animated: (007)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-24 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ Charlie watches the beginning of this exchange through a kind of haze. His head is still swimming, and while having Peter up and moving and talking to him had helped to keep him focused, helped to keep him from slipping into unconsciousness, it hardly helped the way everything hurt.

But then Peter has his hands free, an he's fighting and he's losing. And all Charlie can think is no, no, please no, not him. Not again. Not again. His heart is pounding, adrenaline making things sharpen. He strains against his bonds, even as pain shoots though his hands like lightning. He needs to move. He needs to do something, anything.

He thinks he screams Peter's name, but he can hardly tell with the way his blood is roaring in his ears. It's like a nightmare, watching in slow motion as Peter's struggles become weaker, as his arms drop uselessly.

Not again.

I won't lose him.

Not again god damn it.


And Charlie's mind reaches for a spell, hidden in the tattoos that adorn one of his shoulders. He's only used this spell once in his entire life, out of desperation, out of fear. And now it's with grim determination he casts it again, mentally flipping the switch that brings it to life.

The room hums with power, the sheer force of the magic enough to make the hair on Charlie's neck prick. Crates vibrate where they sit, shelves rattle, fixtures creak, almost in nervous anticipation-- and in the blink of an eye, all hell breaks loose.

The box cutter on the floor flies upward with starling speed, slashing at the Kree's face in brutal, violent strokes. Crates literally tear themselves apart, nails and screws and splinters of wood going driving themselves into whatever bits of soft flesh they can find. A shelving unit bends itself, the steel screaming in protest, twisting to swing itself around and slamming itself into the Kree, sending him flying. An instant later, the shelves tear themselves apart, the pieces flying across the room to wrap themselves around Peter's attacker, squeezing, crushing, until flesh rends and bones break.

A pipe tears itself from the wall, plummeting downward and skewering the Kree through he chest, pinning him to the floor. Then boxes, crates, carts, anything nearby, even the ropes from Charlie's wrists, hurtles itself at Peter's would-be murderer, burying him, bearing down on him with relentless force, crushing, smothering, impaling, until there's no life left in him. The Kree goes still, blue blood slowly oozing out from beneath the pile of things on the floor. All at once, life drops out of the objects in the room, and they still. The pile settles, and everything goes deathly quiet.

After a moment, Charlie finally rasps out, ]
Peter?
animated: (014)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-24 06:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ Somewhere during all that, he manged to roll himself over onto his back. It took just about every ounce of will he had just to remind himself to breathe, as magic and objects went flying around the room.

He glances up at Peter, and manages a small nod ]


Might need a hand. Or two.
animated: (015)

there there

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-24 06:49 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. Yeah. Will do.

[ He's still got a pretty good adrenaline high going, at least, and once on his feet, he's unsteady for a moment or two before he manages to walk on his own.

This has been a goddamn nightmare and he just wants it to be over ]
animated: (001)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-24 04:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The whole trip to the hospital and everything that follows is little more than a blur to Charlie. They give him something for the pain and at long last, he can let unconsciousness finally take him.

He's out for the night, and most of the next day, and he's probably glad for it, considering what they have to do to set the bones in his hands. If they have some magical space-age medicine to make the healing go faster, then he'll be glad for that too.

What he isn't glad for are the dreams. He dreams about being in a shitty little apartment, further away from home than he's ever been, but not far enough apparently, because one night he wakes and there's a man standing over him with a knife. Events blur and sometimes the man is a Kree, sometimes Peter is there, pinned down, flailing, slowly going under from lack of air, and sometimes Charlie isn't fast enough to save him.

It's well into the afternoon when Charlie's eyes finally open, and for a startling moment, he doesn't know where he is. He doesn't remember if he's here because of some would-be assassin in his apartment or because he got the shit beat out of him by some alien maniac or both or---

The pieces fall slowly into place. ]


Peter?

[ God, he sounds like shit. His voice is hoarse, raw. He could probably use some water or something, but Peter takes priority. ]
Edited 2015-01-24 16:17 (UTC)
animated: (002)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-24 06:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He coughs, clears his throat, and when he speaks his voice is a little better ]

Like my head isn't attached to my body. [ whatever they've been pumping into him to help with the pain is good stuff, apparently ] But I guess it's better than the alternative.

[ His gaze drifts over Peter, coming to rest on the bruises on his throat. He frowns ] I'm sorry. I should've done something sooner.
animated: (015)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-24 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Gonna have to help me with that one. Hands are probably out of commission for the next while. [ and honestly, that thought is more than a little terrifying. What good is he without his magic?

But he tries to remain casual about it. It doesn't work. ]
animated: (002)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-25 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ He misses Bethany, suddenly, the little healer who spoke in 80% movie quotes. Peter would probably like her just for that, he thinks. She could fix broken bones with a touch of her hands, but sitting in a hospital? A couple of weeks for a pair of broken hands seems like a goddamn miracle, and it's not one Charlie is sure he believes in, but he nods all the same, doing as he's asked and drinking.

He must be more thirsty than he thought, because he drains the cup quickly. ]


Thanks.
animated: (005)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-25 12:44 am (UTC)(link)
I'm okay for now.

What about you? You look like hell.
animated: (015)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-25 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, I'm sure. Better not point me at any mirrors any time soon, or else I'll break them.
animated: (004)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-25 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
[ He gives an amused snort. He won't deny that it's good to be alive, and bantering with Peter again.

Hell, it's good to be doing anything with Peter.

He sighs, leaning back, eyes cast at the ceiling ]


Man, how come we never go anywhere nice?
animated: (009)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-25 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ He wants nothing more than to just hold Peter, keep him close, but he's in no condition to. The little touches are appreciated. ]

Are you sure your alien half doesn't give you freaky mind-reading powers? Because I was thinking the same thing.
animated: (001)

[personal profile] animated 2015-01-25 01:26 am (UTC)(link)
[ He falls quiet, pursing his lips ]

Do you mean the whole thing or mostly just the last part?

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