Chapter 16 - Taking Inventory
While Billy and Rachel had slowly started to rouse on the flight away from what little remained of the Department, James … simply didn't. It was the kind of thing that had all of the elder X-Men wondering if the device that was still attached to him was delivering meds that kept him down and out - or if there was more bad news on the horizon.
As soon as they landed, everyone who hadn't been involved in the rescue rushed to check on their family members. Billy and Tommy were both with their parents, and while Nate was with Kate and David, Scott was sitting with Rachel looking across the way to where Hank was carefully checking over James and his devices. He stayed that way, too, until Annie came to sit by him - making sure to give Nate a hug as well on her way to Scott. And that drew Nate's attention once more to the rest of his family, especially David, who reached for him and immediately set off a wave of tears Nate honestly hadn't been expecting as he snatched up his son.
But … Hank couldn't give Scott a solid answer on why James hadn't woken up yet, and Rachel was still plainly out of it, so Nate couldn't keep away from his siblings for long, no matter how badly he wanted to hide away with David and hold him tight, trying to scrub the fear of being a single father out of his mind for good. Still, he had so many deep concerns regarding his brother. So, when Scott looked ready to fall asleep with his eyes open as soon as all of them were situated in rooms instead of clutching onto each other desperately in the hangar, Nate took the time to center himself so he could peek.
James was easier to get into when he was drugged and asleep anyhow, and considering that Nate had been largely responsible for the extra defenses in James's head, there was no one better suited for the job. But he had to be careful not to tip his father off as to what he was doing.
The usual resistance was still in place - and many of Nate and Sinister's traps were still in tact waiting to attack anyone who ventured too close to them on the psychic plane. Which really only made it that much more bizarre for Nate when he finally made it through everything … and he couldn't find James. It was very much like walking into his house with no one home. Sure, it was more akin to walking in after Scott and Viper fought - and there was a mess, to be sure, but … it was all there. But for as familiar as James's mind was, there was an overwhelming, eerie emptiness that resounded loudly around him.
Nate had never even heard of something like this. James had to be here. Somewhere. Nate just had to find him. He didn't realize it was going to be a big deal … until he realized that stepping outside of the area that they normally conversed in meant stepping out into the wilderness at his parent's cabins.
"Why am I not surprised?" Nate said to himself as he looked out at what appeared to be somewhere wildly up north if the pines and mountains in the near distance were anything to go by.
Thankfully, though, Nate didn't have to be the one to speak up when Bobby was sure to hobble in to check on Scott. He'd been worried and projecting exactly how concerned he was for everyone involved, but particularly Scott.
"So," Bobby said as he made his way closer to where Scott was seated, "would you say metal replacing your skeleton is better, worse, or equal to being shot in the head pre-metal?"
After a moment to weigh out his answer, Scott said in a subdued tone, "That's not really a question that I ever wanted to consider."
Silence hung in the air between them for a long moment. "So … what can we do?".
"Right now?" Scott bit his lip as he looked toward James. "Wait, I think. I have no idea how long a healing coma after something like this would be."
"That's probably right, but it also seriously sucks."
"No kidding," Scott agreed and ran a hand down his face.
Which was just enough to draw Bobby's attention. "So … we should talk about that, too." He gestured toward Scott. "You … you okay? You did a lot. And like …"
"Fine, Bobby. I'm always fine."
"Yeah, I know. Not what I meant. I meant … you didn't seem to have any trouble keeping up."
Scott glanced up at Bobby and gave him a light smirk. "Yeah, I'm not as decrepit as the kids think," he said, going for a tease.
Bobby smiled crookedly. "Debatable, and yet … you know what I'm talking about."
Scott held his breath, but … he had noticed it too. He hadn't run out at all while he was at the facility, and he'd been using his powers the whole time. And now that he thought about it… "Damn, where's that visor," he said, not exactly meaning to say it out loud, but it was such a surprise that it came out all the same.
"Oh. you think you need one now?" Bobby teased thickly. "You should be tapped out."
"This was - I don't know if I can do that all the time. You know… they took my kids, and we've all stretched our limits when we've had something like…"
"How's your head?"
Scott let his thought die with Bobby's question. "Fine, actually," he said softly.
Bobby let his volume drop. "I thought you always had headaches…"
"I did. It was always… background noise unless I got tapped out…" Scott glanced up at Bobby and then let out a disbelieving laugh that he didn't mean to do. "God, this is weird."
"I can totally get you a security blanket visor if you want it …"
"Not if you're going to call it that," Scott laughed.
"Well, I mean … that's what it sounds like it is at this point … which … what?" Bobby gestured wordlessly.
"Yeah, I'm not the person to ask about that." Scott looked toward James and fell back into a frown. "James was there. He kept Sinister from holding me back, I think."
Bobby turned toward him dramatically just to stare and blink. "Hold on. I knew there was a weird thing going on there, but how the hell would that …"
Scott gestured for Bobby to join him where he was seated. "Long story," he said. "You got a minute while you wait to get that knee fixed?"
"You mean do I have a minute to hear the secret debrief that you didn't do after Apocalypse? Because clearly, you were downplaying it when you gave us the rough overview the first time." Bobby tutted. "Breaking your own rules, too…"
"Yeah, yeah," Scott said, shaking his head. "Do you want the story or not?"
"Scott, if you don't tell me this story, I swear to god, I'll make your life miserable. Er."
"Like to see you try."
"Don't challenge me. I already have the spider girl freaking out. I have ways. Apparently."
"Yeah, how about I'll tell you my story if you tell me what's got May looking at you like that."
"You go first."
"Fair enough," Scott said, leaning back to settle in and fill Bobby in - because if this was the new normal and he was, in fact, going to have a different power level than before, the team did actually need to know.
Billy was starting to come back to consciousness. At first, he was just trying to remember what was going on as his senses returned. Everything felt slow and heavy, and he couldn't immediately remember why.
And then, he remembered sending a spell to find his friends. He remembered the names that came back - and the ones that didn't. He remembered Rachel in a tube… he remembered James in trouble…
He opened one eye at first, but he was trying to will himself into waking up faster. He didn't know why he was awake, and if the bad guys had pulled him out of the tube, he needed to get moving so he could blast through them and go help the people he loved.
He had a half-formed wish in his head, too… and then, he saw his mother, who was sitting close by but was talking to someone else… someone Blue… right. That must have been Hank…
It was so hard to concentrate.
"Mom?" he croaked out in a voice that was heavy with disuse.
"Yes, sweetheart," Wanda said, turning his way with a tired smile. "I'm here. You're safe now. Everyone is out, so just … take your time waking up."
"You sure?" Billy asked, frowning as he tried to get his body to cooperate, but all he could do was open both eyes and wrinkle his nose.
"Yes, very," Wanda promised. "I haven't heard the full tale of daring, but Scott and Bobby seem to have trashed the place and all of the creeps in it pretty soundly."
"Okay." Billy tried again to shift, and this time, he was able to get his muscles to cooperate better, at least enough that he could turn toward her better. His eyesight was coming back, and he could see that they weren't alone in their corner of the medical wing. "Who…?" He pulled a face. His mouth tasted very, very weird.
"You and your brother," Wanda started out, then started ticking names off on her fingers.
Billy shook his head lightly. "No, I know who was there," he said, starting to get used to words in his mouth. "I did a spell…"
Wanda smiled lightly as she brushed his hair out of his face. "Of course you did."
He leaned into her touch and smirked lightly. "They were scared of me and Rachel," he told her, not bothering to hide his satisfaction.
"Likely the smartest thing they did before they died."
"Maybe." Billy groaned and shifted. "Everything tastes weird."
"I'm sure it does. That will fade," Hank said, cutting in with a touch of medical knowledge. "If not the drugs used to sedate you, then the IV that's clearing all of that from your system."
"Oh, hey, Dr. Blue," Billy said.
"You're coming out of this rather well," Hank said, though he was resting a hand on Wanda's shoulder. "Don't rush it."
"I need to… they wanted to hurt James," Billy said, frowning as his mind cleared. He made a movement like he was going to try to stand, but he didn't get far before Hank stopped him.
"They wanted to hurt all of you," Hank corrected. "You are all safely here now. Focus on your recovery so you can be properly dramatic upon each and every one of your upcoming reunions."
"Right, yeah." Billy rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, I feel like I'm still… remembering everything…" He glanced toward Wanda. "Are you okay? I got you out, but I don't know what 'safe' means with Demiurge powers."
"Recovering," Wanda said, still looking weary. "Though I found myself in Scott's house in Brooklyn …"
"Definitely safe then," Billy decided. He glanced past her to see Tommy, who was turned away from him for the moment so he could talk to Mia, but after a moment, Mia nodded toward Billy, and Tommy turned his head toward them.
"Oh, hey," Tommy said, pulling the blanket on the gurney he was on a little higher. "You missed a lot, Sleeping Beauty."
"So tell me what I missed," Billy said. "The adults are trying to redirect."
"A lot," Tommy said. "Like, a lot. Iceman went on a rampage. Cyclops and Aunt Lorna are a terrifying team. Captain America's hovering over me cuz we were in cells close to each other and he's a mother hen. Umm…." Tommy held up one hand to count on his fingers. "Tyler broke my leg, and I didn't wanna try kissing him to stop him, ya know?"
"Oh good, at least you didn't lose your mind," Billy said as he rolled his eyes.
"Yeah." Tommy shrugged lightly. "So, um, your boyfriend's been through some stuff. Like, a lot of stuff."
"What do you know?"
"I kinda had front row seats to what adamantium bonding looks like," Tommy said, seeing no reason not to tell Billy - though that was news to Wanda and Hank, at least the fact that Tommy had been there for it. "So, you know, that's gonna be a whole thing."
"You what?" Hank said at almost the same time that Billy whispered it with an entirely different intonation.
"I escaped?" Tommy winced one shoulder up to his ear. "I was trying to find a way out or trying to rescue backup or something, and I opened the wrong door, basically. Got caught strolling into the middle of their process. And let me tell you - it was not pretty."
"Maybe now isn't the time," Hank said before Billy could ask any further.
"No, I think now is the time," Billy said, his eyes flashing. "Where is he?"
"Sleeping," Hank said with a sigh. "He was much more heavily sedated when he was brought back."
Billy frowned, and Tommy fell silent, deciding that Billy didn't need to know what he did about the telepaths who had done something to James. They could deal with that later, when Billy was less drugged and therefore less likely to make questionable magic decisions. So instead, Tommy said, "This is the part where we do a lot of sleeping anyway."
"Since when did you decide to be the reasonable one?" Billy asked with a frown pulling at his features.
Tommy swallowed, glanced down at his side, and then shrugged. "Yeah, don't listen to me," he said quietly. "I don't ever know what I'm talking about anyway."
"But … you're the only other one awake? And you know more than you're telling me, so …."
"I always know more than you," Tommy pointed out with a quiet smirk.
"That's overstating things," Billy said, though he was almost matching Tommy's smirk.
"Says you." Tommy let out a big, long breath. "We can talk later, huh? It's a lot. And I'm saying it's a lot, so…"
"So it might not be that much, just more than you want to say," Billy said.
"More or less," Tommy agreed, glancing toward Mia, who looked like she didn't like the tone he was taking at all.
"Alright, but … I'm not going to be able to sleep now," Billy pointed out.
"Okay, um… how about I tell you about how I escaped? It's pretty heroic," Tommy said.
"Obviously," Billy said in a blatant attempt to build up his twin. "Your escape stories are always good."
"I literally vibrated their observation room until they were scared," Tommy said, grinning. "Vibranium and everything."
"Nice."
"Yeah, and I outran 'em even in a collar because I'm just that amazing," Tommy added.
"Well by comparison, at the time, there was no contest."
"You're hilarious. I'm amazing always," Tommy said. "Honestly, Billy, the hardest part was being in the collar, you know? Spent a long time hiding in the vents looking for a way out with my brain going faster than my body."
"You pulled a Hawkeye?"
"It worked, okay? I only got caught again when I ditched the vents!"
"Okay, but what made you ditch the vents? Did you get the urge to investigate a suspicious dumpster?"
Tommy glanced down at his side again and grimaced. "I… couldn't heal, and I figured if I didn't make a run for it, I was gonna die of infection in the vents."
Billy sat up straighter. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah, I sorta screwed up getting air vent gunk in an open wound? It was not fun, I gotta tell you. I'm not infected now, though, I promise. Believe it or not, they, you know, fixed me up. Sorta."
Billy frowned. "How long were we gone?"
"I… kinda lost track once I got infected, and then I was sedated?" Tommy admitted, glancing toward Mia for an answer.
"Twenty-nine days," Mia said softly.
"And we can finish this discussion later," Wanda said gently when it was clear that Billy had absolutely nothing to say in response to Mia's answer. "I want you boys cleaned up and with a clean bill of health before Hank sends you back with me. Mia, sweetheart, you'll be staying with us as well, won't you?"
Mia nodded quickly. "Yeah. Me and Dad," she said, glancing at Tommy, who for the first time avoided her gaze.
"Wonderful," Wanda said as she carefully got to her feet and then kissed Billy's forehead. "Hank - they won't be long, will they?"
"I'm basically healed," Tommy pointed out. "I'm just sticking around."
"No you're not," Wanda argued.
"Mom's being overprotective," Tommy told Billy.
"Twenty-nine days," Billy said in a breath before he glanced at Wanda. "You… you look like you're doing better, at least…"
"Yeah, Mom, what have you been up to?" Tommy said, blatantly redirecting the attention.
"Healing. Slowly," Wanda said heavily. "Without magic."
"What, why?" Tommy asked, no longer using the question as a deflection.
"I haven't been able to focus enough to cast any spells," Wanda said. "Or that's the working theory right now."
"I can help," Billy offered immediately.
"You probably shouldn't," Wanda said. "Dr. Strange has been by a few times - we're trying to work through this without causing any problems elsewhere."
"Fair," Billy said, though he was still frowning at his mom.
"Honestly, sweetheart, if I had full access to my magic, do you think I would have waited twenty nine minutes, let alone days to get you all out of there?"
"She makes a good point," Tommy said, and Billy rolled his eyes at him.
"Still. I have half a mind to wish what's left of the department out of existence," he said.
"It wouldn't take much of a wish," Wanda said. "Lorna and Alex said Scott really let loose."
"Good," Billy said simply.
Wanda smiled at him then pulled his blanket up to cover him better. "Don't do anything that Hank says you shouldn't," she warned. "Your room will be waiting once you get a proper all clear." She turned toward Tommy. "Both of you."
"Okay," Tommy said - but Billy had a feeling he only agreed because Mia was giving him a look.
Still, Billy knew enough to give his brother some semblance of his pride - and so, he waited until their mom was gone before he turned to Mia. "Okay, so what isn't he telling me?" he asked outright.
"Hey," Tommy said, but Mia was already grinning at Billy, her tail moving for the first time since he had woken up.
(That was, honestly, just as much of an indication of how badly things had gone as everything else the others had said would have been. Mia had never had a poker face - or poker tail, as the case may be. Her tail being still for so long told Billy that he was in for a whole lot of bad news.)
"He's not telling you why he's still in the medical wing, for one thing," Mia said, both eyebrows raised at Tommy, who was giving her a dirty scowl that didn't have much bite to it.
"She makes a good point, Tommy," Billy said. "If you're all healed up like you say you are, how come you're sticking around?"
"'Cause I'm worried about you, you dork," Tommy said, rolling his eyes. "I saw you swimming in green goo, and you were unconscious for a whole month! What, can't I guy want to make sure his brother's okay without his motives being questioned?"
"Wow," Mia said, drawing the word out and shaking her head.
"Am I lying?" Tommy asked, holding his hands out widely to his sides.
"By omission? Yes," Mia said, crossing her arms.
"Besides," Billy said reasonably, "is 'am I lying' really the bar you want to set for yourself if you can't even jump that?"
"I don't think I like it when the two of you team up on me like this," Tommy said, gesturing between Billy and Mia.
"Shame," Billy said, smirking when that had Mia laughing. She hadn't done that much since Apocalypse.
Tommy looked between the two of them and then rolled his eyes and sighed out his breath. "Okay, first, you have to promise no magic. You're still recovering, and I don't want my brother using himself up for me, okay?" Tommy said, no trace of his usual lighthearted tone in his voice.
And that was enough to make Billy sit up straighter. "Tommy…"
"I'm serious," Tommy said. He pointed at his face. "Look at me. Do you see this expression? Do you see my serious face? Do I ever make a serious face like this if I don't mean it?"
Billy glanced toward Mia, but when he saw that even she looked perfectly serious, he let his breath out and slowly nodded. "Okay," he said. "I won't freak out and use magic." He paused. "Until I'm recovered."
"You know what? I'll take it," Tommy said and then shifted so that the blanket was no longer covering the lower part of his arm… so that Billy could see that there wasn't actually anything to cover.
And Billy just… stared.
Everyone in the room could feel the crackling of energy as Billy stared and stared and stared at the stump where Tommy's arm had been. And that drew more than a few eyes their way, even as Tommy tried to diffuse the situation.
"It's a little lopsided, but-"
"I'm going to fix this."
Tommy swallowed hard and tried to rally again. "Billy, seriously, it's not worth you risking whatever the tradeoff is, magically speaking."
"They took off your arm?" Billy's eyes were flashing brighter, and magical wind had picked up around him.
"Billy, chill," Tommy said. "You just woke up, and Mom said-"
"Forget what Mom said! They took your arm!" Billy said - and at that point, Wanda had rushed back over, obviously alerted to what was going on.
"Billy," she said in a warning, but he wasn't hearing it.
"I'm fixing it," he said, in the same tone of finality he had used the first time he said it.
"Actually," Mia said, cutting in by clearing her throat when Billy looked her way with his eyes still glowing, "my dad said he'd take a look and see if he could build something for Tommy."
Billy frowned and glanced toward Tommy, who shrugged. "Might be cool, right? Having a robot arm?" Tommy said, still obviously trying to calm his brother down.
"That doesn't make this much better," Billy said.
"Yeah, I know." Tommy shrugged. "Hey, anyway, umm… let's talk about literally anything else. Mia?" He glanced toward Mia, who was watching the back-and-forth with a steadily growing frown.
Mia took a deep breath and then let it out. "So," she said slowly, "Halloween is soon?"
"Yes, please, let's plan our costumes," Tommy agreed immediately.
Even though Cassie had managed to avoid getting too badly hurt and hadn't been beaten around nearly as much as the other captives had, she still wasn't going to get away without a solid once-over from the medical staff. She thankfully hadn't managed to injure any internal organs when she'd been shot, but she was wickedly bruised and needed seven stitches to clean up the tear in her side.
Honestly, she probably would have been hurt worse than she was if she had been normally-sized when she was shot. The bullets tore through her side but were too small to penetrate any deeper … at least when her skin was that thick. She was lucky, and she knew it.
But the bigger problem wasn't her injuries but the fact that she had been out in the elements for so long looking for civilization and a way to call for help. Not only did she have the beginnings of frostbite and hypothermia but she was also hungry in a medical sense. She was malnourished, and she needed heat and food as an official prescription.
Both of which she could get outside the lab, so she gave Hank a kiss on the cheek, thanked him for looking out for her, and then ducked out, trying to get away from the misery of everyone who had been so badly used during their captivity and the misery that came with relief, as odd as it was. Yes, they were all happy to see each other again, but they had been separated for long enough that the reunion was diluted.
Cassie was headed for the kitchen, but almost as soon as she got out of the lab, she heard her name and turned just in time to see her dad bounding toward her before he picked her up and spun her into a hug that turned into a solid snuggle right there outside the door to the lab.
"Hi, Dad," Cassie said, tucking into him and feeling all at once like she was a kid again, hiding in her dad's embrace and wishing for him to fix it for her.
"Hey, Cass," he said and doubled down on the hug. "Heard you saved everybody. Not that I'm surprised."
"You're totally biased, Dad," she said in a half-gasped laugh.
"I'm allowed to be." He kissed the top of her head and hugged her again. "What do you need?" he asked, more seriously this time.
"Hank says I'm malnourished, so…"
"So we need to go to your favorite ice cream place. Got it."
But Cassie was shaking her head before he could even finish talking. "Not ice cream. Let's get something warmer." She shivered dramatically. "I was literally freezing and starving out there, Dad." She was trying to explain why she wanted to find, like, a pho place to snarf down warm food, but that was as far as she got before her breath caught, and she felt like all of the fear and isolation and near-hysteria she had experienced wandering alone in the woods came rushing back to her.
"Oh, hey, hold up." Her dad picked her up to carry her toward the kitchen, cuddling her head under his chin. "I know that look. Do you want to go hide and cry? I'll totally play guard dog outside your door and won't let anyone bother you."
She scoffed a laugh and wiped her cheeks. "Love you too, Dad."
"No, seriously. If you need me to…"
"I'm okay," she promised. She took a deep, shaky breath. "I mean, I'm not. But I'm trying to be. Does that count for anything?"
"Always does in my book," he promised. He kissed her forehead. "Okay, so… food?"
"Food," she agreed in a breath.
The whole time that Hank had been working his way through his extensive wait list of patients, he kept half an eye on James. Everyone seemed to be under the impression that the boy was simply in a healing coma - and for now, Hank saw no reason to debate that hypothesis. Except for the nagging feeling that something was wrong.
Well …more wrong than the fact that this boy had just been horrifically experimented on.
Hank let his lab clear out once everyone but Tommy and Tyler had been cleared, then he waited for them to go to sleep and for things to settle down before he took a moment to breathe and consider everything. He was dragging his feet, if he was being honest, but eventually, he made his way over to check on his most frequent patient.
When he came over to where James was laid out, Hank pulled up a chair and simply sat with him for a long moment watching James breathe, and trying not to get too hung up on the fact that his eyes weren't entirely closed. Still. That … that wasn't a trait that he could remember Logan or K doing when they went through healing comas.
But rather than ponder on that too much, Hank turned his attention to the device that was attached to James. The ledes were attached firmly in an all too familiar placement that left Hank with no doubt as to what they were for … the only question Hank had was why the department had felt the need to put a defibrillator on a feral.
Hank had put ledes of his own on, of course - and so far, he could see no reason to concern himself with something so extreme. It wouldn't be long before one of James's family members decided to ask questions about it either, so after checking to see how stuck on they were, Hank began working to remove the pads and let James rest without the extra wires on.
He'd been careful not to rip off hair as he worked, then, once James was reasonably cleaned up, Hank covered him up - closed his eyes the rest of the way and started across the lab to see if he could break into the case that held the data for that defibrillator.
They'd all long ago assumed that the procedure to cast adamantium to bone had to be barbaric and torturous. It hadn't occurred to Hank until just then that they might use a device like this as a twisted torture device, too … but he saw no other reason for it.
All was quiet and it was well after dark when Hank finished retrieving the data. The same soothing sounds of the lab around him was starting to lull him to sleep as he put the device back together. He had so much left to do … Tyler would need an intervention when he woke up after Betsy's telepathic intervention - and he was locked into an escape proof cell until that happened.
With a great yawn, Hank rose to his feet and stretched - fully intending to go to bed - though his sleepy peace was interrupted when James's monitors went off. Hank glared at the monitors until he saw that it wasn't a battery issue or the machine demanding attention.
James had flatlined. Out of nowhere.
Hank didn't have the chance to curse as he bounded over, holding his breath - and after a quick confirmation that the machines were not, in fact, defective, Hank rushed into action. It took him several long minutes, but it worked. Once again, his little genius nephew was able to employ basic life sustaining activities on his own.
With a breathless glance, Hank's shoulders fell upon seeing the defibrillator across the room. Now he understood it. He just didn't know why it had happened. But he sure as hell wasn't going to trust that it wouldn't happen again. The errant thought hit him … what if he had fallen asleep when he'd intended to? What if he'd made it out of the lab before that had happened?
He scrubbed a hand over his face and slowly walked back to pick up the device and return it to where it was … at James's side, attached to his chest - monitoring and waiting to correct any deficiencies in his rhythms.
After a long moment, it was very clear to Hank that whatever it was that had happened was a lot more harmful than what they'd expected, and for the first time in a very long time, he had no idea if the kid could come out of it. The old motto of hope for the best but prepare for the worst was ringing in his ears in a way that hadn't set so poorly with him in years. And after a very long moment of trying to determine what to do now, all Hank could do was dread how to tell one of his oldest and dearest friends that they might not really even get a shot to help at this point.
With his head in his hands, Hank leaned forward to rest his elbows on the edge of James's bed. He wasn't there for long before Tommy spoke up from across the room - letting Hank know that he'd heard more than Hank had wanted him to.
"That bad, huh?" Tommy shifted into a more upright position in his bed. "I was hoping that those stupid telepaths didn't … I don't know what."
"What do you know, Tommy?" Hank asked gently.
"I know my brother is going to have a meltdown when he figures this out."
"Figures what out?" Hank prompted him.
Tommy shifted slightly, more hesitant than Hank was used to seeing from him. "So," he said slowly, "I was in a cell across from him for a while. After they put the metal in him. They must have put him back in a tube while I was unconscious, but I'm actually not that surprised they did that, because he stopped responding to me at all after the blonde telepath sisters did something."
Hank narrowed his eyes, already not liking where this was going. "Can you tell me anything else?"
"Well … one of them didn't look like they really survived whatever it was that happened, one was freaking out, a lot, too. They were a mess."
Hank frowned and made a mental note to reach out to a telepath who wasn't related to the Summerses. "And he stopped responding after that?"
Tommy nodded. "Before that, he was hurt, yeah, but he could, like, roll his eyes or glare at me or something." He paused. "It took out a telepath, whatever they did. What's it gonna take to fix it?"
"I don't know," Hank admitted, his shoulders dropping even more.
How am I going to tell Scott?
Tommy didn't like waiting around on the medical wing - especially because he got to see firsthand how everyone reacted when they saw how badly screwed up their friends and family were.
But he had to stick around for measurements and stuff, apparently. And he was keeping an eye on Billy, who looked like he was barely holding back simmering anger.
Tommy had stopped being angry a while ago, though. He appreciated his brother's rage and even wished that he could muster up something like it, but the truth was, he had stopped being angry somewhere in the middle of the time he'd spent under Apocalypse's influence. He'd moved from anger into resignation, because he'd always known this was coming, hadn't he? That he'd run headfirst into his own demise?
So, he was grateful for his brother's anger. But he was too tired to deal with it. Or to deal with the feeling in the back of his mind that he was supposed to be angry.
But when the door opened, he stopped thinking too much about anger and sat up straighter, putting on a smile - especially when he saw Mia.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked. "Or just up super early?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Mia pointed out with an easy smile. She was in a good mood, and that boded well for him.
"Kinda had enough of sleeping, thanks," Tommy said.
"Fair," Mia said, slipping the rest of the way into the room - and in the process revealing that Forge was there too.
Tommy immediately sat up straighter. "Oh, hey!"
Forge smiled lightly, knowing exactly what Tommy was doing. "Hey there. Wanna come sign off on what design you want?"
Tommy froze, his mouth slightly open. He'd expected to be more excited, but instead… it suddenly felt real. It wasn't a joke about a robot arm. It was… permanent.
"It'll be a little while before I can make it," Forge said, looking both apologetic and attempting to be consoling. "You'll need to be healed fully before we'll know exactly how it will fit. But we can work with a few designs - and you can decide what options you'd like."
"Right, yeah," Tommy said around his dry mouth before he swallowed and nodded, trying to rally. "Uh, any advice on which one, I don't know, looks more heroic or something? I don't know what questions to ask…"
Forge sighed. "Honestly, Tommy, after everything you've been through and seen, I don't think you need to try and pick one that looks heroic." He smiled slightly. "Whatever you choose will fit the bill simply by who it belongs to." He waved him over before Tommy could get in a snarky response. "How about I show you what the differences are in the designs?"
Tommy nodded quickly, almost jumping out of bed before he remembered at the last minute that his leg was still healing. He pulled a face, grabbed a crutch, and did his best impression of speed anyway. "Any excuse to bust out of here, right?" he joked.
"Sounds right to me," Forge agreed. He watched Tommy move and shook his head. "Honestly, I'm just glad you're not going all the way in following in my footsteps." With a smirk, he tapped his metal leg. "At least you didn't do it to yourself - and one limb is already too much."
"I mean, to be fair, I sorta watched gangrene or whatever set in, so it feels like I did it to myself waiting too long."
Forge closed one eye and gently shook his head. "I blew mine off after ordering an air strike on my own unit after sacrificing their spirits to end a demon."
"Okay, you win." Tommy winced badly. "That… that really sucks. I'm sorry."
"Ancient history," Forge said, then turned his tablet so Tommy could look at the designs he'd already started. "I'll make sure any of these will be able to survive your speeds, but I think it might be smart to make sure that it houses some extra tricks. Weapons, defensive measures …"
"That sounds really cool," Tommy said, his eyebrows high as he looked over the designs.
"If you have to cope with something like this, it might as well be useful."
"Yeah." Tommy closed one eye and then shrugged. "We're sure that, like, the boogeyman following the Summers family around didn't make a deal with a devil to switch one cool cyborg body part for another?" He pointed at his eyes. "Really sure?"
Forge held up his metal hand and tipped it side to side. "Mmm. Not really his style, but I wouldn't put anything past him."
"I knew it." Tommy grinned and then went back to looking over the designs. "This one," he said, tapping the third on the list. "I like the thin look, kinda accentuates the difference."
"Then that's what I'll build," Forge agreed. "I'll be using a little of everyone's tech - that should make it harder to crack into for anyone if for some reason you drop it or someone manages to take it … which shouldn't be possible once I get done with the defenses."
Tommy nodded, still feeling a bit like this felt too real. "Thanks," he said in a breath.
Forge got to his feet from where he'd been sitting at the bench and took a moment to rest his hand on the side of Tommy's neck. "I'm going to get to work - but, if your mother thinks it would be better to turn to magic - I will help there, too."
"Thanks," Tommy said again, wide-eyed.
Forge patted his shoulder, spared Mia a smile, then headed off to leave them alone.
Tommy waited until Forge was gone before he let his shoulders drop. "Well," he said, still trying to joke because this all felt too heavy, "at least your dad doesn't hate me anymore?"
"I'm not sure he ever did," Mia said, though she was still watching the door that Forge had left through. "Do you realize how big of a deal that was just now?" Mia asked as she turned back to Tommy looking thunderstruck.
"After the crap I pulled when we broke up? Yeah, I know; it's pretty cool of him," Tommy agreed, completely missing the point.
"No," Mia said, shaking her head. "Dad's afraid to use his magic. He never does that. Ever."
Tommy froze. "I didn't know that."
"It's very cool of him."
"Yeah."
"You know what that means, right?" Mia said before she lightly punched his good arm. "He likes you."
"No accounting for bad taste," Tommy said, still shocked.
"Excellent taste, you mean," she said, half smiling.
"Right, yeah, obviously." He smirked at her. "Probably just protecting his little girl, right? Tracking device and all?" he had to tease, because he still didn't want to acknowledge it.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's about you, hero."
"Huh." Tommy shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. "So, um, should I get a tattoo engraved on the arm?"
"I mean … if you did and you got tired of it, you could just change it in an upgrade, so there's that."
"Then I'm totally gonna do that," Tommy decided.
Mia could see that Tommy was still highly off balance - and not just from his injured leg, so she gently took a hold of his good arm and teleported him - not to his bed, but to the roof where he could get a moment of sunshine and privacy. "You needed fresh air - and up here no one will be able to sneak a peek up your hospital gown, good prince."
Tommy broke into a grin. "You and your dad, looking out for me." He went to lean back and then realized he couldn't go back on his elbows. He tried to cover for it with a joke. "So, should I get 'good prince' on the arm or something scary?"
"Only if you can get Billy to wear an 'evil twin' t-shirt," Mia shot back without missing a beat.
"He's been floating and glowing and muttering under his breath, so…"
"I know, it seems self explanatory at this point, but you're the one that wants a label."
"I thought about getting 'Pestilence' on there just to give Billy and Mom heart attacks…"
"Oh, please don't," she laughed. "I'd have to get one, too."
"But then we'd match!" Tommy insisted. "Two screwed up ex-Horsemen flaunting it!"
She reached over and patted his knee. "Let's stick with t-shirts for that. Nothing permanent, huh?"
"Yeah, you're probably right. Not everyone would like the black humor."
"Just keep that first part in your mouth forever and we're all good."
Tommy smiled at that. "I've learned you're always right, Mia. No worries there."
"I was just teasing anyhow," she said, half wrapped around her knees and holding her tail.
Tommy watched her for a second and then bumped shoulders with her. "Hey, you okay? I know I was joking around, but the whole Famine thing…"
Mia shook her head. "It's not that," she said. "I kinda thought that was funny, to be honest. I'm just … really really glad you're okay."
"Yeah," Tommy said. He cleared his throat. "Did you, um, get to have a memorial and everything? I've been gone a month, and it was all still fresh when we got grabbed."
"To be honest, we got caught up in trying to find you all," Mia said. "Dad suggested we wait until everyone could be there - and maybe take it to space."
"I think he'd have liked that, yeah," Tommy agreed. He paused. "I really am sorry."
"I know, but you don't have to be," Mia said. "It wasn't on you at all."
"I know, but…" He trailed off. "You got hurt, and I'm sorry for that."
"You got hurt too," she said. "And you're more hurt now, so … I just want to make sure you're alright - and give you some space from your supervillain twin."
"He's building up to being downright scary if James doesn't wake up," Tommy told her frankly.
Mia frowned, looking toward the trees. "Is that a possibility?"
Tommy nodded. "I don't think the adults are ready to accept it yet, but I was there for a lot of it. It was bad."
Mia turned his way with a look of concern. "Can you tell me about it?"
"You sure? It's nightmare fuel; I'm not exaggerating."
"He's my best friend," Mia said softly.
"Okay." He took a deep breath and let in out. "Okay. Buckle in."
Mia listened to his story, quiet for all of it, but nodding to encourage him to go on when necessary. She looked as if she might cry a few times, but … by the time Tommy was through, she'd jutted her chin out, straightened up and nodded to herself. "I'm going to choose to have faith."
"Okay," Tommy said, his own voice long ago turning soft and faraway.
She reached over and took his hand. "It's okay to disagree with me."
"Yeah, I just…" Tommy sighed. "I just feel like I keep being close to it when better men than me … never mind."
Mia squeezed his hand then leaned closer so they were nearly touching foreheads. "And when has that ever happened?"
"Like I said: never mind. It was a stupid thought."
"I think you're not giving yourself enough credit," Mia said. "And I know you aren't referencing Noh. At all."
"Sure."
"I mean … he was an alien. Not even the same thing."
"Semantics," he said, smirking.
"Facts, you mean," she said, once again trying to tease him as her tail swayed slowly.
"Right, right; I forgot that you're always right."
"Sweet, forgetful prince…"
"Yep, that's me." Tommy bumped her shoulder again once she leaned back. "Still nothing next to a goddess."
"But being the good twin right now is a really big marker. You should hide his cape to slow his progress."
"In all seriousness, I was gonna sicc America on him," Tommy said.
"Ooh, now that is a good idea," Mia said, then pulled out her phone and simply dialed her up and put her on speaker. "Go ahead, Miss America, you're on the line with the good prince."
"Hi, Billy," America said without missing a beat.
"Oooh, ma'am, I'm sorry, you're working with outdated information," Mia said in her best secretarial voice. "The prince you're referring to is badly slipping into the supervillain scale and no longer can even try to claim the high ground. Sorry about your intel."
"So, wanna put him back in his place?" Tommy put in.
America laughed. "I'll talk to him," she promised.
"That might be hazardous all things considered," MIa said, then turned to Tommy. "She needs to know what you just told me. We just need her to get away from her Summers first."
"Right, fire hazard," Tommy agreed.
"That and she does a really ugly freakout when she jumps to the worst possibility anyhow," Mia said in a side whisper as she took his arm and leaned on his shoulder. "I am still going to hold out hope and have faith that he'll be okay, but … I will try to prepare myself for the worst, too."
Tommy nodded, not wanting to bring her down any more than she'd already dealt with. But he had a feeling everyone was being way too optimistic.
Betsy didn't like the look of her Angel's wings, but thankfully, Angela was gentle when she climbed up into his lap and wrapped herself around him. And he wrapped around her just as gently, so she didn't want to interrupt.
But once Angela fell asleep in his arms, Betsy scooped her up to take her to her room. She meant to return to Warren, but before she could get there, Hank stepped into her path, looking more tired and depressed than she had seen him in a long, long time.
She didn't even think about it before she reached out to peek at his thoughts - and then covered her mouth when one hand when she saw the memory he was turning over and over in his head as he considered all that Tommy had told him.
Oh no.
"I'm sure you're over-busy," Hank started to say, already suspecting that Betsy had peeked. "But I don't suppose you have a few moments to help me-"
"I'll look," Betsy said before he could finish. "I'll need somewhere private so no one reads too much into how long it takes before we know how bad it is."
"You'll need to tread carefully," Hank warned. "Nate told me that many of the traps both he and Sinister placed are still in effect."
"Then I'll definitely need time," she said.
Hank offered her his arm and a weary smile. "I'll not be going to bed any time soon, either."
"Then you can ask Rachel to look into Tyler's mind. I was going to peek, but that might be better, knowing how close she is to losing it after everything."
"Yes, I think that would be the perfect distraction," Hank agreed. "She was the one to help him initially - she'll know what to look for."
Betsy nodded, frowning already. But she didn't have any comfort to give when she didn't know the extent of the damage. So she simply followed Hank to where he had James set up, pausing to narrow her eyes at the equipment. "Has he had any more arrhythmias?" she asked, already peeking to see what the story was.
"Just the one," Hank said. "But there was no precursor." He just … stopped, Hank projected.
Betsy covered her mouth with one hand as she sat down next to James. That's not a good sign.
I had guessed as much, Hank agreed. What do you know? Have you seen anything like this before? I was under the impression that this level of damage left nothing behind. Nate surely would have said something if it was that - Hank sighed.
Betsy took a deep breath and let it out. I won't know until I look. I have… a theory, considering who we know he was working with.
Don't let me hinder your progress.
Betsy leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her and resting against her mouth. "Please remind Warren to take that medicine you prescribed if I'm gone too long to hit him over the head with it."
"Yes, of course," Hank said. "I'll lob something at him after I direct Rachel to Tyler."
"Perfect." With that Betsy dove in, surprised to find that, despite what Tommy had described, James's mind seemed … much like it usually did on the rare occasions he'd let her in. There was no destruction, no scorch marks.
But no James either.
Betsy narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips, and then set off. She didn't know how long it would take to find what the Cuckoos had done with James's consciousness, but she was sure Hank would make sure she got food and water if need be.
Upstairs, Hank quickly made his way to Rachel's door and knocked on the frame. The door was cracked open, but he was half hoping that Rachel was taking advantage of the free pass they were all trying to give her by sleeping it off. Naturally, that was never the way it ran for him when he was counting on it.
He could hear the scrambling as she rushed for the door and yanked it open fast enough that her hair drifted forward with the wind that followed the door.
"I had hoped you were resting as I'd advised you to do," Hank said with a somewhat forced smile. "But if you insist on taking after your father, I do have a small request for you."
"I did enough sleeping," she told him. She paused. "Oh, right, oh, god, I forgot about Tyler."
"First of all, I didn't say a word about sleeping," Hank said. "Nor did I think it. You truly should remind yourself to let people say their thoughts before you pluck it from their heads, my sweet little niece."
"Good luck with that!" America called from further in the room, and Rachel rolled her eyes at her.
"Right, well, okay, what can I do?" Rachel asked, still half glaring at America.
"Likely exactly what you did the first time Tyler came to us with deplorable technology jammed into his brain." He tipped his head. "I know Betsy did a lot of the work, but you need a project."
"Billy did a lot of the work too, removing the hardware," Rachel pointed out.
"I removed the hardware already," Hank said. "You simply should do what you can to make sure that's all there was impeding him."
Rachel nodded, almost bouncing on her toes as she thought through her next steps. "Should be much easier this time, considering last time, they had him for years," she mused, mostly to herself.
"Then we can head off when you're properly prepared," Hank said. "He's not in the lab - he's in the holding cells." The last thing he wanted to do was tip her off to what was happening in the lab.
"I'm ready," Rachel promised. "I need to do something constructive, Hank; I can't keep sitting here wondering what's going on with the people who are still up in the air."
"And that's exactly why I came to find you," Hank agreed.
"See if you can prescribe some anti-anxiety or something while you're at it," America put in - and Hank could now see that she was pulling a shirt over her head as she untangled herself from the covers.
"She's had them at her disposal for years," Hank said to America. "Perhaps you can convince her to use them."
"Well, damn, I didn't even know she had them," America said, and Rachel shoved her back into bed telekinetically.
"I don't advertise it."
"I think, Rachel," Hank said, "refusing to take them at all is quite the opposite of advertising them."
"Potato, potatoe," Rachel said with a shrug. "Anyway, I'll go take a look at Tyler. How's the hypothermia, by the way? I know you said his healing was still catching up because of the hardware removal plus the ice-blood."
"It seems to be disappearing ahead of schedule."
"That's encouraging, at least," Rachel said. "He needs a break."
"Thankfully, he has the tools he needs to move beyond it,"Hank said with a low chuckle. "And a heater going in his room."
"What more could a guy ask for?" Rachel chuckled. She slipped out the door, though before she headed down to Tyler, she paused and put her hand on Hank's arm. "Thanks," she said quietly. "I know this is hard for you too. Trying to put us all back together again."
"Balderdash." Hank tipped his chin up. "I've been putting everyone together since long before you were born."
"Love you too, Doctor Blue," Rachel said with a smirk before she headed down to the holding cells.
"Hey, so, the senior Avengers are in some kind of crisis meeting, and I figured that meant your dad might actually let me within twenty feet of you," Miles said as he peeked in on May at the Tower - with a grocery bag full of candy and popcorn in hand.
May opened the door and laughed when she saw him. "Couldn't decide what to bring so you bought all of it?"
Miles rubbed the back of his neck. "Sort of." He blew out his breath. "Here, can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure," May said, stepping back. She still looked black and blue, but to Miles' relief, she didn't look much worse than when they'd tangled with Norman Osborn.
Miles stopped in the kitchen and started setting out candy bars with the brand name facing up, but he was being so meticulous about it that May didn't want to interrupt him. He slowly made a square with the bars and set the popcorn box aside, then rubbed his neck again, looking steadily more nervous.
"You okay?" May asked.
"Am I okay? You're the one who-" He cut himself off, dragged his hand down his face, and blew out his breath again. "Okay, turn 'em over."
May raised an eyebrow, but she followed his instructions, slowing flipping over bar after bar. The first bar had an index card taped to the back of it, and it was covered in colored pencil. It was the corner piece, so it was nothing more than swirls of color, but as soon as she saw it, she knew what he'd done.
Slowly, she flipped them all over, revealing more and more of the portrait he had sketched of her on individual index cards, until she had to take a step back, one hand over her mouth, as she stared at his artwork. "Oh my gosh, Miles," she said at last, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"I've sort of been working on it when I couldn't focus on school," Miles said nervously, but he'd barely finished the sentence before May had launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug so tight he almost couldn't breathe.
Kate had fallen asleep with her head on Nate's chest, so, try as he might, he couldn't hide from her the fact that he was having a small panic attack. He tried to keep his chest from heaving, and he tried to breathe deep to slow down his heart rate, but he was only half-awake himself, and she was worried enough about him in the first place that she was awake at the first sign something had gone wrong with him.
Her head came up fast, and sleep left her instantly as she searched his expression for any sign of what was wrong. There was no immediate threat, so he had her full attention.
"Hey," he said, wincing slightly. "It's okay. Go back to sleep."
"What's wrong?" she said. He didn't know why he'd expected that to work.
"I fell asleep."
"That's good, isn't it?"
"I was only asleep for a couple minutes," he explained. He knew he didn't need to say the rest. If he was tired enough he had already started dreaming the second he fell into unconsciousness, he knew he needed sleep - but the panic attack told Kate the rest of the story. He was reliving all of it - Apocalypse and the department - and, what was worse, he was also living nightmares from a brain that seemed determined to make everything even worse with the possibilities of what could have been or with combinations of all the trauma in new, worse situations.
"What was it this time?" Kate asked.
"Me," he said in a breath, and Kate tucked into him, her head under his chin.
"Definitely don't like the sound of that."
"Didn't have the energy to think of a better way to say that," he admitted, pulling her closer to him.
"I don't like the sound of that." She snuggled into him again. "What's got you bugged, specifically? Maybe I can talk you down out of the trees."
"Just…" He let out a long sigh. "Ended up on the same side as Sinister. Again."
"Yeah, I heard about that. I don't think you were on the same side so much as he was causing mayhem and you took advantage of that to get out, right?"
"That's one way to look at it." Nate worked his jaw. "Before I even knew he was there, I wiped the Cuckoos' minds. There was nothing left. He killed them, but they were brain dead first," he said, talking to the wall instead of looking down at her.
"Okay, tell me why."
"Kate, it doesn't-"
"It does matter, and don't try to tell me it doesn't. Or do you want to take back every reassuring thing you said after I told you I had a command in my head to kill people?" She shifted to try to look at him, but he was still looking past her. "Come on, Nate. You know better than to blame yourself if-"
"It's not like that," he interrupted her. He finally looked down at her when he felt her tense and sighed. "The last thing I heard from James, he was screaming for me, Kate. Screaming for help. And I took that scream, bottled it up, and turned it into a bomb to destroy the people who did it to him."
Kate could see now why he hadn't been looking at her that entire time: his eyes were welling with tears, and he was trying to keep it together. So, rather than argue with him and try to logic him out of the guilt he was so clearly feeling, she simply bit her lip, let her shoulders drop, and curled into him with a quiet, "I'm so sorry that happened, Nate."
"So am I," he said, curling into her right back, staying still and letting her think he was going back to sleep until she relaxed and drifted into dreams.
