Title: Owning It
Fandom: Teen Wolf, Blue Bloods, Marvel Comics Universe (Cinematic), Mortal Kombat
Pairings: Stiles Stilinski/Jamie Reagan, Peter Hale/Erin Reagan, Scott McCall/Allison Argent
Warnings: Major Character(s) Death, rampant assholery, snark, not for Scott fans.
Summary: All because Scott made all his decisions with his dick and sided with Hunters over his friends and family the whole world went to shit. Once again, it’s up to Stiles to save the day…all he has to sacrifice is his mortality.
Timeline: This takes place at the end of Season 2 of Teen Wolf, nowhere specific in Mortal Kombat (just borrowing a couple characters, really), nowhere specific in Blue Bloods, just using the characters, and begins before the first Iron Man movie (however, the Marvel movie!verse will play a role in how things chug along).
Beta: Thanks to Icefallstears for being an excellent cheerleader/beta/idea wall
Chapter 12
Stiles shuffled to the door wondering who was visiting him now. He was comfy in his worn t-shirt and sleep pants and was hoping to just screw around online and research all day. It had been a while since he had time to just play with research.
Opening the door, he was surprised to find Jamie Reagan waiting for him on the other side.
“Hi there, Stiles, I was just wondering how you were doing and everything,” Jamie said, feeling a little silly. He didn’t know why he came other than it felt like the right thing to do. He stood there awkwardly until Stiles realized that he should invite his guest in. He liked Jamie, found him a soothing presence, and a safe one. He shoved that thought to the back of his mind and focused on the present.
“Tea? Coffee? Soda?”
“You don’t have to play host for me, Stiles. I just wanted to check in with you.”
“You on shift soon?”
“No, it’s my day off,” he told Stiles as they got comfortable on the couch. “So how have you been? Are you coming back to work soon?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in another 10 days, I think. I’m going crazy here, and the pack won’t let me leave the building without one of them with me; I think they’ve gone a bit hyper-protective since everything happened. Not that I can do much at the moment other than walk slowly and sit slowly and laugh slowly.” His hands in the air expressing all his frustration, Stiles just sighed and fell back against the couch. “What about you?”
“Ah, life has been normal, you know? Work, family, sleep, eat, repeat.” Jamie turned to his host with a hopeful look on his face. “I was hoping you could answer a couple questions for me about hunters, if you don’t mind.”
“Peaked your curiosity on the supernatural, eh? Sure, why not? Come to my research area and we’ll see what I can pull for you while you ask your questions.”
“You’re gonna let me leave again, right?”
“We’ll see,” Stiles responded with a smirk.
Over the next couple of weeks Jamie had returned to Stiles’ home quite a few times for more answers, more research, and most importantly, more of Stiles cooking. Sometimes they ate alone and sometimes with the rest of the pack. It was nice, actually. Jamie had pretty much let work become his life, other than meals with his family. But here with the Hale pack, he felt at home and at ease.
Stiles was interesting, and smart, and an asshole and waaaay too honest about some things. But that’s all right when it isn’t pointed in his direction. Peter — or Villain, as Danny has taken to calling him — discussed law with him, always playing the devil — not the advocate, just the devil — keeping his education fresh and forefront. He really enjoyed the time spent there, and maybe it would continue.
A few weeks later Danny stood at his crime scene, looking at the woman lying on the altar, all arterial spots slit open so she could bleed freely by the killer, and knew exactly who he had to call in. “I want photos taken from every angle so we get a complete picture of the writing.” Hell of a first day for the kid to come back to.
Stiles was in his lab area picking apart a housewife’s computer — a housewife who had taken up corporate espionage against her husband’s competitors without his knowing — or at least that’s what he claims. He bopped his head along to his music as he combed through the files, separating out the encrypted data from the bullshit. A paper ball smacked him on the side of the head, bringing him out of his little world abruptly.
“What, what, what?”
“Need you to look at some photos, tell me what it is exactly we’re looking at.”
“Danny, are you completely incapable of being pol — hello, first day back present.” Stiles grabbed the rest of the photos from Danny and spread them on his desk so he could see all of them. “Wow, you’re dealing with one hell of an amateur.”
“What are you talking about? All that is an amateur?” Baez asked. “That’s a hell of a lot of work from someone who doesn’t really know what they’re doing.”
“That’s an understatement. Not just an amateur, but an idiot to boot.” Stiles grabbed a transparency film and placed it on top of the aerial view that Danny made the tech take. “Look here. This half of the inner ring is Greek, this half is Norse, this ring is in Latin, and this one is Gaelic. At no point should a ritual that needs physical markings be in more than one language. Also? I recognize some of these from separate rituals. He pretty much cut and pasted the parts he liked.”
“And? What’s he saying?”
“He’s saying he wants the perfect woman who won’t sin against him or his beliefs, who will obey his every wish, fulfill his every need.” Stiles handed the pictures back to Danny. “He’s definitely going to need a psych consult when you get him.”
“Oh, yeah? And how exactly do we go about getting someone like this?”
“You follow the money. The books where these statements come from? They’re rare. Only the Latin one is common. All the other languages are parts of a whole that come from books that have maybe 2 or 3 copies left in the world. One copy of each is at the New York Library, and you need to sign in and out for the privilege of even sniffing the book case they’re housed in.”
“Ah, kid, you’re still my favorite.”
“My heart is aflutter. Go away.”
Baez laughed, ruffled his hair, and took her partner with her to do their own detective work.
Stiles wondered if Jamie was working this one, and if he wasn’t, he’d tell him about it.
“Captain? Are you alright?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Tony Stark, I helped de-thaw you.”
“Well, that’s not creepy at all to say to someone.”
“I’ve got creepier, don’t worry.”
“Villain! How ya doing? I’m gonna steal my sister away from you for a few minutes,” Danny said sliding into Erin’s office.
“Must you call me that?” Peter asked, rising to leave the siblings alone.
“Yep.”
“Danny, grow up, please.” Erin smiled at Peter as he left, turning to her brother in exasperation. “This better be good. That’s the first relaxing conversation I’ve had all week. What do you want?”
“Aw, c’mon, sis, can’t I just want to see you?”
“No.”
“Right. I need to know how likely this guy is going to plead an insanity defense.”
“Mr. Hale?”
“Yes, Nikki?” Derek answered as he packed up his papers for the day. Nikki Reagan waited for him patiently in the doorway.
“Do you think Stiles would mind teaching me some stuff?”
“Nikki, you’re going to have to be more specific. And also, you should probably ask Stiles, not me.”
“Yeah, but you’re, you know, in charge. Don’t you have to give permission or something?”
“Stiles can do what he likes with his time. We all like your family, so he knows I wouldn’t have a problem with him teaching you. What exactly did you want to learn?”
“Some martial arts, if he doesn’t mind. I’m supposed to find something to calm me down and focus, and my advisor suggested some kind of martial art or yoga.”
“Didn’t want to do yoga?”
“It’s too easy to get lost in my own head doing that kind of stuff.”
“Ah, well, go ask Stiles. Or ask your Uncle Jamie to ask for you since we’ll probably see him tonight.”
“They’ve been spending a lot of time together.”
“Yes, yes they have.”
“Are they dating?”
“Not yet.”
“Stilinski will not be a member of the Initiative, Fury.”
“He’s perfect for it! Put him on the list.”
“No, not only would his pack come after you if his name was on the list, but Pepper would eviscerate you.”
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of that woman over the wolves, Coulson?”
“Pepper is scary enough that Tony does his best to never cross her intentionally. But worse than that, Stiles and Pepper would team up to ruin you. Vindictive doesn’t even cover what the two of them are when pissed off at the same target.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“That Senator that kept ‘accidentally’ touching Pepper’s breast at the function six months ago? Everything that happened to him was them on a rampage.”
“Right, Stilinski is on the list for research help.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Coulson? This conversation never happened.”
“I like my balls exactly where they are, too, sir.”
Chapter 13
“I know you’re feeling stifled, Stiles, but you need security 24/7.”
“Agent Coulson, I work for the NYPD, there are plenty of people there who can watch me, not to mention my pack.”
“Considering another emissary was killed two weeks ago by some witch hunters, I — we — think you need all the protection you can get. Word is getting out that you exist.”
Stiles was running through his katas. Sometimes it was the only thing that kept him sane, his brain in one relative space. The first floor of their building, they decided, would be a gym/sparring area for all of them to use — and also so that there was no one living on the first floor.
Stiles felt comfortable enough here to work out in just his sleep pants, baring his tattoos without fear. Each one symbolizing plenty, a story written over his body. So he was understandably surprised when Jamie Reagan walked in mid kata. “Um, hi?” Stiles scrambled for a shirt. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your day or embarrass you,” Jamie said, gesturing at his frenzy to get dressed. “It’s not like you need to hide, you have a good body, and some pretty awesome tattoos.”
Stiles just laughed humorously and stopped trying to get dressed. “These? They’re not ‘awesome tattoos, Jamie. These are the result of years of training and studying to be an emissary. These awesome tattoos –”
“Stiles –” Jamie started in apology.
“– no, these awesome tattoos are what signify what level of emissary I am, how powerful I am, and in turn, exactly how dangerous I am to my enemies. It also, just for kicks and giggles, signifies exactly how big of a target there is on me.”
“Target? Stiles?” Jamie sat down on the bench next to him. “I am so sorry, I wasn’t trying to insult you, I just like the way they look. But really, please explain how you’re a target.”
Stiles took a deep breath and began, “Emissaries used to be pretty common. Each pack had an emissary, or sometimes an area had one. Emissaries keep everyone sane, advise them on all sorts of things, are the source of knowledge and protection in a shit ton of areas. When another pack wants to speak to mine, I’m the mediator.
“About twenty years ago there were approximately 600 emissaries worldwide and half that in training to become one. Today there are 42 emissaries worldwide thanks to hunters gunning them down mostly. There’s been a few natural deaths, of course, but there hasn’t been anyone training to take over their positions. At this moment, I’m the emissary not just for my pack but for New York as a whole. I had no idea it was going to turn out like that when we decided to move out here.”
Jamie just stared at Stiles in awe. That was a hell of a lot of responsibility to put on one person. “And then of course on top of that, I’m a special case. Something happened years ago, I really can’t discuss it, but I’m immortal now. Once I turn 30 I’ll stop aging physically as well. I mean, don’t start calling me Connor or Duncan or anything, but yeah, I’m gonna live forever.”
Jamie took a moment to digest all that. “I preferred Methos.”
Stiles threw his towel at his head. “You asshole.”
“Takes one to know one,” Jamie laughed.
“Coulson, take Hawkeye, go to New Mexico.”
“Stiles? Is something wrong?” Katie Bess asked him while working on the trace evidence in front of her.
“I — I don’t know.” The people around him quieted. They’d all learned from one person or another to trust Stiles about pending doom of any kind. “It just feels like something’s coming. Something really, really big.” His coworkers paled. “But not yet, we still have time.” He went back to his task.
The feeling was getting worse by the day. Everyone in the lab watched him, waiting for him to say something more on the subject, but he didn’t have any more. He just knew that it would be soon.
Word had trickled up to Frank who started putting quiet plans in motion for supplies.
“Well, Francis, I believe it’s your turn to say Grace,” Henry Reagan announced at Sunday dinner.
“Right. Thank you, Lord, for providing us with this delicious bounty. And thank you for bringing new friends into our life. Amen.”
“Amen,” the rest of the Reagans repeated and dug into their food.
“What new friends, Grandpa?” asked Jack, Danny’s eldest.
“Well, you’ve heard us talk about the Hales and Stiles, right? They’re new-ish friends that have been helping all of us a lot lately.”
“We’re helping them, too, right?” Jamie asked, adding more mashed potatoes to his plate.
“What do you mean, Jamie?” Linda asked.
“I had a talk with Stiles a few days ago, and it made me hyperaware of his location at all times.”
“Jamie?” Frank prompted, putting his cutlery down. Everyone’s attention on him made Jamie a bit nervous about this information.
“Stiles explained how much danger he was in, how rare people like him are,” he hedged, quickly sparing a glance towards his nephews. “He has a pretty large target on his back on top of all his responsibilities.”
Danny and his father had a silent conversation for a moment before speaking up. “Let’s table that until after dinner. I’m thinking we’re gonna need more detail than that. And you, Jamie-boy, have been spending a lot of time with Stiles. You guys BFFs or something now?”
“Shut up, Danny! Don’t be –”
“Jamie.” Erin interrupted, “what do you know about Peter?”
“Villain? Why you asking about Villain, Erin?” Danny asked before Jamie could answer.
“I’m just curious. I work with the guy.”
“Um-hum.”
Dinner continued on with light teasing, no one getting a free pass.
A week later Stiles was back working his shift when he suddenly felt the need to step back from his desk. “It’s happening.”
“Stiles?” Mark Vocce prompted, stepping back from his computer. “Stiles, what is happening?”
Again silence was sweeping the room.
“Shut down your work, put away the evidence in fire proof/water proof containers. Get the fuck off this floor and to lower ground. Take the stairs.”
“Stiles!” Katie tried getting his attention for more detail, but he was already moving. At once the rest of room burst into action. Mark called the lab head while Katie called Detective Reagan, she knew he would know who to call from there. On the way out no one mentioned the softly glowing runes on their coworker’s face and neck where nothing had been before.
Chapter 14
There was pressure building in the air, pressure that everyone and anyone could feel.
There was absolutely nothing good about this feeling.
Stiles lead everyone downstairs, word having gotten around to the other floors. They all took the stairs without a word of objection unless they were handicapped. It seemed that Detective Reagan and also managed to get all the officers moving and they all met on the ground floor and spilling out of the station.
“Stiles, what the hell?” Danny asked moving over towards him. As he got closer he noticed Stiles was glowing, his tattoos giving off a faint blue light. “Stiles?”
“We’re going to need to get everyone moving towards sturdy buildings, bank vaults, subway stations, anything out of the way of falling debris.”
“Stiles!” Danny was still trying to get his attention. Once Stiles turned his eyes towards him, Danny regretted that desire. Stiles’ eyes were white and glowing with power, everything about him was getting stronger, otherworldly.
“The first floor of all the precincts should be safe, I’ve renewed the protections on all of them, fixed those that were broken. We need officers keeping civilians calm and stopping traffic, clearing the roads. We need everyone out of their vehicles and into safe places.”
By now everyone around him was silent and listening. There had been rumors about him that sounded fantastical, there had been facts about him that sounded downright impossible. Right now everyone believed everything they had previously heard.
“Move, Danny, move now!” And with that Stiles walked off to the middle of the road glowing even more.
Derek stopped speaking to his students, head cocked to the side as if he was listening to something none of the students could hear. He straightened after a minute, extremely serious and started barking out orders to the kids. “All of you need to pack up right now, when you’re done you will follow me and we’ll bring the rest of the school to a safe area.”
“Mr. Hale!” “What the fuck?” “Safe area? What’s going on?” “Dude, are you fucked in the head or something?”
A whistle pierced the area, everyone turning to look at Nikki Reagan. “Seriously, people, balls up.” She walked to the front with her bag, stopping at Derek’s desk. “Mr. Hale, what else do you need?”
“Thank you, Nicky. I need you to make an announcement on the intercom so the rest of the school follows suit. This classes job is to keep everyone else calm and together. To put it in terms you will all understand, bad shit is about to go down. We’re about to be invaded.”
The students didn’t know what to believe, but some automatically started panicking. “Stay calm!” he all but growled, his eyes flashing red. “Now, I’m going to shift,” he directed this towards Nicky, “so don’t be afraid. I will still be able to understand you. Under no circumstances should you get in front of me. I won’t harm or bite any of you, but I can’t protect you if you aren’t behind me.” He started taking off his shirt and tie. “Nicky, I’ll need you to put my clothes in my bag and take it with you. You’ll be coming with me once we drop the rest of the school off. We need to get to Stiles.” he stepped behind a screen he kept in the room just for this reason to finish getting undressed.
And a minute later to everyone’s shock there was now a big black wolf with red eyes standing at the head of the class.
Peter stopped mid-sentence while in the break room with Erin and some other colleagues. “Peter?” Erin asked, concerned at the paling of his face.
“Right. Well, it seems we’re in for a bit of trouble.” He held up a hand stopping any comments before he continued. “Stiles has directed everyone to get to lower ground. This building has protections on it, but it would be safer for everyone not to be on the higher floors. Go get your bags quickly, laptops if they’re easily accessible and start heading down the stairs.”
At that moment Erin received a text message on her phone with the same directive. “My father’s office just sent out the same message. Let’s get moving, people!” Peter held her back from leaving the room after the others.
“I need you to take my clothes. I’m going to be shifting to my wolf form, and would rather not waste such an exquisite outfit — expensive, too. Would you mind terribly?”
“Of course not. Go gather your things in your office, I’ll come get you when I’m done in mine.”
“Excellent.”
Stiles stood in the middle of the road glowing and sending his pack instructions. He hoped that not only his pack was receiving them, but all the supernatural elements in the area. He hoped they arrived soon, as he was going to need the help for what he felt was coming.
Meanwhile, those that stayed at the station were just staring at the young man who had made himself de facto in charge. Well, everyone except Jamie Reagan, who ran right out to join the emissary.
“Stiles, what the hell is going on?”
All over the city werewolves heard the emissary’s request and all over the city he was obeyed.
Derek and Peter arrived with Nicky and Erin, joining Stiles, Jamie, and now Danny in the center of the street. “Do not shoot!” Danny yelled out at everyone. “They’re friendlies!”
Stiles sighed, putting a hand on Derek’s head. “You’re here,” he said with relief. “Thank you.” Derek bumped his head against Stiles’ hip.
“It’s time Derek, sound out the call.” Derek instantly obeyed, letting out a massive roar, Peter joining in. From all over the city wolves answered, heading towards the origin of the call.
Jaime was getting scared now, no one was answering his question. “Stiles, what is going on? Why aren’t you getting to safety?”
“My place is here, Jamie. My packs place is here, helping protect. We can’t go anywhere but where we are.”
“Stiles,” Jamie said, leaning his forehead against Stiles, “I swear to all that’s holy if you don’t make it out of this intact I’m going to kill you.”
“Aw, Jamie, that’s so sweet!”
“Shut up, asshole.”
Before Stiles could respond a storm — a very unnatural storm — started gathering above them.
“Is this you?” Danny asked. Derek and Peter pressed closer to Stiles.
“Nope.”
“Stiles, what the hell is going on?”
There was now an eye to the storm and it looked like something was coming through.
Stiles just looked up and braced himself while answering, “Unauthorized off-world activation.”
Chapter 15
Stiles woke up with a start, confused as to where he was. White walls, beeping noises, Derek in the chair next to the bed — hospital. Why was he in a hospital? He tried to sit up, but there was a lot of pain in his chest telling him that it was a Very Bad Idea.
And then he remembered.
Fucking McCall, that motherfucker.
“What the hell is coming through the freaky hole in the sky?” Danny asked while pulling in closer to everyone in the street.
“You ask like I know the answers,” Stiles replied watching them get closer to the Earth. “Now would probably be a good time to get people indoors if they aren’t already. I’m betting panic will be the word of the day.”
“Excellent idea, Mr. Stilinski,” the Commissioner said, showing up from out of nowhere. “Let’s go, people, I want crowd control happening across all the precincts. Civilians need to be inside, ground level, off the streets,” he ordered the officer, starting movement from where everyone was before just watching the sky.
The alien ships and gliders — or whatever the hell they were — neared, making everyone on the ground tense up in anticipation. The wolves surrounding Stiles readied themselves to pounce while the Hale pack stayed as they were to protect their Emissary.
Jamie took Stiles’ face in his hands again and kissed him passionately, yet chastely. “You better fucking survive this, Stiles.”
“Yes, sir,” Stiles replied with a smile.
“Now I need you to help some of these guys with herding people off the immediate area. This is going to become a war zone in a few minutes,” he directed towards the Reagan’s hanging around. “Keep people from shooting the wolves, if you aren’t panicking around them, neither will they — hopefully.”
“Sir.”
“Yes, Coulson? We’re a bit busy right now if you haven’t noticed,” snapped Fury.
“I had, what with my bleeding all over your floor here. Thought you might want to know that it seems the packs of New York are working along side the NYPD to do crowd containment.” He tapped his earpiece as he explained.
“What? How the fuck did that happen?”
“I’m going to assume Mr. Stilinski has something to do with it, and leave them to it.”
“I don’t care. Just get the hell into the infirmary before you bleed out completely.”
“Let Natasha know where I am, please,” he requested as the medics set him on the gurney.
“After it’s all over.”
“What? Sir, if you do that, she’s going to be pissed. At you.”
“Just get out of here.”
Gliders were almost on top of them while Stiles kept watch on the city through all the wolves’ eyes. He directed them where they were needed, the NYPD taking their cue from the beasts beside them.
Reveling in the chaos he had created, Loki was distracted by magic. There was a source of magic, very light magic, and it was coming from somewhere south of him. This warranted some investigation.
Tony Stark was ecstatic to see that the wolves and NYPD were mobilizing on their own and didn’t need any help from the Avengers or SHIELD; it meant they could concentrate on that pain in the ass Loki instead of the civilians. Well, mostly not the civilians. Those glider assholes sure seem to be aiming for them.
Clint Barton was so happy to be in control of himself once more — well, as much control as Natasha let him have. Where was that Asgard asshole? He owed him an arrow or three in the eye.
Stiles was doing his best to shield those around him as he directed the wolves to where they were most needed. Keeping mental contact like this was draining, but his pack was around him, lending their strength. He had no idea of the site he made, standing there with glowing tattoos, eyes whited out and seemingly glowing as well.
The closer he got to the magical source, the sweeter the feeling was. It was worrying, to him, that there was a Midgardian with such power in existence, and that whomever it was, they were working against him. The Trickster God was overcome with a need to annihilate this source of magic; nothing was to get in the way of his goals.
The Avengers continued fighting, trying to reach Loki before anything else happened.
“I’ve got a location,” Hawkeye reported from a rooftop. “He’s heading to the Stilinski kid’s precinct.”
“Copy that,” responded the Captain, “We’re on our way.”
“Better make it fast, because it looks like Stiles is his tar — Holy shit!”
“Hawkeye? Hawkeye, report! We’re almost at your location.”
Some malevolent force was coming Stiles’ way and it was getting harder and harder to focus on the task at hand the closer it came. Focusing on what was happening in front of him he was shocked to see that the Bad Guy of the Day was almost on top of him and his wolves.
But something was off. The feeling that was coming off this man was almost flickering, as if it was fighting itself or some other force.
“Dude, what the fuck’s wrong with you?” Stiles asked before Loki could even utter a word. He had a definite feeling from the Hales that they were trying to facepalm. “No, seriously, what’s wrong?”
Loki stopped approaching the young magic man and cocked his head. “You do not fear me?”
“I’ve seen bigger and badder. But there’s something –” Stiles stopped when he noticed the man’s eyes. “Ah.”
“How eloquent. And since when do the peons of Midgard have magic? What gives you the right to wield such great power?”
“Hey, Peter,” Stiles said, patting Peter’s head, “He sounds just like you! How awesome is that? Now Danny will never stop calling you Villain.” Peter bumped his head against Stiles’ hip in exasperation, wanting him to focus back on the task at hand.
“Oh, right, bad guy. So bad guy,” Stiles began stepping closer to Loki, “what’s up with the eyes? Those don’t look natural at all .”
More wolves had returned to the area, feeling that their emissary was in danger. They silently surrounded the two men speaking, keeping any gliders and officers out of the way. The Avengers were now almost upon them, as well.
“I do not know what you speak of, there is nothing unnatural about me! Do you not know who I am? What I will do to you? To everyone?”
“I’m not actually caring that much, really. I kinda just want to know what’s up with the eyes. Bad guy monologue not necessary.”
“Brother –” Thor began, landing by his brothers side, but was interrupted by Stiles.
“Brother? You’re his brother? Do you know what’s up with his eyes? Are they normally like that?”
“Kid, get the hell away from that guy. Don’t you get that he’s the one causing all this?” Iron Man demanded from overhead.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s completely obvious. Whatever. I want to know about his eyes. There’s something just so, I don’t know, off about them.” Again, he moved closer to Loki, moving right up into his face.
Thor moved up beside him, being sure to keep himself somewhat between the odd human and his brother. Loki, for some unknown reason, was standing still and letting this happen.
“Brother, there is indeed something amiss with your eyes! What is this trickery?” Thor boomed in concern.
“Hmm,” was all Stiles uttered as he reached up and placed his hands on Loki’s face.
“Kid, I don’t think a mind meld is going to actually work,” Stark snarked. He would have continued, but at that point he was notified that the World Council was about to fire off a nuke without a care for the consequences. “Shit, gotta go, kiddies.”
“Wait, Stark!” Captain America called out, uneasy with the information flying through their earwigs.
“Quiet,” Stiles said quietly, and he continued with his task. Suddenly, both Stiles and Loki’s heads snapped back, looking up at they sky. Once again, Stiles was glowing, but this time he was not alone. A blue light was shining from Loki’s eyes. It lasted about 10 minutes before they both snapped out of it, sagging towards the ground.
“Brother?”
“Thor,” Loki pleaded, “you must warn them of what’s coming.”
Jamie had run back out towards Stiles during the light show and caught him as he fell. “Stiles? Stiles, are you alright?”
Stiles just turned his face into Jamie’s neck, cuddling. “M’fine. But –”
“But nothing, son, that was some good work. Go rest and let us take care of getting explanations,” looking at Thor and Loki, “and whatever else is left,” the Captain told him.
“Yeah, sure, whatever. But the Hulk –” and here the Hulk made an inquisitive noise — “the Hulk needs to go catch Tony.” At that, everyone looked up at the hole in the sky where Stiles was pointing, seeing Iron Man fly right into it with the nuke. “I don’t think his suit is going to hold up that high in the atmosphere.”
“Hulk, go,” ordered the Captain. “Officer, please take Stiles home or somewhere he can recuperate.”
“Yes, sir,” Jamie replied. “That is the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
Around them the gliders and dragon like things were shutting down, the invaders dying as the nuke exploded.
Maneuvering Stiles so that he could see his face, Jamie asked, “Stiles, can you walk on your own?”
“Only if you keep me steady,” he said sheepishly. “You realize you pretty much came out of the closet in front of your whole family and your fellow officers, right?” A couple of other officers came over to help Jamie and Thor bring the two men out of the street.
“I don’t really care right now, Stiles.”
“You guys need to go help the cops find anyone trapped, okay?” Stiles asked of the wolves following along side.
Since everyone was watching Stiles, no one noticed Rafael McCall standing by the precinct, just watching events unfold in the street. No one noticed him the draw his gun and fire.
But everyone noticed Stiles sag, red blooming across his chest.
Chapter 16
“Der’?” Stiles croaked.
Derek popped off a text to everyone to let them know that Stiles was awake. The idiot. Feeding him a couple ice chips, he then propped up the head of the bed so that Stiles could comfortably face the pending crowd without strain.
“Where’s Jamie?” Stiles was a little hazy on the memories, but he distinctly remembered a kiss – a kiss in front of all and sundry, and oh boy, everyone saw that and they were in so much trouble and what the hell?
“Stiles, you need to calm down,” Derek said, laying a hand on his chest while glancing at the monitors that were starting to go a little nuts.
“Oh, uh, oops?” Stiles said sheepishly, realizing that his brain running away like that was reflected on all the machines he was hooked up to. “Um, we got him, right?”
“Just hang on until everyone gets here – yes, including Jamie who went home to shower and change finally – and you can get all the answers you want, idiot.”
Knowing Jamie was fine and returning soon was enough for Stiles to calm down somewhat. He watched as Derek fussed over him, tucking the blanket around him, feeding him ice chips, letting air into the room.
Finally, Commissioner Reagan, Danny, Erin, Nicky, Peter, Cora, Phil, Stark, Pepper, and Clint all filed in with Jamie rushing behind them.
“Hey, you’re finally up again,” he said with a smile, taking Stiles’ hand. “How do you feel?”
“Eh, I’m not really feeling much of anything at the moment, but I’m sure once the drugs wear off and Derek stops sneaking in his little mojo stuff – yep, I caught that, Sourwolf – I’ll be feeling it all kinds of bad.”
“You scared us, Mr. Stilinski,” Frank told him, still remembering seeing his son coated in his boyfriend’s blood. “Thought we were going to lose you there.”
“Ah, that’s not gonna happen, remember? And that’s probably left better for a time a place not open to reporters.” Stiles gestured to the man Peter had by the neck, dangling a foot in the air with camera and mic in hand. “Intruder alert?”
“Peter, would you mind walking him down to security?” Frank asked with a sigh.
“I’ll go with him,” Erin offered with a laugh. Stiles was right, nothing really important could be discussed in this place, not with how the hospital was so open to this kind of thing.
“How soon can we get the trouble magnet back to his place?” Danny asked, knowing that the apartment was the safest place for his friend.
“Actually, if Jamie agrees to stay with him and Mr. Stark agrees to get a nurse or someone in to check on him daily –” Stark nodded in agreement at Linda who was speaking now — “then Stiles can be discharged now, we were just waiting for him to wake up naturally again. The wound is clean and there’s no sign of infection. All of his checks have been clear and we know that safety is a concern. So go on, scoot.” Linda handed Derek some of the paperwork to sign to speed things along while Danny and Jamie helped pack up all the gifts and other personal items around the room.
Over the last week Stiles had received plenty of airtime showcasing his heroic deeds on the day of the battle. As a result he had been gifted anything from cards, candy, and flowers to marriage proposals, underwear, and bombs. There was a security detail – Stark’s, of course – going through anything that was sent to Stiles just to be on the safe side, and it was a very good precaution. All death threats were being taken very seriously.
As they all trooped into Stiles home, Frank wasted no time getting into matters.
“I’m sorry to tell you, Stiles, but once you are on your feet you’re going to have to appear at a press conference.”
“Wait, what? Why?” It was almost a whine and said in such a way that Jaime was laughing as he started putting everything away with Derek and Peter’s help. Cora started making up the lazy boy chair area so that Stiles would have his laptop near him in a comfortable way while the nurse brought over the equipment to hook him back up to the IV to keep him on antibiotics a bit longer. He might be out of the hospital, but he still needed to be on medications.
“Stiles,” Phil Coulson began, “this nurse is from SHIELD and has been vetted through our systems. She has already signed all the necessary forms and so is cleared for all the information you’ll be sharing. She is aware of the consequences should anything get out and she is found to be the leak. She is also a member of one of the local packs, which is why we are so comfortable having her around. She is also going to be checking any mail that comes in, just in case anything gets through.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever floats your boat.”
Stiles took the time to look at his new nurse, she seemed okay. Wasn’t giving anyone the stink eye or being overly curious about anything specific in his home. “So Agent Nurse, do I get to know your name? Having me make one up for you is always an option, but most people don’t really choose it.”
“Rachel, my name is Rachel Carson, Mr. Stilinski,” she answered with amusement. “If you feel any discomfort, please let me know immediately. The bullet did quite a bit of damage and we need to be careful with your recovery not to do any more, all right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Turning to the rest of the group who had settled in by now, Stiles had continued with what he had wanted to say earlier. “You do all remember that I’m immortal, right? That while I can still be damaged, hurt, and brought to the brink of death, I won’t actually die. When I came back in time I gave up the option of dying a final death. When I turn 30 I will actually stop aging – and I think I finally have something in place for that – but I won’t die. It’s not amazing, it’s going to be painful to see you all pass as I continue to live on. But for now, take comfort in the fact that my enemies won’t be able to kill me.”
They all let that roll around in their heads for a bit before Frank pressed on. “Aside from that, we have the problem of the press. There were cameras rolling during most of the battle, and they caught everything that went on in that street, Stiles. You’ve become the face of the supernatural, which has pretty much been outed. On the whole, werewolves have come out of this looking like heroes in their own right. However, that can flip on a dime, so you need to come out in front of this strong and united.”
“What about hunters?” Peter asked. “Are we going to inform the public about a ready formed organization full of killers that breed like it’s a legacy to be handed from parent to child? Just like those that ruined our family?” At Erin’s comforting touch, Peter relaxed and calmed a bit, but the question stood.
“I don’t think you should. I think if you give hunters the spotlight then you’re legitimizing them. If you let someone else bring them to light, then they seem like a seedy underground organization and the public might take care of them for us.” As the debates started in after Jamie’s statement, Stiles settled back in his chair and let it all flow over him. He was still curious about what happened after he was shot and no one had been nice enough to fill him in yet.
“This is all very important and interesting and I’m sure at some point someone will have an interesting and important answer, but does anyone want to tell me what happened during the battle that I wasn’t aware of and, you know, what happened after I was shot? Please?”
Nicky started giggling first, which made Danny break out laughing which set everyone else off. While Stiles didn’t know what was so funny, at least everyone had settled down.
“Right, so Big Thunder’s brother had been taken over by some guy who has a hard on for Lady Death apparently, and he sent him over here to ready Earth for a takeover. This, apparently, included setting those alien guys on us. That’s what we all were dealing with. What you didn’t see was Birdbrain over there –”
“Would you stop calling me that!”
“– getting his brain scrambled by said brother, but obviously we got him back. Then Agent Agent over there got himself almost dead – but we thought he was D-E-D dead – and then we found out he wasn’t at all dead, and now we’re pissed at him.”
“It was not my idea, Stark.”
“Your furry friends were instrumental in keeping all the civilians safe from falling debris and in a lot of cases finding those who were trapped from it. They helped the NYPD and all the other agencies to keep control of the city and I’m pretty sure we would have been screwed without them. I’m sure other species in the supernatural bracket were helping, but we did our best not to call attention to them.”
Whacking Stark over the head, Jamie continued, “Agent McCall blamed you for everything going on with Scott, according to Melissa. When no one would step up to defend him against jail time he was pretty pissed and started trying to pull favors. His behavior started setting off a few red flags and the FBI starting looking at him a little more closely. Turns out he hasn’t been such a law abiding Special Agent and they canned his ass. So after losing his badge on top of everything with Scott and his grudge against your dad – his big answer was to try and kill you.”
“But he’s dead.”
“He’s no longer anybody’s problem,” Jamie reassured him.
“Well, thank fuck for that.” Jamie squeezed his hand, not wanting to do more than that in front of his family.
“That brings us to our next topic with the press,” Erin announced, smiling this time at the pair.
“Oh, no, we are not discussing this. We haven’t even discussed this yet,” Stiles whined in despair, trying to stave off what he knew was going to be a very uncomfortable conversation.
“Well, you’re going to have to talk about it sometime, kid, as the whole of everybody pretty much saw him lay one on you in full technicolor,” Stark chimed in.
“You,” Stiles said, finger pointing in Stark’s direction, “you are getting waaaaaay too much enjoyment out of this.”
“It’s always fun when someone else’s tuchas is squirming in the spotlight. I feel no guilt. Guiltless, that’s me.”
“Yeah, well, our whole class will be talking about how Mr. Hale here shifted into a great big Alpha wolf and everything, but at least he stripped in private, so the parents can’t complain about that,” Nicky offered, trying to give her Uncle Jaime a slight way out.
“Dude!” “Nephew?” “Derek, what the hell?”
“It was an emergency! There was a privacy screen in the room for that very reason, and Nicky followed my every direction. And then everyone in the school followed hers, thankfully. We’ll see if there’s any fallout once school starts back, but I don’t think any of the kids had time to take a picture, so it will just be word of mouth at this point. But we were pretty visible out there in the street.” Derek was doing his best to keep them all calm, but he, too, was worried about what would happen when things went back to routine.
“Well, I for one want to take a nap and digest all the lovely things you just threw at me –”
“You asked us to tell you, moron!”
“Shut up, Cora.”
“You shut up, Derek.”
“– so how about we table all this until after I get some rest, we make some press plans and then regroup with Garrett and get an idea of when I’ll be able to function like a normal boy once again, plus how this will affect all our jobs?”
“Sounds good to me. I need to get home to the boys and Linda, anyway.”
“I’m with Danny, Pop is probably pacing a hole in the floor wanting to know what’s up.” The Commissioner lead the way to the door where everyone but Jamie started filing out. “You get some rest, too, Jamie. Your CO has you off shift until tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“So are we going to have the ‘us’ talk now?” Stiles asked, playing with the blanket, afraid to look at Jamie now that they were alone.
“Stiles, aside from the what happens to me when you turn 30, I’m just good with us taking things as they come. I like you, I really care about you, I really enjoy spending time you and learning new things with you. There’s no reason that has to change. But I’m a pretty private person, and while I enjoy going to the park and playing lacrosse with you, or soccer, or whatever, I have just as much fun sitting here making fun of cop shows that do it wrong, or superhero shows, or sitting quietly on the couch reading.” He took Stiles’ hands in his and just held them until Stiles looked up. “I’m not really into public displays of affection, but hand holding and hugs here and there are okay. Male or female, I’ve always been like that.”
“So that kiss was just –”
“Special, that kiss was special.” Jamie searched Stiles’ face, and seemed to find what he was looking for since he leaned forward, pressing another kiss to his lips. He took his time, savoring having this man to himself finally, after days of having to share him with everyone else. Stiles parted his lips slightly in invitation and Jamie acquiesced, pressing in with some tongue, tasting him. They both enjoyed the intensity of the moment, and yet knew it would go no further. There was no reason, they had time.
Breaking apart, Jamie leaned his forehead against Stiles, breathing slightly rough. “I have been waiting for quite a while to do that, you know.”
“And it only took an alien invasion to make it happen?” Stiles replied with a bit of cheek.
“Shut up.”
Stiles laughed as he lay down and got comfortable for the nap he had spoken about earlier. “Are you going to nap with me? No funny business, I promise!”
“Yeah, I’m just gonna get my sweats first. Why don’t you tell me about what happens when you’re 30, though?”
“You mean to you?”
“Yeah.”
“Um, well, it’s really when you turn 30. You have the option when you’re 30 of being like me, immortal. It was a small caveat in the spell so that whomever is the original receiver of the immortality doesn’t have to go through it alone and thereby end up going nuts. This way they have someone by their side.”
“So we have time?”
“We have time, and you can say no, Jamie. I’d understand, you know.”
“It’s something to think about.”
“But not now.”
“No, not now.”
Stiles almost tripped into the press room. He would have rathered it was a full on fall, then he might be injured and then be excused from participating in this time waster all together. But he respected the Commissioner too much to just run away from this farce, no matter how much he wanted to. And he really, really, really wanted to.
The resident Emissary had started back to work a week ago, light duty – definitely no field work – much to the delight of his coworkers. Stiles’ fears of being ostracized by them were for nothing. They were grateful that he had gotten them out of there, happy that he was safe and in one peace, and mostly annoyed that he had not given them any clue he was dating the PC’s son. Once he explained he hadn’t been until that day, things were a little better. But now he owed them cake. “But I’m the one who was injured! How do I owe you cake?” He had asked incredulously.
“It’s just how it is, deal with it,” was all he was told in reply. He (not so) gracefully gave in and brought in red velvet cake the next day in apology. All was forgiven. He had missed being in this geek haven, stupid alien invasion.
And then that was ruined when he was called to the PC’s office to be informed that the dreaded press conference was to occur. Finally. Apparently people still wanted to know what was up with the furry people and if they were going to start harming people now that they were done saving them.
It started off okay. There were some questions about his health, about the man who had shot him. He quickly answered them with vague enough answers to satisfy them without making it look like he was uncomfortable or doing the pee-pee dance.
Then it started going downhill fast. “So are you gay?”
“Are you?”
“Excuse me?”
“Why?”
It was like watching a ping pong match for most of the spectators in the room as Stiles hit his stride. Dealing with stupid people and idiots was just a thing Stiles did well, but he wouldn’t tolerate it for long. Frank was waiting for the fuse to blow, but he would enjoy the burn in the meantime.
“You haven’t answered the question, are you hiding something? Are you ashamed of your sexuality?”
“I don’t even know your name, lady, why the hell would I discuss something as intensely private as my sexuality with you? Why would anyone? Yes, I’m dating a guy. No, I won’t label myself to appease you. No, it’s not any of your or anyone else’s business. The end. Next question.”
Garrett seemed close to tears he was so horrified by how Stiles was conducting himself, but he was warned about the whole lack of filter before this conference began. In contrast, Frank was having a grand time.
Stiles scanned the sea of leeches in front of him, “Smirking guy, second row. You’re up, make it good.”
“Charlie Randal, for the Times. Mr. Stilinski – I’m not even going to bother trying to pronounce your first name –”
“Good call.”
“– Why did so many of the supernatural come to NYC’s assistance?”
“Thanks for coming through, Charlie. They helped because it was the right thing to do. The NYPD, FDNY, FBI and a whole host of other agencies also came through working together alongside the supernatural residents of New York and surrounding areas because it was what this city needed. It’s probably happened before, and will most likely happen again. It’s not like –” Stiles took a breath and stopped for a moment trying to think of how to phrase it correctly. “I keep saying supernatural like it’s a whole other entity. What you saw that day were mostly werewolves, who normally look just like you and me. Werewolves have normal jobs and live normal lives with normal families and have normal problems because, yeah, you guessed it, Charlie, they’re normal people. They just have a few extra gifts, I guess you could say. They don’t eat people and they don’t kill to stay alive so no, they aren’t a danger to humanity, if that’s your next question.”
“So they aren’t evil?”
“Who ties your shoelaces in the morning?” Stiles fired back at whoever had asked that question. “That is such a stupid question, can’t even – look there are good people and bad people right? I mean, our jails wouldn’t be so full if that wasn’t true. So the same goes for the supernatural community. There are good ones and bad ones. But they are subject to the same rights and the same laws that everyone else follows.”
“How could you let yourself be surrounded by all those monsters?” one reporter asked loudly.
Stiles just stared for a moment, horrified.
“Wow. This a huge room full of stupid.” Stiles face palmed while the rest of room sat in shocked silence. “Seriously, room full of stupid and I’m seriously afraid it’s contagious. It’s not contagious, right?” He asked the Commissioner with a straight face. “I’m too smart to be infected with that kind of stupid. How do you handle all this stupid all the time with such grace? I never, ever, ever want your job, sir.”
Stiles didn’t know it, but cops everywhere watching the press conference were cheering for him.
“How about this? You, who just asked the stupid question, I’ve decided you’re a monster.”
“What?”
“You’re a monster,” he said matter of factly. “I’ve never spoken to you before, never heard of you, don’t know anything about you, but I’m declaring you a monster. Because I can.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, neither do I. You just stood up and yelled out like a first grader who doesn’t know to wait to be called on and labeled every supernatural creature and person that helped me that day a monster. I can only surmise that you’re too stupid to know better.”
Stiles started walking out of the room. “I can’t handle this level of stupid, sorry, sir.”
“No problem, Stiles, go on back to work.”
“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when you forget your manners in front of someone who doesn’t give a crap about diplomacy. I’ll reiterate what he said. Everyone in this city is subject to the same rights and the same laws, no matter their faith, their gender, sexuality, or their species. I will not tolerate anyone deciding that just because someone is different that they deserve to die. Good day.”
THE END
That was FUN!
Well done
~L
Absolutely fantastic. Thank you.
That was sooo satisfying 🤩. Thanks for writing and posting!
omg I laughed so hard at “Unauthorized off-world activation.” we are all such geeks.
Fun story! Thank you
Every time I read this fic, I fall more in love with it. Emotions – I had them – ALL the emotions.
Anger, sadness, grief, happiness, cheer, joy, and a lot of laughter at Stiles’ sass. Thanks for the great reading experience!