Disclaimer: I own nothing. Marvel owns the X-Men in all their incarnations. I am making no money off of this story. I am a poor college kid…please Marvel guys…don't sue me!
By the way: I do own Maya. She's mine all mine!!!
About the story: This is, like many stories, set in Evolution. It introduces my "created" character, Michelle Chen: also known as Maya.
The premise: This story gets into the mind and emotions of a psychic healer and empath who is watching a beloved relative die…and can't heal her.
Warning: this is my first fanfic…yep, I'm a fanfic virgin…please be gentle with me. Also, it jumps in time frame, so bear with it…I'll try to make the time changes easy to follow.
When I use these symbols it means either telepathic thought, or it encases a word with special meaning like see or feel, which refers to either Sight or Empathy.
Are we ready? Let's go to New York, shall we?
The End of the matter
It shouldn't be this way, Michelle Chen thought to herself as she surveyed
the hospital room with weary eyes.
Not like this…It shouldn't end this way…
The hiss of the oxygen
machine, the beeping of the heart monitor, the slow scroll of the ECG threads,
all of these things filled the hospital room, but Maya didn't notice them. She
didn't need to. She knew, deep down inside, what was happening without needing
to check the high-tech equipment. The answers were as clear to her as they were
to the various doctors, nurses, and techs that came into the room at odd
moments throughout the day. They needed validation from a machine, concrete
answers, proof, something that Michelle "Maya" Chen would never need. Deep down
inside, she just knew…
Her grandmother was dying…
She inhaled deeply and the
sharp acrid smell of antiseptic filled her nostrils, bringing her back to the
present. She could hear the heart monitor beeping irregularly, and she thought
for a moment, frowning, her weary mind trying to remember the medical term for
her grandmother's condition…
Bradycardiac Arrhythmia…that's what the doctor called it. A fancy medical term for "your grandmother's heartbeat is slow and irregular and there's not much we can do about it, so basically she's screwed".
It didn't look good, they
had all said. "They" being the team of doctors and cardiac specialists who had
been monitoring her grandmother for the last three days. They had tried to
spare her feelings, thinking she was just an ordinary 16 year- old kid. Still,
they all said that it was a bad situation. Short of a transplant or a miracle,
there was nothing they could do, and a transplant at her age was not only
ridiculous, it was dangerous. She was a 73 year-old woman whose heart was,
quite literally, failing her. Saril Villovich had already had one heart attack
three months ago, and now she had inflammation around the heart that was
causing it to slow and weaken.
Maya knew without really
needing to know. She didn't need to look at the monitors or medical chart.
She could feel it…
In her heart…and in
her soul…
Her grandmother was
dying…and it wouldn't be long. The flame of her life, of her very soul, was
beginning to flicker and wane. It wouldn't be long…
She blinked back hot, angry
tears and thought:
It shouldn't be this way…
A transplant or a miracle…
She couldn't provide the
transplant…
She could provide the
miracle.
If only her grandmother
would let her
It shouldn't be this way…
Three months ago:
"Oh you are so dead!"
The sound of laughter came from the training field outside the ornate mansion
in upstate New York. On the field, eight students were trying to play a game
that loosely resembled football…and failing miserably. The liberal
interpretation of the rules were making for some very interesting variations in
the game, and the four people watching the "training exercise" were having a difficult
time even telling who was on which team, which was the current topic of
discussion on the sidelines:
"I'm telling you, Logan…Jean
and Kitty are on the red team with Scott and Evan. Kurt, Bobby, Warren and
Alison are on the blue team."
"Ya got it all wrong, McCoy!
Ali and the Elf are on the team with Pretty-Boy and Slim. It's Frosty, Red,
Spyke, and the Half-Pint on the other team."
"So which team is "red" and
which team is "blue", my friend?" replied Henry "Hank" McCoy with a half-smile.
"Ya got me, bub. Hell, I
even lost track of the score after the first quarter..."
The two men turned to the
third observer, Professor Charles Xavier, who simply shrugged and said, "Does
it really matter? They are having fun and learning to use their
abilities at the same time. Which team wins or loses does not matter in the
end. What do you think, Michelle?"
The three men turned to the
fourth observer, the mutant girl known as Michelle Chen, codenamed "Maya" by
her teammates. A slight, exotic young woman of Chinese and Romanian descent,
Maya was here to learn to control her powers like all of the other students,
and had been doing so for nearly 6 months at this point.
Maya hesitated for a moment,
and then said thoughtfully, "I agree, Professor, it's not about who wins or
loses, but rather how much they learn in the process that is important." She
gave a crooked little half-grin and said, "By the way, I've also lost track of
the score."
They all laughed and turned
their attention back on the game. Out on the field, the red team had gained
possession of the ball and was trying to make the most of the situation. Jean
Grey threw it to Scott Summers, who managed to run a full 10 yards before he
suddenly lost his balance. "What the…?" said Hank McCoy, momentarily perplexed
by the turn of events. Then he started chuckling as he realized why
Scott had lost his balance.
"Not to worry, Scott" he
called to the young man that was trying to pick himself off the ground, to no
avail." I believe your feet will unthaw in a matter of moments. Am I right,
Robert?"
Bobby Drake, known to his
teammates as "Iceman" for his ability to create and form ice particles, grinned
and gave the thumbs up sign. "Don't worry, Fearless, you'll be fine in a few…"
A few moments passed while
Scott's feet thawed out, and then the training resumed in earnest. The four
observers on the sideline occasionally picked out points of interest to one
another, each one mentally taking notes for the post-training meeting that
would follow the game. For the most part, though, they remained silent and
simply watched. Maya enjoyed these sessions as much as she enjoyed her own
training exercises, both physical and mental, solo and group. She genuinely
liked all of her teammates, and had come to cherish her time here at the
Institute. All of the students lived here, and they all attended Bayville High
School, which was a short, but safe, distance away from the school. As it was,
she was the "new kid", though most of the other students and adults at the
mansion had a very difficult time describing her as a "child". Her parents had
died when she was twelve years old, and it had made her a bit of an "old soul".
She was serious, disciplined, and very much in control of herself and her
emotions. Occasionally, she was too
serious, which got her a liberal amount of teasing from her friends at the
Institute.
"Mischa, liebchen, you
are too serious. Lighten up for once in your life!" was the usual plea from Kurt Wagner, one of her
closest friends…actually, he was more like a cosmic brother to her than
anything. He and Bobby were always trying stupid stuff, pulling silly pranks
and practical jokes to make her laugh.
The remarkable thing is, they almost always succeed. Now if only Kurt's exuberantly cheerful nature would make an impression on Kitty…
Kitty Pryde was a cute,
perky freshman…and Kurt was madly in love with her. The problem was, she just
didn't see it.
She thinks he's childish and annoying, and not at all her type. The poor guy has been walking around with his heart on his sleeve for months, and she just sees him as a friend. She doesn't realize how perfect he would be for her…
/Maya, pay attention,
please. You are not focusing on the task at hand…/
Shit…busted by the Professor again. So much for focus and discipline…
She turned her focus from
inner thought to outer consciousness, and gave an apologetic shrug at the
Professor. "Sorry…you lost me for a second."
"No need to apologize, Maya,
it happens to the best of us. Ah, It looks like Kitty has the ball. I wonder if
she will be intercepted…"
Logan interjected, "Looks
like Ali is going to give it the old college try. Let's see if she can get her
off guard."
Alison Blair, aka "Dazzler",
threw a blast of bright light Kitty's way, but the slender brunette just closed
her eyes and kept running. She was almost at the endzone when-
!BAMF!
-she was knocked to the
ground by something slight, furry…and laughing.
"Kurt! You weasel! I am so
going to pay you back for that!"
"Anytime, frauline, you go
right on ahead…"
Kurt Wagner, the "fuzzy
elf", grinned rakishly and shook a long lock of indigo blue hair out of his
eyes. "I would welcome a payback from you any day!"
Maya, still on the
sidelines, chuckled quietly to herself and shook her head…
Uh huh, Kurt, and next time why don't you just beat her over the head with a brick? She has to see how much you like her after that remark!
Then again, this was
Kitty…
Out on the field, Kitty was
mock glaring at Kurt, who was picking himself up off the ground…and smiling.
"Sorry, Katchen", said the
puckish young mutant." I couldn't very well let your team win, could I?"
"Okay, I'll buy that… So
like, are you going to give me a hand here, or what?"
Kurt smiled even wider, held
out his hands, and proceeded to give a perfect golf clap, which got everybody
laughing, Kitty included.
Ah-ha! Score one for the fuzzy elf! Maybe we won't have to hit her over the head with a brick after all…
Then again…
The professor called it a
session, and the students all began to make their way to the mansion.
"Man, Kurt, that was a great
flying tackle," said Bobby with a mischievous grin, "You totally nailed her!"
Oh crap, leave it to Bobby to say the most inappropriate thing at the worst possible time…
Kurt started blushing
furiously and looked out of the corner of his eye to see if Kitty had heard
that last remark of Bobby's.
By the look of shock and
embarrassment on her face, she had.
Oh double crap, thanks Bobby…nothing like a little sexual innuendo to make life difficult for Kurt.
Bobby had an unfortunate
tendency to stick his foot in his mouth on an almost constant basis. He was a
nice enough kid, had a wicked sense of humor, and was actually one of Kurt's
best friends. Normally, Michelle found him to be quite entertaining, if a bit
spastic, and if you put him together with Kurt it was no contest. They had
everyone rolling in minutes. But…
He doesn't get it. He
doesn't see how much Kurt wants to impress her, how much he wants her to like
him. He thinks of everything as a big joke. Maybe I should hit him over
the head with a brick! God give me the strength to deal with clueless
adolescent males…
Maya took a look at the
developing situation…Kurt and Kitty both looked like they wanted to
disappear, the other students weren't saying anything, the adults were up
ahead, and were completely unaware, and Bobby was, true to form, babbling on
aimlessly…
Okay, time to do some damage control before Kurt teleports into a hole…or a tree. Unfortunately, that means shutting Bobby up. Why, oh why, do I get the feeling that I'm going to pay for this later?
"Uh Bobby?"
"…and the part where you
just came flying out of…"
"Bobby!"
"…nowhere and just
completely…"
"BOBBY!!!"
"Huh?"
"Bobby, we were all there.
It was a tactical maneuver, but we don't need the play by play, alright?"
"Uh okay…but you don't
want to hear about…"
"No"
"Oh…um…okay. I'll, uh,
shut up now."
"Thank you, Bobby."
"Uhhh…you're welcome…I
think." Bobby had the "wounded puppy" look on his face.
Damn…now I 've gone and offended him. I knew I was going to pay for this…I'll have to smooth things over with him later or he'll be sulking for a week…Now to take care of Kitty…
She focused inward and
"aimed" a thought at Jean, who, like the Professor, was a Telepath.
/Hey Jean, do you think you could talk to Kitty? /
Jean's eyes widened, and
she silently nodded "yes" in Maya's direction, and then moved up ahead to talk
to Kitty, who was walking with her head down, still blushing furiously. Scott,
taking a cue, from Jean, went over by Kurt and started talking to him quietly.
Maya sighed, and reached with her mind toward the other kids…
Well…Jean's getting Kitty smoothed over…I'm getting some calmer emotional vibes from her now. She doesn't think Kurt meant anything by tackling her, and she's not angry with him…just embarrassed. Kurt is just embarrassed, and afraid that Kitty will think he was trying to put the moves on her, which is not his style…he's more into verbal flirting. They'll talk it over later, I think, and everything will be fine…now for Bobby and the rest of the team. The other kids are fine…normal teenage emotions. Bobby is, as I suspect, feeling like a hurt puppy. The "I did something bad and got yelled at for it" vibe is unmistakable. Damn…
Yeah, I'm going to have to talk to him…smooth things over…
She moved over by Bobby,
touched his arm, and said sotto voce,
"We'll talk later, okay? I'm not mad at you. After my meeting with the
Professor, all right?"
His eyes widened and he
nodded "okay".
Always tie up your loose ends, that's what Gram always
says. Don't leave anyone hurting. Do what you can to help those in need. That's
what makes a good Empath. God, sometimes I wish I didn't have to "feel"
anything at all…
She had often wondered
over the years what it would be like to not have empathy, the ability to literally
"feel" the emotions of others. It made her feel like a psychic peeping tom,
always "knowing" what people were feeling. Empathy wasn't her mutant talent,
neither was Precognition or Sight, two of her other talents that occasionally
popped up at odd moments. She'd had those three abilities for nearly 6 years
now. The professor had determined that she had inherited them from her mother,
who was one of the Rom, a "gypsy". Her mutant talent, inherited from her
father's side of the family, had manifested some 6 months ago, and was really
quite extraordinary…
She was a psychic, or
"psi", healer…
She could heal virtually
anybody by touch, and within limits, heal any injury or affliction. The only
drawbacks were that the gift could only work on a relatively new injury, and
that she had to use direct physical contact, skin-on-skin touch, to heal
properly.
Which pretty much counts Rogue out…so much for the almighty infallible healer. And I can't restore the Professor's ability to walk…he's been like that too long for me to do anything. Other than that…
She could perform
miracles…
The present
Michelle sighed and leaned
her head back against the wall. The plastic hospital chair was uncomfortable,
and she had a serious case of fanny fatigue from sitting so long. She watched
her Gram for a moment, and the tears threatened to come again. She tried to
fight it, and gave up. She let her emotions get the best of her…and the tears
began to flow.
Breathe in…breathe out. Breathe in...breathe out…how much longer will it be, I wonder?
It wouldn't be long.
Her beloved "Gram" was
dying…and there was nothing she could do about it. Oh, she could walk right
over to her, place a hand right on Gram's chest, and a few minutes later Saril
would be up and walking. It would be a miracle, all right. The problem was,
Saril didn't want to be healed. She didn't want Michelle's help.
She wanted to die.
Michelle thought of a conversation they had had shortly after the old woman's
heart had begun to fail.
I can fix it Gram…I can heal you, and you won't hurt anymore. Please let me help you…please.
Then you would be placing yourself above even God himself, Mischa. This illness is a sign from Him. I am an old woman, and I am not afraid to die. My time for absolution has come, and I am not afraid…
That was it…the end of the
matter. And so now Michelle sat in an uncomfortable hospital and watched her
Grandmother die by inches. She thought of all of the things that had to be
done, arrangements that needed to be made. They would need a priest to deliver
The Last Rites. The Roma tribe that Saril belonged to would have to be
notified. They would all want to see her before she died, to say goodbye as per
Romani custom. A funeral would have to be planned. She should call the Eastern
Orthodox Church that Saril attended, they would want to know, and they would
help with the funeral arrangements.
I should call the Institute…it's been what, three days? Maybe later…I'm too tired to talk to anyone right now.
So much to do, so little
time…
Breathe in…breathe out…
It wouldn't be long…
Okay, that's the end of part one…Sorry it was so "action free". This is
more plot and character development and like I said…it's my first. Read and
review please…oh, and future installments will include more of the team, promise!
-Arin