Wednesday March 28th: Piece by Piece - After the Surgery
The vest felt binding, heavy, each time Riley had an urge to fidget with it there was this sense of eyes upon him, as if someone could tell he was about to show some sign of discomfort, of weakness, though the young teen couldn't figure out what gave him that eerie feeling. Some of the older people seemed to see right through him, some others seemed ... distant.. they spoke briefly to him but said very little outside of formalities and if it weren't for Professor Walsh he would have found this whole group very cold. Back home people were so much closer, family was always around, his mother's warm voice always soothing and welcoming, his father's deep call always giving Riley that sense of being needed, something he always wanted, and something that only started to happen more frequently in the last year. Ben almost hit him when Riley suggested it might be best to pass up the chance of studying abroad and staying back to help around the farm, and he must have told Riley's parents because they had sat him down later that day to talk to him about it.
"Riley... I want you to come over here," His teacher always sounded so warm when he talked to her in the school, he often wondered if she had children, she talked as if she were a very motherly type of woman, it sometimes helped him to talk to her when he missed his home. It had only been a few months, it felt like so long though, and his birthday was in a few days, his professor had promised to drive him down to Iowa with two other classmates, she wanted to meet his family and tell them how well he was doing. Though Riley suspected she just took pity on the fact he had mentioned he had no money to see his family on his birthday. All this strange new things he was being shown down here, in a maze of tunnels that seemed to be beneath the school he now studied at, it seemed to be giving him a headache, and it almost hurt to turn his head to look behind him where her voice had come from...
...Everything blurred, the darkness that fell so suddenly struggled to come into focus, the windows light causing a groan as his eyes tried to turn away from the pleasant stream of sunshine pouring in from outside. It hurt though, his head felt heavy, dizzy, sore... the bed he laid on wasn't his own, and it seemed like his arms themselves were made of led as they struggled to attempt a hopeless move of trying to roll Riley onto his side, trying to do what should have been so easy, to sit up, to swing his legs over the edge and just figure out what was going on. In the end one arm had managed to reach across his chest, the tips of his fingers meekly reaching for the edge of the bed before the effort seemed too much and went limp. There was a voice, deep, familiar, though it was hard to focus, he was so tired, and it seemed all of Hank that was seen was just the blue blurred outline of his features turning from examining the nearby instruments before Riley was slipping back into his sleep...
..."This way everyone, remember to stay in your assigned teams," It felt like his heart was about to escape his chest, the only thing keeping it inside was the vest bound about Riley's chest, the longer he wore it the heavy it seemed to be and yet the more used to it he got. They'd gone through a lot of small excercises the last two months, Riley hadn't liked some of the weapons they had to learn to use, and he definitely didn't like how they kept alluding to the fact he was going to need them not too long down the track. But if he pulled out he'd be disappointing Professor Walsh, and she had done so much for him already, always so kind, she really thought he could do all this, and for some reason Riley felt like he really had to prove her right. It didn't look as if he was the only nervous one either, one of the boys from class he had quickly befriended and they had been assigned together, so both were able to give an awkward glance to each other, wondering what awaited them on the otherside of this door. It sounded serious, the adults with Professor Walsh kept stressing what should be done if certain things happen, like a team-mate getting hurt, or their ammo running out, repeating things they'd been trained earlier to do.
The doors opened, Walsh was saying something to another boy in his group, Graham almost hadn't noticed he was walking in without the rest of his team since Riley had caught her voice and noticed she was talking to a member and decided to wait. Another classmate of theirs, Riley recalled the boys name to be Forrest, merely because it struck Riley as an odd name to have. He wasn't sure he quite liked the other boy, Graham hadn't appreciated the racist remark Forrest had made towards black people right in front of him, even though Forrest hadn't seemed to be trying to be intentionally rude to Graham. Walsh was always telling him off for his attitude, but she seemed to like how strong headed he was at the same time, though Riley supposed that would help in this situation, Forrest seemed to want to always be the first in and hardly cared what would be inside waiting.Riley couldn't really call it bravery, more like a reckless foolish attitude that would get him seriously hurt... something Walsh seemed to be drilling into him once more.
They were one of the last groups in, two others trailed infront of the trio, they seemed to already know each other and were older by at least a year and a half. The age gap seemed to give them a sense of command over the group, which Forrest made clear he didn't appreciate. The room was huge, and Riley found himself not caring who told him what to do, as long as someone did and as long as that someone knew what they were saying, this area gave him the creeps. Up along the upper reaches of the wall glass panels could be seen, faces stared down at them and for a moment Riley found himself trying to seek out his Professor's, wondering if Walsh had managed to get up there with the rest of the adults who had talked to him and the other students. A yell however caused Riley to snap his attention to the others in his group, the older boys were pointing off down a tunnel, the maze like area just made it all the more nerve wracking for the young Finn boy... but why was someone yelling? Forrest was pulling out his gun, along with the other boys, though Riley just found himself trying to hide as best he could in the rubble along the passageway they wandered, using his hands to help climb over or under some of the obsticles.
It felt like ages before they met another team, only two of the six membered group were Riley's age, all the others were the same age gap with the older boys of his team, and the two younger ones, a boy and girl, seemed at first relieved at seeing other faces their age, and then upset when the groups swiftly broke apart once more. The older students had swapped what little they knew, and Riley felt it was almost pointless to have mentioned any of it, though then again it did save them time going down the way the other team already came from, especially if they were supposed to find something in here. Riley was just starting to wonder if all they were doing were trying to make it to the centre when a terrible scream came from the way they had already walked. It wasn't too far off, and it didn't sound as if it were on the same level, which meant they'd have to try and find a way up to the level above if they wanted to see what was going on. The older boys were already climbing up some debris, making their way ontop of what looked like a large shipping crate, grabbing at some hanging netting and pulling themselves up towards the metal planks that seemed to make a rather dangerous looking pathway in a certain section above them.
Forrest followed them eagerly, though Riley had to help Graham with a boost, leaving the two of them to fall behind. Once Graham was up, he reached down to offer Riley a lift up, though just as their hands connected, Riley caught a climps of something off to his side, causing him to misplace his footing and almost pull Graham down as he tried to re-balance. Their hands were sweaty from the nerves so it wasn't easy with Riley's added anxiety, but Graham managed to yank Riley up, both just reaching for the netting when more yelling cried out from above. It was too close for them not to worry about the rest of their team, they were all supposed to stay together, and they'd fallen behind and now their team might be in trouble and lacking manpower! What awaited them through a hole which passed as a doorway into the upper tunnelsystem was something Riley would have never thought he'd be faced with. Graham and he weren't sure what to make of it, but one of the older boys seemed to be craddling his arm as if he had broken it somehow, the other was trying to distract what seemed to be a girl not so much older then Riley from her advancing towards Forrest, who seemed to be recovering what looked like a nasty fall. The eldest of the group seemed to informing Riley and Graham that it was waiting in ambush, throwing about orders in an attempt to take control... However Riley felt like his feet were planted to the sheet of metal that made the halfhazard floor of the passageway they were in, it may not be the brightest, but even Riley could make out her face... half of it seemed eaten away, her mouth.. she had no lips, her stained teeth flashed at him in a grusome sort of rotten grin...
...With a start Riley's eyes opened, staring up at the ceiling with apprehension, bracing what was to come and slightly confused on the sudden change of scene. The room seemed quiet, the light not quiet so strong, afternoon seemed to have come, and with it a guest it seemed, Riley's tired eyes were still heavy, but his hand was pinned down by something, and with a drowsy glance it took a short moment to make out Emily's form. She was in a seat next to him, though her hand clamped about his even as she read her book, he could just make out a few words, but her voice gently filled the room, soft enough to be soothing and yet clearly spoken for him to realize she must have been reading to him as he slept. Though she hadn't noticed Riley's eyes briefly open, he'd been twitching and jerking a lot, and the nurse had said he'd been having nightmares, so Emily had stopped pausing to check over him after the first handful of jerking motions. There was a smell in the air, she had saved a plate of food for him just in case he woken up for lunch, and just as Riley distantly tried to focus on the idea of food, feeling a touch of hunger starting to creep upon him, it seemed once more his heavy eyes had closed and his body once again drifted back off to the much needed rest.
....Arms flailed in panic, Riley's small frame seemed hopelessly pinned to the ground, and the horrid smelling girl ontop of him was clawing at whatever she could reach, pulling at his arms whenever Riley tried to defend his face against her assault. Graham was yelling, and Forrest demanding Graham either get her free of Riley or he'd take the shot regardless, causing Graham to fly into a panic and the world seemed nothing but a blur to Riley as the undead's screeching voice felt as if it were doing as much harm to his throbbing head as her clawed fingers were doing cutting into his skin. Her grotesque face kept snapping at him, Graham and the other elder boy both tried to pry her off Riley and all it did was cause her to scream more...
"Riley," The rotted features of the girl seemed to whisper his name, a strange voice not suited to the dark haired creature, but she was still trying to claw at him, and his arms felt so heavy, whereas her strength seemed limitless and overpowering, "Riley," the voice repeated, and vision seemed to blur, images burst into a black nothingness, Riley's sore eyes parting yet again to stare up at the disfigured face above him. "You need to calm down," Her fingers were wrapped about his wrists, his arms still trying to meekly pull free for a moment longer as fragments of the nightmare lingere. "I vill talk to McCoy und see if he can help you rest more soundly," It took a moment for Riley to notice, but Talia was speaking to him, her lips lost their tightness for once and now spoke with such an assuring tone. It had taken so long for him to hear her voice, and yet Riley wasn't sure what to make of his situation, taking a moment to ease his tensed muscles and attempt to calm down as she was urging him to do so. Everything felt so scattered in his mind, he felt like he'd been in a thousand pieces and someone had just stuck him all back together again with nothing more then a childs water based glue stick.
Emily. Hazel eyes peered over to the empty seat, it was no longer pulled against his bed, she must have left a while ago, and the food was taken along with her it seemed. It honestly felt as if he had no energy left inside of him, his head still throbbed a bit, as if he'd had a nasty knock. Images from his dream returned, though with a deep breath Riley closed his eyes and tried to will the old memories away. Other thoughts always came with that though, like the other nightmares he'd had, as if he was about to tell himself that at least it wasn't as bad as the previous nightmare and then it would all flood back and just make him dread the thought of sleeping once again.
"She left after lunch," Talia seemed to reply to Riley's curious gaze that had gone in search of Emily, the school bell rang, like a dong inside his head, leaving Riley distracted from replying, though his mouth was too dry in any case to really be bothered trying to speak. He wanted to sit up, he wanted a drink, he wanted to just get back to his room! As if it wasn't awkward enough, waking up constantly to people looming over him or knowing people are seeing him break out into a sweat over stupid nightmares. To Riley's surprise, it seemed Talia somehow guessed he wanted a drink, as she was already pouring him a drink of water, leaving it however on the side table as she aided a little in raising the back of the bed slightly so that he could drink without having to sit up on his own accord. While Riley wanted to insist he hardly needed to be tended to like an invalid, he found that he had little steam in him to protest, so all he did was accept the drink as she placed the cup carefully against his lips. While Talia hadn't been the best team member to work with considering her refusal to speak back when she was teamed with him, Riley found himself surprised by how considerate a nurse she was. Then again, Hank wouldn't let just anyone on his staff, it still came as a surprise, especially since Riley always assumed she never liked him much after those team arguements they seemed to have regarding her lack of communication with him. As a nurse though... it was like she knew exactly what he was thinking... as if she knew what he needed and he didn't even need to strain himself to tell her what it was.
It didn't yet occure to him that that was in fact just what Talia was doing, hearing the very thoughts that strained his mind, and it was as new to her to hear his thoughts as it was for him to hear her voice. It seemed only fair to meet half way. "Dr McCoy.. you wanted to know when he was awake," Talia informed the doctor telepathically of Riley's condition, he seemed to be staying awake this time, she'd already mentioned to McCoy that she was picking up his thoughts. It had been a surprise for her, Riley had always been so silent, and suddenly he was so loud, she had almost been tempted to ask McCoy if Paige could tend to him earlier instead of her merely because of the things that trickled unwillingly into her mind. But Riley was her patient, and she had helped him as much as anyone else in the room during his surgery... at least she thought she had, it was the impression McCoy had given her and she trusted his honesty.
Re: Wednesday March 28th: Piece by Piece - After the Surgery
So life went on. As it always did! And there were always things to fill in the hours. Medical emergencies! Classes. Paperwork! Saving the world! Family! All of the things that X men were supposed to be able to fit into their timetable! Though Hank had to admit that the latter hadn’t been a concern until lately! And it was equally obvious that now it had, that development had radically changed his list of priorities And he wasn’t the only one to have realised that.
Hank sighed, looking out at the expectant student faces lifted towards his. How many of them had heard about his indiscretion with Zia in this very classroom? One or two at least! Oh lets be honest, something like that had hardly have been kept secret. He could see it in their eyes when they looked at him. Not the blatant disgust he might have expected. But rather an undisguised curiosity on the part of those who seemed human! And a glint of hope in the faces of all those who didn’t!
The guy from monster Inc gets it together with a hot babe! It was the stuff of headlines. But Hank doubted that even half of them realised the implications it brought to genetics classes. And maybe that was for the best. Because god knows their lives were complicated enough. His present patient list proved that all to forcibly. Rain was being torn apart by her powers ; Charlotte either saved or killed by hers. And as for Scott…Hanks mind shied away from that particular problem, concentrating instead on the class he was supposed to be giving his whole attention too. His cells seemed to be pulling themselves for no reason. As if some vengeful god was programming them to fail.
And yet despite all of that the case that had to hold his immediate attention was Riley. And that mess was entirely his fault. Ok the second implant had been subtle enough to fool even the shiar machinery he had at his disposition. But even so.. There had been a gut feeling he shouldn’t have ignored. A sense that someone perverse enough to have subdued Riley with insidious drugs would also have provided a failsafe device! One that would have ensured he would never be free.
He had almost been caught out by it before with T1. And much as it now shamed him to admit it, at the time he had seen the exercise of bomb removal as nothing but an intellectual challenge. But that was before. Before he had learned that T1 was a person! Before the so called robot had once again risked his existence to save Riley’s! Life was a term that, Hank had learned, encompassed far more than was recognised in anyone’s philosophy. Would Charlotte if she survived the transformation of all her cells into metal be any less alive than T1? And take Spike or Illidan for example! So called creatures recognised as undead and yet with sentiments that couldn’t be ignored!?
This went so far beyond genetics that Hank was at a loss. Realising that, although he stood undeniably as one of the foremost experts in the field, he was not on the cutting edge of the science as the world believed, but rather stood on the other side of a vast abyss they had yet to cross. And all he could give here and now were the first stepping stones to a problem that lay at the very heart of his pupils existence. Why were they mutants and their siblings not? What force had reached into their unborn lives and dictated this destiny? God? Chance? A million years of evolution suddenly coming to the fore? He could provide some answers. A giant step for mankind.. if they were willing to listen… Baby steps as far as the question of what constituted life was concerned.
Though today Hank had to admit he’d be prepared to limit his expectations. To count mere breathing and intellectual activity as a victory! Riley had already shown evidence of both after their most dramatic operation. If he hadn’t then Hank would hardly have left his bedside Still a few seconds of consciousness, while encouraging enough to have justified his presence in this class, didn’t signify that all was well.
Talia’s call rang out for all to hear. And there was no use pretending that Hank’s’ subsequent relief didn’t show in his face. His course had been disrupted so many times before that it hardly came as a surprise .One of the downsides of having an internationally recognised genius calling the shots. As it was Hank’s yellow ayes positively glowed as he looked around the class. “Ok” he said.. “surprise test! The wave of dismay was almost palpable as he continued.. All those not actually asleep have passed.. Class dismissed! The pupils dissolved into happy but astonished silence as the doctor continued ‘ Ill be right there.. and thank you Talia.. Without you this wouldn’t be happening. This is as much your accomplishment as it is mine or T1’s. I only hope you realise that “
Re: Wednesday March 28th: Piece by Piece - After the Surgery"Ill be right there.. and thank you Talia.. Without you this wouldn’t be happening. This is as much your accomplishment as it is mine or T1’s. I only hope you realise that," The doctor made note to mention again, and Talia smiled slightly, though she wasn’t arrogant enough to let it go to her head, he was just being polite... he’d not lie about something like that, and he always gave credit where credit was due, but she knew that without Hank and T1 then there would have been nothing she could have done alone. This was their accomplishment, and Riley sat there sleepily because of them, not because of her, or any one of the others, it was each of them that made this moment possible.
"What time is it?" Riley asked as his hands moved to rub over his stomach, it grumbled hungrily and ached from the lack of food, a symptom brought on by the drugs McCoy was giving him, when he didn’t eat properly after taking them then he started to get cramps. He didn’t recall Talia having woken him in order to give him the dose he was required to have at lunch time, and while she got him to drink some liquid lunch it wasn’t enough to really sustain him as he hadn’t even managed to finish it before nodding off again.
"Just after four, ze doctor had classes all day but visited us during breaks to check up on you und ze others that happened by," The amount of accidents that happened in a school for mutants was never something most doctors had to face... a freeze burn, followed by accidental intoxication of some bio-chemical that was difficult to treat due to its unique substance and a broken tail that got trodden on. Students always did manage to find themselves in McCoy’s good care at one point or another in their stay at the school for some strange accident or mission gone wrong. "You slept all day yesterday after ze surgery und most of today, ve vere getting vorried," It took a few moments for Talia’s words to unscramble inside of Riley’s mind, so his reaction to finding out he’d been asleep almost two days was delayed.
"Two days?" And yet he still felt so sleepy! That didn’t sound normal, but all that had to wait, because right now his stomach was getting impatient, "Is there anything I could eat, I’m a little hungry," there was a drowsy chuckle as he added softly, "No one mentioned needing to prepare for hibernation," It didn’t go unnoticed that Riley looked ready to nod off again, but if he was sleepy or if his body just was struggling from all the changes and only looked exhausted, she wasn’t sure, but considering the amount he’d slept she would hope that Riley had enough energy to stay away for a little while. Especially as Hank was coming!
"I vill find you somezing.. try to stay awake Riley, McCoy iz coming to see you," With that she had walked off, and turned his head to stare back at the window. It only seemed as if he closed his eyes for a brief moment, but movement at his door stirred Riley again with a slight start. Talia was back... it felt so quick for Riley... but Hank was next to her and they were talking, she was holding a tray of food and the sight seemed to give Riley some life. Oddly enough, Riley wondered where his wallet was, getting distracted with the side table next to his bed, his arm clumsily reaching for the handle to the draw to see if it was in there. Why did everything involve moving? He really, really didn’t feel as if moving was worth the effort right now. Fingers brushed against the leather surface of his wallet and awkwardly pulled it out, letting his arm flop, and wallet in tow, onto his stomach. Fingers flipped it open, focused solely on searching the pockets... there was a tear in the lining right in an awkward spot that allowed his secret photo to remain well hidden. If it wasn’t in his wallet, it was in a pocket, the only time he ever had parted from the photo had been when he left it in Catherine’s care for a brief period. The amount of times he’d tried to run, Riley only briefly enough wondered how it might look for him to be grabbing the wallet to know that there was a chance he might have it taken off him. No matter how bad things got, that photo always helped him... he could use some help right now.
Once it was finally freed from the inner lining, Riley lost all interest in the wallet, holding the small laminated photo as his arms resting weakly on his stomach, watching it rise and fall with his breaths as his hands held the old picture. It had been his source of comfort for so many years, the one thing that meant the world to him that no one could take away if he was careful. He had made a copy, laminated the original, and then proceeded to hide the copies in case something happened or he lost it or it was damaged in a fight or taken in a room search. His parents looked so proud in that picture, they had so much more life in them too, no judgements, no accusations, nothing but those kind faces, no matter what he did those faces would always be there to support him.
"I missed Logan’s class," there was a slight sigh with this comment, the mutter a very disappointed one as he’d been looking forward to being able to get out of the school, he was starting to feel almost claustrophobic with the confines. It never really occurred having surgery would mean that he’d miss it; he didn’t think he’d be this knocked out. He only got Wilderness once a week and even if he just had to sit out and stare at the trees he’d hardly care, just walking outside of the school would have been nice. The photo was drawn to his chest, pressed against it as he stared back at the window. When Riley seemed to sleep time flew by... but now he struggled to stay away.. everything seemed to drag, it felt like a passing word had lasted for hours between Hank and Talia, as if she was never going to return with the food and the two would stay out there forever. Maybe he should just go to his room and get something to eat and go to bed... the only reaction to the thought was his eyes staring off towards where his clothes were folded, as if attempting to will them to float towards him to save Riley the effort of getting out of bed.
Re: Wednesday March 28th: Piece by Piece - After the Surgery
There were too many times, when Hank truly dreaded the ringing of his intercom. Times when he knew the news could only be bad. Times when he was just too tired to even contemplate rising to the next emergency. Even if somehow he always did. But this, for once, wasn’t one of them. Far from it! As any of his surprised but happy students could attest too! This was good news. In fact it was such good news that he had doubted it would ever come. Even given Riley’s previous brief period of consciousness!
If Riley hadn’t opened his eyes after the operation then Hank would never have left his side. But the cold fact was that he had. However briefly! Letting the doctor know that waking up was possible. And full consciousness a probability. And that, when you had a schedule as busy as Hank’s, had to be seen to be enough! Enough to let the doctor walk out of med lab and get on with his other duties! Though from an emotional point of view it was very far from being that!
Say what you would he had almost killed the boy. Despite all his elaborate precautions and the alien machinery at his disposal. It was a risk any surgeon knew existed before he went into surgery. The knowledge that something could go wrong in even the most trivial of operations! What he had done to Riley had never been going to be trivial though. Heart surgery never was. Like it or not there inevitably came a point where you held the patients life in your hands. This time though that had been anything but a metaphor.
Was there anything more personal than to have literally felt someone’s heart beat against your palm. To know that only your fingers lay between them and death? Maybe there was. It was true that he had kept Riley’s heart safe during the operation. But a heart beating in a body that had been emptied of intelligence was a curse rather than a blessing. And without Talia and T1 that was exactly what Riley would have been. At least for the length of time it took his parents to say goodbye.
As it was though they didn’t have too! Hank’s medical instincts had told him that even before he left med lab. Life! Conscious life had been present. He had run the tests. Indeed he had run and rerun them. And he had seen positive results, each and every time. As a doctor he had been convinced that they had succeeded. As a man though he had needed this call before he could let out the emotional breath he had been holding ever since they had closed Riley’s body up and called it a day. Knowing there was nothing else they could do. Hoping what they had done would be enough.
He had told Riley’s parents they could come and sit with their son and Hank had no doubt that they would do just that. Letting Emily be there was however a whole different matter, just as it always was where youngsters were concerned. If anything went wrong it would scar her deeply. But then again Hank recognised, just as anyone who had ever seen them together would have been forced to recognise that there was a bond between them.
If Riley had died and he had kept her from his side then that could have been just as harmful. She wasn’t the age Logan’s children had been when their mother had lain in a coma. She was old enough to understand. And her presence could have helped remind Riley that he still had a life worth coming back too. Though he had apparently come back to it alone
No. Not alone. Far from it! Talia had been there for him. Just as she had been there during the operation! And she had played as big a part in his survival as anyone. And so the smile on Hank’s lips was as much for her as for his patient as he entered med lab. A smile directed to an equal for a job well done as well as one directed at a young man he had come to know and care about.
“Riley” the doctor said , relief obvious in his voice. “You gave us quite a scare back then.” Already he was moving towards the bed, shining a pencil light in Riley’s eyes with obvious concern. Needing, this one time at least, to see for himself that everything was all right rather than to hear it from some outside source. Just follow this for me, would you? he asked seriously And tell me, apart from the obvious headache how do you feel?
Re: Wednesday March 28th: Piece by Piece - After the Surgery
Eventually, the Doctor entered the room, and Riley wondered if he could make the effort of putting his wallet back on the side table before Hank got in some spin over him getting ready to up and leave. Not that Riley didn't want to, the idea of sinking back into his bed in the privacy of his own room with the company of his beloved canine was so very tempting. For now his hand just pressed the photo against his stomach, the palm resting over it almost completely as if it generated a warmth that seeped into the very core of his being.
“Riley” Tired eyes followed the larger figure as it moved towards the bed to stand beside where Riley lay, the tone of concern and somewhat relief seemed to colour the words and it left Riley slightly unsure as to why. Maybe, the former agent mused, Hank was just surprised to still see him laying there and not half way climbing out the window. “You gave us quite a scare back then.” The question of 'why' danced lightly on the tip of Riley's tongue, but the invasive light of a slender torch seemed to be flickered across his eyes and while wondering why Hank was doing that, he couldn't help but try to turn his gaze away - he didn't need any more issues popping up right now, the last thing any of them needed was his photosensitivity syndrome playing up.
"Just follow this for me, would you?" It was as if the docot could sense a struggle coming up, he needed Riley to focus on the light and yet all Riley wanted to do was shut his eyes and look away. The will keeping them from doing so seemed to wane for a moment as he blinked and kept his eyes closed for a pause longer then really needed. "And tell me, apart from the obvious headache how do you feel?" So the headache was at least expected, that was something that Riley felt was perhaps good to know, why he had one he wasn't sure, but it felt like he'd just been clobbered with something.
"I feel like a beaten bear ready for hibernation," He mumbled with slightly dry lips, moistened enough from his previous drink not to feel uncomfortable but still somewhat noticable when he pressed his lips together. "Otherwise I think I'm.. fine.. can we not have the light in my eyes?" He tried not to sound rude, even as he avoid staring at it by looking up at Hank's face, then down towards his chest as if to examine, only to then rub his eyes with both hands, maybe it'd help wake him as much as it would help avoid the light catching Riley's eyes. "Blinky lights and I... we have some personal issues.. we don't like being in the same room." Thoughts of Christmas returned briefly, aside Catherine being a bit of a brat and locking herself in her room for most of her stay up there, for reasons that still didn't make sense, it had been relatively nice, all the negative things not withstanding. Though a picture of Riley's discussion with Catherine about the evil blinky Christmas tree drew an inner smile, which eventually even managed to just slightly grace his lips.
When the young man's hands pulled away from his still droopy eyes, their gaze settled almost obediantly on the light, staring at it even as he added "It's embarrasing really, knocked out by a Christmas tree," It was more a mutter to himself, as if Riley hadn't entirely meant to say it out loud but didn't seem to notice if he had or not. The throb in his head, as nagging as it had been, caused a sudden jerk of his hands to cup against his nose, Riley's fingers brushing quickly against his upper lips. "Do I have a nose bleed?" Whenever his head hurt in the past usually the only cause outside injury was his implant going off, and if it was serious enough it had caused a few nose bleeds, for a moment, he wondered if something had triggered it. Maybe because he allowed a doctor outside the agency to treat his heart condition? Did that make any sense at all?
Re: Wednesday March 28th: Piece by Piece - After the Surgery
Riley didn’t submit to the examination lightly, something the doctor took as a good sign. After all his patients hate of all things medical was bordering on the legendary, so for this once at least it came as a relief to see that his opinion hadn’t changed. Because after all the brain was a delicate mechanism! Nor was it one that could always be repaired should something go amiss.
So many things could have gone wrong during that most stress full of interventions and while Riley’s regaining consciousness was a very good sign it didn’t necessarily mean that all was well. You could be conscious and have no knowledge of who you were. Emotions, likes , dislikes , moral guidelines, senses, all originated physically in the brain no matter what the romantics and philosophers might say.
All or any could have been affected by what they had done while trying to remove the mechanism that this government agency had so kindly inserted into his head. Someone had certainly woken up in med lab and for that Hank was more than grateful. Now though they would find out if it really was the Riley they had known before or if despite all their efforts they had in fact lost him somewhere along the way.
So it was with more than a little trepidation that Hank waited for him to answer though when he did he certainly sounded like his old self . "I feel like a beaten bear ready for hibernation," he announced, his voice a little gruff "Otherwise I think I'm.. fine.. can we not have the light in my eyes?" Hank's smile faded only slightly as Riley continued "Blinky lights and I... we have some personal issues.. we don't like being in the same room."
The physician carefully kept this surprise from showing in his eyes. Hadn’t they had this conversation before? On their way to buy food if Hanks own memory served him well. He had wondered at the time if there had been something more personal behind Riley’s questions into photosensitive epilepsy but had not had the time to pursue his investigation.
The doctor sighed inwardly. Trying to find out what was actually going on with Riley had always been difficult enough. His mind had been manipulated, his body drugged, his emotions held at bay by artificial means. Keeping secrets for him was second nature. Even secrets of a medical nature. Which didn’t make Hanks job of assessing how he was any easier.
"It's embarrasing really, knocked out by a Christmas tree," Hank’s mind worked faster than most peoples so the possible connection between Riley’s statements didn’t take long to percolate through. Lights! That was the link. Flashing lights that could indeed knock a person out! It they were epileptic that was. And if that had happened to Riley then this certainly was something they should be looking into. Or rather it was one more thing one the ever growing the list of things to look into where Riley was concerned. For now though Hank forced himself to concentrate on the problem at hand. Or hopefully lack of problem.
Suddenly Riley’s hands were raised to cover his face causing Hank to withdraw the torch abruptly in order not to hit them. "Do I have a nose bleed?" Riley asked anxiously, his words this time doing nothing to reassure the doctor at all. “No Riley you don’t “he reassured his patient. What made you think that you might have a nose bleed? Do you often suffer from them?” .
Re: Wednesday March 28th: Piece by Piece - After the Surgery"No Riley you don’t" The certainty was there, and yet Riley’s fingers brushed against his upper lip once more as if to try and will the blood to be seen, though focus as Riley might try, he still couldn’t see anything, nor did he feel moisture when his fingers rubbed together. "What made you think that you might have a nose bleed? Do you often suffer from them?" At this Riley looked up, the comment was logical, and yet for some reason surprised Riley, Dawn used to always tell him off for not seeing Hank about it, though for the moment Riley had no idea what the reason was that stopped him aside the rules and secrecy that suffocated his life, and that just was nothing Hank could fix.
"No," Was the first reply, followed hesitantly by, "I mean not any more," Because this was making it easier for Hank, the annoyance in Riley’s behaviour was clear as the thought rang in his mind, the image of him sitting there drivelling on with Hank looking as if he was in the dark and just trying to find his way around, "Last year… there were these headaches and they’d come and go, sometimes it was sharp and quick… other times they’d hurt so much," The word was stressed and so had the tone of his voice quickly become, even his hands seemed to ball together for a moment, it wasn’t like Riley didn’t want it all fixed, and sure it was probably seemed easy to walk in here and have Hank and the medical staff fix it all up. But it wasn’t. And it was so hard to explain that to people… and the times he tried…he couldn’t entirely recall, but there always seemed to be something that stopped him, something that either distracted him or … to be honest Riley wasn’t entirely sure what half the excuses were. They just happened, and everything slipped his mind.
Rules. The word suddenly came to Riley as he sat there, thoughts swiftly coming and going in his mind, rules and secrecy, which had been the problem, the barrier that made the agent feel constantly the outsider no matter how hard he tried. "It’s different now," Riley told Hank as if the doctor had been following the trail of Riley’s thoughts, because now, if something was hurting him, Riley felt more free to talk to Hank, maybe it hadn’t felt like that a month ago, maybe even a week again it still was stained in doubts, but now… after all this, surely things would be easier to reveal and inform and… maybe even trust, for once. It had been a while since Riley truly felt that were possible around any doctors, he’d trusted them before and look what that got him, a turn in the guinea pig department.
One hand dropped, resting in the former agent’s lap, the other brushing through his hair in an absent minded attempt to make sure it was relatively presentable. Riley seemed to have naturally very fine hair as it was, and if it were the chemicals or not, he always had rather slow growing hair, not that he minded terribly, made for an easy shave and fewer haircuts. Though it seemed the length of his hair was starting to grow long enough to perhaps warrant another cut once freedom from med bay was granted. However, it was no surprise that fingers that brushed across the agents scalp had picked up the shaved area, not entirely the hair cut he had been thinking off! Certainly not is so selective an area.
"…Interesting." Was all Riley managed to say, in a tone of voice that suggested some form of defeat, as if everything he could have doubted had been proved worth doubting. Though he wasn’t sure what the reason had been, like all the other times he’d woken up and found healing cuts or stitches or worse yet waking still bound to the operation table as he had done two or three times over the years in the Initiative. This was a moment Riley had never wanted to experience again, to wake up and find something new, something done to without warning or consent… For a moment Riley was a man divided, one who wanted to be venomous and angry, another who just wanted to close his eyes and curl under the covers and, as so often in the past, pretend nothing had happened, and of course the part that had trusted the school, its ideals and even the Doctor the last few days… that part that only wanted to know why.
Re: Wednesday March 28th: Piece by Piece - After the Surgery
So there had been a prior history of headaches, and bad ones too from the sound of things. Why oh why had Riley never mentioned it before! Even these few scant pieces of information would have drawn the doctors attention towards a possible problem in his brain.
Before taking Riley into surgery Hank had done every type of scan possible to make sure he wasn’t going to have any unpleasant surprises. The chip in the young man’s skull had been designed to be undetectable and so it had proved to be. But still… Nosebleeds. Headaches. Warning bells would have rang and perhaps better preparations been made. Hank sighed . It was water under the bridge now and thankfully Riley’s lack of communication hadn’t cost him his life. Even if it had been a close call!
"It’s different now," his patient declared suddenly, making the doctor wonder if in removing the chip he had also removed some sort of background noise or pain that Riley had been living with and now was free of. Then Riley’s hand went up to tentatively touch his hair and something in his eyes changed. “Interesting” he whispered softly, though there seemed to be a world of betrayal concentrated into the one word.
“Interesting isn’t exactly the word I would have chosen “ Hank told him seriously. “I think Id have gone for “unexpected.” It was certainly unexpected as far as I was concerned, that’s for sure.
You do remember why you are in med lab, don’t you Riley? The operation to get rid of your heart implant? Well lets just say that things didn’t go exactly as planned.”
The doctor hurried to reassure his patient knowing how his words might have sounded. “Everything is fine now. The heart implant has successfully been removed and will cause you no further problems. While we were taking it out though a complication arose. Your government agency doesn’t like to give up its soldiers so easily it seems. he said grimly. They had installed what might be called a failsafe device, another implant lodged in your brain and designed to kill you should anyone take it upon themselves to tamper with their little control system. It didn’t show up on any of the machines, and none of the tests we had run led me to suspect its existence. Until you started convulsion on the table that was!
“Now you are here, and you are safe” Hank continued “ and both implants have been neutralised. You are in fact free to live your life as you desire without anyone dictating your actions ever again. But if I hadn’t had help in that operating theatre then you would have died Riley and there would have been nothing I could have done to prevent it.
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Re: Wednesday March 28th: Piece by Piece - After the Surgery"Interesting isn’t exactly the word I would have chosen" Neither would have Riley to be honest if it had been anyone but Hank and there had been time to really sink it all in. "I think Id have gone for “unexpected.” It was certainly unexpected as far as I was concerned, that’s for sure." Well true, come to think of it, Riley had to agree, unexpected definitely was something that fit, though Hank hardly seemed to be suggesting he did this intentionally, or something about the tone of voice gave Riley enough reason not to fly off his handle and start throwing about accusation. "You do remember why you are in med lab, don’t you Riley? The operation to get rid of your heart implant? Well lets just say that things didn’t go exactly as planned." Heart implant? Wasn’t it just something for his heart itself, to fix something that had gone wrong with it? Where’d the implant come from? The thought was swiftly corrected as once again the memory surfaced and it all made sense, though it was still slippery and difficult to cling to once he was reminded of it generally it came back quickly enough – most of the time anyway. So considering how insidious the heart implant was and the people who had made it, what exactly could have gone wrong that would worry the doctor?
"Everything is fine now. The heart implant has successfully been removed and will cause you no further problems. While we were taking it out though a complication arose. Your government agency doesn’t like to give up its soldiers so easily it seems." If Riley could give every impression that that comment hadn’t bothered him, he would greatly have tried, and yet instead the former agent felt as if his body had begun to sick into the very bed itself, seeping into the folds as his hands fidgeted with the covers – unsure if he wanted to pull them closer or throw them off. "They had installed what might be called a failsafe device, another implant lodged in your brain and designed to kill you should anyone take it upon themselves to tamper with their little control system. It didn’t show up on any of the machines, and none of the tests we had run led me to suspect its existence. Until you started convulsion on the table that was!" Well convulsions do tend to make people curious! Though Riley found it no laughing matter as he sighed peered over towards the window, it was odd because in some ways Riley still knew that hunger gnawed at the pit of his stomach, and yet at the same time the thought of food now made the struggling student almost ill.
"Now you are here, and you are safe" That was something that Riley had been telling himself for a while now, things kept happening through as if to prove otherwise, the only difference lately was that… well… as difficult as it had been at times at least Hank was more involved and helping sort out some of the problems Riley couldn’t. "and both implants have been neutralised. You are in fact free to live your life as you desire without anyone dictating your actions ever again. But if I hadn’t had help in that operating theatre then you would have died Riley and there would have been nothing I could have done to prevent it." So many comments Riley would have probably wanted to have replied to, if it was for better or worse that he hadn’t there was not real way of telling. Though listening to everything that Hank had said definitely had been informative, and now Riley found himself chewing over it all.
"Maybe," At first it would have been left up to Hank apparently to place which comment that was said had warranted the ‘maybe’ in reply… maybe he would have died or maybe he would be free. Though Riley added as his fingers reached to rub firmly against his eyes, "But freedom wont be that easy," Exploding implants aside, there were more serious things that could be at risk then just Riley’s life… there were many ways to get back wayward soldiers and the basic one would be to strike them where they are the weakest – like loved ones. "I am sorry I could not warn you about the second," If people truly thought over Riley’s words, they’d probably have noticed that he rarely ever mentioned actual names or offered complete details, and if they did notice then it might be difficult for them to understand it was more a conditioning then by choice. "You’d think I’d remember things like that more easily," Apparently not, and the same thought had struck Riley many times in the past, the awe basically over how he had so readily forgotten something so important.
"...Who was in the theatre with you?" Paige or Talia most likely, though how they had managed to do something that Hank considered to have ‘prevented’ his death… they were mutants though… Talia and Paige both had powers, from healing to telepathy, maybe something happened that one or both of those abilities had helped Hank. The idea of death hadn’t bothered Riley a great deal, there had been moments in the past he had faced it many times, there would be moments in his future where he would face it still. Sometimes the former agent had even considered that a life in captivity was nothing compared to the freedom of death, though he had been stubborn and refused to allow the Initiative to push him into doing something so serious as a means of an escape from them.
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