500 Miles
Hope
By Princess Alexandria
Christy held on tight as the portal shifted around her, worried about the landing as well. Mystique was unconscious and hurt, Christy had to try and land well. The opening appeared and Christy gritted her teeth as they were tossed out towards green grass, trees, and a few people. They were aimed at one in particular, so Christy did all she could, she yelled, "Watch out!" as fast and loud as she could while turning her body to absorb the blow instead of Mystique.
She slammed into something hard and unyielding. Her head cracked painfully against it. "Help." She spoke as she was slowly loosening her hold on Mystique. She didn't even bother looking up as she laid the woman down carefully on the ground. "She's been shot."
"Christy, what's going on?" A young voice spoke and Christy looked up, catching her double staring at her. The woman managed to dodge her. Christy then turned to glance at the others, her heart sinking. If her double wasn't a doctor, and it would be a shock if she were, they were screwed. A teenage Hispanic boy stared at her with a taller football jock type behind him also staring in shock. It was when her eyes met someone familiar that she felt some hope spark.
"Healer, please, my friend has been shot." Christy addressed the green girl.
"Help her Annie." Her double spoke without looking away. The woman was a bit pale and looked a little in shock, but she was clearly in charge.
"But Christy, who is that? Why does she look like you?" The Healer asked, while slowly moving towards her.
"I'll answer questions later, help Mystique." Christy's double spoke. "Just don't hurt yourself." That woman still hadn't addressed Christy, but Christy didn't care. She moved to the side to allow the Healer to work.
Christy stood and stared at Mystique as the Healer worked.
"She looks a bit thin." A steady voice spoke next to her and Christy didn't bother looking up at her double, who was taking this too well to not know about their powers.
"Asteroid world. They were rationing food rather strictly." Christy spoke quietly back, hearing the intake of breath. Yes this double knew a lot. How many damned asteroid worlds were there?
"I called for more help. People are on the way." The double told her, warned her. "They have a medlab." The Healer was holding her hands on Mystique and Mystique seemed to be in less pain, but with so much blood on her it was hard to see if anything was healing. "You're at Xavier's Institute."
"You aren't from around here are you?" Christy turned to look at the woman staring at Mystique with concern. Her double just stared at her a moment and then glanced at the children around them, clearly not willing to talk now. It felt surreal to stand next to a double like this. "Is Mystique going to be okay?" She asked the Healer a little more loudly when the girl paled a little and stopped touching the injured woman.
"Uh," The Healer looked stunned and confused as she stared at Christy. "I did what I could, but Dr. McCoy is going to have to remove a few bullets that stayed in, and her body is weak, too thin. I can't seem to do anything about that."
"She could make it though, right?" Christy pressed the girl, noticing how this one seemed to lack the confidence of the Healer that had saved her Emma's life.
There was a shout and rustling of trees. Christy turned to see Emma, Jean, and Hank running their way. This Emma was the first to see her and Christy felt a brush against her mind, but she didn't let it in. "Hank, we have an injured woman here." Emma called out and Christy moved closer to Mystique as she noticed the wide eyes and then the narrowing as the Doctor noticed the blue woman on the ground.
"Anything happens to her and you'll see hell before you die." Christy glared at the blue man.
"Oh my stars and garters." He stared at her and then looked to her side where this worlds Christy stood. "Ah, I assume this is an other dimensional Mystique?" He moved to kneel beside Mystique and Christy started to relax as he checked vitals.
He picked Mystique up and maintained eye contact with Christy for a moment. "I will do everything that I can to heal her." It was an oath and Christy nodded, but she still felt tense having him take Mystique away while Christy was clearly the center of attention and wasn't expected to follow. Her eyes moved over the people around her, noticing Scott had joined them along with Logan.
"Kids, why don't you guys go get some dinner." Her double spoke and then the teenagers erupted in dissent. Her double's voice hardened. "Dinner, that's an order." After another second of no motion. "You promised to follow orders if I ever gave them. We'll talk later, but I need you to leave now." Christy watched as the teens stopped grumbling and walked away. She noticed another teenage girl she hadn't noticed before with them, she stood close and then leaned into the jock boy like a lover. Christy just watched the teens walk away for a moment, before studying her double, and the others.
"Another one?" Scott asked and Christy got the impression he didn't like her already. She didn't give a damn. Christy turned to her double and finally addressed her fully.
"I'm Christy." She tilted her head and waited to see if this was another Raven. She was here after all, at the Institute.
"So am I." Her double spoke and Christy noticed that her double had moved a little closer to Emma. Finally a world where her double was alive and in love with an Emma. Christy stood still and glanced around, feeling exposed and nervous. She damned the Hellfire club for making her this way, she knew her nervousness was worse because of them. She used to see an Emma and trust that she'd get help, but that wasn't the case now.
"Where's Tessa?" She asked the blonde telepath quietly, waiting to see how this world treated Tessa as if it were a measure of their trustworthiness.
Emma's eyebrow rose a little, "She's out on a mission." Christy nodded, liking that answer better than if they'd wondered what she was talking about.
"Mystique is a criminal in this world." Scott spoke, his voice a challenge. "Are you and her criminals too?" Christy turned to stare at him and knew this man hated her double.
"I'm in law enforcement, security." She told him and glanced down the path Hank had taken Mystique. "She is from a different place than I am." Mystique was a terrorist, not something to admit to here. "She was an Xman." Close enough, she was working with the surviving ones after all. She'd just have to make sure to tell Mystique she was an Xman before anyone could ask. "I know you all probably have a lot of questions, but I'd really rather be with her right now."
"How did she get hurt?" Jean asked a little more gently, while moving to the side to allow Christy to start to walk. She took the opportunity and walked between the others toward the path, with Jean at her side. Emma and her double walked behind her and with the silence Christy bet they were telepathically talking, and the men were in the back.
"We were getting ready to leave her doomed planet when we were attacked. Mystique and I did our best to hold the attackers back while the others escaped, but she was shot. We lost the others." Christy sighed. "She's not going to like to hear that. I don't know where they ended up, but I do know I'll never be able to get her back to them." She shook her head in regret, knowing this would hurt. Mystique would need to create a new life on her own.
"What were you doing on her planet?" Logan asked and Christy glanced back to see Scott had been ready to say something else. Maybe that's why Logan spoke.
"I'm lost." Was all Christy said and then she noticed the woods opening up to a grass lawn and the large mansion in front of them. It reminded her of the first world she'd stopped at, she could see bits of the rubble she remembered as parts of the large building. This one hadn't been destroyed yet. "I can't seem to make a portal that actually goes home yet." She continued walking toward the large building.
She wasn't allowed in the medlab while Hank was working but she sat outside it with a quiet Logan while the others went to talk to the Professor. Christy didn't miss that her double had held her eyes a moment and nodded before leaving, making it clear that she was an ally against something. It was supposed to be comforting but it just made it very clear that there was a problem with safety here and her double thought she needed backup. She wondered how well her double was able to read her body language, because as she watched the woman walk away Christy could just see that this woman had seen hell of her own, by the way she walked. That was no teacher, that was a warrior.
…………………..
Christy was sitting on the chair, but had pulled her knees up to wrap her arms around them. Her backpack was laying on the ground beside her. She stared blankly at the wall while she kept her powers opened to make sure no one was dying nearby. While she felt Mystique had a good chance of living, because she knew that Healer did good work, she had nothing else to do.
The click click sound of footsteps coming down the hall was familiar and Christy blinked before turning her head to see Emma Frost walking towards her with the other Christy at her side. That Christy walked more silently. "Henry is just cleaning up. She came through the operation well." Emma told her and Christy just nodded while putting her feet back on the floor. "You should be able to see her soon."
"Good." Christy stared at how her double had some trouble looking at her, took in the shorter hair, it just came to her shoulders, and casual business attire that hadn't been there earlier. Christy then looked down at her own ragged military pants and shifted them into jeans and shifted on a nice blue top. She wasn't invading a camp today so she could dress a little nicer. When she looked back up Emma had an eyebrow raised and it looked like her own Emma after Christy had done something a little interesting. She gave the telepath a small smile.
"You asked if I was from around here." Her double spoke. "I'm not, but I don't tell the kids. There are circumstances that I just don't want to go into with them." It was slightly a warning and mostly an explanation. "You can stay here until you're ready to go on." Christy could see her double debating about saying something, and when she opened her mouth to speak a little more Christy paid even more attention. "Don't leave your Mystique here. No matter what the Professor says, don't trust him with her."
"I don't know that you need to worry about that." Emma spoke to her lover, and it was clear in the concern in her voice that they were lovers.
"I won't leave her." Christy told them both, she'd also be careful about watching Mystique's back. The medlab door opened and Hank stepped out, telling her a lot of detail but basically what Christy got out of it was that it would take time for Mystique to heal the rest of the way and that the shapeshifter was still unconscious but should wake soon.
"We'll talk later." Emma spoke gently and rested a hand on Christy's shoulder.
"Yeah," Christy sighed as she started for the door. She was still cautious, so she enhanced her hearing as she stepped into the room with Mystique. She could hear the shapeshifter's every breath, the beeps of the monitors, and the discussion in the hall. Hank had left for his office, which Christy could hear through the wall and knew that she was most likely visible to him, but he was giving her some privacy with Mystique. She stared at Mystique and listened to the hallway.
"Did you look like that when you came to this world?" Emma's voice spoke gently, more obviously lovingly.
"Probably worse. I was in shock for a while, she looks like she'll bounce back pretty quickly." The Double said and Christy sat down next to Mystique's bed. "Did you hear what she said about Mystique not being from her world? That means she's been jumping, probably a lot."
"She's closed off to me like you used to be." Emma's voice was like her own Emma's and it made it hard to hear that tender tone. Not even the one Emma she met that was in a relationship had talked with her lover, Scott, like that. "Do you think she's in love with Mystique?"
That question got silence and Christy reached out to gently touch Mystique's hand, feeling it was still warm. "You know I love you." The Double, spoke hesitantly, "But if I didn't have you I could see myself with Mystique."
"I suspected that." Emma's voice was a little resigned.
"So maybe they are lovers." Christy heard that and shook her head.
"No, we never do that do we?" She whispered to Mystique. "I know you would have wanted that with Christine, I can see it. You need to meet someone first I think." Christy thought as her mind played with what would have happened in her own world if she'd met Mystique first. She loved her Emma, but there was always something there with Mystique and apparently it wasn't just her. Christine and the Christy in the hall also did this.
"The kids are going to want an explanation." The Double spoke. "This is going to get messy."
"You'll be okay and so will they." Emma's words were comforting and it wasn't even Christy they were for. The tight ball of distrust she had for the blonde started to ease, others here might be dangerous, she'd even been told about that, but this Emma was like hers. "The Professor wants to see her."
"He can wait." An angry retort from the Double was a little bit of a surprise. "She's where she needs to be."
A slight groan in front of her and Christy lowered her hearing so she didn't get hurt. Mystique opened her eyes. "Hey." Christy spoke softly as Mystique started to look like she was focusing on her. "You got shot, but the doctor says you'll be okay." She leaned closer, hoping that Mystique was aware enough to remember this. She whispered. "If anyone asks, you were an Xman. They are a little uptight about the criminal thing." Mystique looked like she made an attempt to nod.
"We made it?" The voice was rough and hopeful. "where are we?"
"Well, we're at the Xavier's Institute on some Earth." Christy addressed the second question. "I didn't see an asteroid outside and no one looks haunted like they are about to die."
"Good." Mystique smiled and Christy took the hand Mystique was offering by holding out her fingers. "Thank you." There were tears in her eyes and Christy gently wiped them away. She could see Mystique was fading again.
"I will be nearby, but I have people to talk to." Christy told Mystique before she could fall asleep again. She'd been there to ease her mind and let her in on a little of what was going on.
Christy walked toward the door on the side and knocked quietly. Hank opened it. "She was up for a second." She sighed and looked at him. "We were supposed to have twenty other people with us, including her son and daughter." Christy gritted her teeth and looked down while taking a deep breath. "They aren't. They lived, or at least I didn't feel them die, but they landed on a different world." She looked up at Hank. "I need to be the one to tell her that." He needed to try and avoid the topic of other people and call Christy when Mystique woke up again.
"Okay, that sounds more than understandable." He spoke softly, clearly understanding the problem. "Perhaps our Christy or Emma could help."
"Maybe." Christy didn't really think Mystique would go for that. She just prayed that Mystique really did mean it when she said any type of hope was better, because being alone might be hard. Christy had been lucky to practically fall at Emma's feet when she left her own doomed world and Emma had helped to put her back together again. Christy would just have to try and do that for Mystique. Who else could understand?
The hall still had two people in it and no one had touched her backpack. That was good because that would require some explaining. "Hey." Christy said as her double and Emma stood up.
"Christy?" Emma asked softly.
"I'm betting she'll sleep for a few hours." Christy took a shuddering breath and looked away. She'd saved someone from that hell, a few someone's. It felt like her emotional control was fading with all the stress and having to kill and the rapes and just one soft word from Emma, one tender look, and she was losing it. Christy wrapped her own arms around her as she tried to breathe, just breathe. She got it under control. "So, I was hoping I could have a hot shower before I meet whoever I have to meet."
"We can do better than that. We'll have a hot dinner too." The double spoke gently. "Vegetables and everything." That woman knew what to offer, what was rare in a dying world.
"Thank you." Christy stared into her double's eyes, conveying her genuine appreciation, because she knew these women were protecting her and taking care of her in a way.
"You can use my room, I have a pretty decent shower, even a bath if you want." Her double started to walk and Emma was studying Christy as they started to move.
"Is there a space shortage?" Christy asked noticing she wasn't being given a room.
"My Christy will be staying with me so that you have a room for yourself." Emma answered her. "It's already custom made for a woman that needs no clothes. It should be perfect for you and Mystique when she's cleared to leave the medlab."
"How do you custom make a room for that?" Christy asked as Emma leaned forward to hit the elevator button.
"You take out the closet." Her double smiled just a little as she said that. "I didn't want to waste the space so I turned it into a home office. I'll have to take some of my lesson plans and work out of there but then the rest you can have. It's no problem."
"You aren't an Xman are you?" Christy asked quietly as they stepped into the elevator.
"I am, but Christy isn't." Emma answered for her lover, getting into the conversation. "What about you?"
"No, but we do have a double that became one." Christy told her them softly as she thought about Raven.
"Have you seen a lot of worlds?" Emma asked.
"I made a home on the first one I landed on after my first portal." Christy stepped out of the elevator with them and started down the hall after Emma. "And since then this is my fifth trying to get back."
"Why are you having trouble?" Her double asked while opening a door. Christy stepped into the room with her and looked around. The blue was soothing and nice, and the art on the walls made it feel homey.
"Nice." Christy said of the space as she stepped further in so that Emma could come in as well. "Oh, I have that piece at home." She pointed to one familiar work of art. "My Emma bought if for me for my birthday."
"Emma?" another Emma asked and Christy turned to look at the couple.
"My Emma." She clarified quietly. "I'm trying to go home to her but something always goes wrong and I don't know what I'm doing wrong." She finally answered her double's question.
"It just goes wherever it wants doesn't it." Her double gave her a sympathetic look.
"No, you guided it." Emma spoke to her lover and Christy stared. "You were thinking about me, about the Xmen when you created yours and you landed here. I would say there were probably a lot of different worlds you could have found without us."
"How do you know?" Christy asked before her double could talk. This could be a break, a chance to figure this out.
"Telepathy. I saw what Christy was doing when she created her portal, what she was thinking of."
Christy swallowed hard, clearly this was a more trustworthy Emma. "Could you do that for me? Could you help me figure this out?"
Emma studied her for a moment. "I'd need to work out how to get past your shields." Christy dropped them a little and stared at Emma. "Oh, well that certainly helps." Christy felt a slight mental touch and put the shield back up before Emma saw much. She didn't need the blonde seeing the last two worlds, at least not now. "We could work on it later. Today you'll be rather busy." Emma nodded and then pointed towards the home office. "The bathroom is over there. Once you are ready for dinner you can either mentally call out for me or go up the stairs and knock on the first door on the left you find. That's my room." The directions couldn't really be more straightforward, Christy nodded and started for the bathroom.
"Nice painting." She called out as she closed the door, knowing they couldn't be gone yet. Her hearing enhanced and she heard Emma laugh.
"Dear, maybe you should consider putting that piece out in the main room. Everyone seems to like it." Emma told her lover and it sounded like there was a story too it but Christy just moved to turn on the shower and shifted her clothes off. Warm water was something she missed and she'd take advantage now.
She was going to have to rip her soul opened in front of her lover's double to get the answers she needed, share her most painful memories and shames. Christy scrubbed her skin harder as she considered the cost she'd pay, but she'd pay it. She wanted to go home and clearly needed help to do it. She paused as a new thought hit her, what would those memories do to this Emma? Maybe she needed to talk to someone first.
……………..
Dinner was good. Christy noticed a few glances from Emma as Christy filled her plate with vegetables and bread, but her double just pushed the butter closer and gave her a small smile. "I'm so sick of nutrition bars and ensure." Christy muttered, and watched the slightly surprised expression on her double's face. It was a sneaky move but she could tell they had even more in common. "It was better than my first doomed world but still you get spoiled living with a millionaire." She gave her double a small smile and then a sympathetic look.
A cell phone rang and Emma picked it up while moving towards what must be her closet and bathroom with it for privacy.
"I need to talk with you alone sometime." Christy spoke quietly. "Before Emma starts looking in my mind."
"She's trustworthy." Her double told her gently. "She's seen some really horrible things I've done and she doesn't judge."
"it's more than that." Christy stared down at her plate. "Just see if you can make time to talk to me later. I don't sleep well so it doesn't matter if it's the middle of the night."
"Okay." Her double nodded and they continued to eat. Emma came back a minute or two later.
After dinner it was time to meet the owner of the school. Christy wasn't all that eager, but she followed Emma down to his office. She just told herself that she could go check on Mystique again after she was done with him, and to remember he wasn't Raven's Professor so killing him on sight was not a good idea.
…………………
Emma followed her into the room and Christy ignored that as she forced a semi-pleasant expression to her face as she walked up to the desk. "Thank you for all your help." She smiled just a little feeling fake but hoping she didn't look it. What she wanted to say was what part of my soul will this help cost. How about you just tell me upfront how you plan to manipulate me was another comment she'd like to make but instead she took the seat he'd waved to in invitation. "You probably already know, but my name is Christy."
"Yes, and things will surely get confusing around here with two of you." He smiled and Christy glanced to the side when she caught Emma moving to take the other chair out of the corner of her eye.
"I also go by Demise." She offered quietly and glanced over at an amused looking Emma.
"Well, that doesn't really help. That's my Christy's codename as well." Emma crossed her legs and sat back a little. "She told me that while she doesn't really care for her full name she'll go by it for now. I like it myself, Christine is a very pretty name."
"If you want to be named after a haunted evil car." Christy muttered quietly, her voice rose. "Well that helps."
"Yes it does." The Professor spoke and the way he sat screamed that he wanted everyone's full attention. His back couldn't really be more rigid. "I wanted to know more about why and how you are here."
Christy just stared at him a moment without answering, while she tried to determine how little she could give him. "I'm a mutant." She smiled just a little as if she were joking. "Those are people born with a little something extra." He didn't look amused so she sighed. "My lover and I were attacked. I used my power to try and defend us, but ended up being tossed into the portal. I've been through that portal a few times since then, but I haven't found home yet. It feels like I'm just getting further away." She glanced over at Emma, "Emma's offered to help me."
"I could also help, but I know that you'd need to allow me in." He spoke and Christy couldn't hide the expression on her face. He clearly noticed it.
"I'm sorry, but it's Emma or no one." She stared at the man. "I've actually wanted to let another telepath in and it just doesn't work."
"What can you tell me about your world?" It was a rather polite interrogation, but an interrogation none the less. Christy thought about the woman down in the lab before answering.
"I came from a doomed planet and I don't call that one home anymore. My home is," Christy struggled with a way to describe home.
She was quiet too long, because Emma spoke. "You can't describe home can you? This might be related to your problems getting there."
"When I think of home I think of my lover." Christy stared at Emma, ignoring the Professor for now. "I think of my friends, but the world itself could be anywhere."
"I think the first thing we'll need to do is pull out as many details about that world as possible, as well as details about your lover. If I gave you a journal would you use it?" Emma's eyes were so penetrating, Christy stared at them for a moment before giving an answering nod.
"This is good. Emma will be able to help you a great deal." The Professor interrupted, and then dismissed the topic, "Can you tell me about the Mystique you brought with you?"
"I landed on her world a little over a month ago." Christy turned in her seat to face the Professor more again. She had shifted towards Emma when she was talking with the blonde. "She and my double had been close, and since my own Mystique was a good friend of mine it wasn't hard to decide to stay with her while I waited to recharge." His slight grimace told her that her double's power wasn't a complete mystery to these people. Christy was really cleaning up this story. "In that world some of the Xmen had tried to stop the asteroid but they failed. The rest of the Xmen teamed up with Emma Frost and moved to Massachusetts. A lot of people had died, but Mystique was fortunate that her son and daughter were still with her. We assembled a few things to try and make creating a new life easier and I was about ready to open the portal when we were attacked. Mystique covered us while I opened the portal and did my best to aim the damned thing, but when she was shot everything fell apart. I lost the others and now she's alone." Christy shook her head. "At least she'll know they lived, but I'd wanted to give her more than that. After all her work protecting them and keeping them together she deserved more."
"She was an Xman?" He asked it directly.
She lied directly too. "Yes, for what that was worth." Christy leaned forward a little, "They lost their powers when the humans decided to make sure that the mutants didn't outlive them. The humans put a satellite in orbit that inhibited all powers but mine."
He looked thoughtful and Christy wondered if this man was like the last Charles Xavier she'd met, if he was, than right now he was planning the best way to use both Christy and Mystique. She'd have to be cautious.
The rest of the meeting was tiring and Christy had to resort to plainly telling him she wouldn't answer some questions far too often. He seemed to feel he had the right to her entire life story and she didn't feel he did. Neither one of them were very happy by the time he finally let her leave.
Emma had stayed with her and left with her as well. Christy didn't say much as they walked down the hall toward the elevator. She gave a weary smile as they waited for the doors to open. When the doors closed she spoke. "It wasn't any of his business where I've been or what I've done." She looked down a little, "Or what I've been through." Her jaw muscle tensed as she stared at white boots for a moment. "That is not going to cost me her medical help is it?"
"No, it won't." Emma spoke quietly but with confidence that made Christy feel a little better.
"Good." Christy felt the elevator stopping so she stared at the doors. "I saved someone, I'd hate to lose her after all that." She started to walk out into the hall with Emma by her side. The wrong Emma, but this one was closer. Maybe her luck was going to turn the other way now.
…………..
Mystique was awake when Christy stepped into the room and she saw Hank had a phone in his hand that he put back down the moment he saw her. He nodded and Christy could tell he'd been trying to find her. "Hey." Christy spoke softly and stepped away from Emma towards Mystique's bedside.
"There you are." Mystique's voice was rough and weaker than Christy had ever heard it. Christy pulled a chair over and planned to sit on it, but she just moved to stand next to Mystique and carefully took her hand.
"I had to meet the head honcho for my friendly interrogation." Christy studied Mystique's color and thought she was a little pale. It took more looking to find that in a blue woman. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got shot four times." Mystique glanced at the IV's in her arm and then at Christy. "But my powers are back so I should heal a little faster. Once I'm a little stronger I can work on it." Christy nodded, she knew how Mystique's powers worked. "What's this world like? Will we be okay here?"
Christy's heart ached as Mystique asked it. She looked up at Emma, who was still in the room and held her eyes for a moment silently requesting privacy. Emma and Hank stepped out of the room. When she looked back down Mystique looked apprehensive. "We ran into a problem. I'm so sorry, but they landed on a different world." Christy watched the stunned, pained expression on Mystique's face. "They lived, I would have known if they didn't. I had really good thoughts that I maintained for them and they were holding hands so they'd all be together, but when I went back for you the last one, Kitty, was pulled in after the others. I had no one to grab."
Mystique looked away and started to stare unseeing at the wall in the distance. Christy just stood near her and felt like a failure, like she'd let down all Mystique's not just this one. Part of her knew these things happened, but she hated that they happened to this woman. "So where are we?" Mystique finally spoke and Christy got the impression that Mystique was pushing her pain back for now to deal with the situation.
"We're at a Xavier's Institute with a double of mine and a Professor even she thinks is untrustworthy. We're just lucky you're an Xman or I think they might have locked you up rather than help you." Mystique's eyes widened just a moment and then she nodded. Clearly she was too drugged to remember Christy saying that before. "I didn't merge with her, she dodges better than the others. I don't have to leave you here when I go. I could try and find somewhere else for you. Anyway it will take a while for me to recharge and for you to heal. We can take that time."
"So I'm going to be a wanderer like you?" Mystique asked wearily.
"No, you don't have to be. I just want to find you somewhere good." Christy quietly added to herself that she wanted to find a place where Mystique wouldn't be alone.
"Well thank you for saving us." Mystique finally spoke after a long silence. "I told you anything was better, and while this wasn't really my dream it is better."
Christy just nodded.
"We did it." Mystique added softly.
"Yes we did." Christy gave Mystique a small smile as the woman tried to look on the bright side. "We lost your backpack, but you can have mine. I'm not settling anywhere and when I do get home I'm well off."
"Protecting your lover pays well?" Mystique gave a small grin.
"Yes, and the benefits package is really good." Christy smiled just a little more.
"I'll bet." Mystique sighed heavily. "I still feel like I have lead in my bones. These damned drugs."
"You need rest." Christy leaned down and kissed Mystique's cheek. "We have allies in Emma and their Christine." She whispered in her ear. "And I will protect you until you can protect yourself. I promise you this." She leaned back out of Mystique's space. "You sleep and I'll see you tomorrow. I'll see about getting us some information about this world for you to look at, just in case you like it."
"I'm not thrilled so far." Mystique muttered.
Christy felt awkward leaving Mystique, but she needed to get some sleep as well, and she needed to talk with Christine.
………….
Christy stepped out of the elevator and started down the hall, before a voice called to her. "Christy." She turned and saw the healer coming her way, and could tell the moment the healer noticed she wasn't the woman she was after. Didn't her double call this girl Annie, Christy thought as she continued to wait. Annie took a few more hesitant steps toward her and Christy could see curiosity and a little bit of fear.
"Hello Healer." She spoke calmly, matter of factly and ignored the way Annie stared at her, studying her. "Mystique is doing relatively well. Thank you."
"Um, you knew about my powers." Annie spoke quietly and Christy started to walk, moving for the front doors with Annie by her side.
"I've met one of you before. I travel realities." Christy remembered that time and sighed unhappily. "I owe her a great deal. She risked a lot to come and save my lover. I have little money to pay you for your services." She glanced at the girl. "But I'm sure Mystique would be willing to settle the bill."
"I charged?" Annie sounded a little disgusted. It reminded Christy that she probably didn't want to share too much about doubles with people.
"She was worth the money, and the risk she took to help needed to be rewarded." Christy explained quietly. "The Healer was well known and very sought out. I had to pull strings to even talk with her." Christy remembered the frantic phone calls. "But I assume I'm not the woman you were looking for, so you could continue your search. I really have no idea where to find my double."
"So you really are Christy?" Annie sounded stunned.
"Yes." Christy stopped where she'd need to either go upstairs or head out the front door. A walk outside might be nice, just look at the stars and double check. She knew she would have heard about it by now if there was an obvious problem, but still, double checking wouldn't hurt. It was dark now, so that would make it easier. "Would you be willing to give me a tour?" This place was a little different from the mansions she'd seen the past and knowing her environment would be important.
"Ah, sure." Annie didn't sound all that sure. "I just need to drop by my girlfriend's room to tell her."
"Oh did you have plans? You don't have to give me a tour, I could just look around." Christy said, but she was a little surprised to find out the Healer was gay. It had just never come up in her one meeting with her.
"No, I want to." Annie stopped her protest and sounded a little less shy. Christy watched out of the corner of her eye as Annie seemed to check her out. She was probably looking for more differences. Christy glanced down at her rather normal clothes and made a decision. She shifted her pants into black leather and her top became a white button down shirt, left unbuttoned enough so show a little cleavage. A long matching leather jacket covered that. Her hair moved into a ponytail. She looked different than her double, more different, while still being herself.
"She doesn't wear clothes like these does she?" Christy asked the surprised looking girl.
"No." Annie spoke and blushed. Christy's eyebrow rose as she noticed Annie was attracted. That was different, and way too young.
"So who are you dating?" Christy asked and the looks Annie had been giving her faded as the girl smiled.
"Phoebe Stepford." Annie's answer was a bit of a surprise. Christy just nodded, but then she hadn't really known any of those girls' orientation either. "she's a quintuplet, but I can always tell which one is her."
"Well, good thing or you could get into some serious trouble." Christy smiled just a little and stepped outside with the girl.
……………
The tour was of questionable value, Annie focused on the amenities like the pool and TV rooms, while Christy had more practical interests. Christy paid attention, but she learned to look around and mentally map the area as if it were a talking engagement for her lover. She took note of the trouble spots where monitoring would be difficult and she took notice of the areas that would be best for guards she didn't have. Treating it as work gave her the professionalism to remember, and made her a little too intense for her guide. Annie clearly was uncomfortable in her presence. The people who used to give her the tours of places Emma would speak got like this too, the subtle stares and the tension.
Christy sighed as she relaxed her body and gave the girl a small smile. "So, how is the food in this place?" She tried to put Annie at ease. "Army grade or better?" They stood in the library.
"Um, it's good cafeteria food, but it isn't a fine restaurant." Annie responded, looking a little lost at the friendly look Christy gave her.
"I'm sorry, I tend to get a little intense." Christy apologized as she glanced around at the few, very few, students in the library. "Don't they study around here?"
"We're on a break." Annie's body started to relax. "Fall semester starts in three days."
"Cool." Christy muttered, not really sure what to say to the girl. She didn't really care all that much about school starting, not now, with all her other concerns. Still she made an effort to conceal that. "My double a teacher?" She asked. There hadn't really been too much time devoted to asking about her double around here.
"Yeah, she just got hired." Annie answered and Christy gave her an expectant look, wanting more information. "She'll be teaching sex ed." Annie blushed a little at that and Christy's eyes widened.
"She's welcome to it. I wouldn't want to teach that." Her eyes moved to stare out the window as she considered how liberated her double must be. Was her double's Emma broadening her horizons? Was she broadening them too much? She hated that her suspicions were so easily aroused now. She never used to suspect her lover's doubles of things like what she was worried about now.
Christy's teaching double didn't seem unhappy. Christy sighed and decided that she would just accept that as enough, no matter what they did in their bedroom.
Didn't that sound like the rumors that used to float around at home about her own Emma? Christy thought with some bitterness as she remembered the whispered discussions of Emma's perversions. They all assumed she had them, Christy hadn't seen any evidence, but the others around had assumed. Christy never could tell them they were wrong because Emma and her relationship was more in the closet than not. "Thanks for the tour." She told Annie and could see the girl wanted to ask questions. "I better try and get some sleep. It's been a really long day." She didn't want to answer questions.
As Christy walked away she noticed that Annie went out another way. Christy's mind filled in the path the girl would take and as she found herself able to do that she knew she knew enough about her surroundings.
………………..
Christy was tired and she just sat at the dresser and stared at her reflection. Her hair shortened, and her face grew younger, until it looked like she was staring at Raven. She just stared at the familiar but different features and let her heart hurt a little.
The knock on the door had her quickly shifting back and feeling a little embarrassed. She couldn't regain any of those good qualities, that innocence and strength, by pretending. With a sigh she got up and moved to the door.
Christine stood at the door looking a little awkward. "You want to talk now?" Christy's double asked. "Or do you need some sleep?"
"I'm having a little trouble sleeping." Christy said as she moved back to let the woman into her own room. "Thank you for giving me your room. It's very nice."
"I just decorated." Christine told her as Christy closed the door behind her, but there was a hint of not wanting to play polite chit chat, so Christy dropped it.
"How solid is your relationship with her?" Christy asked, her expression a mask of disinterest, and it was just a mask, as she sat down.
Christine didn't pretend to not understand, and the look that crossed her face was not reassuring. There were doubts. "We just recently got together. I moved here a little less than two months ago and she doesn't hide that we're together." Well isn't that nice, a small bitter internal voice said as Christy said nothing.
"If she helps me she may see things." Christy sighed as her back slumped. "Things that might upset her. I've been with my Emma for two years and away for too long, but I would have a hard time opening myself to her knowing that the things she'd see would hurt her." Christy's jaw clenched as she fought getting glassy eyes. She wasn't ready just yet. She'd been strong for Raven, but at that point she was needed and Christy was always good at being strong when she was needed. "I don't want to cause trouble in your relationship. I know Emma's special, I love mine, but if you two are strong together this could hurt you."
"What is it? I told her about my past, showed her." Christine asked quietly and waited patiently.
Christy took a deep breath and did the responsible thing. She started to talk, even though she wasn't really sure what to make of this double yet. She didn't really trust her like she'd trusted Raven. "In the first world I landed in I found Emma was dating Scott. I thought it was a dark world." She chuckled at her old views, a bitter tone to her voice and she noticed the way Christine looked away from her, clearly a little insecure. "There was little love there, but she stayed with him. It upset me to see her settling, but she wasn't my Emma and I moved on. She helped me separate from the me of that world, because I ended up trapped inside my double. If I'd hit you I would have ended up trapped inside of you as well."
Christy leaned forward a little, getting a little closer to the woman sitting on the chair opposite her. "Then I landed in a young Christy still married to Michelle." Christy watched as her double made a very small expression of disgust at the idea. This double was identifying a bit too much with her. It would make the next world harder to talk about. "I found Emma in her college and she eventually learned enough about her powers to help me separate myself yet again. I was off and into another world after that."
Christy paused and took a deep breath. "I found hell in that world and the Emma there was hardly innocent of hurting me." Christy glared at the table rather than look up at her double now. "I merged with Raven, my Xmen double. I merged with her while she was in the Hellfire club and became their prisoner. We became their entertainment, their slave, their sex toy to rip apart. The White Queen was there and I don't know if your Emma could take knowing what happened there. I'm afraid that if she's anything like the woman I love, she'll hate herself for what happened in that world. That Emma was cold, very cold." Christy went quiet as she remembered the few moments when that woman hadn't been cold. They were few and they hurt because they showed that underneath that mask was a real Emma. Christy still didn't look up. "If your lover sees these things and doesn't feel pain I wouldn't trust her, but if she does she'll need you."
Christy didn't even mention that she'd condemned a worlds Hellions to death by inaction.
"After that world I landed in the world I found Mystique in. it was a dying world and I had under six weeks to power up and leave, all while the world was already rather dead. There wasn't much to fuel my power." Christy looked up at a stone faced mask on Christine. She knew that mask, the woman was hiding pain. "I killed those that were dying anyhow, but not for food this time. And not just men and the occasional accidental woman. I killed entire tribes, men, women, children. It seemed more merciful to kill a child than leave them alone to face their deaths. I dragged Mystique down into that hell with me and she and I did our damnedest to not feel anything for weeks while we killed." Christy just stopped talking and stared at her double, who was still absorbing her words and perhaps she was smart enough to know they were just the tip of the iceberg. "Can your Emma help me and not come out darker? Can she touch my mind and not die a little?"
Silence filled the room as Christy resorted to just watching her double think.
"I'll ask her." Christine finally spoke, softly. Christy was glad to see no pity in those eyes, no hidden judgment of her weakness and no accusations at her actions. "But I expect she'll say she can do it. In my mind she saw how I lead my people into cannibalism." They both sighed at that and it was almost worthy of a smile how they had at the same moment. If they had been talking of lighter things Christy might have smiled just a little. "She's strong, but I won't tell you it won't upset her. I think it will." Christy just tilted her head a little and studied her double, hearing doubles and uncertainty in the confident voice, because if someone had asked her this about her own lover, Christy would know more. It just showed how young this relationship was. It would have been better for Christy to seek this help from an Emma that had been in a ten or twenty year solid relationship with her double. A relationship that had already proved itself able to deal with the waves life sent its way. This was an untested love and Christy didn't want to be the test that stopped it cold.
……………….
Christy shifted her leg a little and continued to quietly write on her new journal. The soft sounds of the ventilation system didn't mask the quiet sounds of the heart monitor on Mystique. Christy glanced up at the monitor for a second and then at the sleeping woman on the bed. Mystique did a lot of sleeping, and had been for the three days they'd been there. Hank said the drugs helped, but Christy didn't like the idea of a drugged and helpless Mystique. That was why she spent almost all her time in the medlab reading or writing.
The Professor had visited a couple of times, the first time he'd looked a little surprised to see her and Christy was glad she had been. He didn't get close to Mystique during that visit. Christy pretended to be interested in the school, and kept him talking until Hank came back.
She sighed and stared down at the journal she'd started, wondering what was important enough to remember. Without a clue as to what the various realities had it made sense to remember as much as possible. Christy's hand started to write again as she recorded the security crew she worked with, even Tessa, the woman that Christy usually just heard over the comms.
Christy stopped writing and stared at the paper again and she considered how little she really knew of the people in her life. It was unforgivable really that she hadn't bothered to get to know them. She couldn't even write down whether Tessa cared about anyone, was seeing anyone. She didn't even know if Tessa had ever been with Emma.
How much had she not asked of her own lover? She avoided talk about ex-lovers to avoid the jealous pang she suspected it would give her and when Emma wanted to avoid discussing the Hellfire club or anything else, Christy rarely pushed. Staring at the journal, she came to the conclusion that she should have pushed. It was easier to focus on a reality than an emotion. Her love wasn't guiding her portals, she needed facts.
It didn't escape her attention that when she just wanted medical help on the other side of the portal it was there. She could manage to control the portal enough for that.
The journal was very slow going, and Christy was glad when she looked up to see her double. "How was work?" She asked quietly as the woman moved to sit in the other chair.
"Have you ever stood in front of a group of teenagers and suddenly realized that while they think they are old enough to have sex they giggle like children if you say the word?" Christine sighed heavily. "I don't know, I guess I'm used to more mature children. I read the syllabus to them and I had to glare at them to stop some giggles. I'm really looking forward to our class tomorrow." Christine's words were sarcastic. "I'm going to have to beat the giggling and embarrassment out of them if we're going to get anywhere."
Christy smirked just a little at the problems her double had. She glanced over at Mystique and made sure the woman still looked comfortable and asleep. "Good luck with that."
"Thanks." Christine shook her head at the lack of sympathy and then sat up a little straighter. "Did you just sit in here all day?"
"I managed to get some work done." Christy held up a journal, closed. She didn't share what she wrote. "And Mystique was awake for about an hour. We talked."
"You need food." Christine spoke quietly. "I had trouble remembering that after my world…" Christy just nodded. She'd had problems with that as well after her first portal jump to her Emma's world.
"I don't want to leave her alone." Christy reached out and gently caressed a blue hand. Mystique didn't wake up.
"I could stay with her." Christine offered and Christy turned to see the tender look her double gave Mystique. "You can take a walk or get some food."
It took a few more minutes of small talk before Christy took the offer. Putting her journal in her shifted on backpack and pulling it into her body for safety, Christy left the med lab. The noise told her that a few children had already decided to get an early dinner or snack as she approached the cafeteria a few minutes later.
"Ms. Taylor?" A young voice asked and Christy turned to see a young girl. "Do I really need to take your class to get a room? I mean, its…" The girl stammered.
"Embarrassing?" Christy supplied without any emotion. "Well, you could just start your family young I guess. You don't need to know about birth control that way. Or you could make friends with that healer so she fixes the STD's you pick up. Oh, but then you'd have to talk about sex at least a little." Christy could see the girl wanted to leave, so she stared into her eyes. "You are old enough to raise kids but you aren't old enough to take this class?"
"I, ah." The girl stammered.
"Oh, and I'm not your teacher." Christy started to walk the rest of the way to the cafeteria. "She's in the med lab." Maybe her double would thank her for this if word got around. This was as much as she wanted to talk about sex with teenagers though. She'd leave her double to that task. She strongly doubted that her double had ever experienced that panicked moment when one wondered if they were pregnant or if they'd contracted something. No, Christy shook her head. She wasn't really willing to talk about how that felt either. Christine had asked once about the rapes, and Christy cut her off. Still of all her doubles, she ended up with one that fancied herself a sex ed teacher this time around? At least she didn't merge with her.
Christy ignored the students and could tell who had been in Christine's class by who stared at her. Christine had informed her class about her double and Christy had agreed to keep her hair in a ponytail so that kids that paid attention would know the difference.
It was another gasp that had her turning away from the lunch counter and her body tensed as a group of people came into existence suddenly in the middle of the cafeteria. Her jaw dropped a moment before she clenched it and took a step forward.
"Blink?" One of them spoke and Christy took another step forward towards the pink female glancing around at the kids.
"Get a teacher," One teen called out, but Christy was already catching a few of the Exiles' eyes as she moved toward them purposefully.
"What is your mission?" Christy growled out, afraid that it had something to do with one of the three dimension hoppers currently at the mansion. She glared at Blink and noticed the others appeared a little surprised. "Hand me your arm." She wasn't going to trust the woman to tell her the truth. She glanced at the device attached to Blink's arm briefly but meaningfully.
"I don't think so girly." Mimic spoke up and Christy turned her glare to him. The sound of the teens in the room told her that some other adult had entered the room.
"Blink," Christy glanced at the others and could see the large white beast and a woman of a familiar blue along with Mimic, Morph and Sunfire before returning her attention to the leader. "You have no right to tamper here just on the off chance you'll go home." She'd read about the Exiles on her own home world, before it died. They jumped dimensions like Christy did lately, but they did it to complete missions. Some of those missions were rather cold and Christy wasn't going to trust them no matter how nice they might seem, not without proof that they weren't after someone she cared about. They'd saved and killed in their missions before.
The Exiles looked stunned that she knew what they were doing, and Christy watched with narrowed eyes as Blink took a look at the device on her arm. She took in the slight widening of eyes and the way Blink's eyes almost moved to TJ, who was some Mystique's granddaughter, before just looking up at Christy and holding her gaze.
"What's going on here?" A male voice asked, it was a little rough.
"Logan, these are the worst sort of dimension hoppers." Christy told him without looking away from Blink. "They have a mission and they won't leave without completing it. I say we deserve to know what that mission is."