Invasion: MSV Chapter 19

[dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com]

And the shit hath hit-ith the fan. I think the flow is starting to slow down a touch, but the bunnies for this one are just hopping and raring to go, so I can't say no. lol

Title: Invasion:MSV
Fandom: Marvel Universe
Rating: 18+
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognizable characters here. They and the world this is set in are the property of Marvel Entertainment. The Purple Team is the property of ginevrasm (Morgan/Faye), ladydeathfaerie (Dare), sessys_fangirl (Jehnna), nanaeanaven (Roxxy) and dazzledfirestar (Haley). They are not to be used without permission. I make no money from this, and it is simply a form of entertainment.
Warnings: graphic M/F sex, preg, language and as always... ANGST

The War Room was a flurry of activity, and Roxxy was glad to see that. The sooner they could find Haley, the better. The Professor had all but admitted that he couldn’t pin point her location. Roxxy frowned. At the very least it meant that Haley didn’t want to be found, which even without her new found shielding talents would have made her difficult to track.

She cursed softly under her breath. Why hadn’t Haley come to her? How had she failed to notice that anything was wrong? How had she managed to talk herself out of noticing the change in Haley’s scent? She cursed again. She couldn’t even get any comfort from Henry on all this, as he’d been amongst the first to go out and search for her wayward friend. He’d gone to Glenville to talk to her parents. Storm too was out, having gone to the Baxter Building for some extra help and Logan was on the phone doing the same with the Avengers. Roxxy had heard him say something along the lines of ‘She saved the world on her own less than two months ago, now get your robotic ass down here and lend a hand, you pompous jackass!’ She could only assume he’d been talking to Tony Stark. Roxxy’s frown deepened and she wondered if they’d be able to keep the reason Haley had ran a secret for long.

She’d told Dare to tell Henry everything and that had been the impetus for his joining the search. He’d muttered something about complications before leaving, but she’d been unable to catch much of it. She was glad however that anyone with a direct link to this mess was staying at the mansion. Henry, she was sure was looking at this as a doctor would. He wanted to make sure that Haley and by extension her baby was healthy and safe. Part of her hoped he’d be the one that found her, and brought her home.

“You know if you keep making the hamster run that fast, you’ll kill it.” Morgan sat down next to her and smiled. Roxxy had to think for a moment before she got the reference. Perhaps she was spinning things too quickly in her brain, even for her.

“She’ll be okay. She just needs time to calm down.” Roxxy couldn’t be sure who she was trying to convince.

Dare and Jehnna joined the two girls a moment later. “Any news?” Jehnna ran her hands over the denim covering her thighs as if trying to wipe something from her hands.

Roxxy sighed. “Not really. Ororo is on her way back here with… some help.” She shot a look at Dare who was pointedly ignoring the conversation.

Morgan frowned. “Is that really a good idea? I mean… it’s going to be hard enough keeping this under wraps as it is.” Her eyes fell on Colossus on the other side of the room, talking to Cyclops and the Professor. Her frown deepened.

“He has as much right to know as Piotr.” Roxxy tried for a casual shrug but failed.

“Shouldn’t that be up to Haley?” Jehnna was frowning, as if thinking on all this actually hurt. “I mean… there are ways to find out, aren’t there?”

Roxxy nearly smashed her head against the table in front of her. Of course! She did a little math in her head and frowned again. “Seven more weeks at least.” She looked up again at the rest of her team. “At least seven weeks to either keep this from them or…”

“We let them fight it out and watch it tear Haley apart.” Dare sighed heavily. “Either way, this sucks.”

“Again, shouldn’t that be up to Haley… I mean, if she comes back.” Jehnna looked from face to face.

“Yeah, if she comes back, it’s totally her call, of course.” Morgan nodded slowly. “But if she doesn’t…”

“Let’s just burn that bridge when we come to it.” Dare slumped back in her seat.



“I have told you all I know, Susan.” Ororo rubbed her temple a little. “Haley has disappeared, the Professor can’t pin down her location and we are asking for any help we can get in finding her.”

“Was she kidnapped?”

“No.”

“So she just… vanished?”

“Apparently she left.”

Susan scowled. “Then maybe she doesn’t want to be found.”

Ororo kept her normal calm demeanor. “If you and your team won’t help, I should get back. I’ve been told it is extremely important that we find her, but I wasn’t given a reason either.”

“We’ll help. God knows, Johnny would never forgive me if I said no.” Susan sighed. “But what could possibly be so important that Xavier would drag her back if she wants to leave?”

“I haven’t the faintest clue, Susan. Honestly.” She turned to see the rest of the team enter the room. “I do however know that time is of the essence.”

“What’s up, Susie?” Ben moved closer first.

Both women exchanged a look, but Susan spoke first. “Haley’s missing.” She watched something close to fear flash across her brother’s face.

“What? I talked to her this morning…”

“Did she seem different at all?” Ororo stepped away from Sue. “Upset? Frightened?”

Johnny shook his head. “No… not really. I mean…” The X-Man watched a blush color his cheeks. “She….” His voice dropped a little. “She told me to stop calling.” He sighed heavily. “How much danger is she in?”

“I wish I knew.”



The Professor was rubbing his temple. He was tired. Searching for Haley had been far more difficult than he had anticipated. “Piotr, please, calm down.”

“This is all my fault.” He settled his large frame in one of the chairs around the conference table. His head rested in his hands as Logan moved toward the small grouping of X-Men. Cyclops stepped back, maybe sensing that he had no place in this.

“Pete, I ain’t gonna tell ya that you don’t have some responsibility in how Haley’s feeling right now.” Logan frowned, trying to figure out how to dance around the truth a little longer. “But I don’t think it’s all your fault.”

“I should have told her…”

“Yeah, you should have. And you can when we get her back here.”

“I thought…” Piotr lifted his head.

“What? That she was gonna leave you?” Logan nearly growled. “Pete, ignoring her wasn’t gonna convince her to stay.”

A low groan rose from the Russian’s throat. “I know… I know. I have been such a…”

“Jackass? Moron? Dick?” Dare came up behind Logan. Logan shot her a look that told her she wasn’t helping. “She had made her mind up.” Dare wondered if she should say anything, or if because of all the bullshit from this afternoon, Haley had changed her mind. But, she figured that if she was going to do this supportive family bullshit, she might as well dive in head first. “She was going to tell you after our Danger room session.”

The look she got from Piotr wasn’t the one she’d been expecting. She had thought he’d be happy, or at the very least somewhat pleased that he’d won out. He just looked… well, conflicted. “She… she still loved me.”

“As far as I know, she never stopped.” Logan sighed and plunked himself down in a chair near Piotr. “She was confused, hell, who wouldn’t be? But she always loved you.”

He groaned again and his head fell back into his hands. “We must find her.”

“We will.” Logan looked up at the woman standing next to him. She looked a little unnerved. “What is it, darlin’?”

She motioned him away from his teammate. He heaved a sigh and stood. “The Professor thinks it would be a good idea to get Colossus out of here for a bit… some fresh air or something.”

“Let me guess…”

“Yeah. Ro’s on her way back with…”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can do.” He stared at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing a little. “You gonna hold that temper of yours, darlin’?” She nodded slowly. “Okay.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he moved back toward Piotr. “Pete, let’s get out of here. Get something to eat, some fresh air…”

“No, tovarisch. I need to know what is going on.”

“You will, but sitting here sulking ain’t helping anybody.” Piotr lifted his gaze to the smaller man and sighed before getting to his feet. He froze however before he could take a step toward the door. Logan turned, silently cursing Chuck for not giving them more warning, or at the very least telling Ororo to stall a little.

I heard that Logan.

Good. Logan turned back toward Colossus. “Pete,” He pressed a hand to the larger man’s chest, “They’re here to help find Haley.” He looked over, noticing all four of Haley’s teammates on their feet, but he couldn’t tell if they were planning on stopping Piotr from pounding Johnny into the floor, or helping him. “Let’s go.”

The Russian nodded slowly, his fists clenched at his sides, his eyes locked on the blond near the door. Piotr’s voice sounded more like a growl than a human voice. “We do not need his help.”



Haley had the last of the things she wanted bundled in a small backpack and a small bag of cookies and sandwiches that her mother insisted she wait for as she headed for the door. She heard her father talking to someone and froze before she could round the corner. “Honestly Dr. McCoy, we haven’t seen Haley in nearly three years now.”

“Forgive me, Mr. Stone, but you are lying. You see,” she could almost see Hank taking off his glasses and wiping them off as he spoke. “I have been gifted with senses that are far more astute than most humans, and I know she is in this house at this very moment.”

She sighed heavily. “It’s okay, Dad.” She stepped around the corner. “What do you want, Hank?”

“Simply to make sure you are in good health, my dear.”

“Well, I’m fine, so you can take that back to the Institute and everyone can sleep easy.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame.

“Haley…” His gaze fell on her father for a moment. “Perhaps we should talk about some of the complications that may occur in your current situation privately.”

“I’m her father.”

“Dad.” Haley turned. “It’s okay.” She looked at Hank for a long moment. “Let’s go for a walk.” Howard Stone looked like he was going to argue, but he stepped aside and let Haley out the door. She and Hank made their way down the walk and he followed when she turned to continue down the sidewalk. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft, a little hurt and a little angry. “How much do you know?”

“Dare filled me in on everything she knows about the situation.” Hank’s voice was soft, almost comforting. “I take it you haven’t informed your parents.”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t know where to start. I can’t just throw this at them when I haven’t even figured out how I feel about it.”

“One might think that fleeing the school as if it were collapsing might be an indication of how you feel about it all.”

Haley ran her hands through her hair. “That’s not what I meant. I know how I feel about the situation. It’s a fucking mess, Hank.” He nodded, not being able to refute it. “I just… I haven’t figured out how… I mean, how do you raise a kid when you do what we do?”

Hank seemed to consider the question for a moment. “I would imagine it is easier when there is some kind of support system in place.” He smiled at her. “And you have that in abundance, Haley.”

“For now.” She muttered the words, keeping her eyes locked on the sidewalk. “I don’t want to be gossip fodder again, Hank.”

“I think that’s unavoidable at this point.”

“Great.” She sighed again. “How am I going to tell Piotr…?” She was talking more to herself than to Hank.

“When love becomes labored we welcome an act of infidelity towards ourselves to free us from fidelity.” Haley lifted her head and stared at the man beside her for a moment.

“You’re saying I was looking for a way out of my relationship?”

“Maybe not directly, but something hasn’t been right there for some time… even before all this… drama.” Hank spoke slowly, seemingly unsure of how much to say. “I have never doubted the strength of either of your feelings for each other, but… there are times when you seem a little mismatched.”

“Well, I guess that means that there’s a 50/50 chance that I’m screwed.” She let out a dry laugh.

“Not at all.” Hank smiled at her. “I am sure that Piotr would be an excellent father and partner.”

“Yeah, when he’s actually talking to me anyway.”

“I admit that his tactics in all this leave something to be desired…”

“Hank, it’s been six weeks since he ran out on me.” She kept her eyes locked on the ground. “The things he said… he did… I thought everything was going to be alright again, but he bailed on me. I needed him, and he wasn’t there.”

“And Johnny was.”

“Yeah.” It almost looked to Hank that it hurt her to admit that.

“And if the baby is his?”

“I don’t want to leave my team, Hank.”

“I don’t see…”

“If I’m with Piotr, nothing changes. I stay at the mansion, I lead my team and everything’s good. If I’m with Johnny….” She frowned, as if this was the first time she’d put these thoughts into words. Truthfully it was. “What am I supposed to do? Pack up my life, leave my team and move into the Baxter Building?”

“I’m sure that would come up eventually.”

“A hell of a lot sooner than eventually, if the baby’s his.” She looked forward and let out another dry laugh. Her feet had lead her to the playground in front of the elementary school. “Figures…” She moved toward the swings, sitting down and kicking idly at the sand.

“If I had a rose for every time I thought of you, I'd be picking roses for a lifetime.” Hank sighed as he squeezed between the chains of the swing next to her. She looked confused. “We never forget our first love, my dear; though very few get the chance to relive it.”

“He wasn’t…” she sighed and kicked some more sand. “I mean, technically Jamie would be my first love.”

“But he doesn’t hold the place in your heart that Johnny does.”

Haley turned to face Hank, twisting the chains as she moved and a wry smile crossed her face. “Love that we can not have is the one that lasts the longest, hurts the deepest and feels the strongest...”

“Touché.”

“This wasn’t how it was supposed it be.” She sighed, her hand coming up to touch her stomach. “I remember…” She blinked back a tear. “I remember this happening before… with each of them, and it never felt like this.”

“Because there was no doubt involved, I’m sure.” He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Things were stable then?” She nodded. “I’m sure once you’ve sorted things out, you will find the joy in this.”

“Thanks, Hank.” She sniffled a little. “That’s why I left.” She spoke quietly. “I don’t think I can sort this all out at the mansion, listening to the whispers, the gossip, even my friends looking at me like… like they pity me.”

“I can understand that, probably more than most.” She looked at him again and wondered how long it took everyone to get used to the blue fur, the more beastly appearance that to her and no doubt to most of the X-Men was now just ‘Hank’. “But Haley, there are other factors that must be considered in your decision to leave.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There is a medical argument for your staying close to home, Haley.” He took her hand, a gesture she saw as a precursor to bad news. She stiffened noticeably at the touch. “Most of it simply being that we can never be sure how your mutation may be effected by a pregnancy. There are times when your control may suffer due to the shift of hormones.”

She nodded. “But my powers… they aren’t particularly destructive on their own, Hank. If I shift in public, it could cause a bit of a shock to some people but…”

“And you’re newer abilities?”

“Ah… right.”

“The Professor couldn’t track you with Cerebro this evening, Haley. That alone should be a sign that something other than a secondary mutation is at work. And as your control over this new ability isn’t good yet…”

“Right, I could end up wiping some minds clear before I knew what I was doing.” She sighed. “But could it really get that bad?”

“I seriously doubt it would, but one never knows.” He shrugged. “There is something else.”

“Oh?”

“If this child is Johnny’s…” He sighed heavily and squeezed her hand. “You remember the trouble Susan had while pregnant with Valeria?”

Haley’s eyes grew wide and she nodded. The only thing that had saved Susan from losing Val was Franklin’s powers… she still didn’t completely understand how that had happened, and honestly, she didn’t want to. It was just… odd. The implication in Hank’s voice though…she felt the first swell of fear in her throat. “But…”

“Most of that was due to the radiation that is in her system, but… all of the Fantastic Four were fundamentally altered by that radiation, so, there is a chance, though it’s very small, that you may experience a far milder version of those complications.” Hank didn’t want to scare her, but he reasoned that telling her the truth of the situation, the truth that they couldn’t be entirely sure about anything might be enough to get her to come back to the mansion. They could sort through the more mundane problems after that.

“I… I could lose the baby…” Her voice trembled. She hadn’t really figured out what she really felt about becoming a mother… she hadn’t had time yet, but now, faced with the possibility that it could all be taken from her, she was scared.

“As I said, the possibility is there, but it would be there if you and the father were completely human as well, Haley. All I ask is that you stay near the people who are equipped to deal with the less than normal circumstances that could pop up.”

Her eyes fell on him for a moment and he thought he saw the tiniest bit of anger flash there. “Thanks for piling even more weird shit on me, Hank.”

“One should never let such things take them by surprise. I am bound to make sure you are fully prepared, both as your doctor, and your friend.”

She sighed, obviously considering her options. “Okay, let’s go back.” She slumped forward for a moment. “Why can’t I ever have some normal, old fashioned happiness in my life?” She stood up and started off back to her parents’ house.

Hank was beside her again, after extraditing himself from the too small swing. “Happiness is not the absence of problems but the ability to deal with them.”

“Hank?”

“Yes, Haley?”

“Stop quoting at me.”



Air. That’s all he could think of with his back pressed against the shiny metal walls of the X-Mansion’s subbasement, and Colossus’ hand wrapped around his throat. And he hadn’t even been running his mouth this time. In fact he couldn’t be sure what he’d done to deserve this… aside from telling the guy’s girlfriend that he was totally in love with her… and then sleeping with her… but…

Things were starting to blur, tunnel vision was setting in. He had to breathe. Before he could come up with anything that would even remotely seem like a plan, Colossus dropped him.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” The voice was angry, feminine. It sounded like Haley, but she was missing… right? He coughed a few times, trying to pull enough air into his lungs to think clearly. The owner of the voice knelt down next to him. Yeah, it was Haley. “Who started this?”

“He has no right to be here.”

“I have just as much right to be worried about her as you do.” Johnny’s voice sounded hoarse, dry and a little breathy.

“You have no right to her in anything!”

“Jesus…” She barely breathed it as she stood. “You two are unbelievable. It’s nice to know that while I could have been in the hands of some drooling maniac you two could hold it together enough to look for me. Oh wait, no… you were too busy trying to kill each other!”

“Technically he was trying to kill me.”

“Shut up, Johnny.” She was pacing between the two of them. She turned back to Piotr. “What were you thinking?”

“I…” he sighed and his eyes drifted down. “I did not think.”

“Obviously. Jesus fucking Christ! When are you going to get over the idea that you aren’t Marco fucking Polo when it comes to me?”

“I do not want to lose you.” He lifted his eyes to her.

“Well you’re going about it in a pretty fucked up way!” Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes flashing. He hadn’t seen her this angry is quite some time. She’d turned away from him toward the man still sitting on the floor. “And let me guess, you couldn’t keep your mouth shut could you?”

“I didn’t tell him anything.” Johnny’s eyes narrowed. “And obviously you haven’t either.”

“No, and it’s none of your business what I tell him about anything!”

“Haley, please…” Henry’s voice was calm. “Calm down.”

“The last thing I needed today was to walk in on this unholy mess!”

“Haley,” Hank took a step closer to her. The room was clearing quickly, though it had been nearly empty when the fight between Piotr and Johnny had started. The few stragglers were practically running for the door.

“Leave it alone, Hank!”

“This isn’t healthy, Haley.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “Especially not in your condition.”

She stopped in her tracks. “Don’t.” Tears started to gather in her eyes. “Hank, please… not like this.”

“Then, calm down.”

“What do you mean ‘in your condition’?” Piotr’s brow furrowed. “Beast?”

As Piotr stared at his teammate waiting for an answer, Johnny stared at Haley. “You’re not…” His voice dragged Piotr’s attention back to the two of them.

A tear had snuck by Haley’s defenses, and she refused to look at either of them. Her voice was so tiny when she spoke that they could barely hear her. “I am.” She lifted her eyes forcing herself to look at both of them. “I’m pregnant.”