Yay for quicker update!
This chapter see's Kurt getting some answers about his elusive abilities and we meet a couple of key players too. Again, a little heavy on the dialogue side, but I promise the whole story is not like that and I've included a little fluff for you all too. :D
Beta'd by the splendiferous Brellegenana - Without whom this story would probably have caused my mental health breakdown.
Warnings - No additional warnings except this chapter contains sci-fi themes.
Apologies - Apparently the formatting has changed any Italic sentences so that the words all run together - FF Net Fail! I hope I caught them all, if not, my sincere apologies!
Disclaimer - I don't own Glee or it's characters, I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement.
Last time - Kurt had just been bombarded with information about the new 'reality' of his world... can he keep up?
Kurt woke up and groggily cleared his throat, predictably, his father was right there at his bedside asking if he needed anything. What I need is a chance to wakeup first Kurt thought bitterly. Blinking his eyes to try and clear the sleep from them, he glanced around his now very familiar hospital room. Ugh, this décor is horrible he mused. He could hear the steady beeping noise from his heart monitor that was still attached to him. He'd asked Dr. Pearse if it was still strictly necessary with him being awake now. Unfortunately she said it was because of his injuries and condition.
Smacking his dry lips together and coughing slightly at his dry throat Kurt turned to reach for his ever present cup of water, only to find that his father was already holding it out to him.
"Thanks," he muttered in a cold tone.
Sipping at the water gratefully, Kurt noticed that they had delivered his lunch while he was asleep. He pulled the rolling table towards himself, realising just how ravenous he was and lifted the lid on his meal. He couldn't suppress the sneer at the now stone cold meal of lumpy mashed potatoes and some kind of mystery meat swimming in congealed gravy. The repetition of food was something he could handle when it was still at least warm, but now it just made his stomach turn. Glancing at the clock on the wall opposite him he noticed that he'd been asleep for the better part of three hours. No wonder its cold he thought as he unenthusiastically pushed his food around the plate.
"Yeah, I don't blame you buddy," Burt said quietly, Kurt pretended to ignore him as usual. "I, uh, I checked with your doctor, she said you can uh eat anything you want. So I can, if you want, I could go get you something else, anything." He added in the hopes of eliciting a response from his son.
For the first time since Kurt had regained the use of his voice he turned to his father and asked with animation "Really?" At Burt's emphatic nod Kurt thought about what he wanted to eat with relish until he remembered and slumped back against the bed.
"Oh, Dr. Hudson said she'd be back around 4 to continue." He answered gloomily.
Burt, not wanting to lose this his chance to actually have his son speak to him shook his head.
"Screw it Jay, you deserve to have a decent meal. I'll make sure they wait till you're done. So, what do you want?"
Kurt watched as his father had stood up and put his ball cap on, a sign from his childhood he remembered that meant his Dad was heading out. Not wanting to pass up the chance to get a decent meal Kurt thought for a moment.
"I want a medium-rare steak sandwich with caramelized onions and ranch dressing and fries, and can I get some French toast with icing sugar and some Peanut Brittle ice-cream with lots of hot chocolate fudge? Oh, and I want a really large mint choc-chip frappachino from Starbucks with lots of whipped cream."
Kurt surprised himself, he'd never been what you would call a big eater, especially of late, but for some reason he was completely ravenous and felt like he could devour an entire cow and still have room for dessert. Burt was clearly shocked as well, but whatever his boy wanted he would make sure he got it.
"Uh, yeah okay. Let me just write it down so I don't forget anything."
45 minutes later and Kurt was tearing into his sandwich with abandon, it pleased Burt no end to see his waif like son eating, and most of all, because he was the one to suggest and provide to his needs. I've been a terrible father, but I hope that this helps him to open up to me, even though I don't deserve it he thought as Kurt took a long swig of his drink.
Kurt meanwhile was trying to control himself so that he didn't pop a boner; the food was just so good! Swallowing his mouthful he spared a quick glance to his father.
"Thank you." He whispered.
Burt just smiled and nodded his head, taking up his usual position beside his son's bed and tried not to stare as his son devoured the entire meal.
As promised, Burt had herded Dr. Hudson out of the room until Kurt had finished his meal, not that she needed much persuasion, the look on her face spoke volumes about her approval that Kurt was showing so much enthusiasm for food. Though the sheer amount of it before the small teen was slightly staggering, she knew how much her own son could pack away in a single sitting. Growing boys and all that.
After Kurt had finished his monster meal and cleaned himself up a little, he settled back against his raised bed with a contented sigh, the food settled, but he was surprised by a large burp that left him feeling slightly embarrassed. The ridiculousness of the sound coming from him struck him as funny for a reason even he couldn't identify, and a giggle escaped his lips before he could suppress it. Burt looked as though someone told him he'd won the lottery when he heard the giggle pass through his son's lips and gave a quiet chuckle himself.
"Thanks," Kurt spoke with a little more feeling this time, "I really needed that, and now I think I needed another nap." He admitted rubbing at his slightly distended stomach.
With another chuckle Burt answered his son, "You're welcome kid, but you can't sleep just yet. Dr. Hudson has a couple of people with her to talk to you now, they're just outside."
Kurt closed his eyes with a groan, so not in the mood for more information overload, but his eyes popped open and he sat up straighter when he heard his father's next words.
"She said that they are from your school and can talk to you about these powers."
With a dramatic sigh Kurt rolled his eyes, "Well, if I must, I must – I can't keep my public waiting." Smoothing out the bed spread and his hair he continued in a regal voice, "Show them in."
With another chuckle at his son's antics, which reminded him of the Kurt he knew before the death of his wife, Burt opened the door and ushered in the group of people waiting to speak with Kurt. Carole was accompanied by a curly haired man and what he thinks was a female in a full bio-hazard suit. He couldn't help but raise his eyes in alarm at that, a swift glance behind him saw that Kurt's expression was mirroring his own as he nervously fidgeted with hem of his blanket. What kind of person dressed in a bio-suit when meeting a teenager? Burt was beginning to doubt the validity of this individual's ability to help his son.
"Hello Kurt, how are you feeling now? This is William Schuester, he's the Spanish teacher at school and he will also be your "Leader"." Carol decided to lead this meeting, as she knew Kurt, and knew the signs for when he was becoming overwhelmed.
Kurt politely shook the offered hand as his eyes raked up to see that the man had an indicator too. This individual had a question mark in the middle of his forehead, which Kurt found oddly intriguing.
"And the astronaut wannabe is Emma Pillsbury," Carol added with a wink, "she's the guidance counsellor at your school but also works in conjunction with Mr Schuester." Leaning in closer and speaking in a loud stage whisper that everyone could hear she added with a grin, "Don't mind her Kurt, she has mysophobia, or germaphobia if you will."
Kurt, amused by the introduction, politely extended his hand to the new woman who recoiled as though he was pointing a gun at her.
"Emma!" Will exclaimed exasperatedly, "We've talked about this. That suit is not only highly un-necessary, but completely impractical considering why we are here. We're in a hospital for goodness sakes, the place is sterile!You need to take it off so Kurt can meet you properly. I know how difficult this is for you, but still! This is too much!"
Kurt shared an amused look with his father as he watched her shake her head nervously only to be meet with a stern glare from Mr. Schuester. Reluctantly the woman took several steps back and removed the helmet of the suit, tucking it under her arm, holding it protectively ready to put it back on at a moment's notice.
Kurt was further amused to see that she was wearing a surgical mask underneath, covering her mouth and nose. He took in the shock of vivid red hair and the large frightened doe eyes and felt sympathy for the young woman; he knew what it meant to be that fearful all the time, so he spoke in a quiet soothing voice.
"It's okay, I'm not actually sick, I just have physical injuries that are all covered up. I'm not contagious, and I'll respect any needs you have about this. I understand, promise."
Emma glanced over the boy to see that yes, while there were multiple bandages on him, the only sight that met her eyes was the fast fading bruises. Seeing the amount of bruising made her heart go out to the younger boy, he must be in so much pain. Emma, for all her eccentricities was a compassionate soul, which was why she went into counselling in the first place. For some reason, she instantly felt a connection to the young man in front of her; something told her that he knew what she was feeling. Taking a deep breath she removed the surgical mask as she stepped forwards and raised her still glove covered hand to offer a handshake. Babysteps, she reminded herself, and smiled warmly at the teen.
"Hello Kurt, it's nice to finally meet you."
"Hello, uh Mrs Pillsbury?"
"Just Miss., Kurt. Thank you."
Now that she was closer and without the helmet on, Kurt could see that she also had a question mark indicator, but hers was upside down which highly intrigued him.
"Why is your indicator upside down?"
"Well now, that's exactly why Mr. Schuster and Miss. Pillsbury are here to talk to you. So why doesn't everyone get comfortable while I explain what the plan is for this afternoon." Carole spoke up.
"So Kurt, I spoke with Dr. Pearse and we decided that it would be much simpler for you to meet everyone that will essentially be your support team all together, rather than spread out over time. Dr. Pearse, Nurse Ruth and I are all a part of the medical aspect of the team, as well as Dr. Lopez, who is the Chief of Staff of the hospital. He will be popping in a little later to introduce himself. Essentially he is a part of the team because this is your treating hospital and he can communicate directly with the researchers I mentioned in our last meeting.
"Will and Emma are another aspect of the team, as they are the two faculty members at your school designated to the activated students, and will be working closely with you there. There are a few others that you will be meeting a bit later, but I wanted you to meet Will and Emma first because they can answer some of those burning questions you have about your potential abilities. So I'll let Will explain what his role is in this and kind of explain the school aspect of this whole program." She finished with a smile.
Kurt looked to the curly haired man who he placed to be in his early 30's. He had seen him around the school a few times and he looked pleasant enough. He'd never had a reason to interact with the man, as he had taken French as his language elective, due to his past exposure to the language from his mother's family. However, due to Kurt's history with McKinley High faculty, Kurt felt an immediate distrust of the man. It was simply not possible for the entire faculty to be that unaware of the plight of the non-popular students, thus Kurt decided that none of the adults cared about him or the other outcasts. He knew that wasn't fair, he'd never interacted with the teacher so he couldn't have stepped in. Kurt supposed he would just have to wait and see and be on his guard.
Alternatively, which was strange enough, he didn't feel the same about Miss Pillsbury. Intellectually he knew that he should feel the same distrust towards her, after all, it is her job to be on the lookout for students who needed help. However, as Kurt watched her use disinfectant wipes to clean down the chair before sitting on it, Kurt reasoned that he could understand how fear can take over your life; all he felt was sympathy for the woman. It must be neigh on impossible to maintain her composure in a school full of Neanderthals who could barely walk upright, let alone maintain generally acceptable levels of hygiene. He also felt a little apprehensive towards her too, but as he felt that about all new adults, he would consider it minor for now.
"So Kurt," Will spoke pulling the teen out of his musings, "I know that you must be very overwhelmed by everything that's been happening to you. Carole has filled us in on what she's told you already, that way we aren't repeating ourselves to you. Emma and I are here for you, to give you a better insight into the different powers, specifically yours. Think of us as guides for your abilities, we're here to help you develop control and safety when using your abilities." He finished with a smile.
"You asked about Emma's indicator being similar to mine, only upside down. This is a fantastic place to start. I'm not sure if you remember, but the classification table that Carole gave you, anything to do with punctuation marks typically relate to the communication of powers."
"As you can see, mine is a regular question mark and my ability is what is called 'Power Mimicry'. What that means is that I can mimic another person's ability for a short period of time, mainly so that I can get a first-hand understanding of the power. This ensures that I can do my job, I'm called a 'Leader' within the empowerment community, if you will." He added seeing Kurt's question gaze.
"As Carole explained already, each school in America is set up with Glee Club as a front for an empowerment training facility. Each club has a Leader who is responsible for said training. I'll be able to help you understand your power and learn to control it, so that you become the master of it rather than the power mastering you. All Leaders will typically have the question mark indicator in some form."
Kurt nodded his head in understanding; he was genuinely impressed at the succinct explanation, so much so that he had to ask;
"How long have you been a Leader?"
"I completed my Leadership training in 2004. I know Carole told you that you will have five years of training, but leaders are required to have 10 years, due to the variety of abilities that we may be exposed to. I graduated from College in 2001, and I started working at McKinley as a teacher and a Leader in 2004. I've been there for a while now." He finished with a smile.
Kurt turned to face Emma, "So yours means you're a leader too? But, yours is inside a hand, so that means something about touch right?"
"Very good Kurt," Emma praised. "No I'm not a Leader per say, though technically I could be one if I did the extended training. But as Will is already the recognized Leader at McKinley, I've chosen to work in an advisory capacity."
"You see, while Will can mimic a person's powers, I am able to do something called 'Power Sensing'. We believe that is why my question mark is upside down. Will uses his power so that he can question what your power can do; mine means that I can answer that question for others. As you said, my indicator being inside a hand means I need to physically touch a person to sense what their ability is." She added with a slight tremor.
Kurt felt himself shudder in sympathy. For a germophobe it must be horrific to constantly have to touch other people to activate her ability. But he was far too interested in the meaning behind her words.
"So you can tell me what I can do?" he asked eagerly.
"Yes," she nodded with a smile, "to a degree at least. It all depends on the strength of the power, sometimes I can pinpoint a person's ability perfectly, and other times the power can be quite latent and not present itself right away. With training the power grows and thus makes it easier to determine. Sometimes additional abilities will manifest as well."
"Can you check me now?" he asked hopefully.
"That's why you are meeting with them first," Carole explained. "It will be easier in the group meeting for you to already have some understanding of your ability, that way the questions won't overlap. We don't want to overload you with more information than is strictly necessary at this time. You are still healing and there is plenty of time for the both you to continue learning after you've healed."
Burt nodded his head in approval, his first priority was making sure Kurt got better, after that they could deal with all this, but he trusted Carole's judgement on the matter.
"Okay Emma, you're up." Will spoke cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to the fact that this was highly stressful for Emma.
"Kurt, would you mind cleaning your hand thoroughly with some of these please? I know it's annoying, but I would really appreciate it..." Emma asked holding out the packet of disinfectant wipes.
Not wanting to put her under any more duress Kurt happily nodded and took the wipes, though it proved difficult to clean his left hand, as it was still encased in the plaster. Unsurprisingly, Burt held out his hand in silent offer to help him. Still a little reluctant to interact with his father, Kurt begrudgingly handed them over, trying to keep his expression neutral as Burt worked to clean his hands thoroughly, with a surprisingly gentle touch.
"While Emma is getting herself ready," Will indicated to Emma's preparations that included her own scrubbing of her hands, "why don't you tell us if you've noticed anything different about yourself, apart from what you told Carole earlier."
"No, I've not really noticed anything, I mean, nothing like what was on that table thing she showed me. I mean, I know that it has something to do with my body and my mind, which apparently is really rare. Being stuck in this bed since my activation probably limits me though. I mean I met Brittany and Dr. Hudson told me about hers and Noah's abilities, but I've not wanted to, you know, try to do anything."
Will nodded his head in understanding, "That's for the best, and very responsible of you. A lot of kids who are activated can't wait to start trying to make lightning shoot out the eyes or something 'cool' like that. While the whole situation sounds like something from a comic book, it doesn't actually work that way. Also, with your injuries, it's important that you not push your body too much. I've seen what happens when a person uses their powers and their bodies aren't able to handle the new powers yet. I'm glad that you are being so careful. Okay, are you both ready?"
Both Kurt and Emma nodded; Kurt lifted his arm as though he'd just scrubbed in for a surgery, and calmly waited while Emma mentally collected herself. It took her a few attempts to breach the distance between them and clasp his hand in both of hers, closing her eyes in concentration. After a moment she gave a sharp gasp and clutched at his hands tighter, her face screwing up in concentration.
Kurt watched anxiously as Emma dropped his hand abruptly, recoiling back to the other side of the room as though he had bitten her, her already large doe eyes widening impossibly further as she fought to catch her breath. Instantly, his new the curly haired Leader stepped into her personal space, impossibly close whilst not touching her, murmuring words that Kurt couldn't hear.
Kurt felt his own lungs gasping for breath as though he'd run a marathon, which was strange, because he hadn't felt anything; he supposed it was just the adrenaline pumping through him. A glance at his father and Carole showed anxiousness on their faces as they stared at the guidance counsellor. Kurt felt his own emotions start to react to the trepidation that everyone else seemed to be feeling.
"Emma, Emma; are you all right. What was it?" Will asked lowly.
Turning her large eyes onto him he saw they were steadily filling with tears. "I just need a moment."
Without waiting for a response the red head had turned and walked out of the room, not even remembering to put the gloves or helmet back on. This was enough to concern Will greatly as he wasted no time exiting the room after her, stopping only to pick up the disinfectant wipes on his way out. The three remaining occupants all glanced at each other nervously.
"What the hell was that?" Kurt exclaimed.
Will found Emma pacing the hall outside of the room, her hands rubbing against each other furiously as she mumbled incoherently to herself, without a word he handed her the packet of wipes which she unconsciously took and immediately started a thorough cleaning of her hands, paying particular attention to her nails and the creases in her hands. After a few minutes she had calmed down enough, as he knew she would, to be able to turn her fearful eyes onto him. He indicated her to a seat in the hall unthinkingly, and was surprised when she sat down without preamble. He decided now wasn't the time to point out that she hadn't cleaned the chair first.
"I've – I've never felt anything like it Will, and he's so strong even though he has just been changed!"
"What was it? What happened?"
"I don't know what to call it!" She cried not used to being stumped by a person's ability. "It was like he just disappeared, but he didn't – I could sense him being somewhere but I have no idea where!"
"Okay, just take a couple of breaths and let's sort through this rationally before we go back in there okay?" he waited until she complied inhaling deeply. "Okay, so we knew his power or abilities were going to be a bit different because of his indicator, the last person to have that was activated in 1956" he said nervously.
"Let's just work through this logically. Now you said he disappeared, like Noah? Can he make himself invisible?"
"No – with Noah I could still sense that he was around just not visible. Kurt, it's like he was literally wiped off the planet!" not realising at the time just how true her words were.
"Okay, do you think it was something he does with his mind or with his body?"
"Both." She answered firmly, ignoring the raised eyebrows of Will, because she knew that her own brows had done the same when she first realised Kurt's ability.
"Wow, okay. Did you sense anything else?"
"I sensed a lot of – falling," she struggled for the right word. "But it was cold and dark and incredibly uncomfortable, like I was inside a vacuum." She added with a shudder at the memory.
"While he disappeared, I still had this vague sense that he was near, but not here at the same time."
"Do you think it's like teleportation?"
She shook her head defiantly, "No, not here in that sense. I think the best way for me to try and explain it as similar to a Path walker." She admitted finally.
Will's eyebrows rose even higher. Path walkers were rare certainly, but not unheard of. "So you think he's travelling to the fourth dimension?"
Shaking her head slowly Emma tried to find the words to explain. "No, not exactly, this doesn't feel like that power does. I get a sense that he is disappearing rather like a Path walker, but it's not the same. A Path walker is only travelling by their mind, Kurt – Kurt's whole body is going along for the ride, it's like he's travelling to a different time and different place, but not like other time-travellers, when he comes back, the world has moved on."
Emma was speaking more to herself than Will, as she tried to make sense of what she'd felt from the pale teen. Will was used to this, and he waited patiently while wracking his brains for anything that might help them to understand this. After all, they still had to go back inside to explain it to Kurt.
"What you said just now, about the world, do you think – maybe?" he asked trailing off.
He'd heard mention very briefly of the idea of parallel universes in the activation research, but they seemed to be more of an urban legend amongst the researchers. People who believed in this ability were considered to need to get outside more if their crack-pot theories where anything to go by. Unless – could they be right?
Emma gasped understanding his implications, "Will – Will that's it!" she cried picking up his hand and squeezing it tight. "That's what it is! He's able to travel between different realities! That's why I can still get a slight sense of him, because I must be there too in some capacity!"
Emma was back to pacing again as she started mumbling to herself, "we all are there, I'm sure of it! It must be like an alternate universe, otherwise why would I be able to sense everyone there through him? But it wasn't the same as it is here, the people I could sense were changed, there was more than one too. That's interesting and potentially problematic for the poor boy. But, what's the point?" she asked herself seriously.
Will stood up and broke her pacing by placing himself in her way without touching her, making her turn to face him. "Emma, slow down, I don't understand what you are saying."
She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. "I think there must be more than one alternate universes, I'm sensing that there are lots of them. Some of these were not so different to our universe, but some – some are very different." She finished.
Will felt his breath leave his body as he understood the implications of what she had just said. If Kurt can travel between all of the places she glimpsed...
"Is there a trigger? Can he control it?"
"There's always a trigger and I think in time, yes in time he may be able to control it, but for now -" she shook her head sadly.
"You do realise what this means for the boy right?" At her nod, Will did the unthinkable and pulled her in tight for a hug, Emma with the gravity of the situation went willingly – though of course she would ask the hospital for a decontamination shower, or three, before she left.
Sombrely the pair looked at each other, understanding everything that was coming, hoping that the boy who had already had less than perfect life experiences would be strong enough to handle the onslaught of what was to come. But they also remembered that they, along with the rest of Kurt's support team, would be there fighting tooth and nail on his behalf. They would be there to help him adapt to his powers, and hopefully see the benefits of all these changes.
Kurt felt as though his stomach was steadily eating away at all his internal organs as he waited for the two adults to return. He tried to calm himself down by telling himself that her reaction was probably very ordinary. It can't be an easy experience to do what she does, but it was the concern from Mr. Schuester that led the traitorous thoughts against that reasoning. Something was wrong, very, very wrong. Finally after what felt like an age, the door opened and the pair entered, both looking a little nervous and Emma was also looking incredibly sheepish.
"So...?" Kurt trailed off.
Will answered him with what Kurt assumed was supposed to be a reassuring smile.
"Sorry about that Kurt, sometimes it can get a little intense for Miss Pillsbury to sense an active power. Sometimes she just needs a moment to collect her thoughts and impressions from what she felt."
Deciding to play along Kurt just nodded his head and forged ahead anyway.
"So what's the verdict? What can I do?"
Here Emma and Will shared another glance; silently agree to proceed as they had planned.
"Well Kurt," Emma began, "You certainly took my breath away, that is for sure! You know that your indicator is extremely rare and I should have better prepared for that, so I apologise for rushing out and leaving you waiting like that. Your ability is actually very unique, so unique in fact that I can't name it, at least not yet." She hastened to add.
"Mr. Schuester and I will need to do a bit of research before we can officially 'name' your ability, but I can tell you what I experienced, and the basics of it. First of all, it's very strong, surprisingly so considering you've just gone through the change and not used this ability yet."
Here Kurt glanced at his newly assigned Leader who was nodding his head reassuringly at him.
"So what can I do?"
"Well please keep in mind that because we can't technically name it, it is much harder to explain it, okay? And you're going to need to try and keep an open mind for what I'm about to tell you."
Kurt slowly nodded his head, by this point; he was becoming used to the bizarre and figured he could handle whatever they told him.
"Okay, have you ever heard of the concept of 'Alternate Universes' or 'Alternate Realities'?" Kurt nodded his head. "Well, what I initially sensed is that you're ability would have you 'disappear' from this universe or reality. This is not like Noah's ability; you don't truly become invisible here, you actually physically and mentally leave this reality. It's something I've not heard of before as an actual power, so we could be wrong. This has been bandied about in the scientific community, and the science-fiction genre seems to utilize the idea of alternate realities in practically everything. But, this is important; I could still 'sense' you even though you had been removed from our reality."
Here Emma glanced at Will, she wasn't explaining this very well at all and so she implored him silently to help her.
"You see Kurt," Will broke in, "It has been hypothesized by scientists that there is an alternate reality, sort of like a parallel universe to ours, in which there are either minor or major differences from this reality. There may even be more than one; the number of universes could potentially be infinite. Emma believes that from what she sensed, you have the ability to travel to these alternate universes. The reason she cans still get a feedback from you is because in an alternate universe it's most likely that she is there too in some capacity. We theorized that this doesn't just mean Emma or even just those who have been activated, but all of humanity."
Kurt just gaped at the two trying to explain it to him. There's a different universe, possibly multiple universes, and he can go to them?Strangely, Kurt's first reaction was disappointment, because that was it? That was his super special and rare ability? He couldn't do any cool tricks, like turn invisible or mess with people's memories like Noah and Brittany? Of all shittiest of short straws, Kurt mused silently.
"Kurt, I know it's really hard to accept, but like I said, I could be interpreting it wrong because I've not seen or heard of anything like this before, but I truly believe that is what your ability is."
"That's it?" Kurt finally asked when he found his voice, "That's it? I can't do anything else? I mean, well – what's the point of that?"
"We honestly don't know Kurt," Mr. Shuester patiently explained to the clearly confused Kurt. "That's why it is essential you receive training; we will help you to discover a purpose for your abilities. But, I have to tell you now; because your power hasn't been seen before, we are all kind of in the dark here. It's a completely new entity for us and we still have to consult with the researchers."
"Well if neither of you have ever heard of this mystical power before then how did you come to that conclusion? It seems to be a pretty farfetched idea to me." Burt confessed.
"There have been some – theories," William explained carefully, "about travelling between alternate realities, but to the best of our knowledge, they are just that, theories. Outside mainstream sci-fi media, it hasn't been considered truly possible for a person to travel between dimensions or universes."
"Is there anything else you can tell me now?" pleaded Kurt. It felt like it had been an agonizing millennium since this activation was first explained by Dr. Hudson. These supposed professionals just kept extending the wait for the necessary knowledge about his powers and the effect all of this had upon him, and thus far he was incredibly disappointed. "I mean, why would I bother travelling to another universe at all? How can you be sure that I could even do this at all without getting hurt myself? Would it like a recon mission type thing in exchange with the government for this supposed training? Do I have a choice? How do I even do it?" Kurt fired off quickly.
"Kurt, what I sensed is that there was a vacuum-like experience that channelled you towards something that I can only currently describe as alternate universes. Now, typically we have found that newly activated powers will have what we call a trigger, but I can't tell you what your specific trigger for this power is. Perhaps in time after you have begun to use your ability, I may be able to help you find your triggers, but usually a person will discover these unintentionally."
"What do you mean?"
"Well – hmm, how can I explain it, I suppose I could use the Cheerio you met earlier, Brittany, as an example. After she went through the activation I could sense that her power had something to do with memory manipulation, but I couldn't tell her exactly what she would be able to do. We discourage people from trying to 'test' themselves for a variety of safety reasons. Brittany found that she could use her mind to make a person forget something, purely by accident. She had accidentally broken something in front of a person, and in an effort to avoid getting into trouble she said 'you didn't see that'. At the same time, she wanted those words to be true for the person, and the witness completely forgot about seeing her knock it over. We had to build her training from that experience, and discovered that fear was a strong trigger for her."
Will interjected one of the most important lessons that he felt he would ever teach Kurt, "That's why it's so very important that you are completely honest with us. The smallest things could happen because of your abilities or powers, and the more information we have the more we can help you."
"So you're saying that I probably won't have a choice about using my powers, but I could go between these different universes at any time?" Kurt asked terrified.
"It seems that way, at least at the moment. But remember, this is why there is training, to help you gain control over all of this."
"But surely – I mean, I wouldn't know what to do! You have to teach me!" He implored to Will.
"And we will, we will arm you with as much knowledge about your abilities as we can find. Until that time, I think it is best if you keep a journal or log of some kind with you at all times. This way, if you feel any slight change you can write it down immediately, that way we can try and find what your trigger is."
"But what happens if I go before you've found out, or trained me? Will I get stuck? Will I be able to come back here?" Kurt asked his eyes wide.
"If you haven't noticed any significant differences so far, than the chances are slim that you will travel before you are released from the hospital. Most powers and abilities take a little time to fully kick into gear if you will. Right now, your body is still healing from what happened, and that healing is means that your body is prioritising itself for that purpose rather than any functions of your activation, so for now, I think it's safe to say that you will be fine."
Carole, upon seeing Kurt getting more distressed as the conversation continued, decided that this was enough for now and stepped in to take charge again.
"Okay! Well I believe we all have a significant amount of information that we need to process now, so how about we call this meeting to an end? Kurt, I'm going to go set up the group meeting we discussed earlier, and then I'll come back in and you, your father and I can discuss everything we've gone over today. I don't want you to get overwhelmed or too stressed by this; we are all going at your pace, alright? If you need some time with your father to discuss this, or want to talk with any of us alone, you let me know, and I'll make it happen."
As she began ushering Will and Emma to exit the room, she continued, "Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury will be in the team meeting later, so if you have any questions, I think it would be beneficial for you to write them down for the team meeting. Some things will be covered by the other members of the team, but you should feel free to ask anything. We all realise that this affects you first and foremost, and we all want to help you succeed in discovering your abilities. Now, we will have a couple of hours break so you can freshen up and reflect on everything we've gone over thus far. The good news is that the meeting will be held in a conference room! I'm betting you can't wait to get out of this room for a bit." She added with a warm smile.
Indicating she would be back very shortly, she ushered Will and Emma into the hall and gave them the details where the next meeting will be held. She watched the instructors leave, overhearing their discussion regarding contacting researchers, and potential testing. Carole's heart went out to the bedridden boy; he was in for an even more arduous journey than even others who have been changed experienced.
With a sigh she headed in the opposite direction to go find Ruth. Ruth had mentioned that Noah had taken music lessons from Kurt's mother before she passed and that the two had been somewhat friends, Carole decided it was time that Kurt got to speak to someone his own age about it, and it was long past due that Noah stepped up to the plate to shoulder some responsibility. Perhaps it may even help them both, because it was about time for Kurt Hummel to get a mentor.
Love it? Hate it? Review and let me know why!
Mischievous Gleek