(this story is broken into three parts for easy loading)

Sometime in the late 20^th century, metahumans began to appear. Despite what scientists had claimed in the past, their various mutations were generally beneficial and useful. They did not immediately outnumber normals humans or seriously threaten them, contradictory to what theorists had suggested would happen. These advanced humans did not live in either the world of the X-Men or the Justice League. There were no otherworldly threats or even serious metahuman ones. Their challenges were more mundane, yet equally dangerous; earthquakes, fires, floods, traffic accidents. For the most part they did themselves proud, those pioneers. Just a very few who regular kids who unexpectedly developed some form of special power or ability sometime in their early-to-late teens, most of them finding a way to either live with it, hide it or develop it with assistance.

At first mocked and ridiculed for their resemblance to comic-book heroes, eventually the normal population began to expect from them the same thing they found in those same comic-books; heroic behavior, daring rescues, unselfish dedication to an ideal. Not all metas could live up to this burden, indeed, some failed in fairly spectacular fashion. In the US the government decided such an important thing could not be done without their input, and it was time to step in when a botched arson rescue by an over-eager young fellow called Blow not only put out the fire but knocked down a domino-chain of four high-rise office buildings in the process, killing hundreds. It was fortunate that young Blow did not survive to see the results of his labor; caught in the backlash of his own power, he exploded as if an extremely localized tornado had ripped through his body.

That was in 1982. Soon after the Metahuman Committee was formed and the US government began auditioning heroes.

There are now two official US hero teams; BSB, which consists of the following members:

        Nick Carter: Kaos. Chaos generator (odds effects), Hyper, young, pretty, anxious. 

        AJ MacLean: Bone. Rapid temporary bone growth, strength. Moody, angry, alcoholic.

        Brian Littrel: B-Rok. Psychic healing (religious-based). Fervent, friendly, serious.

        Howie Durough: Sweet D. Empath, projecting and receiving. Caring, quiet, serious, smart.

        Kevin Richardson: Train. Super strength, invulnerability. Control freak - team leader.

and NSNC (billed as 'the second generation'), who have yet to take an active role:

        Chris Kirkpatrick: Critter. Mammalian shape-change. "Old man". Hyperactive, kinetic, protective.
        Lance Bass: Scoop. Telekinetic and TK flight. Control freak -- team leader.
        JC Chasez: Spazz. Super-speed. Generally weird.
        Justin Timberlake: Crooner. Creates light-based illusions via song. Smooth, cocky, sweet, immature.
        Joey Fatone: Phat-One. Basic strength, but no invulnerability. Friendly, laid back, ebullient, loyal.

These ten young men, as well as a collection of young female heroes, are the hope of America's future. The best of the best, as well as really spiffy guys, if you believe their press releases. But a spin doctor will say anything, won't they? Perhaps the reality of their lives is closer to what a normal person experiences than you might think. And, eventually, all good things come to an end, even when the government is involved. Or should that read especially when the government is involved.

Still, no matter what comes next, these young men and women will always be -

Everyone's Heroes

"B-Rok!"

"I see it, Train!"

With one shoulder holding up a sagging wall and his free hand catching pieces as they dropped from above, BSB Team Leader Kevin Richardson - code name Train - spared a split-second to watch his cousin and teammate Brian Littrel do his thing. The building was coming down, there wasn't anything they could do to save it. It was all they could do to save as many of the people inside as possible.

B-Rok dropped to his knees. Only Train saw the minute flinch. His cousin spent so much time in that position they were permanently bruised, and always sore. He had knee pads, but usually forgot to wear them. Truth, though, they only helped a little bit, and he wouldn't wear them when just praying.

As soon as his eyes closed a glimmering shield of force sprang up around him. It stretched out, covering the watching crowd. They were calm. Not panicking. Because Sweet D stood behind and to the left of B-Rok. Stood still, his smile firmly in place.

As long as Sweet D smiled, everyone within a 30-yard radius smiled with him. It could make things weird.

"Bone!" Train shouted, wanting an update.

"Almost through!"

Just around the corner from Train's disintegrating wall, Bone was using his body-spikes to beat through a fallen section. There were people trapped behind it.

He would be in pain tonight.

The wall Train held shifted. More block began tumbling from above. They bounced off B-Rok's shield. He didn't seem to notice.

"It's coming down, B!" Train warned. "Kaos, see what you can do."

"You got it, leader-man." On the sidelines, waiting to be needed, Kaos was a secret weapon.

Train watched as he wiggled his way closer. There was some question about the dancing he used to focus his power; did he need it to make it work, or was it just for fun?

Kaos wasn't saying either way.

The pressure on him suddenly increased. Train twisted and took the weight of the wall on his back. Doubled over, knees bent, arms wide, he bowed his head and dug in.

    ...will not give in...will not give in... the thought ran through his head as the weight increased. He would be squashed - uninjured, but squashed.

Suddenly there was another shift; he looked over to see Kaos dancing madly. The gods of gamblers apparently heard him, because the wall was shifting up again. Not enough to be completely out of the realm of possibility. Like a really strong wind caught it and pushed.

Train shifted his stance and straightened. With a roar he threw off the section of wall he held. It toppled into a Kaos-induced pile of rubble. Only a few blocks hit B-Rok's shield.

"A little help here!" Bone's cry pulled Train for his survey. He ran - he felt so slow, his body so heavy - around the corner, and started pulling survivors out of the hole Bone had created. Unable to help, Bone stood back.. He had completely spiked out - there wasn't an inch of visible skin unbroken by the needle-sharp bone growths.

"You okay?" Train asked, handing a whimpering toddler of undetermined sex to the nearest adult.

"Fuck no." Stepping away, Bone made a display of himself. Train hoped no one heard the profanity. It always came back to haunt them.

B-Rok's shield was coming down. Emergency crews were heading in. People started to move, to look around.

To scream or cry or shout as what they'd seen finally got a chance to register. Train looked for D and saw him beside Kaos, trying to calm the overexcited teen down. Kaos knew what D was doing, and he hated it.

Flashes of light proved that the TV crews had arrived. With a well-hidden sigh, Train took Bone by the wrist - the spikes couldn't hurt him - and led him toward the others. He wasn't allowed to take the hand of any team member. It was in his contract.

"Train!" feminine squeals assaulted his ears. The shrieking chorus spread like wildfire.

"Kaos! Nick, I love you!"

"Bone, Bone, Bone, Bone!"

"B-Rok's the man!"

There weren't any girls shouting for Sweet D. Years ago he'd mentioned, in one of those teen magazine interviews, that it upset him to have people yelling at him like that. Since an upset D couldn't use his power, his fans had fallen silent in public, after 48 hours of heated Internet discussion. They policed themselves very well. Now they could be picked out of the crowd just because of that - and the fact they all dressed like him, supporting a lifestyle philosophy that boiled down to 'Don't worry, be happy." Though Kevin often worried just how happy Howie was. If he hadn't been a part of this team, he would have retreated to isolation by now. Sometimes Kevin thought that would be better for him. In that same interview - the most personal one he'd ever given, by far - he'd been asked if he was dating. His reply still echoed in Kevin's mind on the rare occasion he allowed himself to watch the younger man.

    "I don't date. I am meant to spend my life alone, and that's fine with me. I find I don't have any desire to be physically close to another person."

The interviewer had pushed, but that was all he'd said. Kevin knew well enough now that if a human could be asexual, then that's what Howie was. It was like that part of him was just - missing.

The building was still making small crumbling noises behind them.

Leading Bone to D and Kaos, Train watched B-Rok climb painfully to his feet. As he walked past the crowds, the shouting died down, replaced by awed murmurs. Hands reached to touch his robes. Pleas were whispered.

"Help my mother, B-Rok."

"Heal my sister."

"Save my father." My brother. My cousin.

Heal me.

Heal the world.

Rok ignored them all, walking steadily, with the patience of a plow horse. He went straight to D, and was embraced in a safe, secure hug filled with positive emotion.

Train was almost jealous.

A limo pulled up. Their handler jumped out. Grinning, she faced the 'razzi and began spinning. In just a few seconds they would be asked to pose for photos. There would be an impromptu press conference, then hours of signing autographs.

Standing in front of the others, Train looked them over. Kaos was still twitching, like he wanted to be dancing. Train wondered, not for the first time, if his power wasn't somehow addictive. Like gambling.

They already had one addict on the team. Everyone worked to keep it hidden, but AJ had a drinking problem. Not so bad they needed to do anything about it, yet. Bad enough that they would someday. He let himself push that away for now. No sense borrowing trouble when it would find him soon enough.

Heidi turned and gave them a big bright smile. Train could see that it was faked. They always had to play it for the cameras. He knew she saw that Nick was barely under control, Bone was spiked out and Brian was in pain.

Howie was working overtime to ease things along.

She said a few words to the press, then trotted over to them, waving the 'razzi back. They obeyed, having learned early on that there would be no unscheduled photo ops or interviews if they didn't do things the way this quietly forceful woman demanded.

Standing beside Kevin, she made a familiar hand gesture behind her back. Obediently, they all waved. Everyone but Bone smiled. His scowl was pretty popular, so that was okay.

Leaning close, she asked Train, "How long?" He appreciated her respect for his position, but at the same time he did get tired of being the one that made the decisions. Balancing the job requirements with what the team needed was tricky. Today was a sterling example of that.

They'd saved lots of people from the collapse - he still didn't know what had caused it - in a public and flashy style. Exactly what they were paid to do. But two of them were hurt, one was under strain and another was on the verge of losing control.

They could milk this for all the publicity it was worth and risk the consequences: Kaos flipping out, Bone becoming verbally abusive, D exhausted for the next two weeks, useless to the team.

Or he could cut it short.

Not too short. There would be consequences for that, too.

"Fifteen," he said, soto-vice. It was a good thing he didn't tire easily. He waved mindlessly as he smiled, smiled, smiled.

Heidi's grimace passed too quickly for most to see, but he saw the tension hit her shoulders. If she couldn't get them to do their job, the committee would find another handler to take over.

"Twenty," he amended. She sighed, but loosened up. Theirs was a working partnership. She'd been up front when she was assigned to them nearly three years earlier - after the pedophile. The handler before her had a problem with personal boundaries, especially Nick's. He's only been 13 at the time, and come to Kevin when the man started walking in on him in the shower, patting his butt during training and just generally being creepy.

Heidi had told them up front that they'd still have to do things they didn't want to, or she'd lose her job. She'd promised to be on their side and give them as much room as possible. So far it had worked. Compromise was the name of this game.

With the hand behind her back, Heidi signaled '20' in ASL. Bone muttered something Train couldn't quite make out, but that was okay. He understood. They were all ready to get home He kept his smile on as she motioned the TV coverage closer. The cops began clearing a path through the crowd to the limo. It would probably take an extra fifteen minutes just to sign a few autographs and get through it, but that was okay, too. They'd be home in an hour.

***

"Aren't you ready yet?"

Kevin looked over as Howie popped into his room. He waved him to a chair, still on the phone with the committee chairman, a dyed-in-the-wool republican who thought the team was his own propaganda tool. A Senator from Texas by the name of Temple.

"Uh-huh," he felt himself nodding and caught Howie's smile; an honestly felt one. He was laughing at Kevin silently. "Yes, sir, I understand the requirements... but Bone was hurting, he spiked out all over the place."

He had to be careful and rotate the guilt of cutting something short. Today was Bone's turn, though it could have easily been Brian or Nick's condition the prompted his decision.

"No, Rok couldn't heal him there, in public. There was too much distraction for fine-tuned work like that." He rolled his eyes. Howie got up and came over to put a hand on his shoulder. Kevin felt anger and tension draining away. He appreciated the effort, but didn't want Howie tiring himself anymore, so he moved away.

Temple was still shouting at him.

"What do you mean, B can't do it in public?! I've seen footage!"

"That was an emergency. The vic was dying." It was so much easier to keep his temper when Howie was near.

"No, Bone's condition wasn't an emergency. He was hurting. I'm not going to keep him out there for a photo op when he's in pain."

He winced at the reply, and quickly baled out of the 'conversation', promising a written report before 5 p.m. the next day. It would be late, of course. They already had a group training session, two individual sessions he had to be present for, a fitting for the new costumes, a photo shoot, and dinner-in-public scheduled.

All public appearances were scheduled. A quick trip to the corner Circle K for a 6-pack was out of the question. Who knew where the 'razzi might lurk and what they would make out of that. No, everything was planned.

Like tonight. They were going dancing. A favorite pastime of all the team members. This time at a new club, recently opened by the daughter of some businessman with deep pockets. Their presence had been negotiated and no doubt paid for. He hoped it wasn't too bad. Chances were good they'd have to go more than once.

He closed his phone with a sigh.

"Temple?" Howie asked. Kevin nodded, eyes closed. Just one minute's peace. Please.

"He call Rok 'B' again?"

Kevin snickered. "Yeah."

"And he swallowed that line about distractions?" Howie sounded only mildly curious, but he was grinning widely.

"He always does."

They snickered together like high school kids when the teacher made a mistake. Temple thought he had some special connection to Brian, because they were both, nominally, Christians. The truth was Brian felt more sorry for him than anything else, believing that Temple, in his relentless pursuit of power and privilege, had lost touch with the beliefs Brian lived by. So Temple called him 'B', as if he were Howie, and couldn't begin to understand the real reasons Rok didn't heal in public anymore. The only time he'd done it, he'd been trapped in the compound for five months afterwards. Unable to go out even with several bodyguards because the sick and the desperate and the mentally ill threw themselves at him, regardless of how many large burly men he had surrounding him. They would hurt themselves to get to him. There had been threats. Promises. And some really horrific, sad pictures.

Howie has been trapped with him for the last four months. Suicide had been a real possibility. For both of them.

Now Rok - as the team called him, not B because he wasn't Howie - snuck out of the compound every couple of weeks. Heidi set it up for him. He visited one hospital each time, and privately helped as many people as he could. The families and patients were happy to be sworn to secrecy, because he offered hope in hopeless circumstances.

Howie came close to Kevin and, suddenly, gathered him into a tight hug. Gratefully, Kevin returned it, holding hard to the smaller man. Something inside him eased.

"We need to get you a window," Howie said as he let go. Their shorthand for 'window of opportunity'. A chance to do what he needed to, without anyone but the team ever knowing.

"That would be - great." There was a longing inside of him that never went away. An ache only one thing could sooth.

"You take care of us, we take care of you." Howie turned to the clothes stacked on Kevin's bed and deftly extracted the perfect outfit. "These. I say we have ten minutes before Nick gets here."

"Thanks, D." Taking the clothes, Kevin kissed the top of his friend's head as he walked past.

"Anytime, Train," Howe laughed as Kevin shut the bathroom door. "Anytime."

Heidi caught them as they were leaving, and took Kevin aside.

"What now?" he forced himself to ask calmly. Nothing was her fault. They had signed those contracts when they were really young, too young to know better, no matter their actual ages. They'd been the first. The trailblazers. The originals. It had been clear that everything had to be perfect for it to work.

"One thing," she looked ashamed of herself, but she was going to say it. "No dancing with men tonight, Kevin. Not even your teammates."

That was harsh. He had to protest. "I always dance with them - especially Howie. People will notice if I don't."

"With your wife out of town, we can't take the chance."

"Damn you all." His hands clenched into fists as his sides. He wanted to hit something. Someone. Couldn't. Never never. What he hit, he broke. He'd learned that lesson when he was fifteen. The hard way.

"Look, I'm sorry."" He knew she really was, but there was an edge of impatience to her voice.

"This is the deal. You agreed to it."

When he'd come out. First to the team, then the committee. Their reaction had stunned him with its vehemence. It had been all Heidi could do to keep him on the team.

They'd had an emergency meeting. People were contacted. Decisions were made. Without his input. Three months later Kevin had found himself walking down the aisle, newly married to his childhood friend Kristen.

Now he shrugged, and looked over at Howie, who looked back with a carefully innocent expression

Kevin's stomach knotted. He needed this. It had been so long since he touched anyone.

"Okay. If anyone asks tomorrow, I was tired from today and that's why I didn't dance." There was no way he could be on a dance floor and not dance with his friends. Especially Howie.

"You don't get tired." She gave him an appraising look. It was true; physical exhaustion was pretty much impossible for him.

"They don't know that." Details like that were closely guarded secrets. From potential enemies and the press. For lots of reasons.

"Okay, then." She nodded, and moved out of his way.

"Okay," he echoed. As he followed the others into the limo, he wondered when Train had been derailed. Once he would have stopped at nothing to get what he wanted, and damn the consequences.

Now too many people had too much to lose if he fucked up.

"Don't worry, Train," Nick - wearing a gold mesh shirt with gold lame pants that looked like they were painted on, patted his knee. "We'll take care of you."

He had a teenager pimping for him. And for what? He might get a quick grope, even a blowjob from some stranger. The need to touch a man warred with his desire for intimacy. He couldn't get both tonight, but his friends would make sure he got something.

He brooded for the rest of the drive.

"C'mon and dance, Train!"

"Later, Nicky." He was the only one that could get away with calling him that. Nick danced away and Kevin watched appreciatively. Not that he could ever think of Nick in sexual terms - the teen was like a little brother. It would be gross.

"Another round, boys?" Their server re-appeared. They were in a semi-secluded VIP booth raised just off the dance floor. She was everything a boy could want; pretty and perfectly shaped. Idly he wondered how long it would be before she abandoned waiting tables in Orlando for a shot at the bright lights in LA.

"Another double," AJ slurred. Kevin glanced at him, decided it was okay. Earlier, on a trip to the restroom, he'd cornered the girl and had a word with her. What AJ was getting now were singles watered into double glasses. He was too drunk to tell the difference and it gave Kevin some control.

She looked at him now, and he nodded, holding up his own tall glass. Long Island iced tea. Slow drinking. He was feeling mellow now, almost as if Howie was standing right next to him. Or sitting in his lap.

That thought triggered a snorting fit that threatened to turn into choking. He was reminded that being invulnerable didn't mean he could get by without breathing.

A half hour later, Lenny appeared at the table. As Kevin's personal bodyguard, he was an interesting choice. Somewhere in the vicinity of sixty, he looked more like a career detective or a disreputable private eye than a bodyguard. Shoving people out of the way wasn't his style - that's what they paid the muscle to do. Lenny was all about watching and planning, taking care of situations before they became problems. He carried a gun and a snarky sense of humor.

He was also insanely loyal to Kevin. Because two years ago Lenny's oldest daughter had testified against a drug dealer, and the jury hadn't believed her. The man got off and promptly hired someone to hunt her down. She was shot standing at her father's side. Terrified, Lenny called Kevin, and Kevin had sent Brian.

Brian saved her.

Afterward, Kevin put up a reward for information leading to the dealer's conviction, and six months later he was behind bars for twenty years. Possibly for the rest of his natural life. Definitely if Kevin had any say in it. As a bonafide National Hero, he should.

"Nick said to meet him in the bathroom." Lenny knew that Kevin knew that Lenny knew what that meant. And Kevin knew the man would never betray him.

No one would get in with Lenny outside the door.

"Yeah. Um, thanks." Picking up his drink, Kevin finished it. Then he downed AJ's, grimacing at the wet flavor.

"Hey," AJ protested mildly. He was lying on the round padded seat, watching Kevin.

"You can get another," Kevin told him, and immediately felt guilty. He shouldn't be encouraging the younger man to drink. It would just make things worse. "I'm going to the bathroom. Don't go anywhere before I get back." AJ, drunk, sometimes did incredibly stupid things. Incredibly stupid, publically embarrassing things.

"It's not right, Train." AJ just wasn't as careful as he should be, even when he was sober. This time Kevin wasn't sure what he was thinking.

"It's okay." He ran a hand over AJ's short hair as he got up.

"You shouldn't have to do it this way," AJ said, catching his wrist.

Kevin looked at Lenny, who was silent. But the expression on his face said he agreed.

"It has to be this way." Leaning down, Kevin tucked AJ's arm close to his body. "I can't do it any other way and still be Train."

"You'll always be Train..." AJ was dozing off, or passing out. Kevin refused to worry about it now. There was always tomorrow.

Now, right now, Nick had found him someone to touch, and suddenly that was the only thing Kevin could think about.

Lenny left him at the bathroom door. Kevin paused, with his hand on the smooth cool metal, and tried to make himself really see what he was doing.

Upscale club. Basically sober. Sixteen-year-old Nick pimping for him.

That always brought a wince. But Nick never judged or questioned.

Sex in a bathroom. How very...gay. It was a really nice bathroom. And he was a married man. He'd taken the vows intending to keep them, but what did that mean to God? Would he punish Kevin more lightly because he'd had good intentions?

They all knew how that saying went. Road to Hell and all that.

Maybe Kevin had just been lying to himself all along. The marriage was good for him in a lot of ways, and good for Kristen, too...

Behind him, Lenny touched his shoulder. "Hey."

Kevin looked back at him. Lenny looked terribly out of place here, under the lights, surrounded by the beautiful people. To Kevin, *he* was beautiful, too. The way a battered cliff could be.

"You do what you have to," Lenny said quietly.

"Yeah," Kevin sucked in a deep breath and let it our slowly. "Thanks." He pushed open the door and went in.

Very upscale club. There was a den-like entry room, with small leather sofas and a club chair, a table to set drinks on. The actual bathroom entrance was hidden by a semi-transparent wall, lit from behind.

He saw a male form silhouetted behind the curved wall. There was an empty highball glass dripping condensation on the table.

"Hey," he called softly. "I'm Kevin."

He didn't know what to expect. They'd only done this three times before, each one was etched in his memory.

The first time, Howie had found him a fan. So eager to touch Train he'd been almost giddy. The intensity of the young man's adoration made Kevin feel unclean in a way the sex hadn't. When later pressed for the story he'd explained, somewhat, but hadn't really been able to verbalize the problem. Nick had declared that he would do the finding the next time, and present Kevin with a handsome bodybuilder who'd only been interested in meeting greatness and getting off. The time after that - nearly ten months ago - it had been another young man, this one more into grunge rock than heroes. He knew who Kevin was, but only wanted to find out how long he could hold his breath, so they could kiss a little longer.

Both had been perfect.

This time the man that stepped around the wall was about Kevin's age. Shoulder-length white- blond hair, big green eyes, tall and thin. Just a touch too thin. Wearing a white leather vest that showed off a tight sixpack and faded jeans with cowboy boots and a big silver belt buckle.

"Perfect..." Kevin breathed.

"I know," the vision grinned at him. "You can call me that. I think I'll call you 'Bullet'."

"Touch me now and I might come like one," Kevin chuckled, pleased with the joke. This one certainly wasn't star-struck. "Seriously, what's your name?"

"Frank."

"I like it. Plain and simple."

The other man padded over to him, an accomplishment in those boots. His movements were lean and smooth, contrasting the way he was dressed. He stopped right in front of Kevin and put a hand flat on Kevin's belly, right where his shirt didn't quite meet the low-cut suede trousers Howie had chosen for him to wear.

His friends were seriously pimping him.

Kevin looked down. Two fingers were touching his skin. They felt uncommonly warm.

"So....what do you like to do, Bullet Train?" Frank leaned in and breathed over his mouth. Kevin suddenly found himself panting. He was so hard. The trousers were too tight.

"T-t-touching. I like to be - to -to -touch." he could barely get the words out as his lungs worked for air. The light, airy room seemed tight and hot.

"I like touching. I think I'm really going to like touching *you*..." Frank covered Kevin's mouth and kissed him. It was wet and open-mouthed. Kevin thought he whimpered, but then Frank's hand was popping the buttons on the trousers and his hand was on Kevin's cock --

        -- and Kevin came. Hard and fast. All over Frank's leg and hand. He was still gasping with relief when Frank pulled back and took his hand away, frowning.

"Well, yuck. That wasn't what I expected."

"Sorry..." Collapsing into the club chair, Kevin felt too drained to move. "I, um, -" he could only watch while Frank went to the sink and washed up, then turned around and stared at him.

"It has been a while for you, hasn't it?

"Too long," Kevin agreed readily.

"Do you want to keep going, or are you all done now?" The man's attitude seemed to have changed. Kevin didn't understand.

"Hey - I said I was sorry." he waved a hand at his limp dick, lying pale against him trouser leg. "It felt really good, and I -"

"I should have known you were just here to get off." Frank was drying his hands on a towel, slowly. "I mean, you're this big hero. Heroes are supposed to have feet of clay, not trigger-happy cocks, though. You're married and everything."

"Didn't Nick tell you how it works?" Kevin blinked. He hadn't expected the man to want anything more than a grope and a kiss. He'd certainly never meant to look for more.

"That gorgeous boytoy only told me you needed some 'company' tonight." he made quote marks in the air with his fingers. "I've had this crush on you since the first time I saw you. I suppose it was too much to ask that you live up to my expectations."

"Shit," Kevin groaned. "Just give me a few minutes and I can do better, promise. I didn't know it meant that much to you." he started to stand, but Frank came and held him down with a hand on his shoulder. Rather, Kevin stayed down there was no way the man could have actually held him there. He looked up and was shocked to see tears in the bright blue eyes.

"There's a reasons teenage fantasies shouldn't come true," Frank whispered. "Now I wish they'd stayed only fantasies."

"Why?!" Kevin was suddenly unreasonably angry. "Because I'm just *human*? Because I want the same thing everyone else does?!" he exploded out of the chair, careful not to collide with the man. The chair slammed back into the wall, and crumpled. Plaster sprinkled around it as the wall settled with the damage.

Frank held up his hands, like he was giving up. He didn't seem frightened - Kevin was thankful for that.

He couldn't afford to lose his temper. Ever.

"Because you're hiding." He shrugged. "You're not being honest with yourself, or your fans."

"I'm a hero. I don't need fans," Kevin hissed. He felt hot warmth and his eyes stung with it. "You don't know my life, how dare you judge me?"

"You gave me the right when you came in here planning to use me!" Frank yelled at him.

"I -" whatever Kevin was going to say was lost when the door came open. Lenny stepped inside without fuss, his suit jacket drawn back just enough that Frank could see his gun in it's shoulder holster.

"*Train* needs a bodyguard?" Frank snorted in disbelief. "That's just too much." He started to walk out, past Lenny, then stopped to look back at the hero. Kevin was only too aware of the tears on his face, that his trousers were still undone, and his cock was visible. "I still think you're a hero, man, but you're letting your life get totally fucked up."

He left. Lenny gave Kevin a long once-over, then turned his back. "Better fix yourself up before one of the others gets here."

"Were they out there? Did they hear anything?!" hastily Kevin buttoned himself in and scrubbed at his eyes with both hands. He rubbed too hard, though, and it hurt. Made it worse. That's what he told himself when the tears wouldn't stop.

"You okay, boss?" Lenny was coming over to him, looking concerned, in a Lenny-way.

"I just need a minute. Keep everyone away, okay?" He turned away now, and sat on the small sofa, his face turned to the wall. The door closed when Lenny left.

On top of everything else, he was hard again.

Silently, he berated himself. For being what he was and who he was, having what he did. And wanting more. He had no right.

The tears slowed and his eyes stopped burning, but the pressure in his chest didn't ease. Sometimes he thought he'd never breath again, the world closed in around him so tight.

He didn't know how long he'd sat there, and he didn't notice the door open or anyone come in.

So wrapped up in his misery, Kevin didn't realize he wasn't alone until Howie slid onto the sofa beside him and wrapped himself around Kevin's tight body.

"D..." he sighed and hugged the smaller man back. The physical differences between them bordered on ludicrous, but there were time that Howie seemed larger than life. "I'm okay."

"You were crying. I could feel it." Howie nuzzled in close to Kevin's neck and stayed there, warm and tight.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"What happened?" it was clear Howie wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"I screwed up," Kevin sighed. "This isn't the way I'm supposed to do things. No more sneaking around for me. I'll be straight or die trying."

"That makes you unhappy, Train." Howie pulled back to look at him. He touched Kevin's eyes gently, just a brush of fingertips. "I hate it when you're unhappy."

It hurt him, Kevin knew. When any of them were hurting, D was too close to get away from it.

"I'll adapt. I've never really tried to, before. Always thought I could have my cake and eat it too."

"That's not true." with his lip stuck out like that, Howie was adorable, and mulishly stubborn. "You tried as hard as any man can to be something you're not."

"I can try harder." Kevin needed to get up, needed to get away before Howie noticed how turned on he was. He couldn't use people like that. Not anymore.

"I could make you happy, Kevin."

It was so seldom D used his actual name, Kevin stared at him for a minute before he understood.

What Howie was offering.

Against his own nature, against his desires, he would do anything to keep one of them happy. Even this.

"No, D," Kevin caught his face in both hands and held it, too tight. He was being rough deliberately, to make a point. "I can't let you do that. It's not what you want. It's not the way you are."

"You can't be alone forever."

Picking him up and putting him to one side, Kevin stood, and went to the sink. He rinsed his eyes and face with very cold water and then dried it before he looked at D again.

"It's not right," he said, his accent strong. They were encouraged to keep those, because it made them sound like they were more 'of the people'. "I won't let you."

"If I tried, you couldn't stop me." Howie stood, looking determined. He was right, too.

"I wouldn't be able to forgive you afterwards."

"There wouldn't have to be an afterwards." Howie flipped his hair back and Kevin felt a pang. He was so - so completely himself. Beautiful and amazing and far stronger than anyone outside the group could know.

He was offering to subjugate his life to Kevin's, to make Kevin happy. Just so he wouldn't have to feel the unhappiness.

"No," he said firmly. "Let me work this out on my own, Howie. Don't mess with my heart."

With a sigh, Howie nodded. His arms crossed over his chest.

"How did you know what happened?" Kevin asked after a minute. With this many people around, D was usually pretty well shielded. For his own protection.

"I saw the guy. The blond. He went to Nick and I think he complained."

Kevin waited, but no questions were asked. Howie knew he hadn't hurt the man.

"Do you think he'll go public?" he didn't know how close Howie had been or what he'd picked up.

"He seemed more disappointed than mad. Worried about you, too."

Great, Kevin sighed. His pick-up for the night was worried about him. That made it unanimous.

"I'll be okay," he promised, knowing he couldn't keep it. "Right now, I just want to go home."

They left the bathroom a few minutes apart. It wouldn't do for people to get the wrong impression.

Despite the bodyguard outside the door.

It only took a few minutes to get back to the booth and gather AJ up. The younger man was passed out. Kevin lifted him like a child. On one hand, he was glad Bone wasn't in pain for the moment. On the other, the drinking problem might be more immediate than Kevin wanted to deal with right now.

Might be more than he *could* deal with right now.

Walking out, with Howie on one side of him and Lenny on the other, he had to go by Frank, who was loitering by the back passage, built just so celebrities could escape in secret.

The smirk on his face was mean, but it seemed sad, too. Like this stranger that had touched him intimately had a better grip on his life, and somehow knew that.

When Kevin glanced back at him, Howie grabbed his chin and tried to turn his face forward, but Kevin still saw the lewd motion of Frank's hand at his crotch as the door opened and the limo appeared.

He winced and climbed in, awkwardly not because he was carrying AJ, but because he didn't want to hurt him while getting in. And he didn't want to put him down.

For some reason, Howie chose to sit up front between Lenny and the driver.

Safe in the luxurious warmth, Kevin relaxed just a little. His body was aching with unrelieved tension. Even being invulnerable didn't help that. His thoughts and feelings affected him the same way anyone else's would.

Looking out the darkened window, watching the night-lit city pass, his eyes stung. He lifted a hand to rub at them, and AJ stirred.

"Shhh," Kevin leaned over him and petted the short hair until he settled into what passed for sleep for him. Restless, even dangerous to anyone but Kevin. He still destroyed beds and bedding on a regular basis, his dreams triggering the violent changes in his body.

They arrived at the compound only a few minutes later. Lou was waiting in the lobby-like entry of the main building, where they all officially lived. Carrying AJ, Kevin grit his teeth as he walked in and saw the man. Their goverment-assigned 'manager'. Kevin was from the South and he understood that a few extra pounds or thirty could be a good thing if properly placed. Even more on the right person, women in particular. But Lou - he wasn't Southern or attractive by any reasonable standard. He threw a glance at Howie, but the pain already visible in the man's eyes made him bite back his request. He nodded, and D, looking exhausted, made his escape without a word. He got into the elevator and left them, to seek solace in singularity. To be alone was his greatest luxury. Kevin wasn't going to take that from him tonight. It would be poor repayment for the kindness D had shown him earlier.

"I heard there was an *incident* tonight," Lou growled at him, setting himself between Kevin and the elevator.

Shifting AJ's weight he didn't actually get tired and his muscles never cramped, he just wanted to be sure Bone was comfortable, since he couldn't always tell Kevin stood as tall as he could and deliberately loomed.

The fat man was clearly taken aback, but his ego allowed him to stand his ground. He truly believed the hype. It never crossed his mind that Train would willingly hurt an innocent.

He never questioned that he would fit into that category.

"It was nothing. A misunderstanding in the men's room." Kevin had no idea what he'd heard or how he'd heard it so fast. It must have been a spy. Lou had planted them before; people to secretly keep an eye on his gravytrain.

He snorted a laugh, suddenly, as he realized what a bad pun he'd made.

"I'm tired, Lou, and AJ still hasn't recovered from today. We have a full schedule tomorrow, so I'm going to bed."

"Not with that boy you aren't!"

The man moved like he was going to restrain him. Kevin took a step forward, and leaned over to meet this eyes.

"If I did, what the hell could you do about it? Hm? Tell me, Lou. You forget who am I sometimes. You forget what I can do."

The warning was delivered in the calm, rational tones he was known for. It didn't make it any less threatening. He watched Lou's eyes go wide and felt a momentary surge of satisfaction.

This man had done this to him. Had done this to *them*. Lured them in with his promises when most of them were too young to know better. Flattered and pampered Nick's family until they gave up all legal rights to their son. Worked on Brian's conscience until he was convinced this was what God wanted him to do. Promised then 14-year-old AJ that doctors would be found. Treatments developed. That he wouldn't have to suffer for the rest of his life.

Kevin didn't now what he'd promised Howie, but he suspected it was the same things that had gotten Kevin himself here. He'd been 21 then, the oldest, with Howie just behind him at 19. Howie had dropped out of college and given up other dreams, to come to the aid of his country when he was called. Kevin had come as part of a package deal with Brian, so he could keep an eye on his cousin even as the teen slipped deeper into his religious fanaticism.

He had joined to take care of the others. He hadn't done such a great job of it, but he was here. Taking care of them as best he could, and helping as many people as they would let him.

"You know you can be replaced," Lou bluffed.

"Hardly." Shifting AJ again, Kevin got him sorted with his head on Kevin's shoulder and his arms tucked close to his body. "Metas aren't nearly as common as the government wishes they were. I know you haven't found anyone that can do what I can."

The NSNC boys could do some pretty cool stuff, especially the shapechanger, and their tough guy was pretty damned tough. Kevin drew no comfort from knowing he was the strongest being on the planet. He'd had to fight to keep them from calling him 'Superman'. It would have been an insult to the idol.

"All you are is an expensive publicity gimmick," Lou said, his words low and mean. "The time will come when you're more trouble than you're worth."

It hurt, and Kevin sucked in a breath. He had to think a minute before he replied. He knew a lot of people thought he was stupid, because of his size and the way he did that; thought before he spoke. He needed to get it clear in his head before the words came out, but he knew he wasn't stupid. Certainly not compared to the piece of human trash facing him.

"When that time comes, I'll still be Train, Lou. And you'll still just be a sniveling government lackey."

He turned and walked away, grateful that he wasn't Superman. The comic-book hero had super-hearing as one of his powers, and there was no way Kevin wanted to hear what Lou was saying right that minute.

AJ's rooms were on the top floor, one up from Kevin's. When they'd moved in he'd wanted to be there, and there he had stayed. His suite on the right, D's on the left, to get him as far away from the others as possible. Kevin and Brian were below him, and Nick lived on the third floor. He used to share it with a chaperone, but that had ended a couple of years ago. Now he slept most night in Brain's rooms, hating to be alone, but hating having strangers around just as much. Out there it was okay, but not here. Not where they lived.

Lived and worked way too hard. Wishing he could count on a full night's sleep, Kevin took AJ to his rooms and put the younger man into the guest bed in the second bedroom. It took a few minutes to peel him out of the spandex trousers and wifebeater and who let him *dress* that way? but he covered him up and started to leave as soon as he was done.

"Train?"

It was just a whisper, but he stopped at the door. And sighed, keeping it to himself. AJ deserved better than that from him.

He turned back, and saw wide, dark eyes staring at him in the darkness.

"Yeah, Bone. You need some meds or something?" Painkillers didn't work well on AJ's metabolism, but they could take the edge off. Another reason he drank so much despite his youth.

"No...Just don't want to be alone. D'ya mind?"

He was so young, and he hurt so bad. Kevin sighed again, and went back to sit on the bed beside him.

"I don't mind." he said. It was the truth.

AJ laid back on the pillow, the blanket clutched in both hands and pulled high, up to his neck. It made Kevin grin, just a little.

"Close your eyes," he urged, letting his voice drop low. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

Obediently, AJ did. His fists relaxed on the covers, just slightly.

Using one hand to stroke the short hair, Kevin began to sing softly. Some silly pop song he'd heard on the radio or someplace. Maybe something Kaos played to dance to. They couldn't keep that boy from dancing, even when it made all sorts of bizzare things happen around him.

A few verses in he realized the song was really sort of romantic and maybe not the best choice, but he was already singing it. And it looked like AJ was starting to fall asleep safely, so he didn't start another. This was the most dangerous time for him. Going to sleep or waking up; in the twilight moments between asleep and awake, AJ's body was notorious for confusing friend with foe and spiking out. When that happened it took hours for the spikes to retract, and hours longer for him to calm enough to sleep again.

When it happened they all went without. Keeping AJ calm and feeling safe became a group effort. If AJ didn't sleep, none of them did.

It had been almost two years ago that they discovered he liked being sung to. Apparently it was something his mother had done when he was little. He had forgotten it, as you do when you grow older, but Kevin had carelessly began to hum one night as he sat and stroked AJ's hair, and it had worked.

It was good that Kevin could carry a tune, because it wasn't safe for anyone else to be this close to him during these times.

As he sang and petted, Kevin worried. It was obvious to all of them that AJ was having more and more trouble controlling his power. In his case it was more like a curse. Rok couldn't really do anything; the spikes were a natural part of Bone's body. He wasn't ill or injured. He was just Bone.

He didn't let his thoughts or worries show on his face. Every few minutes AJ would hiss and shift, or whimper and open his eyes. Just a bit. Just enough to see that Kevin was still there. Fear stalked his sleep, Kevin knew. The fear of waking in pain, the fear of waking and finding he'd hurt someone. Just the simple embarrassment of waking to find he'd destroyed another mattress. Lou had yelled at him about it only a couple of months ago, and Kevin had done more than intimidate the man. He'd physically thrown him out of the rooms. Would have hurt him if D hadn't been there to sooth everyone and get them off that edge.

Lou hadn't been back in the residence since. Kevin would be happy if he never did.

He petted AJ and sang, as softly as he could. The others would be back soon and he needed to get at least some sleep tonight. The first training session of the morning was for Brian, and he needed to be fresh and ready for it. They were always coming up with new ways to test him. Brian saw it as testing his faith, and he never failed. But sometimes Kevin put his foot down and vetoed a test. Some things were just too dangerous to do just for the sake of science, or prurient curiosity.

AJ sighed and his face crinkled. Kevin saw the tip of a spike starting to come through the back of his hand. He took the hand and stroked it, putting a little more force into his song. It would be better if Howie did this, but the empath needed a break. They expected too much of him.

They expected too much from all of them.

No more spikes appeared, so Kevin kept holding the hand. He moved to sit more on the bed so he wouldn't slide off if he had to move quickly...

"Train."

Hearing his name, Kevin groaned almost silently and turned away from the sound. He was so damned tired. If his body could ache, he would have been screaming from it.

"Kevin. *Kev*." Someone shook him and he fought the urge to react with violence.

"What?" he snapped, his voice low. It was instinct. He didn't realize he'd fallen asleep beside AJ until he opened his eyes and saw Nick staring at him, wide-eyed and sleep-tossled.

"Rok said you were in here, and he couldn't come get you."

"Shit," breathing deeply, Kevin became aware enough to see that not only was he asleep beside AJ, he had an arm thrown over the younger man's body and the covers had slipped down, caught on the small spikes on Bone's hand.

Another ongoing problem like there weren't enough to worry about already was Brian's continuing refusal to acknowledge the truth about Kevin. Homosexuality was a sin, and that was as complicated as it got for him. He refused to be involved in any discussion of or situation concerning it. Their relationship was being sorely tested.

"How did he know?" Knowing full well that Nick didn't believe for a minute he was doing anything remotely sexual with AJ, Kevin carefully disengaged himself from him and rolled out of the bed, pausing to make sure Bone stayed asleep.

"He came in to check on him after I woke him with a bad dream." Nick shrugged but looked guilty. Kevin was reminded that he didn't carry all the burdens around here. "He was worried Bone was hurting and not sleeping."

"That was nice of him. Go tell him everything is fine. I'm going to my bed and you're going to yours, okay?"

He didn't mention the mess at the club earlier. It hadn't been Nicky's fault. Instead, he gave the teen a strong hug, marveling at the height he'd gained in just a few months. He would have teased him about it, but was afraid they would wake AJ and all the effort he'd put into getting him to sleep would be wasted.

"'kay. G'nite, Train."

"Goodnight, Nicholas. Sweet dreams."

It seemed a long walk to his own bed. It was cold and lonely and he ached in ways he shouldn't, again, but he stripped down and climbed in and promptly forgot everything he was supposed to be worried about as exhaustion hit him like a hammer.

***

"What are they doing here?"

Standing in the green room, in the main training room, Kevin heard Brian's soft question and turned to see what he meant.

There were two prep rooms on this side of the MTR, one green and the other blue, separated by a thick sound-proofed glass wall, each with its own locker room. BSB had chosen the green one when they first started, not realizing that when the second team was formed they would be given rights to the other. Not that it mattered, there were basically identical, but they hadn't really thought there would be another *team*, not back then. When they were still special.

Next door, in the blue room, two members of NSNC were sitting in the line of chairs, looking ready to go out.

He looked around for Heidi, but didn't see her, on the catwalk above the arena or in the raised, glass-fronted control room.

He *did* see Lou, headed for them, and he stepped in front of Brian automatically, needing to shield his cousin from the man's abrasive questions. The less the government knew about how Brian's power worked, the safer Brian was.

It seemed that lately he spent more time fighting the people he worked for than actual bad guys.

Lou came in with his big grin in place, his hands together, like he was resisting the urge to hug them. He'd done that when they were new and too young to argue with him.

"So, what do you think? Dr. Jeffers thought this would be a great idea - it's time we started mixing it up between the teams. Give you a better idea what you might face in the real world.

Already edgy from the night before, Kevin found it hard to not just shove the man out of the room.

"So what, we've been dancing in the streets for the past five years?" They'd faced several dangerous enemies and situations. The volcanic eruption in Hawaii three years ago had put Kaos, Sweet D and B-Rok in the hospital. They had saved thousands of people.

Brian had called it their 'Trial by Fire' and said that their success meant that God was on their side. Holding Nick's hand while he whimpered from the pain of his burns, Kevin had doubted that logic.

"This is just an idea," Lou tried to placate. He'd been skittish around Kevin since being thrown out by Train. "The committee thinks a different division of powers might work better. Be more efficient."

Feeling rage grow within him, Kevin knew what he was hearing. They were going to try to break them up. Divide and conquer. That would make it easier for them to control or get rid of troublemakers like himself.

Or worse.

One thing he had always feared - they all had - was that, in throwing their lots in with the government, they were opening themselves to real danger. Not from villains or missions, but politicians and scientists who wanted to know how they worked and how best to exploit them.

Without the team around, any one of them could be made to vanish without a trace. They could find themselves in some secret lab, strapped to a table while soulless men tried to find out what made them tick.

They'd all talked about it, one of the times they'd all managed to get away. Without a handler or Lou or anyone they didn't trust - which left, basically, Lenny. He'd given good advice, too. Everyone had agreed that the ones most at risk were Kevin and Brian. Because of the potential of their powers, and the fact they were related. So far they were the only known metas with a genetic link.

They all knew a secret about that, too. Nick's little brother Aaron had begun showing signs of meta last year. So far he'd been able to hide it, believing his brother when Nick told him he had to, to be safe.

After Train and B, Kaos would probably be the target. If his abilities could be sharpened and he could be pointed like a gun, he would be devastating.

In the blue room, Spazz and Crooner were looking over at them, at little worried, it seemed.

"Who decided how to match us up? Those two aren't really a challenge for the two of us. They could get hurt." This seemed the least dangerous way to object to the arrangement.

Lou shook his head, greasy smile still in place.

"No, no, this was carefully thought out. There's always been some question of how well you can control yourself, you know, Train. The point of this exercise is to avoid capture without *hurting* anyone."

*Hurting?!*

He was almost on the man before Brian's hand on his arm stopped him. Instantly.

It had been over a year since his cousin touched him for any reason other than training. Kevin was, in his eyes, unclean.

Simply the shock of it made him stop, and turn to stare at Brian.

"Of course he can, Lou," Brian spoke with such gentle clarity. "Train has never hurt anyone during an exercise. Not even Kaos. He's never hurt anyone during a mission. I know you know that."

"Well, things can change. It seems his self-control hasn't been what it could be lately." Lou smirked. Kevin felt a cold knot in the pit of his stomach. What was he talking about?

Dr. Jeffers got on the com and called them.

"We're ready to get started, boys. We don't have any time to waste here. These tests are important, you know."

He was so patronizing. Kevin thought briefly about picking something up and throwing it through the re-enforced glass the man hid behind. He had that thought practicably every time they had a training session.

Jeffers looked at him like an animal. He looked at them all that way. Like he wanted to cut them open and see what made them work.

He always seemed self-satisfied, too. Like he knew someday he'd get the chance.

Brain's hand rubbed Kevin's arm, once. Kevin looked down at it, and felt his eyes start to fill.

"Bri-"

"Hurry it up, boys, we haven't got all day!" Jeffers shouted. Lou was watching them with a gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah, cuz." Brain took his hand away, but Kevin felt a warmth from him. He forced his face into the mask of control he wore most of his life. "C'mon. We've got work to do."

They met the other two heroes in the center of the room. There were awkward handshakes.

"Gonna take it easy on us, Train?" Crooner tilted his head and asked shyly. He seemed to have a case of hero-worship. It made Kevin pleased, but uncomfortable.

"Wouldn't harm a curly hair on your head," he teased, to lighten the mood. Crooner was terribly pretty, with his cheekbones and tight blond curls. The girls sure went for him. He was the one most compared to Kaos, their own little sex symbol.

Sometimes Train was considered one, too. He thought that was just strange. And AJ -- who would think of him as sexy?

Vaguely remembering a lithe body pressed next to his in the night, he suddenly found himself hot and wondering why. Not because of AJ, surely? No way. That was just deprivation talking.

A large wall came up from the floor and the two teams backed up until they were separated.

"This will be quick, boys." Train grit his teeth. He hadn't been a *boy* in a long time. No matter what their name actually stood for. "All you have to do is capture and restrain both members of the other team, for fifteen minutes, without injury."

"Will the wall drop?" Crooner asked. Train couldn't see them, but he swore he could hear Spazz vibrating. How the hell was a speeder supposed to contain either of them?

"No, you go when the buzzer sounds."

No sooner had he said the words than the red light flashed and the buzzer made the grating sound it did.

He didn't even see Spazz - he was on the ground and rolling before he realized what had happened. It was a good tactic - keeping him down made it harder for him to fight back.

He was pushed into the nearest wall at high speed. If he hadn't been invulnerable he might have been killed. He hoped the kid didn't try this on anyone else.

He lay still for a minute, waiting to see what Spazz would do. When the kid stopped to look down at him, he lashed out and grabbed an ankle.

"Hey!" he really seemed startled that Train was still conscious. "You -!"

Lying comfortably on the floor, Train turned his head to look for B-Rok. He felt his eyes widen. His grip on Spazz's ankle didn't ease, but he shifted to get a better view.

It was amazing. Crooner stood with his back to the wall, arms spread wide, head tipped back. His mouth was open and the most amazing sound was coming from it.

A wall of glowing, shimmering yellow light arched away from him, bowing over toward B-Rok.

Train's cousin was on his knees, his hands before his face, as if beseeching his God. His eyes were closed, and he looked - transcendent. It was as if his inner glow, usually so carefully hidden, was rising to meet the light Crooner created.

His light, the wall he created, was a shade darker than Crooner's. More of a gold than yellow. Richer and deeper and somehow purer. No more beautiful. The voice that Crooner used added an element of purity to his light Train had never imagined.

B-Rok's wall met Crooner's, curved beneath it. It was as if he was trying to hold Crooner's wall up instead of beat it down. In his mind's eye, Train could see the two sources of light dancing on some ethereal plane.

His hand suddenly jerked, and he realized Spazz was trying to vibrate himself out of the hold.

"You're going to hurt yourself," he warned, but the kid didn't stop. The movement became stronger. It was awe-inspiring, to watch his body literally blur as he moved in place. "You really are." He could feel the skin under his hand as it heated up. Spazz was going to give himself a fierce friction burn. Would that be blamed on Train? He didn't want to take the chance, not with things the way they were. With Lou making vague insinuations about his 'self control'.

He let go of the ankle and watched Spazz shake himself off the floor. He hadn't heard the boy could fly - no, wait, he was coming down again. It must have been residual effect.

He rolled to his feet, slower than he would have liked, and promptly found himself knocked down again. That was a pretty good trick. He would have to learn how to defend against it.

But it got old quick. Knocking him down over and over again shouldn't count as restraining him. This time, when he grabbed the ankle, Train yanked Spazz down and rolled over him. Hard to vibrate properly with four hundred pounds of compacted muscle on top of you.

He heard some muffled complaints, but didn't move until Spazz was still.

"Can you breath okay?" he shifted enough to be sure. Accidentally smothering him would be on the side of bad.

"Yes, you beast!"

Train blinked. It sounded like he was flirting.

"You a little *too* comfortable down there, kid?"

"Not with all this leather, no." There was a definite wriggle. Startled, Train shifted and Spazz got an arm free. It began to shake violently.

"Stop that!" grabbing the free wrist, Train stuffed it back beneath his chest.

"Why, you like it too much, big boy?" the wiggling seemed to have *intent*."

"Hey!" shocked, Train rolled over and held Spazz in the air above him. "Behave yourself. You're going to get in trouble."

"Not *me*," Spazz grinned at him, and it was pure mischief. "I've heard stories. It's you that'll get blamed for this, man. Not me."

"Interesting tactic. I should've let you hurt yourself."

"Still can..."

With horror, Train watched as Spazz's eyes slid closed and his head began to shake. He wasn't able to hold on as the shaking spread over the slender body.

"Damn!" he put Spazz on the ground and resorted to sitting on him. It was a bumpy ride, but, finally, the teen gave up and lay still, panting.

"Perv."

"It wasn't my idea to make me look bad," he pointed out, once again watching the light-duel. It seemed that neither one of them were getting the upper hand. The walls strained and shifted, but still seemed to be dancing together.

He looked up at the control booth. Jeffers was staring down with eager eyes.

And there was someone standing beside him. someone Train recognized all too easily.

"Shit. Senator's here."

"He is? Damn, I'm sorry -" Spazz twisted to look at him. His eyes were wide and worried. "I wasn't really trying to get you in trouble -!'

"What do they tell you guys about us?" Not understanding this at all, Train stood, slinging the exhausted speedster over his shoulder as he walked toward Crooner. With one punch he passed through the yellow wall, and then it only took a tap to knock the pretty boy out.

B-Rok gasped and flopped to his side.

"That sucked," he said softly.

"You seem pretty well matched." With an NSNC member on each shoulder, Train turned and glared at the booth. Jeffers was busy with the panels and computers, but there was a dark look on Senator's face. He could see it even from where he stood.

Jeffers got on the com again.

"We'll call that done, then. Train, Bone hasn't presented himself yet. His session is scheduled to start in five minutes."

Glancing up at the shielded clock, he was surprised to see that nearly an hour had passed since they started. It had been a harder battle than he'd thought. A good lesson, maybe.

"Take care of him, please, Rok," he said, laying Crooner in his cousin's lap. "I'm going to hunt AJ down."

"Yes." There was no argument. No matter what their personal differences, B-Rok always treated him with respect as team leader. Of them all, he probably knew best how hard it was for Kevin.

"I'll find him!" he called to the com, and left the room, not turning back when Jeffers called him. Lou caught up with him in the passage outside the MTR, the Senator by his side. Train reflected that, while he enjoyed being strong, being fast really would have been good too.

"Hold up there, boy." the Senator was another one that patronized. "We need to talk."

"I need to make sure Bone is okay, sir. He wasn't feeling at all well last night."

"Last night is another discussion we'll be having soon," the man said ominously. "Right now I'd like to know what the hell you thought you were doing in there?!"

"Huh?" he awaited, needing to know more. "We fulfilled the requirements of the test..."

"Grabbing that young boy like he was some sort of sex toy? You were all over him!"

"What?!" honestly shocked, Train actually shook his head and held up a hand to make the words stop. "He was - I was just -"

"Rolling on top of him, groping him.... he's barley even legal, and he's certainly not a sick pervert like you." the man seemed to be taking great pleasure in the words. "I'm going to have to take this to the committee. We can't have people like *you* representing our country."

Unable to speak, Train stared at him, then looked at Lou. The man was practically salivating. Train wondered what kind of bonus he would get if they managed to get his body on a lab table somewhere.

He wasn't going to let that happen.

"If this goes before the committee, I'm going to request an attorney. There are *laws*, you know. Against this kind of discrimination."

"They don't apply in matters of national security." The smug bastard.

"I have to find Bone," Train muttered finally. He turned his back on them, knowing they couldn't physically hurt him. If they tried to take him, he would leave, the others would protect him. He was secure in that knowledge. He didn't know how much safer it made him, but it did make him feel better about the situation.

With a heavy sigh he entered the elevator alone, and went to the top. He had to find AJ and see if he was okay.

There was no answer when he knocked on AJ's door. He was probably still asleep - it had been a late night and even the phone didn't always wake them up. Except Kevin. As team leader, he seldom slept deeply enough to be rested.

"AJ!" He called, not wanting to bring the others, if they were still in. Most likely they were. Howie keeping to himself and Nick playing Nintendo.

He'd put in a request for a Playstation last year and been denied, for no reason Kevin understood. They called it an extravagance. He was just a kid. Other kids had them, why shouldn't he?

Everything they had came from the government, but it all had to be approved. There was very little actual cash involved. They got rooms, free food, clothes and training.

They had signed on, filled with national pride, expecting to get paid, and signed contracts they hadn't read closely enough. Now they lived at the mercy of the damned committee.

It was a miracle AJ found the money to buy beer.

"Bone, come on. You're supposed to have a session!"

There was no answer from inside. With a grimace he opened the door. No one had been here since he'd left last night, and they never locked up anyhow. Wasn't like it would stop any one of them that insisted on getting in.

"Bone?" he called quietly, shutting the door behind him. "AJ?"

There was a sound from the bed. It wanted to be a moan, but it wasn't strong enough.

"Are you still sleeping?" Already Kevin was thinking up excuses for him. If he was asleep and not in pain, then he needed to rest. It came so rarely.

As soon as he got around to the side of the bed AJ was on he saw how wrong he was. With the covers pulled over his head, it was all too obvious that he was all spiked out underneath. The shape was pointy, sharp bits sticking through in several places.

"Oh, AJ," It hurt just to look at him like this. Carefully Kevin worked the blankets free of the spikes. AJ barely moved, though it had to be hurting him.

There was an empty liquor bottle in the bed beside him. Kevin got a blast of tequila-scented air and winced.

"Oh, damn you. How could you do this, first thing in the morning? You knew you had to go train today - they're going to come up and see you like this -!" Anger burst from him. "Bone! Bone! Wake up, you've got to get sobered up!"

AJ just grunted and shifted, accompanied by the sound of tearing cloth.

"Where is that boy? We can't have this kind of shirking. The way this group is run is a disgrace! Things are going to change around here!"

Damn! The Senator was up here. What was he doing? This was private space, theirs!

"What's goin - oh hi, sir!" Nick's bright and cheerful voice was overly loud. Kevin breathed a short prayer and bent to pick AJ up. The spikes bent and prodded at him, making small holes in the leather of his uniform. Didn't hurt him, though. As fast as he could, he carried him into the bathroom and dumped him in the glass shower, then turned the water on. Not cold - that was too cruel and AJ hurt enough already. Just warm, to get him conscious.

Leaving him whimpering under the spray, Kevin ran back into the bedroom, wincing as his footsteps thumped heavily on the floor. It was re-enforced, but he was so heavy. Sometimes he was afraid to walk on porches and roofs and things.

He took the bottle and crushed it into the toilet, then flushed the glass dust. He stripped the bed and put the torn linens in the hamper, then threw the spread over the bare mattress.

When he got back into the bathroom AJ was on his knees, his hands braced on the wall under the sprayhead. His spine was a line of sharp, bloodied spikes.

They only came out that bloody when they came too fast and too hard. There had been days, early on, when he'd literally dripped blood, all day long. That's when he'd started wearing black all the time.

"Oh, baby -" Kevin was on his knees beside him, in the shower. The leather was instantly heavy and creaky, but he didn't care. "Oh, Jesus."

AJ pulled away, but then leaned into the embrace he offered, as if he'd remembered it was safe for Kevin to touch him.

"Why is it so bad, Train?" He whispered, the muscles in his arms tense and tight. His ribs stood out too clearly in his brown skin, the spikes adding a start graphic element to the picture his body was illustrating. "Why won't it *stop*?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry. We'll figure it out, we will. I promise."

He heard voices in the bedroom. The Senator, Nick and Lou - LOU?

"I'm sorry, I'll be right back." He gave AJ a hard squeeze and climbed up. With a towel wiping his face he left the steamy room and went into the bedroom again. Dripping on the thick carpet.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Texans were such a pain in the ass, Kevin thought. All bluster and posturing. At least the politicians.

"AJ's sick. I was helping him get cleaned up." He threw the towel on the bed, to further discourage anyone from sitting there.

"I heard shouting." Howie appeared at the door. Behind Lou, who was too frightened to actually come in. Good.

As soon as Howie's face came into view, Kevin felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He stood straighter and breathed more evenly. Suddenly tearing the head off the Senator from Texas didn't seem like an absolutely necessary thing to do.

The small man shouldered Temple aside and came in, passing Kevin and going to the bathroom.

"He drank too much last night, that's no excuse to waste the day!"

"No, sir, it's not like that." Nick was speaking up again. Kevin wondered if Temple saw the way he was wriggling, so slowly and curiously. Calling on his Kaos powers, even while talking to the man. Going to stand beside him, Kevin put a hand on his shoulder to warn him.

They couldn't use it like this. It wasn't right. It wasn't the first time, of course, but Lou was there, and Lou might see.

"He's been having a lot of trouble controlling his powers," Kevin explained politely. "That's why he drinks. He's hurting a lot, all the time."

"Your 'scientists' can't do anything for him!" Nick accused. He was being still under Kevin's hand but clearly angry about it.

"I don't know why he's still on the team at all. He's a freak - like you, Train. The others are more natural. They're almost *normal*, especially Brain. The two of you, you and 'Bone' - I'm not sure there's always going to be a place for you here."

The cold feeling was inside him again. Howie came right out and stood an equal distance between him and the bathroom. It didn't really make Kevin feel better, though. D must have just been trying to prevent actual violence.

They were all too tired for this. Too much stress. Too much everything.

"Why don't you schedule a full committee meeting and we can talk about it?" he suggested, knowing that wasn't what the man wanted. The team had strong supporters on the committee. People who knew exactly how important he and Bone were. The roles they played.

They had psychological exams every six months. The results were paraphrased for the public, but the committee and they had access to them. In fact, they discussed them with the doctor every time. And every time it was clear Train's leadership role was vital to their success in the field. And Bone's role - it was impossible to define. But he was always there. Right where he needed to be, when he needed to be there. His timing was almost supernatural.

Temple looked perturbed by the suggestion, then Brian was there. All of them were in the room now. Brian walked to stand right beside Kevin, bumping his shoulder. Nick came to stand on the other side.

"You know what?" Kevin looked at them. Nick was fidgeting again. Brian looked exhausted from the session - which hadn't taught them anything or proved anything. Howie was still too pale, and he himself felt too heavy to breath.

The bathroom door opened and AJ stumbled out, a towel around his waist, slung low because of the spikes on his back. Kevin yanked his eyes away as fast as he could and continued speaking.

"We need a break. We're burning out, and no one seems to have noticed. We haven't had any downtime in over six months."

"You're metas - you don't need 'downtime'." Temple made a mulish face.

"Everyone needs downtime. We're tired, and we're taking a few days off. Barring natural disasters or anything that actually requires our presence, we're officially off duty as of now." he stepped forward, arms crossed over his chest. The muscles bulged. He thrust his head forward and made direct eye contact. "Another thing: these rooms are our private quarters. P-r-i-v-a-t-e. Do you understand what that means or do I need to get you a dictionary?"

"I have full clearance..." the man blustered, but he must have realized he was in the wrong on the issue. He looked back at Lou, who still just outside the doorway, and winced. "I will call and schedule that meeting. You are not allowed to orchestrate a mutiny."

"Just a rest. Our contract gives us one guaranteed day a week, and we haven't gotten that for months. We should be able to take them *all*.'

He kept his threatening stance until the man left. None of them had enhanced hearing, but he wished for it as the door closed.

Then he collapsed unto the floor with an ominous thud. There was an echo behind him as AJ did the same.

"Train? Train? He can't do that, can he? Can't make you quit and leave us?!" Nick was all over him, panicky. He reached up and hugged the teen's shoulders tightly, feeling him shake.

"No, he can't. The whole committee would have to vote on it - " he spoke gently as Brian carefully pried Nick off. "You go with Bri now, I have to take care of Bone for a little while, then I'll come and get you. We can all have lunch together, okay?" He held Nick's arms while the boy stared down at him. Brian's face looked over his shoulder. He was concerned, but seemed to approve of Kevin's plan.

"Burgers?" Nick begged, and there was a minute for laughter.

"Whatever you want." Brian was taking him away now. "Go play for a bit."

It took several hours to get AJ settled enough that the spikes retracted. By the end of it Howie was looking as pale as Kevin felt.

"I'm going to order some lunch. Why don't we eat in here, with some quiet music or cartoons," he suggested, sitting on the bed beside AJ. He looked small and quiet now, resting peacefully with Howie nearby.

D nodded. Kevin caught him as he walked by and pulled him into a hug. The smaller man came unresisting.

"I wanted you to know - I am grateful for the offer you made. I hope you can understand why I had to turn you down."

Not moving, Howie just looked at him.

"Am I hurting you?" Kevin asked, more worried about his tangled emotional state than actual physical harm.

"Not now. Sometimes," Howie admitted. "We're all so unhappy, Kev. We can't keep on this way."

"But why is it so bad? Is it because of AJ? Or me?"

"It's not you." Howie's hand touched his face, briefly. "It's the situation. Too many things are out of our control. There are too many unknowns."

"I don't know how to fix this shit. Will the problems get better on their own?"

"Some might." He pulled himself away from Kevin. "Others - no."

Looking at AJ, holding his hand, Kevin knew what he was talking about.

"I'll get the others. You order Nicky's hamburger."

"Yeah," a shared smile - the boy did love to eat, and then Howie was gone. Kevin used the room phone to call the kitchens and order a meal for them all. He was told it might take more than an hour. That seemed a like a long time.

Maybe it was part of the plan to make them crazy?

Nah. He was just being paranoid.

It felt less like paranoia the next morning, when they didn't receive their wake up calls. Always an early riser, Kevin was shocked to wake groggy and find it was past 8 a.m. He went round the other rooms and woke everyone else up. Then breakfast was two hours late. Beyond irritated, he gathered everyone for a quick meeting to discuss how they were going to deal with this situation.

For privacy's sake they met again in AJ's rooms. Since everyone had a suite, there was a comfortable rec area. AJ had furnished it with two large couches, floor pillows and a large TV. That had been back when they began, when they were still valued and could get anything they wanted - within reason.

As he waited for everyone to settle, Brain and Howie flanking Nick on one sofa and AJ beside Kevin, he thought about that. Did that make the fact they were almost prisoners more bearable? Had they just been too caught up in the excitement of everything to realize what was being done to them? Something about gilded cages ran through his mind.

"This isn't right," Brain spoke first.

"Hang on, I want to get some background noise." Kevin turned on the TV, finding it tuned to CNN. AJ often watched it while falling asleep. This morning he looked sober, but Kevin was close enough to smell the alcohol on his breath. He'd already been drinking. On the bright side, there wasn't a spike in sight, and he was wearing only a pair of baggy sweats.

On the dark side, the sight of his hard muscled stomach, with the suggestive tattoo on brown skin, was enough to tempt any saint's self control.

The need for background noise was unspecific. They didn't really think they were being monitored, but why take chances?

A series of commercials; cars, computers, credit cards - passed without notice, then the top stories came up. It seemed that no one really wanted to talk about the problems right this instant, so Kevin just sat back and watched TV with everyone else.

AJ's leg touched his and he ignored it.

Then some video came on screen that made him sit back up.

A city was burning. Flames everywhere, screaming people, a scene from hell.

"Turn it up," Brian said urgently.

"The fire started simultaneously in several parts of the city - sources say it's the result of years of drug gang warfare. Cuban officials say they're using every resource, but relief organizations say the infrastructure doesn't exist, and they're letting the fire burn out, despite the loss of life and housing."

"Dear God." Howie spoke what they were all thinking.

"Kevin -" Nick whined.

"I'm on it."  He was already pulling out his phone and hitting Lou's number on speed dial. "Hey, Lou, hi," he said conversationally, getting up and pacing around the ack of the sofa. He was stopped by AJ's hand on his arm. "Listen, I know we said we wanted to take a break, but that was only if nothing urgent came up. No, I'm not talking about training sessions. We just saw on CNN -- this fire in Cuba. It's gigantic. There are lots of people -" He paused and listened to the man list the reasons they couldn't go to Cuba; sanctions, communist regime, the expense of transportation, current concerns about their behavior...

 -- unable to stand it, he hung up on him and turned to face the others. AJ was still touching him. It was distracting; Kevin brushed his hand away.

"He says no. Sanctions and shit."

"He can't say no. We're *needed*!" Brian looked like he was in pain. "I have to go there, Train. I'm needed. God is calling me."

It made Kevin sad that Brian called him Train at this time, but he pushed that aside too. Like he pushed away everything that got in the way of him doing his job as team leader.

He wondered, for the first time, where this stuff went when he did that.

Howie was getting up, looking tense and tight. Before he could start projecting Kevin went to him.

"It's okay, D. We have to feel some things. As long as we aren't trying to hurt each other, I think we should ease up on the emotional bufferage, okay?" Gently he steered him back to the sofa and Nick's side. "You've got enough to do right now anyhow."

Howie sat, but didn't relax.

"Heidi's coming," he said softly. "She's upset."

They were all looking at the door when she knocked. Like she knew where they would be. Were they getting predictable?

"Come on in," Kevin called. When she did, things seemed to get darker. She looked unhappy, and maybe even a little bit angry.

"We need to talk." Hands on her hips, her mouth in a tight line.

"Funny, we were thinking the same thing." Kevin faced her, standing in front of the others. "First thing you gotta know - we won't be using Howie to smooth the edges off this time."

"That's good, because I don't care how powerful he is - there's no way I'm going to calm down."

They faced. So many situations in their lives became confrontations. It wasn't enough that they did this for a living, it had to be like this in their private lives too? That wasn't right. Like Brian said.

"So what's got your panties in a twist?" AJ snarled at her. Startled by the nastiness, Kevin turned to look at him and saw everyone else was too.

"You, for starters. Mostly it's *Train* - I trusted you, dammit! You knew the risks and you still couldn't keep it in your pants!"

No sooner had she said the words than AJ and Nick were both in front of Kevin, crowding him back. Shock, shame and embarrassment washed over him in waves. He wavered and thought he might fall.

"I've got you, Train," Howie's whisper was welcome, as was the support he offered with his compact body.

"You better tell us why you're so angry," Howie told Heidi.

"This isn't the time for innuendo and misunderstandings." Brian was his traditionally soft-spoken self. "Speak plainly."

Kevin looked away. He couldn't stand to hear it. Howie's hands tightened on him. One arm slipped around his waist.

Her voice was steady but still angry.

"Someone heard you. In the bathroom. Heard the whole thing."

"That's not possible - there was no one else there!" Nick almost shouted.

"How carefully did you check? Every stall? The service closet?"

Kevin looked up, then. He couldn't let Nick take the blame for this. Never for what Kevin did. "I didn't check. I was too - I was looking forward to meeting this guy -"

"You were so excited you came in your pants the minute he touched you!" she was shouting now. He didn't flinch, but felt Howie.

Brian had turned his back on the whole scene. Kevin knew he was praying. It irritated him and hurt. Odd to feel those two things so close together.

"Who knows? What are we dealing with?" Howie asked reasonably.

"Yeah, how bad can it be?" AJ was still being snarky. Kevin reached to tap his shoulder and shake his head at him.

"I trusted you, Train. I told you this was not the time for that. Now there's some guy giving interviews to sleazy magazines - it's only a matter of time before the real journalists bring up the same old questions. There will be speculation. Frankly, you guys can't take the scrutiny right now."

"What have we done that's so wrong? Why is everyone mad at us?" suddenly Nick seemed on the verge of tears. Kevin reached for him, but Brian was there first, dragging Nick into his arms protectively. Away from Kevin.

"The atmosphere has changed in the last year," Heidi looked more tired than angry now. She sat on the chair nearest the door. Brian sat with Nick, but the others stayed up. Kevin felt his eyes burning, but swore to himself that he wouldn't cry. Gay or not, he wasn't a girl. "You're still very popular, but people are starting to question your lifestyles. Now that there are more of you, and you don't show up at every little crisis..."

"That's not our decision," Kevin protested. "They schedule all these training sessions and photo ops and appearances - we barely have time to actually save lives anymore."

"And even when we do they tell us who we can and can't save, where we can and can't go," Howie added.

"Like Cuba."

They all turned to look at Brian. His face was tight. Nick was sobbing quietly on his shoulder.

"We should be there."

"What 'lifestyle' are they pissed about?!" AJ growled at her. "It's not like we get *paid* for this shit. Every night I lie here trying to sleep, blood everywhere and I don't know what - What I'm doing it for. Shit, Nicky couldn't even get a fucking *Playstation*! He's been doing this since he was 12! Doesn't he deserve that much?!"

An enraged AJ was cool to look at, but if he got any more upset he'd spike out and all the rest he'd gotten last night would be wasted. Kevin put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back to his own body to calm him. He'd told Howie to not affect them and he wouldn't, until Kevin told him to. He was a good soldier and trusted his leader.

"People should know that," Kevin heard himself say. "Before they judge us. We should be able to tell them. What would they do if we told people, Heidi? What could they do to us?"

"No one would believe you. They see the quarters, the cars, the clothes, the nights out..."

"We don't own any of that. It's all in the committee's name."

"You can't prove that without betraying national secrets."

"We have to go to Cuba." Brian spoke firmly and with force. "People will understand, if we go and help. We have to do what we're here to *do*. Not here in these rooms -" he waved his free hand around. "Here on this Earth. What God put us here to do."

"That's a lovely sentiment, but they're not going to let you go."

Kevin watched her face. He nudged Howie with an elbow and saw the change in the other man's demeanor as he took a reading of their handler. She was worried, that was clear, but he wasn't sure what of.

Howie glanced at him, eyes flickering to the side, and Kevin knew that whatever he felt from her, it frightened him.

"They're going to split us up," he said, earlier fears coalescing into dread certainty. "Change the groups; put some of you with some of the others."

"Some of 'us?" Nick raised his head. It was funny which words he picked up on.

"Not me. And probably not Bone. I think - I think they want to get us alone."

Their greatest fear, spoken aloud. As a real possibility.

"Over my dead body." AJ snarled. Kevin tightened his hold on him. With both arms around him, he felt the spikes start coming, and was sorry it had gone this way. AJ twisted and bit back moans of pain, but still glared at Heidi. Unable to hold on without hurting him, Kevin had to loosen his hold. The spikes hit him hard. Anyone else would have been swiss-cheese.

"They will not take you, cousin." Brian stood, urging Nick up.

"If that's the way it's going to be, then we'll be going." Howie added his voice.

"They wouldn't dare do that..." Heidi looked at them, her eyes wide. "Would they?"

"You tell us." Kevin nodded at her. "What do you think they're planning?"

"I don't know, but I can't believe it's that!" Flustered, she got up and straightened her skirt with both hands. She headed for the door. Kevin wanted to stop her, but his arms were full of spiking Bone. He was relieved when Howie did, stepping in front if her and reaching to touch her face gently.

"I know how worried you are," he told her. "I know that you know there's more going on here than they say."

"I'm sorry I betrayed your trust," Kevin whispered. He could barely say the words, it hurt so bad. But his pain could be nothing compared to what AJ was suffering right this moment. "I just - I only -"

"He needs someone to love, like anyone else," Nick said, leaving Brain. He was wiping his eyes with the tail of his shirt. "It's not fair to make him live like that. He can't be alone. None of us can."

Feeling AJ twist and whimper almost silently, Kevin realized that what Nick was saying didn't just apply to him. Though he dated, would AJ ever have anyone? Would it ever be safe for him to love and live with anyone? And Nick, and Howie, how would they find love with their powers and disadvantages?

"We're going to Cuba." Brian followed Nick, and stared at Heidi. "You can tell them or not. It's something we have to do." He looked over at Kevin and his expression was challenging. "Right, Train?"

"Exactly right, B-Rok."

Heidi just stared at them, eyes wide. Then she opened her purse and pulled out her wallet, fumbling a little bit. Her hand thrust forward, a piece of silver plastic in it.

"It's the company card. Take it. I can say I don't know how you got it."

Kevin stared. Howie took the card.

"Go now. You're being ignored a little bit. To teach you some respect. I'll cover for you as long as I can."

"Car keys," Howie told her.

"Here." She handed them over without a word of protest.

"Get your gear, everyone," Kevin said, pulling on the Train mantle like it was any other mission. "Sweet D, you drive. B-Rok, sit in back with Bone and Kaos. Try to get Bone to pull in, at least until we get on a plane."

No one questioned him. Within minutes they were decked out and ready to go, gathering in front of the elevator. Bone's flexible mesh uniform was strained by the spikes, which had erupted haphazardly, a sure sign of distress.

They went with a nod and no words. There was no one in the front lobby except Lenny. He sat on a sofa, reading the newspaper.

"Mission?" he asked, looking slightly confused as he got up. He wasn't always notified, but there was usually press to see them off, etc.

"You don't have to go this time, old man," Train told him, stopping as D went to get the car. Heidi drove a large SUV, provided by the committee just so she could cart them around.

He realized that Howie didn't actually have a driver's license. He was the only one that did - because he'd gotten it before he joined up.

"Something up?" He could tell from the way Lenny's face wrinkled that he was thinking and figuring it out.

"Lenny!" Kaos wriggled into range and beamed at him. "How does a quick trip to Cuba sound?!"

Looking them all over with a paternal eye, Lenny grinned wolfishly.

"Absolutely *lovely*," he answered, heading for the door. "Here's the car now."

He held the door for them and climbed into the seat behind Train when they pulled away. It was where he always sat in this vehicle. The touch of normalcy made Train grateful, as always, for this man's loyalty.

D got them onto the freeway and he pulled out his phone. After a couple of information calls he realized it wouldn't be so easy to charter a plane to Cuba - because of the sanctions. Lenny must have been listening - he leaned forward and tapped Train on the shoulder when he rang off again, becoming worried. What use was a grand gesture if you couldn't actually make it?

"Mind if I help?"

Train handed the phone over without a word. He turned in his chair and checked the others while Lenny dialed. Bone was pressed against the side in the back seat, which was covered with reinforced steel mesh to protect it against him. It was also stunningly uncomfortable. Beside him B-Rok prayed, one hand on Bone's shoulder, and beside him Kaos wiggled like he was being eaten by ants.

"Ed?" Lenny's voice was too loud and he pulled back, but kept listening. "I got a job for you. Still say you'll go anywhere, anytime?" He listened for minute and then smiled. "Cuba. Now. Name your price."

Train almost winced, but decided it was worth it. If they could save one life. Save one home.

"Number 234? We'll be there. Twenty minutes."

Looking out at the traffic D was carefully negotiating, Train didn't think they'd get there that fast. He said as much when Lenny handed the phone back. And he wasn't sure they could trust whoever Lenny had called.

"Ed Green. His father was an army buddy of mine. He flies an old jet he bought with the insurance money when his dad died on the job. Says he'll go anywhere and do anything. Kind of a wild child."

"Is he any good?"

"The best pilot in the city," Lenny grinned. "I'm his Godfather, I should know. I make him rush, then he really will be ready to go when we get there. Howard, did you get that airstrip number?"

"Got it." He was concentrating too hard on the driving to say anything more.

Train nodded, and sat back. He wouldn't call the Cuban government until they were almost there. Wouldn't do to be shot down by the people they were trying to help.

Three hours later, by some miracle, they were stepping onto an airstrip in Cuba, right outside the burning capital city. They were met by worried officials that Lenny dealt with, just the way Heidi would have. Well, maybe not the same way. He just said "Give us a truck and we'll go save your city."

The officials were too damned shocked and grateful to argue. They didn't even stare at Bone, who bristled with bloody spikes, some over a foot long.

It was different than anything they'd ever done before. Walking into the city, the smell of smoke so thick in the air, Train realized that this was a whole new chapter in their lives. He stopped, suddenly, and turned to the others, reaching out his arms.

"I need -" he couldn't put it into words. D understood and came to him.

"We need to touch each other," he said, and his beautiful voice carried through the darkened air. "We need to know each other again."

He hugged Train tightly. Train closed his eyes and grabbed at Kaos, who was right there beside D. Bone came around behind him and wrapped his strong arms around Train's waist. At last B-Rok came over and leaned into Kaos, one hand on D's shoulder, the other just brushing Train's face.

He closed his eyes. Train watched, and knew he was saying a prayer for all of them, their safety, their success.

Usually it would have annoyed him, but this time, today, it felt right.

You needed a prayer before you stepped into hell.

For just one moment, it felt right. It felt perfect, and he could breath, no matter how bad the air tasted.

Then B-Rok let go and the others backed off - all except Bone, who kept hold of him, probably needing more comfort in his spiked-out state. They looked at him. Train looked at the city, spread before them.

He came up with a plan.

"Lenny, get hold of the nearest official and get us a command center set up, or take us to the one they already have. We'll need maps and status reports. Sweet D, you'll go where the panicking is the worse and help get people evacuated safely..."

***

12 hours.

24. 36.

48. 60. 72.

Endless hours.

The city emergency crews had been quick to point them where they needed to go, but Train decided who did what and where. He wasn't sending anyone into anything they couldn't handle. He was too aware that they had no back up, the medical facilities were overrun, they were alone here and most of the people didn't even speak English.

He covered as much ground as he could alone. There were things only he could do, because of his strength. B-Rok could do amazing things, too, involving strength, but sometimes Train was the only one that could clear the path.

The fire had burned for more than a week. It was too well established to put out completely. But he had B-Rok try.

That was the first visual engraved on his brain.

Not the actual attempt; it had taken hours itself, and Kevin had spent most of the time digging through a collapsed building for survivors. Digging literally; picking up car-sized chunks of concrete and throwing them to one side. He knew the news cameras had gotten all of that, and that was good. Better than them filming B-Rok on his knees, head thrown back, arms wide as he beseeched his God to stop this. To put out the fire.

He prayed and then he whispered and then, finally, only his lips moved. Crucified on the altar of his power, he gave everything he had, until he just fell over. Train got there just in time to see the medics dragging him off. They'd been told about his heart problem, he knew Brian would be looked after.

He cleared fallen buildings, moved dangerous debris. Felt, every hour, a renewed wonderment at what he could do, that he could do this at all. It was so amazing - this was not something meant to be controlled by politicians.

Anywhere things got out of hand, Kaos danced himself into exhaustion. His golden hair was hidden under a thick coating of ash, his fine features smudged and blurred, his movements became jerky and tight... but still he danced. And no one looking at him could call him anything but beautiful, whether they could actually see him or not.

Walls didn't fall when they should. Roofs didn't collapse, held in midair by nothing but a stray wind and chance. Air found its way to people trapped and thought past saving. People kept breathing as he danced around them, a startlingly crazy-looking witch doctor, lacking only feathers and chickens.

Sweet D wandered around, looking blind. He was pulled by the emotions around him, and followed them to find wherever he needed to be. Train saw him several times; more visuals.

Holding a screaming child so medics could treat her burns as the screams fade in his arms.

Soothing a sobbing woman as she cradled the broken body of her husband.

Taking a gun from a terrified man on the roof of a burning building - after Train threw him up there to help. Then he caught the survivors as Sweet D gently encouraged them to jump.

Of them all, D seemed the most affected. B-Rok recovered quickly from his collapse and returned to his efforts. By the second day he'd put out more fires than the entire fire department had in a week.

Then he began praying for rain.

It came. Oh, it came. In buckets and torrents and floods.

Through it all, Train worried the most about Bone. He stayed completely spiked, new ones growing beside old ones, his entire body simply covered. He smashed his way through walls, battered through debris, used himself as a wrecking ball over and over again. He couldn't eat because his face spiked, could only drink water through a straw. Couldn't touch anyone because his hands and arms were covered with razor-sharp, bloody, horrifying pieces of jagged bone that escaped his skin without thought.

Train *knew* the news people got that on the air. It was grotesque, tragic and somehow magnificent. The way he carried on, despite his youth. The pain he suffered, the deprivation.

Fantastic and sad and... somehow very human.

But there was a limit to everything.

72 hours and counting. Train hadn't slept. Not at all. He thought Kaos might have and knew B-Rok had passed out more than the one time.

The fires were now described as 'under control'. Specialists said they would burn themselves out in a matter of days.

The rain had stopped, after a 10-hour downpour.

They had saved - so many people. And homes and...

And there were still more.

Those who had been ignored because they were relatively safe, if not in comfortable circumstances. The ones stranded behind fire lines, in the tops of buildings that were no longer burning but not safe to leave. Structurally damaged, in a bad area... these people needed them now.

Train was at the base of one such building. He stood on a field of smoldering ash. People were still inside because it would have burnt the skin off anyone else's feet.

He heard voices and went around a corner.

And saw Bone.

With his arms outstretched, and a body - a *person* - hurtling through the air down toward him.

"NO!!!!" Not hearing the scream that tore from his lips, Train threw himself over the field as fast as he could. He knocked Bone aside and caught the person - a girl, it was a girl, a teenage girl - in his own arms, safely, though she got the breath knocked out of her.

He carried her away, to medics waiting on the other side, where it would be safe to put her down, and then went back for his team member.

"Bone, man, what were you thinking...?" He went to lift the smaller man up, wincing when he saw the layer of short, thick spikes on the bottoms of Bone's feet. That explained why he'd been able to walk on the ash.

"You know I don't think, Train..."

"Whew!" Getting him off the ground, Train got a good whiff of him and the scent wasn't just fire and singe and sweat - which smelled cleaner than you'd think - but rank alcohol. "What have you been *drinking*?! MY GOD, you came out here drunk?!"

He almost dropped him. Almost threw him, as far away from him as he could get. But this was Bone and he couldn't hurt him, and, besides, the cameras would see it and make something of it. If they hadn't heard his freaked-out shout a second ago.

Actually...he looked around and realized they were far from any cameras. Deep in the heart of the fire's territory, where journalists couldn't go. There was no helicopter above them. No one except the medics way over on the other side of the building, who probably couldn't understand him anyway.

For once in his life, Train gave in to his baser instincts.

"You could have killed her!" he shouted, lifting Bone high by the arms and shaking him. He heard spikes crack and break. Bone screamed but didn't fight him. His eyes were wide and clouded, rimmed with blood from the teeny little spikes that surrounded them. "If you had caught her you would have killed her," Train gasped more quietly, going cold as he really saw him. It had never been this bad before. "Oh, dear sweet Jesus, Bone, your *eyes*..."

Could spikes grow out of his eyes? Would they survive it if they did? Would he be blinded? They were so close.... Train drew Bone to his body and cradled him like a child, as gently as he could. He touched the tips of the little spikes... they were barely thicker than a hair and so sharp he could feel them trying to cut him. Teensy little needle points, growing around AJ's *eyes*.

"Jesus, Lord, God, don't do this to him." He almost stumbled as he realized that Bone was practically sober. He smelled of alcohol, but it hadn't stayed in his system long enough for him to get drunk. He was awake, and aware of what was happening to him.

There were tears mixed with the blood that trickled slowly down his filthy face.

"I'm sorry," Train moaned, trying to hold him closer without hurting him any more. Broken spikes dangled from his arms, seeping fresh blood at the cracks and ends. They were alive and a part of him. that was why they couldn't just cut them when they grew. "I'm sorry, AJ, I didn't mean...I didn't see..."

"I just wanted to help her," Bone mumbled, turning to put his face against Train's chest. "She was going to jump, I couldn't talk her out of it. I thought I could, maybe, just give her a little shove on the way down. Break her fall or something."

"You would have killed her," Train breathed.

"I know," Bone was still crying. His hands came up and grabbed Train's shoulders. Leather ripped under the spikes. The way he was moving, Train didn't think his jacket was going to survive.

"I don't want anyone to see you like this," he said suddenly, decisive. "I'll carry you out of here, we'll get you to B-Rok and Sweet D, they can calm you down and help with the pain."

"They can't make it stop..." Bone moaned as Train shifted him back and forth so he could wriggle out of his long leather coat. Undoing the fastening at the collar was hard with one hand. It was designed to not come off, after all. An early design decision. To minimize his mass and presence, they'd dressed him to make him look smaller than he actually was. To make him look more normal.

Without the coat's concealing properties, he knew he looked huge; he'd stood in front of mirrors enough times. Like something out of a comic book - a shorter, slimmer version of the Hulk. Fortunately not green.

He wrapped Bone in his coat as carefully as he could, listening to it tear, seeing the terror on the young face. When he lifted him again, Bone's head riding his shoulder and one arm around his neck, he felt lips press against his bare skin. It was clean, so well did the coat protect him.

"Train," Bone whispered as he carried him, ploddingly, over the ash. "Kevin..."

"I've got you," he muttered, paying attention to where he put his feet. His balance was off without the coat swinging around him. Funny how you could get so used to something like that. "I've got you, AJ."

"Promise you won't let them take me."

"No, never!" Without thought he held him tighter, hearing the hissed breath this triggered but unable to loosen his grip.

"You won't let them take me - you won't let me stay this way, will you?!" He was getting more anxious as Train walked.

"What do you mean, won't let you?" More worried than he could ever remember having been in his life, even during Brian's heart surgery, Kevin stopped. For this moment, he couldn't be Train. He couldn't be the team leader. He had to just be AJ's friend. Train and Bone had left the building. For the moment.

"You won't let me live like this, right? If I ask you to, you'll help me die? You're the only one that could do it, Train, you know you are...."

"Oh God." Unable to believe what he was hearing, Kevin couldn't breath. "You can't think like that, AJ. You - you just can't. We'll find a way to fix you. Or we'll find some way you can live, like this."

"No. I won't." He twisted and rubbed his face on Kevin's. "You can feel that, I know you can. How can I live without touching anyone ever again?"

He sounded so reasonable, and that was what scared Kevin the most.

"It will get better, AJ. I promise, I won't stop looking until we find a way to make it better."

"Drinking makes it better and you want me to stop that." Face mashed to Kevin's chest, breathing ragged and Kevin wondered, horrified, if there were spikes growing in his nose. In his throat, in his ass - oh *Jesus*.

"I won't. Not anymore. If it makes you feel better - I can't judge that, AJ. We'll just have to be careful that you're not caught."

He was walking again and hadn't noticed when he started. The medics were waiting, but he didn't give Bone to them. With his leaderface on, he climbed into the back of a ratty jeep and told them to drive him back to the command post.

Sometime during the bumpy ride Bone passed out, mercifully. Train sat and watched the spikes grow, and grow, and grow. AJ's face was hidden now. He couldn't have seen through the forest of them anyhow, but it looked like his eyes weren't being damaged. That gave Train hope that they wouldn't do anything to permanently disable him. They were a part of him, after all.

He usually left the praying to Brian, but this time he prayed, as hard as he knew how. When they got to the others, he knew Brian would be able to help. Just a little bit. He hoped. Enough to keep the mad scientists from taking Bone away from them and cutting him into tiny pieces.... over Train's dead body.

If they were even allowed back into the country after this escapade. The mission had been an unqualified success, and he knew that would piss their committee off more than anything else.

(continued in part two)

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