A Brave New World
Disclaimer: All characters recognisably Marvels belong to them, the story to me.
"Meg, what do you sense from Elspeth? Is she different from Betts, who was at the Institute
New York?" he inquired, hoping her empathy could shed some light on the mystery.
"Well, the part of Betts that was there, is still there. But there's somebody else there,
who's stronger than Betts ever was. This lady's not able to remember where she's from, or
even what her name was, but she's damn sure of who she is, as a person. She remembers
people and places she may have been, btu she also remembers growing up in Maldan, England
with you and Jamie. I get the vague image of a woman, a little older than Betts, who was
Middle Eastern and sort of empathic, like me. But not able to change her shape..." Meghan
said thoughtfully, "It's like she and Betts merged so completely that I can't tell where
one begins and the other ends; and Elspeth has two sets of memories. She is Betts, and she's
more...Don't try to confuse her, Bri, you'll only hurt her. Just be patient with her, and be
a brother to her... who ever she is now is what's important. Even if her human blood is gone,
she is still your "half-twin", and I think she's going to need you, Bren and me an aweful lot..."
Brian nodded and joined Meghan as they went to the kitchen. He reached out through the
psychic bond, carefully and gently, Bett..umm...Elspeth... I'm sorry, about this afternoon.
I've always been--well, part of you might remember--a bit irrational about things happening
to you...
Elle was sitting on a barsool, a mug of steaming Constant Comment thickly laced with honey
and a touch of lemon in front of her. She raised an eyebrow, and smiled wryly at her "twin's"
attempted appology. Bren was serving up Coleslaw and pizza... Betts had always hated Coleslaw,
and had never been fond of pinapples, ham, green peppers and black olives as toppings on her
pie, Brian thought to himself.
Well, you certainly have a way of showing you care, Mr. Braddock she replied, her
mindvoice dripping with friendly sarcasm. And she didn't push him away when he moved
to stand beside her, and enfold her in a solid, warm hug. And may I make a suggestion??
Bren and Meghan looked at each other, curiousity winning out over confusion, "What would you
suggest Elspeth?" Meghan looked at her new/old friend, shifting as she percieved just what
Elle was going to suggest to her "twin"...
She pushed Brian onto to the stool next to her, Well, I think you'd do better to loose the
opey blonde look. You might start by letting your hair grow out, and I'd definately reccommend
changing the colour! Maybe a nice shade of blue to match your eyes, brother dear. You look like
an overgrown schoolboy with that haircut...The geek playing at metahero...
Meghan's shift of Brian-with-long-blue-hair brought tears to Bren's eyes, he was laughing so
hard. She had Brian's pompous posture down perfect, and a slightly exagerated version was
absolutely hysterical. Elle choked on her tea, as she saw it. Even Brian laughed, "Is that
how you lassies see me?? No wonder Betts was ashamed to be seen with me in public..."
You got me... "Aaaghh!", Elle groaned, as the pain ripped through her mind. Brian, Bren a
nd Meghan felt it to a lesser degree; but the bond each of them had to her, only amplfied it
to Elspeth. She clutched her head and launched herself through the kitchen skylight, fleeing the pain...
She unconciously headed east, reaching an altitude of over 30.000 feet, and the subjet hurled
her along at speeds in excess of Mach 2... She just kept goint, and eventually, when the pain
was nolonger so great, she slowed, wondering just where she was, and how long she'd been flying...
She cautiously thinned her telepathic defenses, and percieved the minds of Turks somewhere
in the vecinity? Elle followed that 'beacon', and eventually discovered the Straits of Bosphorus
below her; realising that she'd been on wing for some time... She drifted along, enjoying sights
she'd not seen since she was a child, "back when"...
Topkapi Palace, the Grand Seraglio, the Harem... All the places she'd dreamed of seeing, of calling
her own. But she couldn't remember when or where those dreams had come to a proper young English
aristocrat, or just how she'd come to identify with these people and places--Elle couldn't comprehend
why they were there... Just like she remembered being both a fashion designer and a fashion model,
having been a member of the X-Forces, and having read about Betts Braddock's life as an adventurer in
a series of comic books...
Nothing made sense any more. She took in the exotic beauty of Topkapi for what seemed like hours.
Her cybernetic eyes adjusting to the low light, allowing her to fully appreciate it's alluring beauty.
She saw the heat traces of a cat, and mindcalled it to her... Some part of her was an aluriophile, now?
She wondered at it for a moment, before she realised she could hear the little fellow's thoughts, and
he was inisisting upon her attention...
Several hours later, she woke up to the little cat headbutting her, warning her that Topkapi would
be opening for the tourists in a little while... She absently scooped him up, as she vacated the
premesis. Elle had let her thoughts wander, last night as she fled the sudden pain, adn she had
no more anwers than before. She did have more questions than she knew what to do with, however...
She tucked the little grey cat into the jacket she'd aquired, and headed back to England at
a considerably more sedate pace. She thought about her numerous questions, and the cat,
whom she decided to call Launcelot, on a whim--purred, warming her skin, and soothing her mind.
And for some inexplicable reason, when she finally set her feet down, it was on the Salisbury
Plain.... Stonehenge.
Elsewhere:
Brian cringed as the wave of pain tore through them. He'd felt things from Betts before, but the
raw power of the Otherworlder, and her inability to properly block such gave Meghan and Bren
little respite, until she was out of range...
He carefully lifted the unconcious Meghan, and made his way out of the kitchen--not quite
trusting his perceptions after having his chimes rung like that! "Bren, are you alright?
Meghan was knocked out by what ever struck at Elspeth, and I'm more than a wee bit dazed..."
It was then, he notised that Bren was slumped over, face down in his pizza...
He picked up the younger Otherworlder, and placed him next to Meghan on the antigrav
sled... "Well, House, what's wrong with them?" he inquired, worry creasing his brow...
--Meghan is merely suffering from psychic overload, she should recover before long, as should you,
Brian...--House told him, --However, Elspeth is beyond my sentient systems' abililty to scan. She
is, like Bren, invisible to my non-sentient systems, and most every form of telemetry device known
to current Terran tech levels. We can only hope she will be alright...--
Disclaimer: All characters recognisably Marvels belong to them, the story to me.
"Meg, what do you sense from Elspeth? Is she different from Betts, who was at the Institute
New York?" he inquired, hoping her empathy could shed some light on the mystery.
"Well, the part of Betts that was there, is still there. But there's somebody else there,
who's stronger than Betts ever was. This lady's not able to remember where she's from, or
even what her name was, but she's damn sure of who she is, as a person. She remembers
people and places she may have been, btu she also remembers growing up in Maldan, England
with you and Jamie. I get the vague image of a woman, a little older than Betts, who was
Middle Eastern and sort of empathic, like me. But not able to change her shape..." Meghan
said thoughtfully, "It's like she and Betts merged so completely that I can't tell where
one begins and the other ends; and Elspeth has two sets of memories. She is Betts, and she's
more...Don't try to confuse her, Bri, you'll only hurt her. Just be patient with her, and be
a brother to her... who ever she is now is what's important. Even if her human blood is gone,
she is still your "half-twin", and I think she's going to need you, Bren and me an aweful lot..."
Brian nodded and joined Meghan as they went to the kitchen. He reached out through the
psychic bond, carefully and gently, Bett..umm...Elspeth... I'm sorry, about this afternoon.
I've always been--well, part of you might remember--a bit irrational about things happening
to you...
Elle was sitting on a barsool, a mug of steaming Constant Comment thickly laced with honey
and a touch of lemon in front of her. She raised an eyebrow, and smiled wryly at her "twin's"
attempted appology. Bren was serving up Coleslaw and pizza... Betts had always hated Coleslaw,
and had never been fond of pinapples, ham, green peppers and black olives as toppings on her
pie, Brian thought to himself.
Well, you certainly have a way of showing you care, Mr. Braddock she replied, her
mindvoice dripping with friendly sarcasm. And she didn't push him away when he moved
to stand beside her, and enfold her in a solid, warm hug. And may I make a suggestion??
Bren and Meghan looked at each other, curiousity winning out over confusion, "What would you
suggest Elspeth?" Meghan looked at her new/old friend, shifting as she percieved just what
Elle was going to suggest to her "twin"...
She pushed Brian onto to the stool next to her, Well, I think you'd do better to loose the
opey blonde look. You might start by letting your hair grow out, and I'd definately reccommend
changing the colour! Maybe a nice shade of blue to match your eyes, brother dear. You look like
an overgrown schoolboy with that haircut...The geek playing at metahero...
Meghan's shift of Brian-with-long-blue-hair brought tears to Bren's eyes, he was laughing so
hard. She had Brian's pompous posture down perfect, and a slightly exagerated version was
absolutely hysterical. Elle choked on her tea, as she saw it. Even Brian laughed, "Is that
how you lassies see me?? No wonder Betts was ashamed to be seen with me in public..."
You got me... "Aaaghh!", Elle groaned, as the pain ripped through her mind. Brian, Bren a
nd Meghan felt it to a lesser degree; but the bond each of them had to her, only amplfied it
to Elspeth. She clutched her head and launched herself through the kitchen skylight, fleeing the pain...
She unconciously headed east, reaching an altitude of over 30.000 feet, and the subjet hurled
her along at speeds in excess of Mach 2... She just kept goint, and eventually, when the pain
was nolonger so great, she slowed, wondering just where she was, and how long she'd been flying...
She cautiously thinned her telepathic defenses, and percieved the minds of Turks somewhere
in the vecinity? Elle followed that 'beacon', and eventually discovered the Straits of Bosphorus
below her; realising that she'd been on wing for some time... She drifted along, enjoying sights
she'd not seen since she was a child, "back when"...
Topkapi Palace, the Grand Seraglio, the Harem... All the places she'd dreamed of seeing, of calling
her own. But she couldn't remember when or where those dreams had come to a proper young English
aristocrat, or just how she'd come to identify with these people and places--Elle couldn't comprehend
why they were there... Just like she remembered being both a fashion designer and a fashion model,
having been a member of the X-Forces, and having read about Betts Braddock's life as an adventurer in
a series of comic books...
Nothing made sense any more. She took in the exotic beauty of Topkapi for what seemed like hours.
Her cybernetic eyes adjusting to the low light, allowing her to fully appreciate it's alluring beauty.
She saw the heat traces of a cat, and mindcalled it to her... Some part of her was an aluriophile, now?
She wondered at it for a moment, before she realised she could hear the little fellow's thoughts, and
he was inisisting upon her attention...
Several hours later, she woke up to the little cat headbutting her, warning her that Topkapi would
be opening for the tourists in a little while... She absently scooped him up, as she vacated the
premesis. Elle had let her thoughts wander, last night as she fled the sudden pain, adn she had
no more anwers than before. She did have more questions than she knew what to do with, however...
She tucked the little grey cat into the jacket she'd aquired, and headed back to England at
a considerably more sedate pace. She thought about her numerous questions, and the cat,
whom she decided to call Launcelot, on a whim--purred, warming her skin, and soothing her mind.
And for some inexplicable reason, when she finally set her feet down, it was on the Salisbury
Plain.... Stonehenge.
Elsewhere:
Brian cringed as the wave of pain tore through them. He'd felt things from Betts before, but the
raw power of the Otherworlder, and her inability to properly block such gave Meghan and Bren
little respite, until she was out of range...
He carefully lifted the unconcious Meghan, and made his way out of the kitchen--not quite
trusting his perceptions after having his chimes rung like that! "Bren, are you alright?
Meghan was knocked out by what ever struck at Elspeth, and I'm more than a wee bit dazed..."
It was then, he notised that Bren was slumped over, face down in his pizza...
He picked up the younger Otherworlder, and placed him next to Meghan on the antigrav
sled... "Well, House, what's wrong with them?" he inquired, worry creasing his brow...
--Meghan is merely suffering from psychic overload, she should recover before long, as should you,
Brian...--House told him, --However, Elspeth is beyond my sentient systems' abililty to scan. She
is, like Bren, invisible to my non-sentient systems, and most every form of telemetry device known
to current Terran tech levels. We can only hope she will be alright...--