Oh, my stars and garters;
Ah, no. No, there is no one like that in my life, unfortunately.
Hank can see the way the other man analyzes him. He knows that he’s trying to process the amount of anger flowing through him, and if he’s honest with himself he’s trying to do the same. Had he not picked what surely had to have been the moment when he felt the greatest amount of anger, of hatred, in his life to come into the past to rescue him, only to introduce him to more anger, hatred and frustration, he most likely wouldn’t be so hateful in return. But he had, and looking over his life Hank had never had so much reason to be hateful, to despise those around him.
“I don’t expect her to master them! But I do expect that she control them. I don’t blame her for her mistakes, but I do expect that she holds herself accountable. But no, she’s walking around as if nothing happened, and constantly reassuring those around her that she’s in control when she is not.” Hank scoffs at the idea, no, Henry’s got this all wrong. “I don’t plan to lock her up, I plan to simply pinch a nerve in her neck to put her to sleep. We bring her home, to our home, where the only man in time and space that can best teach her will be able to. I’m not suggesting kidnapping her, I’m not suggesting locking her up. She needs to be home, she needs the Professor, I want to get her help. You lot aren’t able to provide that, and we can’t either. But the Professor can.”
Hank finds himself surprised that he’s suddenly being picked up. And while he wants nothing more than to use his feet, plant them against the other man’s chest, and push off of him, he doesn’t. Instead he allows himself to hang there, though his blood is boiling. He’s been trying to calm down over the past minute, but the other man keeps giving him more to be angry about, he keeps adding fuel to the fire. When he’s thrown however, that’s the final straw. He immediately gets up, picking up a nearby table and throwing it at the man, square in the back. “Should I call you Beast then?” He spits out, waiting to see if the man is going to fight or leave.
Hank can’t help but scoff. “Weren’t you the one who said that Charles would wipe your minds once he saw where you’d been? I think you’re getting a little confused. Do you want to stay or do you want to go? Do you want to change the future or let it run its course?”
Luckily he’s a well-balanced individual, or else that table probably would have knocked him off his feet. But it only sent him lurching forward. He set his jaw at the name-calling, but the truth of it all was, he was used to the name. He’d been called worse by worse people, so Hank only lets his expression soften before he turned his head over his shoulder. “You are the beast, boy. Not I.” He continued on his way, half expecting to have his younger self on his shoulders at any moment.
(Source: thebeastmccoy)
Hank doesn’t let the other man’s reaction startle him, instead he keeps on trucking through his speech, not intending for a moment to let his outburst disturb him. When it comes to an end he addresses the words the other man felt so obliged to shout at him. “She is my mother as well Henry, don’t for a second treat me like I don’t have a right to mention her. As if I’m unworthy to breathe her name because of the way I feel about her. If I wanted to I could argue she is more my mother than yours anyhow. Seeing as I only left her last year, and the obvious fact that I still retain the appearance of her son.” He spits the last part out, his disdain for what his older self has become evident in his every word.
Hank smiles smugly. He knows he’s backed Henry into a corner, and that he’s beat him, and he takes pride in that fact, even though he knows he shouldn’t. “You can’t base decisions of that magnitude on mere hope and longing. That’s what you don’t see. You didn’t do the math this time, you didn’t attempt to figure out the ramifications of your actions. You acted like a fool with the King’s power. You could doom us all, but at least you had your hope right?”
The young teen shakes his head. “You’re kidding me right? I scare you? Look at you… do you understand how frightened I am of becoming what you are? If you fear me because I’m willing to incapacitate Jeannie, then you truly are delusional. She changed Warren’s mind you dolt.” Hank growls out his reply, stepping forward to grab the fabric at the neck of the man’s coat. “She is not Jeannie, no, your present changed that. She’s losing control of her abilities and not one of you seem to care. That girl is not the Jean Grey I care about, she’s something else entirely. And before she changes all our minds for us, we need to get her home.”
Hank laughs coldly before turning away, though not before saying something under his breath he knows Henry can hear. “Coward.”
Ooh, that… That one hurt. Talking about mom was one thing, but rubbing it in his face that this one, this uncaring, ungrateful Hank McCoy could very well just go and waltz in, be embraced by their mother and have her think it was all the way it used to be… That made him burn inside from envy.
When he grabbed his collar Hank only leant his head back, eyes watching the younger one’s face intently, recalling how he was never this angry, this hateful towards anyone. It made him upset, it made him sad, it made him wonder what this one would grow up to be. His lip curled upward in distain and suddenly he didn’t think himself a monster. Suddenly he was looking at one. “Jean doesn’t have control over her powers because she only just got them! You think you get your ability and then suddenly you can control it? It took her years to master her ability, how do you expect her to know it all? What, just because she wanted to keep her friend safe, she’s a monster now? Yes, what she did was wrong, and Katherine is teaching her the error of her ways but this doesn’t happen over night. It takes time, and training, and if you don’t give her that chance, and cage her up like an animal then she’ll never get the chance.”
Hank would’ve let him walk away but he was too frustrated now. Instead he growled, grabbing the younger one by the scruff of his neck and hoisting him up easily into the air. He was still stronger, taller. The younger Hank had his feet off the ground as Hank held him up so they were both face to face. “Stop calling me Henry.” he said, tossing his younger self away down the hall before continuing on his way back to the lab. Hoping to not be followed, this time around.
(Source: thebeastmccoy)
“But you sure as hell didn’t tell us the truth either, did you Henry?” Hank is angry with his older self, for the mere fact that he can’t see his mistake, that he refuses to admit to it so he doesn’t have to take the blame. “You made a mistake, you played us, me, into getting us to come here. Can’t you admit that you’ve used me? Because from where I’m standing I was played like the Bishop used to lure in the Knights, as well as the King and Queen.”
Hank wants to laugh in his face, but he also wants to hit him. His hand balls into a fist and he’s about ready to throw it when he’s hit with a wave of pity. He can tell the older man is conflicted, and that maybe he’s only delusional. Maybe after all this time he’s just begun to lose his mind. There’s only so much a mind can tolerate, and perhaps his has long passed it’s breaking point.
“You need to learn to let go then Henry. Your password is still mom and dad’s name? They didn’t accept us. From the moment we discovered who we were. They wanted us to hide our true selves, to keep it a secret to be ignored. We scared them, you can’t tell me you didn’t see the fear in her eyes when we’d nearly killed the Conquistador. Our own mother was terrified of us, of what we could do. You can’t hold on to the past Henry, and it’s blatantly obvious that’s what this all is now. People change, for better or for worse, but it is inevitable that they do change over time. You can’t seriously expect that introducing a rogue variable, such as us, to the equation will change what the universe dictates. Change occurs around us every attosecond of every single day. You can’t fight nature Henry, you can attempt to control it, but it can’t be tamed, and it most certainly cannot be altered. Scott is who he is, and I do not believe anything can change that. You’ll help us get Warren, you’ll help us subdue Jean, and then you’ll take us home. Is that clear?”
Hank kept walking along the corridors, trying to ignore the shouting of the horribly familiar voice following him but when he mentioned their mother- oh Lord did he turn around, pointing a finger at him. “Don’t!” he boomed. “Don’t you dare bring our mother into this!” Dad was gone, but the last string he had of his mother… He couldn’t lose it. Maybe he was the reason she’d lost her mind. Why she didn’t remember so well anymore. He couldn’t even see her- hadn’t seen her for thirty years but damn it all, he refused to lose her entirely. She was the only family he had left.
“Yes, alright, fine, I used you. I wasn’t ready to die yet, there was still work to be done. And maybe if Richard’s answered his phone once in a while you wouldn’t be here. I thought it would work, that Scott would come to his senses and it didn’t, and then you all wanted to stay. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I will help you get Warren back but I will do no such thing to Jean. Never would I try to subdue her and the fact that you want to scares me beyond words.”
He took a deep breath, and then a few more. “Enough of this. I’m sick of the bickering. Leave me to work in peace.”
(Source: thebeastmccoy)
[Comforted by his voice and the kindness in his words, she remains quiet for a moment before letting her glassy eyes rise to meet with his.]
You know me so well, Hank. Unbelievably well and I’m thankful for that especially at a time like this. I really hope that’s the case because being feared by strangers is one thing, but being feared by those you love and care about and would do anything for, including protect with one’s life if need be, is another. I feel like the bonds I once had are slipping. I don’t want that. I never wanted that.
[ he nods, smiling at her softly, albeit a little sadly ] I know you didn’t. Things aren’t going the way they’re supposed to. I’ve disrupted the natural pattern of things and-… it’s going to go differently, I think. When we finally put you all back. I just hope it’s all for the better. [ he ran his paw over her head, feeling a sting to his eyes ] I hope we don’t lose you this time. At least not for good.
[ hank chuckled and admired her uniform, nodding ] It’s very nice. Always the fashionable one, aren’t you?
Thanks, big blue. [Alison grinned widely in response] We all need something to invest time in, why shouldn’t looking good be one of those things? Not that I don’t always look fabulous, that is.
You wear anything well. [ smiles, then feels himself blushing ] {Good God, man…} [ he cleared his throat ] Yes well- those who can, should.
[ nods ] Lorna.
Hank, I like the new look you’ve got.
Oh-! [ looks down at himself then smiles back at her ] Thank you, you’re too kind. Still getting rather used to it myself. I’m much, er- bigger. My tailor both loved and hates me. [ chuckles ]
