A/N + Disclaimer: You can all thank my roomie for the quick update. She's
read this whole thing twice and it still bugging me to post! You should
also read her story, can't remember what it's called but her author name is
NightFaery! Eventually we want to have our characters (hers is named Jade,
mucho cool!) work together, probably on the sequel to this one! Okies, you
all know the disclaimer thing, happy reads!
When she entered the building, Mirage hurried toward the hall that held Cerebro. She could feel that that was where the disturbance was coming from. When she arrived she found the Professor fallen onto the platform.
She had been right then, something had gone wrong. She moved quickly past the professor, sending out messages of distress to Jean. She moved over toward Cerebro and tried to find out where the problem might have occurred. While she was doing this, a nearly panicked team of X-Men had come rushing into the room. Shocked, and she was sure, somewhat suspicious at the fact that she had left the professor on the ground while she had moved on to the machine.
She turned to look at them, and spoke immediately to Jean. "I didn't know what to do about him. This I think I can fix. Something poisoned his mind, and I think I know what." As she finished speaking, Mirage pushed a button on the controls releasing a drawer with the "mind" of Cerebro inside. She looked at the colored liquid inside the container. She had been right. She knew there was probably only one person who could really get in here to get this done. As she cleared the machine, she voiced her main - her only - suspect "Mysique."
Jean had begun trying to see what could be done for the professor. After looking him over as carefully as the situation could afford. Jean asked Scott to help her move him into the infirmary. All the while though, she had suspicious thoughts running through her mind about Mirage. How was she the first one here? How did she get into this hall? Why didn't she try to do something for the professor? How had she immediately known what was wrong with the professor, and how had she known how to fix the problem with Cerebro?
Jean carefully dwelled on these questions as she continued to look over the professor. ************************************************************************
Mirage stood in the back of the room as she listened to Scott's plans about how to get Rogue back quickly. Then she listened to Jean's update on the state of the professor. She felt removed from all parts of the conversation and when Scott returned to the platform, she quietly exited the room.
Right now she wasn't concerned with the actions of the X-men, she was concerned with the state of the professor, however. Especially since she had had a dream the night before, pointing to the professor as the main key to her identity.
She walked into the infirmary and looked at the professor, being heavily monitored by various cables and screens. As she bent over to look at his unconscious face, she remembered parts of her dream. In it, she had been very young. All of the other X-men had been there, except for Rogue and Wolverine. There had been others as well, one was another woman, whom she was fairly sure represented her mother. Throughout the dream, Charles, it was funny for her to think of him that way now, like a friend, he had been there through her dream. He had been the only one who understood her. She had trusted him. She had asked him what her name was. What, and who, she was. He had been about to answer when she had woken up.
Now that she looked at him, she believed that he did know the answers to those questions, and many others that she had had for as long as she could remember.
She moved around to the head of the table. She had an idea about how she could help him to heal, and how she could get him to answer her questions. She placed her hands on either side of his head. She began by reaching out to his mind, she did not want to steal random parts of his mind, she only needed to clear those parts that had been poisoned.
She was not worried about the poison destroying her mind. She had stolen a great deal of energy from Sabertooth when she had first joined with Magneto, she kept this strength and healing power locked away from the general portion of her mind, so that she didn't risk loosing it in a battle or giving it away in an exchange like she was going to do now.
When Mirage had ordered her mind, so that she would not cause unnecessary damage, she carefully touched her hands to the professor's skin. She felt herself drawn into his mind as his body tensed. She knew that Jean had suspicions against her, and the other X-men as well, and she knew that this looked as though she we simply taking energy from their beloved leader, but she also knew that this needed to be done. She couldn't worry herself about the X-men, whom she was afraid would see her type of healing before she was done. It was the part they couldn't see that mattered. They couldn't see her carefully locking the poison away, with Sabertooth's strength. They also couldn't see the "clean" mind energy that she was returning to Charles' mind.
Mirage felt herself begin to weaken, she knew that she would return to power quickly, because she was only exchanging powers, instead of purely expending it. She knew that she needed to get this done now; she wouldn't get another chance. She heard the footsteps come into the room, but still, she couldn't have expected the force that sent her flying across the room.
She hit the back wall with amazing force, and she was doubly stunned by the sudden break in her mind connection. Mirage carefully rose to her feet to face all of the X-men. As she looked at them, she could easily tell what they were thinking, she knew that she had no chance of convincing them otherwise, but she needed the professor's mind to be cleared!
"You don't understand." Her voice was weak, small, exhausted. She didn't want to fight these people, she couldn't afford more enemies right now.
"Understand what! What were you doing to him? Taking his energy?" Jean's voice was outraged; she was feeling justified in the concerns she had been having about Mirage.
"No! I don't do that! I'm not like that! I don't take directly. not anymore." Mirage's voice was almost small as she finished, but that didn't hide her outrage at these accusation. "I was just." Mirage broke off her sentence suddenly as she heard a strange cry in her mind. She knew the voice had been Coyote's, she knew that there was trouble, she had to help. Her sense of urgency about her brother overtook any concern about the X-men.
"I have to go." As soon as she had made the statement, Mirage began to move out of the room, only to be suddenly stopped by steel claws rammed into the doorway immediately in front of her face.
"Explain first, then you can go." Logan's face was angry and distrusting, just as she knew hers would have been, especially if she suddenly knew the name of a strange woman who had probably been part of his lost memories, possibly even the reason for them, given her powers.
"I don't have to explain, I'm not a captive here, and I'm leaving." Her statement was just as direct and forceful as his had been. She ducked quickly under his claws and moved out of the room.
She was immediately followed by the other mutants. In the quick fight that ensued, Mirage used the powers of all the mutants she could feel to her advantage. She didn't know what was happening, she just knew that her brother needed her help. Given the recent attacks, she was also sure that the need to retrieve Rouge had become even more vital. She carefully managed not to hurt the others, though she was sure that everyone would end up a little bruised, she knew that they had a fight coming as well.
As she left the building through a hole she had made using Scott's powers, Mirage gave a quick look to Logan as she sealed up the hole, with ice she quickly created using Storm's power.
When she entered the building, Mirage hurried toward the hall that held Cerebro. She could feel that that was where the disturbance was coming from. When she arrived she found the Professor fallen onto the platform.
She had been right then, something had gone wrong. She moved quickly past the professor, sending out messages of distress to Jean. She moved over toward Cerebro and tried to find out where the problem might have occurred. While she was doing this, a nearly panicked team of X-Men had come rushing into the room. Shocked, and she was sure, somewhat suspicious at the fact that she had left the professor on the ground while she had moved on to the machine.
She turned to look at them, and spoke immediately to Jean. "I didn't know what to do about him. This I think I can fix. Something poisoned his mind, and I think I know what." As she finished speaking, Mirage pushed a button on the controls releasing a drawer with the "mind" of Cerebro inside. She looked at the colored liquid inside the container. She had been right. She knew there was probably only one person who could really get in here to get this done. As she cleared the machine, she voiced her main - her only - suspect "Mysique."
Jean had begun trying to see what could be done for the professor. After looking him over as carefully as the situation could afford. Jean asked Scott to help her move him into the infirmary. All the while though, she had suspicious thoughts running through her mind about Mirage. How was she the first one here? How did she get into this hall? Why didn't she try to do something for the professor? How had she immediately known what was wrong with the professor, and how had she known how to fix the problem with Cerebro?
Jean carefully dwelled on these questions as she continued to look over the professor. ************************************************************************
Mirage stood in the back of the room as she listened to Scott's plans about how to get Rogue back quickly. Then she listened to Jean's update on the state of the professor. She felt removed from all parts of the conversation and when Scott returned to the platform, she quietly exited the room.
Right now she wasn't concerned with the actions of the X-men, she was concerned with the state of the professor, however. Especially since she had had a dream the night before, pointing to the professor as the main key to her identity.
She walked into the infirmary and looked at the professor, being heavily monitored by various cables and screens. As she bent over to look at his unconscious face, she remembered parts of her dream. In it, she had been very young. All of the other X-men had been there, except for Rogue and Wolverine. There had been others as well, one was another woman, whom she was fairly sure represented her mother. Throughout the dream, Charles, it was funny for her to think of him that way now, like a friend, he had been there through her dream. He had been the only one who understood her. She had trusted him. She had asked him what her name was. What, and who, she was. He had been about to answer when she had woken up.
Now that she looked at him, she believed that he did know the answers to those questions, and many others that she had had for as long as she could remember.
She moved around to the head of the table. She had an idea about how she could help him to heal, and how she could get him to answer her questions. She placed her hands on either side of his head. She began by reaching out to his mind, she did not want to steal random parts of his mind, she only needed to clear those parts that had been poisoned.
She was not worried about the poison destroying her mind. She had stolen a great deal of energy from Sabertooth when she had first joined with Magneto, she kept this strength and healing power locked away from the general portion of her mind, so that she didn't risk loosing it in a battle or giving it away in an exchange like she was going to do now.
When Mirage had ordered her mind, so that she would not cause unnecessary damage, she carefully touched her hands to the professor's skin. She felt herself drawn into his mind as his body tensed. She knew that Jean had suspicions against her, and the other X-men as well, and she knew that this looked as though she we simply taking energy from their beloved leader, but she also knew that this needed to be done. She couldn't worry herself about the X-men, whom she was afraid would see her type of healing before she was done. It was the part they couldn't see that mattered. They couldn't see her carefully locking the poison away, with Sabertooth's strength. They also couldn't see the "clean" mind energy that she was returning to Charles' mind.
Mirage felt herself begin to weaken, she knew that she would return to power quickly, because she was only exchanging powers, instead of purely expending it. She knew that she needed to get this done now; she wouldn't get another chance. She heard the footsteps come into the room, but still, she couldn't have expected the force that sent her flying across the room.
She hit the back wall with amazing force, and she was doubly stunned by the sudden break in her mind connection. Mirage carefully rose to her feet to face all of the X-men. As she looked at them, she could easily tell what they were thinking, she knew that she had no chance of convincing them otherwise, but she needed the professor's mind to be cleared!
"You don't understand." Her voice was weak, small, exhausted. She didn't want to fight these people, she couldn't afford more enemies right now.
"Understand what! What were you doing to him? Taking his energy?" Jean's voice was outraged; she was feeling justified in the concerns she had been having about Mirage.
"No! I don't do that! I'm not like that! I don't take directly. not anymore." Mirage's voice was almost small as she finished, but that didn't hide her outrage at these accusation. "I was just." Mirage broke off her sentence suddenly as she heard a strange cry in her mind. She knew the voice had been Coyote's, she knew that there was trouble, she had to help. Her sense of urgency about her brother overtook any concern about the X-men.
"I have to go." As soon as she had made the statement, Mirage began to move out of the room, only to be suddenly stopped by steel claws rammed into the doorway immediately in front of her face.
"Explain first, then you can go." Logan's face was angry and distrusting, just as she knew hers would have been, especially if she suddenly knew the name of a strange woman who had probably been part of his lost memories, possibly even the reason for them, given her powers.
"I don't have to explain, I'm not a captive here, and I'm leaving." Her statement was just as direct and forceful as his had been. She ducked quickly under his claws and moved out of the room.
She was immediately followed by the other mutants. In the quick fight that ensued, Mirage used the powers of all the mutants she could feel to her advantage. She didn't know what was happening, she just knew that her brother needed her help. Given the recent attacks, she was also sure that the need to retrieve Rouge had become even more vital. She carefully managed not to hurt the others, though she was sure that everyone would end up a little bruised, she knew that they had a fight coming as well.
As she left the building through a hole she had made using Scott's powers, Mirage gave a quick look to Logan as she sealed up the hole, with ice she quickly created using Storm's power.