Chapter 14
When Kitty and Bishop finally found the pair, Jubilee had Frankie's head in her lap and was stroking her hair. When Jubilee noticed the two were there, she looked up.
"Guys, I can't reach her. She put up a wall, and it hurts to even try. Her pulse is really high, and there is nothing I can do."
In Frankie's mind
"Whoa, note to self, do not try that again without an expert near-by."
She then realized she wasn't on the sidewalk anymore.
"Uh, don't think I am in Kansas anymore. Where in the hell am I?"
"You're in your head."
Realizing she wasn't alone, she turned around slowly to see who was there. Expecting Jubilee, she was surprised to see a younger version of herself standing there instead.
"Who are you, and what happened?"
"I'm you, just younger. You over-taxed yourself and withdrew to where you felt safe. Right now, you need to try to calm down. I set up some temporary shields for now, but they won't hold if you stay as upset as you are now."
"Huh? What do you mean where I felt safe? I never retreated into my head before now."
"Yes you did. Every time Jan started to go off, you came here to escape the pain. Didn't you wonder why you never fought back? It's cause you were really never there. Just your body."
"Then what happened the last time. I clearly remember fighting back then."
"Nope, you never fought her back. I did. I couldn't stand what she was doing to you anymore, so when you came here, I took the chance and took over. It's my fault she did what she did to you."
"Ok, this is so not helping me with the calming down thing. I need to get back out there. Jubilee may be in danger. I need to find her."
"Jubilee is fine. She is with your body. You need to relax, though. If not, there is a chance you won't wake up."
"What do you mean?"
"The more upset you get, the deeper you hide. It was ok when you were hiding from Jan. It gave your body a chance to heal. But now, it isn't really helping anything. You need to get back out into the world. Plus, we need to work on your shields. You tore them down trying to find Jubilee. We need to build them back up."
"Tore them down? I never knew I had any to begin with. How do I go about building them back?"
"Like I said, first you need to calm your body. It's going to be a little tougher than normal, but it can be done."
"Fine, how do I do that?"
"Picture the flow of blood through your body. See how fast it's going?"
"Ok, I see it, now what?"
"Picture it slowing down to a normal level."
Concentrating, it took a few minutes, but Frankie saw her blood slow down. "Ok now what?"
"That's it. Now we need to build your walls back, so you can let everyone know you are ok."
Back at the warehouse
Jubilee never left Frankie's side. Once they got back to the warehouse, she had Bishop put Frankie on her bed. She kept checking her pulse, silently wishing it to slow down. All of a sudden, she noticed it doing just that, to the point where she barely felt it. When that happened, she tried scanning Frankie's mind again. Instead of the wall of pain, she was met with a brick wall. Backing out, she decided to see if the link was open.
~Frankie, can you hear me?~
She heard a faint reply back ~Jae, I'm here, just a little busy at the moment.~
~What happened?~
~Guess I had shields after all. Give me a few minutes, and I will be there to explain everything to ya, ok?~
~You better, or I will come back in and drag you out kicking and screaming.~
Laughter came back to her through the link. ~Why do I not doubt that?~ Then another voice came through, simaliar to Frankie's but younger, ~Seriously, she needs to work, she'll be out in a bit. This may take some time, so please, just let her work.~
~Who are you? I thought this was a direct line between Frankie and me.~
~It is. I'm just a younger version of her that helps when she can't handle things. She can explain it better once she is done, but for right now, we really need to get back to work. Please don't worry, she is fine, she just needs to rebuild her walls, ok?~
~For now I guess I have no choice. I'll give you a day, if she isn't awake then, I'm coming back.~
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Disclaimer: I don't own Kitty, Jubilee, or Bishop. Just Frankie. Plus, I don't have anything to sue for, so why bother trying.
A/N Sorry these chapters were so short, but hey, you got two for the price of one this time. Call me superstitious, but I couldn't leave it on chapter 13. Please R/R. Thank you.
