Memories
Cruelty of Kindness
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Jamie picked at his black and white FF uniform with distaste, his nose wrinkling at the 7 on his chest. He looked up again at the older Valeria, dressed in black with the white circle on her chest. She was staring at him. She did that, when she thought he wasn't looking. And then she looked away, almost shame-faced. So he wandered over and jumped up onto the table to look at her.
"Valeria?"
She smiled weakly.
"I suppose you want to know what happened."
"Yes. I'd find that most enlightening."
She smiled sadly.
"You have no idea what you're in for, kid. The Jamie from where I come from died almost five years ago."
She pulled out a small chain and hung the ring in front of his eyes.
"He threw the box to me just before he ran into the ship. He never came back. Last thing he ever said to me was that he wanted an answer when he got back. I never got to say yes."
"There's something more, isn't there. It's not just because he's dead. There's something more."
Valeria stared out of the window.
"Do you know what happens to your family?"
Jamie turned to look out over the city as well.
"I can guess. Something's going to happen to Maman. I can feel it. The probability of her either losing control or being killed to prevent her losing control is exceptionally high. There are thirty-six probable ways Dad will react to that. Most will result in me and Eva being abandoned. And then there's Curt, who'll blame everyone he can and refuse to accept that things change."
Valeria nodded.
"Yes. He never did change well. It's what resulted in his death. He refused to believe his mother would ever hurt him and went after her when she went insane. He failed to realise there was nothing left of his mother. He was turned to dust. In the end, it was you who had to face her. You went up on that ship, came down an hour later covered in blood and sweat, simply said 'It's over' and sent the ship right to the heart of the Sun. You- He never talked about what happened."
Jamie sighed.
"I worry so much about my family. They're all so stupid at times. Maman's smart but she forgets that she's meant to be human at times and it shows. Dad and Eva think things can be solved by hitting stuff. And Curt's an idiot most of the time, although I reckon he's a lot smarter than he lets on."
Then the door opened and Shadowcat walked in, Eva trailing behind her, a holdall over one shoulder.
"Jamie, Eva's staying here for a while. Maman's had a bit of an accident."
Jamie sighed.
"She always does."
Eva looked up, her big amber eyes worried.
"Daddy's scared. I can smell it."
Phoenix sighed.
"And Eva never questioned why. Jamie or Curt would."
"That, Jean, is because Eva was four."
Eloise shook her head.
"Nothing. Not even a base trace. She's gone."
"Logan, who's this?"
Eloise turned to Luke Cage.
"Eloise Circen. And what the hell were you thinking, letting my sister be so stupid!?"
"Wait. You're her sister?!"
"Yes. And seriously, you should never let Tora out of your sight! She'll do something stupid and heroic! It's like her brain stops working and she goes around doing stupid stuff because, to put it frankly, she has a terrible hero complex and thinks she has to save everyone which is stupid because people are stupid and just need saving again!"
She stormed off and the man in the black suit sighed.
"Idiots. Now she'll be in a mood all day."
"And you are?"
"Luke Hargreaves, MI13. Work mainly with Excalibur –the person, not the team- and the Black Knight. Wisdom and I don't get on. Long story."
"MI13?"
"Superhuman and Supernatural Security. Kind of like SHIELD but we're also in charge of liaisons with the Otherworld."
"Otherworld?"
"Fairies, basically. And not your cutesy little winged creatures. I'm talking Mab and the Elf Queen and the Little People. Terrifying and totally inhuman. Strictly speaking, they're faeries or the Little People. Calling them 'fairies' annoys them. And you don't want to annoy them."
He walked off after Eloise and Logan stormed over.
"Cage, what the hell happened?!"
Luke's head dropped.
"She went in while we got the girls out. We'd just got clear when the building blew. Carol went in. This was all she found."
Luke held out the battered metal. Logan reached out hesitantly and took it. The tactile evidence seemed to snap something because he brought it up to his forehead and gasped out a choking sob. Then he turned, still clutching the scuffed metal and walked away.
"Logan! Where're you going!?"
"To get some real help."
"Oooh, snubbing the Avengers. This is exceptionally interesting, I hope you know."
Alex nodded.
"We'll put out the feelers. X-Factor still has a lot of clout in District X. But Logan, if Tora doesn't want to be found, she won't be. Doesn't matter if Marvel Girl scours the world with Cerebra, if Tora is hiding, then hidden she'll stay."
He coughed then looked back up at Logan.
"You do know she could be…you know…dead?"
"No."
"What?"
"I'd know if she were. I can feel it."
"Pardon?"
Logan raised his hand, showing his gleaming silver wedding ring, the blue stone glittering in the light.
"She's alive. I know she is."
"Logan, we haven't any clues…"
Wolverine whipped round to see Jamie Madrox, who now looked like he regretted opening his mouth.
"We have to find her! You were there, Jamie! You were there when Phoenix fell! For all we know, it could be just like that! Mess around with Tora's head and who knows what you might end up releasing!"
Lorna went white.
"If she…"
"Don't."
She glanced over and spotted Dr Strange standing in the corner and one hand flew to her mouth. Do not mention that rather embarrassing little incident because they'd really done very well on hiding it all and pretending she'd never come back alive from her capture and suddenly blurting out that Tora could quite possibly snap and decide to destroy anything in a moment probably wasn't the best idea.
"So we'll keep a look out. Is Ray looking…?"
"She's tried. Nothing. You know as well as I do, that if Tora's gone to ground for some reason… If she doesn't want to be found, she won't."
"Logan…?"
"Yeah?"
"You… You don't think… You don't think she's… Do you think she's gone to die?"
Logan didn't speak. Lorna coughed and continued.
"When I was a kid, I had a pet cat. She was pretty old and then one day she just started walking around the house, peering into all the small nooks and crannies. Mom said that was her trying to find a place to die. What if… What if that's what Tora's trying to do?"
"No… Can't be… She promised… She promised she wouldn't…"
"But, Logan… Maybe she's trying to be kind."
"Kindness… Such a loaded word."