20. Recovery
Three weeks later:
Bright lights blinded him from above as his eyes fluttered open. His head hurt from the intensity of the luminosity so in an act to combat it, the recovering Miguel brought a hand up to block it all out until he had time to adjust to the high level of brightness. Wires threatened to bring his arm back down to the medical bed he occupied but snapped free of the single layer of tape holding them down. It was the same room he was in after he woke up from his recovery from dealing with the Hellfire club some time ago. Letting out a small grunt, he moved into a sitting position and rubbed his hands over his face. No one was in the room with him with only the sounds of his life monitors to keep him company.
"Ugh, not this s#$t again." He looked under the blanket covering him and was relieved to see a pair of blue pants covering his lower body. "At least they remembered the damn pants this time. Could've gotten meh a shirt though." He began to pull at the wires and the patches that were hooked up to him, ripping them off one by one until he got to the one responsible for the 'Code Blue' alarm.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you."
Looking to the door, Miguel saw the blue furry Hank McCoy standing at the room's entrance wearing a lab coat. "Remember what happened last time?"
"Fine," Miguel said with a sigh as he lay back down. "How's Pix?"
"Pix?" Hank asked.
"Megan."
"Oh. She's doing fine. She lost close to two pints of blood in such a quick time and had to be given a transfusion as soon as she arrived back here. She's been stopping by every day to see how you've been doing."
"So she's fine? No problems?"
"None." Looking at the prone man, Hank developed a small smirk. "Is it true she's the only one you let call you 'Chupa'?"
After a grunt, Miguel changed the subject. "How long was Ah out this time?"
"Three weeks, give or take a day or two."
"What happened?"
"You mean you don't remember?" Hank asked as he studied the monitors beside Miguel's bed and began to shut off the few moniters he had yet to unplug from himself, including that 'code blue' cord. "After the Sentinel was brought down, its head fired some sort of energy beam I'm still studying and nearly killed you. It's a wonder there was anything left of you at all."
"What do you mean?"
"The energy beam appeared as if it were attempting to disintegrate you. The cells of you Ulna and Radius were damaged and large parts of your Epidermis was scorched off with various veins and tendons to the clavicle fried as well as your Costals being-"
"Hank," Miguel interrupted. "Pretend you're talking to someone who only has one semester of college under their belt."
"Yes, well, your arm was severely damaged as well as your rib cage and tissue. The skin covering your right arm was burned off and you also sustained severe nerve, vein, and other tissue damage including the entire right side of your face. How do you feel?"
"Aside from the headache you gave with your scientific talk? Okay."
"Is there a time when you're not a smartass?" Crossing his arms, Hank tapped a set of clawed fingers on his arm as he waited for Miguel to respond.
"Not even when Ah'm asleep."
"That's what I figured. Stay there for a bit until I make sure you're fit to get out of here, healing factor or not."
As Hank took his leave, Miguel rubbed his eyes and tried to relax as he got used to the bright lights of the medical room. After a few minutes of being alone, a set of footsteps entered with a faint tapping on the tile.
"Hey, Hank, can you turn off the lights?" Miguel asked. "It's still too damn bright in here." He could hear the flip of the switch and uncovered his hand from his eyes but still had them shut. "Thanks."
The footsteps came to a stop by his bed and the familiar scent of green apple body wash came over him. He instantly opened his eyes and was greeted by the smiling face of Megan as she looked down at him. She looked as if she were just waking up dressed in pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt.
"Pix?"
"Chupa." She wrapped her arms around him tightly as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.
Miguel held onto her tightly as well. "Pix, what happened? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. How about you? I saw you after getting hit by that thing and…" She began to tear up as she remembered Miguel behind hit by the beam and falling to the ground with charred skin and bone. "I thought you were dead."
"Ah told you, Pix, Ah don't-"
"Just shut up." She took his face in her hands and kissed him long and deep, which he eagerly returned. He then moved over to make room on the small bed and they were soon lying side by side.
"So, is this what I can expect from being an X-Man?" Miguel asked as he held her. It was then when he caught a glimpse of her bandaged bicep. "How's your arm?"
"It's nothing."
"You bled out a lot, how's your arm?"
She reached over to her right bicep and lowered her gauze covering, revealing a healing slice that would form a nice sized scar with bruising still around it. Miguel gently ran his fingers over her injury and felt her slightly pull away. "It's still tender," she told him.
"Sorry."
The two lay beside each other, wanting to say something but decided against it as they were content with the moment just the way it was. She pressed herself into his side as they held each other under the blankets while he stroked his fingers through her hair. Her light clothing wasn't enough to shield her from the cold of the room, but they did warm each other up by being close. She wrapped her arms around him tighter and dug her head into his bare chest. Even though he was alive after what he went through, part of her needed to hear his heart beat just to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"Miguel," Megan asked quietly. "Can I tell you something?"
"Yeah."
She inhaled deeply. "I…think I-"
"Awww," Kitty cooed as she stood in the doorway to the room. "Now may I call you two M&M now?"
Megan and Miguel both jerked up and saw the nosey Kitty giving them a toothy smile. Megan's face turned completely red while Miguel looked away and ran a hand over his face and through his hair.
"Enjoying your pixie stick, Megan?"
"Go away, Kitty!" the embarrassed girl yelled.
"If Ah weren't so tired Ah'd put you in a coma, Kitty." Miguel growled while trying to control the awkwardness of being caught in his current position in his voice.
"Like you could. Can't touch this." To illustrate her point, Kitty refused to use the open door to leave and instead walked through the wall, leaving the two alone with red faces.
Repairs to the mansion began almost overnight after the attack as the very next day saw a group of contractors move in with machinery and building materials to start the cleanup and rebuild phase. Men, mutants actually, moved quickly with what they were doing and had already completely repaired half of all damages done, a feat that surprised Miguel once he entered the newly repaired foyer of the mansion. All signs of the attack were now gone with the memory of the event being the only thing left behind by the paramilitary group.
Out of the underground medical bay and in his usual attire, Miguel found himself waiting in Professor Xavier's office as he brought up a display of the world on his computer. Three dots were situated on the continents of South America, Africa, and Asia with information from Cerebro beside each one. A few additional keystrokes brought up Miguel's own mutant signature to the screen and listed three others under his.
With one final command typed into his desktop computer, Xavier exhaled and turned to face the Hispanic mutant who leaned against one of the shelves of books in his office. "Now Miguel, I apologize for calling you in here on the same day you finished healing in the med bay but I wanted to ask you something before anything else pops up."
"Okay?"
"If you remember when you first got here, I told you about three other mutations similar to yours spread out across the world. With the events that have taken place I was hoping you would help me in what I'm-"
"You want me to go looking for the others like meh, right?"
"To put it bluntly, yes. I managed to have Cerebro pin point the other three 'second mutation' mutants with greater accuracy. It's completely up to you and the reason I'm asking you to do this is, is because my X-Men are currently preoccupied with getting the mansion taken care of as well as tracking down the members of that mutant hunting army who have dubbed themselves, The Executioners."
"And you found their club name out, how?"
"Their helmets blocked my telepathy. After Hank, the other young students, and myself landed back in the hanger, I scanned their minds and found what I needed to know. Unfortunately, it wasn't much except how fanatical they are and where their base was located. It has since been abandoned as they're constantly on the move."
"And what about the mansion? You're just gonna rebuild like nothin' went wrong?"
"Miguel," Xavier sighed. "I did not build this mansion for mutants to hide in. I built it so mutants could have a place to come to, to develop and control their powers, to find there is no reason for them to be afraid of the outside world with those who would like nothing more than to cause them harm. We strive to create an understanding with those who would persecute us because we are different and these mutants with fluctuating powers like yourself may need assistance with what they can do."
"How long would this take? I have…priorities here."
"I am well aware of that. I'm unsure how long this journey will take you, perhaps three months or so, but as you're the only one we have here like them, you're the only one I feel right asking that has a chance to reach out to them. It's your decision, but I hope it's one you will take."
Miguel looked down at the island on the floor created by the red and cream colored Persian rug then outside the window. He didn't know what to think and it wasn't until three days later when he made up his mind. A day after that, he had packed up his gear and anything he may need on another bike Wolverine had procured from Sabortooth, but the hardest part of it all was telling Megan what he was doing.
"You're what?!" Megan snapped as she stood from her bed and looked into Miguel's eyes.
"Xavier asked if I could do this and I-"
"And you didn't think to ask what I thought?"
Running a hand through his hair, Miguel exhaled and looked around until staring directly back at the girl across from him. "Pix, remember what happened when Ah lost everything at the Hellfire club? You saved meh. You can say Jean and the Professor saved meh over and over again until you're blue in the face but it was you. You saved meh several times over since, and this is a way Ah can show you it wasn't for nothing."
"That's a crock, Chupa. You're just thinking of yourself."
"No, Ah'm not. Ah'm thinking of the other ones like meh who could let their powers kill them if they don't get help. We protect people from the mutants who want to cause harm to them and expect nothing in return. We're trying to do good by protecting others as well as ourselves. Even if that means we protect them from themselves. You taught meh that."
Megan was a little taken back by what he said. "You, you remember that?"
"How could Ah forget? You really didn't think I was asleep, did you?"
She snickered at the memory of him snoring on his bed, causing her to stomp out of his room angrily. "And here I thought you were just being a smartass."
"I was, especially with people Ah like." He flashed her a grin, which she returned.
"I should still be mad at you for not telling me sooner. I never thought what I told you would come back to me like this." She came up to him and tugged on his shirt slightly. "So how long will you be gone?"
"Xavier said it might take three months. Bolivia, Egypt, China, those are the places his mind toy spotted the ones like meh."
She bit her bottom lip, making his heart beat a little faster. "Three months is a long time." She then snaked her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist.
"I know. But Ah'll be back before you know it."
"You'll need incentive to hurry back." She stood on her tip toes and gently kissed him. "A lot of incentive." She then closed and locked her door.
The next morning was bright and sunny with a cool fall breeze traversing the land. Leaves had begun turning from their traditional green to the reds, yellows, and oranges so many people found beautiful this time of year. The front gate to the grounds was wide open, allowing several cars of new additions to make their way to the building and for Miguel to make his way off the property for his mission the Professor had given him.
"You got everything you need, hot head?" Logan asked as he watched Miguel climb on the motorcycle Sabortooth so generously provided them.
"Think so. Got mah uniform in my backpack and a few change of clothes, what else do Ah need?"
"Like, a way to contact us on your progress?" Kitty asked from her spot beside the Mansion's front steps to the door. "Or you know, just to say hi."
"Got those too." Miguel kicked one of the twin saddle bags on the bike to indicate where they were.
"You just be careful now, hear?" Remy said. "We southerners need to look out for each other."
"Yeah," Rogue added. "Too many Yanks up here."
"And hey, when you get back, we'll really paint the town red. Hopefully without the Sentinel this time."
"Look forward to it," Miguel responded.
"And remember," Megan said as she came up to his bike, "hurry back, Chupa." She then pulled out a bag and handed it to Miguel as he zipped up his leather jacket. "Here. This got here just in time."
"What is it?" he asked as he took it and ripped the plastic open.
"To replace the shirt that was burned off during the Sentinel attack."
With the package open, he pulled out a black shirt with large white lettering on the front reading 'Stronger Than Death'. A smile crossed his face as he looked back at her. "Thanks, Pix."
"You just make sure you live up to that saying." She pulled him closer. "I don't want to have to drag your ass back here myself."
"Ain't gonna be a problem."
The two kissed once more before Miguel tucked the shirt in a saddlebag and started the bike up. The group of X-Men seeing him off waited until he turned the corner and was out of view before moving from their spots as a limousine came in after he was gone. More new mutants were arriving that would have to be dealt with along with the final repairs and new security measures being put in place at the mansion. Megan was the last to move as she continued to stare in the direction her departing boyfriend headed in.