Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men or their world, and am making no money
from this story. Corrinth owns Dr Ilehana Xavier. I own Blaze.
A/N: The **Thud** idea is taken from Knight of Avlee's work in progress, as a way to describe the actions of a strong telepath in someone else's mind. Reviews are gold dust, and duly appreciated.
09
"Nah, look, its not that bad a job!" The young man talking was full of himself. Blaze was a combination of bored and drunk. He didn't seem to notice her long fingers tapping the tabletop irritably. But her money was running low, changing towns every couple of days, then drinking yourself so senseless you forgot why you were running every night had taken its toll on her funds. So she took drinks from men as she needed them. And men from other girls as she wanted. Didn't matter, Jacobi would find her eventually, and then he'd kill her. "I get to travel the world, for conferences, and see all types of brand new breakthroughs in genetic modification actually happen........."
"Yeah?" Blaze was sarcastic. English sarcasm is a fine art, polished and extremely effective against dopey drunk American men. "Well imagine that, travelling the whole world."
"Exactly." The man, she couldn't remember his name, looked proud. "Wait, were you joking?" Blaze smiled sweetly, brown eyes dull and evil. Her stomach hurt, when would he get another round in? "Well, you'll see, Catherine. One day, GD Pharmaceuticals is going to have the biggest effect on your life........."
"My life in particular, or the condition of the human race?" Blaze asked, tediously bored. The light flickered, and then was blocked out as out of nowhere someone solidified to hang over them. "Who are you?"
"Blaze, its time to wake up." Ilehana held out her hand to her friend, the boundaries of this world inside Blaze's mind blurred and flickering. Was this how Blaze remembered things, fuzzy around the edges, or was it more to do with the amount of empties on the table? "Come with me, wake up........."
A warm hand slid into Vixen's, the images around them faded, and the clinical white of the infirmary solidified. Ilehana had her, and everything was going to be all right.
"Wow." Blaze groaned as her eyes opened. "Ouch." Everything hurt, her arm felt like it had been sliced to ribbons, and all she could taste was sick and bile.
"Laura!" A familiar voice, an easily placed accent, an unforgettable embrace as Gambit plucked her forcefully from the bed and into his arms before Ilehana could protest. No protest she could have come up with for taking things slowly would have been as forceful as the one Blaze gave.
"Bastard! Salaud! Va-t'en!" Each time she swore, told him to go away, he recoiled as if hit, but that wasn't good enough for Blaze. She was off the bed and glaring, ready for a fight. Frantically Ilehana grabbed for Blaze's arms, forgetting momentarily in that instinctive reaction that Blaze was still injured, and capable of causing damage to Ilehana through her firepower. "I never told you my name! What gives you the right to call me Laura?"
"Blaze what you talkin' about?" Gambit backed off uncertainly as Blaze fought Ilehana's grasp hysterically. The redhead didn't seem to care that she was injured, and certainly she didn't realise she had such awesome mutant power with which to fight back.
"Murderer!" Blaze screamed. "Fuck me and leave me for dead why don't you! Well guess what, Jacobi hasn't found me yet! Surprised? Or too busy looking after your own skin? Salaud!" With a crafty sidestep she threw Ilehana off balance and squirmed free. "Bitch! Get your damn hands off me! There isn't one of his damned women around that can beat me in a fight, so don't start one!"
**Thud**
Ilehana stopped Blaze with simple telepathic pressure. She hung there, her very being suspended, eyes unblinking as Ilehana looked right back at her. Gambit made an odd noise at the back of his throat. Half choked-back sob, half obscenity, he looked like death warmed up.
"She's trapped in her memories." Ilehana's voice was croaky. She wondered why she hadn't spotted it before. Then as she looked at Gambit trying to take in what she'd told him, she wondered how stupidly callous she'd been in telling him the truth. That wherever and whenever Blaze thought she was, she hated him.
As Gambit turned and left, feeling sick to the core and ready to drop dead, Ilehana couldn't blame Blaze one bit. Men. They couldn't just say, "I'm sorry." Too complicated for them. So they took their problems to bed with them and left their unwitting partners to pick up the emotional baggage. Vixen couldn't say it had never happened to her either. One main culprit was right upstairs. But somehow, sometime, Blaze had forgiven Gambit for whatever he'd done. It was up to the X-Men, Blaze's friends, her family, to figure out what had happened to her, and how to get her to forgive him again.
"Come on, Blaze." Vixen sighed, turning her thoughts back to the puppet- like girl who waited on her telepathic command. "Lets get that arm bandaged, then get you cleaned up and changed. We can figure the rest out later........."
A/N: The **Thud** idea is taken from Knight of Avlee's work in progress, as a way to describe the actions of a strong telepath in someone else's mind. Reviews are gold dust, and duly appreciated.
09
"Nah, look, its not that bad a job!" The young man talking was full of himself. Blaze was a combination of bored and drunk. He didn't seem to notice her long fingers tapping the tabletop irritably. But her money was running low, changing towns every couple of days, then drinking yourself so senseless you forgot why you were running every night had taken its toll on her funds. So she took drinks from men as she needed them. And men from other girls as she wanted. Didn't matter, Jacobi would find her eventually, and then he'd kill her. "I get to travel the world, for conferences, and see all types of brand new breakthroughs in genetic modification actually happen........."
"Yeah?" Blaze was sarcastic. English sarcasm is a fine art, polished and extremely effective against dopey drunk American men. "Well imagine that, travelling the whole world."
"Exactly." The man, she couldn't remember his name, looked proud. "Wait, were you joking?" Blaze smiled sweetly, brown eyes dull and evil. Her stomach hurt, when would he get another round in? "Well, you'll see, Catherine. One day, GD Pharmaceuticals is going to have the biggest effect on your life........."
"My life in particular, or the condition of the human race?" Blaze asked, tediously bored. The light flickered, and then was blocked out as out of nowhere someone solidified to hang over them. "Who are you?"
"Blaze, its time to wake up." Ilehana held out her hand to her friend, the boundaries of this world inside Blaze's mind blurred and flickering. Was this how Blaze remembered things, fuzzy around the edges, or was it more to do with the amount of empties on the table? "Come with me, wake up........."
A warm hand slid into Vixen's, the images around them faded, and the clinical white of the infirmary solidified. Ilehana had her, and everything was going to be all right.
"Wow." Blaze groaned as her eyes opened. "Ouch." Everything hurt, her arm felt like it had been sliced to ribbons, and all she could taste was sick and bile.
"Laura!" A familiar voice, an easily placed accent, an unforgettable embrace as Gambit plucked her forcefully from the bed and into his arms before Ilehana could protest. No protest she could have come up with for taking things slowly would have been as forceful as the one Blaze gave.
"Bastard! Salaud! Va-t'en!" Each time she swore, told him to go away, he recoiled as if hit, but that wasn't good enough for Blaze. She was off the bed and glaring, ready for a fight. Frantically Ilehana grabbed for Blaze's arms, forgetting momentarily in that instinctive reaction that Blaze was still injured, and capable of causing damage to Ilehana through her firepower. "I never told you my name! What gives you the right to call me Laura?"
"Blaze what you talkin' about?" Gambit backed off uncertainly as Blaze fought Ilehana's grasp hysterically. The redhead didn't seem to care that she was injured, and certainly she didn't realise she had such awesome mutant power with which to fight back.
"Murderer!" Blaze screamed. "Fuck me and leave me for dead why don't you! Well guess what, Jacobi hasn't found me yet! Surprised? Or too busy looking after your own skin? Salaud!" With a crafty sidestep she threw Ilehana off balance and squirmed free. "Bitch! Get your damn hands off me! There isn't one of his damned women around that can beat me in a fight, so don't start one!"
**Thud**
Ilehana stopped Blaze with simple telepathic pressure. She hung there, her very being suspended, eyes unblinking as Ilehana looked right back at her. Gambit made an odd noise at the back of his throat. Half choked-back sob, half obscenity, he looked like death warmed up.
"She's trapped in her memories." Ilehana's voice was croaky. She wondered why she hadn't spotted it before. Then as she looked at Gambit trying to take in what she'd told him, she wondered how stupidly callous she'd been in telling him the truth. That wherever and whenever Blaze thought she was, she hated him.
As Gambit turned and left, feeling sick to the core and ready to drop dead, Ilehana couldn't blame Blaze one bit. Men. They couldn't just say, "I'm sorry." Too complicated for them. So they took their problems to bed with them and left their unwitting partners to pick up the emotional baggage. Vixen couldn't say it had never happened to her either. One main culprit was right upstairs. But somehow, sometime, Blaze had forgiven Gambit for whatever he'd done. It was up to the X-Men, Blaze's friends, her family, to figure out what had happened to her, and how to get her to forgive him again.
"Come on, Blaze." Vixen sighed, turning her thoughts back to the puppet- like girl who waited on her telepathic command. "Lets get that arm bandaged, then get you cleaned up and changed. We can figure the rest out later........."