And that’s exactly what Eric did before he turned around and walked out of the hospital without a backward glance. The nurse blinked in confusion before going to inform the doctor.
Dr. Anne Alba opened the door quietly and gave the shaking boy a sympathetic look. He had been brought in with a concussion after the attack on times square. Some kind of group against mutant kind trying to make a statement and expose the mutants in the city before temporarily depowering them with a serum. She shook her head and continued into the room. It was disgraceful in her opinion, treating people differently based off how they were born. She had come across her fair share of violent and extremely heroic mutants and they were just as human as she was, just with special talents. She didn’t treat her patients differently because of mutations, but she knew occasionally they had to be treated medically differently due to the genetics and she did her best to accommodate for it. She wasn’t sure if the white haired boy in front of her was a mutant or not, but she did know that he was incredibly nervous, he was hurt, and the emergency contact he told her to call had just abandoned him.
“The man you asked me to call,” she checked her paperwork. “Erik. He said… he couldn’t come in right now. Was there anyone else we could call?” The change was immediate. The boy stiffened, but his hands continued to shake and his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. He had a pained look on his face and swallowed hard.
“Thomas-“ the boy flinched and she remembered he preferred Tommy or at least that’s what he had said when they finally roused him enough to get his name. The kids’ paperwork was messy and they hadn’t been able to pin down who his actual legal guardian was so they just asked him instead. She cleared her throat and took a breath.
“Tommy, if we can’t get someone here for you soon we have to contact child services. It’s legally required of us.” Tommy looked even more panicked at that and she wished she could offer some sort of comfort.
“Um. My um, my brother. Billy. You could call his parents- or, well, I don’t have their phone number, but I could call him and he could maybe ask them?” His suggestion ended as if he was unsure that they would come and his voice cracked when he said it. He stared at her with pleading eyes and the second she saw his lower lip give the slightest tremble she accepted his suggestion. He was biting his lip now, so he just nodded with watery eyes when she asked him to write down the phone number.
Dr. Alba stepped into the hall to make the call. This was teetering on the edge of legally allowed so she dialed the number from her personal cell. After a couple of rings a young voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Hello, this is Dr. Alba speaking. I was calling on behalf of Tommy Shepherd is this Billy?”
“Yes. Speaking. Is everything okay?” The boy sounded extremely worried and she quietly sighed with relief.
“I was actually wondering if I could speak with your parents please.” A pause and then.
“Uh, yeah, one second please.” Another pause and then the sound of a door opening followed by a whispered “Mom. I need help. Tommy needs help. Can you talk to a doctor for him please.”
“Oh of course honey.” Then louder. “Hello?”
“Hello, my name is Dr. Anne Alba and I have a Tommy Shepherd here who we have treated for a mild concussion. I’m afraid we’ve been having trouble finding someone to discharge his care to. He mentioned that Billy was his brother and that we may be able to contact you to come pick him up.”
“Oh dear. Well yes of course I’ll come pick him up. Where is the hospital located and is he alright?” Anne smiled in relief before taking down the woman’s name and assuring her that Tommy would be just fine once the symptoms wore off. As she was rattling off the address she heard the sound of car doors slamming and a car engine turning over.
“We’ll be right there.” Rebecca insisted just before the line disconnected. She felt like a large weight had been lifted off her chest and smiled as she reentered the patient room.
The relief was short lived as she reentered to find the teen bent over himself in the chair crying heavily. She hurried to his side.
“Tommy, hun, are you hurting?” she asked urgently. He pulled back and covered his face with his arms, his hands still shaking violently.
“I just- hic- I just want to l-leave I don’t like it h-here.” Her heart ached in sympathy.
“I promise you’ll be leaving soon. Rebecca Kaplan said she’s coming right away to pick you up.”
“She – she did?” He was scrubbing at his face now, looking frustrated with himself. He was clearly still concussed. Hyperactive emotions were a symptom of the type of concussion he’d sustained and even if they weren’t, she wouldn’t blame him for being upset with being stranded at a hospital.
She sat with Tommy until Rebecca and Billy were led into the room by the same nurse that had told her his emergency contact had refused to claim him. Rebecca had been walking and signing the discharge papers at the same time and she handed the clipboard back to the nurse as she initialed on the final line. The nurse took the clipboard with a nod and asked the worst question possible.
“Would you like me to update his paperwork with you as the emergency contact? His file doesn’t have one anymore now that that guy removed himself.”
Tommy’s head snapped up instantly.
“What?” he choked out, his eyes welled again before he snapped his head away and refused to look at anyone. Billy looked around the room confused.
“Who removed himself?” He demanded.
“Uh” the nurse checked the paperwork. “An Erik Lehnsherr.” Billy looked even more confused now.
“That doesn’t sound right.” Billy said.
“We can iron out the details later. Yes, you may add me to the list if it’s alright with Tommy.” At this they all looked to the white-haired boy. Tommy gave a jerky nod and that settled it.
Rebecca walked with the nurse as they pushed Tommy in the wheelchair to the pickup area and once they reached the sidewalk he was allowed to stand and walk to the car with them. They all shuffled into the minivan and Billy got in the back with his brother rather than sit in the passenger seat. He needed to find out what happened. He needed to make sure Tommy was okay.
“Hey, Tommy, what happened? How did you get here and why aren’t you healing super-fast?” Tommy sniffed.
“People were being attacked in times square. I started fighting the baddies and then I got hit with a stupid power dampener and then I got hit in the head and blacked out, I think, and I woke up on a stretcher in the hospital room.” Tears had started leaking out of his eyes and he scrubbed at them angrily and sniffed again.
“I freaking hate hospitals and I got a stupid concussion that won’t go away until my powers come back and they were supposed to call Erik to come get me, he said I could list him as my emergency contact- he -he TOLD me it was fine and he would help me out if I needed –“ Tommy cut himself off and pinched his lips together as his shoulders started shaking. Billy wrapped his arms around Tommy and it said a lot about how far their relationship had come that he only made one weak attempt to pull away before he gave up and slumped into his brother’s side. Tommy let out a sob muffled in Billy’s hoodie and Billy squeezed him tighter.
Something about the story didn’t sit right with Billy. He didn’t believe that Erik would do something like that to Tommy, not after how far they’d all come with reconnecting. Billy closed his eyes and wished. Iwanttoknowwhyhedidit, iwanttoknowwhyhedidit, Iwanttoknowwhyhedidit, I want to know why he did it. And suddenly Billy wasn’t in the car anymore, not mentally at least. He could still feel Tommy shaking in his arms, but his mind was projecting him to another scene. He watched as Erik faced off with a group of extremists trying to capture mutants right in the middle of times square. Just as he dodged an attack from two soldiers and threw them back a man came up behind him. Magneto went to turn around but was too late as the man in a military uniform jammed something into his neck and injected him with a mysterious serum. Billy thought for a moment that the injection was the power dampener serum, but then Magneto’s eyes glazed over and he stopped all resistance. The man in the uniform laughed in victory and instructed Magneto to follow his troops, and sure enough Magneto did as he was told. The last thing Billy saw before he returned to himself was the name on the mans’ uniform: Stryker. Billy frowned with worry and began wishing that Wanda, Lorna, and Pietro would receive a note informing them what happened and asking for their help.
“Tommy.” Billy said urgently. “I know what happened, he didn’t leave you there on purpose, he got kidnapped with some kind of mind control serum. When the doctors called him they probably made him do it. He would never do that to you if he were in his right mind. I know he wouldn’t, none of us would.” This seemed to get through to Tommy and he looked up at Billy as he began to calm down. Suddenly his eyes went wide.
“We have to help him!”
Billy nodded vigorously as he glanced out the window and saw they were turning down his street.
“I already called in reinforcements. If it worked they’ll be here soon.”
As soon as they pulled up to the house Billy and Tommy jumped out of the car and hurried towards the front door. Rebecca was hot on their heels, not quite knowing everything that had happened, but she’d gathered the gist of it in the car and was worried about both of the boys. As soon as they got inside they were greeted by three colorfully costumes adults and Billy’s dad all wanting to know more details. Billy filled them in as best he could and the looks on the mutant adults faces hardened in anger. Jeff and Rebecca took a moment to speak privately in the kitchen.
“I’m calling Charles.” Lorna insisted as she left the room with her cellphone.
“Why don’t we just go get him now?” Pietro demanded.
“We should go in with a plan, but I assure you we’ll be leaving soon.” Wanda insisted her eyes still glowing in anger. She swept her gaze across the room and it landed on Tommy.
“Dragi, what is wrong?” She asked gently, her mood immediately calming in concern. “You seem upset.” Tommy only shrugged. Billy cut in.
“Erik was supposed to pick him up, but from the sounds of it Stryker made him take himself off Tommy’s emergency contact list and leave him at the hospital.” Wanda looked furious for a moment before turning back to Tommy.
“The hospital?” She asked with even more concern. She reached out to place a hand on Tommy’s cheek and run the other through his hair. Tommy shrugged not meeting her eyes.
“Got hit with a power dampener and then I got a concussion.” He admitted.
“Oh Dušo.” She breathed and pulled Tommy to her. She cradled his head to her chest and wrapped the other around his back, holding him close.
“M’fine.” Tommy mumbled.
“I know.” She assured him as her hand carded through his hair and she rocked slightly. Tommy was very clearly not fine and he started crying quietly against her.
“Shh Ljubavi, it will be alright.” Her hand glowed faintly red as it continued to card through his hair, slowly healing his concussion and trying to work the serum out of his system.
Rebecca and Jeff returned just as Lorna came back into the room and announced that they were ready to go. Wanda glanced down at her son who she had never truly been allowed to know.
“Go on without me. Call me if you need backup, I’ll be listening.” Lorna took one look at the pair of them and nodded. Pietro followed her out and when Billy went to follow Wanda called him back. Billy frowned, ready to protest.
“The team they have assembled should be more than sufficient. I don’t want anyone there who doesn’t have to be. That man is dangerous. I know you could handle him, but he is relentless and I don’t want him to know either of you exist if we can avoid it.” Billy really did want to protest, but to be honest a part of him didn’t want to leave the room with his twin in so much distress and so he relented.
Rebecca met eyes with Wanda over Tommy’s head and mouthed a quiet ‘thank you’. She didn’t want her son in any more danger than he had to be.
Lorna and Pietro were gone for only twenty minutes before Wanda received word to bring the troops back. In that time she had only released Tommy long enough to move him to the couch and sit next to him. She’d morphed her clothes back into something more comfortable and Rebecca brought over a soft blanket to spread over them. She smiled at the pair of them and went to go get some drinks ready for them all.
Wanda had Tommy pulled to her side with a hand still running through his hair and his eyes drooping. Billy sat leaning against Tommy’s other side. She could feel his powers returning and felt relief spread through her. She only had to wave her hand to bring her family back to the Kaplan’s living room and send any x-men she sensed back to their school. Erik looked tired, but otherwise unharmed. His eyes immediately zeroed in on Tommy.
“Is he alright?”
Wanda nodded.
“He will physically recover soon.”
Erik nodded.
“I remember everything they made me do. They were just testing my powers, but they planned to keep me drugged long enough to commit several terrorist acts. Thank you all for finding me before it came to that. However, I do believe some damage was still done.” His eyes roved back to Tommy when he said this. “I remember what he made me say.” Erik kneeled in front of the tired speedster on the couch. He reached out and took Tommy’s hand. “I promise you that I will never abandon you.” He said fiercely. “It will take much more than some pathetic man to keep me from caring for my grandsons.” Tommy gave a watery smile.
“I know.” He replied and Erik smiled sadly.
“I don’t think you do.” He replied as he rose up to crouch over Tommy and press a kiss to his forehead. “But you will. I will make certain of that.” He concluded as he stood up straight and smiled at his grandson’s stunned face.