Chapter 27 - Azazel
Strangely enough, after everything that had happened, a new school semester started just days after the wedding, and that meant that, for those who were still in classes, they were supposed to go back to normal. Somehow.
That was obviously easier for some than others on multiple levels. Some kids were still reeling, obviously, and that made a normal routine both a relief and a little bit jarring. But Mia was surprised by how nice it was to go to classes in Genosha. The professors and students were all well-aware of why she'd had to withdraw during the fall semester, given the Apocalypse problem and its fallout. She didn't have to explain herself, which was nice.
The weirdest part, actually, was that a few people wanted to ask about Apocalypse like it was a cool thing. Mia hadn't considered that aspect of things. But again, she was lucky - she had backup in the form of one of the princes who never failed to tell kids exactly where to stick their questions if they asked.
He was in a better mood since getting his arm, too. She and Forge had showed him all the cool additions they'd made. She was proudest of the panic buttons, obviously, though she didn't think he appreciated how important that was to her. The ability to absorb some electricity and redirect it in a pinch was cool, though it needed to be recharged and couldn't be used too often or he might singe himself in the process. The fact that two of the fingers could retract and that the middle finger had a lock pick - that was Mia's mom's suggestion, which she loved.
"I still can't believe you actually went through with putting 'Pestilence' on that arm," she said, sidling up to him after he had just told off another curious kid who hadn't even had the chance to get close enough to her to talk to her. "I don't care if it's in Latin; you still did it."
"I said I would, didn't I?" Tommy said, draping one arm around her shoulders in a clear display to anyone around them that he was looking out for her. "C'mon, you're done with classes, right? I speed-read the syllabus in each class and then decide if showing up is even worth it."
"Aren't you on your own track anyway?"
"I mean, yeah, but I do still need to go to class if I need an explanation beyond the book, you know?"
"And you like bugging your dad in the middle of class, I've heard," she couldn't help but tease him.
"Obviously. What's the point otherwise?"
She shook her head at him again as they headed inside. "You really don't have to keep sticking up for me. I can do it myself. Famine casts a long shadow, and I think it's fair for people to have questions."
"Yeah, well, sometimes people wanna ask about you and me and War. And I don't want - you know. It's not like it wasn't complicated enough without people making up stories."
Mia's expression softened. "Thanks," she said.
"Got your back, Famine," he teased, and she socked him in the shoulder for it.
"So, you and Mia are in the newspapers again," Billy said, pulling his arm around Tommy's shoulders as they sat in the throne room. Their mom had asked them to come to another big diplomatic meeting, and Billy knew his brother was in his own head about this one in particular because the diplomat had been publicly talking about the damage done by Apocalypse.
This most recent time, of course, the Horsemen hadn't had as much time to cause mayhem as usual because the heroes had been so prepared to meet him that there had been a relatively immediate battle. But all that had happened a few months ago had apparently opened the floodgates for public complaint of everything Apocalypse had done.
All of that was mostly understandable, but Billy knew it bugged Tommy, even if he would never admit it. So, he led with teasing.
Tommy turned toward him with a look that told him he knew exactly what his brother was doing. But still, he smiled lightly. "You know me. I love a good scandal."
"I think it's less of a scandal than you think. People like Mia. They always have."
"What's not to like?" Tommy pointed out. His smile was almost convincing, too.
Almost.
Billy raised an eyebrow at his brother, but Tommy minutely shook his head, since they were in the throne room and entertaining dignitaries. And as much as they messed around, they were old enough to know when it was time to be princes.
And thankfully, this particular diplomat was smart enough not to run his mouth in front of the royal family. But Billy could see Tommy fidgeting the whole time. So as soon as he had a chance, he pulled his brother aside and wished them up to Tommy's room so they could speak freely.
"Okay, what's going on with you?"
"Nothing."
Billy crossed his arms and glared at his brother.
Tommy held up both hands. "Okay, okay, so…" He sighed and flopped backward onto his bed. "So, maybe read past the headline, huh? And tell me if you think it's a good idea to bring down that kind of heat on Mia just to hang out with her."
Billy frowned at his brother but pulled out his phone all the same, skimming quickly through what he figured would be the worst offenders - and he wasn't wrong. A few outlets who had never liked Genosha were loudly questioning why Mia and Tommy were suddenly closer again after being Horsemen together, and the speculation wasn't just unflattering: it painted them out to be flat-out dangerous.
Even friendlier outlets were cognizant of the timeline, of the fact that they'd broken up and come back together in the worst of circumstances. Tommy's metal tattoo wasn't helping things, though Tommy was never going to give that up.
When Billy looked up again, Tommy pointed at the screen. "I like how you and I both apparently are dating scheming villains who are close to us for evil strategic reasons or whatever."
"Literally no one who has spent two seconds with Mia thinks she's a scheming villain."
"I mean, you have to admit it's almost Arthurian. Spare heir with a gorgeous demonic girl just waiting in the wings for you to make a mistake," Tommy said and then did his best over-the-top villainous laugh.
"Nice."
"I think there was too much oomph, not enough glare," Tommy said, though he didn't move from where he was, so Billy came to sit next to him. "I like her a lot, you know," he said, more seriously this time.
"Yeah, I know," Billy said, matching his brother's tone. "You gonna do something about that?"
"Soon. I think. Probably." Tommy dragged his hands down his face. "It's complicated. And I hate complicated."
"Yeah, we all know. But you're sticking it out this time, right?"
"I think if I don't, I'll screw myself over questioning everything all over again."
Billy couldn't help but smile when he heard that. "You're secretly a romantic; you know that?"
Tommy threw a pillow at his brother. "Shut up, Billy."
After spending an entire year cooped up on Genosha, as much as Annie could appreciate a beach, she had asked to go somewhere in the mountains for their honeymoon. She couldn't ski like she would have if they'd gone to a resort before she got pregnant, but Scott promised he could find something better than a resort.
The cabin up in Alaska certainly fit the bill.
They were far enough away from trouble that they were able to relax - as much as possible when they had a line to home that they were checking in anticipation of Hell causing problems. But a fire out on the balcony every night and a gorgeous skyline… that was nice. They hadn't been able to go outside for fear of attack before. This… they hadn't realized how much they needed it.
They honestly lost track of time, especially with Annie perfecting her chili recipe and Scott ice fishing and showing her one of his favorite hobbies. But they were starkly reminded that they were on a timer when Annie had Braxton Hicks contractions one morning bad enough she had Hank's number pulled up in her phone before they finally subsided.
Wide-eyed and breathing heavily, she glanced toward Scott, who also had his phone out. And then, with a soft smile, she said, "Sorry to cut things short…"
"But it's better to check than leave things to chance. You're only thirty-two weeks along; let's not be too early if we can help it."
"My thoughts exactly," Annie said, though she was tired enough she didn't move for another few minutes while Scott got them packed up and ready to head back home.
To their relief, Annie had no other complications over the flight home, though Hank was there to meet them all the same.
Annie had a tight hold of Scott's hand as Hank checked her over and didn't really relax until Hank gave her a clean bill of health.
"Obviously, we will keep a close eye on you and the little one," he said in a rich, reassuring tone. "But for now, it seems he's not so impatient to arrive that he's ready to come today, anyway."
Annie let out all her breath. "Thanks," she said, still squeezing Scott's hand. She hadn't expected to have a baby at all; she was considered high risk and was feeling every second of that.
"Well," Scott said carefully now that Annie was breathing again, "I'm sure everyone upstairs is waiting to spoil and reassure you…"
Annie laughed and nodded, letting Scott take her hand to lead her out of the lab - and to waiting, anxious and excited friends.
With still no word other than the fact that James could still sometimes converse with Heaven, things were… kinda normal still. Normal enough that Mia was trying to think ahead to the twins' birthday.
She and Tommy were trying not to, well, complicate matters at the moment. Mia had only left behind nightmares of being captured with Noh by Apocalypse recently - at least enough that she was sleeping better. And she knew Tommy wasn't at all okay by any standards, even if having a cool new arm and no longer being under immediate threat was helping him. But that didn't mean she didn't care about him.
And more than that, she knew Billy was going to be spoiled. And Tommy wouldn't admit it, but she knew he needed not to be forgotten on his own birthday.
The question, then, was what to do to make sure he knew he was loved without rushing into something she didn't think he was ready for.
She went back home to do her shopping. Tommy could find her, of course, but she figured he'd be busy, seeing as he was supposed to be stuck in all sorts of diplomatic stuff that week. His mom still made sure he attended; he couldn't use the excuse of not being crown prince to escape it, especially when Lorna had so often stepped in to lead when Wanda had been busy that it was a given he'd be asked to step up in Billy's place from time to time.
Mia went through several shops before she saw a display in a toy shop, of all things, that had the gears in her head turning. She obviously wouldn't get Tommy the toy pirate ship and compass, but a compass… something she could give him, something to give him direction and point him back to the people he loved… that was a good place to start.
Now where to find one. Maybe she could get one commissioned?
An antique shop. That was probably her best bet.
She stepped into the shop, the bell jingling overhead, and looked through several shelves, examining everything metal that caught her eye and hoping to get lucky. The owner asked her briefly if she was looking for anything in particular, but he was distracted ringing up one of the only other two people in the place, so she figured she'd ask him later.
The other patron was looking at a table that, to Mia's delight, seemed to have a nautical theme, so she scooted that way, keeping her tail close to her while she was in an inducer and trying not to draw attention. "Sorry; do you mind if I look here as well?" she asked politely. The man looked to be examining an old globe in a brass setting, lost in his own thoughts.
"Be my guest," he said with a smile that stretched almost too wide. "Do you have any idea what it is you seek?"
"I was hoping to find a compass, actually," she explained.
"Oh?"
"You haven't seen one, have you? It's for a good friend - for his birthday."
"I may know where to look," he said. "Tell me about your friend." He started to walk further down the row away from the windows.
"I just want to give him a symbolic reminder to always come back home. He's - he travels a lot. All over the world," she explained, fumbling for the right words to explain it and still get her message across without giving his identity away.
"How lucky for him to be able to travel the world and still have such a good friend to come back to." He smiled her way. "I don't suppose he truly needs it, though."
"No, but I wanted to get him something nice. One-of-a-kind."
He chuckled to himself, but waved for her to follow him as he made his way to a small glass display in the back. "I'm afraid if you like one of these, they may not actually work. A broken compass may send entirely the wrong message."
"I might be able to get it working again, depending on what's wrong," Mia said, wrapping her tail around her ankle to keep it from swaying in interest as she looked at some of the old trinkets, including three compasses.
He was watching her closely, and after a moment, he reached into his inner breast pocket and took out a business card. "If you decide to go with something more reliable, I can direct you to a higher end shop." He flipped it over and wrote a shop name on the back of the card before he offered it to her.
"Thank you," she said warmly, pocketing the card. "I may look them up. Do you know if they'd do a commission for something like this?"
"Absolutely," he said richly. "With engraving for whatever message your friend may require."
Mia bit her lip as she thought about it. "That's very tempting," she said at last. "I might get one of these for the sentimental value and then…" She trailed off, tapping her foot, and then pulled the card back out. The shop really wasn't far. She could get there in a few 'ports no problem.
She pulled out her phone to text her mom a picture of the card. What do we know about this place? Is it anti-mutant? Got any detectors?
It took Storm a few minutes to reply with anything of substance, and even then, it was simply: I see no reports in our system that say anything negative. But that's all I can say.
They apparently do custom work, and I want to get something engraved for Tommy.
Are you two dating again?
It's his birthday.
It took Storm a few tries before she replied. Do you want company for this trip?
I was going to maybe ask you if you thought I needed it. Shopping in town is one thing, but how's the chatter right now?
It certainly couldn't hurt to have backup. And I'd be happy to join you.
Okay. Can you meet me at this shop? I'll wait for you a block away.
I'll be there soon.
Mia smiled and put her phone away. Since her mother couldn't teleport, she had enough time to get one of the antique compasses anyway, so she got the shopkeeper's attention and asked him to box one up for her. By that time, the other gentleman was gone, though she didn't remember hearing the bell for the front door ring.
She slipped out of the shop and around a corner and checked to make sure no one was watching her before she teleported off to go meet her mother.
At the exact moment that Mia was in the antique shop, Billy was deeply into some reading for one of his classes, and James had not long ago fallen asleep, waiting for Billy to finish his work and for the two of them to decide what they were doing for dinner. It was a perfectly relaxed sort of afternoon if you weren't the one with your nose stuck in a book.
Until it very suddenly wasn't.
Billy didn't have any indication that things were different, though James had heard in his sleep a fairly insistent voice telling him to wake up. It had started off sounding almost distant, but before James could even subconsciously process what was being said or who was speaking, it went from a whisper to a shout far too close to his ears.
Which is how he went from stretched out and perfectly relaxed to doing a fine impression of Peter Parker on one of his worst scares - well enough that he hit the floor after falling off the bed with a curse.
"...what the heck?" Billy blurted out, rushing over to him. "What… happened…?"
"Kurt-" James said, covering his face with one hand.
"Kurt pushed you out of bed?" Billy said, scrunching his nose.
"No, he was yelling at me," James said, cracking one eye open to look around himself suspiciously. It took him a moment to focus, or unfocus, and then, it was still hard to understand when he realized Kurt was half shouting in broken German. "Oh, shit."
"That doesn't sound good."
"He's … all fired up and … I can't think in German that fast when I was just sleeping."
Beyond Billy, Kurt gestured somehow more dramatically. "Gott in Himmel… get to Mia. Now."
"You gonna tell me why?" James asked as he got to his feet.
"She doesn't realize it, but she has just met the creature that escaped Hell," Kurt said, speaking a bit slower than it was obvious he wanted to speak, because he was trying to keep it in English.
James's expression slipped. "Billy, we gotta get to Mia. Right now."
"Got it," Billy said, not about to argue when James sounded like that. He snapped his fingers with a whispered wish, and the next second, they were both standing on a corner across from Mia, who was texting and leaning against the wall of a store, looking absolutely unbothered.
James frowned as he watched her for a moment, then began to look past her and at those nearest her. He didn't see anything wildly out of place. "I don't get it."
"Me neither," Billy said, but he was already working up a spell to investigate. "Any chance you have any guidance from the other side?"
"Not yet," James said before he simply started to walk across the street. "But maybe there's a scent?"
"You check the scent; I'm going to do a quick spell Doctor Strange taught me. Should show me anything demonic in a mile radius."
Of course, James could only get so close to Mia before she realized he was headed her way. She was used to watching out for people rushing toward her, and she wasn't expecting company just yet. But he wasn't trying to be friendly, either - and he looked like he was searching for something even as he stopped next to her and reached out to rest a hand on her elbow, obviously testing the air around them with a frown.
"What's wrong?" she asked, settling into a stance in case there was a fight.
"Nothing yet," James said, then took a moment to lean in and kiss her cheek. "Hey. Hi. What are you up to?" he asked, offering her his arm to start walking with her.
"Shopping for Tommy, actually. I found a place that does custom work; fitting for a prince to be spoiled, right?" she said, obviously trying to inject a good mood into the situation.
"Is there such a place?" James teased, though he was still looking a little too alert.
"Good enough for him? Probably not." She watched him for a while longer. "Seriously, what happened?"
"I'm not sure," James admitted, looking over to Billy when he didn't catch anything too far beyond simple brimstone. "Buy you a coffee?"
"Sure," she said slowly, though almost as soon as she said it, Billy appeared beside them, looking stressed, a red light fading from his eyes.
"Okay, so, the bad news is that there's a lot of demonic influence in that shop right there," Billy said, jerking his head toward the place Mia had been looking into. "The worse news is there was one beside Mia when I looked, but it's gone now. It looked like a warped shadow of you without your inducer on."
James swore outright. "We gotta get out of here now. Like … now."
"Okay," Billy said, and the next thing any of them knew, they were back at Billy and James' apartment.
"I'm sorry, but it's easier to hear everyone when I'm not in public," James said, looking for Kurt.
"Is she hurt?" Kurt asked, then waved James off before he could answer. "Even in small ways. Anything - anything -that would draw blood?"
James stepped back from Mia, looking at her from arm's length. "Inducer off, please," he said, though he was already zeroed in on her right side.
"Okay," Mia said, her form shimmering to show that she looked a paler blue shade than usual when things were that serious. "I'm going to get an explanation, right?"
"Yes," James said, though it wasn't clear if that was for Mia or Kurt, and Kurt followed his focus to see what looked like it could have been a papercut.
"Give me a second, and we can all talk," Billy offered, already spinning up another spell. Seconds later, everyone in the room could see each other - and Billy dropped into a seat, obviously tired. "Okay, that demon-detecting spell took more out of me than I thought. Hi, Kurt. Please don't tell me the world is ending before I have time for a nap."
"Not yet, no," Kurt said, then turned toward Mia with a warm smile.
"Hi," she said softly. "I don't know what's going on, but… hi."
"Hallo, Schatzi. The man in the store," Kurt said, getting right down to it. "The one that gave you a card - he was disguising himself. Billy, you'll likely need your teacher to help you now. I don't know what sort of blood magic could be worked."
Mia drew in a sharp breath and quickly examined herself, wincing when she saw the small cut, barely bleeding, on her arm. "I didn't even notice…"
"Sorry, Mia," James said. "I'll call your mom and let her know you're with us, okay?"
"Thanks," Mia said, still looking pale as James gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and zipped off into the next room over to reach out to Storm where it was quieter.
"What's going on?" Mia asked Kurt once James had things handled with her mom.
"We now know who escaped Hell," Kurt said. "And I'm sorry to say that we'll need to find a way to send my father back."
"...what?" Mia stepped back, leaning against the wall to hold herself up.
"Yeah, what?" Billy said.
Kurt sighed heavily. "What do you know of my … well, 'parents' seems to be too strong a word."
"I know what Mom told me," Mia said carefully. "I mean, I know about Mystique, and I know Mom said your dad was an actual devil, just so I knew. Almost like a family medical history, weirdly," she said with a weak smile.
Kurt looked almost sheepish. "That was the kindest way to explain it. My father is no simple devil. He is Azazel," he said, then turned his focus to Billy. "He will be a major problem, even for the most adept magical talents."
"Azazel… I know I know who that is, and I'm drawing a total blank. It feels familiar," Billy said.
"Yes," Kurt said, frowning. "He is mentioned in several biblical texts across many religions."
"Oh, crap, no, wait, that Azazel? Oh man. Wait - really?" Billy blurted out, going from sheepish to scared in seconds.
Kurt nodded. "I can only imagine that, had our James not been able to heal as he does, only Azazel would have come out of that spell by the time he was finished tampering with it."
"Ho-ly crap," Billy said and sat down on the floor because there was no furniture exactly where he was.
Mia looked similarly unstable, but she found a couch first. "What can he do with my blood?" she asked in a bare whisper, visibly terrified.
"I'm not sure," Kurt said. "But you would be wise to get some protections in place sooner than later."
"Yeah."
James came back with his phone in his hand. "Storm says she wants you to get an escort home," he told Mia. "And obviously, she wants to know everything about everything."
"Right. Yeah. Of course." She held her hand out for the phone. "Mom? Are you okay? I didn't mean to leave you - you didn't go to that store, did you? You're okay, right? Did you know my father's dad calls himself the King of Hell?"
Storm sounded stressed on the other end. "Well, I was going to go shopping with my daughter, and now… are you alright?"
"Freaking out," Mia admitted.
"But you're safe?"
"I think so. I guess I need some magical… something…?"
"Now that we know who we're fighting, we'll be able to stop whatever he's planning," Storm said, obviously trying to calm Mia down.
James listened to what Ororo and Mia were saying to each other while watching Kurt pace and Billy try to grasp what to even do next. "So, when are we killing him, then?"
"The second you see him," Kurt said in a growl.
James nodded once. "Dad's plan will work, then? I hope." He turned toward Billy. "Logan suggested taking its head off. Whatever it was. Sounds reasonable to me."
"I mean, I'm not opposed," Billy said.
"We gotta get you to stop looking like that," James said - though he'd missed most of Kurt's explanation while he was talking Storm down.
"I pulled a demon that is the creator of war and lies and possession and deception into the world, James. I think I'm allowed to feel some kinda way about it."
James honestly wasn't sure how to respond but automatically shifted to trying to make light where he could. "I thought he hitchhiked."
"Still my spell."
"Wouldn't have worked if it was someone else though, right?" James asked, trying to find a way to talk him down, too.
"I dunno." Billy dragged his hands down his face and then looked up to see James obviously trying to get him to rally, so he forced a small smile. "I mean, says a lot about my boyfriend that this is the equivalent soul exchange?"
James narrowed his eyes at that. "I don't think that's how it works."
"I'm going to say it is. The spell had to pull someone from Hell to pull you from Heaven, right? So only the best to match what Heaven was losing."
"He was probably just the one that had feelers out hoping for something. Maybe he was already making a play for Heaven?"
"Yeah, that's the realistic version, but I like mine better."
"I'm not going to fight with you about it," James said. "But you should probably reach out to Strange and your Mom? I can call her if you want to call him. I don't think he likes me much."
"He doesn't really like me either, but he'll be mad if I don't call him, so… yeah, I'll do it," Billy said.
James made his way over to sit down next to him, then took his phone back from Mia to shoot off a quick text to Wanda that consisted of found the demon.
Got a name?
Kurt's dad.
I'll be right there. And Wanda was true to her word, appearing moments later and taking in the scene, shooting Kurt a smile upon arrival. "Well, at least there's a responsible adult around," she teased.
"Somewhat," Kurt said.
"I was talking about James," she said without missing a beat.
Kurt scoffed. "And I thought you'd appreciate our blooming spy network." He smiled a little more genuinely than he'd been able to manage so far. "K is looking for him. She plans to keep tabs once she finds him."
"Good. She'll kill him if he puts one foot into Heaven," Wanda said. "And I'm sure that's what he's after, ultimately."
"Without a doubt," Kurt agreed. He looked toward Billy and Mia. "I'm just sorry they have to contend with him."
"I'll be okay," Mia promised, drawing herself up taller. "I'm Nightcrawler. I was Famine. I'll be fine."
"You certainly are a wonderful Nightcrawler," Kurt said with a smile. "And you'll be phenomenal."
"In the meantime," Billy said, his phone up to his ear as he waited for Strange to pick up, "help, Mom?"
"If he yells at you, I"m gonna slap him in the mouth," James told him quietly.
"He's not picking up. That either means he's astral projecting right now or he already knows and is doing magic about it," Billy said, wincing.
"Or he's in trouble," Mia said quietly.
"Trick question: he's in trouble either way," James teased.
"Fair." Mia looked toward Billy. "I can 'port you and your mom to Doctor Strange if you want to check in. Or take you and James and Wanda can get there herself. If you think you're done strategizing with my father?" She looked between Kurt and James.
"He'll be available to talk to me either way," James said with a shrug. "They're still kinda hard to ignore when they make themselves known."
"I hate to say it, but that might be a good thing with who we're fighting." Billy sighed. "I've texted Kate. So everyone will know soon."
"I'm starting to think that was the point of Heaven doubling down," James said. "At least temporarily."
"You know, that makes sense," Billy said thoughtfully. "If they can keep the fight here and not in Heaven…"
"I wonder if he can detect spirits," James said. "I'm sure he can detect angels, but that's not exactly … you know, I'm just not going to question it."
"I wonder if he can detect his family members." Wanda looked toward Kurt. "He found you once before, didn't he?"
"He absolutely can," Kurt said. "He draws power from his line of descendants."
"That's worrisome," Mia said.
"We've got your back," James said, trying to encourage her.
"Yeah." She bit her lip and looked toward Kurt. "So, um, Billy, I know you're pretty tapped out magically, but is there any chance you could keep this spell going? I'd… I'd like to ask my father how to fight my grandfather."
"Avoidance is your best bet," Kurt said, sounding down about it.
Mia gestured for him to sit on the couch with her, even if he wasn't really there. "You said he can find me. Avoidance is optimistic, isn't it?"
Kurt smiled. "This is entirely true. So I think, avoid as much as you can - and practice using your lightning for when you can't."
"Got it. Can he teleport, or do you think I could get the drop on him?"
"Yes, he can teleport," Kurt said. "And usually, he is silent about it. Or very nearly silent."
"I'm a little jealous, then. He can disguise himself, teleport, magic… if you tell me he can fly or something ridiculous…"
"Ah, but though he calls himself the King of Hell, you, my precious girl, are a goddess. There is no comparison." Kurt was smiling at her, and James let out an understated 'ha' just to back him up.
Mia blushed with pleasure at the compliment and tucked her hair back. "Thanks," she said at last. She glanced toward Billy, who looked tired, and figured she didn't have much time left. "Thanks for the advice, too. And… I'm glad I get to talk to you. Circumstances notwithstanding."
"As much as I would like for this to all be over quickly, I have a feeling my father will drag this out and be as difficult as he can," Kurt said. "As long as the connection holds with James, you can reach out and get answers."
"I'll only abuse this privilege a little bit," Mia said with a troublemaking smile.
"Yeah, that's what Kurt said," James teased. "That was a lie."
"There's something here about apples and trees," Billy said. "We should go, though. I'm not sure I can hold the spell much longer, sorry."
Mia turned toward Kurt with a sad smile. "Imagine I'm giving you a huge hug, okay?"
"And know that I am very often just over your shoulder, cheering you on."
Mia smiled at that, and then, to her perspective, Kurt was gone - though James could still see him. She wiped the fur under her eyes and then cleared her throat. "Okay, let's go bother Strange," she said.
James got up and pulled Billy to his feet but took a moment to head over to Mia and wrap her up in a bear hug as Wanda situated herself to take them to Strange.
Wanda waited for Mia to look less like she was clutching James and more like they were simply sharing a hug - and then, she snapped her fingers, and they were all at Strange's sanctum, just feet away from where Strange was seated, floating a foot above the ground, his eyes closed and legs criss-crossed.
"I wanna put a kiddie pool under him," James said to Billy, just to get a smile.
"Oh, I love that," Billy whispered back, waving his hand in front of Strange's face ineffectually. His phone buzzed, and he looked down at it. "Tommy's asking if we're okay," he told James with a raised eyebrow.
"You're the one that told Kate."
"I know. And Tommy heard it's someone related to Mia who might be a threat to her and isn't-" A gust of wind later, and he was laughing. "Never mind. Hi, Tommy. I was wondering why you texted first."
"You took too long to answer," Tommy said. He looked around the group and didn't bother acting like he wasn't the most concerned about Mia as he zipped over to her. "You okay? You're okay, right? Do we know where this guy is so I can hit him?"
"She needs hugs," James said before he gave her one last one-armed side squeeze and stepped away.
"I can do that," Tommy said, picking Mia up to spin her around.
"You're both ridiculous," Mia said, though she didn't try to get out of the hug. "I'm fine, just freaked. I just found out my grandfather rules Hell. I'm allowed to be unsteady."
"I'm surprised you didn't know more about him already," Strange said as he came out of his trance, seamlessly getting to his feet. He looked around at the gathered group. "Well, now that we have a name, our preparations will be easier."
"Can you give Mia a magical once-over? Her grandfather futzing stole some of her blood," Billy blurted out.
"Kurt said you had to," James added.
"That's true," Mia said, smirking hard.
Strange shook his head at their antics, but he did wave Mia over, already weaving a spell to check her out. "Thankfully, it seems all that is at work here, for the moment, is a simple blood tie. It's strengthening what he can already do: giving him the power to find you and draw more power from you than without the spell. There is some minor control, but that's easily broken." He paused, then corrected himself. "Easily in that I can do it today, mind you."
"So …. Since he wanted to get in the middle of Billy's spell, can you … maybe make it so someone can pop up and stab him in the face if he gets after her?" James asked.
Strange considered it for a moment before he nodded. "I think I could work up a simple enough alarm spell, yes. Something like what he's done here to allow him to get to her - but obviously without blood magic," he added with obvious distaste.
"My mom is tracking him," James said. "Sounds like we might get some intel. Also, if I take his head off? Will that work? Asking for a friend."
"It should," Strange said. "I would suggest methods you would use to kill someone with your mutation - and then disposal of the remains and perhaps cleansing with holy water."
James thought about it for a moment and started to nod slowly. "Got it. I've got a few ideas, then."
"Excellent. Then, if you'll give us a moment, Miss Wagner, I'd like to deal with that spell before he can draw too much power," Strange said, gesturing for Mia to join him.
A couple weeks later, Tommy was playing with the compass Mia had given him as he sat on one of the outdoor benches on campus. Valentine's Day had been … weird. He and Mia weren't together, but they did still care about each other, but it hadn't felt like…
But, hey, his birthday was a lot better. There was the official party and then the real party afterward. And Mia had obviously put a lot of thought into her gift.
Maybe I should just ask her out, he thought. It had been long enough, he figured. He'd had his arm for a month, and she was still around. It had been a couple months since the department. Longer still since Apocalypse. And she was still sticking around him.
He'd waited, though, because he didn't want to mess this up. He didn't want her to stick around because of trauma. Because emotions ran high after crap like they'd been through.
But she was still there. That was a good sign, wasn't it?
They had time, though. He was twenty; she was about to be nineteen. They weren't in a rush. And Tommy knew he woke up swinging sometimes, fighting Tyler in his sleep or an army of Hydra or James about to kill him or Apocalypse or or or. And he didn't want to hurt her if they started sleeping together again.
Or maybe he was getting ahead of himself.
Tommy traced his fingers over the compass again, with the inscription there:
So you'll always come back.
Yeah, he was pretty sure there was a lot going on underneath that message.
Tommy didn't notice that he wasn't entirely alone - he rarely was anyhow. There were always nosy people wanting to see what he was up to - or wasn't. He couldn't possibly have realized that he had someone watching him a lot more closely than they usually did - or that the slim, calculating man hiding behind a tea cup was definitely a problem.
But after having seen Mia in that shop, Azazel simply couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. He'd been quick to see what descendants he had still walking the earth, and naturally, once he found Mia, he had to see what her story was. He had to find her weaknesses and those that she surrounded herself with. The antique store was no chance meeting.
But one of Genosha's princes … that was both interesting and impressive. That could be used, if approached carefully - or approached boldly if the boy was of the right mind. He didn't know, for instance, if anything that had made the papers was of any fact. It was hard to deny who had been controlled by Apocalypse, but what lasting impressions did the boy have hanging onto his soul?
What he needed was to see what happened when this smitten prince was faced with a stunning little demoness. So, he waited - sure that, sooner or later, Mia would appear. .
He didn't have to wait too terribly much longer, when class let out and students flooded the walkways as they either went to their next class or took a break. And Tommy instantly sat up straighter, watching the crowd before - poof - Mia was sitting next to him.
"I have so much homework," she complained, slumping dramatically over and tipping her head backward over the back of the bench.
"Unfortunately, I think if I speed-finished your homework, someone might notice."
"But I'm evil, Tommy, and I'm using you," she sang out, smirking without looking his way.
Tommy rolled his eyes. "You're not evil."
"I'm apparently, like, a princess of Hell or something. I don't know how royalty works, but I'm in there somewhere. Fear me and do my homework."
"No."
"Boo." She stuck her tongue out at him but righted herself a little more. "It's fine. It's just midterm season, and most of my classes do projects instead of tests."
"Lucky you, I'm up to my ears in tests," Tommy said.
"Aren't you on your own speedy path or whatever?" she teased him.
"I mean … yeah, but that doesn't mean I get to skip midterms," he said, shaking his head.
"You ever think Kate and Nate had the right idea?" Mia asked, obviously with no real intent behind it.
"Getting pregnant in high school? Um … no."
She socked him in the arm. "No, you loser, I mean getting out of school and just going straight to hero work. Seems easier to just do that full-time, doesn't it?"
He considered her for a moment, mostly to be theatrical. "Well, yeah, if you wanna take the easy route." He bumped her shoulder. "I thought you liked your classes?"
"I do. I just hate midterm projects. It's not even the project itself that's stressful; it's all the extra steps and showing your documentation and did you do this exact step correctly even though it has no bearing on anything but the formatting of your report - ugh."
"Just wait until finals," he teased.
"I'll die," she said dramatically.
"You better not."
Mia sat up a bit straighter. That was still a sore point. "Obviously not. But you know what I mean." She knocked shoulders with him. "I do not have the energy to work on any of this right now, though. Want to procrastinate on the beach with me?"
"Only if we can get some ice cream."
"Deal. It's a date." She paused. "You know what I mean."
Tommy smiled crookedly. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
"Shut up," Mia said, laughing as she pushed his shoulder.
That should have been it. What should have happened was that the two of them carried on teasing each other and flirting and dancing closer and closer to the relationship they both wanted. And Azazel was content to watch the two of them pass him by and then go back to his work; he had only been there to sate his curiosity.
What happened instead was that Mia got close enough to Azazel by simply walking past him that the alarm spell Doctor Strange had worked up for her went off, alerting James on the other side of the world that Mia's biological grandfather was way too close to her by taking him straight to the source of the problem.
Because of the time difference, that meant that James appeared, groggy and still trying to wake up, wearing nothing but his boxers - and it occurred to Tommy when he saw James that they were lucky he was that clothed.
And, of course, as soon as James was oriented enough to catch the scent, he dove toward Azazel, his claws out and a snarl on his lips.
And Mia couldn't help but sit back in shock as she watched her best friend dive in so sharply to her defense. Not that she was surprised he was defending her; she just hadn't expected - well, no, she had known the concept of the spell. But still, her best friend had shown up out of nowhere to go after a guy who had been, for all she knew, just another student. It was off-putting - at least until she had blinked past her shock to realize what was going on and to rush after James, teleporting to join him.
Almost as soon as she (and Tommy) arrived to join James, a cloud of black-red told Mia that Azazel had teleported away from the danger. But there was a large pool of blood close to James, and his claws were dripping blood.
"I know, blood is a problem," James said half under his breath to whoever from the other side was coaching him, making a face at his own hands as he got his bearings. He almost belatedly looked up at Mia and Tommy. "Hi. I just gotta … yeah."
"Hi. Want me to 'port you to my room so you're not putting on a show?" Mia asked, though she had already reached out to put her hand on his arm to do it anyway.
"Don't really care about that part," James said, half holding one hand out. "I just … have to wash up."
"Okay." Mia teleported the three of them straight to her small dorm room. "It's not much, but there's a bathroom, and I don't have a roommate, so no one should barge in or anything."
"Not worried about that," James said as he found her sink. "Are you okay? I didn't really see what happened before I got into it."
"Shockingly? I'm perfectly fine. We didn't even know he was around until you showed up and pounced," Mia admitted, sitting down on the bed while Tommy dashed off to do a quick check to see if anyone was watching them still.
James nodded to himself as he carefully washed up without cutting himself any further. "Okay. Good. So … I guess I either wait to hear from Billy or head for your mom, right?" he said over his shoulder to Tommy.
Tommy had just skidded to a stop from his quick patrol, but he shrugged seamlessly as soon as James asked the question. "I mean, I could run you home if you need me to."
"Need is kind of a strong word," James said. "And I was interrupting."
"We were just commiserating about the midterm crush," Tommy said.
"You weren't interrupting," Mia confirmed.
"You were both trying to decompress - technically, I was interrupting. I didn't say it was anything steamy, just breaking up what was going on." James made a face at them both. "Come on."
"I mean, by that metric, you're interrupting everytime you show up," Tommy said.
"I am," James agreed.
"It's fine," Tommy said.
"You're not," Mia insisted. She looked him over carefully. "You looked like you were being careful, but… can I hug you?"
"Yeah, of course," James said with a little smirk before he tossed the hand towel he was using to dry off with aside. "I just wanted to get the blood off sooner than later."
Mia beamed and then threw herself into a hug. "Hi," she said. "Long time no see. It's so weird that we're all in the college crush together and never see each other."
"That can be remedied," James said as he pulled her a little tighter.
"Please," she agreed instantly. She gave him one more squeeze and then stepped back just enough so they could talk but not enough that she couldn't hug him again in an instant.
"I'll see what I can do to help with all this," James said. "We have to have a way to warn you, too. Something a little more subtle than me appearing out of thin air in my shorts."
"I mean, we got the message pretty darn quick," Tommy said.
"I was a little worried it might go down like this - time-wise," James admitted.
"I'm sorry you had such a rotten wakeup call. You don't even have classes for a couple hours your time, right?" Mia said, her tail twisting.
"I've had worse," James said with a shrug. "And I have time for coffee, so it'll all work out."
"Perfect. Let's get coffee," Mia agreed.
"Once you're dressed. We're already gonna see headlines, but if we start parading?" Tommy shook his head.
"You don't want to challenge the 'no shirt, no shoes' policy?" James teased. "I didn't take you for a prude, Your Highness."
"Not particularly. But, hey, thanks for taking some of the headline pressure off."
James waved one hand. "Eh. Next thing you know, they'll try to say Mia and I are in cahoots or something. Blah blah, treachery, yadda yadda."
"We should be in cahoots. Why aren't we in cahoots all the time?" Mia said, beaming as she seized on the idea.
"I don't even know what they are, how can I be in on it?" James laughed.
"We've got to have evil meetings to plan our evil plans to undermine the throne," Mia insisted, grinning wider and wider.
"Over coffee. Of course. The whole scheme will fall into place. We're totally going to put Tommy in as king. Right now."
"I abdicate immediately," Tommy said without missing a beat.
"You can't," James said, shaking his head. "You're under Mia's spell. You have no say in it at all."
"It's true. I'm very evil," Mia said seriously. "I get it naturally."
"Are you evil enough to have something I can wear without scaring the cripes out of some poor neighbor of yours?" James asked.
Mia hesitated. "...no." It was a lie, but James immediately knew why she'd told it. Whatever guy's clothes she might have had would have been from her last relationship with Noh, and that was a whole can of worms, all things considered.
James turned toward Tommy. "I'm pretty sure I have a few things I left in your brother's room …"
"Say no more," Tommy said, zipping off and returning seconds later with a tee shirt and jeans. "Don't forget to tip your server," he teased.
"Thank you," James said, disappearing into Mia's bathroom to change. "I'll pay for breakfast. Shit. Next time. I didn't sleep with my wallet on me. Poor planning."
"No worries. I've got it," Tommy said. "Not like I'm light on cash."
"It's more the principle of the thing," James said before he stepped out looking a little more awake. "I'm just mad I didn't get a more solid hit in, to be honest."
"Saw the blood. Looked pretty solid to me," Tommy pointed out.
"Maybe," James agreed. "I wanted to take his head off. Came close - just not quite enough if he managed to teleport out."
"That would have fixed the problem," Mia said, frowning slightly.
"Next time," James said, trying for a bracing smile.
"Next time," she agreed. She took a deep breath and let it out before she squeezed his shoulder. "Anyway, let's go get coffee. And tell me how college is going for you and Billy, please."
James offered her his arm, then waited for Tommy to do the same on her other side. "More to tell on Billy's side of things. Mine is boring."
"I'm all ears," she said, wiggling her pointed ears for emphasis, which had Tommy laughing already as they headed out - though they didn't get farther than out her front door before they were joined by Billy, who at least was in pajamas, though he looked like he was fresh out of bed as well.
"Hi, handsome," James called out. "We're going for coffee if you're interested."
"Yeah, okay, but, like, you were my pillow a couple minutes ago."
"Yeah - alarm spell went off, and I woke up as I hit the sand in my boxers … might end up being pictures later. Who knows."
"There are definitely gonna be pictures later. We already had press following us around, sorry," Tommy said, wincing.
"I don't even care anymore," James said with a wave, then turned toward Tommy with a frown. "Did you tell your mom while you grabbed my clothes?"
"Course I did," Tommy said.
"Good. Then she can work up something to cover your ass too," James said. "If he realized you and Mia are close, you'll be on a hitlist, too."
"For what, though?" Mia asked. "I mean, I understand that he draws some power just from me being around, but I thought that was the extent of it."
James ran a hand through his hair as Billy cast a quick spell to change. "Well … if it was me, and I was some evil wannabe ruler of Hell, I'd want to use whatever leverage I could get my hands on to screw with the people I needed to get more power from." He gestured to Tommy. "Leverage."
Tommy did his best impression of a damsel in distress. "Oh, no!"
"I mean … if he wants to come after me …" James smirked. "Please. Let him."
"You are my best friend," Mia agreed.
"And I stabbed him before I got to say hello," James said.
"You do tend to leave an impression," Billy said with an affectionate smile as he stole a quick kiss.
James smirked his way. "We'll see how happy you are about that when the pictures come out."
"He was shirtless and bloody, so…" Mia trailed off.
"So a new wave of gossip. Yay," Billy said dryly.
"They'll probably be bitching about something," James said. "Might as well give your brother and Mia a break. Just be happy I was as dressed as I was."
"Yeah, the last article was all about how the two Horsemen obviously trauma bonded. So yeah. A break? I'd love that," Tommy said, rolling his eyes dramatically.
"So … don't bother with the shorts next time?" James teased.
"I love you, James, but I don't need that," Mia said, shaking her head with both hands up.
"Cover your eyes, Goddess."
"I don't know when it's happening, Streaker," she shot back.
"Fair," he said with a shrug as they headed through the courtyard to the closest coffee cart.
