For a moment Jaime just looked at him and it wasn't clear how he'd react. Was he going to be a smartass? Judgmental? After all, Nate had just admitted he almost wanted to become Kang to kick the heroes in the teeth.
But no, his reaction was as far away from any of those as possible.
Instead of judgment or trying to pick a fight with him over it, Jaime reached out his arms and hugged Nate firmly, flashlight still clutched in one hand.
A lot of frustration had clearly built up in there and even some hurt at feeling like his former friends thought he was already psycho.
"First of all, you're not a psycho," Jaime said in his ear and he didn't let go right away. "And you're right about one part. Okay, so even if they're former villains or whatever, the few times both teams even work together, the Defenders don't have to like them but as long as you're team ain't killing people or doing crazy stuff they should just tolerate them and cooperate 'til it's over."
He pulled back to look Nate in the eyes, the hand with the flashlight resting on one shoulder, his other holding Nate's shoulder firmly.
"But put this in perspective - a few of us are pretty sure we know who some of the Avengers are and if we're right? These people aren't just people who've killed people or done some villainy, some of them are people that've targeted heroes and people they love personally. Imagine if Osborn recruited Black Beetle as his own Blue Beetle and he stayed in line and all that. Even if he did, am I supposed to be all 'Hey, good job heroing so far, I totally forgive you for trying to brain damage my baby sister?'"
He shook his head. "You're right about so many things with this. The Defenders have no right to act that much morally superior when so many of them have messed up. And with you, even the Jonas thing wasn't your fault - you just picked up the armor after he was already gone. You keep getting treated like you're already evil when you've done so much and tried so hard to make sure you won't ever be."
He went on, "But you also have to remember they're human. I mean, people always hope heroes will be more than human, more than petty and all that, willing to shelve personal feelings for the greater good. But it's not easy getting hurt or threatened by someone or losing loved ones to them and forgiving them or trusting them even if they've done a lot of good. And a lot of your teammates aren't that secretive about who they are because they kind of have a thing about taunting the Defenders a little because they can be petty about it, even if they don't openly admit it. Or there's things like those of us with scanners can pick up on a lot about them. Now, should the Defenders shut up sometimes and cooperate as long as your team's not doing anything wrong? Yes."
He'd done it. If they started to get too violent or whatever he'd called them on it or stopped them from doing it, but he'd done it. And of all people, he had a bit of a right to have expectations of others that they should be more controlled and such when he walked the walk and hadn't made many huge mistakes.
"But some of them have also earned the right to never truly trust them or forgive them, either, even if they should work past it sometimes if innocent people need it."
And the most important part...
"And nobody should treat you like you're evil for things you haven't done and now don't ever have to do. It's fair for some of them to be mad at your team for certain things or distrust them because they're pretty sure they know some of them have caused some damage but this whole thing of treating you like you've already gone bad or have something you need to redeem yourself for is messed up."
He told him what he'd told some of the Young Avengers.
"If anything, it's good you're fighting side by side with them because if any of them start to relapse into kicking any puppies or eating any babies, you'll be there to stop them. Like, if Osborn did start to relapse into any scheming or goblin-ey cackling - or if it turns out he's been scheming all along - I know I'd want someone as smart as you and who's as good a person as you there to deal with it."
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But no, his reaction was as far away from any of those as possible.
Instead of judgment or trying to pick a fight with him over it, Jaime reached out his arms and hugged Nate firmly, flashlight still clutched in one hand.
A lot of frustration had clearly built up in there and even some hurt at feeling like his former friends thought he was already psycho.
"First of all, you're not a psycho," Jaime said in his ear and he didn't let go right away. "And you're right about one part. Okay, so even if they're former villains or whatever, the few times both teams even work together, the Defenders don't have to like them but as long as you're team ain't killing people or doing crazy stuff they should just tolerate them and cooperate 'til it's over."
He pulled back to look Nate in the eyes, the hand with the flashlight resting on one shoulder, his other holding Nate's shoulder firmly.
"But put this in perspective - a few of us are pretty sure we know who some of the Avengers are and if we're right? These people aren't just people who've killed people or done some villainy, some of them are people that've targeted heroes and people they love personally. Imagine if Osborn recruited Black Beetle as his own Blue Beetle and he stayed in line and all that. Even if he did, am I supposed to be all 'Hey, good job heroing so far, I totally forgive you for trying to brain damage my baby sister?'"
He shook his head. "You're right about so many things with this. The Defenders have no right to act that much morally superior when so many of them have messed up. And with you, even the Jonas thing wasn't your fault - you just picked up the armor after he was already gone. You keep getting treated like you're already evil when you've done so much and tried so hard to make sure you won't ever be."
He went on, "But you also have to remember they're human. I mean, people always hope heroes will be more than human, more than petty and all that, willing to shelve personal feelings for the greater good. But it's not easy getting hurt or threatened by someone or losing loved ones to them and forgiving them or trusting them even if they've done a lot of good. And a lot of your teammates aren't that secretive about who they are because they kind of have a thing about taunting the Defenders a little because they can be petty about it, even if they don't openly admit it. Or there's things like those of us with scanners can pick up on a lot about them. Now, should the Defenders shut up sometimes and cooperate as long as your team's not doing anything wrong? Yes."
He'd done it. If they started to get too violent or whatever he'd called them on it or stopped them from doing it, but he'd done it. And of all people, he had a bit of a right to have expectations of others that they should be more controlled and such when he walked the walk and hadn't made many huge mistakes.
"But some of them have also earned the right to never truly trust them or forgive them, either, even if they should work past it sometimes if innocent people need it."
And the most important part...
"And nobody should treat you like you're evil for things you haven't done and now don't ever have to do. It's fair for some of them to be mad at your team for certain things or distrust them because they're pretty sure they know some of them have caused some damage but this whole thing of treating you like you've already gone bad or have something you need to redeem yourself for is messed up."
He told him what he'd told some of the Young Avengers.
"If anything, it's good you're fighting side by side with them because if any of them start to relapse into kicking any puppies or eating any babies, you'll be there to stop them. Like, if Osborn did start to relapse into any scheming or goblin-ey cackling - or if it turns out he's been scheming all along - I know I'd want someone as smart as you and who's as good a person as you there to deal with it."