"I have to admit, there is something that has been getting to me. We've not had a chance to talk to any of the patients here individually, or unsupervised. We have pushed for it, but as of yet we've been blocked at every opening. That was until earlier today. It would appear that the infirmary is left near enough unmanned."
Fading in from black, the voiceover belonged to the narrator who was stood talking to the only member of staff present in the infirmary. The room they were stood in was a plain white. White – like everything else. Clear plastic revealed other rooms and hallways – floor to ceiling, like some sort of viewing pen at a zoo. Strapped to the bed, John was the only other one in the room. His gaze was fixed on his feet and seemed to be ignoring everything else in the room.
"So – how long have you been here for now? "
"Few months, maybe…I'm not sure. I haven't really been keeping track of time"
"And where did they pick you up, if you don't mind me asking. "
"It's fine, really. I uhh…I was at Alcatraz. I went back for…for a picture I think. Yeah. I have this photograph that I took a while ago with a couple of friends. I dropped it. I had to get it back. All I had left of them"
"Oh, I'm sorry, are they no longer with us?"
"Oh…they're still around. I just…I don't talk to them. Since I uhh…since I left…home. Yeah…I guess it was, or as close to. But yeah – since I left, I haven't been in touch with them. I don't blame them if they never want to see me, or hear from me, again. I said and did some really awful things. If they could ever forgive me…it's more than I could do."
"Could you tell us about them?"
"I'd rather not, if you don't mind. It's just…it still hurts, knowing that I would've hurt them through my leaving."
"If you had a chance to talk to them, what would you say?"
"I'd spend the whole time apologising and begging their forgiveness. I don't think I could do anything else."
"Why are you in here?"
"Got in a fight, got thrown across the room, cut my head open again. Concussion they think. Broken ribs for sure."
It was almost as if he was smiling as the scene faded out, cutting to the now familiar office filled with various professionals and the grey clad Emma delivering the tea. Shutting the laptop in front of them, they seemed less than happy. Their expression was grim.
"From that small conversation, it's obvious that at the very least, remorse has entered his dictionary. However, I cannot allow you to ever do that again. As already stated, John is one of our more…unstable patients. If he was to react badly and no-one was around, we've no idea what he could or would do."
"I understand, but do you honestly think that's the only change in him? "
"It's more than likely - John has proven that he is an excellent actor, but he's still very prone to occasional outbursts that have cause several members of staff to leave the programme. He's also proven to be highly defensive of the ringleader, Magneto, when quizzed. All though he appears to have changed, we feel that he's actually made very little progress."
"So, in light of this, what is your next course of action? "
"We'll be returning him to stage one. It is a shame, but it's all we can do. He's certainly not fit to be around others who've made far more progress. We feel that he'd be far better off if he spends his time talking rather than in class."
The office faded in to a montage of various clips of footage. Those sleeping in the dorms, a few playing chess or cooking and a classroom scene, only to fade out on a shot of an empty bed in the infirmary. In the next room over, the scene of a doctor tending to a patient was slightly blurred, but it was clear even from that, that there was some sort of injection involved.
"The more time I spend here, the more I feel like rather than helping certain mutants, this programme is holding them back to some degree. However, as we're only here on a basis to record and present, it's not my place to dig any deeper."
Fading from the montage to a garden scene, the grey clad 'Emma' appeared to be free of her tea duties. Sitting with one leg crossed over the other, she appeared happy enough, sipping at her drink and bathing in the weak sunlight.
"So, tell us a little about yourself."
"My name is Emma Frost. I was a telepath, but now I'm looking in to getting work as a sectary."
"How effective do you feel this programme has been?"
"Exceptionally effective. It's offered me opportunities that I would've never really contemplated otherwise."
"Would you say it works for everyone?"
"It is designed to offer everyone the same opportunities."
"Does it work though?"
"Yes. It is designed to work. If it didn't, it wouldn't be running."
"What about your friend John? It doesn't seem to be working for him."
"I don't know who John is. You must have the wrong Emma."
"You were with him in the kitchens a few days ago."
"I was with Mortimer. I don't know any John."
"Does the name Pyro mean anything to you?"
"Pyro is a terrorist. I would never associate myself with him. Mutants like him give the rest of us a bad name. We're not all like that."
"Are you sure you don't know a John Allerdyce?"
"I've never heard of him. Sorry."
"Which stage are you on now?"
"I'm stage three. As soon as I have a job, I'll be leaving."
"What about your power?"
"I no longer have it. When I leave, I'll continue to wear this bracelet which will suppress it."
Focusing on the metal band, the scene faded out to a general shot of the garden. The only ones outside were those in the grey uniforms, or those dressed in the white workers outfits. All had the same cookie cutter smile spread over their faces, all in the same uniform and, increasingly, all with similar hair styles.
"This conversation worried me. I'll have to look in to it at a later date. Although only here to report on the events and daily routine, the conversations and interviews make me question what is going on behind closed doors."
LOGAN
"Turn that off would you? I don't wanna hear it"
Sometimes you just can't get a break. That was my problem at the moment. No trace of the firebug in New Orleans and that damn documentary was on everywhere I went. People talking about it as if they knew the people in there, simply because they'd been watching the damn thing. They didn't know – they didn't have the first clue.
"Damn right…psychopath got enough airtime after Alcatraz. I don't wanna see any more of him."
That was the other thing that got to me. People calling John a psychopath. He might have been a cocky little sod, but he had guts. Wasn't scared to demand a little more from life. He wasn't a psychopath – he struggled was all. I don't know what with, but every single time he was brought up around Kitty, Jubilee or Storm and some negative comment was made, that last speaker would be shot. Figuratively in most cases. They'd probably actually shoot him – he could survive it though. He already managed it once.
I wasn't supposed to know shit, but sometimes, you just can't help overhearing this stuff. Muttering in their sleep, shouting matches with the professor…or Scott. He'd never liked Scott all that much.
"John's no psychopath," Sipping at the beer, I shot a look over at the speaker. Yeah – I could take them if I had to. "Messy, a little out of it…but he's no psychopath. Kid's different. Doesn't make him dangerous."
"Oh, I guess you know him personally then?" Judging from the way the stood up and left their drink behind, I would say they were just desperate for a fight.
"Thought I did…kid's been through shit you can't even begin to understand. He doesn't need small-minded punks like you making life hard for him." I thought I'd made my point. Apparently not – guy decides to get up in my face and start demanding answers.
"Like he didn't make life hard for other people. Come on then, how do you know and what do you know? Bound to come up on here at some point, right?"
He had a point.
STORM, KITTY & JUBILEE
"Kitty? Are we ready to go yet?" We were running late. They'd talked me in to joining them in their little trip to Mississippi, and here I found myself.
It meant we'd had to call in extra help, but those lending themselves to us hadn't minded that much. They were happy – most of them wanted a chance to go see Rogue, but as they couldn't, anything to get someone to see her. Well, someone other than Logan.
"Almost…Jubilee just has to finish packing a couple of bits." She appeared to be just a touch overloaded with bags. Mostly Christmas related items if my eyes were not deceiving me in my old age.
"Well, if it's Jubilee we're waiting on, we could be a while." There would be a smile in my voice, even if I managed to keep a straight face.
A look crossed Kitty's face as she packed her bags in to the car. I had a feeling I knew what was coming. These questions come more often since the documentary started – part of me cursed it, but at the same time it meant they were talking about him. John's name had hardly been mentioned since Alcatraz. No – in fact, he had been mentioned since he'd left with Magneto. I knew so many were still so very hurt over his choice and most didn't understand. I struggled to understand some days, but it was good to talk. If it wasn't talked about, nothing would ever really be figured out.
"Why did he leave?" I knew who she meant. Why did John leave? It was a good question.
"I don't know Kitty. I suppose he felt he didn't fit in." That look crossed her face as she turned her attention to clipping the seatbelt in to place.
"None of us fit in, that's why we came here in the fort place. Our families go from loving us to not wanting us overnight. It's why we stick together. It's why we had the institute, right? I mean….surely he understands that." So, apparently he hadn't told her half a much as I thought he had. Maybe no-one really knew the whole truth. Except, maybe the professor. Sighing, I let my head drop backwards as the backseat opened and Jubilee climbed in.
"To understand that Kitty, his family had to love and want him in the first place." It was Jubilee who answered her question. I was secretly glad that she had.
"I don't understand." There was genuine confusion in her voice. How did you reply to that?
"Storm and I will explain on the way down. We're running behind as it is."
MOIRA & XAVIER
"Oh, this silly documentary. I don't know why I put it on. It upsets me to hear and see the way they treated the poor lad." Shaking my head, I filed several sheets away and turned my attention back to the machines bleeping and flashing away to themselves.
It's even worse when you know the whole truth Moira.
"I do wish I knew everything, but I suppose they say ignorance is bliss for a reason. I have a few friends who knew John. They only ever hinted, but oh, it just sounded so…awful. Poor lad, poor lad…" I knew so little, but it still broke my heart to hear and see how they were treated.
Strapping him to a bed….whatever next. The sick were supposed to be treated with love, respect and decency. Not tied down and left to their own devices. I found it sickening that this…this place had been allowed to operate for so long. And the way the patients were turning out. Clones – every single last one of them were turning in to mindless clones.
It seems odd that Miss Frost has no recollection of John. Her memory is normally excellent.
"You know, I had this telepathic friend…it seems silly, but I wonder if he knew Emma at all. Highly unlikely, I know…but there's always that chance." I really couldn't see much more that I had to do. The paperwork was, oddly, up to date and in place. Test results had come through on time…it was all so very odd.
We'd decided that he'd wait, but it would appear that he'd be needed sooner than first suspected. I knew deep down that those still at the institute would be searching for John already. For all I knew, they'd already found him. Still, if that was the case, I'd have heard about it by now already, wouldn't I?
Oh, I know Miss Frost rather well. She was one of my earlier students. I suppose if I'm to wake earlier that first intended to help with this search, then you deserve to know the truth about St John Allerdyce.
ERIC & EMMA
"It seems odd that there's so much evidence that I know John, seemingly rather well, and yet there is so little of it that I can access" She was sipping at her tea, staring at the saucer. She was genuinely curious, which was odd for Emma.
"The human mind is a wonderful thing Emma – you should know this better than I. However, sometimes it is far too easy to confound. I believe they may well have been continually drugging you." Just how, I had no idea – but it was the only thing that really made sense. Well, that or they were using a telepath of their own. No – they wouldn't do that…would they?
Silence fell between us again. I had a feeling I knew what was on her mind. John – a subject on so very many peoples minds at the time. That very faint sobbing had stopped at some point. I wasn't going to pry, but I had a feeling he'd probably finally let her in. I could only hope he'd really let her in. The last few years had changed me, I'd admit that. I was no longer quite as proud or cold. Being stripped of your power tends to strip you of what you were.
"They'd make quite a sweet couple, don't you think?" Now, that was the last sentence I expected from her. I presume she meant Marie and John, but one could never tell with her. She was back to playing a strand of hair and setting her tea down to one side.
"They're both far too fiery. They're both much too passionate and headstrong. It wouldn't last very long at all." No – I couldn't accept that. Still…she was rather good. Placing the tea down, I couldn't help but look over at the end of the house. That balcony door was open. It'd have to be shut before too long.
"No, but it would be fun." She had that smirk on her face when I looked over. Ahh – she was playing, was she? I should've expected it from her.
"What can you tell me about his past? I'm curious. So many people jump to his defence, and yet…so few talk about it."
I probably should've seen this conversation coming. I knew some of it – not all. I knew enough though to not want to talk about it. True, he'd hardly lived through a holocaust…but his tragedy was a different one.
HER & HIM
This wasn't good. I could look on all I wanted, but no matter where I turned it was no good. They were gone – no chance of turning this back. Damage had been done and we'd have to live with it.
"Shut it down Jasper, there's nothing we can do." Standing up, I left the small set-up and the person manning it.
We'd been watching him for a while. We knew what was going on and we knew we were too late to stop it. Eric certainly wasn't helping matters. He was near enough pushing them together. I don't believe he was doing so intentionally, but Emma could see what he could not.
Light danced over the broken tiles, oddly lighting the room we stood in. It'd been abandoned long ago and we really had no choice in the matter. It was free, quiet and no-one came here any more. They had no need to. The brotherhood was dead…or so the media claimed. Oh, they were alive and kicking. Just better organised, more underground. They were fighters rather than a rabble. Humans would feel the blow we all had.
"Are we going to bed then, Juliette?" They asked it simply, innocently almost. They'd never grown up. Smile on my face, I looked over. They had a point.
"Yes…we have an early start in the morning. We need to get to Mississippi." Draping the jacket I'd been wearing over a chair, I joined them in the make-shift sleeping area.
My only prayer that night was that one of them reached dear John before it was too late. That, and that Callisto would stop snoring, even if only for one night.
I know this is a short chapter compared to the others I've written, but John's history will come up in the next chapter. That, and I needed a chance to introduce these 2 OC characters. I would also like to apologise for my hiatus. I don't really have a reason, I just haven't been writing. I am trying to get back to it though.
Crazy4horses – I would like to thank you not only for the constructive criticism you've offered up before now, but your consistency in returning to review the chapters. It is appreciated greatly, and if I could I would send you a thank-you cookie.
Eclipse75 – Thank-you so much for the review. It's wonderful to read that someone feels this way. I promise to return to posting.
xXxJessikaxXx – I didn't update quite as soon as I intended, however I will be. I'm glad you like John…I think he's rather under-rated so far as characters go.
I own nothing, those right belong to all respective companies; characters, locations etc. None of them are mine, save for the 2 OC's. Most of them belong to Marvel and so I would simply never be able to afford to buy them.
This remains unbetaed so all mistakes are a result of me not paying enough attention whilst proof reading. I am still looking for a beta, please feel free to volunteer either yourself or suggest this to someone if you think they might be interested
