Memories
Secrets
Disclaimer: What do you think?
If you want to use Tora, or any of my other characters, PM me.
"Ms Circen, would you care to explain that last comment? Ms Circen?"
Tora could only hear a ringing in her ears. They had meant well. They had meant to save her. And in doing so, they damned her. All those years. Protecting her children, shielding them. And now there were journalists trying desperately to get in touch with their editors, to get the scoop of the century. State brings own case crashing down on it. And then Tora stood, her eyes flashing angrily.
"What right had you!? What right had you to reveal that!? I have bled and suffered to protect them and you reveal their existence to the world! I have done everything in my power to keep them from being hurt and you suddenly make them open season to any and all with a grudge against me! I would do more than die for them, which I could and would do for any of those I protect! I would kill for them, because they mean more to me than life itself! And you, in your presumptive arrogance, reveal them! I bled and screamed! I tried to preserve the innocence I was denied but still they know true fear! They are hated for what they are! They can never redeem themselves in the eyes of those who hate them for they are mutant! They already know to be silent when outside! They fear talking of home or beliefs, in case they are labelled 'mutie-lover'! They know they are hated and feared and they are so scared! They are scared of you humans, who persecute them so! They fear leaving the safety of our walls! Oh, what safety! We are trapped in our school, a reservation for a dying race! And what does it say that they feel safer inside the gilded cage than learning to fly free!"
She was breathing heavily, her hands clasped into fists and the slightest trickle of blood running over her knuckles. She was restraining herself from unsheathing her claws, restraining herself from attacking.
And then she blinked.
Phoenix whistled through her teeth long and low.
"Well, that backfired."
It was a curious moment. She flickered briefly around the edges then she vanished for the tiniest moment and then she was back again, looking as solid as before. But it was enough. One scream and there was a stampede for the doors. Tora tried to raise her hands but one of the guards panicked and leapt towards her, slamming the butt of his heavy stun gun into the back of her head. She –reactions heightened by years of combat experience- automatically turned and lashed out, the cuffs clattering against his skull. He dropped like a stone. The other guards raised their weapons and fired. She buckled at the knees, crashing heavily into the side of the box. Blood trickled down the massive gouge above her left eye and pinning her arms under her body. She-Hulk had already moved forward and picked her up, lifting her bodily off the floor.
"What was that!? What was that!?"
The blood was trickling into Tora's mouth as she spoke.
"The Dragon took me."
"Explain."
"I took her to a place where she could be safe. Safe to release her anger, where none would be hurt by it. It appears I…misjudged the time to return…"
She-Hulk paused.
"You mean… You were trying to stop her exploding here, and in doing so, made things worse?"
"That about sums it up."
"Are you insane!"
"Speak not to me like that. You may have once served the Tribunal, but you are not shielded from my powers."
And then Tora was spitting blood out of her mouth and Jen gently lowered her to the ground as the guards came to take her to the cell she would be staying in for the duration.
"Oh, she really was having trouble, wasn't she?"
"Worse is to come."
"Funny. She never talked about this."
"To her, the whole experience was one to never be repeated or mentioned again."
Kate Kildare had a headache. Sure, the X-Men were behaving impeccably but unless she moved fast, the Dragon situation could spiral out of control. The door opened and startlingly clear eyes looked up.
"Ms Kildare."
"Dragon. This is bad."
"What?"
"This."
She threw the piles of papers down. The woman sitting leant forward and picked them up.
"Dragon Trial Postponed. That's not too bad."
"That's the Times. It's the others you have to worry about."
She flicked through the papers and her frown deepened.
"What? Dragon Rages in Court? Secret Life of Mutants? Who came up with this stuff?"
"Those are the polite headlines. There's a lot worse. We need to do damage control, and fast. You've always been seen as aloof, above the others. All your New Avengers images. They're celebrating, you stand apart. The X-Men explain their latest victory, you're standing high up, keeping watch. You never give interviews, never pose for photos. You never appear to interact with the public."
"I always respond to the Make-A-Wish requests."
"Yes. But you do it quietly. You never make a fuss of it."
"If I did, I wouldn't be doing it for the child. I'd be doing it for publicity, which is the antithesis of what the Foundation is about."
"You need good publicity. Dragon? Dragon?"
The woman was sitting staring into space, lost in memories.
"Dragon?"
"I took her pain."
"What?"
She looked up, startled.
"It was three years ago…"
It had been the first of the children she had met. A twelve-year-old girl, suffering from leukaemia. An X-Men fan. The girl had started out shy but years of teaching and mothering gave Tora a way of gently teasing the girl out of her shell. They chatted about a lot of things –films, actors, the X-Men, mutant rights. And then the girl had begun shaking in pain. And Tora had, just before she left, been pulled her mother aside.
"You're a healer. Please…"
"I can't heal her. I'm sorry. Cancer's always been tricky. But I can do something."
"What?"
"I can take away her pain. She'll still be dying, but she won't be in pain anymore."
The mother clasped Tora's hands and kissed them, whispering blessings. And Tora gently leant down to the girl and placed one hand on the side of her head. Waves slide around her face and then turned dark brown before being drawn back into Tora, who winced. The girl stared at her in amazement before throwing her arms around Tora. When Tora rose, she seemed shaky and the mother realised what she had done.
"You said 'take', not 'get rid of'. You can feel her pain… I'm sorry, I… I didn't realise."
And Tora simply placed one hand on the woman's shoulder.
"I already live in pain. A bit more won't matter, not if it's for something as important as this. Keep her safe."
And she left, living with the pain for eighteen months before it suddenly peaked then stopped. And she knew the girl was dead.
Kildare slumped back into a seat.
"You mean you've been taking the pain from every kid you've met."
She nodded.
"Sometimes I can help with the illness as well. But I can't tell people. They'd expect me to heal everyone but I can't."
"Too much to do?"
"No. Population. I can't save everyone's life, else the population will get too big, we won't be able to survive on the level of technology we have right now. And that's practically inviting the Phoenix to come along and wipe out half the human population."
"We need to improve your image. You need to give your side of the story."
"I'm not giving an interview."
"You have to. Else they'll keep on printing this stuff."
"Let them."
"You can't afford to let them. Word's got out that you're still on the reserve list for the Avengers and they're calling for you dismissal. Captain Rogers can only get so far."
"I'm not good at this."
"Then pick someone who you can trust to let you be yourself."
She hung her head then muttered something under her breath.
"What?"
"I said, Ben Urich. He's always been on our side."
Kildare nodded.
"Leave it to me. I'll get in touch."
"I still don't like it."
"I'll send you a copy of the finished article."
"Did she mess up?"
"Surprisingly, no."
A.N. So, hope you're enjoying this. Once again, holiday with no internet access, so don't expect an update for two weeks (this is a bit of a godsend as I have some horrific writer's block)