Cosmic Mix Up

chapter nine

Billy's POV

"-illy! Oh, thank goodness you're awake!" I blinked my open to see Tommy leaning over me, the rest of the team in varying states of disarray spread out around us in the med bay of Mount Justice. I tried to sit up, only to be shoved back down by my brother. "Oh no you don't. Dude, you just had your windpipe crushed. You need to take it easy."

I groaned, letting my eyes wander the room. Tim, Gar, and Artemis were all nursing sprained ankles, while Conner, Pietro, and Dick iced their heads. It seemed as if Kaldur, Jason, and Wally got out with just a few bumps and scrapes, while Tommy was sporting a wrist cast. I opened my mouth to ask what other injuries they had, wincing when only a rasping whine came out.

"Yeah, when raisin face was choking you out he bruised your voice box. So no talking for a few days, got it?" Roy glared fondly from where he was wrapping Tim's ankle. I nodded, a slight pout on my face. Roy sighed, standing up to walk a little closer to me. "You do realize you can answer through the mind link, right?"

Oh, yeah. Duh.

"How'd you get Thanos to leave without the Mind Stone?"

Simple. I used the Stone and commanded him to leave. Don't you see the burns on my arm?

I gestured to the borderline second degree burns on my arm and hand, the one that once held both the Reality and Mind Stones. Everyone winced, averting their eyes when they saw the brand on the palm of my hand. M'gann's eyebrow furrowed and she gently grabbed my hand, turning it over to get a closer look at the 'M' shaped brand. "What's this?" I shrugged. "Where did it come from?"

When I first held the Reality Stone. It looks identitcal to Scarlet's headdress thing. The Stone burned this on to my palm.

"Is that how you were able to hold the stones and not die?"

Pietro is able to hold the Reality Stone and he clearly isn't dead.

"Yeah, but my sister's magic probably protects me." Pietro shrugged, coming over to look at the brand. "She's good like that."

"Wanda could probably sense that your energy signatures were similar so she used her magic to protect you, branding you in the process." Tim suggested with a lopsided smirk. "Her magic provides a barrier between you and the Stones, most likely taking the brunt of the hurt."

Makes sense. So, how are you guys? Was all this from the collapsed ceiling?

Dick nodded, adjusting the ice pack on his head. "By the way, how did you manage to control your powers so well? It wasn't too long ago that you turned the lab into a disaster zone."

I winced at the memory, shaking my head free from the embarrassment as my cheeks lit up red.

I did it on pure instinct. I barely thought, I just reacted.

"Well, we will need you to figure out how to do that again, and soon." Jason shot me a conspiratorial look. I gulped, averting my eyes.

"What was with Thanos calling you 'demiurge'? What is that? A new codename?" I glanced over at Artemis, unaware that anyone had heard my pseudo conversation with the Titan.

I have no idea, I have never heard of it before.

"Ooh, mysterious." Wally snickered into his palm, quickly sobering up when the doors to the med bay swooshed open.

In stormed Batman and Black Canary, stern eyes scanning the room before Batman grunted at us. "Team, we need you to pull it together and soon. Thanos is on the move again."

We all exchanged glances, our gazes roaming over our various ailments as one singular shared went through the mind link.

Shit.