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Lorna sat up, she'd eventually, fallen into a light doze beside Kaleb on the bed, waiting for the static in his head to lessen to a more manageable level. Of course that had been.. A glance at the clock stated that it was now dipping later into the evening. Late enough for a later dinner than she usually had. Her stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten before when she'd brought over the left over food her father had cooked.
A yawn escaped her lips, and she rubbed at her eyes tiredly. "Kaleb?" Her voice was dry and barely above a whisper. "Are you doing any better?"
*
Kaleb gave her hand a faint squeeze to convey 'I'm getting to the talking part, hang on'. Finally he answered her, "Asprin helped." His eyes squint and cracked back upen looking up at her fianlly getting an opportunity to greet her quietly two hours belatedly. "Hey, you dropped by." He blinked at her and followed that up with, "hi."
*
Lorna smiled warmly as he looked up at her and greeted her. She squeezed his hand back, a faint dusting of pink coloring her cheeks prettily. Her dress was now a bit rumbled from having fallen asleep in it. "Hey," Her smile widened after a beat and she let go of his hand to start trying in vain to smooth out her now tangled green locks.
A bubble of magnetic energy pulled it up in the air around her, and she took time to run her hands through it instead. She flashed him a grin as her hair settled back down. "I'm basically more magnetic than most people, even my hair." She shrugged, "Fun fact." She added after a moment. "Hair doesn't tangle when it's got an alternating current running around it." She reached out and tapped his shoulder, a faint spark of static leaping toward him.
"Course it makes me a bit of a socket if I alternate too much of a current. Also better not to mess with it when I'm at a dinner and it's entirely made of metal." A pause, "I learned that the hard way." A soft giggle and she blushed.
"Sorry." She whispered, "Rambling.."
*
Kaleb cracked a faint grin that ended in an abrupt and startled express getting zapped. "That's…good to know." He took his hand back and rubbed at his eye and murmured, "Kellan and I learned everything through trial and error. Not like we're born with a user's manual." He was remiss to admit that Max was at least accurate that their process of evolution was inelegant at best. but that's how nature worked; it was violent, messy, and very selective. He looked back up to her letting her go on a bit of a ramble and shook his head. "You're alright." He took a deep breath and let his eyes drift back to his open door hearing Vic carry on in the kitchen. "I'd love to know how Max found my apartment though. That's… unexpected." He looked back to her with a measured expressiona nd simply put the facts out there, "I didn't know either of you would be showing up or I'd have said something."
*
Lorna exhaled a breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding when Kaleb spoke, she bit her lower lip. "When did your powers awaken?" She asked, tilting her head to the side and considering him with a curious expression. Then she paused as he spoke of Maximus finding the apartment. She reached out toward him, grabbing at his hand. It seemed she had gotten more comfortable with the idea that she could without reprisal.
"Maximus.. has mind powers. I told you that, right?" She winced, "We should have the Professor check your head for .. uhm.. he leaves stuff. In your head I guess? That's what Uncle Charlie said. Something that doesn't belong. It's.. it's how he.." She blinked repeatedly, looking down and trailing off.
*
Kaleb didn't seem to mind. If she wanted to grab his hand she could have his hand. If she wanted a dress she could have an appointment with his tailor's mother. If she wanted coffee she might get a request to Billy to take them to Italy for an hour. There seemed to be a pattern to this.
He squeezed her hand and said "Yeaaaaah prolly smart. I mean I'd like to say I think I'd know but I could push people to push their own buttons all day long and they prolly think the same thing." He held up a finger and squint at her knowing it's a sensitive topic for her, but he was going to be honest at least. "The difference is it has to be their choice, not mine." He sighed and now was mulling over having a brain seed. He did argue that Max was a natty dresser, but now he was starting to question his own revelations. "I'll talk to the Professor." He squeezed her hand and sat up a bit repeating that, "I'll let him look okay?"
Falling thoughtful for a moment he pushed himself to a sit folding his legs in front of himself to lean on considering that question of hers. "I dunno. Mildly? As early as I think ten years ago? I was like seven or eight. Things would occasioanlly happen. First one I really remember I wanted to see my mom and they tried to tell us that our parents left of Chicago while we were at school. I was," He considered having been disconnected from it for a while. "upset about it? Our nany tried to tell me to calm down and I demanded to talk to her and they told me no and I sreamed." He paused and worked to recall the rest wobbling his ehad with a bit of a shrug, "I took out all the lights in the hallway. They blamed electrical feedback. But after that I learned pretty fast no one hears you when you scream so I just started to demand what I want. Went a lot better. Well, they still left, but it's the way of it." He looked to her curious, "Was the museum the first time for you?"
*
Lorna smiled at Kaleb as he agreed to let Charles look inside his head for a second time, this time to be sure that Maximus hadn't left anything behind. She wasn't sure how or anything, she wasn't a telepath. She just knew what Charles had pointed out. He'd shared her head space for that time. It was all fuzzy and hard to remember, like it happened long ago, but she knew it had happened.
At the question for how her powers appeared she bit her lower lip and shook her head. "No, actually.." She bit her lower lip and shifted on the bed. "Uhm.. for as long as I can remember I've always had them. My hair was green and I liked to play with paperclips when I was a kid. My mom and dad were just a little freaked out, but they tried to discourage me from using them.. It worked more or less. I tramped them down so hard, for so long that they were just muted. I always knew I could do stuf.." She shrugged lightly.
"I dunno, maybe it's because I'm a second generation mutant. Maybe something happened when I was born. I dunno. I just know that I came out of Poland like this."
*
Kaleblistened with a genuine curiosity. This was the sort of thing he never got to hear about; how it happened to others. It seemed to be a common curiosity they all had. "That's messed up. I know they just wanted to protect you from people like… well those." He wasn't going to rehash the small grenade of current events that went off in the other room earlier. We used to attend dinner with our parents and got to listen to they and their friends discuss how there should be a way to 'fix them' so 'they' are not a problem. Kellan and I learned the hard way to keep things quiet. He got caught a couple of times but could at least pretend he was me pretending to be him and no one could really tell. He figured it out before I did it. He usually does."
*
Lorna smiled weakly, "They had no idea what was going on. Their little girl turned out to be a living magnet. They freaked out and wanted to keep me safe as best they could. They have big hearts, to adopt an orphan from Poland after the war? That's.. that's a lot for most people here in the States to consider. Never mind the baby with weird green hair that no one else wanted." She smiled weakly. "I don't want to think about what my life would've been like without them." She exhaled a breath.
"But it got pretty bad when I was a teenager, my powers got pretty uhm.. well, they're tied to my emotions. They'd still happen when I was upset, or angry or something like that." She pushed her hair back from her face, considering Kaleb. "And that's basically why I didn't have friends growing up or well.. no one wanted to date me either. Kinda hard to keep all that stuff secret in a small town." She shrugged and scooted to the edge of the bed.
"So.. uhm.. I was thinking that maybe.. it might be a good idea to go to Mutant Town.." She bit her lower lip, glancing back to Kaleb. "There's someone that frequents there a lot that I want you to meet."
*
Kaleb let her go on and about the story like a winding path, but it was oe that she had to walk so for that? The aside fact was while from utter privilage their parents effectivly gave the twins to someone else to raise in their own home. he knew something about rejection, only it fortified and hardened him instead of leaving a raw spot in his self as it had Lorna and Kellan. Still, being a part of a shared consciousness with Kellan helped him grasp and respect the concept. It manifested in patience. Two fingers reached out and hovered by her arm and he said "Hey, they don't want to hang out with you then they're beneath your notice. Besides I like you just fine and I don't like anyone. Sure it sucks, but we don't need people like that."
He considered going…there. He was torn between being seen and staying hidden. The area was well outside of his wheelhouse of expertise. "Mutant Town?" His lips pressed together and he sighed and said, "Well if I'm not going to be a hypocrite, sure. This that doctor guy you talked about?"
*
Lorna glanced back to him as he nearly took her arm, and she shifted to take hold of his hand. She flashed him a smile, and squeezed his hand gently. "I know." She shrugged, and pushed her hair back behind an ear.
She considered him for a long moment. "Yeah, Mutant Town.. We might have to see if Jay has some clothes that look a bit less.. nice.." She bit her lower lip. "You look too clean and normal there, and well.." She winced, and pressed a hand against the base of her neck, her thumb tapping against the pulse of her neck. "..Just trust me that you don't want to. Okay? But yes, the Doctor Guy, his name is Josh. He's solid gold. There's no way he'll ever come out this way. It's too nice a neighborhood. There's no real way to disguise himself anymore these days."
A pause followed as she turned and then glanced back to him.
"The Brotherhood used to have a hold there, I haven't seen them in the last few months I've helped out, but that doesn't mean they're not there. Okay?"
*
Kaleb against didn't mindhis hand being seized, or didn't object. Drily he said "Yeah if he's solid gold people around you would probably try to trade him to pay off their monthly rent." He didn't like having to be asked to not be him. He never- okay he did take Jay shopping. Convincing him to take the pomade out of his hair. He didn't seem keen to this idea at all. His silver spoon rebellion was mentally halted and he looked at her confused, "Whose brothers?"
*
Lorna bit her lower lip and exhaled a long, heavy sigh. She sat back down. "Okay. Well, they haven't been active for months, but have you ever read the old articles? They.. they're a mutant extremist group. Some call them terrorist. They believe that if mutants want rights they have to take them, by force most often. They blew up a train a last year. And have been known to kill or torture nonpowered people." She grimaced, and looked down at her hands.
"Mystique was their leader last I heard. A blue woman that.. well, her powers are to change her appearance to be anyone. She.. well, she used to be part of the school." Another pause and she glanced toward him. "Remy and Josh used to run with her. Actually, a lot of .. a lot of former Brotherhood people are at the school these days. They just don't talk about it a lot. The Brotherhood used to have a base in Mutant Town. I dunno if they still do. I haven't been looking."
*
Kaleb listened with detached interest though by the end his eyebrow hiked a bit. His thumb brushed over the side of her hand and asked curiously, "Did it work?" His brow furrowed and he looked at her hand and pressed his lips together. He looked back to her with a strange look which want anger for a nice change of pace or disgust for the contentious masses. "Nevermind. look well go but I'm going as myself. I don't make them change, they don't get to do it too me. I made me and I'm going to be me…and sometimes Kellan."
*
Lorna exhaled a breath, and pulled her hand away as she stood. "You're not obviously a mutant, Kaleb. So if we do there, and you want to keep your look.. expect a lot of push back. Stay close to me, I volunteer there on the regular and they know me." She bit her lower lip and seemed to consider what she was going to say next, glancing down and then back up at him.
"There's a kind of disconnect between mutant communities. There's a lot of bitterness against those that can hide who we are and those that can't. Just.. I want you to be prepared for that. Okay? And this isn't just me being paranoid. I promise."
*
He arched an eyebrow, "I get it. Hell I'm resentful for them. For you, for Jay. Yes I can go all my life and never be found out. Every one of us that the outside world hurts is one step closer to coming after me and is one step closer to putting Kellan in a lab and doing shit like cutting him and seeing if the others feel it, and how far, and how long it takes him to heal and God forBID steal one of his selves and rips him off network." His brow furrowed and his carefully constructed indifference was pulled tight at the seems.
*
Lorna took a step back closer to him, a sympathetic look crossing her features. "I just need some hair dye and I can pass Kaleb. It's not all that bad. Trust me." She reached out to take his hand, tugging him upwards to stand.
"C'mon, lets get down there. Hopefully we can find Josh. I want him to get a look at you. I can't stand seeing you walking around with a bloody ear when I know a guy that can help." She murmured.
*
Kaleb stood but didn't let go of her hand. Ther ewas a look that was decisive that bordered on fear. If it wasn't that Kellana nd he saw dogs explode into werewolvesit might seem completely unnatural an occurance, but it was there even if brief. He squeezed her hand and glanced to the door and back to her, "Please, just trust me on that? People. Are. Bad. Maybe not all of them, but the ones that can hurt us? More than enough. I've seen it happen to someone I knew who is kinda like Jay. There are things that should never be allowed to happen to people that still happen. Yes you can cover up your hair but you shouldn't need to and shouldn't.." He winced and said quieter, "You shouldn't have to. I hate that it's how things are but what if the next person is you or Jay, or Ms. Diz?" Hey she tried to trick him into manual labour but she was alright. He shook his head and took a moment to let fear and anger bring him back to some zen indifference. "I'll get… my coat."
*
Lorna sat as he held strong to her hand, and as he spoke. She blinked at him, at the rawness in his expression and at the tone in his voice. She swallowed a tightness that had formed in her throat and she stared at him. Her other hand reached for his chin and to try to turn him back to face her as he grew quieter and trailed off and muttered about his coat.
"Hey.." She seemed rooted to the spot this time, "Hey, it's.. I believe you when you've seen it happen. Of course I believe you." She exhaled a shaky breath. "Trust me, I know that fear, Kaleb. It's one of my biggest fears. My family has suffered and been built on those very things happening. Remember?" Her voice soft and she flashed him a weak smile. Both of her hands gripping at his singular one and she gave him another gentle squeeze.
"But you gotta remember that there's no cell on Earth that can hold me. I'm not a kid like my father was in the camps. They literally can't touch me with a needle or put me behind bars, or restrain me if they wanted to. Metal and I have an agreement." She smiled a little warmer then. It was all the same things she'd been told by her father when the papers had called for his arrest.
*
Kaleb was terrible with feelings, worse at controling anger and pretty abysmal at thinking outside of his own needs. The cause for his Mutant Nationalist attitude seems to have a very special place in his nerve center. Generally he didn't care, and sometimes he just cared entirely too much. His jaw tightened and he nodded accepting the answer and offered ehr a fleeting smile for the effort of keeping things casual. Still it took him a moment. "Good. That only leaves a few hundred to a few thousand others to worry about." It felt monumentous. Being selfish was totally easier, but in a way, this was really an extension of others messing with his things, now his people. Unacceptable. There was a moment of putting his thoughts all back in one box able to embrace that comfortable arrogant air about him. "Besides you can't go anywhere, we have plans."
*
Lorna laughed softly, it was muted, still by the thump in her heart and the questions she didn't ask. The seriousness of the situation wasn't lost on her, but it was difficult to allow it to settle too heavily upon her shoulders. She inhaled slowly, exhaling a gentle breath as she leaned in, pressing her frame against Kaleb's and resting her head against his shoulder. "One at a time, yeah? Save those you can. You can't always save everyone.. but.. but even saving one person is better than none at all, right?" She glanced toward him. Biting her lower lip.
Her lips twitched faintly and she smiled at his last comment. "Oh? Plans? Like a concert? because I suppose I can hang around that long.." She mused.
*
Kaleb was not an affectionate sort and this did not change overnight. She was, though, his dance partner and he seemed to give her both deference and exception for reasons defined as no one else's damn business but his. In spite of everything he hugged her and justfied it to no one. He consideres her casual response with a mock put-on sigh, "Well I suppose. If that's not sufficient I can just keep thinking of stuff. Lucky for you my other greatest skill is demanding things of the world to stave off bordeom." There was a sage nod to go with that.
*
Lorna returned the hug slowly, wrapping her arms around his waist as she cuddled up close to him. She smiled, seemingly content to simply enjoy being close to him. She was particularly affectionate, another inherited trait from her father though it was harder tell in his case save with the short list of family he had. She sighed, closing her eyes as she just remained as she was for a long moment.
"Like I said before Kaleb, I just like spending time with you. I'm happy with doing whatever so long as we get to spend time together."
*
Kaleb boggled and looked down at her "You, Ms. Dane, are a very strange woman." She got a wary squint "But you have a point. I mean we can save what and who we can when we can." His brow furrowed and he fell silent, "Hope he got out. C'mon, we got plans right?"
*