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Simon listens, saying nothing until Hank is finished. The bomb about Magneto is /huge/ and Simon is currently glad that he's not a member of the Avengers right now, because he /might/ be obligated to divulge this information to Steve.

But he knows pretty well what it's like to not know who your friends are anymore.

"Some days, I wonder if the old days really happened, you know? Or did I make them up in my head. A lot of things are screwed up in the world, Hank, and as much as I /want/ to say we kept them from getting worse...when I look at what's happened to mutants and the whole Civil War bit, I don't know if I can say how much of a difference we made to anyone." Simon tells him.

"Of course, I made the mistake of saying this on national TV. Clint Barton apparently hates my guts out loud." Simon says.

"You know what your problem has always been, Hank? It's the same problem I see guys like Tony, Hank Pym and Reed Richards suffer from. The same problem that every one who can do something better than most people suffers from: A problem comes up and you /have/ to be the one to solve it. You use any number of reasons to justify why it has to be /you/ to do it and then you slowly but sure cut your life apart until it becomes the /only/ think you can think of.

And when you /can't/ fix it, for any number reasons, all of which are completely valid...you start doubting yourself and all the other good you've ever done. Suddenly, curing a virus that nearly wiped out your people doesn't even track compared to figuring how to restore the powers of the entire mutant population. Every life you've saved, every thing you've learned loses meaning against whatever you've decided you have to fix /today/.

And it bugs me, because all of you tend to do it /alone/, no matter how much anyone offers to help you." Simon says, taking a sip of his drink.

"I swear to god, you tell /anyone/ that Simon Williams just got deep and I'll have you dyed pink." he grins.