That night, supper is strange. The hosts called their favorite caterer from the hospital and had them bring us trays of food. We all realize at once that we'll be entertaining the head of the Brotherhood alone.
"So, Lapse," he says as soon as we've all sat down, "How do you feel now that you're liberated?"
I don't like his wording or his tone.
"It was nice for some peace and quiet after my friend went to the hospital," I say. It's the only thing I could think of that might shut them all up.
The blue woman smirks. Or maybe it's a smile.
I look at her now. "What's your name?" I ask her.
She looks up from her food and seems surprised that I'm looking directly into her eyes. One side of her mouth twitches up.
"Raven," she says. Magneto seems surprised. Or maybe shocked is more apt.
"Raven," he muses, "I haven't heard that name in a while."
She glowers at no one in particular. "Call me Mystique."
"And what can you do?" I continue, purposefully not looking at the man next to her.
She tilts her head and her feather-like scales lift up, similar to Blossom's hands. In a wave up her body, they turn, and underneath lies me.
"Ooh," Scarlett says.
"You're Samantha and Blossom combined," I say.
"No," says Samantha, "I see you too."
The scales flip up again and she's blue once more.
"Amazing," I say, serving myself more food.
I see her smile out of the corner of my eye.
The rest of the dinner is filled with painful small talk, and lasts much too long. I excuse myself as soon as I'm finished. In the hall after I've brushed my teeth, I'm stopped by Mystique. She pushes me against the wall with one hand and holds out something with the other. A little afraid, I reach to take whatever it is she offers. She hands me a piece of paper with a smirk and slinks away. I turn on the bathroom light and read. There are two names and phone numbers: Raven, and Eric. I re-fold the paper and enter Blanc's empty bedroom.
I tuck the paper into my jeans pocket, change in the dark, and fall asleep looking at her empty bed.
In the morning, Magneto is the only one of the group still at the house. Douma asked him why, and he said something about business that needed tending to. It seemed to ominous for any of us to press.
Outside, there's a line of taxis. The butler tells us that Blanc's parent's called and said we were all going to the hospital to visit her. I joined my friends in the cars, but I didn't plan on joining them in the hospital room unless Blanc wanted me to.
Once we arrive at the large stone hospital and find the room we're supposed to, I stand outside. Blanc's parents soon exit to make room for the throng and look me over inquisitively.
"Aren't you going in, Lapse?" asks Michael. I smile sadly.
"Only if Blanc says I should," I say, "She and I made a promise. I broke that promise, and that's why she's in here."
The two share a parent-look. "You know it's not your fault, dear," says Sophie, "Blanc did this to herself. For reasons, I don't think I'll ever understand."
My forehead creases and I look up at them. They don't know the real reason, do they? I open my mouth and close it. I feel a spark of rage on Blanc's behalf. Then, I press a hand to my forehead and sigh.
"I guess I'll go in," I say. The two silently raise fists of victory, egging me on.
I push past Scarlett and Coleton so I can stand behind Douma and look at Blanc. There's a bandage on her head and an IV in her wrist. She's smiling, looking at the group of us.
"Lapse?" she says. I step forwards. "Good. I didn't know if you would come. Can I have a moment with Lapse please?"
Oh no. Here's where I get my talking to.
Her smile's just as bright while everyone's leaving, which seems like a bad sign, to me. I can't read how angry she is underneath the charisma.
Once everyone leaves, the smile only dims, and doesn't fall.
"Lapse, I think I've made a mistake," she says. I immediately fear that she's talking about our friendship, but the look on her face doesn't match that.
I have to say something, right? "No, I-"
She interrupts me by raising an IV-leashed hand. "Let me speak, all right?"
I nod. My eyes want to fill with tears, but I won't let them.
"I've realized that I expected too much of you," she says quickly, "I can't just take my problems and have you be their nanny. I think our deal is off."
Our deal? "You mean-"
"You can Lapse without me, guilt free, and if you wanted, I'd erase your memory."
"But, Blanc," I say. I pause because I expected her to interrupt me. "Blanc, calling off the deal doesn't change that I broke it when it was still in effect. For the Brotherhood. And for that I'm so, so sorry."
Her gaze turns a little condescending. "You're blaming yourself for this?" she says in disbelief.
"I- I was honestly more surprised that you weren't blaming me for this."
"You-" she starts to laugh, "You can't do that, Lapse."
"Do what?" I say, a little defensive.
"Do those things," her laughing escalates and she shakes her head.
"Blanc," I say, a little worried, "Blanc, stop it."
I look to the side at her heart monitor. The numbers rise slowly.
"Blanc, cut it out."
Her face is red now, with laughter, but her eyes are filled with fear. I jump from where I was leaning on the bed and run to the hallway. "Nurse!" I scream. Everyone in the hallway jumps to their feet from various sitting positions. I slip on the floor and fall in the middle of them all. I feel a pain in my head, but I don't have time.
"Something's wrong, something's wrong," I say. I climb to my feet and run back in to see Blanc doubled over, her skin ashy and head rolling. There's vomit on the blankets.
I take her by the shoulders and hold her up. Her head flops back. The constant buzz of the heart monitor is nothing like it sounds in movies.
"Blanc!" I shout. Our friends jump into action. Douma pushes me away and starts performing CPR. Blossom opens her mouth and clears away the vomit inside with her fingers.
"Come on," chants Douma with each round of compressions. Suddenly we're all pushed against the wall by a team of nurses and doctors. They wheel in a crash cart and quickly cut away Blanc's shirt. I see some of us avert our eyes. I can't stop looking at Blanc's lifeless face.
"Clear!" calls the doctor before electrocuting Blanc. I hear, as though through a tunnel, Blanc's parents sobbing.
I can feel my own heartbeat in my fingertips as I stand silently. The people around me seem like they're on fast-forward. I snap my fingers.
The doctor is looking at his watch, his mouth open slightly to call time of death. I look from Blanc to him in anger.
"You can't do that yet!" I shout at the frozen man. Still he stands there.
I punch him in the chest, and his body slides backwards on the floor. It didn't help. I'm still angry. I ball my fists, looking back at Blanc.
"You can't," I say again to the doctor, "You can't!" With this last shout, I feel the world unfreeze. The doctor is gone. His watch cracks on the floor.
I take a step back and the room is silent.
"Doctor... Carlyle?" one of the nurses stutters.
My hands make their way to my face, where I feel wetness. I take a few more steps back. Suddenly, everyone starts to move. The nurses run from the room. Michael and Sophie crowd their dead daughter. Coleton and Blossom run to me and grab my hands.
"Come on," says Coleton, "Lapse, we have to go."
They drag me into the hallway, where I pull my hands from theirs and run. I hear other footsteps behind me. I spot chutes at the end of the hall, one on the left labeled, "Biohazard – soiled linens," and the other labeled, "Unsoiled linens."
I lift the hatch on the one on the right and jump in. Once I land in a large bin of sheets and blankets, I'm immediately run into by three others. I'm pushed deeper into the bin.
"Lapse," I hear Coleton say. He pulls me out.
"Someone's going to get in trouble for how soiled these linens are now," he says, flatly.
I look down and see blood and I'm worried.
"We could get sick from that, couldn't we?" I say.
"Why?" asks Blossom, "Are you sick?"
It's then that I look down at my hands and see blood.
"It's from when you called for a nurse," says Coleton softly, "You didn't notice, did you?"
I shake my head slightly, reaching up to press my fingers against the slightly throbbing wound.
"We can fix you up later," says Blossom, "We have to go."
Only Douma, Coleton, and Blossom followed me out the room and down the hall. The others must still be in Blanc's room. It's OK, I think to myself as we climb out of the bin, they were the ones who wanted to go back to the school anyway. I'm sure Blanc's parents will help them get back.
"I guess..." I say, "I guess we should-"
I can't think of what we should do.
"We should get out of here to start," says Douma softly. We make our way through the sterile, yet dimly lit basement, and find a series of garage doors. Coleton slides one open and we exit into a parking lot. We walk past a police car that pulls up and I feel the need to hide my face. It's stupid. They don't know what I look like. My friends and I walk past them and onto the city sidewalk.
