"Oh God Connor" The tone was stricken and Connor couldn't help but open his eyes and peer over towards the other youth "I’m so sorry. If I say I didn’t come here to hurt you that will just sound stupid, but it’s true. I was trying to imagine what it must be like to lose my memory, not that I could of course, but I thought it might leave some blanks that I would like filled in. And I really did come here today to let you know that you are someone who saves lives. You are someone who.. left to themselves, recommends people with handicaps like mine to be part of a team." Someone who saves lives? It sounded so grand, something that a boy would read stories about and only be left to think 'imagine if I could..' .. and yet apparently Connor was someone who did just that... Was it wrong to say he did not see such things in his own reflection, though at this point, there was little in his reflection by a meaningless face, though one which bore a striking resemblance to Logan.
"But given what you said a few moments ago I couldn’t let you go on believing that whatever Amlarie did to you back there, for whatever reason, hadn’t had consequences. So that, if and when, you come in contact with her again you know what could happen. And you’re ready for it." For a moment Connor felt so out of place, as if he were nothing but a mindless pawn being moved about for the entertainment of others, his will not his own and his fate decided for him by those who thought of 'what was best', and being nothing but a pawn meant that it seemed his destiny to sacrifice himself in order for them to reach their goal. For a moment the feral felt a sigh swelling up within his lungs, the inhaled breath a seemingly endless intake until it was held for a moment and then slowly, softly released.
"I don't know what to think," The honesty was spoken with a heavy tone, "I just have to take it all a step at a time... or massive giant leap at a time as it seems," Siblings thrown at him left and right, truths undercovered and new friendships formed, it was all a lot to take in on top of the fact he was apparently some mutant power house to be feared... that could save lives and put people with disabilities into teams which in turn put them into severe physical strain and as well as danger around all corners. "Was it.... the right choice?" The question seemed hesitant, he didn't want to be rude and yet.. something inside needed to know if Michael was suffering because of Connor's recommendation for a team or if it in fact had been something good for the Scot, something more then just a test to the pain barrier or to prove that Michael was still capable of putting his abilities to good use. "Recommending you I mean.. was it the right thing for you?"
Re: Here's rue... thats for remembrance.
He had hurt Connor that much was clear. But then again how could he ever have done otherwise? Even if his whole reason for coming for the apartment in the first place had been to confirm that the young man facing him was one of the good guys, just in case Connor had forgotten that fact along with all the rest, announcing that he had almost been killed by the young feral wasn’t exactly the best path to take. Even if it was the most truthful!
Still it was Michael’s path. Steady and sure even if it hurt. As it surely did, watching his friend deal with the demons, that he had brought, unbidden and unwanted to the surface. However well founded the astral mutant’s reasons for doing so had been it was, none the less, painful to see his revelations hit home. Michael had sworn to himself that what had happened back at the market would stay a secret. Right up till the moment when he had realised that keeping things to himself might actually harm Connor.
Hiding a one off reaction was one thing. Leaving his friend open to another unexpected attack from Amlarie was quite a different matter. And so he had come, hesitant and unprepared to Connors door. Willing, if need be to be the bearer of these particular bad tidings. And whatever he had felt, however much it had hurt, Connor at least hadn’t killed the messenger. Indeed Michael wasn’t sure that he himself could have stayed this calm if their roles had been reversed. "I don't know what to think," the young feral told him quietly. , "I just have to take it all a step at a time... or massive giant leap at a time as it seems,"
Michael nodded his head sympathetically. So much had been thrown at Connor since his return that it was difficult to imagine how he could deal with it all. And yet here he was. Dealing; And with no small amount of dignity. It was impressive to say the least and confirmed the astral mutant’s positive opinion of Madison’s brother. Furthermore it seemed that despite all the unpleasant truths Michael had just told him Connor’s his first concern wasn’t for himself but for the young Scot sitting before him. "Was it.... the right choice?" Connor asked him suddenly, the words accompanied by an uncertain look in his direction. "Recommending you I mean.. was it the right thing for you?"
Michael gasped in surprise. Could there be any doubt? “God, yes!” he told the worried feral sincerely. “ Being in a team …. “Did he even have the words to describe how much it meant to him? “ It saved me. Gave me back my dignity! Made me feel that I could be useful again. “ The thin youth looked over at his friend; “I don’t talk about this much but before George brought me to that market he and some doctors did tests to find out what I was capable of. It wasn’t a good time. Not by any standards. Physically I was too weak to fight them and they kept me too sick to be able to use Hood properly so basically” he said dropping his eyes to his hands as they lay folded in his lap “ they did whatever they wanted to with me and I could do nothing to stop them. Something like that Connor.. when it happens to you.. it makes you doubt yourself. You feel so damned helpless……
Michaels eyes had clouded as he spoke, bad memories filling his mind till his voice dropped almost to a whisper. “But then” The young Scot shook his head and mustered up a smile. “Then we met and somehow despite the fact that that I could hardly stand and that I hadn’t the faintest idea how to use my powers properly, you still saw something in me that made you think I could make it as an X man. You can’t begin to imagine what that meant to me. Or how hard I’m going to work to prove that you weren’t wrong!
Re: Here's rue... thats for remembrance."God, yes!" Came a quick reply, "Being in a team …." Michael began to explain, the positive distraction helped take Connor’s mind off all the troublesome news he’s gotten lately. "It saved me. Gave me back my dignity! Made me feel that I could be useful again. " There was a sentiment in there that Connor could appreciate, the sense of being, the usefulness towards others around you and the feeling of being helpless or a burden. All things in the last few weeks that Connor had brief experiences in, from feeling utterly misplaced to feeling as if nothing he did had any meaning, no matter how hard he tried.
"I don’t talk about this much but before George brought me to that market he and some doctors did tests to find out what I was capable of. It wasn’t a good time. Not by any standards. Physically I was too weak to fight them and they kept me too sick to be able to use Hood properly so basically" Connor felt awkward, unsure if he was supposed to say or do anything that would be considered some how comforting or sympathetic or … supportive.. or should he just stare and nod. Then again, images from dreams he’s had floated back to the forefront of Connor’s mind, leaving a nervous feel in the pit of his stomach as he tried to ignore the similarities. It wasn’t like he remembered things clearly, but some of what he was told still came back in dreams, and some must be either memories or self created nightmares, but whatever the case, there were times that Connor was scared to remember some of the things he had forgotten.
"they did whatever they wanted to with me and I could do nothing to stop them. Something like that Connor.. when it happens to you.. it makes you doubt yourself. You feel so damned helpless…… " Was everyone in this school somehow screwed over like this? Though just as Connor thought that, as his body moved towards the sink in the kitchen, trying not to imagine what it would be like to feel that helpless, to picture people doing such horrible things to someone already in physical pain.
"But then" Continued the other youth as Connor tried to look for something out of place that he could fiddle with, something he could busy himself with by straightening without being too obvious, it wasn’t easy, Connor had done most of what he could already the previous days and no one seemed to be making enough mess to counter his cleaning. "Then we met and somehow despite the fact that that I could hardly stand and that I hadn’t the faintest idea how to use my powers properly, you still saw something in me that made you think I could make it as an X man. You can’t begin to imagine what that meant to me. Or how hard I’m going to work to prove that you weren’t wrong! " There was such a passion in Michael’s voice, though Connor still wasn’t sure about so many things, aside that Michael found this very important, and for that the feral offered what little smile he could.
"George sounds like someone I’d want to punch," Connor commented while putting away some of the dishes he had washed, "If… I went around punching people…" It seemed for a moment as if Connor got distracted on that thought, trying to assess what sort of person he was in that regard. But quickly shrugged it off with another comment, "In any case," Logan’s son continued, pouring himself a glass of water from the tap as he spoke. "You have a really good spirit about things, I like that," There was a sip of the water taken from the glass, and while it was cool, it was metallic and an off-putting taste burned on his tongue and cheeks. For a moment Connor closed his eyes, it was god awful, as if the water went from sweet and cool to disgustingly polluted in the span of a few days. He drank it before, days before when he was thirsty; it was fine enough, not the greatest tasting water on the planet but still. Then again, Madison had commented on it, hadn’t she? His sister had made it clear that him drinking anything but the bottled water their father stored for them was unusual, even for her the tap water had an odd dislikeable taste to it. Spitting out the water was a humility in itself for Connor, just another odd thing he found piling up around him in this ever increasing mountain of peculiar difficulties.
"What are your plans for the day then?" An attempt at distraction, though it came with a cough as Connor tried to clear his throat, placing the back of his right hand over his lips, though the taste still lingered and it was disturbing.
Re: Here's rue... thats for remembrance.
That his story had been almost as distressing to hear as it had been to relate was something Michael could well understand. If, that was, the person you were telling it to was a friend. Or at least someone you would like to be one.
Not that the young Scot had registered each and every one of Connors increasingly awkward movements as he had told of the abuse he had suffered. Just getting his story out there had taken up a very large part of his concentration, not to mention his willpower. Still any storyteller, on some level, paid attention to his audience. And Connor’s reactions hadn’t in any way disappointed his expectations.
The astral mutant had come bearing bad news along with the good, in the hope that despite everything, despite Amlarie’s intervention and the changes she had apparently worked upon Connor’s psyche, he might be just that. A friend. And it had to be said that the young Enright’s reply did nothing but confirm that thought in Michael’s mind.
"George sounds like someone I’d want to punch," Connor eventually said and Michael couldn’t help but smile in agreement. , "If… I went around punching people…"Did he or didn’t he? That was far from being something Michael could talk about. Not yet anyway. He hadn’t been around the young feral long enough to know that kind of thing, though he suspected that Connors fear over what he could do with those adamantine claws would make him keep from lashing out indiscriminately under normal circumstances. Punching George though…… Well Michael wouldn’t exactly stop him from doing that. Or then again maybe he would.
Because lets face it if someone was going to give his brother the lesson he so richly deserved then Michael wanted to be the one to do it. In fact it was something he dreamed about. Going head to head with the bully who had made his life a misery for so many years! Finally getting a chance to wipe that smug grin off his face once and for all. There would be a reckoning one day, of that the astral mutant was sure.
Not that he was wasting his time plotting vengeance like the count of Monte Christo. He had better things to do with his time than that. And besides he didn’t have to. George wasn’t someone who just disappeared from your life , no matter how much you wanted him too. He was the proverbial bad penny always waiting to turn up when you least expected him. Except when he did, this time Michael would be ready for him.
"In any case,"Logan’s son went on dragging Michael’s thoughts back to the here and now "You have a really good spirit about things, I like that," The words brought a grin to Michaels face even if they were accompanied by a grimace from Connor obviously provoked by the taste of the tap water. The Scot could sympathise entirely. The stuff they put in it in America might have been good for you in some weird way or so it was claimed but it sure as hell didn’t taste good. And that was for someone who didn’t have Connors heightened senses. Michael imagined that for the feral it must be like drinking a swimming pool. Not something you’d ever want to do, well not voluntarily at least.
"What are your plans for the day then?" the young Enright asked , still evidently suffering from the effects of the chemical content in the water he had just drank. “Well breakfast for a start” Michael answered with a smile. “ Otherwise I’ll get a lecture from Dr McCoy. He’s trying to build me up “ Michael explained wryly“And to tell the truth I’m rather liking the idea of three meals a day. Plus snacks! Then its off to class… The usual really! The young mutant glanced over to the clock in the kitchen area as he got to his feet. “And I’d better be off if I’m not going to be late. Like to take my time on the stairs.. Better safe than sorry, right? “
The crutches were already in place as he smiled again and started towards the door. “Maybe we could get together some time? Hang out. Or train. Whatever? Oh and Connor……. Michaels grey eyes were kind and serious at the same time as he looked back at the young feral. There was maybe one gift he could give his friend in compensation for all the worry he had just brought to his door. “Before you lose the ability to use my power, have a look at your astral form. It’s your image of what you want to be. And it might just surprise you.”
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