Memories

Hurts

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If you want to use Tora, or any of my other characters, PM me.

She laughed, wild and free as she ran through the streets, following the man who had so unwisely tried to mug a woman in the alley she'd been passing. Derision had changed to fear when a single claw had been extended and now he was running from her as she bounded along, diving through the crowded streets after checking the woman was alright. The police were coming but Tora felt in the mood to do a Spidey on them. She didn't exactly have anything to tie him up with, but she could always improvise. She span down a small alley. And froze, the barrel of the gun right between the eyes.

"Mutie scum!"

"Please shoot. I want the police report to say I was provoked. Also, I want to know whether the bullet would ricochet, rebound or just explode in the gun. I've never had anyone shoot me at point-blank range."

The man almost wavered then his finger tightened on the trigger. What happened next was rather confused, but the doctors said there wouldn't be any infection in the stumps of his fingers but reattachment was impossible seeing as they'd been blown to bits and Tora assured everyone her eyebrows would grow back before too long.

"Is that why she hadn't got any eyebrows for about a week's worth of paper reports."

"Pretty much."

"Lost and alone, I will walk the path of the Dragon until the day I die…"

Tora tried to stifle the yawn. She'd agreed to go to M'Keer with Xixy because San Francisco was so quiet and there was nothing to do. She hadn't realized that M'Keer made it look like a party.

Everything was 'Lady Dragon this' and 'Godly Dragon that'. At times she was close to screaming. M'Keer was a no-go and this was the final night, with a great big religious ceremony where they were trying to foist off a ten-foot long ice sword onto her. Luckily, Dragon had the answer to that. Tora stepped forwarded and brushed her hand the length of the blade. And as the K'Meer watched, their greatest relic gently turned to mist and curled into the small woman who was dwarfed by all but the youngest of their race. And they saw something more. Something wild and strong and powerful in the person they had almost been treating as a joke for the last three days.

Tora twisted her head round, the serviceable plait down her back twirling with the movement and she closed her eyes. And let Dragon out.

"Carn gar tyuqi orto mal. Stal ves Dratura tal Bes mari."

Whatever Dragon said had the K'Meer fluttering their edges in happiness.

Huh?

Loyal servants, I thank you. Dragon holds the Shining Blade once more. What else was I going to say?

And in front of the entire Priesthood of Dratura, Tora doubled over, giggling.

"Well, I must say, that helped the K'Meeri cultural sense of humour a great deal."

"Thank you for those kind words Death."

"What? The K'Meer were boring to begin with."

She stepped out of Xixy's rock ship and scanned the faces already there. Curt barrelled into her, hugging her tight, the t-shirt he was wearing feeling just like normal cotton until you sensed the slight writhing as the symbiote shifted its position. Curt had dispensed of normal clothing, choosing only to wear the symbiote. While it meant washing was a lot easier, it also meant his colour scheme was rather limited as Poison, being young, could only manage black, white and orange. As such, Curt's normal outfit was black jeans and an orange and white t-shirt, he slept in orange and black underwear according to his roommates and when Tora saw him sleepily walk into the social kitchen to snatch food in the early afternoon. And his costume was bright orange, with black highlights. Of course, Tora didn't like him going off to do X-Man stuff but they were short-staffed and as Curt had pointed out, he was physically a sixteen-year-old, with a bullet-resistant alien wired into his own body and who liked chocolate far too much to allow him to get hurt. Tora had still broken Scott's nose when Curt was sent on a mission.

"Missed you Maman. Eva told me I was funny today. She said 'Wurt wunny!"

"Hello Curt. Good time?"

"Yeah. You know, Dad's been-"

"Curt…"

"Sorry Dad."

"Logan?"

"Later."

She flashed him that look. The one that said quite plainly 'I know you're up to something and I plan to find out very soon and then I will put a stop to it very quickly'. Logan just shrugged. Somehow, Tora's looks were extremely expressive yet didn't quite terrify him the way her 'I know you didn't do your homework and I want to hear your pathetic excuse' look terrified students. Maybe it was the fact he knew her as well as she knew him.

"M'Keer is nice, but even more boring than here."

Xixy laughed as he took his humanoid form. He'd dispensed with the colouration, now staying his bright neon orange colour the whole time. He was intimidating and he knew it. Seven foot tall, bulky, muscular, bald orange head shining ominously in the half-light of the hanger.

"My entire people should come here. The battles are greater than any we fight for the honour of the K'Meeri Empire."

Curt started bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Can we go for tacos? Pleeeaaase?"

"Curt, I have only just got back."

"Poison wants them to!"

The symbiote's head reared up off Curt's back.

TACOS!

"Have you been talking to Wade again?"

"Er… No?"

"LOGAN!"

"He disappears! What am I supposed to do?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Come on boys. Let's go and see what a mess your dad has made while I've been away."

"I'm surprised she wasn't as forceful about the Deadpool fiascos."

"I think she knew Curt had someone who understood him and respected that, even if she didn't respect Deadpool."

She pressed her fingers around the bridge of her nose. Logan glanced at her worriedly.

"Are you alright?"

"Just a headache. I think I'll go to bed early tonight."

"Are you certain you're alright?"

"I'm fine Emma. Look, I've probably spent too long in front of the security monitors. I'm fine."

She got up and padded out, head cradled in her hands. Kurt glanced up.

"Do you really think she's alright?"

"No, but she won't admit it. She'd run to the ends of the earth and refuse to admit to being tired. You know Tora almost as well as I do."

"Do you think we should check…?"

"I'll head up."

Logan stepped out of the Alpha team's private rec room and wandered along the corridors to their room. He opened the door and frowned. He couldn't see Tora. Then he froze. Just peeking out from the edge of the bed, a bare foot. He moved swiftly and froze. She was sprawled out, limbs flying, a black-and-gold halo framing her face where she had collapsed. She was halfway through getting undressed, her shoes off and a few button of her shirt undone when she must have collapsed. Then he leapt forward and tried to check her breathing. For a second, it felt like time had stopped, then he pinched her nose and pressed his mouth over hers, sent two deep breaths into her lungs then pressed his hands together on her chest and did thirty chest compressions before returning to the rescue breaths. As he brought his hands back to her chest, he snarled.

"Come on… Come on! Start breathing! Start %$&ing breathing!"

Her eyes were still closed, no response. This was hurting her but she wasn't responding. Not to voice, not to touch, not to pain. After another two rescue breaths, he had to shout.

"KURT! EMMA! HANK! SCOTT!"

Back to the breaths, then to the chest compressions.

"Wake up. Just wake up. Come on. BREATHE!"

"Logan?"

"Kurt, Med-Bay. NOW!"

"Gott im Himmel… Tora…"

"NOW!"

Kurt vanished to get Beast and Logan kept up the resuscitation attempt, not stopping, trying to forget it was Tora. But it wasn't easy. The sternum was laced with adamantium and refused to compress properly, so he knew he wasn't pressing down the full third required to make each chest compression successful. Then Hank arrived and managed to get Tora into the Med-Bay, all the while firing off questions at Logan.

"Did she complain of any pains?"

"Where did she say the headache was?"

"How long did she display symptoms?"

"How long do you think she was out for?"

"HANK, I DON'T KNOW!"

And then Tora was being placed on a bed, a mask being snapped in place, needles being inserted into her arms. And Logan could only watch as everything was placed in order and he was hurried out to allow the doctors to try and work out what the hell had happened. And keep Tora alive. Hopefully.

"Ok, she never mentioned that little episode later."

"It's not something she's proud of."

"Why?"

"You'll see."