There wasn’t much Jarod could do other then think of Mandra, he’d never had any one interact with him the way she had done, but he was so angry, and as much as he wanted her near him he also wanted her to stay as far away as possible. Did that make sense? The Pretender’s steps slowed to a stop, he had no intention of going to the danger room, though he did need a great deal of work with his telepathy and telekinetic abilities due to the years of having it suppressed most of his life (save for when A.Corp needed those abilities, and then it was only really his telepathic speech he’d ever use).
It had been nice, the way he had been going with Mandra, maybe Jarod couldn’t understand the effect she was having on his body to the extent a male of his age would feel towards the company of a female companion, but he did know it felt nice to have her body close to his. Another feeling he had that he didn’t like would swell up every time he thought of her with that other man, that Remy Lebeau, jealousy hadn’t been an emotion he’s felt often at all and never to the extent it flares up to when thinking she’s spending time with him. A child’s uncontrolled anger always burned, lacking the years of experience most people have in handling their emotional turbulence and releasing it in effective ways instead of just losing control.
Having Cole Turner appearing randomly and using his demonic tricks of the trade to twist Jarod’s understanding of what’s happening around him, making things seem worse then they are and making his hate ignite even further. Once again the young Xavier confined himself to his room now that he wasn’t pretending to be an officer of the law to help track down the missing Enright’s. An angry temper beckoned to be released, anything would do, anything to discharge the frustration he had boiling inside.
Where was his father now? Still sleeping in the medical lab… He hated his father! What about his mother? He never thought of that, dark eyes moved along the wooden walls, ignoring the details of the grain work and making their way towards the closest window. Did he have a mother? He was human; humans could not breed without a female counterpart to the best of his limited knowledge. Unless he was not born naturally, but created, that was possible, he had learned extensively on the subject of cloning and genetic replicas or mixing two DNA’s (or more if desired) together to force a single life form in which would possess traits of all genetic hosts its DNA consists of.
How would Jarod react to the knowledge that his mother was an alien from another world was a tough answer, it really depended on his current situation and mood. It would definitely confuse him, because he was no long just a mutant, he was an alien/mutant half breed, the reason as to why no one had told him about his mother would be a question brought up, how could they not mention to him that he was not completely human? Luckily for the currently unstable Pretender, such questions where in the future, yet to stress his already overwhelmed mind, if he was lucky perhaps such knowledge as his heritage would remain disclosed until he was more stabilized and found a place of comfort to secure his fears in a blanket of safety before rising any further thoughts of discomfort and confusion.
Maybe his mother did not want him, like Mandra no longer seems to want his company – to the extent of distinguishing her own life – is that how he ended up at Agamemnon? Because there was something wrong with him that no one wanted him to stay here, other children got to grow up here, some not too much younger them him or his age and a handful slightly older by a year or so. Slow steps moved Jarod closer towards his room, the dark pools of sugary sweet chocolate hue gazed out the windows – a moments peace gently beginning to settle over the suffering man.
A collision hitting his shoulder tore Jarod’s attention away from the scenery and had him glaring at the infamous Wolverine, Logan’s body turned slightly while he walked hurriedly to visit Scott who was ill in sick bay. Logan wanted to see if he could find out what was wrong, things seemed to be a little hushed at the moment but the feral found himself unsettled by all the chaos taking place at the school recently, especially concerning his son and daughters. At first Logan was only going to give a passing ‘Sorry mate’ but the anger in Jarod’s eyes slowed the feral’s steps with slight confusion.
“Didn’t see ya there,” Wolverine clarified, trying to ignore the agitation of being scolded at by the young Xavier who’s temper hadn’t been the best for the last couple of weeks. Although the Wormer weapon X subject turned to continue on his way, the furious shove of Jarod’s palms in his back coursed the startled X-men to stumble forward a little before turning around and snapping angrily himself. “Knock it off kiddo, Charlie ain’t gonna be happy waking up t’havin’ his kid layin’ next to him!” A infuriated yell erupted from Jarod as the violent temper finally found a target to release its aggravation upon, though Wolverine found himself lost as to the cause of the assault, he was torn between losing his temper himself or restraining it out of loyalty towards the Professor.
“Snap out of it Jarod, I don’t wonna hurt you, but I will if ya force me to!” Powerful grasping hands had their iron grip on Jarod’s wrists while Logan warned the younger man, the struggle seemed to only get more intense as Jarod fought harder to over power the physically stronger fighter. A slamming of Logan’s strong knee into Jarod’s well defined stomach caused a painful gasping yell to shout out of the Pretender who was then released from the feral’s grip as Jarod tried to pull away and fell back, a hand clutching over his stomach as he fell to his knee. Instead of calming the son of the powerful Xavier, Logan got a blast of kinetic energy slamming into him and another hateful yell that stung the sensitive hearing of the much older man.
Jarod had greatly untapped potential with his psychic abilities, he would go beyond that of Xavier himself if only Jarod had the experience his father had and the proper chances to train and learn to handle them. Right now he was greatly underdeveloped and the possibility of never reaching his full potential was sky-scraping if he didn’t start trying harder. But the instinctive need to protect himself – like in many mutants who are in danger – his mind partially tapped into what little strength it now had access to and reached just a little deeper in order to throw Wolverine up against the wall, Jarod’s vile glare of hatred and anger alit in his expression as he exposed the father of another family to extreme pressure which made it all too difficult for Logan to do more then groan agonizingly aloud in a motionless struggle to free himself. While it seemed the act wasn’t draining Jarod, that was merely an illusion of his rage, simply too angry to realize how taxing it was on him, kneeling on the floor in knew blue jeans (supported around his waist by a black smooth leather belt) with his hands clutching over his stomach, pressing into the while fabric of his short sleeved t-shirt and glaring up at the chocking form of the usually wild tempered mutant – who was now struggling to meekly breath under the extreme forces crushing his body.
TBC: Mandra (…Anyone else as well if they want)
Edited by: ScottSummers13 at: 6/14/05 6:27 pm
Mandra zipped her black sweatsuit top the rest of the way up as she just short of ran down the langth of the hall she needed to pass to get to the place which ws her destination. Her anxiety caused the rims of her irises and her marking to light up to her heartbeats. As she arrived to the scene, her eyes widened slightly and confusion struck her. Jarod was on his knee on the floor, clutching his stomache and glaring with an intensity Mandi hadn't seen him look with before towards Wolverene and Logan was apparently struggling against Jarod's telekenetic powers which were keeping him pressed forcefully up against the wall and choking for air. She didn't know what was going on and to tell the truth, this was very unexpected from the mild mannered Jarod she had known.
" Jarod! What's going on!?" She called as she made her way closer. Mandra stopped a few feet away from him and looked at Logan, trying to figure out what may have happened to cause this outcome. She was about to ask if Logan had attacked him but she kept from saying that, knowing that this was a different world and that Logan wouldn't just mindlessly attack the son of Xavier out of respect for the man. " Stop.... He can't breathe, Jarod. Why is this happening? What brought this along?..." She questioned him. Her expression held a deep amount of worry and confusion.
Why, on Jarod's face, was there such hatred and anger? Just the fireceness of the glare made her a bit unsettled to say the least. " Release Logan, Jarod... It's not like you to do this. Why are you being like this???" She moved the still damp hair out of her face and brushed it behind her shoulders with her hands. There was a slight paleness to her as she was still weakened from the earlier problems she had been having. Distress was coming to her as she saw one of the people she loved behaving as he was. " This isn't all like you! You used to be so kind and gentle! You used to never have that hate you now have showing in your eyes or the anger that's being sent off of you. Even if I'm not a telepath, I can tell that something's wrong... very very wrong.... Jarod, release him and just tell me if I can do anything to help you. I know I'm not much and I know you probably hate me... But I want to help you. I hate seeing you like this." Her tone became quieter in the end of what she spoke.
Mandra sttepped to stand in between them, hoping that Jarod would stop and that Logan would be let down from the wall. Her eyes locked onto those dark eyes of Jarod's and stared into them unwaiveringly.
Jarod! What's going on!?" At first he didn’t know who it was that was calling his name, he didn’t care, he hated Wolverine, hated the man for reasons brought on by Mandra’s memories, though only the hate and pain was being drawn from the memories buried inside the depths of his mind. Like a fuel to keep him going, when his own anger wasn’t enough, when it dried out and there was only emptiness, he had the memories of others to use. Their anger was so more potent then Jarod’s, so much more hateful and spiteful, even after all the things Cole Turner had done, Jarod could not truthfully say he hated the man. Hate was something that was so hard for Jarod to grasp.
" Stop.... He can't breathe, Jarod. Why is this happening? What brought this along?..." Why should Logan be allowed to breath? Why should any of them be allowed to live their normal lives? That is all Jarod wants, a normal life, where he wasn’t a lab rat or lackey for some hellish corporation. Why should he stop hurting this man? No one stops hurting Jarod, that is all they ever do in fact, they just hurt him. They always hurt him, they lie and cheat and use and abuse and neglect him.
" Release Logan, Jarod... It's not like you to do this. Why are you being like this???" How do they know what he was like? He has only ever done what others have told him to do, maybe he wanted this, and maybe he was tired of people ordering him about! Why can others hurt him but not the other way around? Still ignoring her, Jarod kept his dark eyes locked on Logan, watching the man struggle, watching for once someone else suffering instead of himself. " This isn't all like you! You used to be so kind and gentle! You used to never have that hate you now have showing in your eyes or the anger that's being sent off of you. Even if I'm not a telepath, I can tell that something's wrong... very very wrong.... Jarod, release him and just tell me if I can do anything to help you. I know I'm not much and I know you probably hate me... But I want to help you. I hate seeing you like this." Stubbornness blocked her out of his mind, but it was hard to ignore those eyes, those pale orbs of bright brilliance that screamed out louder then any words she could have yelled.
A thud and groan was heard as Wolverine was let loose and dropped to the ground, a mumbled comment that wasn’t in English but was obviously not a pleasant remark was uttered from the short yet lethal man’s lips in the groan. Jarod’s eyes lost their anger as they gradually were replaced with confusion. He did not really understand everything she was saying, but he was more caught on the fact she thought he might hate her. A throbbing pain ached in his head and caused some discomfort, a frown on his forehead seen for a moment before his eyes dropped away from hers and stared at the ground in front of his knees.
"…Xavier is not my father," The Pretender’s voice was soft, insistent, miserable, "His blood runs in my veins but he was not the one who raised me, he was not the one who taught me to read and write, he was not the one who punished me when I failed or gave me a treat if I behaved myself," She had gotten so worked up over him being Charles son, he will disown his father, he will have nothing to do with the ill man, then will she be happy? Will she let things go back to how they were?
"You were sleeping for a very long time… why wouldn’t you wake up, why wouldn’t you speak to me?" Jarod’s hand rose and the base of his palm pressed between his shut eyes, his fingers curling and resting against his forehead, "He said you were punishing me, but I do not understand why it is so bad that Xavier was my father." There was a pause as Cole’s poisonous words repeated over in Jarod’s mind, "Or is just because I am his son?" A thoughtful yet slightly irritated and perplexed look settled over him as he pulled his hand away from his face, his eyes constantly refusing to look at Mandra even to the point of shutting tightly when her gaze threatened to draw his eyes towards her.
"There is something about me, something bad that they don’t want around them, that made my mother go away and my father abandoned me, and that is why you hurt yourself, so that you could get away from me like all the others," An impulsive yell erupted from him, an agonizingly traumatized shout, filled with so much pain and suffering that has been buried so deep within him for so many years. The Pretenders arms grabbed out at Mandra and pulled her towards him roughly, a firm grip in his arms wrapped about her after he had forced her to fall into him. It was hard for him to think, and yet thinking was all he could do, so many thoughts, so many different confusing thoughts. It was the drugs that made him act this way. The poisonous mind toxin delivered into his systems telepathically, unlike Riley Finn, Jarod did not have the same forms of mind control, Jarod could not mindless be forced to follow their orders, at the time such procedures seemed unnecessary with Jarod.
"I don’t mean to be-," Be what? Angry? Dangerous? Screaming at her randomly? Saying one thing to her and meaning another? Acting as if he is angry with her when instead he is sick from misery after being without her? There were so many things he was doing and saying that he did not really mean to do or say or think or feel. He didn’t know what he was any more, all he knew was every other night they came, he’d wake up to their breaths, to their icy stares, and Cole would start talking, he’d always talk. And those other two, they’d always stare at him, watching him, driving out the will to call for help, to move, to do anything other then listen to every single word Cole utters. Their face features hidden inside the pale bluish grey hoods that covered their faces and the robes that hide their bodies. Everything was so hard to understand, so hard to remember, fragments of blurred images and faint whispering sounds. Her words repeated in his mind, she wanted to help him, she said she wanted to help him, she would keep them away, she would help him, she said she would.
His eyes closed, his arms firm yet not hurting her, trembling in both body and breath, in both fear and tension, very faint, shivering through him, from the core of his chest to the tips of his fingers. Logan watched the younger man, acting like a child who has woken from a nightmare and is still half asleep, still partly caught in the horrors of the dreams he desperately wants to wake from. Something Wolverine knew all too well, but the halls were no place for this, and taking in Jarod’s behavour recently, perhaps it was safe for all concerned, including Jarod, to keep the young man in his room while the X-men figure out how best to help whatever troubles him.
"Mandra," Logan’s gruff voice was low, concern evident in the feral’s tone, "Think ya can take’im t’his room? Preferably keep’im there," Pulling himself slowly and carefully to his feet, Wolverine eyed the Pretender watchfully before he continued, it didn’t seem as if the boy was going to hurt her, but still Logan was worried. "I think Beast has’is hands full at the moment luv, but I’ll try an’ see what we can do, till’en, ya cant’ let Jarod out o’yer sight." It was still a question; he just wanted her to understand that it might not be an immediate response since Beast did have Scott Summers in the medical room. If she did not think she was up to it then he’d take care of Jarod and she’d have to go talk with Beast. However, Jarod seemed quite attacked the elementress, and getting the young Xavier to part with her might be more troublesome then they needed at the moment.
As Logan fell to the floor, Mandra heard the thud. She also heard the mutter but chose to ignore it, just being relieved that Jarod seemed to have had regained himself some at least. " Logan, I suggest you get out of here... I.. I need yo talk to Jarod alone.." She said. She made that suggestion because first of all, she was worried Jarod might just attack him again, second, she held a deep dislike for the man even though she hid it, and third, she really did feel she needed to talk to Jarod alone. Mandra watched Jarod almost unblinkingly as she waited to see what was going to happen next. She wondered if he was going to unleash his anger out on her since she had interrupted him, she wondered if he was going to yell at her, lash out at her or even try killing her. There had been so many things to happen in life that she wasn't sure of any outcome of anything anymore... Everything was just so far out of her control. Even her body was turning against her.
"…Xavier is not my father...His blood runs in my veins but he was not the one who raised me, he was not the one who taught me to read and write, he was not the one who punished me when I failed or gave me a treat if I behaved myself." Jarod said in soft but insistant and miserable tones. Mandra slowly knelt down in front of him, slowly reaching out with her hand to rest it lightly on his shoulder. "You were sleeping for a very long time… why wouldn’t you wake up, why wouldn’t you speak to me?... He said you were punishing me, but I do not understand why it is so bad that Xavier was my father... Or is just because I am his son? There is something about me, something bad that they don’t want around them, that made my mother go away and my father abandoned me, and that is why you hurt yourself, so that you could get away from me like all the others!" At those words, Mandra looked down and bit on her lower lip, flinching slightly and without meaning to, drawing her hand away to rest it over her chest as pain coursed through her heart. Her breath caught for a moment but she recovered quickly and lightly rested her hand over one of his. That was when he pulled her against him roughly, tightly holding her there. Trying not to tense up, she slipped her arms around him comfortingly as she could.
" That day that I reacted that way about finding out you were Xavier's son... Something was going wrong in my mind. I was having these hallucinations that were so.... confusing. And this monster-like version of the Remy of my origional dimension... he just kept whispering these things to me... Making me turn against everyone... Even someone I love. He made it seem like you being the son of Xavier made it so it was wrong to feel the way I dis about you... He made my not being told about it like you were betraying me some way when you weren't. And when it wasn't wrong to feel so much for you.... You ask me why I was asleep so long... I'll tell you, Jarod. But first, I'm going to tell you why I did what I did. I tried to kill myself because whatever that Remy impersonator was was going to make me destroy everything. I couldn't stand the thought of hurting you again like I did. I.. I just couldn't let myself be such a threat to you so I used that knife I made and tried to free myself from the insanity.. To protect you and everyone from me. Then, I hear your voice. I felt you pull me up in your arms and I felt your sadness... and I couldn't let death take me........ I was asleep for that time because I was fighting death... then after that, my mind was bringing up memories of my life... I wasn't punishing you! There is nothing for you to be punished for!... I'm sorry that I made you worry for so long. That you had thought it was because it was bad of Xavier to be your father or you to be his son.. Because it isn't bad... It isn't... There isn't anything about you that drives people away! I didn't want to be away from you but I thought I had to be to protect you from me! I... I never wanted to be away from you... But the last time I saw you... You seemed to want to be away from me..." She said in almost a whisper, her bottom lip trembling as she stopped speaking.
"I don’t mean to be-," She could feel the shiver going throug his body and she could just tell that he was hurting inside. This just made her want to help him even more. Mandra was scared though. She was scared of doing something to make him hurt more or to bring more stress to him. All she could do was rest her forehead lightly against his jaw and hold him comfortingly as she could as she at the same time tried to remain calm herself. It saddened her to know he was feeling like he was...
"Mandra," She cast a glance over at hwere Logan still was but without moving too much from the position she was in right then. "Think ya can take’im t’his room? Preferably keep’im there?.. I think Beast has’is hands full at the moment luv, but I’ll try an’ see what we can do, till’en, ya cant’ let Jarod out o’yer sight." She looked away and to Jarod's face,what she could see of it from the angle she was looking from. " It's up to Jarod if he wants to go to his room really, Logan. But if he'd go to his room and if he lets me be there then I will..." She said before looking back at the man. " Please tell Remy that I'll most likely not be able to see him today when you see him, would you?" She asked Logan before directing her attention back to the distressed telepath in which her heart ached for. " Jarod... Can we go to your room? You might need to lay down for a little while and while you rest, we can talk..." She whispered to Jarod. " Or we could just sit here like this until you're ready... I'm here for you..." She finished, also in whispered and caring tones.
Since I'm not around and I couldn't talk with you, I assumed a lot on what I remember talking with you about a while ago, I might have gotten muddled up so if you aren't pleased with what I've done feel free to ask for changes!!)
....................................
So many words, all stirring different emotions inside of him despite the anger that remained like a deadly poison in his system, Logan’s mention of her name just had Jarod hold her a little more in case she got up or the feral tugged her away.
"Think ya can take’im t’his room? Preferably keep’im there?.. I think Beast has’is hands full at the moment luv, but I’ll try an’ see what we can do, till’en, ya cant’let Jarod out o’yer sight." Obviously Mandra had to have noticed the look of resistance starting to stir in Jarod’s expression, the young telepath not at all delighted on having someone confine him to a room. " It's up to Jarod if he wants to go to his room really, Logan. But if he'd go to his room and if he lets me be there then I will..." Well what if he didn’t want to go back to that room any more? Sometimes he hardly cared if Belthazor had a chance to talk with him in the privacy of the Pretenders room, at least there was someone talking with him. " Please tell Remy that I'll most likely not be able to see him today when you see him, would you?" Fury boiled once again, a jealous anger that seemed misplaced since Jarod lacked any understanding towards why he started to despise any contact the Cajun had with Mandra.
" Jarod... Can we go to your room? You might need to lay down for a little while and while you rest, we can talk..." Although stubbornly thinking he was perfectly fine without the need to lie down, his stomach ached from the attack and his head throbbed with the pain of over using his underdeveloped telekinesis in addition to the constant pain of the telepathic virus infect his mind and emotions. " Or we could just sit here like this until you're ready... I'm here for you..." Where was she when he had wanted her there though? When he had to go out and do things he wasn’t ready to do on his own, like absorb all the memories of all those people in the police department and stay there for over a week playing with their minds. It was too far to come and go every day from the school, so he had stay out in a small apartment, no one every came to talk with him unless it was Wolverine or Kurt or Jean asking calling up to ask if he’s found anything new on Connor and Madison’s whereabouts.
Angry thoughts of confused anger and hurt kept him quiet as he tried to sort over what she had spoken earlier and what Belthazor had been telling him. Even if she did do it for him, wasn’t it also his choice? Maybe he would have preferred to be in danger with her near then be safe and on his own. Other then her, Jean was the only other person trying very hard to help him fit in and lately with Scott Summers’ decline in health she’s been distracted with ghostly fears of something being wrong with her husband and yet convincing herself that it was nothing while fretting over it nonetheless.
Everyone had become so vulnerable now, one source of evil being the main root of all their problems, no matter how dissimilar and unrelated they all appear. In addition, it was not just with the X-men that these evils where being brought upon, so many from so many different groups and cities are suffering, and this was all just the beginning. There was no chance for Jarod to understand yet how in Belthazor’s eyes the Pretender was merely a valuable commodity, one of a precious few that had to be used for A.Corp’s own greater purposes.
The Pretender’s body leaned into Mandra, forcing her back slightly yet keeping his hold on her, his legs struggling to gain balance of his body and then help push him up to his feet, helping Mandra up along with him. It hurt more once his sore stomach was stretched and movement made him a little dizzy however he easily coped with it and merely tried to ignore the aching sensations. One hand slipped away from her and the palm rested against his forehead in a sign of discomfort, his mind was so sore, but things where so much easier to forget then for him to recall now. Trapping away memories of others he had absorbed was simple, though he was still learning how to destroy them, burying them so far was his best option, just lock them all away into the back of his mind where they can’t reach him. Yet still it felt so crowded in there, so tense and always constantly fighting for peace in his thoughts.
Fragmented images, whispers of sounds and the faint scent of smells drifted with each flicker of image that echo inside Mandra’s mind. The usually warm and gentle gaze grew cold again as Jarod’s eyes opened, he honestly didn’t understand what he saw other then the simple fact that Remy LeBeau was kissing her like she had done with him in the Dying Star and she was enjoying it greatly. Instead of getting angry however, Jarod’s hand moved away from his aching forehead so that his fingers were gently touching her cheek as he focused on studying her.
Jarod like his friendship with her, he has never had a real friend before and he only knows Mandra so well because of the fact he absorbed her memories. Even if he has locked them away he has a sense of understanding towards her, he has never felt so connected with someone, and it makes everyone else seem so insignificant. Nevertheless, Cole was right, she would rather spend time with the man that looks like her mate from her other world then spend time with a clueless nobody suffering from a sever identity crisis.
Before Jarod brought Remy into her life, she was spending more time with the young Xavier, but then when she woke she just spent all her time with him, with that Remy that did not even want to go see her until Jarod insisted he do so. However, maybe, if Jarod could bring the other man into her life, then why wouldn’t he have the right to remove him from her life? It all seemed so perfectly fine, made such simple sense, that’s all that had to be done, then Cole would be wrong, because Mandra would prefer to be Jarod’s friend and spend more time with him if she didn’t have others distracting her.
But if he played with her memories again, then telepath’s much stronger then him, like Jean or even his father should the old man wake would find the fragmented pasts that don’t match up with hers if they ever searched Jarod’s memories. Belthazor always taught the Pretender to make sure not to leave clues in his own mind once he was finished with an assignment. Of course really it was to keep Jarod’s experience with the outside world minimal, leaving him with a complete lack of knowledge towards many basic things unless he was able to read about them.
She let him once before, she had asked him to get rid of her memories, and she had said it was because of an evil Remy, so this is what she wanted, to get rid of the memories of that man… At least that is what Jarod was now telling himself so that the part of him still fighting the mental control Belthazor was gaining over him would not resist so strongly to the abuse of his power. Both hands fell away from her, slowly resting by his sides, his mind ached, but he still wanted to do it, he wanted it to be like that moment in the Dying Star, that precise moment when everything felt so…nice.
The dark eyes drifted to her lips, no one else he knew approached him like she did, no one else would stand as close or smile as warmly… he wanted her friendship, it was different to the others, he felt different around her, he wanted her more then any of the people who have been friendly with him. A gentle grasp on all her memories with Remy since she woke went unfelt by the elementress as Jarod carefully collected them, and like a horrific nightmare, while he leaned his body forward a little, his mind shoved the memories as deep down in the furthest and darkest corners of her mind where access was nearly impossible. First he had to replace them instantly with false memories so that she wouldn’t get frightened, and since he had to do it immediately he wrote out in her mind that she woke and instead of seeing Jarod there she met one of the student helpers. Then Jarod had her memory say she stayed in her room and had him outside of the school as a reason why he wasn’t around, but just now, he kept her memory of her hearing a disturbance, only she was alone, without Gambit. This time instead of Jarod being the angry one, the Pretender twisted the memory around so that Logan had been the one in a hot temper and the only reason Jarod used his powers on the feral was because Logan released his claws and it had spooked Jarod enough to throw the man back against the wall.
In her memory, Mandra would recall the stunned expression that Mandra was awake, and then after she tells him to let go of Logan Jarod complies and Logan leaves saying about how they ought to have just left the man in Agamemnon. When Logan stormed off Jarod told her about how he saved Logan’s son and daughter and that he didn’t understand why the man was so angry… Mandra’s reply Jarod made as being a soothing comment that Jarod shouldn’t worry about the man, he was always in a temper over one thing or another.
The moments it took to remove, add to and alter her memories Jarod had leaned closer to her, he wanted to kiss her, he liked how it felt to kiss her, he missed it so greatly, sometimes it was all he could think about, her lips, their touch, their taste, their warmth… But she’s been giving them to Remy instead of him, she’s been with that damn man while Jarod’s been alone, he was the one who waited for her, he was the one who was suffering, not that other man, he didn’t deserve her attention!
An immediate moment after those thoughts arose in his mind, Jarod completed Mandra’s altercations and the instant after his own troubling memories locked away in the core of his mind with all the other things he wished never to recall again. Though he did have the ability to destroy memories permanently, it was very taxing and the memory mutant cared little for losing knowledge, he could still access that vault of horrors inside his mind. However, even if he did not remember what the memories were, he always knew those were where all the bad memories are hidden in silence so he can be in peace.
Unwillingly this also locked away all his memories of bitterness that Cole had put inside him, and although that control over Jarod was still there, the Pretender forgot the anger that Cole had so cleverly placed on the surface of the Pretenders mind. Not that it wasn’t easy for Belthazor to twist Jarod back into a bitter angry person, it just meant at the moment he was his own self again, without the poisonous hateful thoughts swimming around his mind constantly. Becoming very still, Jarod’s eyes glancing over her, where she had been hurt and up to her face one more, a bright excitement lit in his look of amazement. Although he was standing close to her, he had forgotten of the desire to kiss her now as the more important sensation of seeing her for the first time filled his mind. Even for Jarod his memory altercations felt so unbelievably real.
"I was afraid you’d never wake." A tired whisper was heard as his arms wrapped about her and his face buried down onto her shoulder, "No one told me you woke up," His face pulled away so he could look at her, he wanted to tell her so many things, wanted her to know how helpful he had been, despite Logan’s ungrateful attitude Jarod had helped locate Madison and Connor who had been taken to a black market to be sold off with other mutants possessing the powerful ability in their blood systems to cure many viruses and produce vaccin for diseases.
"I was going to go see you, I’ve been out for the past few days, normally I always sit with you though," He insisted in case she thought he had left her alone in that medical bay for months without giving her a single thought. But he has, he’s thought about her all the time. Reluctantly he seemed to step away from her so she had space instead of having him clinging to her, an anxious look about him as he talked with a hopeful tone, "How long have you been awake? It’s early, have you eaten? I can look after you, I can make you something, I can make you anything you want," Now that she was up he had so many things he wanted to talk with her about, so many things he wanted to show her that he was capable of doing, even though he’s never cooked a meal in his life, there are cook books online and he can just look up the recipes on the internet and work from there easily enough. A fidgety look was easily seen in his body language despite his best efforts to calm himself, every inch of him wanted to just reach out and grab hold of her and never let go.
Mandra glared in the direction Logan had went, temptation to just hurl a fire-ball at the rude feral rising up to where she could almost feel the heat of the flames starting to form in her hamd. Regaining control, she took a calming intake of breath before letting it out slowly. She was surprised that she hadn't lashed out at him for making that comment to Jarod about the 'should have left him at Agamemnon' thing, her thinking that the comment had been cruel. She made a mental note to herself to get Logan back later if she ever had a chance to be alone with him in the Danger Room. He may be a much better fighter than her but she could easily "accidently" lose control of her abilities and give him a proper singe or two. The testosterone-loaded man may have been known for his temper problem but that didn't mean he could just treat anyone any way he wanted to! Mandra gave an irritated sigh before looking to Jarod, her anger leacing her features to be replaced by a happy smile of seeing him.
He seemed happy to see her too which made her smile even brighter. He looked excited and maybe even a little amazed and the combonation of it all made her happy but also a little shy, a slight red tint spreading across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose and her marking along with the rims of her eyes lighting up a little. [b]"I was afraid you’d never wake."[/b] She listened to him whisper in what sounded like a tired tone. A stab of irritation towards Logan came again as she thought of how it was that older man's fault Jarod was now tired. As his arms went around her and his face lowered onto her shoulder, Mandra held him comfortingly and also apologeticly. She hadn't meant to be unconscious for so long and she thought about how worried he must have been. "No one told me you woke up," She heard him speak before his face lifted up from her shoulder and he looked her in the eyes. She looked back into those dark pools and smiled lightly, placing a hand lightly on his cheek.
" I guess news spreads slow around here lately. I mean, I didn't hear about much going on myself... Of course, I've been in my room for almost all the time I've been awake so I guess. That could be why." She said with a slightly sheepish grin near the end. The sheepish grin faded into a frown. " I'm sorry, Jarod... I didn't mean to have you worried like that." She appologized before hugging him lightly.
"I was going to go see you, I’ve been out for the past few days, normally I always sit with you though," At his words, her expression softened and she looked touched that he would even care enough to do that for her. That had been sweet of him to spend his time sitting by her while she was asleep and she was touched. As he pulled away, she felt a little bit of a loss but not wanting to seem too clingy, let him free from her hold. "How long have you been awake? It’s early, have you eaten? I can look after you, I can make you something, I can make you anything you want," She gave him a caring smile. He was so thoughtful.
" Awake as in this morning or awake as in out of the Med Lab?... Out of the lab for the last couple of days... As for this morning...." She thought for a moment, trying to remember. "Um.. I woke up about half an hour ago..." She finished. Mandra nibbled a little on her lower lip as she tried to remeber why she had woke up a bit late for her usual then she remembered that it might be from her still being weak. " As for breakfast... Hmm.. You seem a little tired there... I could make breakfast for the two of us instead if you want." She suggested. " But if you want to make breakfast, that's good too." She added with a smile.
Mandra stepped forward and placed her palm lightly on his cheek again before kissing his other cheek lightly and stepping back once more. " It's so nice to see you again... I missed you, Jarod. I missed you a lot." She said before slowly withdrawing her hand from the side of his face.
:: OOC- I wasn't sure if she now still has her memories about her not being from this dimension or not so I didn't mention it... does she?::
Re: Hostility in the Halls (Reposted)
Yeah, she does, but they're all altered so that Remy was never part of her life here, and she doesn't remember the illusions with him before her suicide attempt either
" Awake as in this morning or awake as in out of the Med Lab?... Out of the lab for the last couple of days... As for this morning...." A couple of days? And no one told him? He felt very left out now, not that he has actually had a chance to fit in, everyone seems to be trying very hard to bare with him – of course Jarod doesn’t remember that that’s because he has been acting rather hostile towards them so they weren’t entirely to be blamed. "Um.. I woke up about half an hour ago..." There was a nibbling of her lip, a mischievous thought struck him as he wished that he could have a nibble of her lips, he missed her so much, he wanted to lock his arms around her and never let go, that way he’d never be left alone again.
" As for breakfast... Hmm.. You seem a little tired there... I could make breakfast for the two of us instead if you want." A throbbing headache, a sore stomach, bah! He was fine now that she was here, nothing mattered other then impressing her! " But if you want to make breakfast, that's good too." The bright smile that lit up hinted that it definitely was something that he wanted to try, this was his chance, his chance to show her that he was wonderful company, he could be a perfect friend, she never had to try and leave ever again… Thought’s escaped him however as her hand returned to caress his cheek, but it was more then that, she was moving closer to him, a light touch of her lips was felt before she pulled away. His expression was nearly frozen, surprised yet dazed at the same time, the little smile still struggling to remain subtle without exploding into a grin.
" It's so nice to see you again... I missed you, Jarod. I missed you a lot." Really? It was nice to know he had been missed, he felt so alone again when she pulled her again away, but he was buzzing away inside, he was all excited, his stomach squirmed and fluttered and his skin tingled, he wanted to move closer, he was sure that’s what he wanted… Just move closer to her again, as they had been at the dance.
The back of his hand brushed across his forehead followed quickly by his palm pressing against it before his arm fell down to his side once again. It was so sore, he really pushed himself and he did not realize he had strained himself so much… maybe it was from also the fact he had not eaten well the last few days – sweets taste nice but they aren’t exactly filling! A smile seemed the only thing he could think of doing, words escaped him and he felt a little lost despite for the first time in a long time he felt as if he was exactly where he was supposed to be.
The chocolate eyes dropped to the floor shyly and he laughed quietly, a faint warmth of colour in his cheeks hinting to the awkward sensations he felt, his left hand resting against his stomach and his right hand motioning down the hall. As realization over the fact his fridge was bare dawned on him, a rather crushed look settled over his features, his eyes dropping down to the floor between them again. He didn’t know how to get food and he hasn’t asked, the fridge in the main kitchen is always with food, he wondered where it all came from now that he thought about it, he could easily look it up on the internet, but he hasn’t been fussed since now – he never cooked for himself before so he didn’t need food in his own fridge.
"Oh…there’s no food in my room, I only have a packet of skittles." Crestfallen from the recognition of this fact, Jarod’s hands focused on fiddling with the front of his shirt, however being his usual self – which was always getting distracted with things – meant that he cheered up dramatically as another thought came to him, "Have you tried skittles before? They’re the colours of the rainbow, I’ve never seen a rainbow before, but… every colour has a different taste, I like the red ones, and the purple ones, all of them really but thos-food, we should go to the kitchen to get some, right?" After realizing he had side tracked off the main topic, he quickly shifted back onto the problem at hand. There were so many new and different things, and he has not indulged in many of them at all, been too depressed over Mandra’s condition to go out and enjoy himself. Now that she was back he wanted to do everything and share everything he does, and growing up on grass juice and the ‘special’ meals of sludge that was not only tasteless, but left a displeasing after-tastelessness behind that wasn’t thoroughly washed away with the refreshing green sludge they poured into a glass instead of a bowl. But hey, brain food was a vital part of growing up, and back then Jarod wasn’t aware there were so many other choices out there for people to enjoy – and much to his dismay no one seems to have had to endure the meals Jarod was forced to grow up with.
"I want to make you a better breakfast then my caretakers ever made!" Excitement returned to him as he stressed this fact, "…What do you have for breakfast?" That would probably help him figure out what to cook! Then again, he wasn’t used to the idea of cooking things, he didn’t even know how to turn on a stove, or a microwave… heck, he didn’t even know how to use a blender. Which is why he wants to go to his room, he can use his books and laptop to zoom over instructions if he has trouble. If there was one thing he was flawless at, it was reading and following instructions! Then again, he didn’t realize that Mandra could always help him if he got in trouble, but even if he did think of that, he wanted to do this all by himself, he wanted to show her that he was very capable of doing it just for her.
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