By the end of the day, Spencer felt exhilarated. Playing with the kids had been extremely fun. He'd never played like that before. Not ever. Was this what it felt like to be a real kid? To be a normal human being? This happy, tired, silly feeling that settled in the body and in the heart? He had laughed so much with the children. Even when they'd been covered in mud, dirty from head to toe, all of them had laughed and had a wonderful time of it. There had been no fighting, no yelling, no disapproval. When the three adults had come to hose them off before getting them inside, Spencer had laughed right along with all the kids at being hit with the cold water. And after coming in and showering and changing, he'd gone back with them and cleaned up their mud tracks that they'd made despite their best efforts not to.
After that, the kids had claimed him, pulling him along with them to dinner. What else was a guy supposed to do but go with them? He couldn't just tell the kids no. Not when they were looking at him with such smiles and happiness. It wasn't in him to deny them. So he'd gone with them and he'd sat at one of the large tables with them and enjoyed a lively, happy dinner full of jokes and laughter.
None of the children looked at him like he was strange, or different, or like he was some kind of freak. If anything, they were the most accepting group of people he'd ever been around, which was so far from his previous experience with kids that it was laughable. Kids in all ages, ranging from ten to twenty were at these tables, enjoying their food and having a good time with each other. There was a bond with them that was obvious; and, for this night, they let him in that bond. Let him feel what it could be like to belong to somewhere.
While he ate, Spencer forgot entirely about his assignment. He forgot about Sir and gathering intelligence and everything but the conversation around him and the happy feelings that floated off these kids. It was like a drug. He was almost drunk off the happiness in the room. It left him smiling and giddy. When the kids started to show him some of their powers, under the watchful eye of older ones, he cheered at the appropriate times with the other kids and laughed with them too. They all turned to him and asked him to show them what he could do and he grinned in response. He knew the perfect thing to show them. When he was younger and was alone at night somewhere, he had often done this to help keep the dark at bay.
Gathering electricity, he created three small balls in front of him. He lifted a hand and pointed a finger, moving it slowly to get the lights going. The balls swirled at his command, slowly gaining speed, spinning and dancing around one another to make a pretty show. The kids were cheering loudly at his display. With another grin, Spencer slowly dissolved them and added the electricity to the house. It was such a small amount that it didn't even make a surge.
As dinner was finished and they were settling back, a ten year old girl named Allie that was sitting beside him reached up and took his sunglasses, putting them on her face. "These are pretty!" She told him happily. Spencer didn't even stop to think that it was the first time he'd had his sunglasses off around anyone in the mansion until one of the kids said "Hey, cool. Your eyes are all white!"
There was no time for Spencer to tense over those words. One of the kids leaned in and grinned at him, loudly proclaiming "Those are awesome!" After that, all around him the kids were complimenting his eyes.
Spencer didn't notice the adults off to the side, watching from a doorway. They all saw as Spencer's smile grew to a grin and his white eyes seemed to shine. No one, not a single being, had ever liked his eyes. They had always been a mark of his lack of soul; something to be shunned, not complimented. Yet these children were not only complimenting him, but they were honest as well and not a single one of them had a problem meeting his eyes.
Eventually he had to reach and take the glasses back when the indoor lights started to bother him a little too much. Allie pouted over it, but he ruffled her hair and she smiled once more.
The party was broken up by Jean, who had to smother a smile as she stepped in. "All right, everyone. Time to gather up dishes and get them in the kitchen." She called out to the room. Immediately, the kids jumped to attention, amusing Spencer a little bit. In no time at all it seemed the room was cleared but for a couple teenagers who gathered up all the dishes and put them on a rolling cart to take to the kitchen. As everyone passed him they said their goodbyes and goodnights.
When all the children and teens were gone, Spencer sat in his chair, staring at the table. The sheer strength of the emotions that had been in the room was still in him. He thought the drug analogy he'd come up with earlier was well suited. Or maybe they were like alcohol. Was this what it felt like to be truly drunk? He didn't know, but it was glorious. Tipping his head back, he looked up in just enough time to see people coming toward him. One of them was that girl from earlier, the one with the stripe in her hair. Rogue? Wasn't that her name? And there was Jean, as well as Logan, Remy, and what was that kid's name again? Robbie? Bobby? Bobby! That was it.
Logan was the one to get to Spencer first. "Hey there, kid. Looks like we found you."
"Well hey there, sugar." Spencer said happily. He barely resisted the urge to giggle. "Aren't you just looking mighty fine tonight?"
The girl named Rogue looked at him funny, a slow grin starting to build. "Been having a few drinks, have ya, sugar?" she asked teasingly.
The pleasant feeling of her teasing only added to Spencer's happy-emotion fueled high. He chuckled at her and shook his head. "Not a single drop, pretty girl. Wouldn't work anyways so what would be the point?"
Warm, husky laughter drew all eyes to Remy. The Cajun was shaking his head, still laughing, as he made his way over to Spencer. With one hand he grabbed the chair and pulled it out, bracing on the back and bending to look at Spencer's face. "Y' aint touched a drop of alcohol but y'r still drunk as a skunk, cher." The words were full of amusement. "Feeling it all, yeah? I've done dat before. Hell of a feeling, aint it?"
"Mm, sure is." Spencer agreed. "Feels fan-tas-tic."
With another laugh, Remy looked up at the group, all of whom were staring now. "De boy's been feeling dat petits happiness and joy all evening. Fo' an empath, if y' take in all dat positive feelings, oh, cher, it's like de best drunk y'll ever feel. Everything's all warm and fuzzy and just feels s' bon." He turned back to Spencer and shook his head again. "Come on, mon ami. Let's get y' up to bed."
"I like where this is going." Spencer said before he thought about it.
The others laughed; all except for that Bobby fellow. The look he gave told Spencer that he didn't like him flirting with Remy. Oh-ho, so it was like that, was it? Spencer chuckled, shaking his head before bracing his hands on his chair to try and stand up. Well, little Bobby could just deal with his flirting. Remy wasn't stopping it so what did it matter?
"Good Lord you look like you done drank a whole barrel of Jungle Juice, sugar!" Rogue laughed out as he tried to stand. The idea of drinking a barrel of something called 'Jungle Juice' was so ludicrous that Spencer started to snort out a laugh, which only sent him flopping back down into his chair. The thump he made as he connected and the laughter of the others spurred his laughter on even more.
A growl from Logan cut through all their laughter. "That's it. We're solving this my way." He walked right up to Spencer and grabbed him around the waist. "Alley-oop, pup." And with one swift move he had Spencer up and over his shoulder. Spencer squealed and grabbed on to Logan's shirt, earning him a firm swat on his backside, making him jump once more. "Behave, or I might drop ya, pup. Now let's get you upstairs."
"I knew I pegged you right earlier." Spencer said tauntingly.
His words earned him another swat that had everyone laughing even more. As he took off out of the room, Logan told him "I told you I aint yet met a boy I can't tame."
They were by the staircase when someone called out "Catch yourself something there, Logan?" Oh man, that was Scott. Spencer put his hands over his face and tried not to giggle. He was failing miserably. Logan just made a deep rumbling sound and said "Gonna go put him to bed. Kid's punch drunk off of being happy, I guess."
"He's lying!" Spencer called out jokingly. He looked over to where Scott was leaning against the banister of the stairs. "Help me, Scotty! I'm being kidnapped!"
One eyebrow arched over rose-tinted sunglasses. "You think I'm gonna rescue you from him?"
"Come on. Tell your hunk of a man here to put me down and let me go!" He flashed Scott his most charming smile, propping his elbows in Logan's back so he could lift his head up enough to look at the other man. The surprised look that Scott was giving him was priceless. It had Spencer dissolving into gales of laughter once more. Remy, who had been following behind them, smiled at Scott and told him. "Remy told y', cher. Y' can't hide t'ings like that from an empath, oui."
The two friends got Spencer inside of his room. Once in there, Logan dumped him on the bed and Remy reached to start removing Spencer's boots. When Spencer made to protest, Remy put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back into the bed. "Hush, mon ami. Let Remy help y'." He scolded before going back to the boots. Without having to be told, Remy reached into each boot and pulled out a knife. Those he set in a drawer on the nightstand. Then he pulled the boots off and put them down on the floor.
Spencer felt the blankets being moved and actually lifted over him and tucked around him. Closing his eyes, he could almost pretend he was someone else. He could pretend that he was a normal person with a normal life and normal friends. That he was in a safe place where people actually cared for him. It was a crazy fantasy and one that he hadn't indulged in for a long, long time. This place is messing with my head he realized. This is supposed to be an easy job. It isan easy job. But emotionally? I think this is going to be my hardest assignment yet.
He kept his eyes closed while the happy, drunk feeling started to fade in the face of his melancholy. He felt someone's hand—surprisingly, it felt like Logan's—brush hair back from his face and take his sunglasses off. Then Remy's voice, whisper soft, saying "Come on, mon ami. Let de boy rest. Been a long day fo' him, oui? Let's y' and me go get a drink."
"Sounds good to me, Cajun."
Spencer lay there silently until they were gone. When he opened his eyes, he saw they'd shut the light off on their way out. Almost instantly he hopped up, making his way to the bathroom, his heart racing a little. All of his earlier happy feelings were gone now, washed away by melancholy and now fear. That fear faded as soon as he turned on the bathroom light. Leaving the door cracked, he stripped out of his clothes and made his way back to his bed. He'd be able to sleep now that the light was on.
Back under the covers, he curled up on his side and stared toward the window, his mind racing over everything that had happened in less than twenty four hours. Not only was he inside the mansion, he'd been accepted as one of their students, given a physical, had his abilities tested and been cared for afterwards when it had exhausted him, played with kids, eaten dinner with them and been drunk off their emotions and then he'd been taken to bed by people who were treating him like he was human. It put a warm something in his stomach that he didn't recognize. What was this feeling?
He blinked and shook the thought away. Feelings weren't what were important. What was important was his assignment and he couldn't forget that. Sir would never let him forget that. Someone like him didn't need to worry about the rest. The only reason these people were treating him so nicely was because they didn't know the truth about him. They didn't know he was a spy and they didn't know that he wasn't human or mutant like them. He was a thing that was born out of an experiment done by Sir and he belonged solely to Sir. The bracelet on his wrist was a constant reminder of that ownership.
On a soft sigh he closed his eyes and willed himself towards sleep. Tonight was the night that Sir would check in with him; it wouldn't do to be late.
Almost as soon as he drifted to sleep, Spencer found him in what he called the 'world of dreams'. As he had expected, Sir was already there waiting for him. Spencer could sense him. Never were his dreams so vivid and bright or as realistic as when Sir was controlling them. His ability to enter dreams and control or manipulate things there was very, very strong. Spencer knew that from experience. He knew that, with the right link to the person's mind, Sir could induce a daydream like state and enter that way. He could hold a person in their dreams as long as he wanted and do with them whatever he wanted.
As he saw the empty white room around him and became aware that he was in his dream, he folded himself down to the ground on his knees, head bowing. He knew what was expected of him. He knew what he had to do.
"Have you managed to infiltrate the mansion yet, Inanime?" The cold voice sent a soft shiver down Spencer's spine.
He didn't bother lifting his head to answer. "Yes, Sir. I arrived last night."
"Tell me everything."
And so Spencer spoke, running through each moment since he'd almost been hit by the car on the road. He left no detail out from his account and did not stop speaking until he was done. The room he was in fell silent. Muscles in his stomach jumped and quivered as he waited for Sir to respond. What was he going to say? Was he going to be pleased? Would he be upset with something? What was going to happen? It was the anticipation that was the worst. Had he pleased his master? Displeased him?
"You have done well for your first day there, Inanime. You will gather intelligence on these X-Men. Do not disappoint me. I will check back next Sunday. That is one week from today. By then, you will have more information for me. Also, you will find a way to purchase yourself transportation since walking from the home to the city is not an option. This is non-negotiable. But for one day, you have done well."
The praise was given in a voice that held just a slightly pleased note to it. Before Spencer could relax, the voice was around him again, harder and colder, speaking in a tone that Spencer knew far too well.
"But do not think to forget who you belong to, Inanime. Do not start to think that you are actually one of these people. You are not theirs. You are not even human. You are my property and you will remember this. You do not want to displease me, Inanime. Let me give you a reminder of what happens to those that displease me."
Manacles appeared around Spencer's wrists, jerking up and dragging him to his feet, stretching his arms above his head until he was just barely standing on his toes. In a flash, his clothes and sunglasses vanished. The light in the room grew, making him cry out as it blinded his eyes, the brightness like knives into the sensitive orbs. Bound, hung, and blind, Spencer could do nothing as the first lash was laid over his body.
Back in his room at the mansion, his sleeping body gave a small twitch as one single tear fell from the closed eyes.
Bright and early the next morning, Remy knocked on the young man's door, waiting patiently for it to be answered. When a voice called out "Come on in." he opened the door and stepped inside. Almost instantly Remy frowned. There was something off in the air in the room. A sort of heavy feeling. His eyes sought out Spencer, finding him on the window seat, legs curled up as he looked out the window at the rain that was steadily coming down. The image he presented was relaxed and casual, already dressed and ready to go for the day. But, something was off. Something was wrong. Remy just couldn't quite figure out what it was.
He tried to keep himself casual as he walked in and shut the door behind him. "Morning, Spencer." He said cheerfully.
The boy turned his head to look at him and smile. "Morning, honey." His tone was cheerful and flirtatious, but it too didn't seem quite right. What the hell was going on here?
Remy strolled over, taking a seat beside him and looking out the window as well. "Merde, I still aint used to dis weather. Miss de heat of home, me. Dis place be so much colder and wetter dan dis Cajun likes."
"You're telling me." Spencer said agreeably.
"Dat's right. Yesterday in de Danger Room y' seemed so excited about Vegas. Is dat y'r home town?"
Casually the boy hummed a sound that could be taken for agreement, that smile still in place. Remy couldn't help but notice the false note to it all. Something had changed about the boy overnight. Something had happened to him. But what was it? Gone was the happy boy that he and Logan had tucked into bed. In his place was someone so much more different. Maybe someone else wouldn't notice the changes, but Remy did. He could see it and he couldn't stop himself from wondering what had brought it on.
He pushed his questions back and started to do what he'd come in here for. "I came to tell y' dat y'r gonna start some training today. Since y'r and Remy's powers so similar, Scotty thought we'd work well together. So, I'm gonna take y' in de Danger Room dis morning to work on control. In de afternoon, after lunch, y'll do physical lessons with Wolvie. After dose, y'll meet with de Professor fo' a little bit. Sound like a good schedule fo' y'?"
"Sounds great to me, honey." Rising from his seat, Spencer stretched before offering him a smile. "Can we get some breakfast first, though? I'm starved!"
"Sho' t'ing, mon ami." Remy rose and well, carefully watching Spencer the entire time. Whatever it was that had changed, Remy was determined he would find out. It would take some watching, but he would figure it out.
For now, he flung an arm around Spencer's shoulders and started to move them toward the door, smiling at him. Not only was today the start of Spencer's training, but it was also the start of their mission to try and gain the boy's trust. To do that, they'd have to get him comfortable first. And Remy was bound and determined to do his best to get the boy comfortable with him. "Let's get on down to de kitchen afore it gets full. Remy gonna show y' how to make a proper cup of coffee. Y' drink coffee?"