Timelined concurrent to Back in the Picture, June 9, 2017
<Shaw> Sliding deep into the leather, he got comfortable and checked his phone. "Well, little Stark," he said to the motionless girl in the bed. "Miss Guthrie sends her regards today."
<Shaw> This chair was a vast improvement over the one he normally used. He supposed that was one of the perks of being the president, and the corner of his mouth twitched as he reminded himself to thank Tony when the man returned from his emergency briefing.
<Hope> Something inside Hope began to stir. Her fingers twitched slightly, causing a small increase of her heart rate.
<Shaw> The monitor picked it up at the same time as his now-healed ears. He sat forward in the chair, cursing that the creak of the leather muffled her heartbeat for a moment. "Hope, love?" Reaching for her hand, he watched the monitors, then looked at her face. "Can you hear me, Hope? It's Sebastian."
<Hope> It bleeped faster at him, mocking him. Her hand twitched in his. "Shhhh."
<Tony> The sound of voices and footsteps could be heard approaching the door before stopping right in front of it. A muffled voice could be vaguely understood saying, "And get me some coffee. I'm partial to the brand of distilled suffering they brew here," before the door opened.
<Shaw> Hearing Tony outside, he looked from Hope to the door. "Don't shush me, little Stark." He squeezed her hand, attention back on her entirely. "Tony, you may want to get over here," he said quietly.
<Hope> "Shh," she muttered again, her free hand twitching in an attempt to move. It flopped beside her.
<Tony> Tony froze for a moment, his brain stuck somewhere between genuine, overwhelming relief and a glib remark. Hiding the pause, he closed the door swiftly and silently before moving to Hope's side, next to Shaw. "How long has she been awake?"
<Shaw> "Her heart rate picked up, just moments ago, and now she's shushing me." He had no qualms about his own relief and openly grinned at Tony. Laying a hand on her shoulder, he concentrated for a moment and briefly touched her mind.
<Hope> She was groggy, fighting for consciousness. She was able to push back to him that it was bright and loud. Why was it so bright and loud? She managed to move her hand this time, resting it on her face.
<Tony> "Well, she does have a point about you talking too much." He joked halfheartedly, his attention consumed by the small movements and sounds Hope was making.
<Shaw> Sebastian let out a huff of a laugh and smirked at the president. "She is conscious, and responding to me, if you're interested." He looked back at Hope, catching the hand at her face before she could do herself damage. You're injured, be careful. But you're safe, and Drake is safe, and your father is here.
<Hope> Her eyes slowly opened, though she quickly winced at the lights. "Gonna... kill.... Osborn," she whispered to them, closing her eyes fully again.
<Shaw> He chuckled quietly. "Well, clearly she's fine."
<Tony> "Well, you're not going to rack up much of a body count lying around, so let's work on that first, okay kiddo?"
<Hope> She tried to laugh, and ended up coughing and wincing, hands going to her ribs. "Ow..."
<Shaw> "Yes, and working on that will require your abilities." He straightened and reached for his phone. "Can you sense mine?"
<Hope> "Used yours... and you are loud," she pointed out. Talking hurt. Everything hurt. She shut her eyes and grit her teeth as the pain started to really set in. "Can't we afford decent painkillers?"
<Tony> "I asked the doctors about that and I think they said something about pain building character. In hindsight he might not have really been a doctor. I should pay more attention to these things."
<Shaw> "Well, if you use my abilities to punch your father you might feel an immediate improvement."
<Hope> Hope took Shaw's advice and punched Tony in the arm. He was right! She did feel better.
<Tony> "Ah, my arm. I think you broke it. " He let his arm hang limp, wincing in mock pain. "If you keep that up, they're going to toss you out to make room for your old man."
<Shaw> Laughing quietly, he was still busy with his phone, first taking a moment to text Jessica, then the school in general. "Should I notify your toy?" he asked Hope, eyebrow arched.
<Hope> She winced at the phrasing, then blinked a few times. Where was he? "Where is Chris?"
<Shaw> "Not here." The note of disapproval in Sebastian's tone was far from subtle.
<Hope> Hope just stared at Shaw. "Where is he then?"
<Shaw> "Very possibly at that tattoo parlor of his, or at a dive bar abandoned by even the likes of dumpster rats." He sniffed. "He was here once. Briefly."
<Hope> "Once? Just... um... how long have I been here then?"
<Tony> "If I remember correctly, three days. But then again, not having to remember correctly is why I have a personal assistant."
<Shaw> Sebastian coughed, but decided not to correct the president. Yet.
<Hope> Days? It had been days!? She carefully moved a hand to her hair. Days for sure. Days and he had been there once? Her hand dropped to the bed again. "Oh... I see."
<Tony> His pocket beeped and Tony clapped a hand over it, wondering how much he would need to apologize for answering a phone during a family moment. After another beep, he slid it from his breast pocket, then frowned at the screen. There was a long moment of silence and it beeped again, then buzzed and a text scrolled across the screen. "I... really need to take this."
<Shaw> Sebastian watched Tony with interest, but his questioning look was ignored and just as quickly as he'd came, the president was gone.
<Hope> Hope sighed and pulled at her hair a little. "I guess I need to see Bobby... maybe I can focus to get his powers."
<Shaw> "I have notified the school. I can contact him directly, or another healer." He sucked at his teeth.
<Hope> "Should let him do his job," she reasoned, shifting to get comfortable in her bed. "Was I really out for days?"
<Shaw> "Yes," he said, moving in to straighten her hair where she'd pulled it free of her bandage. "Eight days, little Stark."
<Hope> Her face paled. Eight days. Over a week! She winced slightly as she tried to remember all the details of what had happened. Why were they attacked? Why hadn't they gotten out of there sooner? She shook her head a little. "Bobby made it out alright at least. That was the goal."
<Shaw> "Oh yes, his abilities were gone for the better part of a day, but then he was none the worse for wear." He could practically hear the cogs turning in her head.
<Hope> She nodded, sighing again. "Have we figured out how he was able to knock us out like that?"
<Shaw> "No. Osborn is rather proprietary with his tech, of course. If Tony knows, he hasn't said, but we've both been rather preoccupied." He picked up her hand, kissing the back.
<Hope> Her pale face flushed a little. "How long have you been here?"
<Shaw> "Every day, my dear." Leaning slightly, he picked up the plush spider and set it in her lap with a smirk. "We both have, and Tony, when he's been able. Others from the school. Miss Guthrie, Drake."
<Hope> "But not Chris." It was a statement, rather than a question. Had he gotten her message from Bobby? Was that his way of saying no? She instantly steeled her emotions and gave Sebastian a smile. "Thanks for staying. You know you didn't have to do that."
<Shaw> "Of course I did, and you know it." He grinned at her, all teeth, and gave her hand a squeeze before letting her go.
<Hope> She grinned at him, not brave enough to laugh. "I just hope Tony can shut down this horrible program now."
<Shaw> "As do I." He glanced at his own phone when it vibrated in his hand. "Ah, likely the school now."
<Hope> She strained a little to look over at the phone. "What do they want?"
<Shaw> It wasn't the school. Before he had a chance to blank his features, he read the message from Emma and sucked in a surprised breath.
<Hope> Instinctively, she tried to sit up. "What is it?" She regretted the decision and lay back down quickly.
<Shaw> "Something is happening in New York." He looked at the door, then back at Hope and moved fast to stop her from sitting up and hurting herself further. "My assistant, she said to turn on the news. This must be why Tony..." The phone beeped again with a link to a live feed.
<Hope> "Well then turn it on! I want to know what's happening!" She looked around for something to page a nurse with.
<Shaw> He didn't bother, simply turning his phone to let her see the screen. The footage of Erik Lehnsherr calling down the governor of New York was clear enough, as was the chaos that followed.
<Hope> She blinked a few times, then just stared and watched the footage. "What in the world..."
<Shaw> The pillar of ice forming in the crowd was self-explanatory. "Well, he may not be answering his phone at the moment." Uncomfortable despite the dry commentary, he shifted his weight.
<Hope> Hope grinned. Go Bobby. Go! "Go Bobby!"
<Shaw> Two sentinels flanking the governor stepped forward, and Sebastian got a very good view of how exactly they blocked mutant abilities.
<Hope> "That looks like what they used to hit me." Hope reasoned, eyed glued to the screen. They had to win this one. Her eye caught the 'live' part at the bottom. She should be there to help them. Damnit!
<Shaw> Winning was not in the cards, as they learned the longer they watched. It wasn't long before the camera man was running for his life as well and he caught a glimpse of Nord going up against one of the sentinels. Alone.
<Hope> She frowned, watching Chris on the TV. At least he had a reason to not be there. But he shouldn't be there either! Damnit Chris! "What the hell is he doing?"
<Shaw> "I never know what your toy is doing from one moment to the next," he said flatly, frowning when the feed cut off.
<Hope> "He's not a toy, Sebastian," she snapped, then swore as the feed cut.
<Shaw> His gaze slid sideways to regard her for a moment and he nodded once, then searched for another feed on the phone.
<Hope> Hope stayed silent, waiting for him to try and find another feed, but doubting he'd be able to. "I should be there."
<Shaw> "It's likely you would find yourself in the same position as them." He wasn't having much luck, as most other sites were already looping the footage of Lehnsherr and the governor.
<Hope> "Likely... but I should still be there." She hadn't been a part of the team since Johnny had been eaten by cannibals. She sighed, frustrated.
<Shaw> "Why?" Tearing his attention from the phone, he raised an eyebrow at her.
<Hope> "Because that's my team. Those are my friends." it had been so important to her to fight when she met Tony. Why had she lost sight of that?
<Shaw> "You have barely spent time at that school, neither before nor after it was destroyed."
<Hope> "Shaw, did you SEE who that was? Johnny's sister. Chris. Bobby... I've spent half of my time there since I started seeing Chris."
<Shaw> Looking away for a moment, he hid a slight smile. "Attachments. They'll be the death of all of us, yeah?"
<Hope> "Yeah they will be," she smirked, smiling sadly. "But it's better than being alone."
<Shaw> "It is," he agreed, straightening the legs of the spider he'd dropped in her lap.
<Hope> "How'd we end up with crazy people to be with?" she asked him, staring at the spider.
<Shaw> "I may include you in that list of insanity, little Stark," he sniffed. "Jessica is doing better." Licking his lips, he smiled and amended. "We are doing better."
<Hope> "I might be at the top of that list, but at least yours is doing better. Mine just went up against a sentinel alone. Might be dead now for all I know."
<Shaw> It was very possible, so he sobered instantly. "No," he said, attempting to be comforting. "He appeared to have his abilities, so it's just as possible that he incapacitated that sentinel and saved your hapless friends."
<Hope> She tried to smile, managing a weak one. "Maybe."
<Shaw> "Maybe," he agreed, but reached for her hand again.
<Hope> She took it this time, squeezing it. All she could do now, was wait.