A/N: Yay! Another relativwly fast update! Much love for you reviewers :D And anyone else still reading. I know I said I would introduce a bunch of characters, but a damn plot bunny required otherwise- I hope you don't mind. As a result though, I tried to make the chapter longish, it's about 1,700 words. Hope you enjoy, and please review!
This introduces Amber Wish.
For anyone who doesn't remember, she can use water to heal. I've also crafted some background story, of mutants I have deemed 'healers' (she is one of these mutants) and their will be more elaboration on that in the next chapter.
Much love to: IAmTheStars, snowspell, TheImmortalChaplin, Aris-5521, and brandogriffin for reviewing! Not to mention my anonymous reviewers who probably haven't reviewed because they didn't expect me to update this so soon :D
In less then a second, the group reappeared within the apartment with a crack and some red smoke. Immediately, Kristoff stood up.
"Where have you been?" he demanded. "Here we are, dying of boredom, and you don't even bring us any food?" Then he caught sight of Cypher and Jason. "Oh..." Jason looked up at Kristoff from behind Jason.
"Hi," he said shyly. The little boy waved at Kristoff though they were only a few feet from each other.
"Well hello," said Kristoff, looking a little shocked. Callie smiled, and nudged the boy forward.
"Don't worry, he doesn't bite, not on Tuesdays," she said, eyes twinkling. For a second, Jason's eyes widened, and someone broke out in giggles.
"My name's Antonia," said Antonia as she stepped forward, "And I'm here to tell you, not even Kristoff would be mean enough to bite a cute little kid like you." Jason blushed a little and mumbled thank you.
"Oi!" shouted Elizabeth, pushing her way to the front of the mutants, "Don't forget about me, I'm the only person in this dump worth knowing."
"Hey," Mitchell started to argue "You obviously forgot about me!" Then everyone joined in the squabble except Connor and Jason. Eventually, Connor smiled at Jason, and gestured for him to follow the hydro-kinetic out of the room and away from the arguing mutants. Callie laughed a little before waving at Cypher to follow her into the kitchen.
"What's the Center?" she asked. His head snapped towards her.
"Why do you ask," he said quietly, in a very low tone. Maybe it was because his eyes were so machine-like, but even though Callie already knew he couldn't see her face, she felt as though they were boring into her.
"Because it's obviously important." Cypher turned towards a wall, and gingerly felt out the air before him, until his hand met the wall. Resting his forehead against the wall, he spoke.
"It's my nightmare. It's my boogie man. You wouldn't understand..." He turned to her. "See these?" He pointed to his metallic eyes. "They did this too me." He laughed hollowly.
"Give me your hand," he commanded. Callie complied, slipping her hand into his. "See telepath," he said, "see as I do."
All light disappeared and was replaced with utter blackness. Callie gasped. "Come," he said, pulling her forward with one arm and feeling with the other. Eventually they reached a table in the hallway. "Look," he said. From out of the blackness was a fluorescent white. It was the telephone; but Callie saw it in an entirely different way now.
She could see every part part, each and every piece. She understood exactly what each component did, she knew how to make it infinitely better, and she knew even with the things she could make better, the phone would still be no where near it's fullest potential. She saw everything good and everything bad about it. Her now X-Ray like vision that seemingly perceived only technology was automatically calculating what it would take for her to make the phone wireless, compact, or even have better volume control.
With each second she stared at it, new possibilities opened; possible improvements improved, she was pushing the boundaries of telephone technology well beyond her mind's capacity to perceive. The phone seemed to arrange it's parts at her will as she calculated.
With a jerk, the phone was out of her sight, and her mind's gears screeched to a halt. "The mind is nothing more than an organic command center for the human body, people are nothing more then sentient automatons. Let us see how your abilities mixed with mine allow us to comprehend the human mind."
Cypher stopped talking and now she could see them, the minds of everyone in the apartment, the floor, the whole building. Each mind was brilliant and unique, each seemed brighter and louder than any amount of neon signs, each screaming with it's undiscovered potential; weeping in it's own silent grief.
Callie's senses where overwhelmed with conversation, memories, sights, smells, colors, all things not from her own mind. For every person she could sense, she knew them better then they knew themselves. She knew their flaws, and she knew the best of them, and she understood their deepest, darkest secrets.
Callie had no idea she'd been screaming until she stopped.
"Callie!" Rayne's voice pushed through the things being picked up by her mind, but just barely. Callie's body shook as she uncontrollably hyperventilated. "Callie, you need to let go of Cypher!"
"I can't," Callie gasped, struggling to be aware of her physical location, "I- It's too much- I can't... Stop... Need help..." On top of all of the things overwhelming Callie huge waves of regret, confusion, worry and fear were rolling off of various member of the party, Cypher was guilty for probably causing this, this- shock that Callie was in. Rayne was scared, very scared, of what was happening to their leader, Rayne's confidence was crumbling.
Kristoff was confused, but he had no fear. He stooped to pick up Callie bridal style. "Look, Cal, You can't die, I owe ya one for saving me back in that alley, remember? Right? So we need some help, we can't help you if we don't know what's wrong, am I right?" Callie writhed without control of her motor functions. Her nerves where on fire.
"It's so loud," she whispered, voice quivering.
"What did you do to her?" Kristoff growled, trying to keep control of his anger. Cypher pressed his lips together thinly.
"She wanted to know more about what they did to me, I simply showed her. I didn't know it would overwhelm her."
"If this kills her, I'm going to kill you." Cypher's jaw dropped.
"It's not my fault her mind was too weak to-"
"Stop it!" Rayne shouted. "You can argue later, but right now, Callie needs help that I'm not sure any of the present company can provide." Cypher's face lit up as he got an idea.
"Callie," he said, "Callie, if your still there, I need you to help me see their minds." Callie shook her head.
"No- Can't- Too much-" she gasped, as though the very words were killing her.
"This might be the only way to save you, so help me see their minds!" Cypher exclaimed. For a moment, Callie's eyes widened with effort, and then they snapped tightly shut again.
Cypher stood up, hand still in Callie's. He looked around wildly. "Come on," he suddenly shouted, pulling Callie and Kristoff in the hall. "Adelheid, take us down to the lobby of the hotel down the street," commanded Cypher. Moments later, they appeared just inside the building, by a janitorial closet. He pulled them into the lobby. Adelheid disappeared once more.
"Kristoff," asked Cypher, "Do you see a- girl... With um... Red hair and green eyes?" Kristoff scanned the vicinity quickly before spotting the girl Cypher was describing.
"Yes!" he practically shouted. Cypher nodded before moving to be closer to Callie.
"Callie," he murmured, "she can help, but she won't trust us... I need your help."
"Sey'tana," she whimpered. "Tell her Sey'tana... Call her Amber-san..." Callie stopped speaking and returned to her whimpering, moaning, half-conscious state.
Cypher managed to slip his hand out of hers, and strode forward. "Amber-san?" he called out hesitantly. He heard her neck crack as she looked up.
"Leave me alone," she growled. Hearing clacking of shoes, Cypher guessed she had stood up and was trying to walk away.
"Wait!" shouted Cypher. "Sey'tana!" The clacking of her heels paused for a moment, before getting louder. She walked to Cypher. "Ku'mara," she responded. "Who is injured?" Cypher breathed a sigh of relief.
"Over here," he said, walking back towards Kristoff, who still held Callie, "Her mind won't let go." The ginger girl nodded.
"I need water," she said. Cypher nodded, and leaned over Callie. "Callie, we need you to call for Adelheid and Connor. Please Callie?" The telepath nodded weakly.
Adelheid... We need you to bring C-C-Connor...
Though the message was meant for the teleporter, each of the mutants heard it inside their heads.
"Her voice is so weak..." Kristoff said. Minutes later Adelheid appeared, Connor on hand. Adelheid disappeared once more, and Connor rushed over to the group.
"What is it?" he said breathlessly, "How can I help?"
"Water," Amber-san said, "You are hydro-kinetic, yes?" Connor nodded. "I need water to heal her." Placing his hands together, finger tips touching the opposite arm's wrist, Connor pulled his hands apart, curving his palms as he did so. Between them a bubble of sea-reen water formed. It stayed within his hands, but still sloshed around.
Cupping her hands, the new mutant withdrew water from the bubble created by Connor. Carefully, she place her hands around Callie's temple. The water took on a blue glow, and then- Disappeared entirely.
Callie immediately stopped trembling and muttering. She blinked owlishly. "Ty'Reya," she murmured, before drifting to sleep.
Okay... So I know some of the words (Yeah, I made them up- So what?) aren't really easy to figure out the meaning, but I will include explanations of theuse of them in the next chapter :D
And I apologize, but I had to introduce Amber, I got this plot bunny while doing yard work, and simply had to use it.
Words:
Sey'tana:
There is someone in need of a healer
Ku'mara:
I will heal
Ty'Reya:
A thousand thanks, wise one
