Hesitant Labbing
It would be a lie if she said she was pleased about having to make a trip to the medical lab when she felt that she was more than capable of taking care of the treating herself. Not only would it be saving the doctor time and effort and maybe even medical materials but it would lessen the chance of her having to waste the time she could be using in training. Personally, she didn't think the burns were all that bad. They hadn't even blistered. The burns had only made her skin red ... alright, the burns were a little sensitive too... But it wasn't something that a little aloe and a couple of bandages couldn't help. And she had both.
Mr. Summers had no doubt already told the doctor that she was going to be there... and besides that she had already agreed to going so not only did she have to go because of her visit being expected but because she wasn't someone to go against her word. She had been taught better than that and rarely did something like that. Still, it did not mean she had to be happy about doing what she had been taught as the right thing... Rain had almost wanted to just stay in her room when she had left her things there. She had fought that urge though.
Her eyes displayed a stormcloud scene as she walked down the hall that led to the Medical Lab, her looking down at her hands which had angry red welts across the palms. She looked up from them as she reached the enterence to the Med Lab and with a soft sigh, walked though. The sights of the place wasn't too much of a surprise for her, Rain having seen them when she had gotten her tour of the manshion and having had time to take it in then but still, she was a little anxious due to never having met the doctor and having only heard a little about him.
All she had been told about him was of how good of work he did, that he was a nice man and that his appearances were a little surprising. Although that did well to give her an idea of his personality and quality of work, but did little to paint her a picture in her mind to go by. 'A little surprising' didn't exactly give her a portrait of what the man looked like. Did he have an odd haircut? Were his eyes taking up half of his face? Did he have a gigantic nose? Of course, she hadn't asked those questions out loud or inquire about his appearances but since 'surprising' had been brought up, where she usually wouldn't have given a thouht about what the doctor would look like, she became curious.
"Is there a Doctor Mc.Coy in?" She spoke out the question hopefully loud enough to be heard without too much trouble. Maybe the man would not be there? Rain had agreed to going to the medlab but she hadn't specified on if she would stay if he were not there... She looked down. No, she couldn't do that either... She felt bad for even thinking of it.
Scott had said she would be coming directly, this new and apparently most reluctant patient. The call informing him of Rains imminent arrival had interrupted one of the few moments of relaxation Hank had afforded himself that day, a much needed a ten minute break in which to savour a chapter of his currant book and a twinkie bar. Ahhh. The blue furred mutant closed his eyes in pleasure and licked the last of the sweet crumbs from his lips. The twinkie bar! A small piece of heaven in a handy bite sized portion. And to think he had once made a new years resolution to cut down on them.
What had he been thinking of? His waistline? Hank smiled. He was 350 pounds of pure muscle. It wasn’t a cream filled snack…. Well ok he had to admit, a rather large amount of cream filled snacks, that was going to make any impression on that. In any case his Twinkie abstinence had been a momentary aberration, one which he had he had quickly rectified. After all, he reasoned, there were more than enough bad things in life without denying yourself some of the good ones.
Besides, there were times when a slight sugar rush was just what the doctor ordered. Like when you had to try and convince a student that the world wouldn’t necessarily come to an end if they took things a little slower. Or at least not right away. Neither Scott nor Hank underestimated the destructive power that some of these teenagers had to struggle to contain. After all they had both in their time had to fight the same battle, Cyclops to gain some measure of control over the beam that could so easily have dominated his existence, Hank to curtail the strength that flowed through his body and convert it instead to gentleness.
It wasn’t easy! No one ever said that it would be. But it was doable. The trick was to do it without wrecking your life in the process. Without turning each day into one long training session leaving no room for anything else, like friends or happiness! That was too high a price to pay and in the end it was self defeating. Hank had seen it too many times in the past.
Those who devoted every minute of their lives to trying to dominate their mutant abilities inevitably became lonely and desperate, cut off from others until one day they either exploded in a fit of self destruction or lost all respect for those around them. The normal, happy people, who didn’t have to carry the terrible burden that fate had placed on their shoulders. And at that point they became what they had tried so hard to stop themselves from becoming. A menace! A monster! It was easily done, especially if there was no one there to show you that things could be different. That you didn’t have to go it alone! And that amongst other things was what he had to try to convince Rain of.
The fact that she had come back was in itself encouraging. It meant that she had recognised the value of what the school had to offer and was, in theory at least, willing to accept it. *Now all we have to do is get her to ease off on herself a little. To recognise the merit of taking time out for a Twinkie now and then. That is if she actually does what she promised Scott she would and turns up.*
"Is there a Doctor Mc.Coy in?" Well that answered that question, didn’t it. The first step had been taken. Now they had to make sure that she kept going in the right direction. Hank rose from behind his desk and crossed to open his office door “Yes indeed my dear “he said kindly “I am Hank McCoy and you must be Rain? Come in I’ve been expecting you. ”
Re: Hesitant Labbing“Yes indeed my dear... I am Hank McCoy and you must be Rain? Come in I’ve been expecting you.”
As the door to the office opened, Rain looked over towards it only to be caught off guard by what she saw. Her eyes flashed into a pale glacier green in color from her startled state as she took a step back and the energy wings showed themselves, flaring out just as a bird's would when a bird has been threatened into flight. They could have given her some sort of warning to what the doctor looked like instead of letting her go to him without being able to prepare herself, she thought as she quickly pulled the wings back into herself and tried to regain her composure. Well, there were two more burns added to the list...
Her eyes darkened to a deep blue-green of embarrassment at the same time that the redness showed up on her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose and Rain dropped her gaze to the floor. She was ashamed of her reaction to the man. It hadn't been at all polite. Actually, some might concider her reaction extremely rude. The thought of that just made her blush all the harder and caused her energy to try to get loose. Damn it, she needed to train! Evidently, instead of training too much as people seemed to be worrying about, she hadn't trained enough. If she had trained enough then she wouldnt have this problem at the moment.
"Ex... excuse me... I must appologize for my... for how I've acted." Rain stuttered out in embarrassed tones. She sould have reacted better. She shouldn't have been startled like that even if the doctor had ended up being a large blue furry man who happened to at the same time look like a blend between a man and an animal... A preditory animal. "Yes, Dr. Mc Coy, I am Rain... And I'd like to appologize again about... how I had reacted... And about any disturbances in feelings it might have caused to you." She said, actually meaning her words.
Re: Hesitant Labbing
Scot hadn’t warned her about his appearance. That much was clear. Hank didn’t know if he should be flattered or annoyed. No, that wasn’t true. Somehow it was always flattering when people forgot to precise that he was blue and furry. As if they had somehow seen behind the mask his own stupidity had forced him to wear and acknowledged the man that still lingered within the bestial form.
Scott was someone who could do that of course. He had known Hank before his transformation and even if that hadn’t been the case he was still one of those few people that the doctor would have trusted to posses the capacity to look beyond the obvious. To set aside appearance and yes, eventually even reputation, in order to recognise worth where he found it. But that didn’t help the girl who had stumbled upon him all unawares!
If Scott had been on form it was certain that the situation wouldn’t have arisen. No matter what his own reaction to Hank was, he would always have sought to spare an unsuspecting student the shock that inevitably resulted from the fact that the school doctor was someone who could in any culture be considered a beast. *Which in itself just goes to show that he has set standards the rest of us mere mortals find hard to live up to* Hank thought, as he watched Rain’s confusion.
"Ex... excuse me... I must apologize for my... for how I've acted."She stuttered awkwardly. There was nothing to apologise for of course. Unless it was his unexpected intrusion upon her senses! Which, despite everything, she handled with immense tact and diplomacy. Even if she herself seemed to doubt that. "Yes, Dr. Mc Coy, I am Rain... She said before adding stoically. And I'd like to apologize again about... how I had reacted... And about any disturbances in feelings it might have caused to you."
“Oh no my dear” he hastened to reassure her. “I am well used to the reaction my unconventional aspect may provoke. Rest assured that I take no umbrage from it.” His smile with all its inevitable assortment of fangs was never the less kind as he continued “In fact you have handled the shock rather well and have no need to feel awkward. So please come in, sit down . Make yourself comfortable. While I have a look at those burns and we work out how best to make you comfortable”
Re: Hesitant Labbing“Oh no my dear... I am well used to the reaction my unconventional aspect may provoke. Rest assured that I take no umbrage from it.” The large blue furry doctor told her. She was surprised to find that he hadn't been offended but with so many people that lived at the mansion, she could almost imagine how he could get the same reaction or worse from other people. Still, Rain didn't find that as an excuse for her own behavior. There was no excuse. She should have handled herself better... It was too late to take it back though.
“In fact you have handled the shock rather well and have no need to feel awkward. So please come in, sit down . Make yourself comfortable. While I have a look at those burns and we work out how best to make you comfortable” How could she not feel awkward? Even if he did try to comfort her by assuring her that she handled the shock well, she didn't feel that she had herself. At his instructions though, Rain took a seat at a place he would be able to examine her properly then peeled away the clothes that were covering her burns.
They look worse than they really are... I've gotten used to this and I have a high tolerance for pain so I barely even feel them... To be honest, Doctor, I would have just put some ointment on them and wrapped them up myself if I had been allowed to have that choice...." Rain said softly, her eyes shifting to a copper as she tried to keep her feelings out of sight. "I... I'm not doubting your capabilities or anything." She added quickly to clear things up before they could be taken wrong.
"I... I just prefer to not take up your time when it is something I can do myself." Rain told him as she sat there in her sports bra and the jogging shorts she had been wearing under her clothes for when she would go training. The burns were clealy exposed now, angry red marks on her arms and two especially painful looking ones running parallel down her back that were about two inches wide and seven inches long each. "And when I can just re-bandage myself in between trainings without bothering anyone to take the time to do it..." she added.
Re: Hesitant Labbing
Scott had tried to prepare him for her attitude, and in all honesty it wasn’t as if he hadn’t encountered this reaction before But somehow that didn’t make it any easier, either for him or for his patient. “ They look worse than they really are..”. this hitherto unknown girl told him. And that in itself was a failure. For this wasn’t her first time at the institute and yet she had come and gone before without even once passing through his hands.
How could that have been when it was obvious that this as yet uncontrolled power hurt her deeply? lt was such a fine line to walk… the line between concern and intrusion.. and these youngsters who turned up on their doorstep were so fragile! Push them too far and they cracked. Let them be and you ended up with girls who told you things you were appalled to hear. Just as Rain did. “I've gotten used to this and I have a high tolerance for pain so I barely even feel them...”
Rain hadn’t hesitated to expose the burns that covered her body, for she had undressed readily enough despite the shock of his appearance. So on the purely sexual ground, at least at least, there seemed to be no trauma.
Dear god, sometimes Hank was appalled that he could even think there might have been. That somehow parents could have violated the body that rested so acquiescent before him! Yet to have done anything less would have been naïve. And that was one thing that this job had made sure that he was not.
But in the end, if physically she hadn’t been abused, was the hurt any the less? This girl had been forced, and then forced again to accept what she was feeling as normal! To accept pain and suffering as her daily lot! And that in itself was an abomination! Though, as was so often the case, she didn’t seem able to see that.
“To be honest, Doctor, I would have just put some ointment on them and wrapped them up myself if I had been allowed to have that choice...." When had she been left alone to deal with such things? When her parents had found out that she was a mutant? Or when her condition had started to impinge upon their social standing,
Hank had only now been urged to look at her files. And lets face it he hadn’t had long to do so. The all too few moments between Scott’s call and Rain’s subsequent arrival in med lab! Time in which Hank had assimilated the few scant details they had about her background. And there were some that sprang to the forefront that he couldn’t deny. She was rich, certainly! Mutant. Of that there was no doubt. But loved………. Ahh now that was something else entirely!
Rejection by those close to you was never easy no matter what form it happened to take. That was another lesson the doctor had been quick to learn. Though if he had been rejected in many ways during his life then this at least had never been one of them.
Despite his mutation, despite the totally unforeseen results of his reckless experimentation which had led to him becoming what he was today, his parents had never been anything but supportive. They would never have left him in pain like this. And never in the hands of a doctor they didn’t know.
Though that didn’t seem to pose a problem for Rain! Or rather if it did she tried hard not to let it show. Though her voice did tremble a little! “I... I'm not doubting your capabilities or anything." That was good. More than good! It was important that she had confidence in him. Vital, if he was going to continue to treat her. But could he really win her trust so easily? That was something he was far from being convinced of
"I... I just prefer to not to take up your time when it is something I can do myself." These burns were painful, two furrows carved deeply into her back that cried out for attention. Though Rain didn’t seem to think so "And when I can just re-bandage myself in between trainings without bothering anyone to take the time to do it..
How could he even begin to make her see that this wasn’t the way that things were meant to be? Not here at the institute! Not anywhere remotely decent! Stoicism and self reliance were all well and good. Indeed he himself was the first to encourage them when it was necessary. When medical science had to bow its head and say we can do nothing else to ease your suffering, now it’s up to you. But this wasn’t the case here and now. Even someone who didn’t have at his disposition the alien resources that Hank had could have done better by this girl. And Hank was damned if he was going to let her go on believing that it was.
But she had her pride, that much was certain. Despite the fact it took the form of self effacement. For if she refused to come to him, as she said, to avoid wasting his time, subconsciously it was also because she had been taught she could go on alone, controlling this terrible power that tore at her body with willpower and a few salves. And, at least for now, given the burns that adorned her, that didn’t seem to be enough to keep her safe Though it was more than delicate to say so.
The last thing Hank wanted to do though was to make her feel that she was failing in this valiant struggle………. And yet he could hardly let her leave, hurt as she was to simply endure the wounds that her so called ‘gift’ was ravaging upon her body! Hank sighed. The institute had been founded to help lost and frightened youngsters realise that these powers that forced themselves uninvited into their lives could be considered as, gifts. Or, at least, not as the terrible curses they seemed. But sometimes it was hard.
He himself had nothing to lament. Not really. For if he had been born a mutant he had been more than able to pass for human and his powers had always been his to control. Until he himself had intervened that was. Perhaps it had been for a good reason. Certainly it had seemed so at the time. But he had been young and apparently more than foolish. Now age and hindsight told him it had all been for naught. That there had to have been another solution! One that wouldn’t have ended with him giving up the small semblance of humanity that had been left to him!
But even in the larger community of mutants Rain presented a rare case. If Scott had no control over his optic beam, then he was at least impervious to its effect! They were few and far between, those mutants whose active powers could do themselves harm. And it was more than obvious that Rain was one of them!
There was a scientific paper lying half written in Hank’s room that dealt with the theory of guilt! Or rather expanded upon what had already been acknowledged by other physicians, but with specific reference to mutants. The mind was a force to be reckoned with, and not just in mutant terms. Even those who didn’t have the ability to bend it to their will, were still victims to its power.
For example Scott’s inferiority complex had been built upon by Mr Sinister long before his powers had even seen the light of day. Such manipulation was more than enough to have made him reject his powers. Still in the end it had been proven time after time that his inability to control his optic beam was due to a physical trauma rather than a mental one. But that wasn’t always the case.
Sometimes young mutants firmly believed that all they merited was pain. Some even believed that they didn’t deserve to live. And so, many of them died! Though Hank firmly believed that many more would have if the Xavier Institute and Cerebro hadn’t intervened!
Unconscious self hurt was an area no one had yet fully investigated! At least as far as mutant powers were concerned. Maybe no one else cared. Hank had to admit that that was probably the case. Or perhaps, more generously, they just didn’t have the data necessary to submit any viable conclusions on the subject.
But he did! On both scores! And what he saw gave him pause for thought. Oh it was undoubtedly true that fate dealt a crueller hand than most to some mutants! Whether it was on the purely physical level or simply because their powers were in all honesty unliveable with! And that, pushed to the extreme was something that no one could alter.
Someone who suddenly found they could only breathe methane would probably perish before anyone could figure out what was going on. Likewise, though it was hard to admit, a mutant born with the uncontrollable power to suck the life force from all those around him would most likely have to be eliminated. if the means to do so were at hand.
That was too close to home. A reality that had touched his life one unsuspecting night when a friend had felt the need to talk It was a thought that still haunted Hank, one life taken to save the lives of many. He sometimes wondered how Logan could live with it. Though he supposed that Wolverine had learned to live with that and more!
But, despite all the desperate things that fate could throw against them, it was true that sometimes there was no medical reason behind the undeniable fact that a mutant’s abilities could hurt their wielder just as they hurt their potential victims.
Guilt! Imagine it fuelled once by all to human passion and then fuelled again by mutant power! It would burn. Or freeze Or hurt, whenever it could. Anything at all to say stop! This is wrong! I am wrong!
Was that what was going on with Rain? Hank sighed. Maybe, but then again maybe not. That was something he would have to try to discover later on down the line. First of all though he had to treat the symptoms, whatever it was that had caused them. And more importantly convince the girl to come back for help if ,or more likely when ;it happened again.
The tricky part was finding a way to do it. Even if it wasn’t always the way you wanted to go. *I have to sell med lab, pure and simple* Hank told himself reasonably. ’Make her feel that it is useful to her. That is the first step, I fear. Anything else would be too much to ask at this time. Though…. soon I hope that will change ’
“Training ehh..” Hank said mildly as he went over to his medicine cupboard and took down a jar of home made herbal cream. “Well yes I can fully appreciate you not wanting to miss that. So let’s see what we can do to get you back to form as quickly as possible shall we.”
He made his way back to where she stood and gently began to apply the mixture to the worst of her wounds. “Now this , as you so rightly pointed out is something that you could probably do yourself. Though back wounds are always problematic to dress without help don’t you agree?” Hank asked with a smile. ”And even using this amazing product, put together I may add with my own fair hands, a full recovery would take what?… a day at best…. If you really pushed yourself that was? As I’m sure you would no matter what I said.”
Hank seated himself on the corner of the desk and started to apply the ointment to her burned hands. ”But what if I told you that I could have you cured and ready to go in an hour? Not just able to train at a pinch but fully functioning, as if nothing had happened. Now I for one wouldn’t consider that in any way a waste of my time… nor, I suspect,” he winked his golden eye at her conspiratorially to show that there was no reproach behind his words, merely a genuine desire to help “should you.”
At first, Rain didn't know how this was going to go. Was he going to be the type to try to talk her out of training or would be be supportive or did he just bring up the topic to make conversation as he treated her burns? She hoped that it would be the second or last option. It would be easier that way and she wouldn't need to try to explain herself to him on why she needed the training rather than just merely wanting it.
“Well yes I can fully appreciate you not wanting to miss that. So let’s see what we can do to get you back to form as quickly as possible shall we.” He said. Rain's tension visibly lessened, her relaxing some. The doctor was supportive of her preferences. That meant a lot, to have the doctor's agreement as he would most likely in the end be the one that would be making the final decision on if she were alright enough to train or not.
“Now this , as you so rightly pointed out is something that you could probably do yourself. Though back wounds are always problematic to dress without help don’t you agree?.. And even using this amazing product, put together I may add with my own fair hands, a full recovery would take what?… a day at best…. If you really pushed yourself that was? As I’m sure you would no matter what I said." He commented.
"But what if I told you that I could have you cured and ready to go in an hour? Not just able to train at a pinch but fully functioning, as if nothing had happened. Now I for one wouldn’t consider that in any way a waste of my time… nor, I suspect,.. should you.” The thought of recovering so fast amazed her, causing her eyes to turn a peach color as she looked over her shoulder at him with a surprised expression on her face. She calmed herself though, making sure to reply to one topic before jumpping to another.
"I didn't used to get many back wounds before it came... but before when I would injure my back while sparring or training or during the diciplining, my tutor or the family nurse used to help with the places I couldn't reach myself if the injury was bad enough to need looking after... That only happened a couple of times though and those times were in the beginnign years when I was more accident prone and back when I was a good deal disrespectful." She replied.
"That about the healing so quicky.... that would be something wonderful." She almost stammered out in her excitement, her eyes shifting to yellow that represented happyness or amusement for her. "Is there really a way to do that?... It does not involve my having to be completely relaxed, does it? I have to make sure that I remain in control of the energy.."
Re: Hesitant Labbing
As expected, Rain had relaxed when he had seemed to go along with her almost obsessive need for training. But then again, if he had been asked to contain this type of power would Hank himself have been any different? That was something he would never know, for if he had been forced to come face to face with some of the harsher realities of what it meant to be a mutant, he never been confronted with this situation. And that was why he was so grateful for Scott’s insight into this new patient. It was true that they had only had a few moments to discuss Rains imminent arrival in med lab but somehow it had been enough.
Hank had known the man they called Cyclops since they had both been teenagers. Damn it all, more than twenty years of friendship later, he was still here, nursing Scott through this last, potentially fatal illness. So all in all he felt that he was well placed to recognise when his team mate felt more than just passing concern for a student, hearing instead the underlying concern for someone who was going through the same trauma that Scott had himself gone through in his youth. And with no assurance of a similarly happy outcome! Though both he and Scott would try to make sure that Rain did live as far as such a thing was possible for a mutant, happily ever after!
Because it certainly didn’t sound as if her life up till now had been a bed of roses. The whole question of what exactly she meant by ‘disciplining’ worried the doctor greatly, especially as it seemed to have been something if not instigated by then at least condoned by her parents. And if it was directly linked to the idea of being ‘disrespectful’ then the implications were all to clear. Not that it was a subject Hank could even begin to broach at the moment let alone deal with. No discussions like that could only be had when some sort of trust had been established and that was far from being the case at the moment. Though he had perhaps managed to take one tiny step towards it!
"That about the healing so quickly....” Rain said, her strange kaleidoscopic eyes changing colour yet again as her emotions altered “…. that would be something wonderful." Yes it would and it would have been even more wonderful if she didn’t want to get well simply so that she could throw herself back into this training routine that seemed to dominate her life! Hank sighed inwardly. Somehow though he didn’t feel that telling her to ‘sit back and smell the flowers’ was going to work well with this particular student. *I shall just have to call on my so called ‘amazing intellect’ to find another approach* the doctor thought wryly *Lets just hope I manage to do so soon.*
"Is there really a way to do that?... Rain asked dubiously It does not involve my having to be completely relaxed, does it? I have to make sure that I remain in control of the energy.." The almost casual statement sent a whirlwind of queries chasing themselves through the blue mutants brain. Did she mean to tell him that she never relaxed? How did she sleep? he wondered How did the inevitable tension not drive her insane? Hank’s concern grew with each implication that raised its head, all leading up to the one inevitable question that clamoured for an answer he couldn’t yet give, but one which he would do everything in his power to find…… How could he help her?
Well, healing the wounds that he could treat here and now would be a start. “There most certainly is a way to fix you right up” he said reassuringly “ and no, you wouldn’t have to be sedated or any such thing for the treatment to work. Though I do find that relaxing, at least as much as you feel comfortable with, does help the healing process along. Nor would you even necessarily have to lie down if you didn’t want to….”
Well well……. was there really the grain of an idea starting to grow here? An image of another rather wayward invalid had just flashed through his brain bringing a stream of possibilities in its wake. Perhaps it was clutching at straws but after all wasn’t he more or less reduced to that anyway. And with the references to martial arts and control it was an outside possibility that this was something she might have studied. Hank crossed mental fingers hoped for the best then went on ”I have at least one patient who seems to think that, now he is recovered enough to do so, sitting crossed legged is the preferred position for healing. He says he can help the process along more effectively by meditating and that he meditates better sitting up rather than lying down.”
“In fact, come to think of it, if you are of a similar opinion I’m sure he would be glad to share his new found knowledge with you. After all when it comes to this subject he is I suppose what we could call the resident expert. Though the doctor smiled kindly again “if he goes on mending like this he wont be resident for too much longer. ”
Re: Hesitant Labbing“There most certainly is a way to fix you right up... and no, you wouldn’t have to be sedated or any such thing for the treatment to work. Though I do find that relaxing, at least as much as you feel comfortable with, does help the healing process along. Nor would you even necessarily have to lie down if you didn’t want to….” Relief flooded into Rain at hearing that and her eyes became a brighter yellow. She didn't have to relax, that was a good thing. It meant that she wouldn't be putting anyone in danger. She already did that enough just by allowing herself to sleep even for the short bursts and in the lightness that she did it in.
The mention of someone who tended to meditate while using the device caught her attention, causing her eyes to turn a curious copper in an instant. She could understand how meditation would help along with the going ons of the body as a lot of things had to do with mind over matter. “In fact, come to think of it, if you are of a similar opinion I’m sure he would be glad to share his new found knowledge with you. After all when it comes to this subject he is I suppose what we could call the resident expert. Though ...if he goes on mending like this he wont be resident for too much longer.”
Rain smiled brightly, eyes paling and shifting back to the yellow once more. "I would love to meet him if he is up for it..." She said, trying to remain calm but having trouble keeping the excitement from her tone. "I am interested in learning what kind of meditation he uses and what made him think of it. That's amazing... I would have never thought to use meditation for something like that... Although I haven't meditated since my tutor was made to leave the family pr She stated.
It seemed like forever ago since she hd seen her sensei.. which was not a surprise due to the fact that he had practically been like a grandfather to her. She saw the man more than she saw her family, him having trained her and pretty much raised her up along with the rest of the team of tutors and trainers. She missed being trained but more so, she missed the people who had been training and teaching her. Sometimes she heard their voices when she was studying or training.
"Do you think he would take me as a pupil for the time he is here?" She found herself asking. It would be great to have that feeling again. The feeling of someone training her. Rain wondered what he would be like but subconsciously, she already had an image in her head due to not really knowing much else except for what she had experianced herself. She assumed that he would be on the older side possibly even near his eighties, strict, and cold looking with the possibility of haaving a slightly fathering side that might peek out time to time.
Re: Hesitant Labbing
Rather ironically, Rain actually relaxed more when she heard that she wouldn’t be obliged to do so for the treatment to take effect. And her face positively lit up at the idea of meditation. Sometimes random suggestions could pay dividends and this certainly seemed to be one of those occasions. "I would love to meet him if he is up for it..." she told Hank eagerly, her enthusiasm widening the grin on the doctors face considerably. “I am interested in learning what kind of meditation he uses and what made him think of it.”
Hank had a damned good idea why Matt had come up with this solution. Being hurt too many times and having to mend on his own as best he could! Not to mention keeping his heightened senses under control while he did healed. But that was for Matt to explain as Hank was sure he would. After all, observant as he was, he could hardly fail to notice the pent up tension in this young woman not to mention the immense energy she held inside just waiting to burst out Control was what she needed and from what Hank had seen these past few days Matt was a master of it. Even if, as his recent disastrous encounter proved all to well, things didn’t always go according to plan.
“That's amazing...” Rain went on “I would have never thought to use meditation for something like that... Although I haven't meditated since my tutor was made to leave the family property” There was an echo of old regret in her voice as if this tutor had been someone she had cared for and who had perhaps cared for her and while it was sad to think that they had been separated it was still nice to know that she had had someone like that in her life at least for a while.
Hank wondered why he had been sent away. Maybe one day he would ask Rain and she would tell him the whole story. One day when she felt comfortable and at home at the Institute! But for now it was more important to find her someone who would bring that day about as fast as possible. Someone she could connect to and who wouldn’t let her down. It was a lot to ask, especially of someone he hadn’t known all that long but then again…. Matt had already offered to help out where he could once he was well, especially with students who had powers like his own which could make their lives a living hell if not handled properly. So… he would be starting a little sooner than planned…. and with someone whose powers could make everyone’s life a living hell… albeit a very short one. *Im sure he’ll be perfectly fine with this* Hank thought optimistically, before sighing inwardly. *Oh dear.. perhaps I should have asked him before I ventured this far*.
It was too late now to turn back though. Already it was clear that rain was warming to the idea. "Do you think he would take me as a pupil for the time he is here?" she asked her eyes bright and filled with what Hank now noted as being for her the colour of hope. “I’m sure he’d be happy too” he replied mentally crossing all fingers and toes that what he said would prove to be true. “But why don’t we go in and ask him.”
So saying he stood and moved to open his office door, waiting in gentlemanly fashion for Rain to exit before he closed it behind her and escorted her the short distance towards. There was a strong feeling of deja vue about the whole event. Opening the door to Matt’s room accompanied by a young woman newly arrived at the institute. The last time he had done it Tessa had been by his side. And scant moments later med lab had lain around him in bloody ruins! He sincerely hoped this time things would go more smoothly.
Still the scene before him was much as it had been on the previous occasion. Even if there were slight differences! Matt sat straighter for one thing, his strength returning with each passing day. The bandage round his head was gone as well leaving his bright hair as well groomed as a hospital patient could hope to manage. *Real men don’t eat quiche* Hank thought with a smile. “And apparently real heroes don’t get pillow hair! Well not if they look like Matt anyway!*
More than a few of his female medical staff were already swooning over this particular patient and Hank supposed that he couldn’t really blame them. Even with the bandages that still covered it Matt’s body was obviously that of a trained athlete and his face despite the old scars around the eyes and the last fading remnants of the one that should have disfigured him for life , was still strikingly handsome.
Hank could see that they had broken his concentration as they entered. Nor was he fooled into thinking that Matt meditated entirely to heal. Though he hid it well, it didn’t take someone of Hanks intelligence to realise that a heightened sense of touch wasn’t something to be desired under the present circumstances. Still the amount of pain medication he was giving the blind man was well within the norms. And that was mainly due to this ritual of meditation.
And then again..if the alien machines concentrated their efforts on healing the most life threatening wounds, Hank had noticed a marked improvement in Matt’s hearing that couldn’t be wholly explained by their intervention. The lawyer had said he could help heal himself and it looked as if he was right. Now though there was for an instant that look on his face that spoke of being pulled out of a trance to face the harsh realities of the world. But it was almost instantaneously replaced by one of pure mischief, the serenity of meditation wiped away by a grin that made Matt suddenly look like a student himself.
“Hank McCoy “ he said laughing “You are either the bravest guy I’ve ever known or completely suicidal. Or this time did you check with Zia that it was ok for you to be hanging out with yet another woman? The blind eyes opened now and swung unerringly towards the girl at his side. “Sorry. You had to have been there!” he said easily. ”Anyway… a visitor! Always a rare treat! I'm Matt by the way.. what can I do to help?”
Re: Hesitant Labbing
Things were getting better. For one thing, there was less pain, though it was still as all intrusive as only his senses could have made it. Even so, he had a better grip on things. That tended to happen, he had noticed, if the torment went on for long enough.
Nights however were, as they had always been, the worst time. No matter how hard you tried to deny it, sleep was still a necessity. Oh he had skipped a night or two here and there, until he had constructed his sensory deprivation chamber. In fact he had become a past master of grabbing rest where he could, most of the time he had to admit, due to Stick’s training.
The world intruded endlessly upon the senses! Every moment was filled with sights, scents, sounds, the overwhelming presence of physical objects….. And if one of those sources of stimulation was forever denied to Matt, then the others would have harried him relentlessly if he hadn’t learned how to deal with them.
Each and every day he gave thanks that he had met Sticks. It was due to him and his teaching that Matt could savour good wine rather than just endure it. That the smell of a woman had become a sensual signature rather than a mere assault on his over sensitive senses!
Injuries were always hard to deal with though. So it was perhaps strange that his ‘chosen career ‘so to speak made them inevitable!. As far as he was concerned though it came with the territory! And the territory was something that needed him like nothing else could. So in the end he realised and accepted that these extreme abilities were the only thing that let him function as Daredevil. And if the downside was pain, then so be it.
Meditation did help though. Hell that was an understatement! It was as much an essential now as it had ever been in those first few months when his powers had kicked in, swamping him with sensory stimulus, until he had felt sure he would run mad. In the present case though it let him control the suffering he was undergoing, pushing it back to a level he could endure. Even if that level has been acquired painfully over the years! But that didn’t matter. What was important was that now he could actively use his sense of touch to heal those places that the all too efficient alien machines decreed to be less than important! Like his eardrums for example.
It was logical after all. He couldn’t deny that. Already there had been enough work done to ensure that he wouldn’t be permanently deafened by his encounter with Doc Occ. Just as the wound on his face had been treated to the point that there would be no scarring! Preventive measures for which he was truly grateful! But he couldn’t help but try for more, at least as far as his hearing was concerned. For if his senses all compensated in their own way for his blindness, the lessening of even one of them could bring this whole precarious house of cards tumbling down.
It wasn’t because he was more or less stuck in some hospital bed that he didn’t remember how he had felt back then, broken and discarded in the sewers. “Help me I’m blind……..” he had said, the stark recognition of what he has always tried so hard to deny, forced out of him by trauma and circumstance. And his desperate confession had been heard and answered. It was a dept he would repay. That much he had already decreed. But whether he did it as Matt Murdock or as Daredevil was still to be decided.
Meditation however did help to keep such thoughts at bay. Even if, when your hard won concentration was interrupted, they did tend to flood back in. Hank wasn’t one to break your focus for nothing though. And it was obviously Hank who had opened the door. But he wasn’t alone. Matt’s remaining senses scrambled to work out who was with the doctor. Female…. Young.. oh his hearing was apparently restored enough to make the heartbeat clear and that was already cause for celebration.
It wasn’t someone he knew though. And he had filed the scents of all of Hank’s helpers into the sensory databank that was his brain. So this was someone new?? Dear lord ! And they called him the man without fear? “Hank McCoy “ he said incredulously. “You are either the bravest guy I’ve ever known or completely suicidal. Or this time did you check with Zia that it was ok for you to be hanging out with yet another woman?
Humour had sprung from him spontaneously. And he didn’t regret it. Even if his senses relayed to him that this wasn’t a casual visit. He was registering a certain awkwardness from the doctors point of view and …….something else entirely from the girl. This wasn’t a purely medical visit that much was certain. There was a deeper and more important reason for their presence, one which mattered immensely both to the doctor and his guest. Even if Matt wasn’t exactly sure what it was.
He did know enough though to ease himself back, if not into formality, then at least into some sort of middle ground “Sorry. You had to have been there” he explained , trying to match his tone to the beatings of her heart. ”Anyway… a visitor! Always a rare treat! He hoped that the sincerely grateful appreciation would ease her along as he went on “I’m Matt.. what can I do to help“
“I’m sure he’d be happy too” The blue furred doctor stated. Rain felt more excitement bubbling up inside of her making her almost feel like jumpping up and down. She wuldn't do that though... Hopping up and down like that wouldn't be appropriate... But that didn't stop her from doing it mentally! “But why don’t we go in and ask him.” The man suggested. It took a good deal of willpower for her to just give a calm nod rather than blurting out with a "yes!" or another excliamation. Her back hummed ever so slightly just under the skin as her wings attempted to show themselves but she pulled them completely in before they did so.
when Dr. Mc Coy opened the door and held it for her, Rain bowed slightly out of habit and slipped out through it without taking too long about it. She then followed the man, containing her excitement and her energy as they walked. When they paused, Rain looked to the new person and couldn't help but to blink in surprise, her eyes going to a pale pink for a split second and her almost taking a step back in shock. She had to admit, due to all of her trainers and teachers having been well into their grey years, she had found herself assuming that the man she was going to be introduced to was going to be the same... But instead of a grey or white headed elderly mentor type of appearance that she had imaged in her mind, there was a much younger man sitting there in the medical bed.
Yes, he looked to be in great shape dispite the fact that a good deal of his body seemed to be wrapped up in bandages. The bandaged areas still showed an athletic build through them. She didn't miss the scars that were around his eyes. They looked old, like they had been there for a good handful of years. The scars led her attention to his eyes... They were pale and clouded, signs of his being blind. His appearances weren't all she had taken in upon seeing him. No, Rain could tell that he had the chance that he had been in the middle of something. Although he didn't look upset about it, it was something she could recognize from the times she seemed to always interrupt her father in the middle of a task he was doing... everytime she went to see him it had been like that...
“Hank McCoy... You are either the bravest guy I’ve ever known or completely suicidal. Or this time did you check with Zia that it was ok for you to be hanging out with yet another woman? This merited a double blink of confusion and a curious look towards the doctor. Her eyes turned a blue-green of embarrassment and she fidgeted with a few strands of her hair. The man ahd sounded like he was joking but she had her shy moments and apparently this had been one of them. "“Sorry. You had to have been there!... Anyway… a visitor! Always a rare treat! I'm Matt by the way.. what can I do to help?” Ah, so it was an inside joke... Her eyes faded back to the liquid amber that they originally were.
“I’m Matt.. what can I do to help“ The introduction snapped her out of the moment of surprise, awkwardness, confusion, and shyness and Rain quickly pulled herself together even if her cheeks were flushing quite impressively and if her skin hummed ever so slightly. "Oh... I..." Apparently she hadn't pulled herself together enough! She cleared her throat and swiftly took grip on her bilities, pulling all of her energy into the unseen resevoir it came from and forcing it to remain there. The ever so slight hum of energy ceased and she tried again, making herself behave more properly.
"My name is Lauraina Curington, it is an honor to meet you." She said with a bow despite the fact that he couldn't see her.
Re: Hesitant Labbing
There had been something buzzing at the edge of his hearing, running along his nerves ever since Hank and the girl had entered, nothing more than the background static from one of the monitors , and in his still impaired condition Matt had put it down to just that, the electrical trace of yet another machine that had suddenly been activated somewhere in the lab for whatever reason.
Now though, as it moulded itself to the girls vital signs, rising as her embarrassment did, fading as she got her emotions under control, Matt realised it was something else altogether. Something far more intriguing! A power that ran through her or rather was centred in her? It was difficult to tell. It wasn’t the bright energy that coursed through Zia’s veins, lighting her up till she blazed even in his darkness. But it was undoubtedly there all the same.
Matt’s curiosity was undeniably piqued, though he kept everything but polite interest from showing in his face as he gathered more information about his visitor in his own unique way. Breathing deeply he drew in her scent, catching and dismissing the peaches from her shampoo and the subtle almond undertones of her soap. Pleasant and revealing in their own way they weren’t what he was searching for at the moment. Ah… herbs That was better The blind man caught and held their scent. Now those would hold a clue if you knew what to look for.
One of the things he had taken time to do when he realised the extent of his powers was to frequent New York's botanic gardens. They had of course a special section for blind people with each plant chosen for scent and feel rather than the beauty of their flowers, and thoughtful brail nameplates beside each one. He had started there, noting each species, cataloguing them in his seemingly infallible memory just in case, one day in the future, the knowledge might come in useful. Nor had his youthful presence gone unnoticed.
If perhaps it had been sympathy for his handicap that had lead the resident gardener to strike up a conversation with him, it had been respect for his genuine interest in the subject that had lead them to becoming friends. Long hours had been spent there, discovering the wonders of the plants, and the herb garden had been an especially enchanted place. Even now he could here the mans voice, as rich as the soil he worked with, telling him the names and attributes of each one as, years later he recognised those present in the salve Hank had used on his young patient and pieced together the story they told.
Elder. Sambucus nigra. HoundsTongue Cynoglossum officinale. Houseleek. Sempervivum tectorum. Add them together as Hank had and they spoke of only one thing. Burns! Though now that he had been put on the track Matt could catch the underlying smell of scorched flesh that the ointment had all but masked. One question answered and yet it led to so many new ones just waiting to be asked. Not now though. Perhaps never if it was a touchy subject!
There was something else here though. Something he recognised even if as yet he couldn’t tell from where. Traces of expensive cologne that clung to her clothes, coupled with a far deeper scent few other people would ever capture in their lifetimes. The scent of her DNA. God, it was there hanging on the edge of his mind. Even before she provided him with the answer. "My name is Lauraina Curington, it is an honor to meet you."
And suddenly it was clear. Samual Curington! Oh yes. Matt remembered him very well indeed. And it had been far from an honour to meet that particular rich son of a bitch. They had crossed swords on several levels, even if Curington hadn’t exactly been aware of that. In the courtroom as well as on the dirty streets of Hells Kitchen! Though of course, Curington hadn’t exactly taken a walk on the wild side himself! He’d preferred to send his hired help to do that. And Daredevil had been more than happy to send them home again with their tails well and truly tucked between their legs.
It hadn’t stopped the takeover from going through though, even if his night time activities had saved some lives. Money had a way of doing that. Buying its way around the justice system! Though not round justice herself. That was, in the end, the reason why Daredevil existed wasn’t it? To prove that though they were both blind neither he nor the lady with the scales were to be taken lightly. Not that on the legal front he’d done much more than throw a very expensive spoke in Curington’s wheel.
To say that they hadn’t parted on the best of terms would be a gross understatement. Not that death threats were exactly rare in Matt’s line of work bit still…… These ones had been particularly inventive, involving the stripping away of more than one of his remaining senses before he finally succumbed. And if they hadn’t run up against the active intervention of a certain red clothed crime fighter then they would probably have been successful.
This, though wasn’t Samual who stood before him, bowing politely if the change in air current was anything to go by, waiting for an answer that shouldn’t in all fairness be coloured by anything that had gone before. Especially not with a friend at her side asking for his support! And yet if she was still on good terms with her father and Matt's name did happen to crop up wouldn’t that be problematic to say the least?
“ Likewise Rain” he said, inclining his injured body as much as he reasonably could in her direction. “Though… don’t get me wrong this doesn’t matter to me but you are Samual Curington’s daughter aren’t you?” he asked with a smile that took any sting out of his words. “Maybe you should ask your father what he thinks about me before we go any further. I’m not at all sure that I feature very high on his most popular list. And I’d hate to get you into any trouble on that score” Edited by: HankMcCoy13 at: 7/8/07 1:18 am
“Likewise Rain... Though… don’t get me wrong this doesn’t matter to me but you are Samual Curington’s daughter aren’t you?... Maybe you should ask your father what he thinks about me before we go any further. I’m not at all sure that I feature very high on his most popular list. And I’d hate to get you into any trouble on that score”
At the mention of her father's name, Rain flinched a little even though she hadn't meant to. The way he had looked at her, the way he had sent her back so quickly... it had hurt. He hd rejected her and wouldn't even let her be on the property even though she could have easily remained out of his sight. Just because.... Just because she had developed differently than he had planned out for her to.... Because she had ended up.... like.... this....
Her energy fluxed reacting to her distress and her eyes became a stormcloud scene but she noticed neither as his words wrapped around her mind. "I.... am not to see or even talk to Mr.Curington until I lose my mutation.... Which, by what I understand, would mean I will not be speaking to him any time soon to say the least.." She replied in calm tones somehow even as fresh burns began to surface on her skin. She didn't feel them, her trying so hard to handle her emotions and to remain as calm as she could.
She wasn't calm though, the energy was trying to rush out past her barriers. When Rain realized that she was losing grip, she quickly tried to bottle the energy as she was trying to bottle her emotional discomfort. Now, she noticed the burns that had layered themselves over the ones that had just been treated and now she noticed how close to escape her wings and some of the energy had come to. Rain yelled at herself mentally for having allowed herself to get emotional and distracted enough to not notice the increase in the flow of energy.
"I am sorry... I believe I may be having some difficulties..." She said a bit softly before taking a couple of steps back away from the doctor and from the man on the bed. She hugged herself some as she concentrated on trying to get her energy to cooperate. It was fighting her thouhg... fighting so violently. She could feel it coursing through her veins along with her blood and it felt like hot needles. "I appologize again... I .... usually have more control than this..." She told the both of them battling both with her emotions and her powers as she did so.
She wanted it to stop... Wished that it could stop but it hadn't since it had first come. Rain didn't understand.... she could control other parts of her but why couldn't she cease the flow of energy? Why must it keep trying to force its way out and try to take control? Sometimes she wondered if it were even a part of her. She closed her eyes to try to concentrte better, taking another step back in case it decided to break free for even a moment and praying that if it did, she would be far enough away not to harm anyone.
A small gasp came form her, a light hiss escaping from between her teeth as they came unbidden; the wings accompanied by several small marble sized spheres of the same energy. <Stop it...> She thought to the energy that balked and bucked like an untamed stallion against her hold. <Stop it... please> She thought shaking her hea a little. "Please excuse me..." She managed to get out but her voice came out a little shakily. This wasn't turning out to be a very good first impression at all.
If it didn't hurt so much, she would have been fine.. She would have been able to handle it... The energy was something she was used to almost but the rejection and the way it had happened... and it having happened not only once but twice her being thrown away as an unwanted thing that money and time had been wasted on..... She was hurt... and so so angry!
It was slipping more from her grip now and she desperately tried to rein it back in. Her struggle to stop it adding more burns to the collection that riddled her body. The burns, she didn't mind.. It was the worry of her damaging anything but herself that scared her. "Stop.." Rain whispered out loud this time as thoughts seemed to be doing nothing. She didn't want to hurt anyone or destroy anything. She took hold of that fear and used it, using the tenseness to help her drag the energy back into her body and to force it into its source. Somehow, she managed and at first, the spheres pulled back into her body then vanished the wings.
She was so embarrassed......
"I..... I need to go train.... I appologize for the time and for the disturbance..." Rain said to them in appologetic tones as she opened her eyes which continued to display rolling thunderclouds. She then backed away before turning and making to leave to do just that.... training... She shouldn't have waited this long to go train. If she had trained then she would have had more control, wouldn't she? Training was always the answer... It was something that comforted her and something she had been doing almost all of her life... a familiar thing in this unfamiliar world that lay outside of the family property walls...
Re: Hesitant Labbing
This was something he hadn’t forseen. That there could be some sort of connection between Matt and Rain’s father. And a problematic one at that! So the blind man made enemies, and powerful ones at that even when he wasn’t hidden behind his mask! Somehow Hank wasn’t surprised. After all there was more than one way to fight injustice and Matt was above all else a fighter.
This time however despite the kindness of his words it wasn’t him who was hurt by this feud. It was Rain. Hank felt her draw back as if her fathers name had been a blow aimed in her direction and her tell tale eyes reflected the storm of emotion that rose up within her.
"I.... am not to see or even talk to Mr.Curington until I lose my mutation....” Hank gasped in surprise both at the formal use of the name and at the abhorrent idea that accompanied it. This wasn’t some concerned parent begging for a cure to a power which daily harmed his child, that much was clear. No this was rather an order. A cold command to amputate a part of herself! And to what end? So that she could prove herself worthy? Perhaps even merit his attention? And one that she couldn’t fulfil even if she wanted to. Something she seemed to comprehend all to well judging from her next words. Which, by what I understand, would mean I will not be speaking to him any time soon to say the least."
The composed tone of voice didn’t fool him for a second. Already her body was betraying her, her skin blistering anew as her volatile power rose in response to her anguish. That it was linked to her emotions was flagrant. That it could tear her apart was even more so. "I am sorry... she said softly “I believe I may be having some difficulties..."
It was a brave understatement born of a shame she shouldn’t have had to feel and yet which was as deeply engrained in her as the sense of honour that made her battle on alone. A shame not just of the power that ran through her body ,destroying as it went, but more importantly of her inability to control it.
Hank wanted to go to her and crush out the invisible flames of her distress as he would have any other kind of fire but somehow he knew that would only make matters worse. Though it tore him apart to see her suffer and be obliged to stand by helpless. . "I apologize again...” she told them battling against the pain “I .... usually have more control than this..."
Hank didn’t even dare to speak for fear of breaking whatever tenuous control she still possessed, though if this went on for much longer he would have to take the chance. Things couldn’t continue like this and he wasn’t the only one who knew it.
Rain was backing off, obviously trying to take this terrible gift somewhere where she would be its only victim. A courageous attempt that despite all her efforts seemed to be failing.
For the first time she gave voice to her suffering, a small gasp that somehow sounded louder than a scream given the circumstances. Then the wings that had fluttered briefly when she had first saw him exploded once again from her back this time accompanied by some small glowing balls of energy that hovered menacingly around her. Her face was showing the strain now, pale and fierce in its concentration as she fought this blaze as best she could and far better than many would have been capable of. And yet it still wasn’t enough
"Please excuse me..." she said offering yet another unnecessary apology, her voice faltering slightly this time under the strain. Then just as all seemed lost .. "Stop.." The word was part plea certainly but also part command and before the strength of her will the outpouring of power gave ground until finally Rain managed to reabsorb the outward manifestations of her power drawing them back into herself as a magnet drew steel.
Yet there was no sense of triumph about her, not even any sense of achievement though what she had done had been truly remarkable and achieved at no small cost to herself. Instead all that was left was that same deep shame and a hopelessness that ran to the very core of her being. "I..... I need to go train.... I apologize for the time and for the disturbance..."
The eyes that she had closed during her battle reopened, exposing the turmoil that still lay within, a maelstrom of emotion and distress that she somehow managed to live with and still retain her dignity. And even if she didn’t see that as an achievement , Hank did and would have applauded if he had though for one instant that encouragement was what she needed at that precise moment in time. The trouble was that he knew that it wasn’t . And he was far from being sure that right there and then he had anything else to offer in its place. Then Matt spoke.
There was nothing of his usual humour in his words. No trace even of the easy charm he had shown scant minutes ago. His voice bordered on cold without ever passing into it, cutting through the emotion of the moment like a blade and, with the same precision, going straight to its heart . “You’re right.” he said “You do need to train.”
It was a statement. Neither kind nor unkind! Merely true! And therefore all the more compelling! Hank could only pray that the blind lawyer knew what he was doing otherwise they could lose Rain here, in this small room with its evocative smell of burned flesh and, so far, botched healing. “You’re control is still woefully insufficient, though there is a sound base to build on. If you’re determined enough that is. And strong enough to go the distance! Otherwise this power of yours will destroy you as surely as day follows night. And no one but you yourself will be responsible”
Re: Hesitant Labbing
It hadn’t been meant as anything but a friendly warning. Before they went too far and Rain burned bridges she'd rather have left intact. Instead it was Rain who burned, his words kindling emotion’s in her that he hadn’t even suspected the existence of. Though that was no excuse! For better or for worse he had called forth pain. Right from the first flinch as he had mentioned her father's name through to the dreadful awakening of her power. It was all his fault.
"I.... am not to see or even talk to Mr.Curington until I lose my mutation.... she told him , her voice steady though her heart beat raced and her body temperature spiked with the wild energy that ran through her body. Which, by what I understand, would mean I will not be speaking to him any time soon to say the least.."
Matt’s father had been the one thing he could depend on all through his childhood. His mother was nothing but an illusion, an almost sacred image kept alive only by stories told in a gruff voice every night before the child he had been had succumbed to the darkness he had feared so much. There was no image of her locked away somewhere in his memory. Somehow he had thought that there might have been but no…. he had looked death squarely in the face and there, at the end it had been his father who had been waiting for him. To bring him back To keep him safe as he had always tried to do.
The boxer had never known of his son’s powers. Somehow the whole subject had never come up. Though somehow there had never been any doubt in Matt’s mind that one day it would. When the time was right! When he finally understood just what he could do with it. But the time they had together had come and gone. Or rather it had been cut short in one of the foul allyways of Hell’s Kitchen, as he had wept, listening helplessly to his father’s life slipping away. It had been hard, of that there was no doubt. It had left him blind and different and alone but even so….
He had never been cast aside. Not for one second. Nor would he have been, he was sure, if he had finally found that moment in which to tell his father all that he was. Instead of all that he was not. Because there was no doubt in his mind that that was how his father would have seen things. As some great miracle given by the merciful god they both worshipped. A reason that would explain why his son had been blinded! A gift to be used for good! As Matt had tried to use it! Even if without Spiderman’s guidance he could well have fallen into the trap that lay before every vigilante. The trap of becoming exactly like those you had set out to fight
Peter had saved him from that . Though had his father lived he would have done the same. But Rain’s father…..From what she said he never wanted her to be all that she could be. And not through fear of what her powers might do to her. Though he would have been right to fear such a thing! Everything was linked and yet nothing made sense. There was a correlation between this heat that Matt sensed coursing through the girls veins and her emotions. He could hear and feel and .. though he prayed not to, smell that as the spectral flames licked greedily against her flesh.
That would explain the salve and the concern he had sensed in all of Hanks being as they had entered his room. And yet like some fool playing with matches he had unwillingly struck a spark beneath this blaze. And left Rain to be the one apologising "I am sorry... “I believe I may be having some difficulties..." she said while her very body threatened to explode. *I could cave in now” Matt thought , reading her vital signs with growing dismay. *I could beg her forgiveness but would it do any good? Dear God I don’t think so. I think Id only make her feel an even bigger failure*
It was still building though, this force that he could ‘see’ though for once it gave him no pleasure. This was different, as he had realised previously, from the energy that flowed through Zia. That energy had seemed a part of her, maybe a part she could rarely show because it threatened to overwhelm all those around her but still, intrinsically arising from her nature, like her strength or her courage.
This on the other hand.. this force cared nothing for Rain. It didn’t resonate through her molecules as Zia’s did. Instead it tried to tear them apart, as if it was a stranger held in by her will rather than a part of herself that she tried to dominate.
It was strange and vague; impressions carried to him on senses he knew were at the best impaired by his injuries. And yet which screamed at him that something wasn’t right. Other than the fact that this girl was burning up over some unthinking remark he had made, that was. And that somehow she felt uniquely responsible for the situation. "I apologize again...” she said twisting the knife still further in his conscience. “I .... usually have more control than this..."
He was glad to hear it because otherwise every day must have been hell. But somehow he though that maybe each day was. He had never had fire burning inside of him, that was true. He had just been assaulted in every way possible, excluding vision that was, and somehow that made things worse, by every sound, smell, taste and sensation that the world could throw at him.
There had been pain. Physical as well as mental. Untill he had thought that he would run mad. And yes, he had tried to hide it as Rain did now. And with, he suspected, less success. Even so she gasped before the intensity of the fire that he could sense licking over her body, ready to consume not only her but those around her if she gave it half a chance. "Please excuse me..." Matt could feel the desperation mounting in her, but also the determination . And so when the shaky command came he wasn’t surprised that it was obeyed “Stop” she said, only half believing herself that she could regain control, and the force within her did just that. In fact it not only stopped it actually gave ground.
The wings that had suddenly sprung from her back and the destructive globes that had threatened them all had blazed upon Matt’s senses with an intensity that had almost blinded him.. if the word hadn’t been ironically redundant in his case. In any case they had left an afterglow that was, for once, more worrying than welcomed. There was so much power within her and every waking moment was such a challenge to contain it. Without help she would fail, or at least become someone so obsessed with control that there would be nothing left to be anything else.
There comes a time when suddenly , if you have ever been graced by the presence of a great teacher, you have to pass on what you have learned. Now, listening to Rain ,Matt realised that this was indeed the time. Even if he still didn’t feel ready for the challenge.Then she spoke and he knew that he had to be. "I..... I need to go train.... I apologize for the time and for the disturbance..." She was like he had been all those yeas ago. Overwhelmed by her power! . Hanging on to sanity by a thread . One that would have snapped if Sticks hadn’t been there! .
“You’re right.” he said as if her continued existence didn’t really concern him, though if she had had his senses the illusion would all have been for nothing. Because this mattered! It might be a debt he had never been obliged to pay and yet it was one which he felt he owed all the same. “Your control is still woefully insufficient, though there is a sound base to build on. If you’re determined enough that is. And strong enough to go the distance! Otherwise this power of yours will destroy you as surely as day follows night. And no one but you yourself will be responsible”
He could feel Hank’s shock radiating through him and Rain’s reaction as well! For better of for worse he had her attention if nothing else. He would just have to hope that that was enough. “A man named Sticks said that to me when I was younger than you are now.” he told her candidly. ”At the time I thought I was lost. That not even those I loved could haul me back from the hell I found myself facing every day. Then suddenly this guy I didn’t even know was there telling me he could help. And believe me, if I hadn’t been truly desperate I might not even have been able to listen. But I did ……… and he saved me. In every sense of the word. So now….
Matt’s voice was no longer that of his mentor. It was his own. For this was his journey. And only Rain could say if she wanted to follow him on it. “I can teach you what he taught me. How to control your power rather than be overwhelmed by it! Maybe even” he said aiming his blind eyes towards hers “how to turn it into something worthwhile.” .
Re: Hesitant Labbing“You’re right... You do need to train.” It was like a cold splash of water but not in the unsettling and startling way. No, it was a kind of thing that more of caused her to snap out of it some, open her eyes in a sense and make her more alert. Her attention was immeadiately snatched away from leving and to listening to Mister murdock.
“Your control is still woefully insufficient, though there is a sound base to build on. If you’re determined enough that is. And strong enough to go the distance! Otherwise this power of yours will destroy you as surely as day follows night. And no one but you yourself will be responsible” He was right, she couldn't deny that for even a moment as to do so would be telling a lie... to them... to herself. And he was speakign to her as her past master had spoken to her in the beginning, without attatchment, without personal feelings. Her old master had not cared until she had earned the right to be cared about.
Rain stopped and turned, facing him. She didn't draw an closer though... it was not safe to. She didn't want to risk it, couldn't afford to take the risk with how unstable her hold on the energy was.
“A man named Sticks said that to me when I was younger than you are now... At the time I thought I was lost. That not even those I loved could haul me back from the hell I found myself facing every day. Then suddenly this guy I didn’t even know was there telling me he could help. And believe me, if I hadn’t been truly desperate I might not even have been able to listen. But I did ……… and he saved me. In every sense of the word. So now…. I can teach you what he taught me. How to control your power rather than be overwhelmed by it! Maybe even... how to turn it into something worthwhile.”
To learn to control her power.... it was something she needed desperately. Not just for hersel but for the sake of others around her. She needed saving... She needed to be saved so badly but she feared what the cost might be to try to achieve that. What if she ended up destroying everything on her attempt to learn how to gain control of this force that tried so hard to escape her at every waking moment and sometimes in her sleep as well. If she could be taught how to control it.... and even make it into something worthwhile as Mister Murdock had said... It would be a blessing.
"I... I would like to.... no, not like to... I need to learn... I will do my best to learn all that you can offer, sir... I just... do not think that I am safe at the moment." She wasn't safe... Rain could feel that her hold was barely keeping the energy at bay.
Re: Hesitant Labbing
Matt’s words had called her back, out of that downward spiral into chaos, maybe not all the way but enough for her to regain some hold on the power that writhed within her. It was a terrifying force that she kept locked away of that there was no doubt though the Hank was sure that he had only felt a minute part of its actual destructive potential. Still it had been enough to sober him, to make him realise just what it was that he was asking the blind lawyer to get involved with And also how important it was that he should get involved. Not just for the sake of this girl but also all of those she would come in contact with.
Because if Rain was to have anything like a happy life then she would have to come into contact with others! It was unthinkable that it should be otherwise. Yet so often it was. Solitude, isolation, was an option Hank had seen too many mutants struggling with a power that could only be classed as dangerous take in the past.
Logan had done it on several occasions, though thank god he had always come back. Kage had taken his own particular hell elsewhere and lived in it alone till need drove him to seek out help. And although Hank had only met Rain a few moments before he knew in his heart that she was capable of doing the same. Of removing the threat she posed to the world by exiling herself to some lonely prison of her own construction, sacrificing herself to keep others safe.
It was a noble sentiment and, given the energy clawing away at her control, a logical solution. The good of the many outweighing the good of the one! If she had been left to her own devises it might well have become the only option but the fact was that she was here now, at Xavier’s and that changed everything.
Because now there were possibilities, resources, both scientific and medical at her disposition, a wealth of experience on how to live with mutant powers that was hers to command. And people like himself, like Matt, ready and willing to go that extra mile and help her through this.
Together they would build her a life that was more than just an endless training session, they would shore up this fledgling control of hers until it became a barrier capable of holding back anything her power could throw at her and so set her free. And it would start here and now. In fact it had already started. For, however hesitant the words that she had uttered might have been, Matt’s offer had been accepted, the teacher and pupil relationship established and hopefully ready to take its first few faltering steps. Because if it wasn’t then they could all be in trouble.
"I... I would like to.... no, not like to... I need to learn...” Rain told the blind man earnestly. “I will do my best to learn all that you can offer, sir... I just... do not think that I am safe at the moment."
Sadly it was all to true. Even Hank could sense the mounting danger in the air. It crackled like static around Rain transforming her into a storm that could bring them all down. Unless of course Matt had a lightening rod to offer.
Re: Hesitant Labbing
The wild energy was still pulsing round her, threatening a control that was all too close to breaking point. Matt could feel it, throbbing in the air like a dragon ready to burn him with its breath. Except of course this power had no mind of its own. It was no demon seeking malevolently to break free of its bounds. It merely existed, a force as neutral as gravity. And potentially as powerful!
No the emotions which controlled this energy’s wax and flow didn’t come from some invading parasite. They were Rain’s and Rain’s alone. And that was at one and the same time her downfall and her salvation. When she had entered his room she had been in control of her power. Oh it had burned under her skin but it had harmed neither her nor those around her. Which proved not only that it could be contained but that she had already learned how to contain it!
Unfortunately all of that had changed when he had spoken of her father. Suddenly the fragile bonds which had kept this energy caged within her had started to crumble, as if each word had been so much acid poured on her self esteem. As Rain had faded in her own eyes so this raging power taken over! Which led Matt to one overwhelming conclusion! Belief! Not in some abstract concept but in her own abilities. That was what lay at the centre of her problem. And it wouldn’t be an easy one to resolve. For if people said it was always hard to accept your weaknesses, experience had taught Matt that it was sometimes even harder to accept your strengths.
So there was only one thing he could answer to her faltering and no doubt accurate assessment of the situation, and he did it without hesitation. “Of course you are safe” he told her firmly. “In every sense of the word! You are safe because the people here will keep you safe” he added sincerely “And you are also safe because…in the end you can control this power. It in no way controls you!”
“Hank…” he turned his blind eyes on the doctor and willed him to understand the reason behind his request. “Could you give us a few moments alone.” He needn’t have worried for the doctor seemed to understand perfectly the need for privacy at this point in time and he left discretely, closing the door behind him. “Please…” Matt asked Rain.” theres room on the bed for two people to meditate.. and at the moment Id be hard pressed to join you.
“Now, this will be hard! Training always is.”
With the dragon still beating its wings around him he asked the question that was the real enemy she needed to face. “Close your eyes and breathe deeply.. let your heart slow… then tell me… calmly… tell yourself.. finally .. why your fathers image of what you are counts for so much? When you already know you are worth so much more.
Re: Hesitant Labbing“Of course you are safe” Mister Murdock stated. Rain felt confusion wash over her and had to concentrate even harder as the energy tried to take advantage of her distraction. How was she safe? Wasn't this proof of how close to being dangerous she really was? She wouldnt call the man a liar but she failed to see how she was safe. “In every sense of the word! You are safe because the people here will keep you safe... And you are also safe because…in the end you can control this power. It in no way controls you!” He told her.
This was her extent of control as far as she knew. Her idea of control lately had been managing to keep her energy from tearing anything apart except for her. Her, she didn't mind getting burned if it meant keeping others from getting harmed... How didn't it control her if it kept her from being able to relax beyond a certain point without risking it slipping out and causing havoc? Rain remained silent, keeping her thoughts to herself as it would be in bad taste to argue with her teacher.
“Hank…” he turned his blind eyes on the doctor and willed him to understand the reason behind his request. “Could you give us a few moments alone.” When the blind man requested that Hank leave, Rain,s brows furrowed slightly in confusion but she didn't feel any worry about being alone with him. She gave a small nod of farewell to the doctor then as the door closed and the big blue furred Mc Coy departed, she turned her gaze back to her new mentor.
“Please… theres room on the bed for two people to meditate.. and at the moment Id be hard pressed to join you... Now, this will be hard! Training always is.” If training wasn't hard then you weren't doingit right, that was what she was raised up believign anyway. When he asked her to take a seat, she did so without more than a brief hesitation, praying to any gods or dieties that she wouldn't end up destroying anything.
“Close your eyes and breathe deeply.. let your heart slow… then tell me… calmly… tell yourself.. finally .. why your fathers image of what you are counts for so much? When you already know you are worth so much more. That was so much more easier said than done. As soon as the question came, she had to clamp down tightly on the energy as it threatened to spill out mercilessly. A small hiss escaped her and she was ashamed to even let that out to tell of the discomfort. Calm, she had to get calm or she wouldn't be able to do as Mister Murdock requested.... But it was so hard to be calm when the energy pushed so har to try to get free.
"It... It is not so much what his iage of me is as... as what he has done." She replied in near whispers.
Re: Hesitant Labbing
It already meant a lot that someone as experienced as Hank respected his request, moving towards and finally through the door, leaving him alone with this troubled and undoubtedly dangerous pupil.
Pupil! The word echoed strangely in Matt’s thoughts even as the mantle of responsibility he had just accepted settled heavily on his already damaged shoulders. It was perhaps as much a rite of passage for him as it was for her and one he was far from sure that he was ready to accept. But then wasn’t that the case for any major step you took in life? And after all he could hardly say that he hadn’t known what he was getting into when he had tacitly taken on Rain as his responsibility.
This was, Matt finally understood, the legacy that Stick had passed down to him, and if he only now understood what his teacher had endured helping him through his first faltering steps into control then that too was something that he realised only came with age. Even if age only taught you in the end that you were never really ready… you just learned how to cope. As he had. Recognising in the end his strengths and his weaknesses.. and more importantly learning how to play to one and push the other to its limits.
There was a difference here though, for if Sticks had failed to reach out to him in the hell that his senses had plunged him into then either one of two things could have happened. Either a blind boy no one had ever heard of would have taken his own life, or a mad vigilante would have taken an unreasonable and costly but in the end controllable vengeance on all those who had wronged him.
Matt knew the limits of his own powers. Sticks had handed him the reins with which he had gained control over them all those years ago. But it was Spiderman who had shown him how to use them without being corrupted. And that too was a debt he had to pay.
Here though so much more was at stake. For if his powers had in the end become a force to be reckoned with in one small quarter of New York then Rain’s held a potential for destruction and therefore for good that went far beyond those narrow borders. Matt wasn’t stupid nor did his heightened senses allow him be ignorant of what he was faced with here. Perhaps the challenge of a lifetime! Perhaps even the reason for all that had happened to him.
For after all hadn’t he been taught, once in theory and once more by bitter experience that the ways of god were impenetrable? Until at last the path became clear. If he wasn’t to fall into despair then he had to believe that. Trusting not to any resigned fatality, but rather to the belief that the right choice, made freely, no matter what that implied, even if it meant throwing yourself in the path of something that would take your sight in exchange for the life of a blind man, would somehow end up right!.
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