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-Redacted-
*
Kaleb flinched as voices changed pitch. He flinched and a hand lifted by his ear to change the shifting noises coming not the room. He was telling the truth apparently. It wasn't just her that he was worried about. He was still off. His manner shifted to one of agitation, though his other hand still in Lorna's squeezed it a bit tighter. "It wasn't about you and maybe I need you here." So much anger.
*
Julie, ever the pragmatist, eyes if Lorna's hooked up to any machinery-she-doesn't understand. :I think if the both of youse could sit still a minute, it'd do us all some good. I guess long enough to get a girl a shower and some clean PJs. I know I'd be wanting one." She hrms, then reaches into a pocket, looks bweildered a moment, then back at Lorna. "Ah, speaking of which, that's a nice choker. Where'd you get it?"
*
Lorna glanced toward Kaleb and frowned, "Come upstairs with me so I can get dressed.. I don't want to stay here longer than I have to." She squeezed his hand, her lips tugging into a pleading tilt. Then, of course, came Julie's words. She blinked once, twice, and a third time. Her hand lifting to press against the collar of her pajamas.
"What? I don't know what you're talking about it.."
*
It's about then that Sophie comes floating down the stairs in airy form, enabling her to be pretty much completely silent, in case Lorna is in a state of no-longer-sedated, normal sleep and wouldn't appreciate being unneedfully awoken. But opon hearing voices, and one of them being Lorna's, she touches down and, with a swirl of mist, resumes her normal, solid, human form. She's dressed in a sky-blue t-shirt and a pair of comfy grey gym shorts, a pair of flip-flop sandals on her feet.
On entering the medbay proper, she breaks into a warm, bright smile as she asks, "Hey, how are you feeling? You had us all worried there for a while."
*
Julie rms to Lorna. "Well, it's pretty simple, I thought the bad guys mustaput it on you, so I took it off you, then I spent half the day tearing my hair out looking for it, …and now here it is, so you tell me." She smiles at Sophie, who had just spent some hours with her on the way back. "Could I bug ya for some of Lorna's things to sleep in, after all that? She wants a shower and some clean PJs." Yes,, PJ's. Cause…"No more ditching the experts on what we are and geting abducted. We still gotta go get Logan, and all."
*
Kaleb was dressed to impress as he almost always was, he even had a tie. He was trying to feel like himself but his heart was half in it as he still seemed less than his usual annoyed, dissonant self. He looked to Lorna and his jaw clenched. The palm of his hand rubbing his irritated eye. WHen Dizzy comes up with a solition that keeps them there he just snap points to her. Because that was FAR less inappropriate than Kaleb being recruited to do other… things. He was pretty certain that was frowned upon in the housing agreement and he had all enough of being a villian for the last month.
*
Lorna shifted on the bed, her lips pursing into a thin line of displeasure at Julie's words. "I don't know." She offered in regards to the necklace, her gaze hard and narrowed upon the other mutant. And as Sophie appears, the green haired mutant slipped onto her feet over the edge of the bed. She seemed to stand without wobble or even a hint of weakness.
"I am not going to get kidnapped going to my room. It's upstairs. I can get there just fine." Her voice clipped, and she rose up into the air an inch as if to demonstrate her ability. "And if I get tired, I can float. So, can I please go to my room?"
*
"If you're certain you're up to it," Sophie replies to Lorna, smiling, though also looking concerned. "Let us at least go with you? You've been through a lot. Let us be worried about you for at least a little while longer. It's part of what friends are for, /non/?" She breaks into her full-on native accent — and a cheeky grin — for that last word.
*
Kaleb turned slightly red in the face and, holy crap, the sonic had exactly 2.5 oz. of human decency. His tongue ran across his lower lip thoughtfully. His head was still swimming but he knew the limitations of things that would get him thrown into a mental blender. He shook his head. "That's.. on you. I don't think that's entirely appropriate for me to assist in this." He shook his head. Nope. Whole lot of nope and it wasn't for lack of want. His feet swung faintly, careful to not let his heels bang on the cabinet below him and he waited for the reprisal on that one. "I'm gettin checked out before I endanger anyone else. If you want to tell them why you didn't that's… not gonna be on me."
*
Julie glances around. She's got that look on her face about some of the medical equipment around, one that says, "I don't know what that does, I gotta fix that." Says to Lorna. "I guess what's a few more flights of stairs between friends and lockets you dunno about."
*
Lorna shifted on her toes, her gaze swinging back toward Kaleb. "I just want a shower and to wear my own clothes. What is so terrible about that? I haven't knocked things over. I'm not a danger to myself or others.." She murmured, squeezing his hand gently.
Then her gaze swung back toward Julie. "I wouldn't worry so much over a silly necklace, Julie. I'm fine. But if you want to walk me to my room, Julie, Sophie.. you're more than welcome to."
*
And just then, the Professor walks into the medlab, having heard that Lorna was now back. He smiles a bit, looking over at the group, "Lorna! Thank goodness you're alright, I was quite worried about you." He doesn't use his telepathy yet, of course, since there's not much of a need to do so.
*
Turning upon hearing the familiar voice, Sophie smiles. "We were just about to see Lorna up to her room, Professor. Unless there is some reason why we should not?" She raises one eyebrow slightly, clearly deferring to Charles' judgement, but also making it clear that she's not aware of anything that would make it necessary for Lorna to remain in the medbay.
*
Kaleb winced and looked blanched and dizzy. Different than Julie, but his senses spun as more people showed. He pulled his hand up and ensconced himself in silence to keep from… was Echo seriously trying to not pass out? Yup. That was a scowl. He wasn't going oto be compelled to do stairs today but as she failed to miss his points utterly he made a gesture to shoo her away then should she so wish. His teeth set and he attention looked up to the Professor but the eye contact was brief and the guilt high.
*
Lorna's argument died on her lips as Charles appeared. In fact, she seemed to pale just as rapidly as Kaleb did. She swallowed hard, dropping his hand as she scooted to the side of the bed. "I'm fine. I.. I was just going to take a shower. I feel kinda gross." A glance was spared toward Sophie and she nodded.
"I figured since it was just upstairs.." She trailed off.
*
Charles blinks a bit, "Lorna… is everything alright?" And then, well, he normally doesn't abuse the telepathy, but he does a quick mental scan of Lorna's surface thoughts, to just make sure nothing's amiss. Because, well, he didn't miss that fear response to him, and that's just weird enough to make his spider-sense tingle.
*
Sophie remains quiet-but-observant, as the Professor speaks with Lorna. She didn't fully pick up on that reaction to Charles' arrival, but she's aware something isn't quite right, here.
*
Kaleb commented offhandedly, "Maybe…" He braced for the wave of hate and in true fashion, gave up on caring about anyone's opinion of him. He was angry, and generally lived in a state of spite. "Professor, they did something with our genetic code. At least… mine. She's been actin different since she got up. Not bad at all, but I don't know that we're… actually okay."
*
"I'm fine." Was the quick response, but as Charles dipped into Lorna's surface thoughts he would find one of screaming anger, rage and hatred. Malice. There was no sign of Lorna's usual mental state. Not immediately of course, he'd have to push down, down… down below the dominant personality that had taken control of Lorna's body to find where the magnokinetic's true mind was, buried and sobbing and crying out under the mental anguish that Malice had tormented her under for who knows how long.
But as Kaleb spoke and Sophie did little to back her up.. well.. Malice panicked. Lorna's memories of Charles frightened the psonic mutant that had taken control, and she reacted. Violently.
With a shout, metal scream and flew toward Charles, Kaleb and Sohpie in turn. Up ending the contents of the medeical bay in one swirling vortex of metal.
*
Normally the Professor keeps his true power under wraps. Sure, he likes to play the 'goofy professor' and be all groovy and hip and fail miserably at it, but underneath that exterior is the most powerful telepath on the planet. It takes quite a bit to provoke him into anger…
However, some parasite taking over his favorite niece? That definitely qualifies.
While physically there isn't any difference in his stature, the astral plane definitely shows a towering Charles looming over the miniscule form of Malice. » YOU DARE TAKE CONTROL OF LORNA? « Sensing the threat in the physical realm, Charles calmly grabs Malice in one hand, squeezing the parasite's essence tightly in his fist, » YOU ARE NOTHING. « With almost contemptuous ease, he actually overrides Malice's control of Lorna's powers…
And the magnetized metal stops in midair, then clatters to the ground as the Professor, physically, stands motionless. However, he looks to be concentrating very heavily on something else right now, attention focused on Lorna.
*
That uncharacteristic shout from Lorna was enough to spur the already-watchful Sophie into the defensive stance that's been drilled into instinct for her over her student years. She's /nearly/ clipped by one of the objects 'Lorna' sent flying, but her swirling transformation into her airy form completes itself just in time.
And then it all abruptly stops. And the elemental mutant's 'ghostly' form looks from the Professor to Lorna to Kaleb… and her eyes narrow.
The young Frenchwoman's voice is in suffer-no-fools mode, and each word she utters may just carry a light reminder of what /her/ power can do with the air she commands. Blue eyes looking intently at Kaleb, she tells him, "Do. NOT. Move."
*
Kaleb winced and clutched his head and with the alacrity of him trying to keep the needle from scratching his record collection called to Sophie, "Dont' let her run!" and witht hat did his best to attempt to physically restrain her by looping an elbow around the waist of her without taking an elbow to the nose or a knee to his goulies. Why was nothing ever easy? And people wonder why he wakes up with such a contemptuous attitude.
*
A scream pulled from Lorna's physical lips, pained and strangled. Though she didn't so much as move from her frozen, stiff, position as Kaleb wrapped his arms around her and held her physical body tight. Even as Charles yanked Malice from Lorna's body. There was a cackling, blurred figure that stretched out and around Lorna's body visible to all. A mimickry in translucent tones.
"Kill me if you want, Xavier. But it's too late. They know. They know everything! And she is mine!" She managed to snarl out and between one moment and the next, and was promptly was pulled apart at the seams.
With another shriek, both from Lorna and from Malice herself, the psonic entity seemed to burst into particles and vanish into nothingness. The necklace at Lorna's throat too, vanished into dust.
The green haired mutant went limp in Kaleb's grip, just as all the metal in the room crashed to the floor, no longer tethered in place by Malice or Lorna.
*
The Professor looks stern, his voice soft as he says, "No. She is her own person, and no one, not Maximus, not Malice, is ever going to control her again." His eyes are hard as he makes that proclamation.
Then, that grim moment passes, and he moves over towards Lorna, checking on the girl both psychically and physically, "Lorna? Are you alright now?" He frowns, trying not to think of that psychic parasite and what it was doing to Lorna while it was inside her brain.
*
Meanwhile, Sophie is giving Kaleb an apologetic look. "Sorry. I did not know if whatever that was that had gotten hold of Lorna had gotten to you, too." And then her attention is on the Professor and her friend, as she waits a bit helplessly to learn just what it is that just happened, and if Lorna is going to be all right in the aftermath.
*
Kaleb ducked his head and waited to just not be crushed. He muttered, through the scream gritting his teeth, "And they wonder why I can't stand people so goddamned much." But it wasn't the scream. That was one sound source. The clattering of everything metal falling into place in the room was not something the hypersensitive sonic was used to or had facility to handle. There was a brief convulsion, and Lorna was dropped to the floor.
Kaleb, in spite of his best efforts shook, and fell back flat against the wall and slumped down, eyes wide, with a trickle of blood coming from his nose. Very, very slowly his hands raised to the sides of his head and squeezed. There was Sophie's apology lingering in the din and it took every effort to slowly glance to her to node very, very slowly. Yup. They were groovy. He got her loud and clear. The downside was he just caught every damn reverb in the room at once. His eyes watered and crawled down his face. Breathing. Breathing was good. There we go.
*
Lorna hit the floor hard as Kaleb dropped her in his own pain and shock. She lay there, sprawled and unresponsive for a moment, two.. three.. even as Charles moves to check on her. Finally, she stirred and it was with tears in her eyes. Her mind had basically been crushed and oppressed for close to two weeks. She'd been aware of everything that Malice had done and had willingly submitted her body to. Malice, it had seemed, had run amok with tormenting the young mutant.
The truck, and her sedated capture had been more or less.. a ruse and she'd been unable to stop anything. Malice had gleefully handed out information about every mutant Lorna knew to the shadowy group.. and Lorna hadn't been able to stop it.
"Uncle Charlie.." She whimpered, reaching up with both hands in a pleading way. Even as tears trickled down her cheeks and she whimpered, breaking down into sobs. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-I couldn't s-stop her."
*
Charles gathers up Lorna in a tight hug, "I know. It's alright. It's going to be okay." He realizes that she's in a bad way right now, and while Malice wasn't a challenge for him, most of his students wouldn't have had a chance. "You couldn't stop it. I understand."
*
The immediate crisis over, Sophie reverts to human solidity once more. Her airy form is good for many things, but interacting with solid objects — or placing a hand reassuringly on a friend's shoulder — are somewhat beyond its capabilities. "Lorna, /cherie/, it will be all right," she says, squeezing said shoulder. "It could have been any of us. Do not blame yourself. You are not Jean, or the Professor. You could not fight her."
*
Kaleb didn't move from the floor. He wasn't throwing up, he didn't entirely pass out. This was, sadly, an improvement. The wall by the door seemed to hold him up so there was no dangerous contact with metal. Echo slowly winced his eyes shut and just focused on breathing. Right. So he didn't hallucinate that. Yay Kaleb for making the right call and not taking the crazy bait. Now who was going to stop the damn room from spinning?
*
Lorna sank against Charles' supporting hug, her mind as about as stable as a swiss cheese tower. Filled with holes where Malice had played with her, shoved her into corners and tormented her day after day. Lorna wasn't going to be up and about and coherent beyond sobs and self incriminations anytime soon. There was no small amount of self loathing there, that had clearly attracted Malice into furthering Lorna's instability. Her memories of the past two weeks a pit of despair and anguish not from just the human captors.
Her eyes slipped shut between sobs, even as she quieted and eventually sank into oblivion brought about by sheer exhaustion. She had struggled to try to fight off Malice the whole afternoon. More than she had during the past two weeks. The ability to feel safe? To move her body under her own will and not share mental space? It was like flipping a switch.
And Lorna was out like a light for the first restful sleep she'd had in over two weeks now. Even if her last mumbled word of panick had been Kaleb's name as it trailed off.
*
The Professor scoops up Lorna in his arms, "Alright, I think we're going to get her to bed. Her own bed." He looks over at Sophie, "We'll need to keep an eye on her, after all she's been through." His eyes narrow, the worries about the school's security not that high, as… well, anyone that comes to his house is going to pay a dear price.
Don't believe him? Just ask Malice.
*
And with Lorna seen to — at least as much as she can be for the moment — Sophie steps over to Kaleb and crouches down in front of him. She doesn't insult him by asking 'Are you all right?' or any other such inane question under the circumstances and how he's looking at the moment. Instead, six gentle words issue from her lips, while her eyes are filled with sincere concern: "What can I do to help?"
*
Kaleb sat and just hurt. Everything hurt. Sophie didn't have to touch anything to move around though and he could not express how utterly delightful that was. When she asked he wiped his hand on his lip. Blood. He hissed with disappointment "Shhhhhhhit." And his words were barely audible and weirdly entirely understandable. "Couple kleenex? Be great…thanks." Someone learned please and thank you recently, or he actually meant it. Odd that.
*
Even in solid form, Sophie moves gracefully and is light on her feet. Maybe years of dance lessons had something to do with that. She certainly /looks/ the part of a ballerina, current attire notwithstanding, and her motions contribute about as little as possible to the sounds in the room. She's quickly back with the requested tissues — or, actually, the entire box. "Here," she says, her voice still gentle.
*
Kaleb took the box from her and worked to clean his face and try to stave off the nosebleed. He sighed like this was, sadly, not a new thing. The back of his head rest against the wall and he asked her, frankly, "Vic said you went yesterday. Helped get some other kids out too… Thanks. For, ya know, helping them." He sighed and squint a faint look at her, somehow more sincere and less cranky than his usual 'charming' self. "Really. Thanks."
*
"Lorna is my friend. We have known each other for a long time," Sophie offers, by way of explanation. The two young women are close enough in age to have been classmates, after all. "When she was missing, after what happened to Warren…" Yes, better probably for all concerned that she not go there just now. Suffice it to say, as she's already shown more than once now in Kaleb's presence, that the usually easygoing, sunny and kind Sophie has a fierce side, and it is most readily brought out when those she cares about are hurt or threatened. "And as for the rest of it, well, it is how I was raised. To care. To help. My parents met in La Resistance. They risked their lives in the name of what is right. They were heroes. And they did it without gifts like ours. Now I try to live up to their examples, and all that they have taught me." Yes, she's an idealist. But she's also clearly neither a naive nor a foolish one. Is there such a thing as 'idealistic realism'?
*
Kaleb cracked a bit of a grin, tired, but agreeable. "Sometimes there's some decent people out there. Not enough, but decent. I dunno. My father always taught us if something doesn't work, seize it, make it right." He shook his head and took a deep breath. "Waking up alone with tube…things… comin out of mesomeplace? Scariest thing I ever fuckin felt. Well that…and Seventh year. " He shook his head and said to Sophie earnestly, "I think you figured out the balance of it maybe. I dunno." He winced and took a deep breath. He looked back up from the room to her, "Now I need someplace to sack out because it's going to take a couple hours for the damn tinnitus to go…away…. and if anyone asks everytig's fine. We'll.. figure it out."
*