Warren's Return - Part 3

Posted on Mon Dec 23rd, 2024 @ 12:22am by Warren Worthington III & Bobby Drake

4,292 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Episode 5: Days of Fortune Past
Location: Baxter Building
Timeline: November 18, 1990

Meanwhile Warren went storming across the office suite back toward the condos, emotionally charged and full of conflict.

“Hey, Warren,” said Bobby, trotting to catch up. “Yo, wait up!”

“Oh, hey Bobby.” Warren slowed his pace as he waited for Bobby before heading back to his still bare bones apartment. “Thanks for having my back.”

“Well, chyeah… I still can’t believe Scott did that.” Bobby gave an anxious laugh as he relived the last few minutes on fast forward in his mind. “When I heard the story I told him to eat a dick and he didn’t unleash like that on me. Then again it never did take much for you and Scott to have beef. Guess some things never change, huh?”

“Yeah well, someone needs to push back on him otherwise his ego gets too big. I’ve always been the one to do that.” Warren scanned his keycard and opened the door to his place, he held the door long enough as an unspoken invitation for Bobby to follow. “It’s all just so… infuriating.”

Once inside, Warren removed his burnt and damaged shirt and discarded it. His arms had taken the brunt of Scott’s attack but his shirt was now destroyed. As he stripped, the long, deep scars that traversed the length of his back were exposed, all that was left of his once glorious wings.

“Do you want a drink?” Warren offered as he made his way to liquor bottles on the kitchen counter.

Bobby was speechless for a minute. It was far from the first time he had seen Warren without a shirt, but today felt different. The person standing before him was both familiar and a stranger. Gone was the perfect, golden aura that had once defined Warren Worthington III. In its place was someone scarred, bruised, and exotically flawed. His skin, tinted bluish and marred by nanotech, compelled Bobby to stare and wouldn’t let go.

Bobby’s eyes lingered on Warren’s back, the scars stretching across the once-unblemished skin. He felt a pang in his chest that he wasn’t expecting—a twist of the old infatuation, softened by sympathy, but sharpened by seeing how much his friend had been through. It almost hurt to look, but he couldn’t turn away.

“I, uh…” Bobby’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat awkwardly, his usual playful demeanor failing him. “You, uh… It’s, um, it’s not bad, Warren. Really, I just… I’m sorry. For… all of it. For Scott, for what happened to you. And, y’know, for… how you’re feeling.” He managed a weak, lopsided grin. “I, uh, guess I don’t know what to say. You know I’m terrible at this stuff.”

“Yeah well, it is what it is.” Warren said with an unsatisfactory shrug. He seemed numb in his response, masking the pain of what had happened to him. But Bobby knew those wings had been his pride and joy. His question to Bobby had gone unanswered so he fixed himself a drink, a single ice cube and three fingers of Blanton’s.

“You don’t have to talk to me about it, we all know the psychobabble is best left to Jean or Xavier.” Warren took a sip from his glass before he swirled the brown liquid as he leaned against the frame of the door. “You’re the get-along, good times guy.”

“I guess,” Bobby agreed. “I’m also the business undergrad guy now too. Scott has been giving me more and more work to do around the office.” Bobby’s gaze drifted to the floor, trying to mask the sting of Warren’s words. Good times guy. That had always been the label, hadn’t it? The fun one, the jokester, the one who was never a threat. But lately, things felt different. He’d been trying to step up, to prove he could be something more than the comic relief—and not just to Scott. He wanted Warren to see him that way, too. Not as the kid who tagged along, but as someone who could actually carry a part of the team’s weight. After a lifetime of not being taken seriously, it felt good for a change. It was a new side that he desperately wanted Warren to see.

“Yeah, I mean… things change, right?” Bobby looked up, hoping his words sounded casual, but his tone carried more sincerity than he’d intended. “We’ve all had to grow up, even if it doesn’t look like it sometimes.”

There was a long and uncomfortable pause as Warren examined the drink in his hand. His words could be biting and hurtful, so when he paused there was concern that he would mock Bobby for his efforts.

“Yeah, that’s true. Good for you Bobby, sooner or later we all have to get our shit together.” There was a touch of sadness in his reply but he seemed genuinely supportive over Bobby’s choice. Men were forced to change, they didn’t grow or adapt until they absolutely had to. Warren couldn’t deny that Bobby had finally reached his breaking point that facilitated his change in priorities and behavior. And at the end of the day, he was in the same position. Still, he couldn’t help but feel remorse for what was now lost.

“I just have less patience and tolerance for Scott’s mistakes. If he’s responsible for all of us, then he needs to act like it. You know the girl at school who’s carrying his baby, how miserable is she? You can’t tell me she’s happy with the way all of this went down. And Jean, how many pieces was her heart broken into? She’s an angel on earth and he destroyed her simply because he was sad? That alone is enough to piss me off. Add on to that the fact that he turned his back on you, barely spoke to you when you were at your lowest? If we’re family that isn’t how we should act… believe me, I know. Plus Hank, his bullshit excuse of ‘there is an open invitation’? We all know Hank is hesitant to change and it takes being by his side to get him to move. If he wants Hank here with us, he needs to do more than just leave the light on.”

Warren took a long sip from his drink and grunted from the burning sensation the whiskey created. “I need to see the Morlocks, I’m sure they’re terrified by the MRA. Callisto, that salty bitch, is going to cream her jeans when she sees me again and with a new look too.”

“Yeah.” At first Bobby didn’t know what to say. “Do you remember that day in Washington? I couldn’t be there. I was… recovering.” He didn’t want to rub in the fact Warren had hurt him. “We all know what Scott is capable of. He kept you from hurting anybody else that day without hurting you as well.” Bobby paused for a second, trying to think of more words. “I’m not sure what I’m saying exactly. Just that when shit hits the fan, we know where Scott stands. He’s shown his ass but he’s also shown us his heart. We might not be X-Men anymore… but that’s not Scott’s fault. The team was broken.” He looked around at the apartment. “The Prof… he replaced us. This was what Scott could do to make that right.” He bit his lip, then added, “That’s gotta mean something, Warren. How many hearts have you… we broken?” He blushed for a moment, remembering Kennedy’s candid accusations that he had done the same thing, though to a far lesser degree. “We’re all not proud of our mistakes. My birth family held mine against me. I’d like to think this new one… wouldn’t.”

Warren took another sip of his drink as he shook his head in response to Bobby’s remarks but he didn’t dispute what Bobby had said. Warren was taking it all in and coming to terms with the barrage of change, Bobby already knew he would need patience and time to really be okay with all of it. But for now, he seemed to find some level of acceptance.

Bobby let out a sigh. “Want some company with the Morlocks?”

“You want to dangle your meat in front of Callisto, be my guest.” Warren said with one of his trademark smirks that made everyone weak in the knees. “Seriously though, I’d appreciate the company. You’ve always been my wingman.”

The innuendo of dangling meat made Bobby blush, but he pushed it aside with a mock scowl.

Warren took another drink, thanks to the alcohol and the conversation he appeared to be calming down. Bobby noticed the tension leaving his broad shoulders, his solid frame beginning to relax. “So you’re in college, working for X-Factor, and living here. What else have you got going on? Or is that enough to keep you busy?”

“That fills most days,” Bobby said. “Had some bad breakups, so I’m honestly just trying to keep my head down and show everyone, maybe even myself, just what I can do.” He laughed at the wingman comment that was playing back in his mind. He could give as good as he got. “So I’ll be your wingman with Callisto, no problem. Just don’t expect me to bang her friend, okay?”

Warren laughed at that comment, it was a low rumble of a sound. “No one is exchanging sexual favors for assistance, I promise. Callisto just likes to feel like she’s special, so I flash her a few extra smiles and some compliments and it makes her much more agreeable.”

Warren finally left the door frame and sat down in one of the green polyester chairs in the living room. He would be redecorating this place as soon as possible. “Bad breakups? Meaning more than one? You have been busy. What are their names and are any of them cute?”

The question for which Bobby should have been imminently prepared caught him completely off guard. “I, uh, um, yeah, there was, uh…” He chuckled. “I didn’t get very far with any of them. You remember Iris? That invisible girl? She went back home before anything serious could happen. There’s Kennedy… spoiled rich girl with an attitude and eyes to die for and a tight, little…” Remembering that he was actually talking out loud, Bobby stopped himself. “I fucked it up with her. There was another guy. A real bad guy, it turns out. Shinobi Shaw himself. I’m still not sure where we’re at.” Quick to change the subject, Bobby went on. “I met a guy, actually. Kevin. But he turned out to be with the local chapter of the Friends of Humanity…”

Warren raised both of his eyebrows but he remained silent. It was hard to say which part of Bobby’s statement caught his attention.

That was actually even more awkward to say. “I don’t know, Warren. Maybe it’s not for me. Or maybe there’s a Morlock princess you could hook me up with.” His old humor came back to deflect the moment. “What about you? Weren’t you getting pretty serious with Candy Corn or whatever her name was?”

“Southern, Candy Southern.” Warren corrected Bobby as his eyes turned distant for a moment. “Yeah, we dated while I was in college. She was a business major too so we saw each other all the time. But once we graduated, we parted ways, she took some high profile job out west.”

He looked down at his hands and arms, the pale blue color of his skin was still a shock. “I wonder what she’d think of me now? Definitely, a harder pill to swallow.”

Bobby turned to iceform and stared at Warren with a puff of mist coming from his mouth. “Maybe you should find out. When Kevin, that FOH guy, saw me like this, he freaked. At least then you’d know.” Why did it matter to Bobby so much? Maybe it was because at one point he had nearly idolized Warren as a prime specimen of masculinity. Seeing him brought so low was startling in a number of ways. “Hey, look on the bright side. At least you qualify as a Morlock now.”

“Hahaha very funny.” Warren said as he picked up the TV guide and chucked it as Bobby’s head. “Bet I still get laid more than you.”

As he said so, Bobby raised his arms to shield his face from the retaliation he knew he deserved. Once upon a time, he never would have teased Warren like that. But time has a way of smoothing edges and refining differences. Bobby and Warren were on equal footing, a thought that Bobby would’ve scoffed at even a year ago. It felt good to poke fun at him like a regular guy. “What if she won’t let us leave without you dueling her again for our freedom?!”

“I doubt it but even if she tried I’m not exactly helpless.” Warren had always been a decent fighter, even before he was an X-Man he had patrolled the streets as a solo crime fighter. Combined with the nanotech and Sentinel augmentation that remained in his body, Warren was much stronger and faster than most mutants.

“I was charred and blistered by Scott a few minutes ago, now I’m fine.” He leaned back in his chair and gestured at his smooth skin and sculpted body. Leave it to Warren to find a way to boast whenever possible. “Besides Callisto knows that her connections to me and to the surface have been good for the Morlocks, life got a lot easier for them once I took over. I’m sure we’re going to have to adjust but they’ll be happy to see me.”

There was that Worthington sense of confidence that was unfaltering. Despite the loss of his wings and the changes to his body Warren still believed in himself and who he was. If he had moments of insecurity and doubt they were fleeting. He teased Bobby before taking another sip of his drink. “There’s one Morlock who’s pretty cute but she smells worse than a skunk. Maybe she’ll go out with you.”

“Only one way to find out!” Bobby said, dripping with sarcasm. “I’m sure you called dibs on the one with the gimp anyway.” He folded his arm behind his back as if it were amputated and hobbled around in a circle as if his legs could barely support him. “Roll me and fold me, Warren,” he said with an overly girlish falsetto. “Do that voodoo you do so well!”

“Shut up, Bobby,” Warren said with a laugh. Despite Bobby’s desire to mature and do more, his sense of humor still drifted into a more teenage level of comedy. “But if you wanted to date someone, I’m sure we could find you someone other than skunk girl. What are you looking for? What’s your type?”

That question caught Bobby off guard. “Type?” he repeated, not knowing how to answer. At first he thought of Kevin. “Well, not a mutant hater for starters.” Then he thought of Ethan and Iris. “Or someone pushy for sex. Or a cocktease.” Kennedy was a mixed bag. “Someone who asks real questions but shuts up long enough to listen.” And then there was Lorna. “Someone who laughs at my jokes but doesn’t think I’m a joke.”

Realizing just how real and vulnerable he’d gotten, Bobby gave a nervous laugh and then asked, “Know anyone like that?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of blonde or brunette.” Warren said with a laugh but he grew serious afterwards, “You want someone who likes you for you, that’s a decent enough ask. But finding someone who thinks you’re great and you feel the same about them, it doesn’t just happen. You might have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince or princess.”

“Frogs? Bet we could find one or two with the Morlocks.” Bobby snickered a little. He couldn’t joke like this with the others. It was great to have Warren back. “I’ve been trying though. It’s not working out.” Another thought occurred to him, one that allowed him to deflect some more. “Blonde, brunette… the best relationship I had was green. Look how that turned out. Upstaged by a Summers!”

“Believe me, I know that sting all too well,” Warren said with a shake of his head. While his attraction to Jean had been superficial at first, he eventually grew to appreciate her internal beauty. Of course by that time she was head over heels for Scott and had remained as such. Warren respected them enough to no longer interfere but if Jean was ever available, things might be different.

“Do they have any leads on Alex?” Warren asked as he finished his drink. “I know things weren’t exactly copacetic between the Summers brothers before Krakoa.”

Bobby shook his head and didn’t look particularly sad about it. “No. He was one of us, I guess, but… I don’t know. Maybe I just never got over Lorna. He didn’t deserve Krakoa. I just don’t see him going back to Xavier’s or sticking around here. Weird that Scott’s brother feels the least like family.” He trailed off for a minute. “Now that we have you back, he’s the last one. We… know what happened to Lorna. Wherever Alex is, I think he’s better off than her.”

“Trapped in a dimension of demons in an eternal hellscape? Yeah, let’s hope Alex is faring better than that.” Warren could be a little too blunt at times and he saw how the words affected Bobby.

“Aww, come on Bobby, we’ll find her.” Warren sat up straight as sincerity returned to his voice. “You guys found that researcher… Kurt? I’m sure he’ll find something about Limbo. Lorna is more than capable of fending for herself, she’ll be okay until we figure it out.”

It was a terrible thing to argue, so Bobby just shrugged. “You didn’t see her, Warren. None of us did but me. I raced ahead of the new kids inside that Citadel in the Savage Land. Someone had Lorna trussed up on this ancient looking machine, like something out of Frankenstein. I… I lost it. Next thing I know, I’m fighting some flamer from Hell and the only way I don’t die is Zaladane breaks the machine. That sent the… the demon lord or whatever back to where he came from and it dragged Lorna along with him.”

Before he knew it, Bobby was on the brink of tears. His old refrain came back to mind. “Everyone leaves, everybody dies…” Bobby fell against Warren and started sobbing. “You came back! I saw you die and you came back!”

“Oh… hey…” Warren was uncomfortable with Bobby’s sudden outburst of emotion but he didn’t recoil or push him away. Instead he awkwardly patted Bobby on the back. “Come on now, you, Jean, and Hank all came back. The track record is pretty good so far. That sounds more like everyone comes back and everyone is alright.”

“Listen, Bobby,” Warren pressed on his shoulder so he could look down at him. “You have to remain positive and you have to believe things are going to be alright. Expecting the worst, it’s only going to bring you down.”

“Yeah…” Bobby tried to nod his head, but with his face leaning into Warren’s shoulder, the best he managed was wiping his nose on his friend. “Eww, sorry. Just… the last thing I remember before… it all went black… I saw you get shot by some kind of laser beam. You fell into the trees. I went after you and… and…”

Bobby’s face wrinkled as he tried to hold back tears. “Jean says I died. Somehow I didn’t stay dead. I wound up in some lab in Canada that was more like a prison. And… and… I’m just glad you’re okay, Warren.”

“Thanks Bobby.” Warren tried to ignore the glisten of snot on his bare shoulder. “I remember the pain and falling from the sky. The impact with the ground must have knocked me out because I was in a lab after that with the nanites being injected into my arm. My wings were mangled and they were amputated soon after. Then I lost my free will and the ‘upgrades’ began.” Warren shuddered from the memories and they caused him to step away from Bobby. Making his way back to the kitchen, he poured himself another drink. “Let’s just say I’m not a fan of doctors or labs now.”

As he followed along, Bobby couldn’t help but agree. Even the familiar labs in the X-Mansion basement were uncomfortable to him now. He saw Warren draw another pour and changed his mind. “Maybe I will have one after all.”

When Warren handed him a glass, Bobby gave it a sniff and held his nose before he chugged it. “Ah!” he gasped. “That burns good.” He dry-swallowed before he took another sip, the last drop in the glass. “Is there anything you regret? Something you wished you hadn’t done or wished you did?”

“I try not to dwell on the past and live with regrets.” Warren took a much longer sip from his glass, despite his positive outlook the weight of the conversation was catching up with him. “I guess I wouldn’t have let her get away… I should have said the things I felt and she wanted to hear.” He shrugged and finished his drink. “But I was young and stupid too, and I didn’t recognize the good thing I had going for me.”

“Right…” The whiskey quickly went to Bobby’s head. His cheeks felt flushed and his stomach turned. Or were those the proverbial butterflies? “Recognize the good. Say what you feel.” He downed the rest of the glass and then leaned in for a kiss. “No regrets…”

“What the fuck, Bobby?!?” A firm hand landed on Bobby’s shoulder to stop him dead in his tracks. Warren didn’t take a step back but he leaned back far enough to place some distance between them. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!?”

The ground fell out from beneath Bobby’s feet. “Uh… I, eh, I…” His mouth hung agape too far for him to form words. This was so awkward. What had he been thinking? The signs, the cues, the consent, all of it evaporated before his very eyes, leaving him standing there like a stupid asshole. “Should I go? I should go. Yeah. Sorry…”

Warren made a sound that was somewhere between a grumble and a sigh. Bobby looked like a whipped dog in his moment of defeat and that made it hard for Warren to be outraged by his clueless advances. Bobby had always had a thing for Warren, he knew it and Jean knew it, but he had never been so brazen in his advances before.

“It’s okay, Bobby.” Warren’s tone didn’t totally match his words but he was at least attempting to be kind towards Bobby. “You took your shot, I can’t blame you for trying.” There was that Worthington swagger, knowing how irresistible he was.

“You don’t have to go, but do me a favor and keep your head on straight.” It was the nicest way Warren could think of telling Bobby to knock it off and never try that again. “Keep the funny business to yourself and we’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, sure…” Bobby put the glass down and looked around the room in search of anything to stare at that wasn’t Warren. “I shoulda’ known better. Jean already told me that was a bad idea but I did it anyway. Maybe that’s my problem. I do dumb things because I don’t listen.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” Warren said as he rolled his shoulders and returned to a more confident stance.

After that, though, Bobby still wanted to get out of there. “When were you gonna see the Morlocks? Like right now? Now is good for me.”

“I’m not wearing a shirt and I’m covered in snot.” Warren replied with a hint of sarcasm. He smirked at his own comment but returned to a more serious tone because Bobby looked like he wanted to die. “No, I’m not going right now. How about tomorrow?”

“Oh. Yeah, okay. It’s a d…plan. Definite plan, that one.” Bobby cringed so hard that his face nearly split in two with a grimace. “When you remember this later on, could you leave out the last minute or two?”

“No regrets, Bobby, just learn something… for once.” Warren shook his head, some things between them never seemed to change. “Look, I think I’m going to take a shower and clean myself up. I’ll see you at dinner?”

Bobby nodded. “Yeah, a shower sounds good.” A good and cold one. He headed back out the way he came. “See ya.”

TBC

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