"It's a gift... and a curse."
[xxxxx]
Chapter 8: Curses and Gifts
Even in her ripe age, Samantha Barrington had never gotten used to life in the city. She had grown up on a farm in Idaho and the closest she had gotten to the city before the age of nineteen was when her cousins from Boise visited. But despite her dislike for the city, as that's where work was and wherever work remained, was where Samantha was.
And now that she was back in the countryside, away from the city, it felt great. The air was fresh, the water was clean and best of all and the stars were visible at night. Of course, she had yet to see those stars, but Ororo had told her about the wonderful view from the east side of the mansion.
Samantha smiled and hummed as she unpacked the clothing out of her suitcases and into her closet.
The room was nice and neat and had a unique floral scent that different from the rest of the mansion. The only thing that she didn't like was her neighbor - that awful man, Logan. She would do her best to get along, but something about him was just so intolerable.
There was a knock at the door and Samantha called, "One moment please!" She covered up all the unmentionables that lay visible, just in case someone was to catch a glimpse of them.
She swung the door open to reveal Dr. Hank McCoy, an old and dear friend of hers.
"Hank!" She said in surprise, and smiled brightly. They hugged and Samantha led him into her room. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you taught!" She sat down on a pair of twin arm chairs in the corner of the room.
"I was actually a student of Xavier's for some time." He said. "I'm been here a few years now, working with the X-Men."
She looked at him, confused. "I'm sorry, did you say the... X-Men?
"Yes, is that a problem?" He paused. "Wait... no, surely you've heard of the X-Men."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry Hank, but I've never heard of such a thing."
"The X-Men," He began to explain. "Are a team - a superhero team, if you will - founded by Charles Xavier to enforce his dream of a world where humans and mutants could live together in peace."
Samantha stared at him for a moment, then burst out into a fit of laughter. "You actually go me there for a second, with the-"
"Sam, I'm being completely serious." Hank said staring at her like she was the one with blue fur covering her face.
She stared at him again. "I knew there were mutant vigilantes, but... you? Hank, you're not a superhero! You're a scientist for God's sake! You're place is in a laboratory, not running around in spandex with Reed Richards or whoever else-"
"Reed Richards is actually a very good friend of mine."
She sighed. "My point is, Hank, that..." She said, but suddenly stopping herself. "Wait... Logan, Ororo... they're all X-Men, too, aren't they?"
He nodded.
"And..." She paused. "This school... is a training center for these... X-Men."
Again, he nodded.
"You're training children to become superheroes?"
Hank stood. "No, no... that's not it at all." He put his hands up in protest.
Samantha also stood. "I thought this was a well-rounded school that educated mutants not train them like expendable soldiers!" She yelled angrily, no doubt attracting unwanted attention from outside the room.
"Sam, listen..."
"And... my God! My son! Do the other parents even know Hank?" She continued in the same angry tone. "Have you even told them that they're children are mutants?"
"Samantha!" Hank yelled at last. He had her attention, but she seemed a bit shocked by his tone. He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat before continuing in a much calmer tone. "Let me explain, Sam." He paused, and she nodded for him to go on. "The students have nothing to do with the X-Men besides the fact that we teach their classes. They choose whether they would like to join the team or move on to live an average life. We aren't training them for anything but to live a normal life with their powers in control."
For a few seconds, Samantha stared at him doe-eyed. "Oh." She said simply and looked away from her old friend for a moment. "I'm sorry, Hank. It's just been a rough past year. I don't think I could take any more... surprises." She slumped back down in her chair and sighed.
Hank also sad down. "Yes... I heard about Howard." He paused. "You have my condolences."
"It's the natural way of things, Hank. It was going to happen sooner or later. I'm just so angry that I didn't see it until it was too late."
"You... saw it? My God, that must have been horrible."
"Hank, you have no idea." He could hear the tears swelling in her voice. "I've been better lately, though." She sat up straight and sucked up her tears. "Now that Jacob's staying here."
She was cut off when the door flung open and Logan appeared at the door looking frantic. "Hank, come quick." He disappeared.
Hank gave Samantha a quick, confused glance before following after Logan down the hall. She hurried out of bedroom right behind him, and they caught up with Logan quickly.
"What is it?" Hank asked.
They all walked so fast that they might as well have been running.
"It's Bobby... and Rogue." They turned a corner and a ways down the hall, there was a boy lying down on the floor. A man was hunched over him, performing CPR.
"Oh my!" Samantha explained.
They all ignored her and Hank rushed to the boy's side.
"He's breathing!" The man performing CPR exclaimed. Samantha took a sigh of relief.
Quickly, Hank scooped the boy up. "Logan, go get Ororo and tell her to meet me in the infirmary. Kurt, Samantha stay with Rogue." With that, Hank rushed down the hall one way and Logan down the other.
Confused, Samantha turned to the other man - the one who had been doing CPR. She shook his hand as he introduced himself, "Kurt Wagner." It was only then that she noticed his relatively thick German brogue.
"Samantha Barrington." She said with a quick sigh, and a nod.
Kurt also nodded, but they disappeared into the open door - the room that the boy had been lying outside of. She followed him in.
Inside, it was a teenage girl's bedroom. Perfume and make-up were scattered atop the dresser and the walls were decorated with posters of every rock band from Led Zeppelin to Pearl Jam. Sitting on the bed was a girl of about sixteen with long, dark brown hair and pure white bangs. She sat with her legs crossed and her back hunched over her legs.
"Rogue," Kurt said, sitting next to the girl and laying his hand softly on her shoulder.
She jolted when he touched her and smacked his hand away. On both of her hands were two long, thick gloves. "Stop!" She screamed in a rather high-pitched tone. Her face was splotched in tears. "Don't touch me!" She screamed again.
"Rogue, what happened?" Kurt tried again in an even softer tone. He stepped forward.
"Get out!" Rogue screamed once again.
Suddenly, Samantha felt a bitter chill run over her body - the kind that she always felt right before a vision of the past...
She was in the same room, but her vision was black and white and there was no sound, but this was normal in her day visions.
The girl was there, the once who Kurt had called Rogue, along with Bobby, the boy who had gone unconscious. He held Rogue in his arms as they stood by the window, gazing out. She said something to him and he replied before cupping her face in his hand. They kissed lightly, still holding each other.
Samantha smiled at their young romance, remembering her own youthful...
Suddenly, Bobby fell to the floor and Rogue looked down at him in horror. She backed into a corner and hugged herself. Samantha didn't have to have hearing in order to tell that she was screaming.
Logan rushed into the room, followed by Kurt...
Samantha's vision faded back into real time and the faded cries of Rogue soon grew into loud ear-splitting screams. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and then saw that Kurt was still, unsuccessfully, trying to calm Rogue down.
"Kurt," She called over Rogue's screams, seeing that his efforts were useless. She gestured to the door and they both left in a bit of a rush. Out in the hallway, some students had gathered to see what the commotion was all about, but they quickly shooed them away.
Samantha strode alongside Kurt as they walked away from Rogue's room. "What's... wrong with her? Rogue, I mean." She said whilst looking down at Kurt who was short in stature, compared to her Amazonian figure.
He looked away and paused, as if he wasn't sure if he should tell her. "Rogue's powers tend to cause some complications." He sighed. "When Rogue makes skin contact with someone, she uncontrollably absorbs their life force, memories and powers. She has the potential to put someone into a coma or worse."
"Then why did she kiss that boy? Shouldn't she have known better?"
Kurt paused again. "Rogue was cured."
"Then why...?" Samantha paused to think. If the cure had failed for Rogue, then that meant other mutants who had been cured also had the potential for their powers to return. Mutants like Magneto.
She stayed silent as Kurt led her down the hallway and down the stairs to the main floor. They walked a ways into the core of the building, where they stopped in front of a random space in the wall. She was just about to ask why they had stopped when Kurt touched a certain place on the wall and it slid open to reveal a small elevator. Without asking any questions, they both stepped inside.
The elevator descended and reopened only a few seconds later. They stepped out into the most unexpected place Samantha had ever been in. It was completely different from the upper levels. Instead of carved mahogany and classy decorations, these halls were made of steel and absolutely barren. There were long hallways to both the left and the right and both were empty and eerily silent. Instantly, she knew this was the base of the X-Men.
Kurt led her through the maze of hallways. After a few turns, they passed through a circular doorway that automatically slid open as they walked through, and shut behind them.
Inside was what looked to be a small clinic. Medical beds took up most of the room, and the bed closest to the door was occupied by Bobby, still unconscious. Hank stood at his bedside, adjusting the IV drip. Logan and Ororo stood in the corner of the room, discussing in inaudible whispers.
"How is he?" Kurt asked as he and Samantha approached the bed.
Hank sighed and looked down at Bobby. "He's stable, but he'll need a few days for physical recovery. Psychological recovery may take longer." He looked to Samantha.
"I'm willing to help him with therapy, if need be." Samantha said. Personally, she would prefer not to. She was a psychoanalyst, not a shrink.
"I'm more worried about Rogue's psychological health right now. Remember what happened last time she almost killed someone?" Kurt said.
"What happened?" Samantha asked curiously.
Hank ignored her. "Rogue won't run, I can guarantee you that. Now that her powers are back, she knows this is the only safe place for her." He paused.
"If she does run, I'll find her. I always have." Logan stood at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed, Storm next to him. He stared at Bobby intensely.
"What do you suggest we do for Rogue, Samantha? Will she need anything?" Storm asked.
She took a moment to think. "Rogue's exerting the typical behavior of a girl her age after any type of trauma. She wants to be alone, feels she needs to be isolated. We need to take the appropriate measures to make sure that she doesn't develop PTSD or any other type of trauma-related disorder."
"And what would those measures be?"
"We cannot let her be alone, no matter how much she screams or yells. She needs to be surrounded by people she trusts. I also suggest you move her from her room to avoid flashbacks of the event. Keep her active, eating healthy, but I do suggest you cut some or all of her classes. Any added stress may-"
"Wait, wait, wait..." Logan said, shaking his head. All eyes turned to him. "She absorbed a few memories, powers... so what? She'll be fine on her own. You're actin' like she just got home from war or something."
"To Rogue, this may seem like war." Samantha said in consequence. "Not only did she almost kill her friend, she has her powers back. She's found that the single escape from her own personal hell was only false hope. She trusted this cure and it failed her. Rogue may never see trust the same."
There was an eerie silence that filled the room, and the only sound was the soft beeping of the heart monitor.
"Alright," Storm said, breaking the silence. "Right now, our top priorities are to keep Rogue healthy and Bobby alive. Hank, I want you to monitor Bobby - we can take shifts watching him, feeding him and whatever else he needs."
Hank nodded.
"Kurt, I want you and Warren to take shifts watching Lenore and keeping gossip down. Got it?"
"Natürlich." Kurt said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Samantha jumped a bit when he did, but then the only thing that bothered her was that stench of brimstone and ash that he left behind.
Storm turned to Samantha. "I need you to make sure Rogue's alright. Sam, do anything you need to help her. We can supply any medications or resources you need." Her eyes turned to Logan. "Logan, just talk to her. Try to calm her down, tell her everything's alright."
He nodded, and Storm smiled before turning back to Bobby's bed.
"C'mon, Doc." Logan said before grabbing Samantha by the wrist and pulling her out of the medical bay.
"Hey!" Sam yelled as he dragged her down the hallway. She tried to yank her arm out of his grip, but he was too strong. "Let go of me!" She complained.
"As you wish." He grumbled, and released her arm.
Instantly, because of the way she was leaning away from him, Samantha fell to the ground. She grunted as she got up and brushed off her sweater. "Barbarian!" She hissed before brushing her dark hair behind her shoulder and walking past him.
Logan smirked and followed after her.
Edited by martshi3, my Beta - I am forever grateful.
If you're wondering the quote is from Monk, one of my most favoritest TV shows ever. If you watch the show, the chapter seems to become a little bit lighter, eh?
Anywho... thank you to sweetas3point14 for being my first reviewer who I actually do not know in real life. Oh, don't worry... Rachel, if you're reading this, I still love you. Keep 'em coming!