Danny raised his hand to knock on the door, then hesitated. She was his cousin. She liked him. They got along. But would she listen? His arguments were good ones, but he was up against a legend here. And despite having been on the team for nearly half a year, he was still considered to be the new kid.

Ah well, he thought, nothing for it.

He knocked once upon the oak-paneled office door, then opened it and stepped inside. He knew she was in there; he could smell her.  "Cheers," he said brightly as he stepped into Ophilia DiSantiago's office. "Do ya have a moment or two?" 

"Of course!"  Phi offered pleasantly.  You never knew with this one, her moods tended to move with the seasons, but today seemed to be a good enough day for her.  "What's up?"

He noted the cleanliness of the desk, the stack of papers she was working on squared crisply to one side of her keyboard. Her make-up was perfect, clothes immaculate. She could have been an executive at any of the Fortune 500 companies to look at her, yet here she sat beneath an abandoned cathedral, working to make the world a little safer for everyone.

He smiled, then took a seat. blue eyes deep and serious.

"I wasn't sure who ta bring this too first; you or Nemesis. So since I can usually find you, I figured I'd start here." He shifted a little in his chair. "See, it's about Solider Boy. I think he needs ta be pulled from the field. Like, ferever." 

"Excuse me?"  Ophilia asked with a curious and light tone.  Like she felt a prank was coming her way, and wanted to make sure she didn't miss the juicy joke at the center.  Once the empath in her tuned in, she asked another question, this one in a heavier tone.  "You're serious?"

"Yeah," Danny replied. Her empathic abilities found a certainty that had mountaineers scaling it. "He's old, his bodies failin em, and he refuses ta be healed. I can't.. the team can't afford ta have someone with his liabilities out in the field." He met her gaze squarely. "I think he's the best at trainen that money can buy. But he shouldn't be out with the rest of us doin fieldwork - he's too fragile."

Ophilia dropped her head into both of her hands for a moment and just sat there.  "Oh...Danny."  She paused, misery evident in her tone.  "What are the chances of you letting this go away. Just making your own kind of peace with it and letting it go?" 

She could feel bewilderment climbing the face of Mount Certainty.

"What?"

She lifted her head then and stared him square in the eyes.  "Soldier Boy goes out in the field by choice.  We don't require him to.  ...and he's going to do it whether he's a part of this team, or not.  He might be frail and broken, but if we make an issue of this, we risk breaking his spirit.  This job is all he has.  It's the only thing that he hasn't screwed up, yet."

"What?" Danny repeated. He was staring at her as if she'd grown an extra arm out of her forehead. "Let me get this straight; ya know he's the walkin wounded, but because yer afraid of," and here he made air quotes with his fingers, "'breakin his spirit', ya won't hold em accountable to reality?" He blinked at her. "Seriously?" Amusement was now neck-and-neck with Bewilderment in the race to the summit of Mount Certainty. He started to laugh. "Oh bloody hell, that's funny!"

"Soldier Boy is a PR nightmare, Danny.  I've been turning a blind eye to a lot of things where he's concerned.  It may not be right, but I think a lot of him.  And at least he's safe with us.  What if he were out there doing this on his own?  Who would help him?  ...and that man has a trick or two up his sleeve that might save our team one day. You can't put a dollar tag high enough on the experience that's in his head."

"If you want to pursue this, then I'll need to get Nemesis.  He was suppose to be here to help Stone with some requisition requests.  I'm willing to listen, but I'll tell you right now, I don't want Jag hurt.  Shit."  She said as soon as she realized that he'd gotten her so riled up that she used Soldier Boy's real first name.  "...and I doubt there's anything that you could say, that would make me believe that forbidding him from taking field duty, would help in the long term."

Even as he spoke she'd pushed a button on the intercom for the garage.  "Stone, can you please tell Nemesis that I need him in my office?" 

"I told em you were so in love with the myth of em that you'd be like this," Danny said, shaking his head in amusement.

"I am."  Ophilia admitted stubbornly, and you should be too.  "Shame on you for trying to take one of the only good things that he has left.  That old fart would rather die in the line of duty, than waste away feeling sorry for himself over drugs and whores."

"Oh no Ophilia. Shame on you for not doin what you know ya should be." Danny replied calmly.

"Oh, no you don't."  Phi bit off stubbornly.  "Don't you shame on me."

"Curse of the empath, aye? Lettin feelings constantly override the facts?" He sighed. "I'm gonna say it now: I'm not going to be responsible for him during field ops. At all. Ever.'" Danny replied. The amusement was dying now, 15k up slope, sherpas gone,  and supplies missing. "I don't want him hurt either, Ophilia. That's the whole bloody point! He's holding onto his pain and his scars cause he thinks if he lets em go, he'll forget how he got em and somehow be less of a man." He snorted. "He's a bloody idiot, and you lot are pampering him if ya ask me." He shrugged. "You want ta keep him safe, let me heal him. Otherwise he's a disaster waitin ta happen."

"Nobody asked you to babysit him."  She snapped back.  He'd hit a nerve of hers.  "Any one of us could get hurt in the line of duty.  We all have our weaknesses. Everyone of us.  Nobody wants me in the field for obvious reasons, but with few exceptions everyone on this team has a vulnerability to something."

Danny just looked at her. "That's not what this is about, and ya know it." She could feel pity now. Pity sitting high atop a wall of stubborn certitude.

"Yes it is.  How is this different.  We have a living legend, a bursting mind of experience and knowledge.  Tough as nails, and could take nearly any one of us in a fight."  She paused dramatically.  "...but he has arthritis?"

"Look, just so I'm clear: I got nothin against him at all. I've tried ta make him see reason, and ta hear his justifications for," he shook his head, "and I can't believe I'm even sayin this', for him not wanting me to heal him. But it's stupid - it's like one of Stone's bikes sayin 'nah, I know the tires flat, me timin' is off, and there's that thing that goes 'thunk' every time ya leap inta hover mode, but if ya fuckin fix a single thing I'll quit'" He spread his hands. "Ya see the madness here, ya?" 

"Well..."  Ophilia sighed.  "I'm not saying that his logic isn't flawed.  That I might be able to help you with.  I don't want him ending up hurt, or worse.  If there's something that you can do for him, perhaps I can get him to see reason.  ...but what are you talking about?  Not everyone wants to live forever, he's got a lot of scars, emotional and physical.  Maybe he has his reasons for riding out the storm naturally?"

"It's not about being immortal," Danny explained, frustrated. "I can't do that. I just want to fix what's wrong with him. That's it, nuthin more. And if he won't let me, and you won't force it, than all I'm sayin is I'm not," his will solidified into something the consistency of iron, "gonna spend any time keeping me eye on him. Ever." He stood and began to pace. "Ye've seen it. Ya all have seen it: his back goin out in a trainin' session. The way he limps every now and again after joggin'. But because he's Soldier Boy, and because ya all find his little stories entertainin, ya let him ignore things ya wouldn't let anyone else ignore."

He raised his hands. "Fine. If that's what ya want ta do, but I'm not gonna play along." He stared at her hard, eyes blue as the north Atlantic. "If he's gonna go out in the field, he needs ta be healed. You know it's true." 

Ophilia met his stormy blue eyes with her own.  It was a showdown of DiSantiago wills, but fairly mild considering.  Finally, she broke.  "Well, what do you think is wrong with him?  What exactly are you wanting to heal that he isn't letting  you?  ...and how will it improve his field performance?  ...and what have you witnessed to date, that makes you think he's a liability to himself or the team?"

"It's not that I think somethin's wrong, I know somethin's wrong. Several somethin's, as a matter of fact. I saw inside him the day of me interview, remember? When I healed his hand?" Danny shook his head. "He's dyin inside. His body just isn't capable of repairin itself like it once could. Whatever they did to him ta make him Soldier Boy isn't workin anymore. I can fix the damage, give him back what he once was - that's all I want ta do."

There was a double-knock at the door just before it opened. Luke poked his head in, dressed in his Nemesis costume but with his goggles and mask hanging from his ever-present utility belt. He opened his mouth to speak but noted Phi's expression and the firm line of Danny's mouth. "Oh," he chuckled. "One of those meetings." He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

He hooked the chair next to Danny's with his foot, moving it just enough to give him some leg room before dropping into it. He crossed his legs and clasped his hands in his lap and looked cheerfully between Phi and Danny.

"So. Who's in trouble today?"

"Nobody really," Danny replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm just raisin some valid points and seein' what's ta be done about it." 

Luke nodded, his expression suitably attentive. "All righty, then." He glanced at Phi before nodding again. "Okay. Well, obviously there's a disagreement of some sort and I need to catch up. Danny, you go first."

"Ta put it simply: Soldier Boy refuses ta let me heal him. Flat out refuses. Seems ta think that if I do, it negates all the pain an sufferin' and some other bullshit manifestations of the Id and SuperEgo." Danny made a face. "Blah. Anyways, if he refuses ta let me do my job, then I don't want em out in the field. He's old, he's failin', and he's more of a liability in his current state in a fight than I'm comfortable with. In a life 'r death sitch, I'd have ta worry about em more than I would the rest of ya"

He held up a hand. "And no, this isn't some ego thing on my part. See, if he ever does get hurt ta the point he actually needs me, it's not like I can 'only fix what was broke in this fight'. I can't be that selective, see? Either he just stops bein' Mister Thickee and lets me take care of it now, or he ends up this bizarre, patchwork healthy/sick thing that makes no sense." He shook his head and shoved his hand back in his pocket. "The whole thing's bollocks, really."

Luke look a little puzzled. "Okay, wait." He pointed a finger at Danny. "You want to heal Soldier Boy of all his wounds, right? And if he ever does need healing, you're saying it's all or nothing. Is that right?"

"Yeah, and sort of..." Danny replied. "See, if he breaks his arm, I can fix that - but it'll fix muscles, nerve damage, bone marrow in the arm... so he'll have a mostly healed all-the-way arm when i'm done. It's like," he seemed to fish around for the answer he was looking for. "It's like buildin a house with half rotted wood. Eventually, the bad pieces get put under more stress cause of the good pieces. And they snap." 

"And I presume this came up because...what, you offered to heal him now and he said no?"

"Aye. Threatened to bash my teeth in if I ever touched em again. It's all on video; Chapel room, about an hour ago, if ya want ta see and hear it fer yerself." 

Luke waved the idea away. "I don't need to see it." He frowned in concentration, trying to wrap his mind around the idea of healing and all that it might entail. "And forgive me if I seem slow on this but I'm not up on my super-healing powers procedures. If I understand you, you're saying you'd like to heal all the little pains, the weak bones, the whatever-it-is he has going on now, because if you only heal what's hurt in a fight, that could be more trouble later on. Like, his arm is fine, but the shoulder, chest and back would still be weak or whatever. That sort of thing?"

Danny made a gun of forefinger and thumb. "Got it in one," he said, firing off a 'round' at Nemesis.

Pleased he finally understood, Luke nodded again. "Cool. And I assume it's his usual 'Because I'm Soldier Boy' pride that's keeping this from happening." It was more of a statement than a question but he still waited for Danny to confirm.

Danny nodded once more - from him Ophilia could sense a calm sort of relief.

"Okay, then." Nemesis shifted in his chair a little and turned a smiling face to Phi. "You're turn."

Ophilia gave him a wry smile and shook her head.  She'd been listening keenly to all that was said, and learning a bit along the way, but still she felt like her loyalty was on the line.  And oddly enough, it walked lightly along the lines of family versus team.

"I don't think it's our decision what one of our members do to their body, within reason.  Soldier Boy is in the field because that's where he wants to be.  That's where he will be, with us or without us.  He doesn't know anything but fighting the fight, and despite his weaknesses he's a huge asset to this team."  Her tone was matter of fact, like she was certain that once Luke heard her argument, he would side with her.

"He's seen and experienced more than all of the rest of us put together.  ...and I haven't heard of one instance of our team being compromised because he was in the field."  She shook her head and continued.  "Public relations, is another matter entirely, but I don't think that Danny can heal his foul mouth or temper."

Danny just shook his head and smiled. He looked up at Nemesis, pulled his hands out of his pockets and spread them in a gesture of surrender. "Ya see what I'm up against here?" Ophilia's empathic senses were reading a wash of amusement from her young cousin.

"We all have our weaknesses and our strengths.  If we start drawing lines in the sand on what is and isn't acceptable, where does it end?" Phi asked pointedly.  "Any single person on this team, including Stone, could have a bad day and be hammered by something and get hurt, or worse.  Die."  Ophilia took a moment after she said that to reflect on Phase. 

"We can't plan for everything and fix everyone's vulnerabilities.  And Soldier Boy knows the risks involved in what he does and chooses to do it.  If we try to tell him that he's not good enough to take the field as the man he is, then we risk losing him, and I'm not willing to take that chance." There was genuine sense of loyalty about her, at some point, it was obvious that the old man had gotten under her skin.

Luke nodded, a recurring gesture that he was obviously getting quite good at.

"Okay," he said after a moment. He pointed at Danny. "Heal the old warhorse or put him out to pasture." He turned his hand so he was now pointing at Ophilia. "It's his body, his life, and he'll do with it as he pleases whether he's a member of the team or not. In the meantime let's utilize his experience and abilities in the best possible manner. It's what we want, and it's what he wants, so everybody wins." He looked between the two.

"That about sum it up?"

Phi narrowed her eyes at Nemesis before nodding in reluctant agreement.  They didn't always see eye to eye on things, and if he had a trick up his sleeve, she wasn't eager to see it.

Luke acknowledged Phi with a nod, then turned to Danny with a questioning glance.

"More or less," Danny agreed.

"All righty, then." Luke steepled his hands and nodded silently to himself, thinking. After only a few minutes he took a deep breath and looked up.

"Piece of cake," he said lightly, then rolled his eyes, giving lie to the words. He cleared his throat. "Okay, then."

"I’ll talk to Soldier Boy," Nemesis continued.  "Find out what the issues are, do what I can to address them, and then I’ll let you know where things stand. Ultimately it will be his decision on what to do about the healing. I won’t have it forced on him. Period. But--and this is a big one--it’ll be up to us to decide if constantly putting him in harm’s way is really what’s best for either him or us."

Danny considered the man sitting across the room from him carefully, unblinking, face impassive. There was something about the nature of that gaze, something different, that caught Nemesis' attention - though he couldn't have put his finger on exactly what it was. Ophilia read a deep interest emanating from her cousin.

Then the smile was back, the blue eyes sparkling. "Sure. Just so's he knows that if the time comes, I'll do me job. I'll drop it fer now though, and my thanks to the two of ya for hearin me out." 

Phi gave a begrudging nod of her head, to neither of them in particular.  A subdued lioness for the moment, sure that the zoo keeper wasn't going to hurt one of her baby cubs, but still not happy about having someone else handle him.

"No problem," Nemesis said, rising. He clapped Danny on the shoulder. "Glad I could help. It's a valid concern and one that needs to be addressed, but there's no point in drawing lines in the sand if we have time to figure it out." He smiled. "Just a fresh perspective, is all."

He stepped toward the door. "Now if you'll both excuse me, I really have to get back to my reports. If I'm gone too long then Stone gets bored and leaves." He pointed a finger at Danny as he took a step backward. "I'll keep you posted, okay?" He shifted the finger to Ophilia and took another step. "Talk later?" he asked with a wink.

"mmmhmmm."  She replied flatly without humor or malice.

"Good." Luke nodded, glanced between the two cousins, nodded again. "Good." And left.

After Luke made his exit, Phi pegged Danny with an irritated stare.  "Satisfied?"  She asked in the same flat tone she had used with Nemesis.

Danny shrugged - if he was intimidated by his cousins pique, neither his countenance nor his emotions showed it. "That might work on yer boyfriend, cousin," he said around his ever-present grin, jerking a thumb at the door through which Nemesis had just left ."But I grew up in a DiSantiago house, just like you did. I've been glared at by the best of 'em." He gave her a sapphire wink, then shoved his hands in his pockets and left the room, whistling. And if she was reading him right, eminently pleased with himself.