Snakehead
29
Tar Baby, Ape and Torpid were sitting in a fairly large nook in the wall. Ape was a mutant shape-shifter, he could 'ape' anything. Unfortunately, his limited intellect kept him from thinking up truly useful forms, making his close friendship with Tar Baby important as well as personal. Tar Baby, while a gentle man, was protective of his friend, and didn't much like people insulting him.
Torpid was a little girl, anywhere from 4 to 6 years old, very quiet, but not mute. Thomas wondered what kind of people could throw their child, especially one so young, away. She had unnaturally large hands covered by thick gloves, and Ray knew from personal experience the touch of those hands could freeze a man in his tracks, a form of temporary paralysis. It wasn't painful, but it was unnerving and left one helpless. The older Morlocks looked after and protected her, but she would accompany them on missions when her power was needed.
Tar Baby was telling them both a story, a heavily modified version of Beauty and The Beast. Thomas and Ray sat silently nearby and listened as well. It was amazing to Thomas that these people, with nothing, had built a society and lived relatively happily. Once again he noted sadly that Tar Baby, a very friendly man, could not actually touch anyone. He wondered when the last time was that he had been able to physically touch another person or thing without becoming bonded by the tar-like secretions in his skin. Still he was happy. It put a little bit of perspective on his own troubles. He could physically interact with others, and could hold a book or a figurine without ruining it. Granted, he couldn't kiss anyone, and he feared sleeping too close to another, worrying that he might bite them in his sleep...
Torpid couldn't touch anyone either, not with her hands, anyway. It had to be incredibly difficult to have to avoid contact with others, especially for a child. He'd read somewhere of lepers who had not felt the touch of another human being in years, if not decades.
It was foolish, but he felt it was the right thing to do.
Before anyone could react, Thomas walked over to Tar Baby and set a bare hand on his arm.
Tar Baby looked at him in baffled amazement, then smiled...
...
Two hours later, when The Morlocks had finally separated the two mutants...
"You must be crazy." Callisto shook her head.
"I suppose I am, at that." The tar-like substance was still on his hand, and he had to be careful not to try to wipe it on his clothing, "But everybody needs human contact."
Callisto scowled, but her eye showed a measure of respect. Nobody willingly touched Tar Baby, not on his bare skin, anyway. It was a terribly lonely way to live, even among mutants he could never be truly a part of them. By willingly laying a hand on his arm, knowing the consequences, Thomas had shown a remarkable level of empathy. There was more to him than she had originally suspected, this was not the action of a 'slumming' rich kid.
"It seems you're a better person than I gave you credit for." She said finally.
"Thank you, but I was just -" He'd casually placed his right hand on the wall of the tunnel, to which he was now firmly fastened.
"Oops..."
Even Callisto had to laugh as the young mutant struggled to free his hand from the wall.
"A little help here, Ray..."
...
"That was good of you. People don't touch him, you know, not on purpose, anyway." Ray smiled, "I've never seen that look on his face before, happy and sad and grateful... That really meant a lot to him."
Thomas shrugged, "It just felt like the right thing to do, you know?" He was picking at bits of stone still stuck to his hand.
Scaleface and Bliss were examining a damaged section of wall as Ray and Thomas approached.
"We're going back up." Ray's voice was tinged with guilt, "You should be safer, now."
"As long as we are in The Tunnels, at least." Scaleface replied with a touch of cynicism. In order to get supplies, The Morlocks often 'liberated' property from stores, junkyards and warehouses under cover of night. Xavier's help had lessened some of the need, but there were still things that they had to risk the surface for. "We're grateful, though. Even Callisto, though she may not show it."
Ray smiled, "I know."
"Good luck in The Lion's Den..." Bliss smiled.
"You too." Thomas replied.
...
"What did you think?"
Ray and Thomas were walking toward the pick-up point where they would meet up with the others and climb to the surface, then go back to the mansion
"It was actually nice," Thomas replied, "I hope our work will help them." He shook his head, "It really says something about society that nice, gentle people are forced to hide in the sewers to escape persecution, simply because they're 'different'."
"When I first joined The Morlocks, I was surprised that there were any nice people left." Ray mused, "My own family had rejected me, my friends, everyone... To have someone accept me for what I was probably saved my life."
"How old were you?"
"Thirteen."
Thomas shook his head sadly, "You're what, eighteen now?"
"Yeah."
"Where are you from, originally?"
"New York. I wandered for a while, trying to get away from the hate. Then Caliban and Callisto found me, brought me to The Morlocks."
"It must have been hard to leave."
"It was... Very painful..."
Thomas decided to change the subject slightly, "Torpid?"
"They found her in a dumpster. What kind of sick person throws away a baby?"
Thomas changed the subject again, "So, how did you go to school?"
"I'd crawl out and go to class. I know it sounds weird, but it might surprise you how many school kids are actually homeless."
Thomas smiled sadly, "I give up. Everything's screwed to hell..."
Ray shrugged, "Not everything. When you lump it all together, yeah, it sounds like the whole world sucks. But we've had good times, too. We even have parties on special occasions. Callisto may seem like a hard-case, but she really cares about The Morlocks. She just doesn't trust people, she's been hurt too much, and she wants to protect them."
Thomas considered for a moment, "Hey, do you have a driver's license?"
"Yeah, but I don't have a car..." His eyes narrowed as the thought suddenly hit him, " NO you don't!"
...
To be continued...
Notes:
Why are they still in The Tunnels when Richard and Tommy have already reached New York and bought wedding rings? The job of securing The Tunnels took several days.
Tar Baby is 6'1" and 163 lbs
Ape is 5'10" 150 lbs
