attire of a Horseman, he looked far more like himself than he had moments ago. He had his color back; he looked less sickly. And that was confirmation that Apocalypse really was gone - and an honest relief.

Tommy stayed tucked under Alex's chin for a long time, obviously hurting in more ways than one and desperately seeking comfort after everything that happened. And then, after several minutes had passed, he cleared his throat and sat up enough to look around the jet with a whispered, "Where's Billy?"

"Here," Billy said, though he was struggling to make himself understood when his jaw was still broken. They were headed to see Tyler, but in the meantime, they were all still badly injured. And there was no telling what those who had been defending Genosha or fighting Hydra looked like. More than likely, Tyler would have to prioritize healing all the serious injuries first - and then he could get around to things like Billy's jaw.

But that meant that Billy was helpless to comfort either his brother or his boyfriend when they were both so clearly in distress. And Tommy could see that in his brother's wide eyes.

So, rather than deal with what he was feeling - rather than face the torment that he'd been through and the terror that had gripped him when he knew he was being tossed aside so Billy could replace him and the worry for his now-ex and the many conflicting feelings about how Noh had died - he put his whole focus into checking on his brother.

"Hey, so, neat trick with stopping Apocalypse from switching brothers on us. What spell was that?" Tommy asked, knowing Billy needed a distraction as badly as he did.

"It wasn't mine, actually - but it felt like me, if that makes sense," Billy admitted. He still sounded miserable through his jaw, but he also sounded intrigued.

Tommy raised an eyebrow at that. "Demiurge?" he guessed.

"Maybe," Billy agreed. "Felt similar." He paused. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sure. More worried about you. And Mia. Did you see what happened to her?" Tommy asked, blatantly redirecting.

"Not much more than you did," Billy admitted.

It wasn't long after Billy and Tommy were settled in comparing notes when Mia started to stir, and James shifted over to take the seat next to hers with a bottle of water and a box of tissues in hand. He sat sideways in his seat, facing her, and started out by handing her the tissues, since she was already overly emotional without knowing everything. Just the fiasco she'd been through had been heavily traumatic - but James was sure he was right to be there when her first question was: "Where's Noh?"

It took James a moment to start, and when he did, he offered Mia his hand before he began to explain what had happened - with Nate close by, frowning the whole while. He told her what she'd missed when she'd been in another dimension. Not blow by blow, but the basics to lay out how the fight had shaped up. And Mia was holding her breath listening to how badly her team - her family - were handling the fight. And still, James had to pause to rearrange his thoughts, giving her enough time to ask again where Noh was.

James dropped his gaze to her hands for a long moment, then finally looked back up at her, though when he started to explain that part, he opened with: "I screwed up."

Mia was openly crying and couldn't stop, but she still shook her head softly. "No, you didn't," she said without knowing anything else.

But James nodded and waited for her to finish before he again insisted he did - then explained how. Again, he skipped over the worst details, just giving her an overview - and one that left out the parts that showed how near of a miss it was that he wasn't a Horseman himself.

"Yeah, he's skipping the fact that Apocalypse made Noh bring him James and nearly turned him into a Horseman too. Not a thing he could have done to stop it, and he saved me in the process." Nate pointed at himself. "I've never lost control like that. If that had kept up, if he'd kept making me hallucinate, we'd have lost. Or Rachel would have had to give up to the Phoenix."

Mia looked between Nate and James, her eyes wide and her tail still, before she simply buried her face in James's shoulder and started crying her eyes out, grabbing onto what was left of his shirt with one hand to hang on tighter as she simply started to sob and James wrapped her up tightly.

Nate had been smart enough to make Scott aware of what was quietly going down as soon as Mia had first asked for Noh, so Scott crossed the jet to come and sit on James's other side, his mouth pressed into a thin line as he watched Mia cling to James for comfort. He didn't do anything except to sit with them, gently rearranging himself to put his arm around James to sit there with him, knowing that there wasn't a single thing he could offer when everything was so fresh and raw.


The flight hadn't been too long, but when the jet landed in Genosha, Wanda and Ororo were on the tarmac waiting along with Tyler and Hank, who were ready to triage as their friends got down. The others were waiting in the palace for them to be cleared.

Rachel and America were off first, since they were minimally injured, though Alex and Nate weren't far behind them.

Tommy had needed help getting off the jet - partly from simple exhaustion and partly from small injuries that had added up from being so worn out from all the fighting and healing. And because he'd been with Tommy for most of the flight, Billy and Tommy were leaning on each other as they exited the jet. It was clear from a distance that Billy needed help, and Wanda found herself looking for James, too - since she didn't expect him to have left Billy to Tommy. Or for Tommy to continuously keep peeking over his shoulder with an expression of heartbroken concern.

Scott stuck with James and Mia - not because either were terribly hurt, but because Mia needed the support and James wasn't about to make her do anything at all. And she wasn't in the mood to move, let alone get off the jet. So James was settled in with her, ready to camp out if need be. Or he was - until Scott gently urged them to move.

James glanced at the back of the jet where the body bag was that held Noh, staring at it for a moment too long as he wondered why he didn't know that the jets the Avengers used carried such a thing. But, with a bit more prompting, James rearranged how Mia was curled into him and simply picked her up to carry her out with Scott following them.

At first, Ororo panicked, having seen far too much footage of Mia wreaking havoc as a Horseman, but when she got up to the two of them, Mia finally shifted , reaching for her parents with a deep sob that left James silent and still as he watched her go to Forge and Ororo.

"Come on," Scott said quietly over his shoulder. "Let's go inside."

James looked over his shoulder toward the jet but let Scott steer him all the same - at least until they came across Annie, and then, he stepped aside to try and keep out of the way. Not that he was fast enough to avoid Annie as she came rocketing into both of them, clinging on tightly and projecting I'm so sorry over and over again, making it clear to Scott at least that she knew exactly what had happened.

You okay? Scott asked, his hands at her elbows.

She nodded tightly. I'm getting better at this, she said, though tears were streaming down her face. James is the only one who isn't projecting.

That's normal for him, Scott said.

I know. But it's different. I can usually at least brush him with a projection, like asking permission to come in, you know? This is like you were when Sinister would come visit. I can't get in at all.

I think that's how he is most of the time, but you'd have to ask one of the kids. I know he tries to be more open when he can.

Annie nodded, biting her lip as she watched James look lost until he found a place to sit down. I don't have to be a telepath to know he blames himself. Nate heard everything, and he's projecting concern - and telling Kate right now. She tipped her head toward where Nate was wrapped in Kate's arms; David was chewing on Alex's nose.

Scott sighed. There's a big difference between feeling guilty for killing someone and feeling guilty for being responsible for someone getting killed.

Speaking of, Mr. Summers. Annie let her shoulders drop and then stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. I know you're not holding up too well yourself. And I'm not sure if a joke is appropriate here, but all I can think to say to try to make it better is: "at least this one won't put you back in house arrest"? She winced her shoulder up to her ear. Alex is worried about you. I'm sure you know that.

I'm fine, he said reflexively.

Annie raised one eyebrow, took a step back, openly looked Scott over, and then said - out loud - "Yes, I'm sure that gray is your natural color. Or blue or black. Honestly, Scott, you don't have a physical mutation; you shouldn't be turning colors."

"Secondary chameleon?" Scott shot back dryly.

"Very funny," she said, twisting her fingers in his and then yanking on his hand hard toward Tyler, who was sitting with Billy trying to heal the many broken bones he'd accumulated, seeing as most of the Horsemen had recognized him as a huge threat and had therefore beaten him down pretty badly at every turn.

"I'm delivering patients to you," Annie said briskly, and Scott had to laugh and shake his head at her. "Because I know some of them won't actually come to you on their own."

Tyler glanced up at Scott, sucked in his breath, and nodded. "Yeah, gotta act fast on that one. I've been warned."

"Really?" Scott turned the full force of a dry look Annie's way.

Annie blinked at him innocently. "Mr. Summers, I'd like to get married to you in the very near future. And I would appreciate it if you could actually waltz with me after the fact."

"Annie…"

"Oh, hush and set a good example, or your children will continue to believe that all medical care is evil and that seeking help is a weakness."

Tyler chuckled when Scott didn't have a ready retort. "We should have you around for all post-mission healing sessions," he teased Annie.

"Anytime you need me," Annie shot back without missing a beat - and even gave Billy a kiss on the cheek when Tyler was finished healing him, because he looked like he needed it and was staring off into the distance a few too many times. "I'm calling my brother and Mrs. Kaplan," she said, making sure Scott was already getting scanned by Tyler before she actually released his hand to get up. "This all happened so fast… and they need to know what I know." Her voice was tight, and Scott frowned when he could see that she was crying too; as good as she was getting, it was obvious she was overwhelmed by the projected memories of everyone there.

"Hey," he said, reaching out to catch her at the elbow. "If you need to leave…"

She shook her head quickly. I just need help closing my mind again. That's the hardest part for me, and everyone is so … so loud right now…

Scott nodded, relieved to have something he could do, someone he could help, to distract himself from everything else that was going on - especially because he knew that Annie had to have been picking up his own feelings, his own trauma regarding Apocalypse, his own self-blame. If he could help her mitigate that, if he could shield her, then he would do whatever she needed him to do.

And so, before Annie could call anyone, he first sat with her to help her center herself. And then, he kissed her cheek softly before she stepped out to make her calls in privacy.

Once everyone had been triaged and checked over, Hank made his way over to rest a hand on James' shoulder. "From what I've been told, you need a few x-rays to be sure everything is where it should be," he said, and James simply nodded silently and got up to follow him without a fight.

Hank didn't say a word all the way to the lab equipment, and he didn't take his hand off of James' shoulder either. James hadn't noticed that part, though. He was still caught up in running everything over in his head, trying to focus on something other than watching Noh die while he was less than a few yards away and all the implications that went along with that death. But when he closed his eyes, if he didn't see Noh's last moments, he couldn't stop thinking about that damned body bag.

And when Hank finally got started with yelling at him, it was almost a welcome distraction. Almost. James had no idea that Hank could cut to the bone that quickly with his words.

"I'm not going to just forget that you hid this from everyone that cares about you for a whole year, James," Hank started in. "or near enough to it. A whole year that you with all your brainpower could have found a way to let someone know the kind of danger you were in. That all of us were in simply by virtue of who you allowed into your sphere of influence."

Hank jostled James, trying to reposition him for another X-ray without actually asking him to move. He was on too much of a roll to slow down enough to speak about the task at hand. Especially since he'd had to hold in all of the curses and invectives he'd had rattling in his head since he'd first learned that James was covering for Sinister.

"I thought that I'd been clear. That I'd properly warned you of the dangers surrounding this particular villain. I thought that you trusted me."

"I do," James said in almost a whisper, looking up at him as he processed the kind of shock that came from this level of disappointment from someone he loved like family.

"If that were true, then you would have told me, James," Hank said with a growl. "I was so proud of you when you decided to try for genetics against Stark's wishes. I was excited when you approached Oxford - and made it in. But with all the warnings I gave you - all the times that I told you the truth to a degree that your father would have been angry - the one time you needed to do the same for us, you chose not only to fail to warn anyone but to side with Mr. Sinister."

Hank's tone was harsh, grating, and full of hurt and anger. "I would have tried to help you, James. We all would have."

By that point in Hank's rant, James had lost all of his steam. He hadn't started with much, but he felt so guilty already … and this was just reminding him of all of his mistakes and missed opportunities. It didn't matter that he truly felt that he had no choice.

Hank swore and pointed to the X-rays on the light box. "We have a lot of work to do. Not only the obvious breaks on your limbs but to remove the many shards throughout." He was grumbling under his breath as he stalked around the unfamiliar lab, though the offered assistants Wanda had given him were afraid to cross him in the mood he was in.

James looked around the room, testing the scents in the air, and quickly realized he didn't want to do this. Not now, anyhow. Hank would insist on it, but James wasn't … he didn't want to sleep, even if it was artificial - and he knew the next step was an inhibitor and some heavy drugs. "I don't want to take away from anyone else, Hank-"

"A bit too late for that," Hank snarled. "A dozen nasty breaks. Ridiculous number of bone shards to be removed. Your claws won't be operational on that side for who knows how long." A box slammed against the counter across the lab, and James flinched as Hank swore again. "Where the devil are the blasted inhibitors?"

James closed his eyes and steeled himself. "Just … skip the inhibitor," he said finally, earning what he was sure was a requisite low growl.

"The bones need to be aligned properly - you know that."

"Yeah, I know," James said, gingerly taking off the remains of the top half of his uniform. "You have more important things to do, and I don't want to go down. So just … rebreak what you need to. The shards can work their way out on their own."

Hank scoffed as he glared. "Absolutely not." When he saw that James wasn't bluffing, though, his perspective began to shift. Obviously, Hank didn't know the full story yet - and he'd hit a button somewhere along the line that need not be hit. So, while James was wallowing in guilt, Hank turned his back to him and drew up a measure of sedative and scribbled on a note for his closest lab assistant to turn on whatever general dampener they had.

He argued against James' proposal as James defended it - much stronger than Hank had anticipated… at least, he argued it until the lab tech nodded at Hank to let him know that their powers were down. Hank returned to James and tipped his chin up to look the boy over, though James refused to meet his gaze.

"I will not cause you more pain, my boy," Hank said, only to take pause when he saw the way James' breath caught at the familiar term. "I want to know what all you've endured this year with your unlikely teacher." James opened his mouth, and Hank cut him off. "But not now. Now, I'm asking for your trust once again. Let me do my job, James. My job, which starts with first doing no harm."

"It would be faster," James argued, on the verge of … something. "You have my permission…and you have better things to do."

"Balderdash," Hank replied thickly. "Lie back and try to breathe. You'll wake up as you usually do in my care - a bit sore for wear, but without any further harm." He showed him the syringe. "I have the medication in order. I promise to be quick."

Here, Hank expected an argument - something like how James had been responding to pushes for medical anything since Viper and Katarina - but to his surprise, James simply turned his head away and held stock still until the drugs took effect and Hank had to start working quickly.

"Need any help?" Scott asked, appearing at Hank's side easily, almost like old times, already grabbing a few supplies for cleanup.

Hank glanced up at him, but shook his head as he got to work. "I don't know where to start."

"If it looks broken; we'll start there."

"That's not the part I'm taking issue with," Hank said, then set down everything in his hands to look up at Scott. "How did all of this get so far with no one knowing?"

Scott didn't meet Hank's gaze - though considering he was still wearing a visor from the fight, it wasn't as easy to see that as it had been for the past several years. "We - I would've told you if I could have, Hank. You know that."

"And was your son under the same restrictions?" Hank said tersely.

"Nate was, yes," Scott said.

Hank gave Scott a look. "You know damn well that's not the one I was referencing."

"Yes, well." Scott let all his breath out at once and let his shoulders drop. "I won't lie to you and tell you that I would have made the same call he did. But the kid is twenty years old, and a supervillain that he knows could take down the entire team showed up and took his family's minds for a ride. I'd cut him some slack for thinking on his feet enough to give everyone involved relative peace, all things considered."

Hank huffed but took a moment longer before he could make himself get back to work. "Do you know what he asked me to do just now?"

"I'm assuming something he thought was a punishment," Scott said, and Hank could hear the resignation in his tone. "Do you know why?"

"I know that there is no sane reason for him to honestly think that I would reset his bones without putting him to sleep first."

Scott paused and curled his hands in fists, then swore under his breath. "He's blaming himself, Hank," he said quietly. "Not just for Sinister. Apocalypse killed Noh right in front of him and made him watch. Just out of reach."

Hank had to once again take a moment to weigh all of that out as his shoulders slumped and he swore to himself. "That would have been useful information before we had our chat."

"Sorry. Was distracted by Annie being completely overwhelmed with everyone projecting their memories at once."

"Excuse me?" Hank said, stepping back and removing his glasses.

Scott gave Hank a grim smile and tipped his head toward Annie, who was sitting with Nate and Kate for the moment. "It's been almost a year. And that's another reason James didn't tell anyone, to tell the truth; Sinister has been experimenting this whole time, and the only thing keeping him from doing it in a lab… or to the kids…" Scott trailed off and sat down. "God, it's been a long year."

Hank tried and failed to control his growl. "I cannot help anyone if I don't know what is happening, Scott. How long did James know that Sinister was meddling in everything?"

"Only slightly longer than Annie's had powers," Scott admitted. "We've just been trying to mitigate - Hank, I'm sorry, it's just been-"

"Kate said he was helping-"

"Yes, well, Nate forcibly removed his plans to keep David, at least," Scott said almost dully and ran his hands down his face.

"And what plans were left behind?" Hank asked, his tone still far harsher than he'd wanted it to be - but it was just such a shock with such a horrible figure, he couldn't stop himself.

"Honestly… most of his plans culminated in this right here," Scott said. "Killing Apocalypse. For good. Nate didn't get to see everything."

Hank shook his head. "You shouldn't be here," he said finally. "He needs surgery. It will likely take some time."

"Please let me know when he's awake, then," Scott said, though he was slow to get up. And when he did glance up, he put his hand on Hank's arm. "Whatever you said to him, it was probably deserved - but the timing was wrong, that's all. He gambled with this plan of his that he could get close enough to see what Sinister was planning … and he won enough of the bet to keep the rest of us safer than we would have been otherwise."

"Sinister will be back," Hank said. "You'd better make sure your son doesn't try to slow me down when he shows up again."

"I'll make sure he knows to clear a path," Scott promised. He gave Hank a tired smirk. "Sorry to keep you out of the loop," he said and squeezed his shoulder.

"I hope his memory is clear," Hank said as Scott left. "I want to know how we got to this point with you as well."

Scott chuckled dryly and gestured to his visor. "Oh, it's always the same with me and Sinister. He gets what he wants, and I pick up the pieces. Nothing's changed, Hank."

"Except that you've managed to regain your sight and your abilities at what I can only assume was an accelerated pace. With a procedure that does not otherwise exist and should not be possible."

"Yes, well, apparently, Sinister couldn't stand letting the object of his study become ordinary," Scott said, shrugging with his hands in his back pockets, obviously uncomfortable.

Hank hummed to himself, but Scott knew he was just trying to get his focus back to get back to work. He had a lot more questions, and it was obvious Scott wasn't going to be the one to answer them.