seekevolution | The Amulet

It's pretty amazing what threats and smiles can do. Tony's gone only three hours when a group of six men carry Mohinder on a stretcher into the plan and leave. Tony follows, whistling and air drumming a solo. Yep, he's pretty stoked at his negotiation techniques. "We've got two weeks."

Bruce and Tony get Mohinder to the plane, and Bruce makes sure he is secure before take off. He barely waits for them to level off before he's back at his friend's side. "I owe you, Tony. Thank you... Thank you." There is a look back at Tony that is full of gratitude. He's had time to calm down.

"You do owe me," Tony says with a laugh and then heads up to the cockpit. He'll just let Banner sit there with Mohinder for awhile as he pulls him out of the drug induced coma he's in.

Tony isn't exactly all smiles. Banner had been right about the jealousy.

Bruce works quickly, quietly, to get Mohinder towards consciousness. When he's sure he has it going, he sits beside him, watching him with worry. Anything could go wrong right now, could turn for the worst when it comes to drugs this strong, and to say that Bruce is worried is an understatement.

He'll deal with the jealousy later, when he can handle it better.

"Mohinder..." Quiet, waiting for any sign of his rousing from sleep.

Tony has a super-sized ego. He probably has a super-sized jealousy issue too. That's not going to be fun.

But at least Bruce doesn't have to dwell. Mohinder stirs, chin lifting and long limbs stretching. He mutters something unintelligible, likely in Hindi, and lifts a hand towards his forehead.

Bruce lets out a breath of relief as Mohinder stirs. "Mohinder, it's Bruce. You are safe." Simple words, simple terms, trying to keep his friend from panicking when the other realizes he is here. "Take it slow."

Mohinder's not the brightest of men when it comes to anything outside of his particular scientific interests. He hears Bruce's voice and, soft as it is, his smile manifests across his lips.

"Bruce-- I don't mind telling you, I feel bloody awful..."

Bruce gives a little chuckle at that. "I imagine you do." Finally, something that seems more like the friend he knew. "I'm trying to fix that, but it takes time. Don't move too much; it wasn't easy figuring out how to counter what they did to you." The relief is clear in his voice.

What they did to you.

It takes a moment more before his smile slips from his face. His eyes look less drugged, sure, but more scared. He presses his lips together too. No talking. No more talking. He can't risk it. Think only in Hindi...

He'll just try not to hyperventilate.

Damn. Bruce takes a calming breath before he speaks. "Calm yourself. I told you that I trust you, and I mean it. I wouldn't have done this otherwise. We have two weeks with you and the amulet to figure out how to break this and we will. Do you remember what we did before? Tell me not to follow any command you give for two weeks, and you'll have to phrase a great deal as suggestions instead of commands so I can work with you."

To say that Mohinder trusts Bruce isn't an issue. He doesn't trust himself. "That--" His breath feels sour. Stale. How long has he been under? It feels like days. "It doesn't work," he whispers.

They'd started testing almost as soon as Bruce left. They put him in rooms with men and women, given him cards to read and--

Mohinder's seen people die before. But never like that.

He shakes his head adamantly.

Bruce would have reacted far worse if he knew what SHIELD had done. Maybe it's for the better he had no idea. "It worked before," he whispers. Why would it have changed? "We'll make this work. There is a limit on the range of the amulet. Even if we have to stay apart, no one else will have touched the amulet and you can be safe."

Mohinder reaches out to take Bruce by the wrist. His grip is loose, his touch cool. "Where's Molly?" he asks softly. He has been trying to hard to keep his cool. To keep himself from thinking. Obviously, he's too dangerous to be around his daughter but having no idea how long he's been out, anything could have happened to her. The rest...he'll find out about later. He might not be the girl's biological father and he might not have been looking out for her for all that long, but he at least has a good paternal instinct to protect her.

"I'm not sure. I will find out, I promise." A soft smile, trying to get his friend to calm down and steady himself. "Steady yourself. You won't affect anyone but me. You're rapidly putting distance between anyone else who touched the amulet. There is a limit on its effect."

That, at least, has a calming effect on him and Mohinder closes his eyes and exhales slowly through his nose. "Last week... I wish I could return to last week." He'd been happy, more or less, pining secretly (more or less) for Bruce. They'd had their project, Molly had a recital with her violin at a school she was doing so well at. Everything was fine.

And now--

"I believe I understand how you and how Xavier's lot feels now." Alone. So...very alone.

Bruce flinches, just a touch, from those words. He doesn't pull away any more though, sighing softly. "Mohinder, it will be okay. You can only effect a certain people and you're away from them right now, except for me. I need you to focus and work with me; you can't fallen into depression or darkness. I trust you, even if you trust no one else, even yourself. I know how that feels, and honestly I am probably being a hypocrite."

There's nothing that Bruce says that isn't one hundred percent true, but he can't help but be upset by it all. Breathing normally just isn't about to happen right now, not with tears slowly streaking down his cheeks.

"I do trust you," he promises. "I...can't thank you enough for coming for me."

"I couldn't leave anyone in that situation, nevermind a friend." Even if Mohinder decides to pull away from him, Bruce will always hold him as a friend. He gets up and finds a tissue box built into the plane itself, snagging a few before returning to press them into the other's hand. "We'll be landing in just a few hours, and I'll get you set up with us. There might even be enough distance between bedrooms and labs to be safe."

He's grateful. Sitting up, Mohinder tries to shake off the dizziness he feels, and gently dabs at his cheeks. He feels quite foolish but there is so very little he can do about that now. What's done is done.

He's very careful with everything he says, making sure everything that comes out of his mouth can not be misconstrued as a command. "Thank...thank you."

"Take it slow." Bruce hovers there, watching how Mohinder reacts to sitting up. He can see the dizziness in the sway of his body, but that is to be expected. "Mohinder, tell me what happened after I left. I was ready to take on Fury and SHIELD itself if that's what it took to get Fury to let you go."

It's not a long tale to tell but it takes Mohinder the better part of an hour to tell Bruce about how he'd been taken from the lab just after Bruce and Tony left and been given several blind tests through one way mirrored rooms and cards stretching from the inane 'bark like a dog' and 'take off your clothing' to the horrorfying 'put your firearm in your mouth and pull the trigger.'

All three agents in the room had put their guns in their mouths...the test subject (who had an empty chamber) and the two guards who had supposedly been cleared and safe. Mohinder shakes over that, half laughing and half crying.

"It spreads. It spreads, Bruce. Anyone in physical contact with me-- That's why it's not safe."

It spreads. That is frightening for any scientist to hear. The effect of the amulet spreads and more people end up under Mohinder's control. Two people were dead because of it. There is a flare of green just for a moment in anger towards Fury, who should have known better in how this was being tested, but hindsight is ever twenty-twenty.

"Physical contact is required?" Bruce wants to confirm, lips tight, suddenly grateful for Tony's issues with touching people.

"It seems so," Mohinder says quietly. The look Bruce gives him does...something to him. It doesn't stir any fear in his heart...just desire. But that's dangerous. That causes dangerous thoughts. He wishes he could experience that kiss again. The one given at the end of their evening together, the one that made him feel so...so alive.

Bruce can't know what Mohinder is thinking, but the amulet's power draws him anyway. He leans in before he's thought about it, couldn't think about it, capturing Mohinder's lips with his, his eyes closing. It would take a thought to break it off, and Bruce can't fault Mohinder for this. But it's as passionate as Mohinder wants, his hand warm on Mohinder's a moment later.

Mohinder knows he's done it again, knows it's against Bruce's desire, but he's had so little going for him that he lets himself have the moment. Bruce is wonderful, almost too warm, the sort of person he just wants to spend his days with... He's perfect. Just perfect. But Bruce doesn't feel that way. The guilt after is overwhelming and he pulls back with a gasp, sucking on his lower lip, eyes down and his heart racing.

"I think it best if you keep me locked away. Tell Mr. Stark to... To set the code. I have no influence over him."

Edited 2013-11-27 18:53 (UTC)

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