In a safe place (Bob)

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Ororo is sitting in her office, staring down at paperwork, when the phone rings. Ever since Professor Xavier’s death, she always has some form of paperwork to do. Finished work is promptly replaced with new things to do, and her inbox is always close to exploding.

Whoever is on the other end is likely to be more interesting that what she’s doing right now - reorganizing student files. Jake had let the things get totally out of control, and it had been the last straw when it had taken her over an hour the previous day to locate Bobby Drake’s file. Again - the phone. The sense of urgency increases slightly when Ororo realizes that the tone is the intercom system. The Institute was small enough that anyone who needed to talk to her could just pop in… so who was it?

She lifts the receiver to her shoulder. “Ororo here.”

> "Um, Miss. Munroe? Bob and I need you in the med lab please."

What was this about? Bobby was still recovering from his bout at the SHIELD outpost… could it be related to that? “Stay put, Laurie, I’ll be there in a second.” Ororo drops the receiver back into place and jumps from her chair.

I need someone with medical skills. Hank was around less and less these days, as his duties consumed more and more of his time. Fortunately, he’d begun training Josh as a replacement medic. A number of factors had made him a good choice, from his telepathy allowing him to absorb complex techniques faster than a normal student, his interest in attending med school and his scientific background, to his telekinesis acting in good stead as a medical assistant. Where is he…? Ororo stabs a finger at the schedule taped to her door. Josh should be in Classroom 2 right now, just down the hall.

Ororo jogs down the hall and skids to a stop in front of the door. Josh is standing at the front of the classroom, gesturing with a pointer at a projected slide.

“Each molecule of glucose ends up breaking into two acetyl-CoA molecules. Therefore, a cell requires two turns of the Krebs Cycle per…” He looks up, and eyes her. “Something you need, Ororo?”

“Josh, I need your help in the med lab, right now.” The urgency in her voice is plain.

“Um, okay everyone, please work with the person next to you to figure out how many molecules of ATP are produced per unit of glucose. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Josh drops the laser pointer and follows her out of the room, beginning to run when Ororo picks up speed. “What’s going on?”

“Laurie Collins just called me from the med lab, requesting assistance for herself and Bobby.” She sounds worried.

Josh bites his lip. “But Bobby was healing just fine. Granted, we don’t know exactly what’s going on with his new ice form… but I really don’t see…” Ororo cuts him off. “It doesn’t really matter. We’ll figure it out when we get there.” Josh nods, but his stomach roils a little. “Um, and Ororo? I’m not really the best choice for this. Hank or Dr. Storm…”

“Josh, Hank is at the UN. Dr. Storm isn’t here either. Between them and Dr. Richards and Jean, you’ve worked with some of the brightest minds in contemporary science. I know you’re new to this, but I have faith in you, and there simply isn’t anyone else.” Ororo realizes she comes off slightly tetchy, but visions of Bobby in pieces were dancing across her vision. The two of them step into the elevator.

Josh rolls back on his heels slightly. It was a compliment, despite the tone it was delivered in. “Alright. I just… I’ll do my best.” The elevator doors open to the subbasement.

The two of them race down the corridor, and come to a halt outside the med lab. The doors slide open, and they’re presented with Bobby and Laurie.

Well, that’s a relief. Bobby seemed to be in one piece. “What’s happened?” Ororo demands, and motions to Josh, who moves to Bobby’s side and begins inspecting his icy body.

“Bob, are you okay?” Josh whispers.

[Bobby Drake]

Bobby’s surprised by how quickly Storm appears in the medlab, and by Josh’s presence alongside her, though in retrospect he decides he shouldn’t have been… if he’d heard the panic in Laurie’s voice he’d have beaten speed records to get down here also.

> " What’s happened? "
> " Bob, are you okay? "

Several times in the last few months Bobby has amused himself by taking a reflexive “deep breath” to calm himself down, despite not needing to breathe. This time it’s not amusing at all, and it takes him several faux-breaths to get over the pervasive anxiety before he can give anything like a coherent report.

"First things first," he tells Josh – the explanation of the manifold ways in which he’s not OK right now being a longer conversation than he’s prepared to have – and turns to Storm: "We’ve got troubles. We think Sean – I mean, Dr. Garrison, is working with – actually, leading – the Brotherhood now that Magneto’s out of the picture. Which means he knows…"

Bobby trails off briefly as his embarrassment at how much privileged information he’s been giving away to their enemies struggles with the need to make the situation clear, and loses. "… he knows, well, everything, pretty much. About me, about the Institute, about… everybody. And he’s a mutant, he can...." he looks over at Laurie for a moment and decides to leave the details for her to reveal in her own time, "…manipulate people’s minds, and he’s been working on me for an hour a week for months now, so… well, I figured Sheppard or Josh should do a mind-scan, see if I’ve been brainwashed or hypnotized or whatever? I mean, I feel like me, but… " he shrugs helplessly, then hastily pulls his right arm back down to his side, which reminds him of the other side of tonight’s little adventure.

"Oh, and the Brotherhood ambushed me: Madrox, and this wolf-girl I figure is the same one that almost killed Sam at the prison breakout, and someone throwing bone knives, and this guy in a Halloween mask I think is the same guy who attacked Toby and I think maybe they’re gonna come after everybody so anybody who’s out on their own tonight maybe we should check on, and they, well, they hit me pretty hard and I can’t quite seem to put myself back together and I might be stuck like this and I’m babbling sorry I’m just a little freaked out I’ll shut up now.."

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

>"We’ve got troubles. We think Sean – I mean, Dr. Garrison, is working with – actually, leading – the Brotherhood now that Magneto’s out of the picture. Which means he knows…"

Ororo’s jaw drops. He’s joking, right? The thing was, though, that Bobby would never joke about anything as severe as this. “Leading the Brotherhood… how do you know?” This means he knows everything. She’d gathered that Bobby had been pretty much pouring his heart out to Sean Garrison. It seemed to have helped him through various troubles, but with this revelation…

>"… he knows, well, everything, pretty much. About me, about the Institute, about… everybody. And he’s a mutant, he can...."

Josh swallows hard. “Everything?” The thought scared him a little, as if this Dr. Garrison had his nose pressed up to the glass of the living room. “What do you mean, everything?”

Ororo begins pacing the med lab, barely able to think clearly. “It’s not the end of the world. If he’s really working for the Brotherhood, there are a lot of things they already know about us. For example, where we are, the kinds of technology we have available… Magneto was part of the Institute for many years. He’d surely have passed his knowledge onto his subordinates. The problem is figuring out what’s potentially damaging…” Spying a notepad, she begins making a list of things that need to be altered. Security routines, passwords… there’s no sense in taking any chances.

>"…manipulate people’s minds, and he’s been working on me for an hour a week for months now, so… well, I figured Sheppard or Josh should do a mind-scan, see if I’ve been brainwashed or hypnotized or whatever? I mean, I feel like me, but… "

The pen slips out of Ororo’s hand. “Manipulate people’s minds? He’s telepathic?” She turns toward Bobby. “Please explain that. Josh, perhaps you should prep Bobby for…” She waves her hand distractedly. “You know what I mean.”

Josh nods, and concentrates slightly on Bobby, who floats into the air and onto the exam table. “We have a lot of medical records available. I can run a comparison and see if your brain patterns are different now than they were before you started treatment with Dr. Garrison… that kind of thing. After that, I can dive into your mind and see if I find anything abnormal.” His voice is steady and slightly soothing. “It’s going to be fine, Bobby.”

Ororo glances over to Laurie. “Where do you factor into this? Were you just here with Bobby when he made the connection?”

[Bobby Drake]

> " Everything? What do you mean, everything?"

If he weren’t in ice-form, Bobby suspects he’d be blushing with mortification… unless he was throwing up with anxiety, which is perhaps more likely. Even as it is, he has trouble acknowledging the question. "Jesus, Josh, I mean everything! About, you know…" he waves an arm around vaguely, wincing as it shifts position under his ice-armor. "…everything. My parents. Ronnie.. John, and Rogue, and Kitty. Being kidnapped by Magneto. The Invasion. The Baxter Building. MGH. SHIELD. How Rogue got those extra powers when we protected Congress. You and Warren and your wonder-twin-powers forcefield trick and the way you pass notes in class telepathically and your clothing-optional midnight skytag games. Sheppard and how lame he’s being about asking Ororo out. Everything." He winces a little at the realization that he’d just said more than he’d intended to say around either Laurie or Ororo, and lets his head sink despondently between his knees.

> "The problem is figuring out what’s potentially damaging… "

Ororo’s no-nonsense approach snaps Bobby back to some semblance of practicality. "Yeah. The really secret stuff never came up that much, I guess… though it’s safest to change them, anyway. It’s more the private stuff about people. Hell, I can’t even remember half the stuff we talked about, it’s been months!"

As Josh floats him onto a med-bay table he is overcome by his memories of disturbingly frank conversations, admissions he can’t imagine himself making to anyone else. In retrospect, he wonders how much of that was because of trust-inducing pheromones, and how much was just his own desperate need to talk to someone... though he’ll probably never know.

[Laurie Collins]

As Miss. Munroe and Josh descend into the room and Bob spirals down into more visible panic Laurie fades slowly back into a corner of the room, huddling in a chair and hugging her knees while she half-listens to the swirl of frantic talk around her. It's not at all that she's disinterested in either the ramifications of what's happened or Bob's physical condition, it's more that she's realized that while Bob won't be affected by her pheromones Miss. Munroe and Josh certainly will be and is concentrating on containing them. She looks up briefly at Miss. Munroe writing down a list and feels another selfish, squirming, strand of guilt and fear snaking through her thoughts. The teacher had always seemed kind and protective of her students, but Laurie had watched the Capture the Flag simulation debriefing, had seen how she'd spoken to Danny when he'd hurt Warren- and that had been an accident. What's she going to say to me when she finds out that Bob's hurt and the Institute is compromised because I was too scared and dumb to tell someone my father was a mutant? What if she finds out I made Matthew keep it a secret and he gets in trouble?

“Where do you factor into this? Were you just here with Bobby when he made the connection?”

With that coming on the heels of this worry Laurie jumps in her seat and stares at Miss. Munroe in silent but clearly visible terror, opening her mouth slightly and hesitating for a moment before managing to stammer out, "N-no, well, I was here but I... could, um, could you please use some wind? I can't really control my pheromones very well right now, I'm sorry I..." she cuts off and bites her lip hard, suddenly wishing that she had called her mom after all, it feels strange and vulnerable to be sitting here and facing authority figures without the person who has always backed her up or just taken over for her in these situations before.

[Bobby Drake]

> " Where do you factor into this? Were you just here with Bobby when he made the connection? "
> " N-no, well, I was here but I... could, um, could you please use some wind? I can't really control my pheromones very well right now, I'm sorry I... "

Bobby winces in sympathy as Laurie jumps in panic… being put on the spot like that by Ororo is never any fun, as he’s had occasion to learn first-hand. "Whoa, whoa, everybody slow down and back off! Laurie didn’t do anything wrong here!" Not that anyone had suggested that she had, but Bobby’s not entirely rational at the moment himself.

He tries to get off the examination bed to get in the middle of this more literally, but finds himself pinned down by Josh’s TK field – which is in its own way reassuring, since it means he won’t be dropping limbs on the floor any time soon – so he just keeps talking, striving only somewhat successfully for a calmer tone.

" Storm, she’s the one who figured it out, not me. Not to mention saved my ass from the Brotherhood… you’d be scraping Bobby-bits off the asphalt for hours if it weren’t for her. I promise I’ll write up the whole incident once I figure out how to work my hands again if I ever actually do but, just… let’s take this easy, OK? It’s been a long night." He feels a little ridiculous making that comment, given how close to a complete nervous collapse he’s feeling himself, but Laurie’s clearly even more freaked out right now than he is and nobody else knows the whole story.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

> "N-no, well, I was here but I... could, um, could you please use some wind? I can't really control my pheromones very well right now, I'm sorry I..."

Ororo focuses on Laurie. She was obviously rather upset, based on the her question. Why, though? Of late, she’d been getting much better at controlling her emotions - and by proxy, her powers. I suppose it’s just the situation. Which didn’t add up… Laurie should be concerned, yes, but not terrified.

She takes a few steps towards Laurie’s seat and places a hand on her shoulder. As she gets closer, anxiety wells up in her. The pheromones… Ororo’s eyes turn cloudy, and a wind, the kind that ruffles your hair and makes loose papers start flying across the room, picks up. “Laurie, are you alright? I’m sorry if I startled you. I really am glad that you and Bobby figured this out, so we can minimize the possible damage. Is there anything else we need to know?”

> "Whoa, whoa, everybody slow down and back off! Laurie didn’t do anything wrong here!"

Bobby tries to get up, and alters the structure of his telekinetic field. Not unaffected by the pheromones himself, Josh places a hand on Bobby’s chest irritably and pushes him firmly back in place. “No one’s accusing her of anything, Bob. Don’t make me me…” As the wind picks up, Josh isn’t really sure what he was going to say, and his line of thought tapers off lamely. “… um, you know.”

Josh places a hand on each side of Bobby’s head and reaches out with his powers for a quick scan. No type of malevolent brain-washing construct is obvious, but Sean Garrison was apparently leading the Brotherhood, so he had to have a fairly strong grasp of his powers. “Yeah… I don’t see any sort of Mr. Hyde leering up yet, but I should do some brain imaging to be sure.” Josh relaxes slightly. Now that Storm was diverting Laurie’s pheromones, thinking was somewhat easier. “I don’t think you were brainwashed, Bobby… that kind of alteration requires world-class skill in telepathy. Professor Xavier could have done it, but he had most of his life to build to world-class. This Sean guy is, what, half the professor’s age?” He flicks a few buttons, and screens spring to life with Bobby’s medical profile, including DNA sequencing, previous MRI results, and power profile. “The strongest telepath Cerebro has detected at this point is either me or Jake, and neither of us could handle that kind of thing.”

[Laurie Collins]

"Whoa, whoa, everybody slow down and back off! Laurie didn’t do anything wrong here!"

Laurie drops her feet down from the edge of the chair with a soft thud, giving Bob an unabashedly shocked look. How was he defending her when what had happened to him over the past few months, and maybe even tonight, was at least partially her fault? At least he isn't mad at me then she realizes and the relief is enough to help her pull herself together a little and give him a small, grateful smile before Josh pushes him back onto the table and begins scanning him again, working on fixing him.

“Laurie, are you alright? I’m sorry if I startled you. I really am glad that you and Bobby figured this out, so we can minimize the possible damage. Is there anything else we need to know?”

The words coincide with a soft wind breaking across her, blowing her hair back away from her face, and a hand settling on her shoulder. "Yes." Laurie answers her quietly but stops there for a moment, guilty and scared and altogether miserable looking as she tries for the first time to actually articulate this instead of just rushing it all out in the heat of the moment. "He isn't a telepath he, um, he has pheromones, like me. He's..." she still doesn't like saying it, hasn't even really liked to hear Bob saying it, but it's the problem, and it's true, "He's my father, but I didn't know his name until a few minutes ago, my mom never told me..." she trails off again, struggling to put this into some sort of coherent order while she's anything but calm, and then blinks rapidly as she remembers what is, to her, the most important point so far, "Bob said you could protect her, my mom, make sure he didn't hurt her again?" she asks, staring up at Miss. Munroe intently, forgetting both to continue explaining and, at least a bit, to be afraid in her urgency to get this answered.

[Bobby Drake]

> " No one’s accusing her of anything, Bob. Don’t make me me… um, you know. "
Bobby blinks at that, more than a little puzzled by the implicit threat, but Josh seems to calm down and move on.

> " I don’t think you were brainwashed, Bobby… that kind of alteration requires world-class skill in telepathy. Professor Xavier could have done it, but he had most of his life to build to world-class. This Sean guy is, what, half the professor’s age? "

Bobby nods slowly, though the truth is he has no idea how old the Professor is – was. He always seemed timeless. "OK… that’s a relief, at least. I guess he was just looking for information, then." Which he got, in spades. But there was no point in worrying about it now. "So at least my mind’s in one piece… that’s something. "

> " He's my father, but I didn't know his name until a few minutes ago, my mom never told me... Bob said you could protect her, my mom, make sure he didn't hurt her again? "

Bobby chimes in while Josh and Storm are digesting that particular bombshell. "Yeah. Turns out they’re immune to each others’ powers, but… well, if Sean knows his daughter’s here, and has the same mutant abilities, and… I don’t know, I mean, who knows what his plans are, I don’t even know why the Brotherhood attacked me, but he seems like the sort who would go after Gale if he can’t get at Laurie. You think Col. Fury can put her on his protected list?"

Normally Bobby tries not to think about the discreet surveillance teams SHIELD has on their non-mutant relatives and loved ones; part of him objects to the violation of their civil rights, but most of him appreciates knowing that they’re safe. Well, except maybe Ronnie… But in this case it’s a blessing… it’s not like they’re going to invite Gale into the Institute, given how Laurie describes her.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

>"He's my father, but I didn't know his name until a few minutes ago, my mom never told me..."

For the second time in as many minutes, Ororo’s jaw drops to the floor. All of this was a lot to process, but the students depended on her to do it. “That’s quite the revelation, Laurie. Pheromones…” Ororo takes a seat behind one of the lab counters and falls deep into thought, thinking at lightspeed. If Sean was Laurie’s father, it did stand to reason that Gail could be in danger. Laurie was protected to a reasonable degree by the presence of the X-Men at the school, but Gail…

“Your father? Wow.” Josh blinks, trying to piece it all together. That's awful. Her father is leading the Brotherhood? “Well, if he has pheromones, we can solve this a little more easily. Hank keeps profiles on everyone’s abilities in the main computer.” He drags a finger across the touchscreen, and Laurie’s profile leaps onto the main screen next to Bobby’s. “Let’s see…” Josh begins scanning the data.

>"Bob said you could protect her, my mom, make sure he didn't hurt her again?"
“I mean, who knows what his plans are, I don’t even know why the Brotherhood attacked me, but he seems like the sort who would go after Gale if he can’t get at Laurie.”

“You’re right, of course. We need inform your mother of this, and relocate her to a safe area for the time being.” Ororo gets up. “Thank you for telling me about this, Laurie. It has to be hard to find out about your father this way…” She places a hand on Laurie’s shoulder in a comforting way. “I need to get ahold of Colonel Fury about keeping your mother safe. Do you think you’d be able to go to your mother’s place now? I know it’s not a lot of time to digest all of this. If you like, we can keep this relationship discreet at the moment.”

She glances over to Josh and Bobby. “Josh, I’d like you to go with her, just as a precaution. Bobby…” Bobby’s not ready for this, either physically or mentally. “Bobby, I don’t mean to abandon you here, but we should really contact Gail. I could have Jake come keep you company…” Despite the grave circumstances, a small smile works its way onto her face. “Of course, you might rather be alone.”

Josh looks up from the flatscreen panel and directs his speech to Bobby. “Yeah, you’re going to be fine. Nowhere in Laurie’s profile does Hank make any mention of possible mental control. And the way Laurie’s pheromones work seem to preclude any long-term effects. If you want, we can run some more tests when I get back.” He gets up and heads to Laurie, extending a hand to help her up.

“Ready to go? Maybe we can get Warren to come with us… I’ve never dealt with your mother before, but I have heard the rumors.” Josh says lightly, trying to break the mood.

[Bobby Drake]

> " Bobby, I don’t mean to abandon you here, but we should really contact Gail. I could have Jake come keep you company… Of course, you might rather be alone. "

That gets a laugh out of him. "It’s OK, Storm, I get it. It’s not like I’m going to be much use in the field until I figure out how to knit myself back together… it’s not as easy as the knee was, but I’ll figure it out." He tries to fake a confidence he doesn’t feel, and fails, but ultimately it doesn’t really matter; either way he’s got to stay behind.

"And, sure, I’d love some company… I’ve spent enough time alone in this medbay to last a lifetime or two. Maybe – " he stops short of actually saying the name out loud, though. I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day, right? "Well, anyway, bringing Warren’s a good idea… maybe he can charm your mom into cooperation, right Laurie? He did a pretty good job with Josh’s…"