Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Oh, and because I forgot this before the last chapter: Edana is the product of my wacky imagination, but I own nothing else... despite what I might like to believe. Anyway, here's the next bit... enjoy!
--Frances
The stillness was overwhelming. Edana became aware of the black oblivion she was submersed in, but the feeling that she was composed of arms and legs- flesh and blood- was no longer present. Her awareness seemed to be the only part of her existence. I think, therefore I am, she recited blankly. It seemed a stupid way of reasoning, now. Have I died? Is this... is this death? Somehow she could not feel upset or afraid, but she didn't feel peaceful, either. She had always thought dying was a way for a weathered soul to find peace, but it seemed she had found nothing it all. The only thing she felt was overpoweringly... sluggish. But she supposed a dead person might feel that way.
Then, gradually, she noticed a mounting pain around the middle of her head. That's right, she thought slowly, I have a head. It began to throb, slightly at first and then more fiercely, and she felt the blood pumping in her ears. At this realization, she felt recognition creeping through her body as she noted her torso, arms, legs, fingertips, and toes. She was still floundering in the darkness, and couldn't summon the energy to move, but as she felt her chest rise and fall as air passed through her lips, Edana realized that she could not possibly be dead. A faint, steady beeping sound reached her ears, which she thought might be some kind of heart monitor. Was she in a hospital, then? Why would she be there, again...?
Her memory returned in little pieces, like water dripping through a crack. As she remembered what had happened to her, her throat tightened and she felt a swell of panic rising in her chest. By all means, she should be dead. Or at least dying. Was she dying? Edana struggled to open her eyes, and was instantly blinded by the white light that flooded them. The pain in her head was instantly multiplied a tenfold. Groaning, she squeezed her eyes shut again as tears sprung to them.
Feeling infinitely more awake, Edana summoned the strength to raise one arm and throw it over her face to block some of the bothersome fluorescent lighting. She heard a door open a few feet away, accompanied by the sound of someone speaking.
"I'll just check and see if it's in here," a young male voice said far too loudly for Edana's taste. "Oh..." There was a beat. "HEY, HANK! I THINK SHE'S AWAKE!"
The thundering exclamation was amplified enormously by her gargantuan headache, and for a few seconds she feared the pressure in her head was actually going to cause it to explode. Slowly lowering her arm and squinting through the slightly less intense brightness, Edana stared blearily as a curious face swam into focus. The man was only a few years older than her, with sandy hair and round, chilly blue eyes sparked with the faintest hint of mischief.
"Hi..." she said nervously, but found her throat to be so dry that it came out like more of a croak and sent her into a coughing fit.
"It would be considerate of you to lower your voice, Robert," sounded another, softer voice that Edana just caught over her sputtering as she struggled into a sitting position. "Here, drink this." Gratefully accepting the glass of water handed to her, she took a small sip and then, realizing suddenly that she was unbelievably parched, proceeded to chug the rest of the water as though her life depended on it. When she finished, she looked up, and straight into the fanged smile of a hairy, blue beast.
Edana started, eyes widening in alarm, and the movement resulted in a sharp pain shooting from between her temples all the way down her spine. The heart monitor began beeping significantly faster as the cup fell from her hand.
"Do not be frightened," said the furry creature reassuringly. "I am Doctor McCoy; you may call me Hank. My appearance is merely the result of my mutation."
"Think of him as big, living teddy bear," chimed in the young man from before, who had wandered toward a tray of medical supplies to Edana's left. Mind spinning, she struggled to take in the sterile, white room and its humming equipment, some of which was attached to directly to her, mostly at the wrist.
"This is Robert Drake," Hank explained, looking at him sternly. "Who I believe was just leaving."
Robert looked somewhat put out at that, but took a roll of bandages from the tray and turned to leave. "I'll tell the Cajun she's awake," he announced as he left, lazily tapping the top of the doorframe as he passed through it. "Oh, and I'll see you around," he added over his shoulder with boyish smile and little wave.
After he disappeared, Edana ran her eyes over the room again and was almost moved to tears by the utter lack of sense that everything seemed to make. Hank was busily checking her stats, which she supposed was probably an immediate concern, but she was also fairly certain that she was not dying and that she needed some answers immediately or her head was going to pop off. "What... where am I?" she asked thickly, trying to make heads or tails of something- anything that was going on.
Checking a few of the perplexing monitors as he spoke, Dr. McCoy was kind enough to answer her slowly and completely. "You are in the medical wing of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. It is a private school for young mutants, but we seek to help older mutants as well. Remy Lebeau, a mutant who lives here at the mansion, brought you to me after you were shot. That was three days ago."
"Three days ago?" Edana echoed, her heart skipping a beat. "Then... Remy's a mutant? Why did he bring me here instead of a hospital? Why- why aren't I dead?" The questions poured from her mouth more demandingly than she'd intended, and she felt a blush creep into her cheeks as Hank laughed and turned to face her, a clipboard in hand.
"Well, the answer to the first two questions is yes. You have been in a coma for three days, due to a concussion, and Remy is indeed a mutant. In regards to the latter two questions..." Dr. McCoy picked up a hand-mirror sitting on the tray in front of him and handed it to Edana, who received it with a questioning look. "I think perhaps you would better understand if you could see for yourself."
The first thing she noticed was that her head was tightly wound in the white bandaging Robert had retrieved earlier, and the second thing she noticed was how awful she looked. Her ivory colored complexion was washed out and tinged with yellow, her normally bright green eyes dull, sluggish orbs that were unusually prominent from their position in her now somewhat gaunt-looking face. It seemed not even three days' sleep could cure the bags under her eyes, and the unflattering, baffled expression Edana noticed she was wearing merely added to the picture.
She was about to ask how her reflection was supposed to answer her questions when Hank began unwrapping the bandage around her head. As more and more was removed, Edana's chest began to tighten a little. She could not squelch a rising anxiety as her mind whirred with the images of grotesque, life-shattering scars. What could have possibly spared her life? Her mouth ran dry.
Of all that she could have in her wildest dreams expected to see, nothing could even come close to what she was confronted by.
"Oh!" The stifled exclamation was all Edana could manage as her free hand went to her mouth in shock. In the middle of her forehead, diamond-shaped, deep green, and glinting in the light, was a large jewel. At least, that's what it looked like. Running her fingertips over it delicately, she was most alarmed to discover that the bizarre protrusion was warm, as though it was alive. She felt around the edges, seeking to feel a separation point, but it was seamlessly fused to the rest of her head. "What... what is it?" she asked shakily, afraid of what she might be told but still hopelessly curious.
"It's your skull, Edana," Dr. McCoy explained gently. When she began to shake her head in protest, he quickly continued. "The night you arrived, you had a bullet-sized hole burned into the flesh on your forehead. Under the now removed skin, however, was not typical human bone, but rather this material," he said gesturing to her forehead. "An x-ray revealed that as opposed to an ordinary skeleton, you have a very strange structure... something akin to a bug's exoskeleton."
"I have no bones?" she echoed faintly, feeling vaguely horrified and more than a little repulsed.
"Well, I can't be entirely certain," Hank admitted truthfully. "Because the x-rays cannot not penetrate your 'second skin' of sorts, it would require much more dramatic measures to determine how it is, exactly, your body functions. There's more, however," he said, not noting Edana's extremely downtrodden expression as he did so. "The impact of the bullet was still enough to injure your brain, which resulted in a concussion, as well as, I believe, a triggering of your further mutation. During the first two days, that growth on your forehead steadily became more prominent, and the skin above it died and flaked off. It resulted in what you see in that mirror, but I doubt that the process is entirely complete. I believe that when you learn to control your abilities, you will be able to shed your skin completely to reveal the exoskeleton beneath."
Edana's head lowered, brow knit as she struggled to digest the massive amount of information. Still, it led to one very clear conclusion. "I'm a mutant, then..." she said quietly, the words tasting strange in her mouth. "And green."
Chuckling, Dr. McCoy patted her shoulder. "Well, there's always the chance that you will also be able to grow a new layer of skin over your exoskeleton, if you learn to control your abilities. In regards to color, however, we won't know for sure until it happens... but yes, you probably are green. And it's a good thing, because we have a surplus of blue mutants running around already. The change will be welcome."
Grinning at his lightheartedness despite herself, Edana tried to envision herself not only as a mutant, but one that could not disguise her race. How am I ever going to go back to work like this? she wondered in dismay as she took one last look in the mirror before placing it back on the tray.
"You won't have to. Not if you do not wish."
The sudden reply to what had been a purely mental question sent a chill down Edana's spine. She looked up to see that a man in some sort of wheelchair had entered the room, and was watching her with a gaze that was not harsh or accusatory, but unnervingly piercing nonetheless. He was bald, which made it difficult to determine his age any more specifically than the observation that he was much older than she. Edana quickly realized that he must also be a mutant... some sort of telepath.
"Ah," smiled Hank, turning around. "Edana, I would like you to meet Professor Charles Xavier, the founder of this institute."
"How are you feeling?" asked the professor courteously, directing his wheelchair, (which Edana suddenly realized had no wheels) closer to her bedside.
She hesitated, knowing that the truth wasn't exactly the stuff of affable chitchat. "I'm feeling well," she lied, forcing a smile. "Thank you. And thank you for..." Looking around, Edana wasn't sure how to verbalize it. "This. Everything."
"Think nothing of it," he said, shaking his head. "We're glad that we were able to help you."
The feeling of having her life saved by complete strangers was slightly awkward, so, tongue-tied, Edana just smiled shyly. Receiving help was not something she was accustomed to.
"Edana, I'm sure that you have realized you possess an extraordinary gift," he said seriously, in a tone that suggested he was broaching a new and important subject.
I don't know about extraordinary, but it's definitely weird, she thought darkly, immediately regretting it when she remembered that this man had read her mind earlier.
"We are all unique here," Professor Xavier said gently, placing emphasis on the word 'unique'. "That is why I would like to offer you the opportunity to stay here at the mansion to learn the extent of your new ability, and to train with the other members of the institute to learn how to master it for the benefit of mankind."
Edana's eyes widened slightly when he mentioned that they were inside a mansion. Somehow it was just incomprehensible. All of it seemed impossible, though; this was not a situation she would have ever pictured herself in. When he went on to remark about training to benefit mankind, her heart performed a little flip-flop and settled at a dull flutter in the pit of her stomach. It seemed to be the most (and to be honest, first) unexpected, fortunate event of her life. Then, suddenly the news story from three nights ago flashed through her brain and something seemed to click into place. Could it be?
"Yes," Xavier confirmed quietly with a slight nod, seemingly pleased that she could draw the conclusion herself. "This institution is the base of operations for the X-Men."
She didn't know what to say. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as her mind churned the astonishing information and sought words to describe her feelings. Was this happening? Could it even be real? "I... I don't know how much help I can be," Edana said finally, feeling that it was not wise to make any presumptions about what she would and would not be able to do, "but I want to learn to use my ability for good... and to do whatever I can to help the X-Men." The words were spoken with flustered but true sincerity.
"I am glad," smiled the professor. His presence was somehow less unnerving now than when he had come in. "If you are well enough tomorrow morning, I will send someone to show you to the dining room for breakfast. It will give you a chance to meet the other mutants that live here at the institute." Edana was more than certain that she would be well enough. "I hope to see you then."
"You will," she said as he left, the words sparking a jolt of anticipation. "Right?" came the less confident addition, directed at Dr. McCoy.
"I don't see any reason to hold you here beyond tomorrow morning," he replied with a smile. "You are recovering faster than I would have expected. I'll give you some pain medication, and you should be fine... as long as you spend today resting."
"I can do that," she grinned.
"There's a television in the corner; the remote can be found on your bedside table, and I'll have some food brought down in about half an hour. If you need anything before then, there's an intercom on the wall above your bed. Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?"
After thinking for a moment, nothing seemed to come to mind. "No," Edana said, shaking her head. "Thank you, though. For helping me. And for being patient with me," she fumbled, unable to completely verbalize how grateful she was for the effort he had put into saving her life.
"Not at all, my dear. I have to say, however, I believe it was you who was the patient," he said lightly.
Edana laughed, settling back into her pillow as he turned to leave. Once she was alone, she took a deep breath and released it slowly, staring at the sterile white ceiling as though it held some kind of secret that would make sense of everything that had happened. After a few minutes, she supposed it didn't really matter. Life was finally looking up, and the last thing she was going to do was question good fortune. Perhaps it made no sense to her because it was something she had never really experienced. Nevertheless, it was something she was more than willing to get used to.
--Frances
The stillness was overwhelming. Edana became aware of the black oblivion she was submersed in, but the feeling that she was composed of arms and legs- flesh and blood- was no longer present. Her awareness seemed to be the only part of her existence. I think, therefore I am, she recited blankly. It seemed a stupid way of reasoning, now. Have I died? Is this... is this death? Somehow she could not feel upset or afraid, but she didn't feel peaceful, either. She had always thought dying was a way for a weathered soul to find peace, but it seemed she had found nothing it all. The only thing she felt was overpoweringly... sluggish. But she supposed a dead person might feel that way.
Then, gradually, she noticed a mounting pain around the middle of her head. That's right, she thought slowly, I have a head. It began to throb, slightly at first and then more fiercely, and she felt the blood pumping in her ears. At this realization, she felt recognition creeping through her body as she noted her torso, arms, legs, fingertips, and toes. She was still floundering in the darkness, and couldn't summon the energy to move, but as she felt her chest rise and fall as air passed through her lips, Edana realized that she could not possibly be dead. A faint, steady beeping sound reached her ears, which she thought might be some kind of heart monitor. Was she in a hospital, then? Why would she be there, again...?
Her memory returned in little pieces, like water dripping through a crack. As she remembered what had happened to her, her throat tightened and she felt a swell of panic rising in her chest. By all means, she should be dead. Or at least dying. Was she dying? Edana struggled to open her eyes, and was instantly blinded by the white light that flooded them. The pain in her head was instantly multiplied a tenfold. Groaning, she squeezed her eyes shut again as tears sprung to them.
Feeling infinitely more awake, Edana summoned the strength to raise one arm and throw it over her face to block some of the bothersome fluorescent lighting. She heard a door open a few feet away, accompanied by the sound of someone speaking.
"I'll just check and see if it's in here," a young male voice said far too loudly for Edana's taste. "Oh..." There was a beat. "HEY, HANK! I THINK SHE'S AWAKE!"
The thundering exclamation was amplified enormously by her gargantuan headache, and for a few seconds she feared the pressure in her head was actually going to cause it to explode. Slowly lowering her arm and squinting through the slightly less intense brightness, Edana stared blearily as a curious face swam into focus. The man was only a few years older than her, with sandy hair and round, chilly blue eyes sparked with the faintest hint of mischief.
"Hi..." she said nervously, but found her throat to be so dry that it came out like more of a croak and sent her into a coughing fit.
"It would be considerate of you to lower your voice, Robert," sounded another, softer voice that Edana just caught over her sputtering as she struggled into a sitting position. "Here, drink this." Gratefully accepting the glass of water handed to her, she took a small sip and then, realizing suddenly that she was unbelievably parched, proceeded to chug the rest of the water as though her life depended on it. When she finished, she looked up, and straight into the fanged smile of a hairy, blue beast.
Edana started, eyes widening in alarm, and the movement resulted in a sharp pain shooting from between her temples all the way down her spine. The heart monitor began beeping significantly faster as the cup fell from her hand.
"Do not be frightened," said the furry creature reassuringly. "I am Doctor McCoy; you may call me Hank. My appearance is merely the result of my mutation."
"Think of him as big, living teddy bear," chimed in the young man from before, who had wandered toward a tray of medical supplies to Edana's left. Mind spinning, she struggled to take in the sterile, white room and its humming equipment, some of which was attached to directly to her, mostly at the wrist.
"This is Robert Drake," Hank explained, looking at him sternly. "Who I believe was just leaving."
Robert looked somewhat put out at that, but took a roll of bandages from the tray and turned to leave. "I'll tell the Cajun she's awake," he announced as he left, lazily tapping the top of the doorframe as he passed through it. "Oh, and I'll see you around," he added over his shoulder with boyish smile and little wave.
After he disappeared, Edana ran her eyes over the room again and was almost moved to tears by the utter lack of sense that everything seemed to make. Hank was busily checking her stats, which she supposed was probably an immediate concern, but she was also fairly certain that she was not dying and that she needed some answers immediately or her head was going to pop off. "What... where am I?" she asked thickly, trying to make heads or tails of something- anything that was going on.
Checking a few of the perplexing monitors as he spoke, Dr. McCoy was kind enough to answer her slowly and completely. "You are in the medical wing of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. It is a private school for young mutants, but we seek to help older mutants as well. Remy Lebeau, a mutant who lives here at the mansion, brought you to me after you were shot. That was three days ago."
"Three days ago?" Edana echoed, her heart skipping a beat. "Then... Remy's a mutant? Why did he bring me here instead of a hospital? Why- why aren't I dead?" The questions poured from her mouth more demandingly than she'd intended, and she felt a blush creep into her cheeks as Hank laughed and turned to face her, a clipboard in hand.
"Well, the answer to the first two questions is yes. You have been in a coma for three days, due to a concussion, and Remy is indeed a mutant. In regards to the latter two questions..." Dr. McCoy picked up a hand-mirror sitting on the tray in front of him and handed it to Edana, who received it with a questioning look. "I think perhaps you would better understand if you could see for yourself."
The first thing she noticed was that her head was tightly wound in the white bandaging Robert had retrieved earlier, and the second thing she noticed was how awful she looked. Her ivory colored complexion was washed out and tinged with yellow, her normally bright green eyes dull, sluggish orbs that were unusually prominent from their position in her now somewhat gaunt-looking face. It seemed not even three days' sleep could cure the bags under her eyes, and the unflattering, baffled expression Edana noticed she was wearing merely added to the picture.
She was about to ask how her reflection was supposed to answer her questions when Hank began unwrapping the bandage around her head. As more and more was removed, Edana's chest began to tighten a little. She could not squelch a rising anxiety as her mind whirred with the images of grotesque, life-shattering scars. What could have possibly spared her life? Her mouth ran dry.
Of all that she could have in her wildest dreams expected to see, nothing could even come close to what she was confronted by.
"Oh!" The stifled exclamation was all Edana could manage as her free hand went to her mouth in shock. In the middle of her forehead, diamond-shaped, deep green, and glinting in the light, was a large jewel. At least, that's what it looked like. Running her fingertips over it delicately, she was most alarmed to discover that the bizarre protrusion was warm, as though it was alive. She felt around the edges, seeking to feel a separation point, but it was seamlessly fused to the rest of her head. "What... what is it?" she asked shakily, afraid of what she might be told but still hopelessly curious.
"It's your skull, Edana," Dr. McCoy explained gently. When she began to shake her head in protest, he quickly continued. "The night you arrived, you had a bullet-sized hole burned into the flesh on your forehead. Under the now removed skin, however, was not typical human bone, but rather this material," he said gesturing to her forehead. "An x-ray revealed that as opposed to an ordinary skeleton, you have a very strange structure... something akin to a bug's exoskeleton."
"I have no bones?" she echoed faintly, feeling vaguely horrified and more than a little repulsed.
"Well, I can't be entirely certain," Hank admitted truthfully. "Because the x-rays cannot not penetrate your 'second skin' of sorts, it would require much more dramatic measures to determine how it is, exactly, your body functions. There's more, however," he said, not noting Edana's extremely downtrodden expression as he did so. "The impact of the bullet was still enough to injure your brain, which resulted in a concussion, as well as, I believe, a triggering of your further mutation. During the first two days, that growth on your forehead steadily became more prominent, and the skin above it died and flaked off. It resulted in what you see in that mirror, but I doubt that the process is entirely complete. I believe that when you learn to control your abilities, you will be able to shed your skin completely to reveal the exoskeleton beneath."
Edana's head lowered, brow knit as she struggled to digest the massive amount of information. Still, it led to one very clear conclusion. "I'm a mutant, then..." she said quietly, the words tasting strange in her mouth. "And green."
Chuckling, Dr. McCoy patted her shoulder. "Well, there's always the chance that you will also be able to grow a new layer of skin over your exoskeleton, if you learn to control your abilities. In regards to color, however, we won't know for sure until it happens... but yes, you probably are green. And it's a good thing, because we have a surplus of blue mutants running around already. The change will be welcome."
Grinning at his lightheartedness despite herself, Edana tried to envision herself not only as a mutant, but one that could not disguise her race. How am I ever going to go back to work like this? she wondered in dismay as she took one last look in the mirror before placing it back on the tray.
"You won't have to. Not if you do not wish."
The sudden reply to what had been a purely mental question sent a chill down Edana's spine. She looked up to see that a man in some sort of wheelchair had entered the room, and was watching her with a gaze that was not harsh or accusatory, but unnervingly piercing nonetheless. He was bald, which made it difficult to determine his age any more specifically than the observation that he was much older than she. Edana quickly realized that he must also be a mutant... some sort of telepath.
"Ah," smiled Hank, turning around. "Edana, I would like you to meet Professor Charles Xavier, the founder of this institute."
"How are you feeling?" asked the professor courteously, directing his wheelchair, (which Edana suddenly realized had no wheels) closer to her bedside.
She hesitated, knowing that the truth wasn't exactly the stuff of affable chitchat. "I'm feeling well," she lied, forcing a smile. "Thank you. And thank you for..." Looking around, Edana wasn't sure how to verbalize it. "This. Everything."
"Think nothing of it," he said, shaking his head. "We're glad that we were able to help you."
The feeling of having her life saved by complete strangers was slightly awkward, so, tongue-tied, Edana just smiled shyly. Receiving help was not something she was accustomed to.
"Edana, I'm sure that you have realized you possess an extraordinary gift," he said seriously, in a tone that suggested he was broaching a new and important subject.
I don't know about extraordinary, but it's definitely weird, she thought darkly, immediately regretting it when she remembered that this man had read her mind earlier.
"We are all unique here," Professor Xavier said gently, placing emphasis on the word 'unique'. "That is why I would like to offer you the opportunity to stay here at the mansion to learn the extent of your new ability, and to train with the other members of the institute to learn how to master it for the benefit of mankind."
Edana's eyes widened slightly when he mentioned that they were inside a mansion. Somehow it was just incomprehensible. All of it seemed impossible, though; this was not a situation she would have ever pictured herself in. When he went on to remark about training to benefit mankind, her heart performed a little flip-flop and settled at a dull flutter in the pit of her stomach. It seemed to be the most (and to be honest, first) unexpected, fortunate event of her life. Then, suddenly the news story from three nights ago flashed through her brain and something seemed to click into place. Could it be?
"Yes," Xavier confirmed quietly with a slight nod, seemingly pleased that she could draw the conclusion herself. "This institution is the base of operations for the X-Men."
She didn't know what to say. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as her mind churned the astonishing information and sought words to describe her feelings. Was this happening? Could it even be real? "I... I don't know how much help I can be," Edana said finally, feeling that it was not wise to make any presumptions about what she would and would not be able to do, "but I want to learn to use my ability for good... and to do whatever I can to help the X-Men." The words were spoken with flustered but true sincerity.
"I am glad," smiled the professor. His presence was somehow less unnerving now than when he had come in. "If you are well enough tomorrow morning, I will send someone to show you to the dining room for breakfast. It will give you a chance to meet the other mutants that live here at the institute." Edana was more than certain that she would be well enough. "I hope to see you then."
"You will," she said as he left, the words sparking a jolt of anticipation. "Right?" came the less confident addition, directed at Dr. McCoy.
"I don't see any reason to hold you here beyond tomorrow morning," he replied with a smile. "You are recovering faster than I would have expected. I'll give you some pain medication, and you should be fine... as long as you spend today resting."
"I can do that," she grinned.
"There's a television in the corner; the remote can be found on your bedside table, and I'll have some food brought down in about half an hour. If you need anything before then, there's an intercom on the wall above your bed. Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?"
After thinking for a moment, nothing seemed to come to mind. "No," Edana said, shaking her head. "Thank you, though. For helping me. And for being patient with me," she fumbled, unable to completely verbalize how grateful she was for the effort he had put into saving her life.
"Not at all, my dear. I have to say, however, I believe it was you who was the patient," he said lightly.
Edana laughed, settling back into her pillow as he turned to leave. Once she was alone, she took a deep breath and released it slowly, staring at the sterile white ceiling as though it held some kind of secret that would make sense of everything that had happened. After a few minutes, she supposed it didn't really matter. Life was finally looking up, and the last thing she was going to do was question good fortune. Perhaps it made no sense to her because it was something she had never really experienced. Nevertheless, it was something she was more than willing to get used to.