Disclaimers:
See chapter 1.
Chapter 6: S.O.S
Emma awoke with a jerk, feeling oddly cold, as though she'd been enwrapped in a warm blanket and had it abruptly taken away from her. And she was certain it had nothing to do with her current attire.
She glanced around, quickly taking in her surroundings and felt both her brows rise. 'It was a dream…' Her glacial blue eyes narrowed in surprise. 'Fascinating…She is a mutant…and can wield that level of power…but it shouldn't be possible…Why me? Why did she reach out to me?' She mused silently.
Reaching out carefully, she brushed her thoughts against Henry's to see if she was disturbing him. She felt the welcoming echo of his tired mind and she slipped inside his head.
(How is she?)
(See for yourself) Hank offered and Emma gently moved her conscieness to observe through his eyes.
(My god)
(Amazing isn't it? She was almost gone Emma. There wasn't much left of her after you went. I was certain she wasn't going to make it)
Emma stared through Henry's eyes at the still pale figure lying beneath him. The ribs had formed a more normal shape and the angry purple bruises that had covered her entire torso had faded to a dull pink and any remaining dirt and blood which had coated her thin, rangy body had been removed. Her face had been healed too, with the split lips resealed and the bruises and scratches had disappeared. Emma experienced a stab of concern; Jezebel, if that was her name, looked much worse than in the dream.
(When will she be fully healed?) And then felt Henry's surprise.
(Emma, it took all of eight hours to get to this point; that's about four times the usual period for an X-man suffering the similar injuries) Shock hit her hard and she only just maintained the connection to Hank's mind.
(I see) She managed, completely thrown off guard.
'How could I have been so off?' Recovering slightly, she asked.
(Then why does she still look so ill?) The girl's body, while obviously in much better condition, was evidently thin and emaciated. Tubes and wires grew like grotesque vines of her body, each feeding into a separate machine, monitoring her vital signs.
(The healing factor in Warren's blood only heals according to the recipient's genetic template. It targets discrepencies between the base DNA coding and the current body state and then overwrites any differences, so everything heals. Weight is an environmental factor that it can't take into account, so she'll have to be fed-up by IV. All her scars will be healed.) His mind radiated melancholy sorrow and Emma tried to make her presence feel as soothing and reassuring as she could. (She had so many scars Emma…)
Emma's eyes closed briefly. Intellectually, she knew that Bad Things had happened to Jezebel, indeed it would've been naïve of her to assume otherwise, but still, to have those thoughts confirmed…
(What are the chances of a full recovery?) She asked, experiencing a distant feeling of her stomach clenching. There was a distinct wave of regret washing from Henry's mind.
(Emma, I thought you could tell…She isn't-I mean…she's in a coma) This time the shock was too great and Emma lost the connection between their minds.
Emma sat up sharply, heart pounding loudly in her ears. As she stood, she felt her legs protesting violently and a rush of blood went straight to her head, making her vision go white for a moment. Stretching cat-like, she arched her back and rotated her stiff neck; hearing the satisfying 'crack' and 'pop' of cartiliage as she did so.
'I can't beileve she kept me asleep for eight hours…' Then she was pushing through the Med Lab heavy doors to see the situation for herself.
Henry looked surprised to see her. "Emma? How did you-?" He asked bewildered at her abrupt appearence.
"I need to see the EEG's." She said briskly, as he began protesting.
"Emma, I've put her in the isolation unit. You can't go in there." She sighed in exasperation.
"Then print out the last eight hours, dear, and I won't need to." Henry looked at her strangely.
"Emma, I haven't had time to set it up yet. I was more concerned with getting her stabilised first, it was taking an unsually long time. She only completely stabilised within the last half hour. Her temperature, pulse, respiratory rate and blood pressure are all normal now…Although for a while her vitals were all extremely erratic…"
Emma made her way over to the glass walled room, where the girl was lying, looking very fragile amongest the tubes and wires feeding into her body. She leaned on the glass observation window by bracing herself with her forearm and scrutinised Jezebel as closely as she could.
"She looks so young…" She murmured.
"Unfortuantely, that's from malnutrition. There was no fat anywhere on her… She hasn't been able to support her body properly due to her poor diet for some time…It's amazing she's grown as tall as she has actually. Usually starvation victims have stunted growth. I would guess she must have been getting food sporadically. "
"How old would you say she is?"
"Estimating from her teeth count and roughly her build…I'd say early twenties."
Emma shook her head. "Really."
"I imagine due to the harsh conditions she grew up in her body didn't ah, have the opportunity to develop …" He blushed slightly at the memory of seeing Jezebel naked and continued. "Her entire body has gone through prolonged stress, not as much energy was used for physical development, that's why she appears younger than she is." Emma was silent a long time, debting over how to approach the subject she wanted to discuss. Finally, she opted for a direct approach.
Well, sort of.
"I had a dream Henry." Emma spoke slowly, as though puzzling over the words.
"I…see…?" he asked, voice confused. Emma wasn't usually one for sharing personal information with anyone. She sighed and brushed hair from her face in an irritated motion.
"It wasn't my dream."
He filled in the unspoken words. "You mean…" He sounded shocked.
"Has she been unconscious this whole time?" She asked, ignoring his question.
"I-I mean yes. She was unconscious when she was brought in here and then she slipped into a deeper coma-like state shortly after the transfusion. It was strange, her vitals were all off...not enough to harm her, just- subtly off. They stabilised a little while before you contacted me actually."
Something about that bothered Emma, but she had no time to think upon it because she was more interested in something else. "What were you doing in there anyway, Henry?"
"I was manually checking her blood pressure. But I was wearing the suit Emma." His voice held a hint of warning. She nodded without looking in his direction, never taking her eyes off the still figure.
"I want an EEG monitoring her brainwaves at all times Henry. I want to know every damn wave her brain makes." Her flat tone left no room for arguments.
"I'll attach the electrodes now. Although, it'll take at least an hour for the results to be read once the equipments been set up." She heard him move away, then pause. "She's got you interested, hasn't she?" For a long moment, Emma didn't reply, only watched the rhymic rise and fall of the Jezebel's chest.
"I can't sense her Henry. At all. I have the upmost control and precision in the use of my powers and I can't even feel a barrier. Even now with only a sheet of glass seperating us...To all my telepathetic senses she doesn't exist. I know the second someone is using telepathy near me or attempts to enter my mind. But somehow she managed to bypass all my defences. It shouldn't be possible to even access telepathy while unconscious or in a coma. That section of the brain is usually impaired or automatically turned off. It wasn't even just her projecting; she actually pulled me inside her mind and I didn't even sense it or put up a fight! I don't understand why she chose me to communicate with, even if it was subconsciously. If she had brought any others, I would've seen them. But it was just me watching her memories…" Her voice started off calm and collected and then began to speed up, getting faster, until she managed to reign herself in. She was unnerved by the experience and the unwelcome reminder that she wasn't as powerful as she'd like, bothered her. It was yet another reminder of how she would not -could not- measure up to Jean. Despite this unwelcome thoughts however, she found herself becoming more fascinated with their new arrival with every passing minute.
"Maybe she sensed something about you." He offered as she fell silent.
Emma watched closely as Hank walked into the serile room, covered from head-to-foot in a protective suit and carefully attached the electrodes to the girl's forehead with medical paste.
(Henry…)
(Yes, Emma?)
(Has Scott…contacted you?)
(Actually, no. Although I was expecting him to storm down here at the very least)
(And rail at you for upholding that troublesome Hypocratic Oath?) There was a definite smirk to her 'voice'. She found the only way she could cope with Scott's actions at the moment, were to make a joke of them. She tried not to connect the fact that if he had gotten his way Jezebel would be a cooling corpse on the Med Lab table right now.
(Yes) The warmth in his tone told her he was laughing.
(I'll have to explain the situation to the others…)
(What are you going to tell them?)
Emma sucked in a breath and then puffed it out as she thought. It did not seem like a good idea to give Scott even more ammunition against the girl. Especially when she was in such a vulnerable position. But she couldn't lie about her being a mutant either, half of them were already convinced of the opposite after Jezebel's flashy arrival. They would simply be suspicious if she lied outright like that, not to mention the backlash if- when she woke up and showed them otherwise.
(The truth)
To a degree.
Henry glanced up at her through the glass and she steadily met his golden gaze. (Don't worry, she has doctor-patient confidentiality even though she's completely unware) He smiled, (I seriously would question the wisdom of telling Scott our little friend here is capable of turning his mind inside out on an unconscious whim) Emma snorted rather inelegantly.
(Lovely. I can picture his response now…"Quick, we've got to hand her over to the S.H.I.E.L.D! She's too much of a risk! Rachel might get hurt!") This last part held bitter undertones which Hank, although not entirely confident with communicating mentally, picked up.
(Is everything alright, Emma?) The inquiry was gentle and non-intrusive. It wasn't pressuring or demanding and offered an unspoken support. Emma considered. She needed someone to understand, somebody to listen. Henry was an extremely kind and warm-hearted man whose bestial appearance belied his sweet and caring personality. He could be what she needed. But he was also Scott's friend. He had been Jean's friend. Although she wouldn't look, she was sure there was some part of him that resented her for her actions before Jean's death.
(No Henry. I've just had trouble sleeping lately)
It wasn't exactly untrue…
She had to deal with this problem herself.
It was a shame she wasn't certain of what exactly that would entail.
As Emma entered the teacher and senior X-men's dining room, an audible hush fell over the assembled people. She halted in her tracks and scanned the room with her eyes and mind. Everyone seated around the antique mahogany table was abuzz with the news of a dimension traveller. The varying descriptions of Jezebel were actually quite amusing and Emma had to smother an amusedlaugh. Lucas Bishop AKA "Bishop" a burly Australian Aboriginal American, who acted as security and a firearms teacher,was already picturing a shifty-eyed young man ready to explode the Mansion with pyrokinetic powers the second his back was turned. Anna Marie Raven AKA "Rogue" having spoken to Kathryn, was convinced that Jezebel was a sexy-as-hell demon who Emma had summoned in a satanic ritual during her class as a part of her demonstration on Hellfire Club sex slaves. She barely stopped herself from shaking her head in disbelief. Sometimes she wondered about these 'protectors of humanity'…It was inconceivable to her how they'd managed to defeat her time and again…
Glancing around again, she realised quite a few people were missing. Logan 'No-Last-Name-Bub' AKA "Wolverine" a dark haired stocky Canadian mutant with a bad attitude and an evenworse habit of smoking noxious cigars and Rahne Sinclair AKA "Wolfsbane", a red-haired young Scots' woman, had taken some students on a week-long training exercise in the mountains.
Undoubtedly they were cursing the day they were born…
Logan, who had heightened senses, an enhanced healing factor and an adamantium skeleton which granted him the ability to take more damage and to extend and retract a set of fearsome claws from his knuckles, was a harsh taskmaster who hated slackers. Despite his rough and curt outward appearance however, he was actually quite gentle (or at least softer) with those who genuinely struggled or needed help. Rahne possessed the ability to transform into a wolf, as well as the intermediate stages in between that and human, making her the first truewerewolf Emma had encountered. She also had a more responsible side to her that helped balance out Logan quite well.
Remy LeBeau AKA "Gambit", a smooth-talking Cajun charmer was suspiciously absent as well. Emma cast her mind back and recalled him announcing last week to Rogue: "Remy jus' be goin' to take care o' sum business, chere."
Emma thought it was endlessly amusing how Rogue didn't connect all the instances of Remy 'taking care of business' and priceless artefacts being stolen or companies being infiltrated or exploded (Remy had the ability to convert the potential energy of any object into explosive kinetic energy by touching it). Perhaps she didn't want to know. Her amusement turned sour as Emma couldn't help think of all the allowances and excuses she'd made for Scott…Wasn't love marvellous.
Since all of Remy's targets had remained enemies of mutants (in fact all had had ties with Humans First or the Church of Humanity -which were zealous anti-mutant groups) she was personally content to leave him to his own devices as long as they didn't draw attention to the mansion.
She was snapped out of her reverie by a male voice.
"Fräulein Frost, you are hungry, I trust?" as always, Kurt was gallent, standing gracefully and pulled out her chair. Beside it she noticed, for once, that Scott was present. He was glowering in her general direction.
'Well, this should be pleasant…I've always enjoyed family meal times…' She thought dryly.
"I always manage to summon some appetite for the deliciously high standard of food that's on offer here, Kurt." She remarked somewhat sarcastically. Then her eyes fell on the 'thing' squatting grotesquely on her plate.
'What in hell's name is that!' It was green and chunky and wobbled dangerously on her plate…'My God,' she thought desperately, sitting down and ignoring people's inquisitive stares, 'I'm going to be sick.' The strange thing (food? How could this possibly be classed as food?) seemed to be mocking her, shaking slightly as the movement of seating herself set it into motion.
"And what is this delightful creation?" She asked faintly, hoping she didn't look as pale as she felt.
"Jello." Supplied Kitty helpfully, taking advantage of the fact she had Emma's attention to scoop an extra large piece on her spoon and gulp it into her mouth with an obscene slurping sound. Emma felt her stomach twist and churn painfully.
"Charming. I can see how you attract men." she stated calmly, pretending Kitty wasn't grinning at her like a cat who had cornered a fat mouse into a corner, "But, that is quite possibly the most repulsive thing I've ever had the misfortune of witnessing. Including last week when you were excavating that man's tonsils with your tongue right outside the Mansion, Elisabeth." Betsy snorted as if to say she could care less what Emma thought. She continued. "This is to be banned from the menu. It almost certainly has no nutritional value whatsoever, Kurt, remove it from my plate."
"Emma stop stalling. Just tell us what happened to that scruffy little brat." Scott snapped from beside her, his nostrils flaring in irritation and arms crossing aggressively over his broad chest. Emma's eyes flashed in response. Ororo Munroe AKA "Storm" a tall, cocoa skinned young woman with startlingly white hair, considering her African ancestry, interjected.
"I must admit to some curiosity over our newest addition, Emma. Can you shed any light on the truth of the rumours circulating the student body?" Her voice was smooth and melodic, matching her temperament perfectly and making her a favourite amongst the students. No one was afraid of Ms. Munroe, despite her awesome powers of atmokinesis which enabled her to sense, control and influence meteorological energy patterns; creating rain, wind, hail, lightning, snow, sleet, fog, temperature changes and even wind (which gave her the ability to fly). She was also invulnerable to the effects of the weather and to extreme heat and cold. Storm was a true earth mother in every sense of the word; she had an empathy/affinity for the planet and was aware of every living thing, even being able to innately 'sense' if a tree was ill.
Having been one of the original X-men, someone Emma had targeted specifically and Scott and Jean's best friend, she did not like Emma at all. She had stated very quietly and composedly to Emma after Jean had died that if she found out Emma was using Scott in any way, she would show her exactly "what happens to human flesh when hit by lightening". Emma had had no problem accepting the threat.
"I think you'll all find what I have to say reasonably enlightening." Everyone seemed to lean forward in their seats. "I suppose first and foremost is that 'he' is actually a 'she'," there was a mental and spoken buzz as people muttered furiously to their neighbours. The general feeling among the women seemed to be 'damn it!' with a few exceptions…and an overwhelming 'hell yeah' from the men…also with a few notable exceptions…Emma tired of waiting for silence relatively quickly and called for quiet, reinforcing it with a mental command. Everyone fell silent. "Secondly is that it seems extremely likely that she is a mutant, but Henry doesn't know what her power is." Scott opened his mouth. "She has no psychic presence, so I've been unable to scan her yet."
"What about Cerebro?" Scott said pugnaciously. Emma opened her mouth to release a scathing retort, but Elizabeth intervened. Sort of.
"Emma's a lot of things Scott…Some of them rather unpleasant…" Emma raised an eyebrow. "But a mental rapist, I'm glad to say, isn't one of them." Her dry drawl seemed to hold an undercurrent of anger. "She can't use Cerebro just to read one kid's thoughts…especially one whose only crime so far has been to be injured and cause a few migraines and nosebleeds, which while annoying, is hardly life threatening…It rather brings to mind using a nuclear bomb to swat a mosquito…"
Scott shut his mouth, but the expression on his face like he'd smelled something repulsive remained. More muttering started and Kitty spoke up, thankfully changing the subject.
"Well, like, how did she get here in the first place? And what exactly does she want?" She sounded suspicious and Emma could sense she'd been greatly disappointed by apparent sex change.
"She's not exactly talkative at the moment Kathryn." She replied sarcastically and Scott exploded.
"She's WHAT?"
Emma smoothly cut in, containing her own growing impatience and disgust at both his previous and current behaviour. "Calm yourself dear, there's no need for histrionics. If you all would just let me speak you'd understand the situation a lot sooner." Scott still looking angry and mistrustful lowered himself back into his seat. Emma mentally gathered herself. These almost violent outbursts had become more and more common after Jean's death and always caught her unprepared because Scott had always been cool and collected. And now he would not let her help him…She pulled herself back to the present. "She has been through hell. This was clear from her injuries. Both in the short term and the long." Here with clinical detachment she projected the images of Jezebel's broken and battered body into everyone's mind and listed them aloud for Elisabeth's benefit. There were gasps and shaking of heads. Many looked shaken. Scott however remained unmoved, arms folded and a frown on his face.
"Why didn't she die then, if her wounds were so bad?" asked Elisabeth curiously, ignoring the conversations of the people around her. Emma smiled mirthlessly, poured herself a glass of water and began outline the rest of the situation, making certain to leave out key points like Jezebel's name, the dream she'd had and telepathy. When she had finished, there was a stunned silence.
"So she mah't not wake up?" Rogue asked concerned, her southern twang more noticeable as she was unsettled. Emma assumed an uninterested expression, grateful that Tessa was away on a reconnaissance mission, because she would've seen straight through it.
"Henry has no idea of when or even if she'll regain consciousness."
'No,' a voice told her firmly, 'you will wake her up.'
The buzz of voices and yet more questions, comment and outrageous conspiracy theories (headed by Bishop and Scott) started up again and Emma suppressed a groan. This was going to be a long evening if she wanted to keep their suspicion to a minimum.
And she still hadn't had anything to eat…
Is anybody listening?
Can you hear me when I call?
I'm shooting signals in the air,
'Cause I need somebody's help
I can't make it on my own,
So I'm giving up myself
Is anybody listening, listening?
I've been stranded here and I'm miles away
Making signals and hoping they save me
I lock myself inside these walls
'Cause out there I'm always wrong
I don't think I'm gonna make it
So while I'm sitting here on the eve of my defeat
I write this letter and hope it saves me
Is anybody listening?
Can you hear me when I call?
I'm shooting signals in the air
'Cause I need somebody's help
I can't make it on my own
So I'm giving up myself
Is anybody listening, listening?
I'm stuck in my own head and I'm oceans away
Would anybody notice if I chose to stay?
I'll send an S.O.S. tonight
And wonder if I will survive
How in the hell did I get so far away this time?
So now I'm sitting here
The time of my departure's near
I say a prayer please, someone save me
I'm lost here
I can't make it on my own
I don't wanna die alone
I'm so scared
Drowning now
Reaching out
Holding on to everything I know
Crying out
Dying now
Need some help
Is anybody listening?
Can you hear me when I call?
Shooting signals in the air
I need somebody's help
I can't make it on my own
I'm giving up myself
Is anybody listening?
Author notes:
Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter, you're the best!
Two Good Charlotte songs in a row…I think I'm rather disappointed with myself…
Medical notes (I feel well important ;D) :
Amenorrhoea - is the absence of a menstrual period in a woman of reproductive age. Female athletes or women who perform considerable amounts of exercise on a regular basis are at risk of developing 'athletic' amenorrhoea. Those who are in high emotionally stressful jobs or those experiancing extreme weight loss (or starvation) also experience it. It is suspected that low body fat levels and exercise related chemicals (such as beta endorphins and catecholamines) disrupt the interplay of the sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone and prevent the lining from being released.
EEG – Electroencephalography is the neurophysiologic measurement of the electrical activity of the brain by recording from electrodes placed on the scalp or, in special cases, subdurally or in the cerebral cortex. The resulting traces are known as an electroencephalogram (EEG) and represent an electrical signal (postsynaptic potentials) from a large number of neurons. These are sometimes called brainwaves, though this use is discouraged. The EEG is a brain function test, but in clinical use it is a "gross correlate of brain activity". Electrical currents are not measured, rather it is voltage differences between different parts of the brain are measured.
EEGs are frequently used in experimentation because the process is non-invasive to the research subject. The subject does not need to make a decision or behavioral action in order to log data, and it can detect covert responses to stimuli, such as reading. The EEG is capable of detecting changes in electrical activity in the brain on a millisecond-level. It is one of the few techniques available that has such high temporal resolution.
IV – Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the administration of liquid substances directly into a vein. It can be intermittent or continuous; continuous administration is called an intravenous drip. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein", but is most commonly used to refer to IV therapy. Compared with other routes of administration, the intravenous route is the fastest way to deliver fluids and medications throughout the body. Some medications, as well as blood transfusions and lethal injections, can only be given intravenously.
This chapter took the longest to write (ah re-writes, how I hate thee…)
The medical information should be reasonably accurate (but I got it off the internet, so who knows…?).
Feedback is good for the heart! Low in fibre, high in Vitimin A, B and D! Tastes good on chips! (…?)
BTW – I'm going away somewhere computers haven't been even heard of yet for awhile, so you may want to put this on your alerts…