Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I making any money from the X-Men
characters. Thank you to Corrinth for the use of her character Dr. Ilehana
Xavier. I do own Blaze, and appreciate authors not using her without
asking.
A/N: Reviews always welcome!
Scene 07
Gambit awoke with the usual dread, leaving his warm, flame-filled dreams for the gritty reality of another day behind bars. But quickly he knew that today was different. Inside his sleepy mind a presence that should have gone with his dreams smiled warmly.
**I'm back, Remy... **
**Blaze..? **
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The morning of Gambit's release day dawned clear and bright. The snow began to melt, and it felt to Blaze that everything might be getting better, that spring was on its way. Sure, the Professor, Storm and herself had had little luck trying to further unravel the mystery of the rings, of who was watching them and why. But at least she had help now from them. She wasn't in this alone. She sensed that the Professor was even a little disappointed that neither Blaze nor Storm had come to talk to him about this earlier. But with such a puzzle, and possibly a brooding threat behind it, his extraordinary mind was for the most part busy trying to figure it all out to be really upset.
The other X-Men had quickly got over their dismay at being left out of the story too. Blaze had more or less easily slotted back into life at the school, though where as the last time she had been here her main companions had been Bobby and Rogue, she liked spending time with the new sober Scott equally, if not more so. It left her with a tricky but pleasant feeling of having too many friends. Now that she was here, it was easy for her to understand why she had missed the mansion so much.
Now with a towel turban round her wet hair, and her fluffy blue bathrobe wrapped tight around her, she rifled through her wardrobe in her old room as though she had never left. As always the window was open, curtains blowing in the breeze. Books lay scattered over the floor, some open and some shut, along with various notes and sketches to do with their ongoing ring research. Her ring itself was, as always, on her right thumb. The Professor had asked that Storm and Blaze refrain from wearing them until they understood more about them. The women had refused, something about both these rings had clicked with them and they didn't want to take them off. They had allowed the Professor to x-ray the rings, and do all sorts of tests on them. It was quickly established that they were what they appeared to be, inscribed gold rings with no hidden secrets. Blaze only wished everything were so simple...
The knock on the door was Storm, who entered smiling with arms full of graceful clothes. In a twirl of long white hair and longer white skirts, she began hooking the clothes hangers all around the room; curtain rail, wardrobe door, anywhere she could. Blaze stood still looking kind of bemused.
"I know today is important to you Blaze, and that you haven't much of a wardrobe here yet. So, as we are the same size I thought you might want to borrow..." Gracefully Ororo sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Oh, thank you!" Blaze exclaimed, smoothing the soft silk of one skirt with her hand. "You must be telepathic or something! This stuff is amazing..." She turned back to Storm, her smile met by a frown on the face of the African lady.
"That is twice you have called me telepathic, Blaze. But if I were, surely the Professor would tell me?"
"Why? Do you think you might be? Storm, is something happening to your powers?"
"No, I just..." Storm looked away, not wanting to meet Blaze's piercing brown eyes.
"You're a sensitive lady, Storm. Perhaps that's all it is?" Storm looked up, knowing that Blaze would understand her answer.
"No. I can sometimes now almost feel what people around me are feeling. It's.... distracting, unnerving. In class, if one of the students really wants to leave early, I find myself letting them go before the lesson is finished. I don't understand it..... Do you think it could be the rings?"
"How do you mean?" Blaze was worried, and sat down carefully next to Storm on the edge of the bed.
"Your telepathy, you'd call it more an empathy? Ilehana said you have difficulty making controlled contact, even with another telepath, that is rarely a problem with true telepaths? Also, it's secondary in development to your powers. Perhaps these rings have somehow triggered an empathic response in us both?"
"No, I don't think so. At least, not for me. I've been sharing dreams with Remy for a year, and I can make contact with him no problems, so long as I am not too far away. It may be a little unorthodox telepathy, but whatever caused it is in me, not some ring. I didn't get the ring until after I left here, remember?" Blaze didn't know why she suddenly felt so defensive about her telepathic, or even empathic abilities, but she didn't like the idea that someone or something else might be causing them. She'd gotten so used to feeling what other people felt, and to sharing dreams and thoughts with Gambit, hat she couldn't bear the idea that it might all just go away again.
"Alright." Ororo conceded, "Maybe you are right. I will talk to the Professor about it later. But..." She stood again, and Blaze with her. "What are you going to wear today?"
For a microsecond Blaze's eyes glazed over, then she laughed aloud.
"Rem says I should wear school uniform, and a very small school uniform at that! Either that or my X-Men uniform, but I think we can do better than that, don't you?"
"Blaze, I know we can!" Ororo laughed, catching through Blaze a taste of Gambit's excitement and impatience. "Now get rid of that man before he spoils the surprise!"
A/N: Reviews always welcome!
Scene 07
Gambit awoke with the usual dread, leaving his warm, flame-filled dreams for the gritty reality of another day behind bars. But quickly he knew that today was different. Inside his sleepy mind a presence that should have gone with his dreams smiled warmly.
**I'm back, Remy... **
**Blaze..? **
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The morning of Gambit's release day dawned clear and bright. The snow began to melt, and it felt to Blaze that everything might be getting better, that spring was on its way. Sure, the Professor, Storm and herself had had little luck trying to further unravel the mystery of the rings, of who was watching them and why. But at least she had help now from them. She wasn't in this alone. She sensed that the Professor was even a little disappointed that neither Blaze nor Storm had come to talk to him about this earlier. But with such a puzzle, and possibly a brooding threat behind it, his extraordinary mind was for the most part busy trying to figure it all out to be really upset.
The other X-Men had quickly got over their dismay at being left out of the story too. Blaze had more or less easily slotted back into life at the school, though where as the last time she had been here her main companions had been Bobby and Rogue, she liked spending time with the new sober Scott equally, if not more so. It left her with a tricky but pleasant feeling of having too many friends. Now that she was here, it was easy for her to understand why she had missed the mansion so much.
Now with a towel turban round her wet hair, and her fluffy blue bathrobe wrapped tight around her, she rifled through her wardrobe in her old room as though she had never left. As always the window was open, curtains blowing in the breeze. Books lay scattered over the floor, some open and some shut, along with various notes and sketches to do with their ongoing ring research. Her ring itself was, as always, on her right thumb. The Professor had asked that Storm and Blaze refrain from wearing them until they understood more about them. The women had refused, something about both these rings had clicked with them and they didn't want to take them off. They had allowed the Professor to x-ray the rings, and do all sorts of tests on them. It was quickly established that they were what they appeared to be, inscribed gold rings with no hidden secrets. Blaze only wished everything were so simple...
The knock on the door was Storm, who entered smiling with arms full of graceful clothes. In a twirl of long white hair and longer white skirts, she began hooking the clothes hangers all around the room; curtain rail, wardrobe door, anywhere she could. Blaze stood still looking kind of bemused.
"I know today is important to you Blaze, and that you haven't much of a wardrobe here yet. So, as we are the same size I thought you might want to borrow..." Gracefully Ororo sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Oh, thank you!" Blaze exclaimed, smoothing the soft silk of one skirt with her hand. "You must be telepathic or something! This stuff is amazing..." She turned back to Storm, her smile met by a frown on the face of the African lady.
"That is twice you have called me telepathic, Blaze. But if I were, surely the Professor would tell me?"
"Why? Do you think you might be? Storm, is something happening to your powers?"
"No, I just..." Storm looked away, not wanting to meet Blaze's piercing brown eyes.
"You're a sensitive lady, Storm. Perhaps that's all it is?" Storm looked up, knowing that Blaze would understand her answer.
"No. I can sometimes now almost feel what people around me are feeling. It's.... distracting, unnerving. In class, if one of the students really wants to leave early, I find myself letting them go before the lesson is finished. I don't understand it..... Do you think it could be the rings?"
"How do you mean?" Blaze was worried, and sat down carefully next to Storm on the edge of the bed.
"Your telepathy, you'd call it more an empathy? Ilehana said you have difficulty making controlled contact, even with another telepath, that is rarely a problem with true telepaths? Also, it's secondary in development to your powers. Perhaps these rings have somehow triggered an empathic response in us both?"
"No, I don't think so. At least, not for me. I've been sharing dreams with Remy for a year, and I can make contact with him no problems, so long as I am not too far away. It may be a little unorthodox telepathy, but whatever caused it is in me, not some ring. I didn't get the ring until after I left here, remember?" Blaze didn't know why she suddenly felt so defensive about her telepathic, or even empathic abilities, but she didn't like the idea that someone or something else might be causing them. She'd gotten so used to feeling what other people felt, and to sharing dreams and thoughts with Gambit, hat she couldn't bear the idea that it might all just go away again.
"Alright." Ororo conceded, "Maybe you are right. I will talk to the Professor about it later. But..." She stood again, and Blaze with her. "What are you going to wear today?"
For a microsecond Blaze's eyes glazed over, then she laughed aloud.
"Rem says I should wear school uniform, and a very small school uniform at that! Either that or my X-Men uniform, but I think we can do better than that, don't you?"
"Blaze, I know we can!" Ororo laughed, catching through Blaze a taste of Gambit's excitement and impatience. "Now get rid of that man before he spoils the surprise!"