Negotiations [Locked to future alt!verse Jackson]

[half_a_soul]

Jono had known it was likely to happen at some point. He'd been far too deep into Jackson's mind to not know why exactly he had run to the Nexus and why he was so insistent on not going back. Not, mind, that Jono wouldn't have tried talking him out of returning to his world, but it was easier that he didn't want to.

And, after about six months with nothing happening, Jono started to relax, as well.

The first one, he met in the Nexus, asking questions about Jackson. The second one he met there as well, though she was more subtle. Both wore the same sort of clothing Jackson had arrived in. Normal grunts, nothing more. Dangerous enough, he supposed, but mostly poor sods who were in the same bad position Jackson had been in.

He sent them home with no memory of Jackson, the Nexus or their mission. He'd been foolish enough to believe that would be enough.

The third one actually made it to his apartment, luckily while Jackson was out. While Jono had been out, too, but he arrived home first from practice to find the soldier--more advanced and better trained than the first two--pointing a gun at him and demanding to know where Jackson was. He'd probably have gotten off lightly if he hadn't shot Jono's guitar to make a point.

Jono made a point right back. Even with future medical advancements, it would take a long time to heal from first degree burns over most of the body. And then they'd have to straighten out his mind. It was possible the soldier could recover from the mental fucking Jono'd given him, but he'd embedded a message for the first telepath that looked at him to find. Jackson was under his protection.

He'd thought that had been the end of it. It certainly seemed to be for about a month. Then Jono woke up to a strange mental signature in the flat. He slipped out of bed, trying not to wake Jackson before putting on a pair of pajama pants and heading for the living room. Where he had to stop for a moment and stare at the man with white-blond hair and what could, maybe, have passed for the uniform of a Redcoat. Maybe. Once upon a time. And the wide leather wristband he knew held a vortex manipulator.

Time Agent.

Jono let out an explosive breath, hands on his hips. "Don't you bloody fools know when t' give up already?"

Comments

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, Jackson hardly notices the kiss. Things have stopped registering fully for him beyond the slow creep of cold that's began steadily claiming his limbs. Everything, even feeling, dims around the edges into a hazy blur. And then everything is a hazy blur. Is it death or is it the teleport?

Gray blinks. Slowly.

Remarkably, he does stay put, as if the command was necessary and gave him some sort of purpose instead of floundering in his success before eventually drowning in it.

"You can kill me," he says simply, once Jono's attention is no longer divided by his foolish rescue attempt. His eyes have dropped to his hands, covered in blood, and he looks at them as if they're detached from his body. "Killing him was the only thing left worth living for."

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

"I don' wanna fuckin' kill you," Jono says, little bite to his words. He's been using his powers a lot more today than he has in a while and it's starting to wear. And he's going to have to use them more.

"Number one, take off the bloody scrambler or whatever it is you got what kept me from feelin' you comin' up behin' us." He pushes himself to his feet, wiping the blood from his hands onto his trousers. "I gotta take care of the fuckin' idiots over 'ere you brought with you."

He just needs five minutes. Five minutes to ash the damned contract in front of the officer's eyes before he makes the man forget any of this ever happened. Makes them all forget it happened, though he takes a moment to plant a suggestion into one of the men, a computer expert, to purge Jackson's contract and details from the records. No way was he going through this again.

Once the men are safely on their way, Jono forces himself to calm. Hysterics wouldn't help. Running straight to the island wouldn't help, either. Foley either had it or he didn't and nothing Jono could do there would help. Nothing that Emma Frost or the professor couldn't do just as well.

Finally, he turns to face Gray. "I ain't gonna kill you," he says, finally deciding for certain that it's not going to happen. "Jackson wouldn' want it, even if he ain't got a clue why he wouldn't."

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

His movements are slow, but Gray does reach up and remove a device from his right ear, not entirely unlike a very refined bluetooth. Dropping it to the floor, he crunches it under the heel of his boot and waits for further instructions. To have had this idea in his head all these years, to want to kill his brother for all the wrong that was done to him and for the way Jack ignored him Earth, Gray has no idea what to do with himself now that he's completed his mission. How does he go on with his life if his purpose of killing Jack is now ... done?

He blinks again, realizing that the man is talking to him. "He forgot me," Gray states simply. "He forgot all about me. He left me to die and forgot my name and all those years I waited for him. I hoped. He was my brother and he betrayed me."

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

"When Jackson first came to the Nexus," Jono says slowly, voice creaking with held back emotion, "he fell foul of a man known only as Adam. Only 'e wasn' quite a man, but some...entity what could only exist as long as people remembered 'im. So he would insert 'imself into their pasts, so 'at they didn' question 'im bein' 'round now."

He looks up, watching Gray's face. "You gotta know, yer brother...'e's an open book. Any psychic can jus' walk in an' do what they like." Hell, Gray had depended on that. It was possible the scrambler had been because Gray shared the same slight bit of psychic ability without the knowledge to shield. "An' fer some reason, Adam...decided 'e wanted to be there in yer brother's memories from the start. 'E weasled 'is way into every memory Jackson had...by replacin' you."

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

Oh.

Gray looks down at his hands again. The blood is beginning to congeal and dry, sticky and thick on his fingers, and ... and that can't be true. How could someone do that to Jack? How could he let them? He was always stronger, he was always ... he ...

"You're lying," Gray says, but there's actual emotion in his voice now. As if it's finally caught up to him that all his life has been bent on killing a man who couldn't remember him, not one who voluntarily forgot.

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

"Wish t' God I were," Jono replies, finding that sofa from earlier to lean against again. "'E spent a couple years in the Nexus. Mos'ly with 'at Adam bloke. Adam 'ad 'im thinkin' they were old pals an' lovers from the colony. Reckon it didn' always make much sense t' Jackson, but 'e didn' 'ave a choice but t' believe it. Wasn' anythin' there t' contradict it. An' me, I didn' know anythin' 'bout yer brother's mind 'fore 'e met Adam 'cause I met 'im after.

"When Jackson deserted..." Jono sighs, reaching up to rub at his face for a moment. "I can't do this 'ere," he whispers, swallowing hard and standing. "Come on. I'll take you back t' the flat. You can clean up." He could make some tea and wait for Foley or somebody to fucking call him.

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

"N-No," Gray says, taking a definitive step back. He can't go anywhere with this man. He can't ... he just ... he killed Jack. Why did he do that? Why did ... there's blood on his hands and it's crawling up his wrists, arms, moving to wrap around his neck and strangle him.

He killed his brother. Jack. Jack is dead and he did that and who is this guy? How can he kiss Jack like that, while he's dying, and be this calm about anything? Doesn't he feel ... can't he ...

"No!" Gray turns and runs, unable to face the gravity of the situation or the truth. It can't be true. That man, whoever that man is, is lying.

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

He could have just let Gray run. He thought about it. God knew there were stranger things in the Nexus all the time than a blood spattered guy.

But it's Gray. It's Jackson's brother who didn't know any better and Jackson...he'd want to know. If he made it, he's want to know his brother.

He's not dead. Jono reaches out for Gray's mind, trying to pull him back. I ain't the only person like me in me world. Lots of people got powers back there. One of 'em, one of me former students, 'e's a healer. Damned fine one, too, now 'at 'e's got 'is head outta 'is arse. He took a breath and stood, looking toward Gray. The direction he'd taken off in. But they can't contact me 'ere, neither. Sent me own PINpoint with Jackson when I sent 'im off. So I gotta be back in me own world an' I don' got a place where I sent Jackson.

Come home with me, Gray, he said, finally admitting he'd known the young man's name all along. I can explain more. But I need to be where they can let me know.

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

There is silence in response to the telepathic communication. Gray is receptive, just like his brother, but entirely unpracticed. If Jono can tell, Gray is no longer running, but he hasn't the strength to move back to where it happened. Instead, he's given up and let his legs crumbled under him, sitting on the floor and crying softly. He's so deeply confused now, lost in his own insanity and guilt.

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

At least those are things Jono can actually help with. One of those things about being one of the most powerful telepaths in his world.

He pauses along the way to pick up a new PINpoint. Having extra never hurt, after all. Then he followed the feel of that mind to where Gray was. Nobody even noticed, honestly. One more crying man in the Nexus wasn't that unusual.

Jono kneels beside him, holding out his hand. "Come on," he says quietly. "We can deal with this, but jus'...trust me."

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

Gray doesn't respond at first. He can't. But when his brain finally kicks back into gear, he nods simply and accepts Jono's hand. Mind the blood, there.

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

The blood'll be fine. Jono's seen worse in his years as an X-Man, after all. He nods, shuffling closer to the young man before punching in the number that takes them to his flat in London. Old London on Earth that was. The sun's still up, the sky actually clear for once so it's a pristine blue. Well, there's some of the usual London smog, but not as bad as it used to be.

The first thing Jono does, though, while kneeling on the floor, is to reach for the island half way across the world. He's not looking for Foley. Foley's likely busy. God, he hoped he was still busy, at least. Instead, he reaches for the familiar mind of Emma Frost, his old teacher. Just a brush, enough to let her know he was in London and to CALL when they knew something. Then he was back to the scared and broken boy in his arms. "Wash your hands first. Hope you don' mind tap water. Headonistic waste, aye, but we ain't developed sonic anythin' yet."

Deal with Gray. Wash. Tea. Wait on the phone to ring. One thing at a time. He could do this. He had to do this.

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

Gray, for his part in all this, has almost no idea what's being said to him. Wherever he's gone, whatever they're doing, he's slipped into a somewhat catatonic state. It's too much for him to handle, yes, but if prodded enough he'll go through the motions -- or, at least, try to go through them in the twenty-first century. The water confuses him, but the soap confuses him even more. Above all, walking by a window and seeing the blue sky confuses him the most.

It's too much. It's all too much. While they wait, Gray will sit and stare into the middle distance, just trying to fit all the jagged pieces together in his already cracked head.

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

Jono tries his best, including pulling the curtains over the large picture windows. He knows, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he should be incredibly pissed off at Gray, but...it's not exactly Gray's fault. He's the one who did it, but it was the ones who held him, who put him through so much that his mind ended up so twisted that are at fault.

It's easier. If he thinks of it that way, his mind can almost handle it.

The tea goes cold while they're waiting. Jono does his best to pull Gray out of it, but it doesn't work well and he's too exhausted for small talk, though he does do his best to explain the situation with Jackson. So he concentrates on trying to piece Gray's mind back together, hoping for enough bubble gum and spit to keep him together for the time being.

His own concentration goes south, though, the moment the phone rings. He reaches for it, getting to his feet and indulging in the need to pace. "Chamber." It's his stage name, sure, but it's his hero name, first. "For fuck's sake, Emma, tell me it's good news."

"He'll make it." Emma sounds almost as tired as he feels. "I won't lie to you, Jono. There were moments we thought even Josh couldn't manage it. Too much damage and too much blood lost. But your friend is a fighter. As long as he wouldn't give up, neither would we."

Jono stands silent through it all. "Thank you, Emma," he says, voice small. "I'll be there as soon as I can. I've company...I'll explain it when I get there." Then he clicks the phone off and slumps back into his chair, feeling more exhausted than before.

"He's alive." Before Gray could get the wrong idea. "He's alive, Gray."

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

At long last, Gray's attention seems to focus and hone on something. It isn't Jono, not yet, but given a few moments to blink himself back to reality, his gaze shifts to Jono, specifically, and no longer looks quite so void of emotion or thought. When he speaks, it's in a low and raspy whisper, as if he's afraid to speak too loudly. "Thank God."

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

That's good. That's something. Jono had been worried that Gray's mind was too far gone.

He leans forward, watching Gray for a moment. "We can go to him soon, though I'll have to get some new coordinates." His current chosen coordinates were outside on a hill where he could see the ocean when they arrived. Jackson loved the spot. Gray would panic. "But before we do...you an' I gotta talk 'bout a few things.

"Way I see it, we got a couple of choices 'ere. You don' gotta go with me. Could find a way t' send you back t' your world. You could forget any of this happened. I could jus' make you think Jackson'd been dead fer years. You could 'ave a life there without the worry, but I think, eventually, w'at 'appened on that planet would consume you an' drive you completely mad." Not that he wasn't mad enough as it was, honestly. But eventually it would get worse.

"Or," Jono says after a moment. "We go to the island. I introduce you to Jackson, tell 'im who you are. He might remember yer voice, but I think we can blame it on the Feds easy enough. That they took advantage of yer anger t' deal with a problem fer 'em." He levels a calm gaze at Gray. "But, fer now, you'd be stayin' there. At the island. There are people there...they're used t' dealin' with mental trauma cases. They know what they're doin'. An' it's a safe place t' get acclimated t' this world. Jackson'll wanna get to know you, so it ain't like we wouldn' be around. But London...ain't the best place t' learn to deal with it. Island's safer an' quieter."

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

Gray is silent for several minutes, clearly contemplating the options, because his expression shifts from one of catatonic shock to complete confusion. "How do you know me? How do you know what happened to me? How do you know, but Jack doesn't?" And that's the worst part for him. His own brother doesn't know him anymore. He was replaced by something in Jack's head and now ... now it's gone. All of it. How can they even be brothers if none of it's there anymore?

He breaks down again, hanging his head and sobbing quietly. "You're inside my head," Gray decides, as if that explains everything. "I ... I don't want to forget, too. I can't. I -- " He will break down completely, just like Jono said. "I need help."

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

Obviously, Gray hadn't been listening at all. It wasn't surprising, considering everything. "Not sure you'd believe me if I tol' you. Then 'gain, might be easier to swallow 'an some of this." He waves to the flat before settling back. "It's one of the things 'bout the Nexus. Basically touches every universe in every time. Sometimes, you see people in the Nexus 'at you grew up thinkin' were fiction.

"Here, in this world, we got a programme called Torchwood. One of the characters is a former Time Agent turned con man called Jack Harkness." He gets up and moved to the DVD collection, picking up the first season box set. He pulls out one of the DVD holders, checking it before handing it to Gray. The person on the front looks...well, a hell of a lot like Jackson. "There's a lot of backstory, but the person in that show is who Jackson would've been if it 'adn't been fer the Nexus an' Adam. Instead, 'e ended up with a new version of events 'is mind knew were roight but couldn't reconcile 'em, either."

He sighs, sitting back down. "Twenty years of 'at. Not countin' time already in the Nexus. By the time 'e deserted, there wasn' much left of 'is child'ood I could save. Han'ful o' memories of yer parents, but Adam 'ad overlaid 'imself over so much of Jackson's past. Only way t' save 'is mind an' sanity was t' take it all away. Firs' twelve or so years of 'is life are pretty blank." Up until he lost Gray. And even some of the stuff after had a lot of blanks, too, where Adam had tried to fill in the blanks.

He promised Gray the truth. He doesn't hold back, but he does move closer to put an arm around the younger man. "Awroight. We'll get you help. When we go t' see Jackson, I'll introduce you to Professor Xavier an' Emma Frost. They're two of the strongest telepaths in the world an' they got experience." He doesn't mention that if they can't help Gray, there's not a lot of hope for it. Gray probably knows that.

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

Gray does know that.

He also knows that all the craziness Jono just spouted at him about fictional people and Jack Harkness and whatever this box of torched wood is has to be absolute nonsense that his mind just made up. Nothing else makes logical sense. He can't reconcile this with what he knows about the way the universe works. If he tried, there'd be no hope left for his mind.

Instead, he carefully sets the box aside and nods to Jono's offer of help. Hopefully that isn't just in his head, too.

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he probably shouldn't even have tried. Give him a few years of work with Emma or the professor and maybe try again then. Or, don't even bother. It doesn't really matter. Being in Gray's head is a good enough explanation.

"Awroight." Jono ducks his head, hugging the young man for a moment before he pulls away. "I'm gonna get hold o' someone at the school. An' see if I can't fin' you somethin' clean to wear." Gray has Jackson's height but his build is more like Jono's. Which, frankly, is going to make clothing him a bitch. He shakes it off. "Come on. I'll show you 'round the flat a bit while we do 'at."

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

The hug causes him some confusion, but Gray nods and stands when Jono indicates that standing is necessary. He's back to his somewhat catatonic state, going through the motions because it's necessary. This has all been too much for him.

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

Hopefully the fugue state won't last too long. Though as long as Jono leads, Jackson seems willing enough to follow. That'll work for now.

While he's looking for clothing that'll fit Gray, he reaches out again for Emma. It's a fairly simple request, though he has to walk her through how to use the PINpoint to find the coordinates. Finding the right spot--inside, away from high traffic areas and windows if at all possible--is more difficult, but she eventually relays a set of numbers and letters to him. He grabs the new PINpoint and punches them in while waiting.

Once Gray's changed, Jono straightens and runs his hand back through his hair. "Ready when you are, mate."

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

It doesn't take Gray that long to change, but he doesn't seem interested in breaking out of his somewhat shell-shocked state. Once his shoes are back on, he looks down at himself and then up at Jono. "Ready," he confirms simply, not sure what exactly to expect now.

[psi-flames.livejournal.com]

The trousers are too short, but that's kind of to be expected. Jackson's would have fallen off.

Jono nods, moving forward to put his hand on Gray's shoulder. "Might wanna close yer eyes. Hear tell it's easier on the stomach." He takes another breath before hitting the button to teleport.

Within moments, they appear in a very different room. A study, really, the curtains drawn over the floor to ceiling windows at one end behind the desk. The walls and some of the tables were lined with books the same way Jono's were lined with his music.

In front of the desk stood an imposing woman, dressed all in white. She likely would have been about Jono's height if it hadn't been for her heels. "Jonothon," Emma Frost says in greeting. "And you must be Gray." Walking over, she offers her hand. Not my favorite of names, she adds to Jono, speaking mind to mind.

Emma, he warns her.

She shrugs and nods to the boy. "Jackson is downstairs in the infirmary. There's not much Josh can do for blood loss, so Doctor McCoy has him on an IV drip." Emma tsks softly. "As you can imagine, he's convinced it's very barbaric. You had to find a man who came back from the future."

Jono grins at that. "You don' know the half of it, Emma. Let's jus' say I'm askin' 'im if any of 'is relatives 'ad the las' name of Summers." Given the Summers family complete and utter inability to stay in their own timeline. And sometimes for trying to kill their family members.

[not-skywalker.livejournal.com]

Jackson does think it's very barbaric to have a needle shoved into his arm and given a blood transfusion, but he really isn't in a position to argue much of anything. (Besides, he's decided that he trust both Josh and Dr. McCoy, so if they say it's necessary, then Jackson can only begrudgingly agree to it.)

In the study, Gray looks completely out of his element and blinks away the dizzying array of stars that spark across his field of vision after the teleport. This is ... weird, to say the least.