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honey-minded-hivemind · 4 months ago

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🖤Dark AU, Post Two, Same As It Never Was:

(Warning: This fic contains medical trauma and depictions of wounds and scarring, drugging and sedation, darker themes and implications, mentioned and implied death, and features darker platonic yandere content! You have been warned...)

• It was hard to believe they were back after all this time.

• The flight back home is abuzz with unspoken questions, careful touches checking for pulses, and the steady, hopeful feeling they haven't felt in years. They never thought they'd see their friends and kids again. Yet there they were, calling them in the dead of night from a payphone, then waiting for them to arrive, hidden away... And here they are now, passed out in their arms, their faces peaceful in a way they never thought appreciated in full in the past.

• Magneto holds Pietro, stroking back his hair and holding him close, Wanda checking his pulse and frowning deeply at the scar above his eye, at the dried specks of black and red flecked across his face. The speedster is unusually still, too deep under to stir as his father and sister watch over him. His legs show deep bruises, as though something had hit them, hard... Mystique murmurs to Kurt, rocking back and forth lightly in her seat as Rogue whispers small promises to him. The fuzzy blue teen is limp, not even his tail wiggling or wrapping around their wrists or legs for comfort. The discolored flesh of the scar across his throat is stark compared to his fur, and so too is the dark black-brown staining his shirt... Kitty is beside them, held by Scott, Logan sitting across from them, rubbing her back, and both trying not cry or stiffen when they see the hole in her blouse, nor when they feel the dark, sticky stain around it. Her head is tucked into the crook between Scott's neck and shoulder, his arms hugged tight around her like she might disappear. Logan's free hand is grasping her's, while curled into him is...

• Reader... Their face is too still, their shirt useless to hide or stop the bloody gash in their abdomen. There's dried blood in their hair and across the old worn lab coat pressed against them, dark reminders of what happened. Their arms are scarred, flecked in smears of brownish-red, the wound on their head is still damp, their breathing flutters lightly, as though they're still in pain, even in their sleep... Logan keeps his free arm wrapped around them, pulling them into his chest and stomach, keeping them where he can feel the beat of their heart and hear the rasps of their breathing...

• The tapes they'd all watched... Hours, days, weeks worth of footage, depicting what those scientists had done to their missing kids... Taking blood samples, scraping patches of skin off, collecting DNA and cells, taking bone marrow... not to mention all the extra ones done to Reader, or what seemed to be hours of torture, all meant to tear them down and leave them broken. The adults were barely able to watch the entirety of them, ending up having to watch them with one another just to make it through the upsetting footage. Scott had forced himself to watch the tapes, throwing up and crying when they went darker... Evan had tried, so had Jean, and Lance, even Laura... but in the end, all it left was a rotten pit in their stomachs, sending them searching for any of their friends or parents, wanting comfort, any form of it, to stave off the pain and agony and crushing weight of what they'd seen...

• But it would be better now. It is better now. Their friends, their kids, their siblings, are back with them, they're alive, and they won't be hurt ever again. The jet rumbles as it lands, the panels of the ceiling closing above it and sealing it safely into the mansion. The group is careful, maneuvering their wounded ones so they're held tightly, cradled to them as they exit the Blackbird, working their way into the halls and corridors of the mansion, into the medbay... They end up deciding to keep the kids to two larger room, with cots and medical beds ready and waiting as they're set down. Pietro is set up in the first room, his legs wrapped up carefully, an IV inserted into the crook of his arm, supplying much-needed liquids and medicine. His head is checked for any damage or concussion, the blood wiped up and the scar sanitized, any stitches needed added carefully, sealing shut the remains of the wound... In the same room is Kurt, attached to a monitor to alert the others if he teleports in his sleep. Bandages are wrapped around his throat, a coating of antibacterial cream underneath. Any leftover blood or dried ichor is wiped away, the fur and skin cleaned and smoothed down... Kitty is in the other room, a pillow propping her upper body up. Her wound is inspected, swabbed and sterilized and stitched closed, then bandages are wrapped around the area, a few gauze pads added to soak up any small droplets of blood. Her arms are inspected, a dose of sedative given to help with any pain... Reader resides in the room as well... Their head was checked, the wound cleaned and wrapped in gauze... Their arms were looked over, any scratches or gouges wiped with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial medicine, then wrapped up in thick bandages. The gash in their stomach was stitched up, a bit of blood given, and an IV was inserted, sending heavy drugs into their system to keep them asleep as they healed...

• They visited their children, their friends, their siblings. Magneto and Wanda hardly left him. Erik would sit there, keeping him silent company, occasionally holding his son's hand between his own. Wanda would tell her brother how much she missed him, that things were changed now, she'd even read her books to him, her voice emotional. Lance and Todd and Fred would visit, usually in the early mornings or during the afternoon, telling him to get better fast, like he always used to do, saying they had so many new schemes and powers to show off when was back... Charles would roll in, resting beside Erik, encouraging Pietro to recover soon and that he had been missed each day. He'd check his mind, smoothing away any nightmares or fear, leaving calm and warm, quiet fuzz... Evan and Storm would stop by, late at night, Evan recounting old basketball games they'd played together, or field trips they'd gone on, even embarrassing moments the two had gone through together... Mystique and Sabretooth came by, quiet, wishing him well, saying their nephew would need to recover soon so he'd see all he missed with being gone... Scott and Jean would sit by him, saying that his dad and the Professor were together, making them siblings in a way... even Logan and Rogue would wander in, telling him he would make it, he'd beat whatever had been done to him...

• Mystique and Rogue were beside Kurt, telling him they'd missed him and how proud they were of him, how once he was awake they'd have so much to catch him up on... Logan and Sabretooth would wander in, patting his head and saying he'd always made them laugh... Ororo and Evan and Todd and Wanda would come in, cracking jokes and hoping Kurt heard them in his sleep... Xavier and Hank would read to him, comedies and some of his favorite books from when he had been with them... Magneto would read to him in German, speaking words of care and comfort... Scott and Jean would ask him to wake up soon, to wait a little longer, that it would be worth it... Gambit would pat his hand, saying he and Rogue had taken care of each other while he was gone...

• Logan and Ororo and Scott and Jean and Rogue would take turns watching over Kitty, stroking her hair and telling her they loved her and had missed her greatly, holding her hand in theirs... Xavier and Wanda and Magneto would recount her achievements and best test scores, reminding her how she was so smart... Evan and Lance would visit in the morning and at night, saying she was always a fun friend and that it wasn't the same without her... Laura curled her fingers in her's, frowning but holding it together... Gambit and Piotr would wander in, offering to talk and keep her company when the others were checking on her friends... Hank would teasingly say they'd work on cooking classes when she was up to it, offering a few new books to help...

• And they all took turns with Reader... Xavier and Magneto tended to take afternoon visits, trying to invoke peaceful thoughts in them as they rested, assuring them they had been brave... Logan and Sabretooth took late nights, keeping them company and promising they were wanted... Ororo and Storm took early mornings, thanking them for protecting the others... Hank made sure they received their doses of drugs and sedatives, saying he was glad they'd made it back to them... Scott would visit at odd hours, saying he'd misses them... Jean and Rogue thanked them for keeping Kurt and Kitty safe for as long as they could... Evan came in after his aunt, greeting them and thanking them for looking out for all of their friends, saying they had to wake up... Lance and Todd and Fred tended to sneak in and tell Reader they were glad they made it, how they appreciated them doing everyone a solid... Wanda read to them, reminding them they couldn't leave them, not when they'd only gotten them back... Gambit and Pyro and Piotr would come in, jokingly saying who else woukd they tease if Reader wasn't around...

• The next few days were filled with worry, hope, fear, and joy, all one mixed concoction of battling emotions, everyone trying to believe this was real...

• And then Pietro woke up, and they were all focused, making sure he was alright, keeping the scared boy company, making sure he ate, and soon checking his thoughts and asking questions about what had happened...

• The same happened when Kurt, then Kitty, awoke, Mystique and Rogue and Logan and Scott and Jean and Evan and Ororo hugging them, making sure the medicine and needles were in place, smiling softly and saying it had be so long, that they'd missed them all so much, how they were safe now... They felt bad that all three were scared, shaking, confused, trying to make sense of what had happened and trying to figure out if they were real, and if they were, why they were older...

• "Dad... Wanda... please, just tell me... what happened?" Pietro didn't whine, and he didn't beg, but at this point, he was close to it. "Son, do not worry about it. Everything is taken care of..." "Pietro, you're safe, there's nothing to fear..." He still wasn't convinced... Something was off with their family...

• "Mother! Please, I am fine! But vhy von't you tell me vhat has changed?" Kurt didn't want to worry anymore, but when his mother and sister would dodge his questions, he knew they and the others were hiding something... "You're here, and until Hank says you are well, you are staying here, my son..." "Kurt, it will be okay. You'll be out soon!" He didn't think things were as okay as everyone said they were...

• "Logan... Can't you tell me anything? Please?" Kitty didn't know how to feel about the adults and the others being older and acting so strange, but it made her shiver... "Half-pint, there's nothing to say. Now please relax, I don't want ya straining yerself..." She didn't like this one bit...

• And finally, a day or two after the others, Reader began to wake up... Their head felt fuzzy, soft, and their vision wobbled for a minute... but then they were waking up, groaning at the stiffness in their joints...

• "Sweetheart... We're so glad you're back... Welcome back, little one..."

• Reader somehow knew something was wrong, and it seemed that their and their friends' troubles had only increased...

@sugar-soda @vivid-bun @danni1323 @weebwholovesuchihasasuke @crowwithguns @bloodytea @thewickedweiner @opossumdaydreamz @roxanndrummond @c0ld0utside @foundfamyanderes @ainsellshadewalker

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