[ with whoneedsahalo ] "Any time you need a friend."

[greenarcher]

As much as Oliver wished he had been able to get away when he received the news that his old school friend (and fellow superhero), Warren Worthington, had been badly hurt and nearly killed. He and Warren had gone to the same private boarding school together, being room mates the last two years until graduation. They got close, and of course, Oliver knew Warren was a mutant. Warren had been one of the first people to come to Star City and see Oliver when he came back from being shipwrecked, so there was no doubt about it that Oliver had to return the favour.

He didn't know anything about Warren's condition. In fact, Felicity had just handed him a media release that said Warren was dead, and it was apparently splashed all over the media now. Oliver didn't know what to think, but he had formed a great alliance with the X-Men and had mutants on his vigilante team in Star City. He knew he should be able to get correct information direct from the source.

Now he was being brought down to the clinic within the huge X-Mansion by Gambit, who told Pyro to fuck off in his native Cajun tongue. It was probably a miracle that Pyro didn't set the place on fire in protest, but after a glare at Oliver and a warning that if he upset Warren at all, he would like his dick on fire, Pyro stalked out of the clinic to give Oliver some time with his old friend. Warren was asleep, so Oliver sat down beside his bed, rubbing a hand over his mouth as he took in the state Warren was in. Fuck, if ever there was a reason to keep doing his own work as the Green Arrow, it was things like this.

It was a little while before Warren woke up and Oliver sat forward a little in his chair when he did. "C'mon, mate, I know you like attention but a mutant with wings falling off a building? That's taking it a bit too far, isn't it?" he joked quietly, though there was worry in his tone. "The papers are reporting you're dead. I was starting to wonder if I would need to bring my Ouija Board."

Comments

[whoneedsahalo]

Warren gave a cynical snort, because there was little to be in a good mood about right now. He wasn't very welcoming with any of his visitors, but he couldn't deny that it was good to see his old friend had come to see him. With news that Oliver was now Mayor of his city, it was surprising he had time to do anything but moonlight as a superhero and do whatever shit it was that mayors did. "Shut the fuck up and scratch the top of my wing for me. The left one, just don't do it hard. They're both fucking broken," he complained.

He couldn't even do something as simple as scratch his own wing when it had an itch, and he was way, way over being stuck here and incapacitated like he was. Hank wanted to give it a little more time before considering letting Warren move. It did seem that he was healing at a normal bodily rate, the same as any other average human, and he didn't like it one bit. He had been able to heal himself quickly for as long as he could remember, and right now when he was the most injured he had ever been, this was a cruel joke. "Good, it's working. At this point, I'm seriously considering letting it stick and starting off afresh as a masked avenger. Think I could pull it off?"

[greenarcher]

Warren's wings were broken? Shit. That was seriously unfathomable. Oliver was actually nervous to touch them because he didn't want to hurt his friend. He got up and carefully tried to scratch the top of the wing, and it was impossible to miss the fact they weren't their usually crisp white, and instead looking slightly stained with a red in places. Blood, most likely. He felt his stomach contract, feeling awful Warren had gone through this. "Dude..." he murmured with a small frown, shaking his head, even if Warren couldn't see him from where he was standing.

"I could give you a job on my team, but who the fuck are you kidding? You couldn't leave the X-Men. It's what you live for. Or more accurately, you wouldn't leave John, he added knowingly as his fingers scratched softly at the tip of the wing, smooth feathers nestling around his fingers.

[whoneedsahalo]

Warren closed his eyes, a defeated sigh leaving him before his ego tried to get him to stop it. Breathing hurt, he had no less than five cracked ribs, according to Hank. He had an entire inventory of every single - small and large - injury he had sustained in falling from the building because Hank was monitoring his healing rate very closely. The bullet had lodged in his wing, so it was surgically removed and going through testing. It was a waiting game, and Warren had never been the patient sort. Far from it.

"Trust me, after this bullshit, I could move to fucking Thailand and become a ladyboy. Nothing makes sense, and I'm seriously considering cutting my losses and retiring from the X-Men. Don't tell John I said that. He already blames himself for all this, but it's not his fault his ex-team mates are cunts," he spat, annoyed that he couldn't get up and punch the shit out of a punching bag to try to take his frustrations out on something.

[greenarcher]

Oliver rounded the bed again to sit down where Warren could see him. Warren's elaboration told him that this wasn't general banter or joking. He had never seen Warren so... broken, as much as he didn't want to admit that was what he was. "Look, dude, this is just a set back. Fuckers are always going to want to try to take us down. I've been where you have. I wanted to just get out of the whole damn business and take care of number one. But you get through it, and you've got a great team..." He trailed off, realising how cliché he was sounding here.

"Do you want to talk about it, tell me what happened, or do you just want me to sit here and shut the hell up? I know I'm not generally good with the latter, but I can try. Or I can leave. You know I won't be offended if you tell me to piss off. It wouldn't be the first time," he pointed out and looked around the super high-tech clinic. Felicity would have a field day here. Maybe he should have brought her alone?

[whoneedsahalo]

It was a good thing Oliver realised he was being cliché, or Warren would have had to call someone to punch him in the face. He didn't want the cheer squad right now, because he was feeling about as far from positive and motivated as he possibly could be. "How about you reserve the positive platitudes until you've been in my shoes and see how the fuck it feels. I'm not a defeatist, I'm just seriously fucking thinking I've had my time. This happened somehow, maybe I'm losing my skill. I don't know...."

"I don't know exactly what happened. I hit my head badly when I fell, I don't remember it. I remember getting a text message telling me someone had kidnapped John. I just reacted. It was fucking stupid. I got shot with a poisoned bullet which stopped my healing ability. There was also a dart in one of my wings that probably incapacitated it and prevented me get away. Barry Allen pretty much saved my life, got be back here before I bled out," he mumbled. He owed the guy an apology but John said Barry refused all offer to come see how Warren was doing.

[greenarcher]

Oliver shook his head, giving a sweeping wave of his hand for emphasis. "No friggen way. You haven't lost it, man. You're one of the best in the business. You're feeling like shit now because pain is just written all over you. And if you're healing at a normal rate, you're going to be out of action for a good few weeks. At least wait until then and see where your head is. There isn't one of your team mates who will be willing to let you just cut your losses. Not to mention the fact you would go crazy if you didn't have the team to sink your time into. I know you. I know how you operate. I remember you telling me not long after you first joined the X-Men that it was where you belonged. I tried to get you to team up with me, you told me to go fuck myself."

There was a few quiet moments where Oliver found himself wondering what he would do if Felicity got kidnapped. "You think you did the wrong thing going to find him? Come on, dude. I know you love him. You might not have admitted it, but you do. If you wound the clock back and had to make the choice again, you would do it exactly the same. Have you talked to him?" He gave a slow nod. "I'm friends with Barry. He outed me before be got his own ability and then when he did, he came to see me. He's a really great guy, but there's a bit of, um, friction. He kind of had fingers pointed at him after this happened to you. He's probably trying to keep the peace."

[whoneedsahalo]

Warren listened, but remained quiet. Maybe he was just completely pissed off that he had to heal like a normal person. And sure, sure - 'Mutant problems'. Why should he be miserable when he should be grateful he could usually heal quicker. But for fuck's sake! He had multiple bones broken throughout his body. Both his wings were broken, he had poison that pumped through his veins, he was shot in the fucking shoulder point blank so the bullet went through it and pierced his wing. He had a head injury, broken ribs, broken ankle... the list fucking went on. Why the hell shouldn't he be miserable that he had to heal naturally with all of this? He was in agony, and he was pissed off at himself for the bad move. He had plenty to be miserable about as far as he was concerned. Like fuck any human would be able to do this without wanting to be bombed out on anesthetics and drugs. "You nearly quit your day job too, once upon a time. I might have a minor amnesia relating to the trauma, but I still remember everything else."

"No, I didn't do the wrong thing. I just shouldn't have gone alone. If I wasn't alone, I could have had back-up quickly and none of this would have happened. But I wasn't thinking... or I was thinking too much. I don't fucking known," he lamented in a mumbled. "Finger-pointing at Barry? C'mon, he wouldn't hurt a fly. And if he did, he'd probably cry. He's one of the good guys. Whoever is on his back, can get the fuck off it. He saved my life. John told me so and you know if Barry so much as laid a finger on me to harm me, John would have killed him."

[greenarcher]

Oliver nodded with a sigh. "You're right. I did. When I accidentally killed someone and started to doubt myself. Didn't think I was cut out for any of it, and it took months of soul-searching to realise it was what I was meant to be doing. Maybe you need to take some time out, hell maybe you need to take months of it like I did. But that doesn't mean it stops being what you're meant to do. The good you do far outweighs the bad, and that's all that matters. It's okay to need to stop and regroup. But I know you, you'll start getting board when you get back on your feet and regain your strength. You've never been one to sit still. You haven't had a sick day since you were a kid, I swear."

"So, you fucked up," he agreed with a shrug. "Who doesn't fuck up sometimes? You panicked John was in danger, and you reacted. If he really had been kidnapped and was in danger, you would have gotten to him ASAP and your feelings would be very different right now. Barry's a peace-keeper. He'll save a pile of people before he even thinks about his own safety. Thank god he was here. No one was ready for the challenge of trying to find a coffin to fit your wings in."