Of course he feels guilty about this; of course he's hating himself now. I can't blame him.

But would Doug channel the guilt and use it to make himself a greater hero? Sink into a pain that he can only end along with his life? Give up being a New Mutant and retreat into ordinariness - until the Sentinels that he *would* have stopped by being able to crack their computer codes, if he'd been there - kill him and all around him?

There's no one answer.

VERY well done. Great job of showcasing everyone's thoughts.

I enjoyed the novel approach that his mathematical and linguistic abililites went further than he thought ... to understand the subtext of conversations, to see the physics of the bullet's trajectory ... a FANTASTIC extrapolation of Doug's mutation and its benefits or drawbacks.

Normally angst isn't my cuppa, but this was a great read. A deep take on a deep and often undervalued character.

I really like this fic because it focuses on something most people wouldn't have considered important, flips it around, and makes it the most important thing in the world.

Also, I love really well-written angst fics, and really well-written Doug fics, and this falls into both categories. Bravo.

there are some fates worse than death. this is one of Alara's best works.

It was a good story. Regardless of what Doug thinks, Rahne should have taken that bullet. Oh well...