Chapter 32- The Godling's Power
James had salvaged all he could from the doombot he'd torn apart - and instead of sulking or feeling sorry for himself, he'd been busying himself with trying to make … literally anything of use out of all that he'd scavenged.
But he was getting tired already - tinkering was always harder when he didn't have any of the proper tools. The cheap Latverian equipment wasn't helping much either. He set down his project and leaned against the wall, covering his eyes with one hand as he tried to refocus. He didn't know if anything he made would be useful or not once he got out … there was enough magic in place, after all, that there was probably something that stopped his tech from working right, too.
And the worst part was that he couldn't even do anything for Billy. He couldn't cut through the bars. His tech might not even work. His communications were all gone … they probably should have waited just a little bit before going into Latveria. But at least everyone knew where they were.
With a sigh, James drew his knees up and crossed his arms so he could rest his head on his forearms. All he could do was wait for Doom to take him out of timeout, his team to come get him, or for his spies to report back on what he needed to do. But he felt miserable while he waited. And waited.
"Now, this is interesting," said a familiar voice on the other side of the bars, along with a familiar smell of brimstone.
James looked up quickly, the growl rolling before he even registered who it was.
"Now, now, there's no use wasting your energy. You can't reach me, and I'm not here for a fight this time." Azazel's tail was betraying his entertainment as he walked along the line of the bars, waving a hand before a glowing red rune appeared above his hand and then split into pieces, hovering in front of the cameras in the place. "I'd rather have a conversation. Mia believes you are a genius; let's see if that's true."
"What do you want?" James asked, frowning deeply. "This isn't … the presentation sucks."
"You and your paramour are in trouble," Azazel said, still stalking back and forth with a gleaming grin.
"Yeah, well, it's Tuesday."
"I'm prepared to get you out of that trouble," he said, both eyebrows raised.
James couldn't stop the snort of a laugh. "Right."
"Simply tell me what you desire." He smiled wider. "It's always an interesting question, isn't it?"
James matched his smile and shook his head. "I don't think I will."
"That's fine; I can guess it. You would like your lover restored to his power. Or perhaps the girl restored to her mind. Either would be a simple thing for me - and I ask so little in return."
James shifted, stretching his legs out in front of himself before he rested his elbow on the bench next to him, propping his head up on his fist. "That's what they all say."
"You're no friend to Victor von Doom," Azazel said. "Why help him with his machine?"
"If Victor Von Doom had even one friend, do you think he'd need to build so many bots to keep him company?"
Azazel chuckled. "So you see my point." He stopped prowling and faced James. "The machinery is just sound enough that it could open a door. Just for a moment. And all you need to do is change the door's location."
"If you're missing home, I have a much simpler solution."
Azazel smiled wider. "I am, in fact. And I'd make it worth your while. All you have to do is to open the door to Heaven. I would even permit you to warn whoever you feel is necessary."
James smirked. "I don't think you'd like that nearly as much as you imagine."
"I don't think your protectors will have much chance to rush in when the doorway is as crude as it is."
"I don't have any protectors, for one thing," James said. "And for another - you don't know how that machine works."
"And yet, from what I understand, it should be enough to suit my needs." Azazel smiled lazily. "I won't leave this offer on the table for long."
James gestured with one arm. "I already told you if you wanna go back to Hell, I'll help you there no charge."
"Then perhaps you need more incentive," Azazel said thoughtfully.
"You came in here asking for a favor," James said. "You have no idea what to offer to me. I thought you were supposed to be good at this?"
"I thought you were supposed to be in love; his safety and the girl's mind should be paramount."
"Both of those are safe already," James said.
"I wouldn't be so sure."
"I'm sure you wouldn't be." James paused all the same though. "Since we're being civil, though - I've been wondering if you knew who you latched onto to get out."
"Not until recently, no. But I was curious." He gestured around the castle. "This mortal man who thinks he is a god caught my attention when he captured your godling. It's been enlightening."
"He's been after the king of hell. I understand he doesn't think that's you."
"He can think what he likes; he'll rot in the cells I built millennia ago long after he's gone."
"Are there a lot of little demons who think they hold that title?"
Azazel rolled his eyes. "You're willfully misunderstanding things."
"I don't think so. I"ve heard of two demons in the past … ever. Two that are confirmed to be real and both of you think you're some kind of royalty."
"He's not even of Heaven or Hell. What he calls his plane, I cannot control, but he's no demon."
"So you're sayin' he's a Chinese knockoff?"
"Essentially, yes. Feel free to destroy him." Azazel smirked. "Consider it practice for our next fight."
"Seems a waste of energy."
"Agreed." Azazel got up and dusted himself off. "Well, this has been enlightening. I'll be sure to stay away from Mia for some time - wouldn't want you escaping your cells because I got too close."
"I'll be content with that for now. Nice to know you don't want to try it."
Azazel chuckled to himself and then teleported away, leaving James once again alone.
Nate had been pacing ever since Tony radioed in that he was bringing Kate home. She hadn't been missing for as long this time, but Billy was still gone and so was James, and he just couldn't relax.
Rachel put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey."
"Yeah, I know. I'm turning into Dad. I know."
"I was actually gonna say I'll handle the legwork again."
"Kinda figured."
"Yeah, but you needed to hear it out loud. You just focus on her; I'll let her be mad at me." She squeezed his shoulder. "Got your back. And hers."
Nate gave his sister a tight smile and squeezed her shoulder in return, though he went back to his pacing pretty quickly.
Both of them knew when the jet was close, because they were able to sense both Tony and Kate coming in. Tony was stressed out, but Kate was asleep, judging by her drifting thoughts and how relaxed she was. But that just meant the two of them pulled from Tony what had happened on the jet before he could even land.
"Jan says take your heart pills," Rachel said as Tony opened the jet doors, and he rolled his eyes at her.
"Sure, sure, I'm not the one everyone should be worried about. We all know that, right?"
"Still gotta say it. You know Aunt Jan," Rachel said, though she was keeping half an eye on Nate as he sat down next to Kate, who was still asleep. That itself was unusual, since even after hard missions, everyone usually woke up when the jet landed and people got on or off; they were used to being aware of when others were in their space.
"Kate," Nate said, gently reaching over to touch her shoulder - and immediately getting kicked in the stomach.
Rachel winced and came to help her brother. When she brushed Kate's mind, she wasn't surprised to see that Kate wasn't even fully awake yet. "Hey, we're on your side," she said.
Kate held a hand up between them and herself, the other hand running down her face. "Yeah," she said through her teeth, the hand still up as a barrier. "I know, just shut up, just… stay right there."
"This is why I called ahead," Tony said low to Rachel.
"I'm fine, Tony," Kate said between the fingers of her hand. "I can hear you, you know."
"Yeah, we all really believe that, Katie," Tony shot back. "You're very convincing."
Nate ignored Tony to focus on Kate for the time being. "I can just fly you to Hank," he offered. He wasn't sure how projecting would go, considering how averse she'd been to telepaths last time, so he kept things at a whisper for the moment.
"Yeah, can you just…" Kate took a deep breath and let it out, finally lowering her hand. "Think you can put me back to sleep?" she asked. "Please?"
Nate frowned at that. Yeah, I can, but you know I'm going to ask you why.
You know why, she projected back. And I don't want to be awake for the tests he needs to run.
Nate glanced toward his sister and quickly caught her up to speed before he turned back to Kate and nodded. Okay. Whatever you need, he said.
Kate relaxed at that but still didn't meet his gaze, just closing her eyes as he put her back to sleep and then looked over to Rachel.
So, the good news is the commands are simple, and I can lessen their grip immediately. She can honestly do most of the deprogramming with her mom once I cut the threads, Rachel said, trying to give him better news when it was clear he was mad.
And the rest of it? Nate asked, his eyes flashing with power that he couldn't use against anyone who deserved it, which only fueled his frustration and anger.
I know. I saw the same memory flashes you did.
Nate narrowed his eyes and then set his jaw, picking Kate up to carry her out of the jet. "Tony, you're in charge of David while I get Kate situated."
Tony blinked - it was always harder for the person on the outside of the telepathic conversation to jump in once it became verbal again. "Right. I'm sure Jan's already spoiling him, right?"
"One way to find out," Nate said dryly, shaking his head as Tony headed out.
Already, James had destroyed several doom bots for spare parts - one or two at a time. And every time he'd done so, precious little time had passed before more doom bots came to take their place - and to try and take whatever he was making.
It was almost as wearing on James as it was on Doom, but he sure wasn't going to admit it.
The newest bot that showed up though … wasn't going up to the door, and James watched for a long moment, waiting to see what this new play was - and not at all expecting for the speaker to crackle to life in the bot's head. If you can behave, you can join us this morning. Otherwise, you can remain where you are until you find your manners.
James glared at the bot, but Akihiro had rejoined him hours ago, and was quick to voice his opinion.
"As much as I've enjoyed watching your tantrums, I've been told you'll need to recharge to keep from going into adamantium poisoning," he said, which only had James that much more irritated.
"Fine," James rumbled out, though he didn't move until the lock on the cell door opened up. He didn't bother trying to take his tinkering along - he knew that would end up being taken anyhow. It was pretty clear to James anyhow, that Doom either wanted him to do something, or he wanted him to perk Billy just wasn't sure which way to get mad until he saw Billy again.
As it turned out, Billy looked pale as ice, but he grinned when he saw James. "Oh, there you are," he said, a little too forcefully to be believable.
"Guess I'm out of time out," James said as he made his way over to him. "You are way too pale."
"We match?" Billy offered, then grimaced. "I think today's the big day; feels like I'm extra empty."
"I hate that."
"So do I, and I hate that even more because Kate teased me right before she left about how much I hate not having my powers," he said, rolling his eyes.
James leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I'm very sure that worst case scenario, your mom could fix that. As she tears the offender into atomic dust."
"Yeah, Kate should have filled Mom in already, so… T-minus whatever to Mom being pissed."
"I'm sure she did," James agreed. "Wanda was with us before we came here."
Doom didn't say anything in immediate reaction, but Billy felt like he could breathe just a little bit easier. And with things being what they were, he grinned softly and leaned more on James. "When in doubt, remind people who my mom is," he whispered
James just kept a little tighter hold on him for the moment. He wasn't sure what he could say that Doom wouldn't eavesdrop on - and he was in no mood to share information. At least … nothing he didn't want the guy to know.
Breakfast was a quiet affair since both Billy and James were tired and neither wanted to talk too much about what they thought of this set up. So, to both of their surprise, when they ended up following the Doom bot back to Billy's room - not to anywhere awful, not to the chamber Doom had prepared to catch Mephisto or the cells where James had stayed the night… Nothing was amiss, and there was food on the table at the window and everything.
"So… I guess he doesn't want me to die of starvation of hugs before the big fight? I don't even know," Billy said, though he didn't hesitate to flop dramatically onto the bed, face-first, in sheer exhaustion.
James was frowning at the set up, though. "Seriously. What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know anymore. I'm not questioning it right now. There is a bed. There are snacks... You're here and Kate's safe," Billy said, muffled by the comforter.
James sighed and made his way over to climb in next to him, knowing that Billy was looking for the snuggles more than anything else. "It doesn't make sense, though," he said softly. "Mia's dad was sniffing around last night."
"Ugh. Really?" Billy picked his head up. "I'm too tired for him."
"He wanted to make a deal."
"You told him no, right?"
"Obviously."
"What'd he try to tempt you with?"
"Well, you, first of all - to return your powers to full. And Kate's sanity. But seeing as she was definitely going to end up by Nate and Rachel, I figured she was already out of the woods. You? I don't doubt for a second that you'll be fine without his meddling. And I kinda think he wants your full powers for himself, so … I'm not touching any of that."
"Yeah, if he's sniffing around, he's noticing Doom's using me as a battery to punch through reality. I don't want to do it again, thanks."
James nodded. "He said it was Doom's attempts at being a god that caught his attention, then immediately followed it up with calling you a godling or something to that effect. So I think he knows where the source is anyhow. Big difference between 'trying to be' and acknowledgement."
"Yeah… I'll marinate in that for a while and probably decide I hate it later," Billy said, shifting so he could use James as a pillow. "And let's maybe keep an eye on Kate once we're done here because I don't like him using her sanity as a bargaining chip."
"Have a little faith," James said. "He wouldn't try to make a deal on anything unless it was something that was going to happen anyhow. Kate will be fine. I've been reliably told that demons are lazy more often than not."
"That does make me feel a little bit better, thanks," Billy said, his voice now muffled by the fact that he had his face mostly in James' shirt.
"Sure," James said, giving him a little squeeze. "If the shirt's too gross, I can ditch it."
"Gimmie a minute; I'm too tired not to have my favorite guy right here."
"I know, it's been longer than I'm comfortable with anyhow." He moved just enough to grab a nearby blanket and covered them both up before he relaxed a little himself - though he was determined to keep watch.
"Want to know something stupid?" Billy whispered after a long time.
"Yes. Please."
"I'd've probably helped with this project if he'd've just asked. The name's familiar; I think my mom has previous experience with the guy."
"That's kind of what I was thinking, to be honest," James agreed. "Especially after he said it was more or less in defense of his mother."
"So…" Billy's eyes glowed when he picked his head up, and he whispered under his breath just at the base of James' range of hearing. "NomagiconJames."
"Sweet talker," James said, then kissed him. "Hey. I need you to do me a big favor. Use that cuff. Like … sooner than later. Please."
"Tried it last night. I don't think this room likes me."
"I can fix that the next time a bot comes by," James said with a smirk. "I think I've killed about a dozen of them already."
"And I missed the show?"
"Just tore the heads off and pulled out the goodies inside." He smirked. "And then Doom got mad I was making stuff and sent more bots to take my toys … so I did the same thing to them."
"You're so hot. I've told you that, right?"
"Not lately," he teased.
"Really, really hot," Billy said and stole a kiss.
"Right back at you, handsome prince.."
Billy smiled and yawned. "I'm too tired to do anything about how hot you are so just pretend I'm doing something really romantic or something while I nap, okay?"
"You are," James promised before he kissed his forehead. "Get your rest, please."
"G'night," Billy muttered, asleep before the word was even finished.
"Tell me what you know about what's going on in Latveria."
Doctor Strange sighed and turned toward Wanda, who still had whisps of power clinging to her after she had wished herself to where he was, despite his attempts to find privacy to nurse his headache when he had been so deeply delving into the best ways to bind or destroy the very essence of a demon. "Hello, Wanda."
"Hello. Latveria."
Strange let his shoulders drop and conjured a seat for her to join him. "I've been preoccupied with how to end that demon. I've nearly determined how to destroy his essence. I thought that was our priority," he said pointedly.
"That was before my son went missing."
"Ah." Strange waved his hand, and several rolls of parchment and books rearranged themselves to make space for components for a new spell.
"James is with him too."
Strange's frown pressed into his forehead. "Is he now?" he said, already working up a spell, though before long, he let out a scoff. "Does that room you enchanted still allow some contact with the other side?"
"So long as the person is in active contact with James, yes."
"I would suggest making use of it. What I can divine of the magic emanating from that castle is dimensional."
Wanda's eyes went wide, and in a flash, she simply disappeared.
Nate had learned from the last time he tried to wake Kate up and wasn't anywhere close to her when he let up on the telepathic command to sleep so that she could get through seeing Hank. They weren't in the medical wing anymore, but Hank was still close by, because he wanted to check on her reactions when she was awake beyond the blood tests and others he'd run.
Because she hadn't truly been asleep, Kate woke up faster than she would have from sleep, then stretched and frowned at the two of them sitting there at the foot of her bed.
"So… what's the verdict, Doctor Blue?" she asked carefully.
Hank smiled at her. "I think you'll live to fight another day, my dear."
"Oh, good. Wouldn't want Hawkeye to go missing," Kate said. She leaned back into the pillows and dragged a hand down her face, but even being awake for only a couple minutes, both Hank and Nate could tell she was anxious. Hank could smell it on her, and Nate could hear her trying to will her thoughts into being calmer.
"Kate, no one's expecting you to bounce right back into action," Nate told her.
"I was only out for a couple days," Kate said, already in motion to leave the room.
"Yeah, but Kate-" Nate didn't grab for her; he only took a step toward her. And that still managed to cross an invisible boundary he (and Kate) hadn't realized was there until she seemed to come out of her skin. She nearly jumped backward away from him, both hands raised, ready to fight.
They stared at each other for just a beat longer before Kate let out a genuine scream of pure frustration, and Nate stepped back again, letting her sink to the ground without getting in her space - and sharing a look with Hank the whole time.
"I know what I'm supposed to be doing," Kate said through her teeth. "I've done this before. This shouldn't be that hard!" With every word, her eyes were filling with tears.
"You can't skip to the daily maintenance part when your engine's on fire, Katie," Nate said, trying for a tease, but when Kate visibly deflated, he sighed and sat down on the floor across from her - but not close to her. "Hey, come on. It's me. Not like I'm gonna judge you if you need to fall apart for a minute."
"It's different this time."
"Then explain it to me so I can help."
Kate ran her hands through her hair until they stopped at the back of her head. Then, she clenched her hands in fists, holding onto her hair. "I know what happened this time," she said softly. "I know what's wrong. I know what I'm supposed to do to ignore it, to stop it. And I have to … I can't…" She let out another frustrated shout. "How the hell am I supposed to be a mom if I don't want anyone to touch me?" she shouted, finally letting go of the tears she'd been trying to stop. "I only fell apart on Tony because he accidentally ordered me to, Nate! And David's touchy. And I want to hold him. I don't- I don't want to hate holding him!"
Nate let his shoulders drop. "Rachel cut some strings while you were out," he said gently.
"Okay." Kate looked up at him, scrubbing her face. "And the rest?"
Nate blew out his breath from his cheeks. "You just… you know… need time," he said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, when was the last time we had a vacation?"
Kate let out a tired laugh. "Do forced vacations count?"
"...sure."
"Then probably after you got home."
"Okay, forced vacations don't count."
Kate shrugged tightly. "I don't know. Probably never."
"Okay. I'll ask Dad for a good spot."
"Okay," Kate said, resting her chin on her knees as Nate sat with his back to the wall, wishing he could fix it for her and knowing he couldn't - not without messing up her mind.
When Doom came to retrieve Billy and James, he seemed pleased to see that Billy had more color to him. As much as he was draining Billy, he didn't want to kill the golden goose (yet). But he do more than to gesture for them to follow him, which had Billy and James sharing a look.
"We've been looking at that thing Doom built," Pietro said, his arms crossed so that he looked like he was leaned against the wall even if he couldn't interact with the physical world. "Pretty sure we've got an idea of how to make it work against Mephisto and disrupt some Doom stuff. You know, enough to get backup that can actually do more than relay information," he added, gesturing at himself.
James nodded, not willing to do more than that and tip off Doom that he was communicating with anyone else. Pietro fell into step with them and started telling James what to do to a few of the runes to shift the focus a little and change the meaning behind them in a way that wouldn't hurt Billy more.
James had a decent hold of Billy's hand, gently slowing their pace when he most definitely wasn't looking forward to whatever Doom was up to. He knew the guy was going to do something distasteful starring Billy - and he didn't yet know what they could reasonably do to stop it.
When they stepped through into Doom's workshop, the machinery itself was actually fairly impressive. Most of it was interlaced with runework, so that the magic and technology was married to one purpose. There was a circle to the side obviously for Billy, which fed into one in the middle.
"The theory is sound," Noh said, joining Pietro.
"Yeah, it's just a matter of making it work for us," Pietro agreed, glaring at some of the runes in particular. "We can bust open his defenses if we play it right…"
James was frowning toward the machine itself, but he had yet to let go of Billy's hand - definitely not trusting any of it - and not in the mood to listen too closely when it was clear Doom was preparing to pontificate a bit, as he liked to do. Maybe Tony had some notes somewhere that would be useful … because Noh and Pietro were speaking two entirely different languages and it didn't sound like they had a unified front yet.
"Okay," Pietro said, seeming to realize the overlapping problem. "He can walk you through fixing the damn thing, and I'll show you what runes to change while you do it when it's ready, yeah?"
With Doom watching the two of them so carefully, James couldn't risk anything that looked like an agreement, though, and instead, he turned toward Billy to see what he was thinking after he'd managed to get a little rest.
"Want to show off your genius?" Billy asked, biting his lip.
"I'd rather toss you over my shoulder and jump out the window, to be honest."
"Hot." Billy smirked. "And I'm not opposed."
Before the two of them could get any deeper into flirting, though, some of the machinery started moving. Even though his mask was expressionless, both Billy and James could see satisfaction coming off of Doom in waves as he stepped back with his arms crossed and watched as the runes started to light up.
And then, just as quickly as it started, it stopped - except for a thin sliver of energy that neither Billy nor James trusted.
Noh let out a hiss when he saw it, baring his teeth. "Oh, it's functional," he said like a curse. "But it's crude and dangerous and - let me help you fix it before he opens a hole he can't close."
Billy couldn't hear Noh, but he reached for James and gave him a look that was half a request for reassurance and half a statement that they'd do this next part together.
"What do you need my boyfriend for anyway?" Billy asked, squeezing James' hand. "It's already running, isn't it?"
"To some extent, yes," Doom said dismissively, waving his hand. "It is already drawing from Mephisto, thanks to your power." He looked toward Billy, who glared right back at him. "Eventually, it will work regardless. But your boyfriend, as you so elegantly put it, is an expert on exactly this." He gestured toward the machine. "I care about Latveria. If you believe nothing else, believe that. I want Mephisto dead, but I do not want this machine to lay waste to my land in the fallout."
"And it very well could," Noh said, still speaking under his breath - and in his native tongue so he could more elegantly swear.
"What do you want me to do?" James asked evenly. "Specifically."
Doom gestured for James to join him at one particular part of the machine. "Here," he said. "I already spoke with your mentor, and he identified the flaw in the equation. However, your knowledge of interdimensional physics exceeds his; I need you to show me the path to equalizing the force as the portal opens."
James raised an eyebrow at that, though. "You want me to teach you how or you want me to fix it?"
"Preferably? Fix it now; we can discuss your methods at length afterward."
James turned toward Billy as he answered Doom. "What is this thing going to do to Billy?"
"It will borrow his power, nothing more."
"I don't believe that," James replied. He was pretty sure that's what Doom was hoping would happen, but there was no way the guy could be sure. Not if he hadn't even gotten the damn thing to work properly.
"Believe what you like; I have yet to see the end of his power in any experiment," Doom said flatly, gesturing over his shoulder for a Doom bot - which had Billy reflexively hitting the cuff he was wearing, because he knew what Doom bots near him in a room full of runes meant.
"Billy?" James said, leaving it up to him, since he wasn't about to make the call on Billy's well being. Especially when all he wanted to do was take Doom's head off like he had so many bots already.
"I'm okay," Billy promised, meeting his gaze. "Besides, if I stop being okay, you'll fix it immediately." He added that second part Doom's way as the threat they all knew it to be.
James let out a breath and turned toward the machine where Noh was - and Pietro, too.
"You know how to get started," Noh said. "He really is going to do some damage to the interdimensional walls with this thing. Revenge is not worth this," he said, wrinkling his nose.
"If I can't keep this thing from destroying our plane, I will wreck it," James warned Doom.
"I doubt that will be necessary."
"Where did you even find the bones for this, anyhow?" James asked, slowly heading toward it to take the closer look at what Doom wanted - and where Noh was already making faces. "It almost looks like one of Richards' failed plans."
"He hasn't turned his attention to dimensional physics in years," Doom scoffed.
James looked up at him. "I wasn't talking about Reed."
Pietro let out a whooping laugh and leaned on Noh for emphasis. "Called out," he said through his laughter.
"That's why you wanted James around," Billy said, both eyebrows raised even as the circle he was stuck in kept him from going anywhere. "You knew about him and Franklin being roommates." He added the last part of his sentence a bit too late; there was still a bit of resentment there, even if he was trying to be mature about it.
"There was a reason he abandoned this design," James said, half walking toward Doom. "It's not stable. Even Tony doing gymnastics with his math isn't going to adjust for that."
"It will work with magical reinforcement, however," Doom said.
James shook his head at that. "Magical … no. It needs more than that. I'm sure that could help, but it's not enough." He turned back toward the machine and pulled open a panel before Noh could get to coaching even. "This relay - it's not sturdy enough. It won't ever be sturdy enough, either. It's the wrong material. You could have cast it six inches thick and it still wouldn't do it."
"Transmutation is simple enough; what does it need?"
"It's not … you can't change it into vibranium," James said, giving him a dry look. "It'd come off like a cheap Russian knock off. And Tony couldn't have known that, either. It's also a big part of why Frank let it go. Because even if it was vibranium, there'd be no way to stop the reactions if it got out of hand."
"Actually," Noh said softly. "I know how to make that work. I used to work on the ship's engines; we had similar problems when the imagination engines would blow."
"I know," James said just loud enough for Noh to catch it.
"And yet," Doom said, "it is already drawing power from Mephisto's plane. Even your mentor agreed with my aims: we will be better off without him."
"You're going to draw his plane here."
"Then fix it."
"This is the dumbest damn thing I've ever seen," James was muttering to himself, mostly, though it was definitely for Noh and Pietro's benefit. "Need to drop a couple metric tons of lithium into the water supply around here for the nutbags …"
"Hey, it's Doom we're talking about. When does that ever not end up being something stupid?" Pietro pointed out. He tapped a rune near some of the wire work James had been looking at. "Scratch that one while you're working, would you? My sister needs to come say hi soon."
James did his best to let out some of his frustration with a growl to cover his muttering and to answer both Pietro and Doom. "Fine." He turned toward Doom. "Still gonna need that vibranium if you want it to do more than glow or stay open for long enough for anything to get through."
"Easily done," Doom said, already going to his book to find the transmutation spell.
James pinched his nose after he looked at the tools that were nearby, then started going down a list of what else he needed to get to work. If he was going to make demands, then James would too. The guy didn't know enough about what he was trying to do- and if Tony had taught him anything, it was how to stall and be a primadonna when the time was right for it. Something else that Pietro was highly entertained by.
"It is fun to watch you work," Noh said, and Pietro smacked him.
"Don't ruin this by being weird about it," he said.
James got to work before the Doom Bots could bring up the full list of his demands - and when they got close enough, just to be a pain, he tore one of them apart, too and salvaged some of the rare earth metals in use in the superconductors inside them. He could have asked for that, too, but … the theme seemed to be drama, so, when in Rome …
The fallen doom bot was the perfect cover for wrecking that Rune - and in no time at all, James had his sleeves rolled up as he got down to making the right things to stabilize the reactions Doom was going for - with Noh over his shoulder telling him what he wanted to do - and the fastest way to wreck it later. Not that James hadn't already decided to slice through the vibranium when he wanted it to stop.
As always, he worked quickly - too quickly for Doom to see what exactly he was up to as he was doing it - even without figuring in how he was blocking off some of the most vital adjustments. He heard Doom take a breath - clearly about to make a comment or ask a question, and once again took a page out of Tony's book.
"No," James said without looking away from his work. "Whatever it was, the answer is no. Just be quiet so I can make your midlife crisis come to life."
Billy snorted. "Hot," he said under his breath - loud enough for James to hear it.
"You can flirt with my nephew in a second. If you put a line through this rune, it'll redirect some energy back to Billy," Pietro said. "Good thing I've been spying on my sister so long."
James didn't hesitate to follow Pietro's instructions, practically going over it as Pietro showed him where to make the marks. And again, he moved a hunk of robot to cover what he'd done. Before long, Noh finally let out a sigh and told him that it was about as good as it could be with the materials available.
"It's won't leave permanent damage, so long as you destroy it the moment Mephisto is through," he said. "Any more than ninety seconds is too long…"
James swore and closed the panel before he turned toward Billy and then looked toward Doom. "It's not going to be able to last for long."
"It won't need to. We only need him through," Doom said simply, his hands starting to glow. "Now, shall we begin?"
James's hands clenched in fists. "Be quick and you damn well better not harm one hair on his head while you get your demon."
Doom simply nodded, the air picking up around him as the machinery started as well. The runes lit up around the room, and the circle Billy was standing in glowed as well, instantly turning Billy green. But before James could react to Billy looking sick, the line of energy from before lit up the room and then expanded. Wind rushed through the opening toward James, which meant the spell and machinery was working - it was pulling Mephisto in.
In a flash of light, the portal opened the rest of the way, and Mephisto dropped into the other circle, at which point Noh hissed "fifty seconds!"
James turned to trash the machine - and felt as though he'd been zapped. Suddenly, he couldn't pull his arm forward to slash through it. In fact, he couldn't move at all.
"Well, this is helpful," Azazel said, making his presence known as he walked around the edge of the circle that Mephisto was trapped in. Doom hadn't made any mistakes in his magic; Mephisto was certainly stuck and obviously hurting inside that circle. But Doom had expelled much of his own energy to pull off the spell - not to mention Billy, who, James could now see, had streaks of white in his hair at the sides above his ears. "Not only have you granted me access to exactly the tool I need to get to Heaven, but you've imprisoned an annoyance who has been siphoning souls from my realm. I'd thank you, but you already turned down my offer of payment."
James watched Noh out of the corner of his eye as he looked more and more alarmed, but all he could do was growl low as he tried to move.
"What's going on?" Billy asked, still mostly doubled over, though Doom seemed to be more focused on Mephisto. The whole trap was designed to make Mephisto suffer; he wasn't going to be distracted now.
"Not now," Azazel said, waving his hand lazily, and Billy found himself unable to speak. He gave James a raised-eyebrow look as he walked toward the machinery. "Now. How to open a new portal."
"James," Noh said urgently, but obviously, James couldn't move. "Much longer and he won't have to do anything but wait for a tear to open on its own." As if to prove Noh's point, James could see places where the air looked… thin. Like he was looking through gossamer curtains to a different room.
James was internally swearing, but he couldn't budge - and Billy couldn't speak. Doom was casting spells, yes, but they were all binding spells, making sure Mephisto couldn't move and ignoring the problem in front of him.
James's growl shifted to a snarl as he focused on just trying to do anything - and though Azazel was now close by, he was trying very hard to remember to slash the machine first. It started small - so small. Just enough to make his lip curl up in the snarl before he got a whole lot louder and finally managed to swing that arm and pop his claws through the vibranium, entirely destabilizing the machine to a point that several breakers blew and parts and pieces went flying past him as it wrecked itself. He meant to turn that momentum toward Azazel and take off a chunk of him, too, but as soon as the explosion happened, he felt a hand on his shoulder, a knife at his throat, and he was stuck again. It was just like all that time he'd spent with Sinister. But the portal was closed. And the machine was shot.
"That was rude, boy," Azazel said in James' ear, and James gasped when Azazel jammed a blade in his side then twisted. He stepped back and watched James bleed until he healed, smiling to himself before he looked over at Doom and tipped his head to the side. "No," he said slowly, "the machine wasn't your design. I'll get it elsewhere, then."
"If this creature has been stealing from you as you say, then help me end it," Doom said, which had Azazel laughing.
"And step into your trap? I think not. I will, however…" He crouched down, and altered some of the runes around Mephisto until they glowed red. Whatever happened inside that circle, Mephisto couldn't speak (and therefore couldn't interact with those on the other side of it), but now, Mephisto seemed to be turning a paler color. "It's not much, little godling, but some borrowed power will keep you alive," he told Billy, who looked horrified. "The rest, I'll keep for myself. Your beloved was clever with his runework, redirecting some to you."
"Okay, so, this looks bad," said a new voice as a bright, pointed star opened a new hole - and for just a second, the dimensional barriers were so weak that reality shifted. For just a second, everything was blurry. Everything was every color. Everything was dark. And then, it was normal again, and America blinked as she closed her star portal behind her. "Damn. I'm going to have to fix that," she said, though she was distracted when she saw Billy. "What the hell?"
"What in hell," Wanda corrected her, having just stepped through before America closed the portal. She glared toward Azazel, who grinned crookedly at her, flush with power for the moment, before he teleported. And while Wanda had anticipated his escape, she hadn't expected it to be a short teleport, just to the edge of Billy's circle, one of his clean blades fully extended to cut Billy, almost in the same spot he'd already stabbed James.
Billy couldn't make a sound, but he was obviously hurt - and then, Azazel disappeared in a poof of smoke, this time gone for good but leaving a mute, hurt Billy and a frozen, bloodied James.
Wanda glared as she looked between the different players. Obviously, she wanted to run to Billy, but the circle worried her. And Mephisto couldn't be ignored, either, even though the hellish runes were still glowing and Mephisto seemed weaker for every second.
"C'mon, Wanda. I'm right here," Pietro said, pacing close to his sister, who couldn't see him. Noh wasn't there anymore; he had run to get backup as soon as Azazel appeared.
"Let my son go," Wanda said, focusing her ire, for the moment, on Doom, since Mephisto was contained and Azazel was gone.
"When this is finished," Doom said.
"This is finished," America said, glaring, already preparing to kick open another portal, though everyone stopped as something new flickered through the cracks in reality - a powerful, bright something that those in the mortal world couldn't fully see, though James could see his father, Kurt, Noh, and an angel that looked pissed.
"Yes, hello," Noh said, skidding to a stop. "I went looking for Kurt and may have brought back far more than that."
"Oh, great," James managed through his teeth - still fighting to move again after Azazel made him freeze the second time. "You had to bring the biggest jerk you could find." He was glaring toward the angel, recognizing him as one of those that had tried to push him into letting go of the people he loved on earth.
"The situation requires intervention," the angel said, and as James watched, the cracks in reality glowed the same color as the angel's eyes. And with the barrier between worlds being as weak as it was, the angel did more than just heal the rifts. In a flash of angelic light, the runes around Billy disappeared - and the runes around Mephisto turned golden. Where Azazel's spell was sending Mephisto's power back to Hell, the angel didn't draw it out. In an instant, Mephisto was bones, then ash, then nothing.
And then, the angel fell to one knee, panting as Kurt knelt with him, frowning at the scene.
Logan had made his way to James as soon as they'd arrived, and he was quietly trying to coach him through breaking loose of Azazel's commands. It wasn't easy, but he'd actually already done it once, so it was just a matter of focus and being stubborn over all else.
And meanwhile, Doom was swearing in surprise and anger. "What is this?" he kept demanding.
Billy frowned toward America, who looked toward James, then Wanda, and decided she was going to deal with the problem while Doom was fuming - and while he'd used most of his magic on Mephisto. "Hey," she said and kicked Doom into a star portal that closed up immediately behind him. "Have fun, asshole. That's a soundless pocket dimension."
Noh relaxed as soon as he saw it. "Oh, good. That's one way to test the resilience of the miraculous healing of the dimensional barriers," he said, though he sounded nearly breathless with worry.
"Is he coming back?" Wanda asked, her hands glowing, still standing at the ready, but when America shook her head, she rushed to Billy and gathered him into her as if he was still small - fretting over his health, but also overly concerned at the white streaks in his hair.
"He hurt Billy; he'll die unable to hear himself pontificate," America said, and Wanda gave her a soft smile for it before she turned her attention to Billy, running her hand through his newly-white hair as she cast a spell to restore his voice.
As soon as the spell was finished, Billy coughed and then leaned heavily into his mom. "That sucked," he said, coughing and covering the badly bleeding cut in his side with both hands as much as he could.
It took James a lot longer to finally move a little - the urgency of the situation was much lower now, but having his father there to talk him through it, and encourage him was incredibly helpful. All the way up until Kurt pointed out that they had a problem.
"Were you injured in the blast?" Kurt asked, and James's shoulders drooped as he shook his head no on his way over to try and help with Billy.
To James, he was talking to his father, Kurt, and Noh - with the angel nearby watching the discussion carefully. He didn't realize what it looked like to everyone else in the room. "How bad is it?" James asked.
"I mean, I'll probably need stitches. I'm kinda dizzy? Last time I got hurt enough to need stitches felt like this," Billy said, his voice hoarse.
James shook his head at that, watching the angel along with Logan and Kurt. "I was asking him, handsome."
"Oh. Hi, whoever you are. Um… thanks for the help?" Billy offered, even as Wanda quickly spun up the spell to see what James could see - and gasped when she saw who had joined them.
"Well, that explains some things," America said, both eyebrows high on her head. "What's the story?"
"My father stole their blood," Kurt said shortly. "Both of them."
Billy nodded too many times. "Yeah, and he wasn't nice about it. Ow."
"I couldn't get to him," James explained, clearly beating himself up already, though he was making an effort to triage Billy with what was available.
"Not your fault," Billy promised, resting his head on his mom's shoulder while James worked to clean him up and stop the bleeding. "We had Hydra, Doom, Mephisto, Azazel, and angels all in rapid-fire, apparently."
"The angel fixed the mess, though. And still hasn't answered my question, so I'm going to guess the answer is 'not great'," James said.
The angel shook his head and righted himself with Kurt's help. "The answer," he said, "is that blood magic is as old as time and very hard to counteract. It was Azazel's invention, and he knows how to bend it in ways no other demon can. So, yes, this cannot be good. At all."
"Okay, but can we be worried about this at home?" Billy offered. "It sounds like we're at the part of this where we go 'well that sucked', and we can do that at home, right? I'm really dizzy. I want to go home. Can we do that?"
James turned toward the angel as he put pressure on Billy's wound. "Will you please at least tell my father and Kurt what I need to know? You know. To stop an invasion?"
The angel nodded gravely. "I will relay everything to them."
James nodded and looked back at his father. "You know where to find me," he said, ready to get Billy to medical help sooner than later. "And I'll do whatever I can to stop that from happening."
"I'll stay close," Logan agreed. "You're gonna need to know what to expect. No way he'd take your blood unless he meant to use it."
"Or Billy's," Pietro said, frowning as he stood by Wanda.
"He'll definitely want to use Billy's," Logan agreed.
"He called him a 'godling'," Pietro said. "That sounds… worrying."
"Like maybe it'd be a good time for America to take him somewhere else," Logan said. "Creep can't cross dimensions on his own. If Billy's somewhere else, seems like he'd be safe."
"I'm totally willing to take a vacation," Billy agreed earnestly. "I'm tired, I'm drained, and I got some demon magic put in me without my consent." He gave America a tired grin. "We can bring Kate too. She needs a break badly."
"Yeah, I'm aware. My girlfriend's pissed about it," America said. She ruffled his hair lightly. "'Course I'll keep you safe, Billy. Let's get you patched up, and then I'll hide you somewhere nice, okay?"
"Please and thank you," Billy agreed.
"Well then," Wanda said. "Now that that's decided…" She snapped her fingers, and all of them were in Genosha in the middle of the medical ward. "Let's get those stitches, sweetheart," she said, kissing the side of Billy's head as doctors rushed to see why their queen had appeared in the middle of the ward.
Wanda had made a point to get both Billy and James looked over once they were in Genosha - and when she saw how antsy James was, she asked that someone stay with him while he headed out to get cleaned up. Billy still had a bit more to be done to support him after everything Doom had stolen, so the stitches and fluids were going to take a bit more time, still.
She'd hoped that Scott or even Tommy would catch up with him and keep an eye out, though it was Annie who got there fastest, somehow. Rachel and Nate weren't the only telepaths in the house, and she had picked up on how absolutely miserable he was quickly - and brought some pumpkin bread for him to munch on once he was a little more with it.
America was already deep in discussion with Rachel about what needed to be done to help Kate get away from things. Obviously, Rachel needed to come along to help with the brainwashing, and Nate needed to be there - and David needed to come because Kate was so worried about him. But once America had heard that Azazel stabbed Billy too, he was on the guest list almost immediately.
And Wanda appreciated that. She was glad that America was so protective of her little boy. But that didn't mean she was happy about it.
She had just gotten up to check in with Hank again when she saw that she wasn't the only one with that thought. Natasha was already there, her arms crossed and her foot tapping as she talked to Hank in hushed tones. Clint was just beyond her, sitting with David on one knee and listening raptly to the half-babbled story David was telling, complete with his mother's dramatic expressions.
As soon as someone else was in their space, both Natasha and Clint looked up - and then relaxed when they saw who it was. Natasha even nodded and stepped slightly to the side in a silent invitation for Wanda to join her.
"Do you have a plan in place yet?" Wanda said low to Natasha, intending to keep their discussion mostly private.
"For Kate or for retaliation?" Natasha asked just as low. "Because those are two different answers." She nodded toward Clint, who wasn't pretending not to be eavesdropping. "I'd like to go with them to help Kate through this, but I don't like too many people being gone, either."
"I told her I can handle Hydra if she wants to go," Clint said easily. "Both of the Skull's kids are dead; they're fractured and easy to kill right now."
"With their leaders gone, Hydra is in shambles as it is," Wanda said with a wave. "I have half a mind to finish them off entirely myself." She frowned. "I just don't want to waste the magic if I need it elsewhere."
"Might be nice to get rid of the green idiots, though," Clint said.
"Then once the demon problem is handled, I"ll do that for you. Call it a birthday present," she teased.
"Aww, knew you cared," he said easily, and David giggled at him.
Natasha shook her head at their antics and then turned her attention back to Wanda, reaching out to touch her arm. "How is Billy?"
"Healing quickly," Wanda said. "He was stabbed and he's weak, but he'll be alright."
"Good." Natasha shook her head and leaned against Hank's desk. "It always seems to be ours, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it does," she agreed. "And I've had more than enough of that, if I'm perfectly honest."
"Have you seen Kate yet?" Natasha asked, her expression dark.
"Just in passing," Wanda said. "I was trying not to get too angry."
"If I had your power, Hydra wouldn't have been founded," Natasha said low, her eyes flashing.
"That would have other repercussions," Wanda pointed out. "But there's nothing to stop me from wiping them off the planet entirely."
"I'll get you what you need to know to root them out if need be."
Wanda shook her head. "Unnecessary. I can do it without specifics. It'll be harsh, and some people won't see it coming, but … I think it's overdue. This is what I get for trying to play by the rules for so long."
"Still. If you need anything," Natasha said. "At all."
"Why wait?" James asked as he looked between Natasha and Wanda. He was cleaned up at least, but he was still a little rough around the edges for how quickly he'd rushed himself. "As much as you probably don't want to hear it, when they go to wherever they're going, you should probably go too, Mom. If we're watching out for reality benders and the like."
Wanda let her shoulders drop, especially when she heard him call her 'Mom.' "I'm more concerned for Billy than myself."
"So go with him," he said. "Wipe out Hydra and take a break with him to recharge. You both could use it."
"I mean, if we're putting it to a vote, I'm with the kid," Clint said as David tried to climb him.
James had his hands in his pockets as he leaned on the wall. "You shouldn't be anywhere that Azazel can reach you. Not with your powers. I think my dad was right - if you're in a different plane or whatever, that'd be the safest place for both you and Billy."
Wanda looked between them, her mouth pressed into a line, before she nodded lightly. "Only because Hydra deserves it and because I want to look after my son," she said at last.
"You need to get mad before you wipe 'em out, go drop in on Katie and watch her not respond to anything," Clint said, her tone darker than anyone was used to hearing from him.
"Or …" James watched Clint as he spoke slowly. "... ask Betsy or Rachel to project to you what they did to the three of us."
"Again, I'm agreeing with the kid," Clint said, pointing James' way. "Evil genius, just like your mom."
"I'm sure Dad would be alright with letting you see how Viper treated him on her way out, too," James said, keeping his serious expression in place. "You've got plenty of fairly fresh trauma to work with. Just …" he gestured with one hand. "I'd let you look myself if I had the tools."
Wanda was quiet for a long moment before she reached out to squeeze James' shoulder and head out. "I think I have a few people to talk to. I'm sure you'll know when the spell goes off."
"Can't do anything without being showy," Clint teased her as she passed him, and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly at him.
Natasha smirked as she watched Wanda head out, but then, she let that drop and reached for James' arm. "How are you?" she asked urgently. "You haven't had any further demonic complications, have you?"
James shook his head lightly. "Not yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time."
Natasha sighed and then pulled him into a hug. "Whatever you need," she said.
James nodded. "I think it would be smart to get a hold of those subdermal trackers that weren't supposed to be manufactured. Last time I saw specs, it looked like something that would take a few days for me to work out if we put them in the right muscle groups."
"On it," Clint said. "I found a group that's got some of the projects Stark didn't want produced; that's in their inventory."
"Probably ask Dr. Strange if he's up to lodging one in my sinuses, too."
"Nah, we'll ask Lorna," Clint said with a crooked grin.
"Doesn't have to be into the metal," James said. "Just has to be hard to reach."
"I'd be happy to offer my services in that case," Hank said lightly.
James nodded. "I think just … trackers I can't get out myself will at least give you an idea of what happens when it happens. Especially if I end up unable to communicate otherwise."
"Yes, I follow that train of thought. But I still have hope that you're smart enough to work around whatever commands he may give you until we have a better solution."
"Still gonna have a back up plan or two in place," James said.
"Oh, of course," Hank said.
"He's a Summers," Clint added under his breath, but by that point, David had launched himself out of his arms, and it was off to the races for the two of them, since the little guy obviously was done being in one place.
James watched him go, then turned to leave - he needed to check in on Kate before Natasha and Clint managed to get those illegal trackers. That weren't supposed to exist. Once again they were in the middle of a crisis - and once again, their group was going to be chopped up. So he had to make sure he saw her before she disappeared on him.
When he got to where Kate was, he leaned in the doorway and knocked on the doorframe, hoping she'd be up to at least a passing hello and good luck. "I didn't bring coffee, but I can go get it if you need it," he offered.
Kate was sitting with her knees pulled to her chin on the couch in hers and Nate's suite, but she looked up when she heard his voice and smiled tightly. "I'm not really in the mood, but thanks for the offer."
"Good. neither am I," he said, frowning deeply, though he didn't step out of the doorway.
"Nate and Scott are setting up our 'vacation' right now," she said.
"Yeah, sounds like it'll be a party," James said.
"Sure."
"Well, you're getting all the fun ones," James reasoned, crossing his arms over his chest, though he still kept his distance. "And no one will bother you, so … bonus."
"Yeah." Kate held her breath and then subtly wiped her eyes with her thumb. "This really sucks, James," she said at last in a whisper.
"I know. I'm sorry."
"I … tried so hard to be okay I kinda had a breakdown. You missed the show," she said with a dry, tired smile.
"That's alright. You missed my mess, so we're even, probably. And you look great."
"I really don't, but thanks for lying."
"I'm not lying. You're in your own clothes and away from Latveria - I'm pretty sure Hydra won't exist before the day's out, too."
"Yeah? What makes you say that?"
"I may have put a bug in Wanda's ear. And offered to let her look at my memories if she needs to be pissed off enough to do the job."
Kate raised both eyebrows, but the smile at the corner of her mouth fell apart after a second. "I don't know that I want her to do that," she admitted.
"I don't know that we have a choice either way now that they've screwed with Billy more than once," James pointed out. "It's not about us. Not really."
"Yeah, I just…" She let out a hollow laugh. "It's stupid. I want 'em gone but I can't…" She trailed off and let her shoulders drop, turning her head away from him.
"Yeah, I can guess," James said. "The whole stockholm thing is a bitch, ain't it?" He held his breath and decided to give her something to hold on to so she knew she wasn't alone in being messed up. "You know, I felt bad when Sinister turned me over? It wasn't that I was mad, either. More like … it stung. For some stupid reason, it was just … it seems extra stupid to call it a betrayal, but that's the closest I can equate it to"
"Why?" She turned to face him again, frowning.
James shrugged. It was still hard to put that into words. The deep sense of betrayal and the sorrow that went with it.
Kate watched him for a second and then sighed. "Yeah," she agreed. "It's just… yeah. I don't like that I killed him, you know?"
"I know," he agreed. "But you had to. I know you did. It was self preservation."
"Logically, I totally agree. The rest of me is taking its time, though," she joked lightly.
"I get that," James said.
"I killed one of his guards on his orders too," she said.
James nodded. "I did almost all of Dad's operation."
She winced dramatically. "Yeah. We're pretty messed up, huh?"
"Oh yeah."
Kate smiled tightly and fell silent for a long moment before she cleared her throat again. "Thanks," she said quietly. "For, you know, the space."
"Well, I figured I better see you before you go on walkabout wherever," he said. "There are a few plans to keep a few people safe, you know. Since Azazel is taking people's blood and all that noise."
"Ugh." Kate wiped her eyes again. "I have holy water arrows and everything."
"I might need to borrow those while you're on vacation," James said.
"Yeah, you can have them, I just-" She let out a noise from the back of her throat. "I hate this. I want to be the one to shoot those arrows and I couldn't even talk for about an hour earlier today when Rachel went in my head."
"Well if you stick around you might need to shoot me with them," he said, trying to force as fake of a smile as he could.
"Yeah, no, I'll take the forced vacation if you're the target," she said. "I'm already messed up; let's not ask me to shoot at yet another person I trusted."
"Perspective, Kate. At least you're not beholden to a demon."
"Debatable, considering I genuinely thought about going to the Hand if not for Doom burning the body."
"That's an ugly sentence if ever I heard it."
"True, though."
"I believe it. I also believe you'll get past it."
"Yeah. I just… assumed it would be easier the second time or something."
James shook his head slowly as he thought about the sensation that washed over him when Azazel froze him in place like Sinister did so often. "No. If anything it gets harder. It's hard to explain, but … for me anyhow, it's just heavier. Like it fits."
Kate nodded, pulling her knees tighter to her body. "Yeah."
"But, you'll remember how to toss it."
"Sure. I just want to skip ahead, you know?" Kate said with a tired laugh. "It's killing Nate, James. I know it is."
"Watching you hurt? Yeah, totally," he agreed.
"Knowing I don't want him there," she clarified. "That… that was helpful last time, you know? Having him around?"
"Don't you?" James asked with one eye closed. "Do you not want him there or do you not want him touching you?"
"I mean, the second one if we're getting down to semantics."
"So don't make it into bigger than it is. You still want his goofy face around, you just need him to keep his hands off. That's not the worst thing in the world. And you plan to work on that, right? Eventually?"
"I mean, sooner or later I'll stop hearing Hydra in my ear when someone touches me, right?" Kate said dryly.
"Make him your manservant until then," James suggested. "He'll love it."
"Annie is actively eavesdropping and just projected to me that she'll send him with her recipe book while we're gone, so you know what? I'm gonna have a personal chef. Why not?"
"Nah, he'll just make forty seven different kinds of soup."
"That's for when he's depressed."
"And for when others are too. Bowls. It's all about the bowls."
Kate shook her head at him and then let out her breath. "How's Billy?"
"Healing." James sighed heavily. "He's also on the short list to be evac-ed out of here. Can't have our little godling actively taking requests from Mia's grandfather."
Kate pulled a face. "Yeah, he's not allowed to grant wishes to other people anymore."
"Did you hear about that at all? Because he managed to take both of our blood."
"I didn't actually," she said. "Freakout, remember?"
"Yeah, but you also pay attention."
"I'd have to have been around people to overhear things," she pointed out.
"Well … he's near powerless for the moment. We both got stabbed before the demon disappeared, so now we are planning to get Billy and maybe Wanda somewhere with America's help so he doesn't have to answer to Azazel." James shrugged. "If it helps you to focus on someone else's sucky problems. Oh. And you were totally right. Billy cannot breathe without his powers, so .."
"Knew it," she said with a soft smile.
"He knows you know it and he hates it so much that you're right," James added with a crooked smile.
"Good; I'll have to give him endless grief about this while we're gone."
"Please do, he loves it."
Kate grinned. "Thanks, James," she said after a moment. "You're a good big brother."
"Any time," he said. "Love you too." James leaned on the wall just a little way down from her still open door as he closed his eyes and thought about all of this mess. He had one last stop to make before everyone parted ways … and he was sure that Billy wasn't going to be very happy with him once he told him that he himself wasn't going along. Blood or no, the only way James could see them getting insider info on Azazel and his troublemaking was through his spies in Heaven.
Billy would have to find a way to be okay with that - as much as he hated it too. But - considering all the trouble Billy had gone through to make sure James would be there - on this plane - he figured he'd be able to handle it … just until he figured out how to stop Azazel and send him back to Hell.
He made his way down to where Billy was recovering … Tyler had stepped in to heal him up physically, though he was making a face at James when he got down to the medical wing. "What?" James asked.
"It feels different," Tyler told him softly. "I could heal him but …"
"Do … you think that has something to do with his magic being tapped out or maybe because a demon stole his blood?" James asked frankly enough that Tyler did a double take. "He got mine too, so, if you want to check…" James offered his hand to Tyler, and after a moment, Tyler took it out of sheer curiosity.
"Ugh," Tyler said refusing to take James up on his offer to scan him. "No, I'm sure you're right. That's probably it."
"Fabulous," James replied flatly. "Demonic STD. Just what no one ever wanted."
"Why are you like this?" Tyler asked as both of them went over to sit with Billy. Wanda had left to prepare for their little get away - but only once Tyler had healed Billy.
"No idea," James said before he leaned over to kiss Billy, then sat down on the edge of his bed. "So. Sweetheart."
"Don't say it," Billy said, frowning - and already guessing what James was leading up to.
"I can't go with you to America's whatever."
"Yes, you can."
"Not really," James said. "I got done what I could because of Pietro and Noh. If I'm going to figure out how to screw with this guy, it'll be because I've got intel from our friends and family." He shrugged. "I know I can't rely on my resources alone. And from what Dr. Strange had to say, it looks like there's going to be some level of forced obedience, so … I definitely am not happy about it, but-"
"Yeah, that's why I'm leaving, I know. I just hate it."
James didn't even try to lighten his mood before he leaned forward for a careful, gentle kiss. "Rest up and recharge, handsome. If nothing else, you and your mom can probably wish him out of existence once you're back to snuff if we don't deal with him."
"Ugh, now I'm even more mad at Doom."
"Love you. Take care of Kate. I'll keep track of Mia and your brother."
"Okay, so, elephant in the room," Bobby said. He was leaning against the dresser as Remy got out of the shower.
"Ambush while I'm wearin' a towel?" Remy grinned crookedly. "What answers you lookin' for, really?"
"That's the most you've hit on me since we picked up May. I know you're in your head."
"You imaginin' tings, Rober'," Remy said.
"I would very much like to be, but I'm also not stupid, Rem," Bobby said. "Something's eating you up, and that's not normal. Especially not for you."
Remy shrugged and stood too close to Bobby as he reached past him unnecessarily to look for something to wear. "Ain't nothin' for you to worry 'bout."
"Still gonna ask," Bobby said, somehow managing to blush even though he was in his ice form. He let his shoulders drop when Remy didn't take the bait. "Look, I appreciate that you didn't ask for details after what happened with the department. And you've been there through a lot of nightmares, Rem. I want to return the favor, you know?"
Remy turned to look at Bobby, and when he saw the look on Bobby's face, he sighed. "Look," he said softly, "Remy tries his damndest to make sure his mistakes only gon' hurt him. Only dis time, one of de kids we bin tryin' hard to keep safe went an' got hurt on account'a bad calls."
Bobby frowned and sat down on the end of the bed, letting Remy join him at his pace. "You're going to have to walk me through how you could possibly be involved in Hydra and Doom, because it's not obvious to me. I'm missing something here."
Remy sighed heavily as he sat down by Bobby, still wearing a towel, having given up in getting through anything like a morning routine. "Back when Sinister was around," he said, and Bobby immediately straightened up, understanding so much just from that alone, "he knew who was on de list for each Horseman - so ol' Remy knew plenty too." He leaned back on his elbows. "Half de time Remy gone missin', you coulda found me in de middle'a Hydra, lookin' into de rumors 'bout de new Lady Hydra."
"Okay, so you were looking into Hydra." Bobby drummed his fingers. "You probably knew Katarina was slated to be Death before anybody else, then."
Remy nodded. "Couldn't say nothin', but dropped plenty'a hints as to what ol' Remy was up to. Jes' wasn' obvious enuff, 'parently."
"I mean, we were all more worried about you than we were thinking about what Hydra was up to, to be fair. Which was, you know, in hindsight, probably what he was counting on."
"You may jes' be right there." Remy let out all his breath. "Point is, didn' nobody know dat girl was runnin' Hydra, and I knew if my ol' man had his way, James gon' get ambushed by de girl what did him dirty. Couldn' take care of it on his orders, but if someone who wanted her dead got a lil help…"
Bobby stiffened. "Wait. You set Vojteck loose?"
Remy gave him a tired smile. "Didn' mean all dis by it," he said, sagging with every word deeper into the bed. "Didn' tink he would ignore his sister bein' head of Hydra an' all dat. Honestly thought he'd go right for her, an' if he didn' kill her he'd at least make enough ruckus everyone would know she was dere."
Bobby leaned back so that he was matching Remy, nearly on his back on the bed by him. "I mean, it makes sense. You had the know-how to get him out, and everyone was upset. Even if Wanda figured out it was you, two seconds with Betsy and we'd have known why. It was a smart plan, Rem."
"Tell dat to Miss Kate."
"Yeah, I'm not telling anything to her or Nate right now, thanks," Bobby said, his expression falling. "No wonder you've been off."
"You tink?" Remy said dryly, falling the few inches backward onto the bed. "Ain't nuttin' I kin ever say t'make up for what dat girl been tru, and ain't no reason for her to want nuttin' to do wit Remy ever 'gain."
Bobby joined him in silence for a good, long time. "I'm sorry, Rem."
"Ain't nuttin' for you to be sorry for."
"Yeah, but I don't know how to help," Bobby said quietly.
Remy smirked and turned on his side. "Well," he said, the smirk turning more crooked by the second, "ain't got dressed yet."
"I'll need regular check ins," Scott said as he helped Nate pack the last of David's things.
"Yeah, Dad, I know. As often as we can from different dimensions," Nate said, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.
"You'll have Billy and Wanda there. Regular. Check. Ins."
"Yeah, okay, Dad. You got it." Nate let his shoulders drop, seeing how stressed his dad was, and then pulled him into a tight hug. "If you think you or Chance or Annie is in danger-"
"If I think he's even looking sideways at Chance, I'll bring him to you, but I don't think he cares about him, to be honest. I'm coordinating with Storm and Vision to keep a close eye on Mia, though."
"Probably a good call." Nate finished packing and zipped the diaper bag closed, though he didn't make a move to leave.
Scott caught the hesitation and reached out to put a hand on Nate's shoulder. "Hey, she'll be okay."
"I know. She's Kate," Nate said in almost a rote response.
"Which means she'll pull through this."
"Yeah."
"Doesn't make it any easier in the meantime, though, right?" Scott said when it was clear the reassurance wasn't actually working.
Nate shook his head tightly and then yanked his dad into another hug, very nearly hiding in his shoulder. "I can't even get close to her, Dad," he said in a whisper.
"I know." Scott pulled him tighter. "I'm so sorry."
Nate held onto him for a good, long time. As much as he knew that everyone needed to focus on Kate - for good reason - it was nice to hide in his dad's embrace for a little bit and to be upset for himself, too.
Everyone who was set to hide away had, by and large, finished packing - but Mia managed to find Wanda before she met up with the rest. She was in her study, choosing which books she wanted to take as an idea had been forming in the back of her mind for a while now. But when she heard Mia knock, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and called out, "Come in!"
Mia peeked her head in, already looking sheepish. Her ears were flatter against her head than usual, and she was holding her tail. "I know you're about to leave, and it's totally okay for you to turn me down. I just…" She swallowed. "Can I borrow that spell one more time? To talk to my father? Any advice he has would be great, and I don't know that I'll get another chance, you know?"
Wanda's expression immediately softened. "Of course I have time," she promised, gesturing for Mia to follow her. "In fact, so long as you tell James what you need, he can send Kurt to a room I have set aside just for messages that need to be sent without James' physical presence." She smiled. "I amped up the spell a bit so I could talk my brother through messing up Doom's plans."
"You're pretty amazing. You know that, right?"
"And you know that, no matter what happens between you and Tommy, I already consider you mine, right?" Wanda replied with a warm smile.
Mia beamed at her. "Thanks."
The two of them walked together to the room Wanda had set up the spell. On the way there, Mia sent a texted explanation to James, and Wanda gracefully didn't say anything, sure that Mia was trying to decide what to say.
She had couched the request as asking for advice, but it was more than that, and they both knew it.
"Take all the time you need. This will stay up as long as the connection they have with James is in tact."
Mia bit her lip and then, in a poof of smoke, teleported closer to Wanda to hug her. "Thanks."
Wanda wrapped her up tightly. "I know things look bad right now, but I'm sure you'll see me soon, and we'll celebrate getting rid of the family demon, hm?"
"Definitely."
Wanda gave her one last squeeze. "Good luck," she said, leaving her to the room - and her father.
Kurt had come into the room sometime in the middle of the hug, but as soon as it was just the two of them in the room, he smiled softly. "Hallo."
"Hi," Mia said, coming to sit down and gesturing for him to join her. That way, it felt more like they were chatting than standing there staring at a ghost. "I was hoping… if you had any last-minute tips…"
Kurt smiled warmly, understanding exactly what she was looking for. "Of course," he said, though for the next little while, he said very little about Azazel and instead asked her about her life, drinking in every moment.
When she seemed to run out of things to say, he looked beyond her and smiled lightly. "As much as I have enjoyed our talk, there is someone else hoping to speak to you."
"Oh," Mia said, and her ears drooped.
Kurt chuckled. "I don't intend to end this adventure without a proper farewell, Schatzi. This is not the last you'll see of me."
"I'll hold you to that."
Mia held her breath as she watched her father walk into nothing at all … and a second later, Noh seemed to walk out of that nothing into existence, looking exactly as she remembered him.
"Hello again," he said with a soft smile.
Mia could feel her heart in her throat as a hundred different emotions warred within her. It had been months since he died, so she wasn't desperate to see him, but she could already feel herself crying. She had fallen for him, and it had hurt immensely when he died. And it had hurt even more when James came back having dated him. And she was with Tommy again, and she didn't know how he felt about it. And seeing him whole and not looking like War was a relief and a reminder of how unfair it had all been.
When Mia didn't say anything, Noh smiled and sat down in the same place Kurt had occupied. "We didn't really get to say goodbye."
"No," she whispered. "No, we didn't."
"I miss you," he said, and she immediately gave him a dry look.
"I do." He turned to face her better, a smile at the corner of his mouth. "I had a goddess by my side. I was very lucky, and I lost something precious when I died. Just because James arrived long after my own months of mourning does not mean they didn't happen or that I didn't try to talk the angels into returning me when I saw you at my funeral."
"And you can talk your way into anything," she teased him.
"I certainly tried." He smiled sadly, his hands twisted in his lap. "I wanted to say goodbye properly. And to thank you for showing me the world through your eyes. I know what so many think of me, especially given what James has said… but I didn't truly fall for your planet until I fell for you. Until I saw your hope and your wonder and realized I'd lost those things. You made discovery, exploration, and joy a priority in my life again. And I think you are the reason my soul was drawn to your heaven, not to any afterlife of my people."
Mia let out a soft, disbelieving laugh. "You always speak in love poems. It's not fair."
"I'd apologize, but I wouldn't mean it," he said, his grin crooked.
"And I wouldn't expect anything less." Mia leaned against the wall, falling into a comfortable camaraderie with him, to her relief. This wasn't as awkward as it could have been.
Noh relaxed as well when he saw her do so. "I just wanted you to know that I loved you," he said. "I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make that clear. I loved you deeply, Mia Wagner, and that will never stop being true. I still love you, in a different way, I think. The feelings never fade but become something else when death separates you."
"I think I get that," she said quietly.
He smiled. "You and Tommy work well together."
She blushed a brilliant purple. "You don't have to do that, Noh."
"Would you rather I hypocritically demanded more mourning when I know you are happy with him?" he teased. "Mia, you look for joyful men who take you new places and expand your horizons beyond what you could see hidden away. And you have, frankly, exquisitely handsome taste," he couldn't help but tease her. "I like his hair."
"You're ridiculous," she laughed, still purple.
"As ever."
Mia leaned her head back, drinking in his smile, which she'd always liked about him. "I heard you're dating James' brother?"
Noh laughed and gestured outward with both hands. "He is irresistibly charming and literally swept me off my feet. I know there are jokes, but he's unlike anyone I've dated before. I'm surprised to find myself enjoying being pursued."
She smiled wider at him. "I'm glad you're happy."
"I'm so glad for you too," he told her warmly. "Now we need only get this demon out of the way, and I hope you get that fairy tale ending you were always telling me you wanted."
Mia let out a soft laugh as she beamed at him. She really had missed him. And it was nice to sit there in quiet for a while, drinking in a real goodbye, until they'd both finally had their fill of the last moments they should have had.
