CHAPTER 8: Sickness and Sculptures

Addison Santiago- Dawid Auguscik (17)

Tabitha "Boom Boom" Smith- (young) Annasophia Robb (12)

James "Multiple Man" Madrox- Zachary Levi (25)

Henry "Beast" McCoy- Steve Bacic (35)

Eric "Ink" Gitter- Dario Tozzi (16)

Paige "Husk" Guthrie- Blake Lively (22)

Piotr "Colossus" Rasputin- Jed Hill (17)

Scott "Cyclops" Summers- Matt Bomer (32)

Emma "White Queen" Frost- (young) Charlize Theron (30)

Remy "Gambit" LeBeau- Gabriel Aubry (25)

Sean "Banshee" Cassidy- David Wenham (46)

Sarah "Marrow" Rushman- Jena Malone (16)

"How are you holding up, kid?" I asked as I stroked Tabitha's damp blonde hair. Every time I went to see her, she appeared to only be getting worse and that made me feel like shit. But I knew this experience had to be scary to her and I had to be strong for her. She didn't really have anyone else to lean on. Her mother died when she was young and from I could gather from the bits and pieces she told me, her father took a lot of his frustrations out on her both physically and sexually. She had already been through enough in life; it wasn't fair that this illness was taking such a toll on her small body.

"I feel better than I did yesterday." She replied, her voice hoarse and scratchy. She had heavy, red bags under her eyes and her skin looked paler than usual. "But what's going to kill me is boredom. I am so bored sitting here all day doing nothing!"

"I thought Doug gave you some books to read?" I chuckled. My friends had never been super close with Tabitha but when I told them I needed them, they jumped at the opportunity to help me out.

"He did but they're all educational and hard to read." She said, pointing to the stacks of books on her bedside table. Looking at the one on top, I could tell what she meant. It was titled: "Computational Complexity Theory".

"And I finished all the magazines Sarah gave me."

"I'm sorry about that, I really am." I responded, trying to sound more optimistic than I felt. "But you'll be out of here in no time, I promise."

"Yea, right." She said sullenly. Her tone made me look over at her and I could tell she was scared and so was I. She reminded me so much of Damek when he was sick; always trying to keep a brave face but scared shitless on the inside. It broke my heart to see her like this, all of her usual spunk and energy drained from her tiny body. But it also made me angry. I've met shitheads and lowlifes who are probably living full, healthy lives but this one little girl who has had to wade through the filth of society and still come out smiling gets this. The world was an unfair place. "Hey, I read something that made me think of you."

"Really?" I asked. "What was it?"

"Well in one of the books Doug gave me, there was a chapter about Buddhist mysticism that said that there are these beings called Tulpas." She said expectantly. "A Tulpa is a person or thing that's created from a person's thoughts."

"Ok…" I replied skeptically. "What does that have to do with me?"

"You're an idiot." She rolled her eyes. "Frank. I was thinking that maybe Frank is a Tulpa."

"I guess that kind of makes sense." I thought aloud.

"It does." She stated proudly. "The book says that some believe that a Tulpa is imaginary to everyone except the one who conjured it. Which made me think that maybe you're really like a telepath or something and you mentally created someone."

"Maybe." I said finally. It was something that I had thought about before but I didn't want Tabitha to feel like her opinion was insignificant, so instead I nodded and smiled. "I'll talk to Ms. Frost about it."

"Good." She nodded. The look on her face changed and a darkness fell over her delicate features. "Addison?"

"Huh?" I asked absentmindedly thumbing through on of the magazines on her bed.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" She said.

"What?" I asked, putting the magazine back on the bed. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Because," She sighed. "Mr. Madrox over there told me that this is how his disease started and Addison? He's not looking so great."

I glanced over to the last bed of the infirmary and through the crack in the white curtains, I could see Mr. Madrox and she was right. He looked terrible. I vaguely remembered what he looked like before- tall, lean, and good-looking. But now he had grown pale and thin. His skin looked cracked and peeling and he was covered in purple and red blisters all over his body. His shiny brown hair looked limp and lifeless and I could hear him wheeze every time he exhaled. He had been here for nearly a month and he didn't appear to be getting better either. The thought that in another week or so Tabitha could look like him, brought tears to my eyes. Before they could fall, I inhaled and discreetly wiped at my eyes. I turned back to Tabitha but she wasn't looking at me. She was staring at Mr. Madrox, a forlorn look on her face.

"That won't be you." I said finally, grabbing her tiny hands in my own. "And you know why?"

"Why?" She asked, brushing her free hand across her eyes.

"Because you're strong." I said. "You're an ass-kicking, kung fu badass with dynamite in her fingertips. You cannot be taken down by this pussy ass cold. You hear me? You're a fighter and you will fight this."

"Do you really think so?" She asked hopefully.

"I know so." I replied. I leaned over and kissed her on her forehead, her fever heat warming my lips. "Now, I gotta go but I'll be back tomorrow with something to entertain you with."

"Ok." She smiled but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

As I stood and walked through the door of the infirmary, I was greeted by Dr. McCoy. He was wearing a pair of slacks and a horrendous yellow plaid collared shirt, his lab coat making him look professional and medical. He was bent over his desk, furiously scribbling in his notes. I walked passed him, thinking he didn't notice me but as I neared the door that lead into the hallway, he called out to me.

"Yeah?" I responded turning back to him.

"Please, sit." He indicated a stool in the corner. I dragged it to his desk and sat in it. "I need to speak with you about Tabitha."

"Ok. Shoot." I said, my hands dangling in between my thighs.

"The disease Tabitha has is unlike anything I've seen before." He said, staring deeply into my eyes, his yellow cat-like eyes boring into my own green ones. "It's not only attacking her body, it's attacking her X-Gene."

"What does all of this mean?" I asked.

"Honestly?" He said with a sigh. "I don't know. I've been over several test samples from both Tabitha and Mr. Madrox and the disease seems to be replicating itself in an alarming rate. The cells that make up the X-Gene are being covered in this virus. Then, after the cells assimilate the virus into themselves, they just…die. I'm afraid that if I don't find a cure in time, they will die."

My heart froze in my chest and every limb attached to me felt like lead. My lungs seized and I found it hard to breathe. I went through the possibility in my head before but hearing it said aloud made it real. Tabs might die.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked finally.

"Mr. Summers and Ms. Frost would probably frown on me for telling you but I see the way you care for her and I know how close you two are." He said, folding his hands together and laying them in his lap. "I contacted her father and he wanted nothing to do with her so you're the closest thing to a relative I could get."

"Can't Josh heal her?" I said.

"We've tried. Numerous times actually." He replied. "But it appears Mr. Foley's healing abilities are ineffectual against the disease. Like a Hydra, the more he tries the disease, the more it replicates. There seems to be a slight discrepancy between the two of them though."

"Oh?" I asked.

"Well." He said with a sigh, grabbing some papers in front of him. "As I said before, the virus is attacking the X-Gene in both patients but how they're cells are reacting to it is slightly different. In Mr. Madrox case, they multiple at an accelerated rate. With Tabitha, they simply burn up and explode. I've theorized that it's because of the effects of their mutant abilities."

"Do you know how she got it? Was it from Mr. Madrox?"

"I doubt it." He responded, turning towards the papers on his desk. "The virus doesn't appear to be contagious. It's airborne so I'm assuming it might be a mutated version of the cure we breathe in. I also believe that because of their lack of an X-Gene, normal humans cannot get contract the virus, unless they have a latent X-Gene."

"So you're saying we're all going to die from this?" I asked. I could hear my voice shake with every word. This was starting to sound like an epidemic and the people should be warned.

"No." He replied simply. "I haven't yet pinpointed why they've been infected but I think it's like the original cure: some will get it, some won't. Hopefully, I can figure out a vaccine before it gets to the point of rapid contraction."

"This is so fucked up." I sighed, my head heavy in my hands.

"Indeed." Dr. McCoy said. I felt his paw-like hand land on my shoulder and the heat from it made me feel a little better. "Now, Mr. Santiago, I can not impress on you the importance of discretion at this point. We don't want to start a panic until I know for sure what we're dealing with. This could all simply go away overnight and we wouldn't want to scare a group of children who already have a rather bleak outlook on their futures. You understand right?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Good." He smiled. "Now if you don't mind, I have research to continue."

I rose from the stool, my body on auto-pilot. I couldn't lose her. I couldn't watch someone else die and I couldn't feel helpless again. But I was also angry. Angry that mutants once again were pawns in Gods games and angry that Mr. McCoy had to tell me. I was now more a part of this than I wanted to be. I now had to shoulder the weight of this in silence.

But in the pit of my heart, I knew that there might not be anything I could do against this sickness and I couldn't help but wonder.

Who would be next?


I stared down at the half finished sculpture I had been working on. It was a bust of an old man, his skin wrinkled and eroded by the ravages of time. Looking at it now, I hate it. The face looked empty and lifeless, devoid of any meaning or thought. My own frustrations were already too much for me to handle and the other patron in the cluttered art room only achieved in heightening my irritation with his incessant whistling.

Eric Gitter sat at the other end of the room, noisily shaking cans of spray paint and whistling nondescript tunes. Eric was always the class clown, although many people found him dangerous, not because of his personality but the way he looked. 90% of his body was covered in various tattoos, including his face. Most of the schools inhabitants found his face tattoos creepy and painfully unnecessary but I saw the art behind them. They also helped in making his blue eyes stand out against the designs of his tats.

Eric specialized in, not surprising, tattoo art and graffiti. He was also working on his final project which, from what I could see was an intricate piece consisting of individual bricks, each depicting a different picture stacked together to make one whole piece. He was quite talented but at the moment, I just wanted him to stop whistling.

"Eric?" I grumbled unpleasantly.

"What up?" He responded, turning towards me while pushing his black knit hat further up his bald head.

"Could you stop whistling?" I asked. "Please?"

"No prob dude." He replied giving me a thumbs up. "Habit."

He turned back to his bricks, lips closed and whistle free. All was silent in the room until Eric began tapping his feet. With I sigh, I turned back to my sculpture. I hated it. I wanted to pummel its craggily face into dust and cast the pieces into oblivion. I had never had trouble before making a sculpture; it was always something that just came natural to me but right now I felt blocked.

"What's the matter, Addison?" A voice asked behind me. I didn't have to turn to know it was Ms. Guthrie by her heavy Southern accent. Every word uttered sounded warm and friendly, like a bit of 'Southern Comfort' injected in this cold New York room.

"I'm not really feeling this piece anymore." I sighed. I ran a thumb over his cheek, smoothing out a wrinkle or two hoping that the action would inspire something new to the piece but it only succeeded in making half his face look droopy and melted.

"Then start over." She replied. "You have a week until it's due and I've seen you turn out amazing work in less time."

"Yea." I nodded. "But I still don't know what to do instead."

"Well, I know it sounds corny." She said, adjusting the strap on the pink tank top she wearing. Surprisingly it wasn't covered in charcoal like most of her other clothes. "But just start from the heart."

I thought about what she said. What was in my heart? Anger. Sadness. Confusion. Helplessness. All of these emotions warred inside my heart and head for dominance and the conflict was beginning to wear on me.

I stood from the table, grabbing the bust and heading towards the supply closet at the back of the room. When I opened the door, I noticed the blue bucket resting next to the mop. Snatching it up, I took it over to the sinks that lined one of the room's walls and dropped it into the basin. Next, I put the bust into the bucket and turned the hot water on, the liquid cascading down its surface, erasing the progress I'd made. I emptied the bucket, pulling the slightly amorphous blob of clay out and back to my table. Luckily, the water only erased the bust's features and not the face's shape so I wouldn't have to do too much work to it.

I knew what I wanted to sculpt instead and I knew it would take all of my concentration and patience because I wanted to get it just right. So I grabbed the case containing my spatulas, scrapers, and picks and I went to work creating my latest masterpiece.

I had been hard at work for about an hour and a half when heavy hands landed on my shoulders, massaging them lightly. The movement snapped me out of my artist's daze and I turned my eyes up as I leaned my head back. Piotr stood over me smiling, his hair wet and his white t-shirt clinging to his muscular body. He leaned over, quickly pecking me on the lips before taking the seat next to me.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his hand on my thigh. He still had the effect of turning me on with simply a touch and I found myself pulling away from his grasp.

"I'm redoing my final project." I replied.

"Ah." He nodded. "I liked the old man though."

"Sorry." I chuckled. "How was your tutoring session?"

"It was fine." He muttered, pulling his eyes away from me. Something about the movement made me uneasy and I wanted to see if he would tell me more.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Did something happen?"

"No!" He replied, perking up. "I'm just tired."

"Oh." I said, unconvinced. "Ok."

"So, I was looking for you to tell you that next week after finals, Illyana and I are going to the carnival and I wanted to invite you to join us."

"I don't know…" I said. "I'm not really in the mood to be around crowds."

"I think it'll be good to get you away from this place." He said, nudging my shoulder with his own. "With everything that's been going on, you need a little fresh air. And we haven't been on a proper date yet."

"Can I think about it?" I asked.

"Yea, sure." He responded. "No rush."

"Ok. Cool."

"I'm going to go see Illyana." He said, standing up from his chair. "I'll see you at dinner right?"

"Yup." I replied, turning back to my work. I heard him turn and I heard the door close quietly behind me. I didn't mean to be terse with him; I just really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. So instead I picked up my tools and began working again, completely oblivious to the things that were happening around me.


The Dining Hall wasn't very full as I walked into it, my hair still damp from the shower I had taken. Even the teacher's table was rather sparse this evening. Aside from Mr. Summers and Ms. Frost, the only other member of the Senior Staff present was Mr. LeBeau and Mr. Cassidy, everyone else was Junior Staffers. Mr. Summers, as usually sat stern and stoic, eating his meal silently while Ms. Frost chattered away next to him. The only indication that he was listening was a head nod every now and then. It was hard to read his expressions behind his red-lensed sunglasses but as always, he was scowling as he pushed his food around. Sitting next to Ms. Frost, he looked almost shabby in his polo and khakis in comparison to her in her white jumpsuit, her blonde hair pushed back from her face. She had large gold and amber jewels dripping from her neck and wrists, her dainty hands gesturing slightly with every word.

In contrast, Mr. LeBeau and Mr. Cassidy were talking animatedly about something that appeared to be quite exciting. Remy LeBeau was leaning back in his chair, his feet propped on one of the fancy plates the teachers ate off, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he chuckled at Mr. Cassidy's story. Smoking in the school was prohibited but it never stopped Logan and Remy from doing it anyway, much to Mr. Summers' chagrin. Today, he wasn't wearing the old brown leather duster he usually donned, instead wearing a tight Metallica t-shirt, blue jeans, and boots. He was a very attractive man, catching the attention of every girl (and a few boys) with his alluring charm, Cajun accent, and seductive black and red eyes. Unfortunately, his heart was claimed by Rogue and despite the fact she can't touch him, they seemed to be very much in love.

Mr. Cassidy leaned in conspiratorially, his red hair shining in the overhead lighting, a pale freckled hand on Remy's shoulder. Sean Cassidy was one of the first X-Men recruited by Xavier and the only one whose whereabouts were still known or still cared. Lucas Bishop vanished sometime in the 80s, Tessa Fox became a member of The Hellfire Club, Calvin Rankin died in a Friends of Humanity attack, and Forge joined The Brotherhood. He was soon replaced by Madison Jeffries who never leaves the basement, working on the Institute's many devices and inventing new machines in his cave. So now Mr. Cassidy sticks to teaching, leaving the heroics to the younger members. For a man of his age, he was still quite fit; I could see his bicep muscles bulge as he lazily scratched at his ginger beard.

I let my eyes leave the teachers as they slid over to my table. Doug wasn't present since he went to dinner with his parents but Japheth, Cessily, and Sarah was there. Japheth and Cessily were chatting happily but Sarah looked distracted and unengaged. I walked over to them, weaving my way through the tables as I finally made it to them and fell into one of the vacant seats.

"Hi Addison!" Cessily said sweetly. It didn't pass my attention that she was firmly gripping Japheth's hand but he didn't seem to mind.

"Hey, Cessily." I replied cordially.

"We got you some of the pork chops before they were all gone." Japheth said, sliding a plate in my direction. There were mashed potatoes, green beans, and macaroni on the plate. I inhaled deeply, the fragrant steam wafting from the plate filling my nostrils, making my mouth water.

"Good looking out man!" I said with a nod, spooning a dollop of potatoes onto my spoon. Taking a bite, I hummed in pleasure as the soft, fluffy potatoes combined with the melting butter on top of them. I could taste a hint of garlic that only succeeded in making them better.

"So Sarah, what did Callisto want?" I asked, cutting my eyes in Sarah's direction. She wouldn't look up at me and instead focused on her own plate of food. I instantly knew she was about to lie to me.

"Oh, ummm…" She began. "She just wanted to apologize for the past and stuff."

"Oh." I said. "Cool." It bothered me that she wasn't being honest with me since I told her everything but I also wasn't going to pry in her business. She would tell me when she was ready. At least I hoped that she would. I couldn't imagine what such a secret was but I guess if she felt the need to lie to me about it, it was rather big.

We spoke idly about this and that while I finished my meal. Right after I took a gulp of water, there was a pressure over my eyes as the world grew dark.

"Guess who?" The voice asked, the accent instantly recognizable.

"My boyfriend?" I replied. "Paras Gavaskar?"

"Hey!" Piotr replied, taking his hands away from my face. I turned towards him and noticed he was wearing his X-Men uniform. Each uniform looked pretty similar, with the exception that each person had a different color piping running through them. Piotr's piping was grey. Some of the uniforms also had certain adjustments to accommodate the person wearing it, in Piotr's case, his was sleeveless, allowing his huge arms to be on display, making him look more intimidating. Watching him in the tight black leather was really hot and the sight of him in uniform was turning me on.

"Why are you all suited up?" I asked him, my eyes slowly traveling up his body. When I pulled my gaze up to his eyes, he was watching me, a smile on his lips and a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes.

"That's what I came down here to tell you." He responded. "I'm on my way to a mission and I probably won't be back until late."

"Is everything ok?" I asked. I didn't get scared or nervous when he went on missions because I knew that he'd be fine. If his powers were something else, I'd be concerned but I'd seen him pick up Mack trucks and throw them like baseballs so I knew there wasn't much that could hurt him.

"Oh yes." He replied, grabbing a piece of pork chop from my plate before popping it in his mouth. "Some people, high off Mist are wrecking havoc downtown so we just have to go and take care of that."

Sarah started coughing suddenly, causing all of us to glance in her direction. Hastily, she downed the rest of her juice, eyes downcast as Cessily asked if she was okay. I saw her nod slightly before picking at the food on her plate. The girl was acting weirder by the minute.

"Ok…." I said, turning back to Piotr. He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on my lips. "Be safe."

"I will, love." He said, turning from me, giving me a view of his perfect, round ass clad in leather.

"And Piotr?" I said before he got too far. He turned around, curiosity on his face. "Don't take that uniform too far. I have a feeling we can use it later."

Then he did the cutest thing.

He blushed.


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Ummm… can't really think of anything major I really wanted to say. Except that, I included the lunch room scene because I wanted to add in some more cast members (hey, I didn't spend all that time searching for actors to play these people and not use them!) and I wanted it to be known that yes, actual heroics is still going on even though I haven't really mentioned the X-Men going on any missions.

I also realized Piotr and Addison haven't been on a date. Originally, I was going to glaze passed this by saying they have been on dates off-screen but I forgot to mention it a couple of chapters ago. And I know what you're probably thinking. How are they going to have a romantic date with his kid sister there?! But I see Illyana as like his daughter and if you're dating someone with a child, the kid comes with the territory.

Sarah is definitely hiding something. What it is? You'll have to wait and see. Is it small? Or is it major? I dunno…well I knowbut y'know…

And since you'll probably never get an opportunity to actually see them, the original X-Men would be played by the following people: Tessa "Sage" Fox- Milla Jovovich, Calvin "Mimic" Rankin- Ryan Hurst, Jonathon "Forge" Silvercloud- Rick Mora and Lucas Bishop- Michael Jai White. And I chose these characters to be the Original 5 because it made sense to me that Cyke and the others couldn't still be young if the X-Men were formed a long time ago and since this story combined all of the existing X-Men media and Banshee was in the First Class in the 70s, I had to use him. I chose this group by comparing them Cyclops and Co. Bishop would be the Cyclops of their group, both as leader and concussive force blaster. Since they're both psychic woman, Sage and Jean are the same. Forge would be the Beast of the group in terms of knowledge. Forge is evil like his Ultimate version. Mimic would be aerial like Angel. And Banshee would be the power force like Iceman. Also I've always seen these characters in mind as being older than the rest of the cast.

3 more chapters until the epic mid-season finale!